The recent passing of the sixtieth anniversary of the Holocaust on May 5 triggered a memory of something that Ben Stein - tycoon, former host of "Win Ben Stein's Money" and Blair class of '62 Chips editor-in-chief and graduate - said at American University last August, and that I watched on a C-SPAN DVD entitled "Can America Survive?" a couple of months ago. What Stein said, amid a myriad of other typically rich and Republican things to say (i.e. America is the greatest nation in existence, giving breaks to the wealthy does in fact help the rest of us, etc.), was that he did not like environmentalists. I'll re-phrase: Stein intimated that he despised environmentalists. He implied that environmentalists are the root of everything that is wrong with our society, that they may eventually even cause its downfall. What Stein did was to compare environmentalists to Hitler.
Directing "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" was really a lose-lose proposition. Let's say the director pulls off a decent, accurate job. Fans of the book nod their heads at each other appreciatively as they leave the theater, maybe smiling a little; some of them are even uttering startled "It was so good" or "It was way better than I expected"s. The mainstream Hollywood audience, on the other hand, scratches its collective head and wonders what it's missing. When it goes to read the book, it stumbles across the inevitable "The book was better" conclusion, and by that time the movie is an obscure memory, even among the fans. And of course, there's always the possibility that the movie just sucks.
American University's Bender Arena, despite its name, is, well, it's a basketball court. Patriots League banners hang around the entire perimeter, and on one side you can see the swimming pool from your seat. It is also a fairly nice place to hold a concert, what with its spacious floor and side-seating for wearier legs. Last night, the Arena traded basketball sweat and squeaks for those of the concert variety, in addition to the vague musty smell of dirt-trodden tarps that covered the floor. On the bill: rock/poppers The Format opening for the stuffed double bill of emo-punk behemoths Taking Back Sunday (who were, strangely, left off Ticketmaster info) and Jimmy Eat World.
If you listened really closely as you walked up the shallow concrete inclines toward the RFK Stadium ball field, you could hear the faint sound of tireless airhorns bleating in your imagination. It was hard, walking out into the open stadium air for the first time, to rid myself of the image of a soccer field with a comb-over, cleat-ripped grass neatly cut like an outfield with something to hide. The seats lacked that satisfying sproing when I stood up, as though the seats were already weary with the work of bearing some other burden. It struck me that the Nationals had not found a home so much as a leaky basement they could sleep in.
APRIL 13, BLAZER TENNIS COURTS The boys' tennis team lost its first match of the season to the talented Wootton Patriots in heart-breaking fashion: they beat themselves. Blair lost the match 4-3, falling to 3-1 on the season, on a pair of very winnable games.
Remember the leather-clad, failed-a-grade kid who put his feet up on the desk in detention and cut his nails with a rusty pocketknife? Or the kid who leaned against his Mercedes, beautiful cheerleader girlfriend on one arm and expensive imported beer dangling from the other? "Sin City" is the guy who beat those kids up, took their lunch money, then held them at arm's length while the former parties flailed about helplessly.
No really, guess. Go on. Oh all right: Does the name Kevin Rodney Sullivan mean anything to you? It shouldn't, really; his film credits are unsurprisingly thin. Sullivan's directorial genius has produced such timeless classics as "Barbershop 2: Back in Business" and "How Stella Got Her Groove Back." "Guess Who," Sullivan's remake of a 1967 movie clunkily titled "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," improves little more than the name on its way to poking fun at the same tired differences between black people and white people and, ultimately, embarrassing both factions.
Despite what conventional wisdom would have us believe, it isn't always a crime to judge a book, or CD, by its cover. Take, for example, the album cover for Eluvium's third CD, "Talk Amongst the Trees." Said cover depicts several human figures and a couple of maybe fenceposts consumed in a nearly blinding fog-snow. It is breathtaking and heavenly, much like the music encoded on the plastic disc inside.
The main reason director Francis Lawrence's "Constantine," an adaptation of the comic book series "Hellblazer," gets away with casting Hollywood's Most Overrated, Keanu Reeves, as its leading man, is the simple fact that Reeves plays a character that would be completely believable as his real-life persona. Could we see Reeves…chain smoking? Making dry yet knife-edged remarks about mental patients? Acting mildly misogynistic? I think so.
It's official: Will Smith can do anything. Quick addendum: Will Smith can do anything,assuming "anything” refers to playing cocky characters in highly entertaining films. Smith has always been good for a snarky line here, a goofy grin there. He doesn't disappoint in his romantic comedy debut, the light and witty "Hitch."
