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(04/27/11 11:45pm)
Okay, nerds. I’ve spent all our time together telling you what not to like, but now that it’s all coming to an end, I’m going to tell you what to like.
Some of the greatest television shows are cancelled because not enough people watch them, which is really upsetting but unsurprising since we live in a world where more people watch Dancing With the Stars than 30 Rock. But enough with the negative, my nerds!
So here it is: The list of the greatest shows that were cancelled before their time, but that you should watch anyway.
Arrested Development: If you watched any of the shows I’m going to list, Arrested Development was probably it. This short-lived three-season show is possibly one of the greatest shows to ever hit the air. Hilarious and smart, Arrested Development is a show about a dysfunctional family whose business has fallen apart. This show has some of the best continuity jokes ever and it is the show that Michael Cera developed, well, every character he has played since. It’s awesome. Watch it. It’s on Netflix Instant.
Firefly: Firefly is probably Joss Whedon’s best series (which I know is a bold statement considering Buffy, but this show just works better to me). It’s a space western that stars Nathan Fillion as Captain Mal Reynolds. There are only 14 episodes, but they’re all quality. It’s standard Joss Whedon: funny, sad, clever, poignant and filled with favorite character deaths. This is also on Netflix Instant and the film Serenity is also available.
Party Down: A more recently cancelled show, Party Down starred Adam Scott (who currently plays Ben Wyatt on Parks and Recreation). Party Down follows a group of caterers who continually find themselves in disastrous situations. The show bounces between looking at the caterers and examining the people who are hosting the parties. It’s hilarious with two seasons full of guest stars like J.K. Simmons, Kristen Bell and Ken Jeong. Netflix just brought the two seasons on the Instant lineup.
Veronica Mars: Veronica Mars is just three seasons of awesome. Starring Kristen Bell as the witty teenage private eye, this modern day noir series makes a heroine out of a real, imperfect character. Who doesn’t love Kristen Bell? Really? Also, tons of guest stars fill this series: Paul Rudd, Adam Scott and Michael Cera. Two of the greatest sidekicks ever are created through this series — you’re going to love Wallace and Piz, trust me. This show is funny, dark and smart. Even though she sounds like a superhero, Veronica is just a regular girl. The same people who created Party Down worked on Veronica Mars. Check it out on Netflix Instant View.
Pushing Daisies: A dark two-season fairy tale, Pushing Daisies stars Lee Pace and Kristin Chenoweth. Pace is the Pie Maker Ned who discovers he has the power to touch a dead body and restore it to life. The catch is that if the body stays alive for over a minute, someone else nearby dies. Ned brings his childhood love back to life but he cannot touch her again or else she will die — again. Heartbreakingly sweet and funny, Pushing Daisies is a drama-comedy with a forensics twist. This title is also available on Netflix Instant.
Better Off Ted: A satirical comedy, Better Off Ted looks at the American workplace as a corporate demon. This isn’t The Office, but it’s still pretty hilarious. Ted is the hero of the show, and he’s a likeable guy who works at Veridan Dynamics with some characters. Ted talks directly to you as he goes through the episodes. Portia de Rossi stars as his uptight boss Veronica. Look, it’s just really hilarious. The scientists Phil and Lem are the best characters on a show filled with other great characters. Better Off Ted can be seen on Netflix Instant view.
Dead Like Me: Created by the same guy who invented Pushing Daisies, Dead Like Me is a two-season show about a group of grim reapers in Seattle. The show stars Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin. I know it seems a little morbid with the grim reapers and all, but it’s not. It’s touching and funny. The main character George (Muth) is a little hard to handle at first, but if you stick with it she grows on you as she develops. Also, who doesn’t love Mandy Patinkin? Inigo Montoya can do no wrong. Do yourself a favor and skip out on the movie they made after the series got cancelled. It’s bad. Like, really bad. Dead Like Me can be seen on Netflix Instant.
Aaron Sorkin’s Sports Night and Paul Feig/Judd Apatow’s Freaks and Geeks are not available on Netflix Instant but they’re still definitely worth checking out. They were short-lived but brilliant.
Do yourself a favor and watch these shows, my nerds!
(04/27/11 11:45pm)
4/5 Bear Claws
Augusta natives Robert Payne and Chase Kleist are part of the indie/alternative/hip-hop group Ace and Zaz. Chase is Ace and Robert is Zaz. After being part of several musical groups in high school, including Smells Like New and Non-Shalant (Acoustic), Kleist and Payne created this project that just features them.
The best part of Ace and Zaz is that they are not what you expect when you hear “rap group.” Payne is studying to be a biomedical engineer at the University of Georgia and Kleist is a professional webmaster. They are also rappers who don’t listen to rap.
“The radio is pitiful and we decided to do something about it,” said Payne, also known as Zazu Times Two. “The other groups were a learning experience and our current music project encompasses them all.”
The pair has a following of 10,000 fans on their various social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace). They have performed live web shows, small Augusta and Athens venues and house parties. Ace and Zaz has also received multiple cash prizes for talent showcase contests and interest from minor record labels.
The new album Fancy Dress recently dropped and has earned over 400 downloads from their website, available for free to all site visitors. According to Payne, the time to make the album took “three months worth of man hours, but with procrastination more than double that.”
Fancy Dress has 11 tracks and is 29 minutes long. It is self-created and produced.
