Silver Tower, that unfortunate-looking complex South of Bobst, has officially been landmarked, making NYU's desire to add a fourth building to the complex pretty difficult to accomplish. Neighborhood preservationists have been ...
This week’s Homecoming festivities are the latest misguided attempt to traditionalize our untraditional school. There’s a basketball game, carnival, a dance, and by the end of this week, we’ll have a new Homecoming King and Queen! The celebration started on Monday and the good stuff happens this weekend, but it’s already Thursday and I still don’t understand exactly what we’re celebrating.
Is anybody else laughing about this? Continue…
Thursday, November 20, 2008 13:55 - by Henry Chan
Tired of NYU’s lack of campus community? Homecoming might be the spirited solution. Founded in 2006 by Lyle Matthew Kan, Homecoming transformed from a one night carnival to a full week of events from a Poker Tournament to an Alumni-Student Sunday Brunch.
In the past, Homecoming has faced some criticism. For one, the event used to exist solely as part of Fraternity and Sorority Life. According to the committee’s Office of Student Activities Advisor, Myoung Marquez, this year is the first year that they have applied to become an OSA Theme Week. In addition, Many students frequently argue that NYU isn’t suited for a homecoming celebration. “I get asked how we can have a homecoming with a football team a lot,” says Cara Jean Gourley, one of the week’s Co-Chairs. “It’s not about asking Alumni for more money. It’s not about having a sports team. It’s about having events where students can come out and meet other students.” Continue…
Thursday, November 20, 2008 13:50 - by Elizabeth Bohinc
Did you know that subway cars get crowded during rush hour? Fascinating! The New York Times doesn’t think we realized this, so they have spelled it out for us.
According to the article, “Transit guidelines call for a three-square-foot space for each passenger to stand; often, such space is unavailable.” If by “three square feet” they mean “within three inches of a smelly man playing guitar and a crying baby whose stroller is really too big for the subway and I don’t know how you carried it down the stairs,” then yes, there is plenty of room on the subway.
One of the proposed solutions is “the use of text messaging” and “email alerts” to let riders know about delays and service changes, which we can already check online anyway.
I think the best solution is to wait for even more people to get fired. Then there won’t be a rush hour at all! And we’ll all walk to Kmart to do our grocery shopping. Progress!
Photo: Flickr courtesy of golampo
Thursday, November 20, 2008 13:10 - by Josh BeckerI’m just gonna go ahead and save you the time of reading this whole post by giving you the question right here at the top. Yesterday, WSN columnist Daniel Levinsohn wrote, in total seriousness, “is it possible for Bush to redeem himself within the next 60 days?”
…….really? This was the topic of your article? Continue…
Thursday, November 20, 2008 12:54 - by Charlie Eisenhood
About a week ago the rumor started to circulate that Will Smith and Steven Spielberg would be working together to remake Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy. The internet has been ablaze with groans and pleading, but after sitting on this information and going back through YouTube clips from the film, I have to speak up. This must be stopped.
Spielberg’s Oldboy? Old news, you might say. Maybe I hoped this was all a bad dream. Maybe I was waiting for a statement from Smith refuting these dirty, ugly rumors. “Shit no,” he might say. “I may have starred in Hitch, but I know an untouchable classic when I see one.” We could all benefit from a little humility. Continue…
Thursday, November 20, 2008 11:27 - by Joe Coscarelli
Shortly after November 4th, Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman (pictured) announced his intention to challenge John Dingell for chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Now, it’s always an uphill climb to unseat and replace a sitting committee chairman, but in this particular case, Waxman now has a leg up; after hearing arguments from both Dingell and Waxman, the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee voted to endorse Waxman by a narrow margin.
Now it goes to the full caucus for a vote.
Continue…
An observational study conducted by the professors and students of Hunter College conclude that the cyclists of the city do not obey traffic rules. I’ll admit, I was surprised this study was even published, because though we all know that pedestrians get away with a lot on city streets (who hasn’t walked right out in front of a car when the light is green? I mean, it’s in our DNA, as adopted New Yorkers, to walk against the traffic laws!), the real risk-takers are the cyclists, whether if they are the casual biker or if they are messenger boys. Personally, I thought the point of getting a bike, besides the economical reasons, is to be KING OF THE ROAD!!!
Numerous sources reported today that former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle has accepted Barack Obama’s offer to lead the Health and Human Services agency. It is notable that Daschle will (allegedly) also be the health czar, giving him direct access to Obama’s ear. Additionally, the CNN article reports that Daschle will write the Obama administration’s health care plan. The announcement is receiving glowing praise from groups seeking to increase health care coverage. Continue…
Visionary director Spike Jonze recently sat down for an extended and revealing chat with “Moriarty” over at Ain’t It Cool News, focusing largely on the progress of his still-delayed, not-for-kids kids movie Where the Wild Things Are. A loose and reportedly creepy adaptation of the Maurice Sendak children’s book, Dave Eggers wrote the film’s script with some contributions from frequent Jonze collaborator Charlie Kaufman.
Going for what he calls an “organic” feel, Jonze opted to not use solely CGI characters for the Wild Things and will combine the digital effects with live action and animatronics. The movie will also feature voice work from James “Tony Soprano” Gandolfini and Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O is contributing the score. The result, according to early reviews of draft versions, is something wholly original and almost frightening—certainly not the children’s blockbuster the studio had in mind. In the interview, Jonze describes filming on a soundstage with the voice actors, likening the set-up to “’70s experimental theatre.” And so we wait. Continue…
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 12:12 - by Joe CoscarelliI’d like to follow-up on my post from Monday about Obama’s commitment to close Guantanamo and end the use of torture in interrogations. After being alerted about Obama’s Intelligence Community Review (ICR) leaders in the comments (thanks Tim), I am concerned that Obama might not keep his promise that he reaffirmed in the 60 Minutes interview: “I’ve said repeatedly that America doesn’t torture and I’m gonna make sure that we don’t torture.”
The two leaders of Obama’s ICR team are John Brennan and Judith “Jami” Miscik. Both are former CIA bigwigs: Brennan served from 1980-2005 in numerous positions and Miscik served from 1983-2005, notably as Deputy Director of Intelligence from 2002-2005. They are no doubt experienced, but do their policies show an aversion to torture and Bush-era tactics? Continue…
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 12:00 - by Charlie Eisenhood