The recent rediscovery of the synthesizer had left me a bit confused. Synthesizers don't generally summon particularly good mental images, unless of course one is a fan of overly schmaltzy "Rocky"-endings or big-poofy-hair bands of the late 80's. When bands like The Killers and Motion City Soundtrack recently decided that is was time to dig up that particular grave, the results were less than stellar. The best tracks The Killers had to offer were relatively synth-free anyway (a la "Mr. Brightside,") and Motion City Soundtrack's whining casio-lines were more annoyingly catchy than musical. Neither band profited from the relic, and both suffered. But M83's sophomore release, "Before the Dawn Heals Us,” has absolved my doubt. M83 succeeds where others before them failed: namely, in making the synthesizer an addition to, not a subtraction from, the music, and masterful one at that. The soaringly, hauntingly, painfully, and at times creepily beautiful tracks on the French band's sophomore release are well worth their weight in any arbitrary precious metal, as well as $17.99 or a couple months of grating "Somebody Told Me" choruses.
Recently, we've been hearing a lot of talk about the possibility of Terrell Owens playing in the Super Bowl. This had a lot of people excited. "With Terrell Owens in the game, the Eagles actually stand a chance!" exclaims one camp. "With Terrell Owens in the game, the Patriots' secondary will prove once and for all that TO is an underrated show-off!" retorts the other. "With Terrell Owens in the game, I won't have to wear a ridiculous German get-up and thank a random part of my body for my success in the post-game interview!" says a grateful Freddie Mitchell. To all of this, I say: baloney. Not Oscar Meyer Bologna (that's high quality stuff), but baloney. These reasons, by themselves, may be good reasons to get excited for the return of TO, but they pale a ghostly and transparent white when compared to the real reason to watch TO play in the Super Bowl, and that reason is: I've used up my allotted space for this paragraph, and will have to make the shocking revelation at the beginning of the next one!
Writer Nick Falgout picks the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl this year and here's why...
To all outward appearances, "Worlds Apart," the fourth release for indie punk-rockers …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead and second on major label Interscope, is vintage Trail of Dead material. The CD case and lyrics booklet are covered in singer Conrad Keely's scrawled calligraphy and eerie artwork. Despite its backing choir, the first track, "Ode to Isis," sounds fairly typical of the Austin, Texas rockers, who like throwing instrumental interludes around like some miniature version of Explosions in the Sky. The song even ends with the muttered "And you will know us by the trail of dead" that marked the beginning of the band's 2000 masterpiece, "Madonna."
Many of Blair's 1,350 computers experienced problems today, Jan. 27 during period 5B.
Silver Chips Online breaks down the conference championships.
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It's not that the newest Tony Hawk game is bad, per se. It's just that there's not a single drop of new or original gameplay to be found anywhere.
Spirits were high this afternoon as the Blair girls' volleyball team kicked off their last game of the season against the Paint Branch Panthers. Blair opened strong in its first game but fizzled as the match went on. The tired Blazers put their season to rest this afternoon, losing their final game to the Panthers 20-25, 9-25 and 16-25
NOV. 3, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM – Spirits were high this afternoon as the Blair girls' volleyball team kicked off their last game of the season against the Paint Branch Panthers. Following a brief pre-game ceremony honoring Blair's six graduating senior players, the team came on strong, and the first game was so close the players could taste it like the chocolate they had received from Coach Anne Garrison. But the first game slipped away quicker than the daylight outside lost to the Sunday night crossover, and Blair could not battle back. With tired eyes, tired minds, and tired souls, the Blazers put their season to rest this afternoon, losing their final home game to the Paint Branch Panthers 20-25, 9-25, and 16-25.
Oct. 25, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM – The Blair varsity girls' volleyball team attempted to put a terrible first game, a seven-game losing streak, and an increasingly lackluster season behind them today in an effort to salvage a very winnable match against the Sherwood Warriors. Finding their groove in the second game and entering the third like a well-oiled winning machine, Blair fell just below the threshold both times, losing in straight games 9-25, 19-25 and 24-26.
I want you all to do me a huge favor. I want you to halt the wild celebration for a few milliseconds and pretend that the Red Sox hadn't just won the American League Championship Series in Game Seven, having been down three games to none. I want you to pretend that, instead of the Red Sox being up 8-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning with no outs; they were up, say, 3-1. Maybe 4-1, 5-1 max, but you get the picture. What thoughts are running through your head as Pedro Martinez takes the field at the top of the sixth inning instead of Derek Lowe, who's thrown a mere 69 pitches on three days' rest and has a one-hitter going? How about as the Yankees
OCT. 19, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM – On a dark Tuesday evening, as it drizzled drearily outside of Blair's gymnasium, it was the Gaithersburg Trojans who ended up leaving the varsity girls' volleyball team with dampened spirits. The Trojans' three-game victory (25-19, 25-8, 25-12) over the Blazers was Blair's sixth straight loss, bringing their record to a dismal 1-9.