Fancy Dress begins with an introduction to the group and website promotion as well as some thank yous. It’s pretty clear that this project is more serious than their past endeavors. The tracks have danceable beats, clever lyrics and an impressive DIY quality. There is a certain aspect to the album that makes it seem like an impulsive recording, as if the pair was just messing around in their room and decided to record something. It’s very informal and fun despite the album’s name.
The best track is probably “Cage the Elegance”, with its different and welcomed instrumental introduction and sound quality. Also, the lyrics are just really great.
The album closes with the same style as it opens. Payne introduces himself and tells you to enjoy yourself before moving into his song which breaks throughout with dialogue. The sound quality and background music is also top notch on this track. This song is very similar to the style of the Childish Gambino (Community’s Donald Glover).
You can check out the duo at www.aceandzaz.com, where they upload songs, videos and their to-do list.
(04/13/11 6:31pm)
Mercer students are extremely ambivalent. Our campus has roughly the same amount of campus events as UGA and less students, yet almost every event is barely attended. The people who do go are the ones who want the free shirt.
But there are ways to get the shirt and not attend the event. Show up, get a shirt and leave. This year at Founder’s Day, students did not have to show their programs to prove they attended the program to get their shirt. Instead, tables full of shirts were set up in the middle of the Quad and students lined up. Students who didn’t go to Founder’s Day proudly displayed their shirts in their next classes, saying that they got the shirt anyway.
The bigger events are usually pretty full, but I remember my freshman year when I went to UC Live with popular bands, the UC was barely filled on one side and the floor seats. Sure, some people may not have liked the bands playing that year, but there are a lot of events that happen all the time on campus that you’re sure to enjoy.
I don’t expect everyone to go to every event the school has, but maybe students should attend something that the school puts on for us. I know as a student who has helped organize some events or meetings, when no one shows up, it’s disheartening. People work hard and spend money to make things happen for your enjoyment and you don’t even bothering showing up? Or if you do, it’s to get the free stuff before you leave in three minutes? We see you leaving. You aren’t sneaky about it.
Along with all the events that no one attends, it’s almost impossible for students to attend events if they wanted to because the campus is double-booked. A baseball tailgate and the Mercer Film Festival were scheduled to be at the same time.
As News Editor of The Cluster, it’s upsetting to see such a lack of student involvement — both in the events I ask people to cover and the fact that so few students want to write for this paper. We work really hard, and The Cluster looks good on a resume. What’s more is that a lot of students don’t even know we have a paper. There are stacks of Clusters in buildings and it’s just sad to see our hard work go unnoticed. Sometimes people who do notice the paper just write it off as bad because of how it was a few years ago, not realizing that we have improved over the past few years.
I know not everyone cares about writing (but if you’re a journalism student and you’re not writing for us, what do you expect to put into your portfolio?), but I just think that you need to find something on this campus to care about. Something more than free shirts, at least.
Comments on this opinion can be sent to news@mercercluster.com
(04/13/11 6:21pm)
4.5/5 Bear Claws
If Tina Fey is your hero — and if you’re between the ages of 18 and 28, she probably is—you need to read her new book, Bossypants.
You know how on an episode of 30 Rock, Liz Lemon tells Rosemary Howard (Carrie Fisher) that she is her lady hero? That’s how you’ll feel about Tina Fey once you finish this book. She is our generation’s lady hero.
Bossypants is Fey talking about her life and how she grew up to be who she is now. It’s not an autobiography, per se, but more a combination of memories told very clearly in Fey’s voice. There is no ghostwriter here — it’s all Tina Fey. Filled with memories recapped with crude language, Bossypants is a book you need to buy. Today. Now.
This book is hilarious; you’ll be laughing out loud from the introduction to the end. Fey shares pictures from her youth and talks about her really cool dad. Oh, and her disaster of a honeymoon — there is fire involved.
Fey carefully picks what memories she wants to share and makes the choice not tell her face-slashing story with her audience (which is a respectable choice). But she narrates several accounts in her life that are so painfully awkward and hilarious that they make you realize that no matter how amazing someone is, puberty is always difficult. Fey tells stories about disappointing boyfriends, poor fashion choices and extremely awkward stories from both high school and college. It’s not arranged chronologically and jumps between defining moments in Fey’s life.
Fey also says this book is a parenting guide to raising a drug-free, smart and virgin-well-into-her-twenties daughter.
Fey shares stories about her time before Saturday Night Live when she was living in Chicago, working at the YMCA to pay for improv classes at Second City. She doesn’t just go into what she’s well known for — she talks about what it was like trying to find her place in show business.
When she does talk about Saturday Night Live, it is fairly brief. Fey mentions the difficulties of being head writer, but she delves into how it can be difficult to be a woman in comedy and what it means to male producers to have a woman they aren’t attracted to starring in a show. Some great Amy Poehler memories are told as well, including one where Poehler snaps at Jimmy Fallon when he didn’t like something she was doing, saying she didn’t care what he thought and that it didn’t matter whether or not he thought it was cute.
Fey also discusses the famous Sarah Palin skits and how much she did not want to do it originally (Seth Meyers wrote the skit anyway, as he should have). A copy of the final script with notes is in the book. She addresses some of the negative feedback she received while portraying Palin and she talks about actually meeting Palin. It’s not political or mean. She doesn’t say a harsh thing about Palin despite what Palin said about her. (Fey does admit that if she ever were to respond about Palin’s accusation of SNL exploiting her for ratings, she would probably just say, “Nice reality show.”)
Fey shares information about the development of 30 Rock, the constant fear of it being canceled in the middle of the first season. She talks about the writers, telling her favorite jokes they wrote. (Yes, Donald Glover is featured.)
