Chemistry and Brandeis: hitting the double bonus
Like all writers, I face a certain challenge as I sit to write. First, welcome to my first-ever column in The Hoot, and my first-ever column in, well, anything. Thanks to the Opinions editor and the rest of The Hoot for this opportunity.
Oh, and in case you were wondering about the article title, I was watching college basketball tonight.
Super Bowl previews in desperate need of a sane change
As I sat down to watch Super Bowl XL, beer in hand, I, like most other Americans, couldnt help but wonder why ABC chose to name the most popular television event in history after a T-shirt size. And, like most other Americans, I soon figured out that it must have been some kind of underhanded bribe by Fruit of the Loom to promote its latest line of extra large underwear.
A Brandeis homecoming
Friends, this week let me tell you a little about my life. This is really a story about us all, and the wonder of that circle when it finally closes
Whether or not to Walk the Line
The series of strange and confusing events that lead me to Walk the Line this past weekend almost seem like seeing this movie was fated. If a few things had gone differently, I would have ended up in a theater with Good Night and Good Luck or Munich, but I landed in theater number fifteen with Johnny Cash.
That boy's got "whoa"
Imagine the kind of pressure you put on yourself for that big midterm paper. Let that feeling sit in your stomach for weeks, months, and years on end rather than the few measly hours you take to crank out half a dozen pages. Now, instead of a midterm paper, imagine that you force yourself to place those countless years pouring your entire heart, soul, and being into a singular set of musical compositions totaling slightly over a dozen tracks. If that isnt bad enough, add the stress from outsiders praising you as the next Dylan, massive drug abuse, emotional instability, and each drama-tinged moment of your life being carefully scripted into a musical produced by Hedwig and the Angry Inch writer Stephen Trask. Toss in a number of stints in an asylum, a massive consumer culture built towards hating the very genre you live and breathe, and all of this culminating by the time you graduate college. For those of us attending this fine university, those pressures combined with the academic stress would usually produce incredibly horrific and depressing consequences. Max Bemis has managed to hoist up the mountain of pressure on his shoulders with the most beautiful, sincere, and emotionally satisfying rock opera since The Whos Tommy.
CSF display vandalized
A Christian Bulletin Board in the Usdan Student Center was found to be vandalized on Jan. 30, according to Assistant Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams.
Archon funding questioned
Student Union leaders have been evaluating the funding of Archon, the Brandeis University yearbook, due to its failure to print its class of 2005 yearbook on time, according to Union officials.
Reslife cites residents in East Quad
Over 60 of the 390 residents of East Quad were cited by Residence Life over break of various violations, according to several students who live in the quad.
Union officials pursue reform to SAF
The Student Union is forming a proposal to reform the Student Activities Fee (SAF) which is designed to increase accountability among secured groups and enforce collaboration for major campus events, according to Union President Jenny Feinberg 07.
Dual triumphs
In a heavily contested bout versus rival NYU, both the mens and womens fencing teams came out with 14-13 wins to capture the UAA championships. Never before in Brandeis history have the mens and womens teams both knocked off NYU.
The past has not been a blast for this observer
There is an episode of Friends where Joey is dating a girl he thinks hes slept with before. He recognizes things in the apartment, reconnects with his favorite painting on the wall, and even relives the feeling of stupidity after being pricked by touching a cactus plant.
Slavin’s NFL Forecast
The NFL season ended on Sunday night when the Pittsburgh Steelers won their first Super Bowl in 26 years. Future hall-of-famer Jerome Bettis retired after the victory, which was his first Super Bowl win after 13 years in the NFL.
Men have been road warriors as of late
Steve DeLucas 08 Sunday afternoon performances continue to outdo themselves. The trend continued last Sunday in Cleveland, where the Judges rode DeLucas 08 career high 35 to a 74-70 overtime triumph over Case Western Reserve.
On track for success
The Tufts Invitational was not the most important meet for the Judges this season, hence the underachieving performance from some of its members.
WBasketball split in recent road trip
When Brandeis crushed Emory at home back in January, Coach Simon told me after the game that at worst Brandeis could afford one more loss if they want to win the UAA. Their one loss is up.
This Week in Sports
Baseball
Nomar Garciaparra will not play in the World Baseball Classic, citing that he needed spring training to work on first base.
Before this dance is through
Theres something indescribable about the movement of dance. Watching someone who finds dance natural, the sublime, easy coordination is visual magic to the beholder. God knows how it must feel to the dancer;
she couldnt imagine, as dancing never felt natural to her. Still, she longed to know that sensation of effortless movement, and the certainty that any random man would ask her to dance the moment she found herself unaccompanied. Imagine
Brokeback Mountain: movie of the year?
I enjoy watching cowboy films.
Whats not to like? We have our good guys and our bad guys. We are transplanted into a time period and setting that is presumably far simpler, more tranquil than our everyday lives. In Ang Lees Brokeback Mountain, the cowboy setting is a diversion from the hardships of the characters everyday lives.
Game, Set…Match Point?
There are movies out there that are intentionally bizarre. Movies that try to confuse you, or that are so bad, so out there, theyre almost good.
Message to a mythical musical master
New York City. New Orleans. Detroit. Seattle. Los Angeles. History has shown that all of these cities have played a role in the development of distinctly American music, with each city offering a breeding ground to culturally magnificent and unique sounds. As time continually marches by, theres one little northwestern city that hopes to join the ranks in the pantheon of American musical birthing grounds: Portland, Oregon. The seemingly inconspicuous city in a relatively un-noteworthy state for pop culture, with the exception of everyones favorite game known as the Oregon Trail, Portland is proving to be a strong enough basin for ingenious musicians in this country. In fact, one of indie rocks most pivotal musicians of the past decade began his musical journey in the middle of a budding Portland music scene;
that musician is the widely beloved Elliott Smith.
