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February 2011

Leisure

Critical Voices: Radiohead, The King of Limbs, pro

With the release of their eighth full length album, The King of Limbs, Radiohead has found itself more pigeonholed than ever. Everybody seems to have a preformed opinion about the band’s impressive, critically-acclaimed cannon, and projecting that opinion onto Limbs. This is a standard reaction for a Radiohead release—as a result, most of what people say about Limbs will likely reflect opinions they had before album opener “Bloom” crescendoed past its initial piano loop. But these eight songs deserve to be looked at in their own right.

By February 24, 2011

Leisure

Critical Voices: Radiohead, The King of Limbs, con

“King of Limbs is boring.” That’s a popular refrain regarding Radiohead’s briefly-anticipated LP, already a polarizing album less than a week after its release. Lacking the band’s trademark dynamism, Limbs shows Radiohead in rare, understated form. Taking this approach now is strategic—with Arcade Fire as the new bombastic fearmongers for the smarter-than-you set, it sets the group up to brush off accusations of dullness: “We meant for this to be a mellow record, it’s you who doesn’t get it.” But this implication skips over a lot of things.

By February 24, 2011

Leisure

Fade to Black: Cage against the machine

The glamorous world of Hollywood has always had its ups and downs. But no matter the industry’s condition, one man has managed to keep audiences and insiders on their toes. Defined by his notable voice, characteristic facial expressions, and dramatic range rivaled only by Daniel Day Lewis, Nicolas Cage has done it all. His work has earned him roles in films by the Coen Brothers and David Lynch, and even an Oscar. Yet the later works in the Cage canon—films like Bangkok Dangerous and this Friday’s Drive Angry 3D—prompt one of the most-pondered questions of our day: What the fuck is Nic Cage doing?

By February 24, 2011

Leisure

Amuse-bouche: Living on a shell-tered diet

Today’s kitchen kingpins really bust their thesauruses to describe eggs. In various cookbooks and TV segments, I’ve heard eggs lauded as rich, hearty, creamy, savory, decadent, delicate, firm, tender, runny, flexible, lively, interesting, versatile, vibrant, fudgy, super-loose, zesty, fatty, buttery, brothy, foamy, piquant, nutty, inspired, and spirited. Egg descriptors have even bordered on the sexual: arousing, tantalizing, voluptuous, titillating. Self-proclaimed eggophile Wylie Dufresne once told New York Magazine that he would like to rub Hollandaise sauce all over his body.

By February 24, 2011

Voices

The Wheel World: D.C.

Everyone is familiar with the urban cyclist stereotype—he or she is skinny, wears spandex but not a helmet, and is usually plotting a way to slip through a red light, only to be narrowly missed by oncoming SUVs. I’ll admit I have a certain fascination with these law-defying speed demons. Because rather than zooming past them in a car or observing them from a clunky Circulator bus, I generally find myself in front of them, then blocking their path, and finally watching them zip through an intersection, barely avoiding traffic, as they rush ahead of me.

By February 24, 2011

Voices

Pop music’s legitimacy may render Bieber fever terminal

He’s watching you as you walk to Lau. He’s at your Thursday evening pregame. He’s balling out in the NBA. He’s rocking the red carpet in Hollywood. He’s in the Super Bowl (albeit in a Best Buy commercial). He’s even in a body bag on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Though only 16 years old, Justin Bieber has gone from lowly Ontario preteen to international superstar in the blink of an eye.

By February 24, 2011

Voices

Law enforcement needs to prioritize for student safety

For reasons that are unclear to me, last semester I began seeing excessive numbers of law enforcement officers in the Georgetown area. Their teeming presence did not by itself bother me. Whatever the reason, I still felt a sense of security knowing there were always police nearby if needed. But at the same time, I noticed an increase in Department of Public Safety-issued write-ups for rambunctious parties and Phishy aromas, and it seriously irked me.

By February 24, 2011

Voices

Finding a sense of self by blogging as The College Prepster

Traveling is quite the ordeal for me. There I was, pacing back and forth between Dunkin Donuts and the newspaper stand in Reagan International Airport. Fellow travelers were whizzing by, only adding to my growing anxiety. Caught up in my own thoughts, I whipped around when I heard my name, “Carly?”

By February 24, 2011

News

On eve of GUSA election, campaigns woo voters

The idea of being an “outsider” is a key feature in today’s GUSA election, which marks the culmination of two weeks of campaigning for the four 2011-2012 GUSA presidential candidates and their running mates.

By February 24, 2011

News

ANC criticizes Campus Plan, proposes enrollment cap

As the D.C. Office of Planning prepares its report on Georgetown’s 2010 Campus Plan for the city’s Zoning Commission, Georgetown’s Advisory Neighborhood Council has put forward a draft of its own positions to be considered at next Monday’s ANC meeting.

By February 24, 2011