Like an actual cake in all of its frosted glory, the pastry-related headline was awfully hard to resist when it came time to title this review. My sincerest apologies.Cake's newest release, Pressure Chief, is a testament to the band's surprising and unfaltering longevity, as well as the ability of a band to sound the same album after blissful album, despite numerous line-up changes. The strategy of Cake seems to be roughly this: stare boredly at various musical trends, fold arms across chests. Then, every two years or so, grab the guitars and trumpet, churn out another catchy if formulaic album. Rinse, lather and repeat.
OCT. 6, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM--Blair's gym attained an almost dream-like quality this afternoon as Blair's varsity girls' volleyball team lost for the third time in three matches, in straight sets (25-13, 25-19, 25-17) to the Wooton Patriots. The squeaking of shoes against the gym floor, the erratic cheers of the scattered fans, the organized cheers of the Patriots after each ace – all of it felt muted, subdued. The Blazers fell to 1-6, and were left once again to contemplate what turn of events had led them to defeat.
SEPT. 28, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM--The Whitman Vikings stormed into Blair on a rainy afternoon and handed the Blair girls' volleyball team its second straight loss, winning in straight sets, 25-14, 25-17, and 25-17. It was the Blazers' fifth loss this season, all of them in straight sets.
The Ravens swapped rivals, left tackles and then the game result Sunday afternoon, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, 30-13. The win came at a pivotal time for the Ravens, who lost last week in Cleveland and could have started the season 0-2 for the first time since 1999.
As a public service to New York Giants players across the globe, I have compiled a short list of: Ways Not to Get Fined by Your New Coach, Tom Coughlin
Last season, Jamal Lewis rushed for almost 500 yards in two games against the Cleveland Browns. At the rate he established Sunday afternoon, he'll need at least nine to even come close.
On August 17, 2004, a minor miracle occurred: Paul Hamm, an American gymnast, won the gold medal in the men's all-around competition at the summer Olympics. He was the first American to ever accomplish the feat and did so despite falling on his vault landing. However, his gold medal has been tainted, as is the tendency of gold medals won in competitions that are subject to human judgment. Yang Tae Young, the bronze medalist from South Korea, apparently had a tenth of a point unfairly deducted from his parallel bars routine, a tenth of a point that would have been enough for him to overtake Hamm for the gold medal.
Yup, it's about that time again. Time to sit back, look contemplative and then go to sleep. I mean, recap what I (and, as an extension, we) learned from the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.In no particular order…
There have been brighter days for the NHL. Talk about understatement.With a lockout looming (and probable), a bad public rep as a
Few debates in the world of sports have rung as eternal as the debate over the role of high-school and college athletes in professional sports. Sure, people can go back and forth on how to remove steroids from sports, the benefits of revenue sharing or the enormous salaries of athletes. But the debate about high-school and college athletes is the hottest, probably most controversial one of them all. And with a lawsuit brought against the NFL by two college football players, it certainly ranks among the most current.
Phyllis Cohen, the lead teacher of the Media Literacy Academy to be introduced at Blair next year, will be leaving Blair after one year for personal reasons.
Senior Elena Chung, the Productions Manager for Silver Chips was awarded a scholarship for her winning entry in The Washington Post's High School Writing Seminar Contest.
On Thursday, March 25, the Senate voted to make the killing of a fetus during the commission of a violent crime a separate federal offense in and of itself. Bush signed it into law in the following days, much to the chagrin of women's and pro-choice groups nationwide. Supporters of the bill claim the law seeks only to punish criminals; pro-choice advocates believe the law to be the herald of an abortion-rights apocalypse. The truth is somewhere in between; while the legislation sets Congress up for a possible pass at Roe v. Wade, the bill in and of itself is not unreasonable, and certainly not worth the one and a half million protestors that lined the streets of DC last Saturday.
The ICC, a road slated to run from Gaithersburg to Laurel, will face a crucial vote today by an important regional board, according to The Washington Post.
According to The Washington Post, a recent study has shown that children are safer but less healthy and successful in school than in past years. The study, led by researcher Kenneth C. Land, is the first of its kind, according to the Post.
Maryland may have just won the ACC Championship against archrival and perennial powerhouse Duke, but that won't be their focal point come tomorrow. Rather, the Terps will be focused on the calendar and on the brackets of the NCAA Tournament, where they are a four seed in the Phoenix region. The road to the Final Four is a rough one, but could see Maryland return to its glory days of only two years ago.
As I type this line, the Caps have just traded owner Ted Leonsis for a six pack of diet coke and two rolls of hockey tape.
Imagine life as a CD case: from creation to destruction, you are little more than the plastic barrier between a kid and his brand-new CD. Besides being cast aside, broken or lost, you are always alone. The source of your loneliness may vary, but the result is a constant. Maybe you house a crappy, arrogant CD and are destined to sit in the obscure shelves of an obscure electronics store collecting dust. Or maybe you house the Lostprophets' new CD, in which case you will simply never see your buddy the CD because it will never leave the CD player ever. Sorry about that.
