Archive

Arty Dreamy Movies

If you’re looking for a dose of cinematic pretension (we all get that itch sometimes), Andrea Simon’s 1989 short film, The Happiness of Still Life, will take care of all your needs. The movie, which is running in the National Gallery’s Spring Film Program in 16 mm format, is a study of Austria’s Biedermeier culture of the mid 1800s—a lapse into middle class ecstasy characterized by pretty furniture and domestic bliss. While the film itself isn’t necessarily pretentious, if you leave the theater thinking you completely understood it, you probably are.

By Katherine Norton April 24, 2008

High Times with Mr. Doug Benson

There is exactly one difference between comedian Doug Benson’s documentary Super High Me and Morgan Spurlock’s much lauded Super Size Me: marijuana. Benson, who was dubbed “Stoner of the Year” by High Times Magazine in 2006, uses himself as a guinea pig to examine the physical and mental effects of smoking pot non-stop for thirty days. The end result is both an entertaining parody of Super Size Me by a stoned comedian, and a meaningful documentary, thanks to the well-focused effort of the production crew as they confront many of the societal issues regarding marijuana.

By Eliott Grover April 24, 2008

Just forget it, Sarah Marshall. Superbad was funnier.

Producer Judd Apatow has created a perverse (yet strangely endearing) Holy Trinity of contemporary comedy in the last few years: The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Superbad. And this machine just keeps spitting out more, with Drillbit Taylor and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story as the most recent (and worst performing) of the bunch. His latest film, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, has its charms, and certainly tries to engage in an honest examination of relationships, like the best of Apatow’s films. But unlike, say, Knocked Up, the laughs feel cheap, and so does its exploitation of the audience’s emotions.

By Jeff Reger April 24, 2008

Fountains, belly dancers, and finger food, oh my!

Whether it’s a drive-in, a draft house, or a serenading mariachi band, the elusive combination of food and entertainment is dying out. Dupont Circle haunt Marrakesh, though, masters the art of bringing entertainment straight to the dinner table by pairing hypnotizing belly dancers with delectable Moroccan cuisine.

By Vivian Chen April 24, 2008

Voices

Primaries a primary lesson

As our plates steadily emptied of their honey-baked ham and sweet potato pudding last Christmas, I suddenly realized my family had nearly exhausted our usual yuletide conversation topics (including plans for escaping the grimy winter months ahead through trips to Pennsylvania’s version of the Riviera—Florida) and was headed directly for that reliably disastrous discussion topic: politics.

By Sara Carothers April 24, 2008

Drinking the Derby

The Triple Crown is considered one of the greatest sporting events on earth. Man and beast labor as one, sweating and straining to reach the finish line; everyone else hangs out at the bar, showing off their large hats and signet rings. Ponies and potent potables have always gone hand in hand, and though this weekend’s Busch-soaked festivities at Foxfields may give the casual observer the impression that horse-racing aficionados are nothing more than meatheads marauding in madras, the average adult libation at a racetrack is as refreshingly spirited as the fillies galloping around it.

By admin April 24, 2008

Voices

Collecting homes in Cairo

In the last nine months, I have shuttled between Cairo, Dublin, Vienna, and Haifa. I’ve climbed Mt. Sinai, danced in an Irish ceilidh, been force-fed schnitzel by my Austrian family, played billiards with Bedouins in Jordan, and wandered through Jerusalem at night.

I haven’t been back to Portland, but somehow home has found me anyway.

By Simone Popperl April 24, 2008

Epicurean opens, finally

Worth the wait? Epicurean & Co. Restaurant officially opened its doors to the public yesterday, serving free food throughout the day. From 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Epicurean, which has... Read more

By admin April 24, 2008

Georgetown students making art: Senior Studio Art Majors Group Exhibition

Looking for an art exhibit to check out during study days? Art lovers and the broke alike should find just what they’re looking for in the Class of 2008 Senior Studio Art Majors’ Group Exhibition held in Gallery 101 in Walsh. From drawings and paintings to photography and pop art, there’s something for everyone, as the styles, perspectives, and forms are more diverse than Georgetown itself.

By Vivian Chen April 24, 2008

Page 13 Cartoons

Play honest, not nice

It would be much more helpful for all of us if our papers left those classrooms in shards. Instead, it seems like the barrier to raising your hand is having some point of praise to help the criticism go down easier. At twenty-one, I’d rather leave this Mary Poppins treatment behind; in a writing class for upperclassmen, criticism is neither rude nor unnecessary. Even good writers sweat out bad pieces, and I hope they’d like to know it when they do. The decision we make everyday in those classrooms is to value politeness over honesty, and it leaves us victims as much as perpetrators.

