College OTR

LeRoi Moore of Dave Mathews Band Dies at 46

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:11:49 EDT

LeRoi Moore--one of the three founding members of the Dave Mathews Band-- died in Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in LA. Moore suffered injuries during an ATV accident in June. He was discharged; however, on July 17th, he returned to the hospital due to complications from aforementioned accident. He passed away on August 19th.

You may not remember this guy, because you were probably black out before he even graced the stage, but if you were lucky enough to survive the six games of pong and the many impromptu games of flip-cup, and assuming you actually went into the concert rather than simply going to the “Dave Lot” a.k.a. the parking lot tailgate, you'll remember that this guy could play the fuck out of a saxophone.

Moore studied music at James Madison University, but he dropped out before graduation to perform in a number of bands, one of which ended up being what frat boys now know everywhere as "Dave." For those of you not on a first name basis with Mr. Mathews, that's the Dave Mathews Band.

Jessica Simpson Endorses Vitamin Beer

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:04:55 EDT

Jessica Simpson is the new face of Dallas Stampede Light Plus beer. And luckily, the more beer people drink, the better her face will look!

This beer is no ordinary beer though… it’s packed with vitamins. That has to be an idea dreamed up in a college dorm room somewhere.

You know the beer’s got to be good, though, since Simpson only endorses the best – namely zit cream and hair extensions. The Envelope, a Los Angeles Times entertainment blog, explains the deal:

The beer gig is not all suds and glamour. Simpson also has received a reported 15% stake in the brewing company.

"She's the face of the brand now," Lawrence Schwartz, Stampede Brewing Co. president/CEO, said in the Dallas Morning News.

Stampede's intriguing marketing will focus on the brew's vitamin content, cleverly referred to as "functional additives." Wow. What's in there, Viagra?

Viagra in beer??? Now that’s a fun and functional idea college students could really use!

Hot College Grad: Carli Lloyd

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:51:04 EDT

Across the scoreboard, Americans seem to dominating at the Beijing Olympic games. Ranging from Michael Phelps' superhuman record-breaking 584,683,785 gold medals (j/k - it was 8) to the nation's favorite US Gymnastics gold metalist Shawn Johnson, the US continues to rack `em up and soccer is no exception.

Carli Lloyd has just kicked the US women’s soccer team into an Olympic gold medal. The US and Brazil had played an intensely heated tied game until finally heading into a 30-minute tiebreaker round.

The overtime came in ~~handy~~ footy as the Rutgers alumna and New Jersey native Lloyd kicked the game’s first and last goal earning them victory in the game against Brazil. Both teams continued to play their best until the clock stopped making the US soccer team gold medalists.

This US soccer superstar graduated Rutgers in 2004 with a BS in exercise science and sports studies. She spent her college career playing midfielder on the university’s soccer team and was named the 2004 Big East Midfielder of the Year.

Lloyd went on to become a member of four Nordic Cup Championship Teams and joined the US team in 2004 and was later named MVP and awarded a laundry list of titles.

So outta the way, Phelpsie! It's time to hand over the torch to Carli Lloyd for she will carry it proudly!

Not So Hot For Teacher

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:55:49 EDT

In the mid 80’s, Van Halen’s Hot For Teacher became an anthem for pubescent teen boys with wet dreams of sexing up their hot teachers. Unfortunately doing the nasty with your teacher isn't so hot.

Beth Ann Chester, a 27-year-old teacher at a Pennsylvania high school, has just been sentenced to 1 and a half to 3 years in prison for having sex with a 14-year-old student. The prison sentence was part of a plea bargain that was much more forgiving than 22 years she would have faced had she pleaded not guilty.

Chester had resigned from her position in December 2007 after the parents of the student confronted her and asked her to resign. Although the family refused to involve the authorities in the matter, Chester told a colleague about her reasons for resigning, the colleague quickly reported her to district officials.

After Chester’s arrest in January, the boy’s family thought they had rid themselves of the creepy teacher until…

"Deputy District Attorney Laura Ditka stated that the student's parents were agreeable to a light sentence until they discovered that Chester had contacted their son again in March after she had been arrested and told to stay away from the boy. A judge subsequently placed her under house arrest."

Upon Chester's release from prison and as part of her plea bargain she is not allowed to teach, own a cell phone or have Internet access. That'll teach the teacher not to pass dirty notes in class.