Fey also talks about what it means to be a mother in show business and the negative feedback she receives. It’s an interesting look into a microcosm of the working mother and all the assumptions people make about a working mom. Naturally, she handles it with humor but there is a note of sadness to it. Her stories about her daughter Alice are sweet and hilarious. Alice is one funny kid (who originally said several of the lines on 30 Rock, including “I want to go to there”).
This book, unsurprisingly, is awesome. It isn’t a story about how successful Fey is, but instead it’s a confused letter to the world saying that she doesn’t understand why she is so successful. Self-deprecating, wonderful and relatable, Bossypants is a necessary read for anyone who enjoys the entertainment industry, humor or anything good.
(04/13/11 6:20pm)
Is it entirely necessary for almost every film to be filmed in 3-D?
Sure, I understand how 3-D is cool and sometimes it can add to the film. But it’s just ridiculous how films are filmed in both 3-D and 2-D now, or hastily reformatted to be 3-D right before the release date. Filming in both formats makes the entire process more expensive and editing more difficult. And when they released in theaters, 3-D films are twice as expensive to see.
What’s more is that with the rise of 3-D films, it seems like the actual quality of films — being story and stylistic choices — is going down. I wish the next big fad would be really, really great and well-thought-out films rather than ridiculous 3-D movies.
It just seems like a gimmick to inflate box office numbers. I saw How to Train Your Dragon in both 3-D and 2-D. While I did appreciate the texture and the depth of the 3-D experience, I didn’t walk out of the 2-D viewing saying, “Wow, if only that had been in 3-D, I could have actually enjoyed it. Too bad.”
Sure, some films might chose to be shot in 3-D for thematic reasons, but that element of cinema is quickly losing value because every film is being released in that format. Pretty soon, it’ll be a treat to see a 2-D film. It’ll be charming — like going to a drive-in theater.
It’s an effect you’re always aware of, too. You know you’re going into a 3-D film, so you’re expecting all this “come out of the screen” stuff when really, you’re just getting some added texture and depth. The lame stuff coming out at you isn’t cool when it happens, it’s just something that makes you feel weird.
And yes, I saw Avatar in 3-D. I didn’t think it was necessary. Both seeing it and seeing it in 3-D. I said it. The message of “Capitalism sucks!” seems very confusing when you’re paying $20 to see it. But anyway, the 3-D didn’t do anything special for me. Avatar basically used 3-D for the landscapes. That’s all I really took away from the effect.
And the whole point of 3-D films is that they are shot to be seen in 3-D. So when you buy the DVD, you lose that effect. It defeats the whole purpose.
Some films that are shot in both formats just don’t work in one format or the other. If you see a movie that is intended to be 3-D but it still released in the normal way, there are all these shots that don’t make sense with heavy foreground stuff and crazy angles. And can any serious film be done in 3-D and taken seriously? Just think about it.
Oh, and by the way, James Cameron is planning on converting Titanic into 3-D. So a film that was shot in 2-D and stands pretty well on its own already is going to be changed into an entirely new format that probably won’t work very well with the technology of the time? Just for a few extra bucks? It’s already one of the top grossing films of all time, so is this necessary? Really? (No.) Look, James Cameron. We’ve all already seen it and we already knew the boat sank before we saw it. Adding 3-D isn’t going to make us pay to go see what comes on TV every other weekend.
Also, those glasses just don’t work over regular glasses. I find that inconsiderate, film industry. I don’t want to have to dress up and wear contacts to the movie theater just because you don’t think about people who have myopia. Another issue with the glasses is that they aren’t the awesome kind from the good old days with the red and blue.
And I feel like people just want to make 3-D films so that when the third installment comes out, they can say use the 3 in “3-D”.
I’m not saying some films can’t be in 3-D or anything, but I don’t think it should be so commonplace. I understand some films “need” the effect, but when the top films for the past three years have been almost all 3-D films, maybe it’s time to reassess. Films should be able to stand on their own without gimmicks that raise ticket prices.
(04/13/11 2:26pm)
Former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts Richard Fallis is a fan of his students, model trains and the Irish poet William B. Yeats.
Fallis is originally from Nashville, Tenn., and attended Wake Forest University before attending Princeton University for graduate school. At the time that he enrolled, the Ford administration felt that there was a lack of English and history teachers, so they gave a grant to several universities to move students quickly through the graduate programs. Fallis accepted his free ride to Princeton and graduated in ’71 with a Ph.D. in English.
“I was much too young to have a Ph.D.,” Fallis said jokingly.
Fallis met his wife Jean at Princeton. In his third year, the previously all-male university began to allow women into the program.
“The great concern was ‘Oh, they’ll all just run off and get married.’ We were the first ones to get married,” Fallis said. His wife, a Toronto native, finished her Ph.D. in English as well.
They will have been married 40 years next January and have one son, 34, who lives in Macon too.
After they both had graduated, the Fallises moved to Syracuse, N.Y., so that Fallis could teach at Syracuse University. At Syracuse, Fallis served as chair of the English department and director of the masters and doctoral programs. Fallis admitted that he wanted to teach at a place like Mercer originally but he couldn’t find a job at a place like Mercer, so he took the job he was offered.
“You go to one of those big schools and you think, ‘Well, it’ll be interesting to see what it’s like to work in this kind of place.’ Then you settle in, you have a child, you make connections, you buy a house. So 24 years later, it seemed like a good idea to move,” Fallis said.
They moved to Fallis’ hometown of Nashville where he became the dean of humanities at Belmont University for six years.