By Mike Stewart April 24, 2008

Saxa Politica: Sexy, not Dowd-y

I’ll admit that, upon first hearing about GUSA President Pat Dowd’s (SFS ‘09) ambitious $40,000 Summer Fellows program, which would give 20 students free summer housing so that they could pursue unpaid internships that would be otherwise unavailable, I was skeptical. Given the interminable amount of time it takes most collaborative initiatives at Georgetown to get off the ground—former GUSA President Ben Shaw (COL ‘08) spent almost a year trying to get free newspapers on campus—the apparent ease with which Dowd and Vice President James Kelly (COL ‘09) were approved for funding (on April 14) and released a GUSA Summer Fellows application (April 15) was both surprising and commendable. The feat, however, would have been impossible without the cooperation of the GUSA Senate.

By Kate Mays April 24, 2008

NEWS HIT: Fine time

With the May 1 deadline for taxicabs to switch from zones to meters approaching, a District of Columbia court ruled on Monday against cab drivers who challenged the legality of the switch.

By John Cooke April 24, 2008

Next stop: Georgetown?

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Board of directors will discuss the possibility of building a new Metro line with a station in Georgetown at their meeting today. The proposed line would link Georgetown, Rosslyn, and parts of downtown and Northeast D.C, according to the Examiner.

By John Cooke April 24, 2008

GUSA and SAC clash over Club Fund

In the wake of criticism of the Student Activities Commission’s new funding guidelines, the Georgetown University Student Association will try to start a fund to allocate money to student groups independent of SAC. The “Fund of Second Resort,” which GUSA’s Funding Board will vote on this Monday, is designed to provide money to clubs who propose major events mid-year, after SAC, which funds most clubs and activities on campus, has approved its annual budget.

By Molly Redden April 24, 2008

Working group proposes alcohol policy revisions

After two semesters of debate and six meetings, the Alcohol Policy Working Group has unanimously approved five recommendations regarding Georgetown’s alcohol policy. The recommendations, including an increased keg limit in certain residences and the removal of the prohibition against beer pong, will be formally announced to the Disciplinary Review Committee this afternoon.

By Alisha Crovetto April 24, 2008

Assault case closed

Prosecutors ended their seven-month-long investigation into September’s bias-related assault of a Georgetown student after determining they lacked the necessary evidence to prove that their prime suspect, Philip Cooney (MSB ’10), committed the crime.

By Tim Fernholz April 24, 2008

Editorials

The death penalty is dead wrong

For a few sweet months this year, the U.S. stood in solidarity with every other industrialized nation in the world. That all came to an end last week when the Supreme Court ruled in Baze v. Rees that the current method of lethal injection does not violate the Eighth Amendment as a form of cruel and unusual punishment, ending the U.S.’s de facto moratorium on the death penalty that had been in place while the case was tried.

By the Editorial Board April 24, 2008

Editorials

Take a SmartBike, leave a SmartBike

D.C. may never be the chic fashion capital that Paris is, but the District will soon adopt one fashionable transportation trend from the city of love. This spring, D.C. will launch the first state-side high-tech public bicycle sharing program, SmartBike, sponsored by Clear Channel Outdoor and the District Department of Transportation. Modeled after similar systems in Paris and other European cities, SmartBike will offer D.C. residents a convenient option for traveling shorter distances and represents a commendable commitment to pollution-free transportation.

By the Editorial Board April 24, 2008

Editorials

Leo’s Diner, wherefore art thou?

A change is gonna come to Leo’s next fall. Or at least, that’s what Georgetown administrators have promised, which is to say, it’s far from certain. A press release from last June promised a vast overhaul to Leo O’Donovan Dining Hall including as many themed mini-restaurants—with names like Barracas Italian Bistro, the Rolling Pin Coffee House, and Leo’s Diner—as could fit in a single building.

By the Editorial Board April 24, 2008

Hoyas vs. Scarlet Knights

When a team finds itself ranked fifth in the nation in any collegiate sport, it’s usually not a question of whether or not they will reach the post-season; it’s how far they will go. The Georgetown men’s lacrosse team currently sits at fifth place in the USILA Coaches Poll, but for head coach Dave Urick, any complacency is unacceptable.

By Anthony Francavilla April 24, 2008

Dan Capeless

Sophomore Dan Capeless’ outstanding performance in the Hoyas’ final game against Big East leader Cincinnati was perfectly timed. The first baseman’s three doubles helped end Georgetown’s eight game Big East losing streak with an 8-5 win.

By Liz Kuebler April 24, 2008

The Sports Sermon

Union of European Football Associations Champion’s League games are the soccer fan’s gold. For a few weeks out of the year, the obligatory perusal of television’s daytime doldrums brings the welcome surprise of the world’s greenest pitches and greatest players. The soccer-loving minority in this country has beaten the argument over the sport’s relevance in the States to death, and although I am not ready to concede to the country’s soccer apathy, I have a less conventional argument in mind.

By Anthony Francavilla April 24, 2008

Hoyas add on the wins

The Georgetown softball team gave the Coppin State Eagles a two-part thrashing on Tuesday at Guy Mason Field. Thirty-two runs were scored in the double-header, all by the Hoyas, and each game was called on the mercy rule after the fifth inning as Georgetown sent the Eagles packing with 12-0 and 20-0 victories.

By Joseph Richmond April 24, 2008