Katy Perry Hates Her Parents & the Gays

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:06:51 EDT

Everyone’s favorite chart-topping pseudo lesbian Katy Perry is fighting off the clergy, her family and even the gays – that’s certainly no easy task!

Perry’s hit song, I Kissed A Girl left her conservative Christian parents reaching for the Bible so they’d have something to smack her with. Mary Hudson, Perry’s mother, was reported as describing I Kissed A Girl as "shameful and disgusted” and even admitted that she was “disappointed” in Katy for “promoting homosexuality.”

Perry denies the rumors that her parents hate her but with comments as damaging as those, it sounds like Perry’s parents won’t be taking her drunk ass home after a night of tasting cherry chapstick.

The gay community is also enraged by another one of Perry’s songs. Although she may have portrayed a lesbian in one song, she actively hates on the gays in her first single, Ur So Gay. The lyrics of the ideal name calling breakup song have been labeled hateful and homophobic...

I hope you hang yourself with your H&M scarf

While jacking off listening to Mozart

You bitch and moan about LA

Wishing you were in the rain reading Hemingway

You don’t eat meat

And drive electrical cars

You’re so indie rock it’s almost an art

You need SPF 45 just to stay alive

Perry continues to fight off claims that Ur So Gay was intended as homophobic and defends her lyrics by saying, "I think gay people have a wonderful sense of humour,” she said. “I think they'll get it and embrace it. It's an anthem for power of the people - for females, gays, exes, anybody who's been broken up with that wants to get over a guy."

So while Perry's parents are praying for her salvation, the Gay community will NOT be embracing her loathing lyrics.

Life in the Bike Lane

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:56:02 EDT

By 6 o'clock on Wednesday evening, the parking lot shared by Bed-Stuy's New Testament Church of God and the 123 Community Space looks like a junkyard. Wheels, cranksets, frames, tools, and chains are strewn in piles over about twenty parking spaces. Several bicycles stand upside down as nine-year-olds wielding wrenches work out their kinks. A few teenagers help the younger kids balance their bikes while they finish up.

A handful of kids enrolled in this free summer bike repair workshop are still hard at work when the Church lets out a few minutes later. This summer at the 123 Community Space, a collectively operated community organization just over a year old, they have learned how to repair salvaged and donated bikes and to build new bikes out of old parts. Their summer program is operated under the auspices of the Freegan Bike Workshop.

Wesleyan alum Quinn Hechtkopf '06 has worked with the Freegan Bike Workshop for two years. Ze began volunteering when the Bike Workshop was based in Manhattan and assisted with the move to its current location, in the basement of the 123 Community Space in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. This summer he has organized and supervised a free summer program bike repair for young people in the neighborhood. Kids enrolled in his 8-week class learn about every aspect of bicycle repair and maintenance.

Quinn, who has helped coordinate the Bike Workshop for a year, started the program in June with a grant from the Concerned Citizens Council of New York. "The kids get to keep all of their tools and they'll be able to volunteer with the Freegan Bike Workshop once the school year starts," Quinn says proudly, while testing a set of new brakes that LaToya has just installed. "These need some tightening up, but you did a great job overall," ze tells her with a big smile. She laughs as ze struggles to break. Quinn waves at people exiting the Church. A few church members walk over to pick up their kids and converse with him. “Y’all are making a wonderful mess over there!" the Pastor shouts above the crowd of chatting congregationalists. “Thank you!” Quinn hollers back.

Quinn hopes to see the free summer bike repair program continue in the future with the support of both outside funders and fund raisers held at the 123 Community Space and related organizations. Hir house and community venue at 15 Thames Street in the Bushwick/E.Williamsburg area of Brooklyn (just off the Morgan Ave stop on the L train) hosts events such as the Freegan Fashion Show and dance parties to benefit the Freegan Bike Workshop. All funds from these events go directly into paying the rent for the Bike Workshop at the 123 Community Space.