In 2001, Fallis moved to Macon to become part of Mercer University. He previously served as the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, but he now serves as a professor.
Fallis said that he enjoys teaching more than being a dean. Being a dean requires an enormous amount of administrative work, but has its high points too.
“The most satisfying things you do as a dean are hiring new faculty and trying to support when people have good ideas for good projects. While I was dean—the nine years I was in that job—we made a lot of progress on service learning, we made a lot of progress on opening up the curriculum, we added programs like the Global Health program and chemistry and biology created their program. Where being a dean is frustrating is that there is never enough money, so you get some good things done and you see some other things that just don’t happen because there aren’t the resources. I’m sure that’s true of other institutions like Harvard, too,” Fallis said.
Fallis is currently teaching three classes: 480S Yeats, FYS 102 and an Honors 311 course. Next semester he will be teaching FYS 101, Irish Renaissance and the second half of the British literature survey course.
Fallis does not necessarily have a favorite course, but he enjoys certain parts of each class.
“It’s hard to say. I’ve really enjoyed all three of them this semester. I really like the Yeats class. I enjoy Yeats’ poetry; it’s fun to talk it with other people. If it’s a good class then almost any kind of teaching is fun,” Fallis said. “The Yeats class has shown me things I hadn’t thought about. To me, that’s part of the real satisfaction—when you’re learning something too and not throwing out information.”
Originally Fallis was concerned with teaching FYS because he did not know if he would be able to relate to the freshmen.
“I think we’ve had a pretty good time. We’ve had some good discussions. They’re really wonderful, on occasion seeing things that I don’t see. That’s what you want in a class. If the students aren’t learning, the teacher hasn’t taught. If the teacher isn’t learning, the teacher hasn’t taught,” Fallis said.
Fallis also said that he enjoys being back in the classroom because he can finally have a summer off, his first one in about 20 years.
When he does have spare time, Fallis enjoys building model trains and listening to music. He is interested in the development of performance history of classical music. Last summer, he and his wife bought a house in North Carolina that will be their summer (and possibly retirement) home. It is located within walking distance of the music center.
“We can walk, except at night because you get all these crazy old people driving like maniacs. We decided that maybe we’ll take the car over there at night,” Fallis said.
Fallis also has an 11-year-old cat named Tiger.
“I’ve let him get into a really annoying habit that each morning he wants his English muffin, so I have to sit there and hold the other end of it while he licks the butter off it. Which is kind of cute, but after a while it’s not so cute. But he doesn’t know that,” Fallis said.
(03/30/11 8:03pm)
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Why would anyone want to keep up with the Kardashians? Seriously.
I’ve been very fortunate in that I’ve only seen clips from the horrendous E! production (can it even be called that?) on “The Soup” because I don’t like to waste my time with bad TV. If you watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians, I’m just going to assume your remote is lost because there is no other valid excuse.
Why are they famous again? Because Kim had a sex tape and continues to have, apparently, a very large derriere? Those aren’t really good things to be famous for. I think. I don’t know, I’m not famous, but I’m just pretty sure that if you want to be famous you’re going to want to be famous for talent, not your fat deposits and bedroom activities.
Kim must have realized this because she tried to showcase a possible talent and recently released a song titled “Jam.” I say “song” in the same way I say that her TV series is a “show.” Ironic quotation marks are needed, my nerds.
“Jam” sounds like a rejected Ke$ha song. Even with the liberal use of Auto-tune (sigh), Kim sounds monotone and bored. Bored in one computerized key. But you know she’s convinced this song is the new car-trip anthem or something equally ridiculous.
And just so you know that I’m not lying to you, here’s a sample of the lyrics: “Imma burn it out tonight, it’s going down/By live via satellite/And all I see is angels in my eyes/Buzz got me way up in the sky.”
What?! I know not all pop songs are deep examinations of society and the human condition, but come on. And I seriously doubt that the “angels in my eyes” is a Doctor Who reference. I’m just pretty sure about this one, guys.
Possibly more pathetic is the fact that Kardashians will literally put their name on anything. ANYTHING. Acne cream, diet pills, your firstborn child, etc. Sometimes they take it off after a poor marketing campaign, but you know they probably didn’t even remember what product they were talking about that day.
Kim was upset about her W magazine photo shoot, shocked that they let her nude photo appear in the magazine. Well, when you pose nude, Kim, is it really a surprise there will be nude photos? And you posed for Playboy. Oh, and again, you’re famous for filming yourself having sex with Ray J. You don’t really have the moral high ground here.
Kourtney and Khloé are the other sisters — yeah, everyone else forgets they exist too. They are currently “taking Miami.” Stay in your own city; I’m sure Miami doesn’t want you. I haven’t confirmed that, but I’m just taking a very educated guess.
These women are not good role models. One — I don’t know which, they blur together and I’m afraid to Google the Kardashian name too much — was in a seemingly abusive relationship with the pothead father of her child (I say seemingly because I don’t know how much the producers edited film to make it look a certain way. E! needs viewers, you know. And reality TV is fake).
Outside of that, they are just extremely inappropriate on the Internet. I understand that their only selling point is their “sex appeal” (because that’s all attractive, curvy women can offer the world) and they probably act a certain way to market themselves. But when you’re aware hundreds of little girls are following you on Twitter and idolize you, maybe you shouldn’t Tweet more mature content. I know that can be considered censorship and unfair to the Tweeter, but I just think it’s a responsibility of someone who wants to be in the public eye (and God, do these girls want to be in the public eye).
