Most Americans now spend more time with their computers than with their spouses, according to a recent survey conducted by Kelton Research. As your 17-inch flat-panel LCD monitor hogs more and more of your face time, you might as well get comfortable. Luckily, merchandising and accessorizing is what Silicon Valley does best. So that you aren't deceived by subpar gizmos, Silver Chips has compiled a guide to the finest frivolities of the electronic world.
More Blair and MCPS students are taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams and are scoring higher than state and national averages, according to data released by the College Board this year.
In 2004, MCPS created the Downcounty Consortium (DCC) in order to offer students various academy programs based on students' interests and to "bring real-world relevance to students' education," according to the MCPS web site. Students in any of the DCC feeder schools can now choose which high school to enroll in. The DCC's effects on Blair's demographics reveal its limited success in achieving this goal.
Cheating happens. Whether it is the renowned historian stealing research from his graduate students for his bestselling books or the high schooler trying to get ahead in his or her Honors English class, plagiarism has increased drastically due to the availability of free information on the Internet. In 1999, 10 percent of students admitted to copying information from the Internet without attribution, according to a Duke University study. In 2005, the number had skyrocketed to 37 percent.
Everyone thought Kevin Costner was done. Now 51 years old, he cannot pretend to be Robin Hood, Tin Cup or Ray from "Field of Dreams" anymore. He is no longer the stud with rugged good looks, but he is still an amazing actor. And just like his character Ben Randall passes the torch of the Coast Guard rescue swimmer to his protégé Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher), Costner has passed the torch of silver screen stardom to Kutcher in "The Guardian," a film that shows both subtle character development and intense action.
In 2004, four Blair athletes failed breathalyzer tests at the Homecoming dance. At a time when Montgomery County was experiencing a spike in teen drunk driving deaths, Principal Phillip Gainous decided that the 45-day athletic suspension, mandated in the drug and alcohol contract that the students signed, would not set a strong enough example for the Blair community. Instead, he barred the students from participating in athletics for the entire school year.
County Council members introduced a bill on March 28 calling for a $1 million spending increase in rent subsidies and medical programs to combat rising homelessness in Montgomery County.
County Council members are calling for more oversight of the MCPS budget in response to controversy over the relocation of Seven Locks Elementary School.
Lil' Jon making a toast at a wedding reception has propelled the art form of parody into Dante's Ninth Circle of Hell. Sadly, this scene was the high-point for "Date Movie," a film that could easily have been made by a lobotomized monkey with a pair of scissors, glue and film reels from Hollywood's last 70 romantic comedies.
The foundation of "The Ringer" was almost enough to encourage the audience to leave after the previews. But between the blatant stereotyping and clichéd love story, the Farrelly brothers manage to pull off yet another politically incorrect premise and make it a sentimental sensation. While the film generally lacks the crass, South Park-esque humor that one expects from the notorious producers of "Shallow Hal" and "Stuck on You," it is impossible not to feel awe and admiration for the Special Olympians working side-by-side with professional actors.
Chava is a little boy growing up in a world of machine guns and hand grenades. He lives in a leaky house made of corrugated iron and watches his friends being recruited into the army or joining the peasant guerrilla group Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN). Chava is fast approaching his 12th birthday, the age at which boys are forcibly recruited to the army, and his life hangs in the balance between his family and the army of his country, El Salvador.
When Caroline Kuttner, a 2004 Blair graduate and current sophomore at Tulane University, grabbed a backpack full of clothes and road-tripped to Houston with a few friends on her school's orders, she thought it was just a precautionary measure for Hurricane Katrina. "We get evacuated at least every other year because of threats from hurricanes," she explains. "No one thought that this was any different."
Andrew Bujalski's directorial debut brought an easy world of free love and free beer into a light that reflects raw emotion and simplicity. "Funny Ha Ha" is a snapshot of the life of Marnie (Kate Dollenmayer), a Bostonian who is looking for a permanent job and a real love. She is depressed with the way her life revolves around drinking and partying, but does not know what to do instead.