Reading the back of Smile Empty Soul's first and self-titled CD is kind of like braving the depths of a goth's livejournal. Song titles like
The story of a one Alex Rodriguez is a story filled with heartbreak, and with triumph. It is a story of pain and immeasurable suffering; of conquest, and of… who am I trying to kid? It's a story of greed. And whining. And corruption, and wearing white after labor day. And now, it's the latest chapter in the bitter Bible of baseball history. This is David and Goliath stuff. Except with two Goliaths.
Super Bowl XXXVIII is upon us. On Feb 1, 2004, the Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots will clash in Houston for the rights to this year's Super Bowl ring. This year's game promises to be physical, hard-fought and down-to-the-wire; all good qualities for the most exciting sports event of the year.
Yes, almighty Joe Gibbs is coming back; try to keep the fanfare to a minimum. It would be hard for you to not know that God is returning to Earth, unless you live under a rock and have missed three consecutive front page Post stories and several two-hour news conferences and the limo parade in downtown DC. The overwhelming message is clear: Gibbs is back! The Redskins are saved!
It's that time of year again: NFL playoffs time, and you know what that means. Some pompous, professional journalist is going to write some column about who he thinks is going to win the Super Bowl and why he is undeniably right.
By now many of you have heard the news: the fine football team of the University of Southern California will not play for the national title game of college football. Instead, the LSU Tigers will square off against the suddenly ostracized Oklahoma Sooners in the Sugar Bowl, for the big prize; while USC plays Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Despite the fact that USC finished in first place (and Oklahoma in third) in the coaches' poll and associated press poll. So how did this happen?
The Maryland Scholastic Press Association awarded The Churchill Observer, Churchill High School's student newspaper, with the annual Marylander award for schools with population over 1,200 students. Silver Chips, Blair's newspaper, finished in as the first place runner-up behind the Observer and also won 50 other MSPA awards.
The code blue and red drills conducted to prepare students for emergency situations that took place on Tuesday, November 18 were an overall success, according to the Blair administration.
Hearts fluttered and thumbs hit remote control power buttons angrily in Ravens' households on Sunday, November 16 as Miami Dolphins' kicker Olindo Mare's 43-yard field goal sailed true to beat the Ravens, 9-6, in overtime.
There's something about a good movie, something that knots inside your stomach, tingles down your spine and fills you with a euphoria that is indefinable with tools as useless as words. That something is satisfaction. But The Matrix: Revolutions doesn't just stop at satisfying and pat itself on the back. Instead, it delivers enough action, emotion and meaning to vault past goodness into the rarely visited land of greatness.
The ice hockey club team will be left out of Blair's yearbook and pep rallies this school year in compliance with county policy that attempts to separate club sports from schools.
The Chicago Cubs lost game seven of the NLCS yesterday night to the upstart, underrated wrecking squad that is the Florida Marlins. The 9-6 loss makes it 59 years since the Chicago Cubs have been to the World Series; the
George Clooney is a good actor. Catherine Zeta-Jones is a good actress. Lawyer movies can be really, really funny (example: Jim Carrey's classic Liar Liar).
According to Washington Post reports, U.S. forces in Iraq will remain without international support after President Bush ended two days of talks with foreign leaders. Bush failed to garner troops necessary to relieve the overextended American soldiers.
What if I told you that you could skip senior year, without getting any unexcused absences or having to make up any work. Then what if I told you that this wonderful opportunity is as close to your lazy little fingertips as Florida?
A plan by the Federal Trade commission to allow Americans to prevent telemarketers from calling them was halted yesterday by a federal judge, the Washington Post reported.
Have you ever wanted to just kill someone? Because there are situations that some of us normal people like to call "justifiable homicides” (for example, when that guy sitting next to you in the movie theatre talks on his cell phone through the entire film), where killing the person in question would be a service not only to you, but to all of humanity.
The music industry, if you think about it, is kind of like one big high school hierarchy. The popular jock and cheerleader roles are filled by the likes of the BackSyncKids and Britney Aguilera. (Pardon my clichés.) The tier-two cool kids are played by Good Charlotte, The Ataris, Linkin Park and their kin. Bands like Slipknot, System of a Down, and Cold make good angry kids who wear only black to be "different.” I'm not going to touch rap, country, or any other genre of music because a) I know nothing about those genres, and b) This metaphor is quickly losing its cleverness.
Make no mistake: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is definitely and ultimately a 2-hour excuse to fire lots of movie-prop guns, bleed lots of movie-fake blood, and flex lots of special-effects enhanced muscle. Pick an action movie cliché at random, and this movie probably has it in spades. But the premise is just so darn cool.