Their interview on Conan was probably the most uncomfortable thing I have ever seen. They just said outlandish, crude things and whispered to each other (rude, by the way. Don’t come on air to talk to each other, do that at home). Conan was at a loss for words and just let them carry on. Also, why do they have to do interviews together? They aren’t Cerberus. They can separate. …Can’t they?
I just think credit should be given to people who have a little more to offer to the world than large bottoms and scandals worked into a mindless TV program. Stop keeping up with these women, nerds. Please.
(03/16/11 8:00pm)
I don’t understand this whole vampire fad. Why won’t it go away? Can someone stake it?
Sure, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” was awesome. But it was awesome because she was killing vampires. Nowadays, vampires are supposed to be sexy or something.
No, people who want to rip your throat out are not dreamboats and they are not swell. It’s pretty rude, not charming.
It seems that once the fad recedes, it resurfaces almost instantly. We all know about Anne Rice and her vampires and all of the sudden, the Cullens come out of nowhere. Why is “Twilight” real? Why is “Twilight” considered literature? It’s just a collection of words and typos. There’s no content.
Bella Swan is probably the worst character ever conceived in history. And that’s including Carrie Bradshaw, so you know it’s bad. If you’re going to write a bad love story, Stephanie Meyer, then at least make your main character interesting. But no. Bella is the ultimate submissive woman, obsessed with Edward, her vampire boyfriend. What was Bella going to do if Edward didn’t come into her life? She had no goals, dreams or aspirations.
And Edward Cullen is not dreamy. He’s dead, guys. Unless you’re into necrophilia, that’s not really a good quality to have in a boyfriend. He also has nearly every characteristic of an abusive spouse: he drives Bella everywhere, isolates her from her friends and has violent mood swings. And so on. How is that romantic?
Just because you can’t be with someone and he’s dangerous doesn’t mean it’s a sexy romance. If it’s forbidden, that usually means that it’s a bad idea. And we all know that “Twilight” is some creepy dreamy Meyer had one night.
I think if you’re going to have a stale plot, you should at least have solid writing. Meyer doesn’t and even her editor was too bored to notice dozens of typos. Also, use descriptive words that are not “Adonis” or “perfect.” Computers have thesauruses.
All I’m saying is that it’s not love if all he wants is to kill you and all you want is to sleep with him. I know that seems like it’s pretty normal, but it’s not. If your relationship is like that, please leave it.
And if you announce that you’re waiting for your Edward Cullen on Facebook or Twitter,just be prepared to be alone forever. Not just because he’s fictional, but because people do not find that charming. At all. They think it’s straight up crazy.
And I know what you’re thinking: “But Buffy loved Angel.”
True. But the difference is that everyone knew it was messed up. Everyone said it was
morbid and they tried to avoid each other for awhile.
Also, Buffy had a personality, so that also makes her situation a little more sympathetic. But when she’s trying to make Angel her boyfriend, he said, ”This isn’t some fairy tale. When I kiss you, you don’t wake up from a deep sleep to a happily ever after.”
See. They don’t want her to become a vampire. They want a relationship, but know that they can’t. And then when they try, Angel loves her and leaves her (one of the more overt metaphors of the show). He’s cursed. He loves Buffy, but unlike Edward, he knows that it’s more problematic than just controlling his urges.
While Edward is a “vegetarian,” Angel still drinks human blood and has to control himself.There’s canon within the Buffyverse. There is none in “Twilight.” Becoming a vampire is a whole biting thing, but that seems to be missing from “Twilight.” Also, how could Edward produce non-venomous semen to knock Bella up? It just does not make sense.
And now there are even more vampires with “The Vampire Diaries,” “True Blood” and probably 15 other shows I don’t know exist. We all know Buffy would stake them all.
But probably what is most offensive about “Twilight” is that when you rewatch “Buffy,” you can see what Meyer was trying to do with Bella and Edward. But she failed miserably and she ended up just making an insane fandom composed a little girls and repressed mothers.
I wish the first chapter of “Twilight” ended with, “And then Buffy staked Edward.” Then it would be awesome.
(03/05/11 5:01am)
James Franco, Natalie Portman and Danny McBride all star in the new film Your Highness. Eventful is hosting a contest that college students can vote in to have the film's premiere held at their campus. Franco, Portman and McBride will visit the winning school and attend the afterparty.
Second to sixth-place schools win an advanced screening.
SO VOTE! WE ALL LOVE JAMES FRANCO AND NATALIE PORTMAN AND FREE MOVIES!!
(Click through for link and put Georgia - Mercer University into the selection menus).
(02/23/11 9:00pm)
Miley Cyrus, who are you?
No, seriously. Who are you?!
Are you Miley Cyrus, Miley Stewart, Destiny Ray Cyrus, Miley Ray Cyrus or Hannah Montana? Or someone else?
I think you’re about due for an identity crisis. I am just thinking about your baker’s dozen of personas.
Look, Miley Montana, I get you’re a Disney kid and you’re over exposed and bound to be annoying. But seriously, chill out.
So you smoked some salvia, which is legal and all that. But maybe next time, don’t have someone with a camera there? Keep this in mind the next time you give your film producer a lap dance in tiny jean shorts. I don’t care if he was gay, it was creepy and inappropriate.
And, sure, Miley Montana, we’ve all made some mistakes as 16-year-old kids, but most of us are not famous 16-year-old kids. So when you send racy pictures to Nick Jonas, they’re going to leak. And when Vogue asks you if you’ve learned your lesson, maybe you should say yes instead of no. Because at that point, how could you not have?
Also, maybe you shouldn’t be publically upset with Vogue’s cover image of you a few years ago. You were covered and you looked gorgeous. I don’t know how you were “mislead” since you were at the photo shoot.
I know you’re trying to distance yourself from the whole Hannah Montana thing, but Miley, you’ve got to wear pants. You just do. You aren’t Lady Gaga, and between you and me, she should wear pants too.
Sidenote: Please dye your hair a real color, stop tanning, lay off the eye makeup and brush your hair.
And your music needs to stop with the autotune. If you’re this musical prodigy Disney tried to sell you as, then why are you so autotuned? It’s gross. The beginning of the Hannah Montana series was the only time we really heard your voice. While it was a little nasally and forced, it was better than what you’re pushing out now.
PS – I don’t get your songs. I mean, I get them, but do you? Because you don’t actually know what it’s like to be in school all day or what it means to walk the halls of a school? Or what it’s like to be invisible? You see what I’m saying?
While your overacting is pretty bad, I think your dad’s is worse. Holy jeez, it’s bad. Talk about trying to get another 15 minutes of fame. Billy Ray is ridoucheulous.
He’s claiming that he never made a penny off Miley – or Destiny Ray. Whoever. But what about all that money he made playing her dad? Or writing songs? I think some money was made via Miley.
Billy Ray is also claiming that he was not around when Miley smoked the salvia and it’s not his fault. Yes, it is, guy. Be a father, not an exploiter. Stop trying to get sympathy by saying Hannah Montana tore your family apart. It was your idea and you were the one who pushed Miley into that. Also, your relationship with her was pretty creepy. Like, for realsies.
All I got from Hannah Montana was that Miley Stewart was very annoying, loud and deceitful while Hannah Montana was apparently raised by drag queens. Oh, and Miley somehow never missed school despite having all these concerts and press opportunities. But I guess I just don’t know what it’s like to be both a pop star and a regular 16-year-old girl. It seems like it’s a very narrow market.
Oh, and don’t name Miley’s most serious boyfriend Jake Ryan, Disney. Not cool. John Hughes’ ghost must be so sad. And it’s a reference I doubt your target audience understood.
Basically, nerds, the point is that Miley Cyrus is pretty annoying no matter what name she is going with.
(02/23/11 9:00pm)
- Make sure you always have your ID.
- Always travel in groups.
- Always wear protection (sunscreen or otherwise).
- Don’t fall asleep in a hot tub.
- Don’t leave your drink unattended.
- Don’t trust strangers. They aren’t your friends.
- Always buckle up.
- If someone follows you to your hotel room, they are a creep. Do not let them in.
- Guys, just don’t be skeezy.
- Wear modest clothing.
- Know the signs of alcohol poisoning: Mental stupor, cannot be woken up, vomiting, seizures, slow breathing and pale blue skin.
(02/09/11 6:48pm)
Mercer Police resolved a total of 16 incidents on campus during the months of December and January.
Dec. 8: An officer on patrol noticed a car which had driven up on a median and damaged its tires. The officer investigated and found the driver appeared to be intoxicated. Signs of intoxication included red eyes, slow speech, and he had urinated on himself. The driver refused to take an breathalyzer test and was arrested and transported to the Bibb County LEC.
Dec. 9: A student reported he was knocked down and his wallet was stolen from behind MEP. The student chased his assailant for quite a distance. The thief dropped the wallet but took money and an ATM card.
Dec. 11: A student reported he was chased by a man he encountered while walking on College Street inside the campus.
Dec. 15: A student reported her car appeared to have been entered without her knowledge. Her key would not fit the ignition but there was no sign of damage. Another student’s Bearcard was found in the car. An inquiry revealed the Bearcard had been lost the previous spring. The owner of the car and the owner of the Bearcard did not know each other.
Dec. 28: A woman went into Ingleside Village Pizza and when she returned to her car, she saw a man jump out. He left four screwdrivers in the car. One of these was in the ignition. After jumping out of the car, the man ran across I-75.
Jan. 3: Officers responded to a call about an owl in the middle of a street rather than in a tree where owls normally are. The Dept. of Natural Resources provided the name of someone who came and rescued the wayward owl.
Jan. 11: An employee reported someone stole her food from the refrigerator: two snack cakes and a small sign.
Jan. 11: A student reported hearing a noise from the roof above her room. It was reported to have sounded like ice sliding off the roof.
Jan. 17: A student reported her vehicle had been broken into while parked at one of the apartment lots.
Jan. 19: A student reported receiving several harassing phones believed to be from an old boyfriend.
Jan. 20: A student reported he was robbed at gunpoint near the three-way intersection on Stadium Drive and Mercer University Drive.
Jan. 21: A student reported receiving obscene notes.
Jan. 30: A report of a broken window was received at Mercer Police. Inquiry revealed that the baseball team was practicing and someone had hit the ball through the window.
Jan. 30: Mercer Police received a call about two people asking for rides outside the RLC. When the officers responded they learned the people had a van that was low on gas. They wanted a ride to get some gas. Continued discussion revealed the men were drinking and neither one had a valid license or insurance. One said he was from Mississippi but did not have a license. The other had an expired license from Virginia. Because the officers smelled alcohol on the breath of the man driving the van, breathalyzer test was administered and the man registered over the limit for intoxication. He was arrested and delivered to the Bibb Count LEC. The other man was driven to his home by an officer. Both men were given Criminal Trespass Warnings.
Jan. 31: Officers responded to a call about two men looking into a car parked on campus. The men turned out to be repo men and needed to take possession of the car.
To report a crime, call Mercer Police at 478-301-HELP (4357).
(02/09/11 6:16pm)
All I can say about “The Jersey Shore” is “Why?”
I wish that could be the entire article because I feel it encompasses my entire article perfectly.
I just do not understand the mass appeal of this show. I have been fortunate enough to have only been tricked into seeing about 15 minutes of it. The rest I learn about from “The Soup” and the blog The Daily What.
Reality television is not good television. Sure, I’ll admit that I dabble in it — namely cooking shows and “The Biggest Loser” — but I watch better television than that.
From what I have gathered from my very minimal research is that some people actually enjoy “The Jersey Shore”. They like these people and what they do. Some even aspire to be like them.
And again: Why?
The cast of the show is the largest group of idiots ever gathered to be on television, and I’m including all those trashy Real Housewives shows in that statement. All they do is drink, fist-pump and say ridiculous strings of words that are supposed to be sentences.
I understand most people watch the show to look at the lowest form of human intelligence there is so that they can laugh at it, but in the end, this cast is the one getting paid millions of dollars to act this way. So I’m torn about that.
The main character and tiniest cast member is “Snooki.” Yeah. I know. She can fit into a fridge and she sometimes gets punched in the face. She’s usually really classy because she wears trashy clothes and gets drunk in the middle of the day.
Also, the show is on MTV. That should tell you not to watch it. MTV barely counts as a real channel anymore — in fact, they are dead to me since they ruined “Skins”.
The cast tosses around the term “Guido” pretty freely but it’s actually an offensive slang term. So there’s that too.
Granted, I will watch bad television if the cast is reasonably charming and good-looking. These people have no manners or decorum. And they are just not attractive, I am sorry. Being orange, over-gelled with blown-out hair and having huge “designer muscles” struggling to escape your tacky Armani T-shirt just is not attractive. Nor is naming your abs “The Situation.” No one is impressed, guy. And the girls look trashy with their bad tans, stringy hair and layers of horrible makeup. Least attractive of all, though, is that these people have no personalities.
And for their fourth season, the cast is going to Italy? That is not acceptable. And isn’t it called “The Jersey Shore?” Why do they keep going places? Can’t they limit themselves in one location? Just for the sake of the rest of the country’s STD statistics at least.
MTV is yet again promoting a life of casual alcoholism, constant partying and nonchalant sex. Why can’t we have TV shows about smart people or people who can actually do something? I’m just saying that smart people have more fun.
This show is everything that is wrong in the world. It’s a bold statement, but I’m pretty confident in it.
(02/01/11 12:00am)
[caption id="attachment_365" align="aligncenter" width="336" caption="The Drs. Silver have been married for 15 years now. This photo is from their 1996 wedding. They are cute. Marvel."]
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Every Feb. 14, everything is covered in pink and red and we are told to tell our significant others we love them. But we all know Valentine’s Day is a holiday created by the greeting card companies who exploited Geoffrey Chaucer’s association of love with the feast-day of a martyred Saint Valentine so that everyone buys candy and cards.
Regardless of whether or not you’re in a relationship, you are going to buy candy. (The single people tend to think Feb. 15 is the real holiday, with all that discounted candy.)
Even if most of the college population is bitter about being constantly reminded that they are alone on this fluorescent holiday, it’s still always good to see people who are actually in love no matter what day of the year it is.
English professors Drs. Andrew and Anya Silver met in 1992 while they were in graduate school at Emory University.
The first time Andrew saw Anya he was at a party for new students. He ended up being trapped in a bathroom when the old doorknob broke off in his hand. The idea of asking someone to let him out humiliated him, so Andrew climbed out the window and fell a story-and-a-half into a dugout cellar, breaking his foot. Instead of asking for help, he limped down the driveway and drove himself to the hospital.
Anya and Andrew were in the same Irish Literary Renaissance class, but the professor required library work which Andrew’s cast prevented him from doing.
“I do believe she would have thought I was a jerk of epic proportions had I stayed in that class. I had just gotten back from Ireland and I fancied myself some sort of expert on Ireland,” Andrew said.
The class was Anya’s first graduate school program. Andrew was in his second year.
“I was nervous about being in graduate school. He came in with crutches and immediately started arguing with another girl in the class and I thought, ‘Wow, graduate students really argue with each other.’ I was sort of intimidated,” Anya said.
After Andrew dropped the class, the two became friends after being officially introduced by a mutual friend. He attended her poetry readings, and she attended his plays. They started dating about a month later.
“The first date we had, we went out after one of my performances to a place called Masquerade—then it was kind of a dance place. We danced until three in the morning, went out to the Majestic afterwards and fell in love instantly. We were pretty much ready to get married on the third date,” Andrew said.
Andrew and Anya dated about a year before they were engaged. They were married in ’95 at the age of 26.
“I knew I wanted to marry him and be with him forever, because we just sat and talked and talked for hours. I just knew we had a connection right away,” Anya said.
The couple knows they are lucky to have jobs at the same school. Anya said that because they work in the same place with the same students, they understand each other’s lives and jobs.
“It’s just fantastic. We get to eat lunch together every day and hang out with each other all the time. We never get sick of each other. I think for each of us, we’re with the person we most enjoy being with. It just never gets boring. It’s wonderful,” Andrew said.
The Silvers have been married for 15 years and have one son, Noah, 5.
“Marriage is a wonderful thing when you’re best friends with your spouse. Living with your best friend who understands you better than anyone else is just an incredible luxury. I love being married,” Anya said.
Anya also has advice for students who are considering getting married and who may feel bitter on the commercial holiday that is Valentine’s Day.
“Marry your best friend. It’s better to wait and find the right person than to feel pressured and get married before you should. It’s a great thing to know yourself before you get married,” she said.
English professor Dr. David Davis met his wife Kris during his first week at Oxford College at Emory University. They met the day the older students returned to campus for classes, since Kris was a year older.
“I was sitting on a bench underneath a tree outside of my dorm and she walked by and said hi. We just talked for a couple minutes,” Davis said. “I thought she was pretty,” he added.
They started dating about six weeks after that. Kris had been seeing someone else but they had broken up.
They had already been dating about a month when Davis and Kris went on their first official “going out” date to Murphy’s in Virginia Highlands. Originally, they had realized they liked each other at a dance on campus.
Davis described their relationship as “college-married.” College-married is when a couple is beyond boyfriend and girlfriend and spends all their time together.
“Kris and I were basically college-married so we were together all the time and we moved in together my senior year. We got married the year after that. So married life and dating life weren’t really significantly different from each other. They kind of evolved into each other,” Davis said.
On their wedding day, they had a picture under the tree where they first met. The wedding was in June and was a perfect day for a wedding.
“The Bike Ride Across Georgia was beginning that day. They were starting at Oxford where we were having our wedding. So there were a lot more people in Spandex at my wedding than I initially anticipated,” Davis said. “But there was this really lovely moment where we were walking from the church to the building where we were having our reception and all the bike riders simultaneously began to applaud as Kris was walking by in her wedding gown.”
The Davises have been together for 17 years, 12 of which have been spent in marriage. They have two sons, Lucas and Ayden.
“We can’t compete with the Silvers,” Davis joked.
French professor Dr. Anna Weaver met her husband Hunter in 1999 at a party hosted by his parents. Even though they both grew up in Macon, they had never met before. They started to date about a year later.
“We went to see ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’ because my husband loves cars, and we went to supper,” said Weaver about their first date.
They were married within the year, and this June marks their 10-year anniversary. They have one son, Hunter. He is eight and enjoys sports, his favorite sport changing with the season.
Weaver enjoys being married to someone else from her hometown.
“It’s really nice. He’s a little bit older than I am, so he knows a different set of people than I do. It’s nice to meet new people who I wouldn’t have known. It’s nice too because our parents are here and we enjoy having them here for their grandson.”
Weaver’s husband attended Mercer, and it has been strange for him to see the new changes to the campus. Even though the Quad looks exactly the same, places like the University Center and Engineering building are new. Weaver’s son Hunter’s favorite thing to do when he comes to campus is to eat in the cafeteria.
“It’s nice to find someone you enjoy being married to,” Weaver said.
(01/27/11 11:21pm)
True Grit is Joel and Ethan Coen’s latest film, an adaption of Charles Portis’ novel of the same name. And it’s awesome.
Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) is determined to avenge her father’s murder by hunting down Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), the murderer. She hires U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to help her track Chaney into Indian Territory. Cogburn and Mattie join forces with Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon).
Steinfeld steals the film, playing Mattie as stubborn and determined girl who wants nothing more than to avenge her father. She is the center of the film and isn’t overpowered by Bridges or Damon, but instead holds her own with them.
Bridges plays Cogburn much more angry and tough than John Wayne did in the 1969 version of the film. While Wayne was entertaining as Cogburn, his film was much more cheery for such a dark story. This is probably more a credit to the Coens’ vision and script.
This film is definitely gritty and does not hold back where the 1969 adaption did. Cogburn shoots a horse in the head after riding it into the ground, fingers come flying off and arms are amputated. It is also shot more cinematically than the John Wayne version, using darker lighting and sepia tones.
Although the film is long and tends to drag in places, it is still a solid tribute to the old style Western films, using authentic dialect, costumes and lots of guns. They don’t make fun of a genre gone by, but instead revive it with its own archetypes. The film is not over-the-top cinematography but instead it is handled carefully and modestly.
The ending is a little disappointing and somewhat confusing. It definitely makes you raise an unbelieving eyebrow at Cogburn’s life after Mattie. As in – it’s not possible.
Steinfeld’s Mattie is tough and whip-smart, but still very likeable. The 1969 version of Mattie (Kim Darby) is almost impossible to handle because she’s so whiny and annoying. Steinfeld created her own character instead of using Darby’s as a starting point—because if she did, the film would not have been enjoyable at all.
Bridges’ Cogburn does The Duke justice despite being very hard to understand sometimes with his thick, boozy drawl. While Bridges pays homage to Wayne’s character – riding a horse with his reins in his mouth while shooting two guns—he does not replay the role. Even though a drunken lawman is something common in the western-age of cinema, Bridges reinvents it and presents an entertaining character. He vacillates between buffoon and hero.
Damon’s LeBeouf had very little competition with Glen Campbell’s portrayal of the character. Anyone probably could have done better, and Damon definitely did. He was funny, somewhat pathetic and winning.
Basically, the Coens can do anything and do it well. They constantly examine genres and reinvent them through their films. The Coens don’t look at what is popular in the box office, but instead they look at what tells the best story and the best way that they can tell it.
And they also toss in dummy credits such as Buster Coen for Matt Damon’s Abs Double (abs that did not appear in the film). What’s better than a solid film with funny credits? Nothing.
Go see this movie.