The Freegan Bike Workshop has become an influential model for others seeking to start bicycling-related organizations. These organizations are typically involved in several areas, from direct service work and instruction to bicycle advocacy to amending local provisions related to bike lanes and safety. Many people seek out members of the Freegan Bike Workshop to ask questions about how it all works. Quinn recently hosted Cris Shirley, a current undergraduate student at Yale University, at the Freegan Bike Workshop to give hir a tour and provide useful information about the process of operating a volunteer-run shop. Cris has visited many bike workshops on the East Coast this summer to learn all ze can about starting and maintaining such an endeavor in New Haven. Cris received a grant to start the New Haven Bike Collective, which is now up-and-running and located at 235 Grand Ave. The new Collective’s mission statement is a thought provoking and inspiring blend of practical and prefigurative elements:

“The New Haven Bike Collective strives to help promote bicycles as a fun, safe, and accessible form of transportation in the Elm City and beyond. We are a volunteer-driven, not-for-profit organization that believes in bicycling as an effective and sustainable way to build a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. Our primary goals are to salvage and resurrect unwanted bikes, and offer them to our community through our earn-a-bike program. We provide a welcoming space to learn about safely building, maintaining, and riding bicycles. We are committed to being anti-racist, anti-sexist, class-conscious, as well as queer and gender-inclusive, and aim to actively work to oppose all forms of oppression. The New Haven Bike Collective endeavors to empower our community with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to transform New Haven into a premier bicycle-friendly city. We are always accepting donations of bikes, bike parts, labor, non-perishable food, and expertise.”

Quinn and the nomadic members of the Freegan Bike Workshop are excited about the prospect of both producing and influencing the next generation of bicyclers and volunteer-run bike shops. Quinn and many other recent grads of Wesleyan University also hope to see Wesleyan continue on the same path with the development of volunteer and student organized bike shops, collectives, events, and services in Middletown. Many organizers of the bike repair workshops springing up around the United States express similar dreams that their organizations will not only provide a needed service to their immediate communities, but will form part of a web of active, vibrant centers of bicycle culture.

*Gender neutral pronouns (ze, hir) have been used to denote the assumed gender queer identities of individuals mentioned in this article.
*Names of children under 18 have been changed to protect their privacy.

For More Information:

123 Community Space
http://123communityspace.org/

Freegan Bike Workshop
Freegan Bike Workshop - Every Wednesday & Saturday
Learn how to turn found bike parts into working bicycles & build your own bike. For more info call Quinn at (727) 424-2868. Workshops are Wed. from 6-9pm, and Sat. 2-7pm. At the 123 Community Space in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn at 123 Tompkins, G train to Myrtle-Willoughby. Media WILL be welcome on Wed. with appointment, but the Sat. workshops are media free.

New Haven Bike Collective
http://elmcitybikecollective.wetpaint.com/?t=anon

Listserv: NHBikeCollective@lists.riseup.net

Cornell Cinema Reopens Soon, Students Rejoice

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:18:42 EDT

The biggest perk of being a Cornell student – aside from, you know, getting an Ivy League education – is having access to inexpensive, oftentimes free, film screenings at the Cornell Cinema.

Sure – other Ivy League schools, like Columbia, have a theater too, but they don’t offer quite as many options as Cornell’s.

According to the Ithaca Journal, here are the films set to kick start the fall semester:

“Dr. Strangelove” — Playing Monday, Aug. 25 and Wednesday, Aug. 27.
“Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” — Sunday, Aug. 24 and Tuesday, Aug. 26.
“Breathless” — Wednesday, Aug. 27; Monday, Sept. 1; Tuesday, Sept. 2.
“Iron Man” — Thursday, Aug. 28; Friday, Aug. 29; Saturday, Aug. 30; Wednesday, Sept. 3; Friday, Sept. 5. Note: The Thursday showing is free.
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” — Friday, Aug. 28; Sunday, Aug. 30.
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” — Saturday, Aug. 30; Sunday, Aug. 31; Thursday, Sept. 4.
“Tropic Thunder” -- starts this week.

Impressive, especially Tropic Thunder, which received a glowing review on CollegeOTR.

Consider this a public service announcement, freshmen.

Enjoy your cheap movies while you can, because once you graduate, you'll be paying $12 like the rest of us.

Bob Bland is True Brooklyn Royalty

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:11:10 EDT

Tucked away on a narrow street in Williamsburg’s industrial section of Brooklyn is 3rd Ward - the home of Brooklyn Royalty. In a sea of sleeves and pant legs, stands Bob Bland pinning together a jacket in preparation for her upcoming September runway show.

Bob Bland, the founder and designer for Brooklyn Royalty, originally hails from Alexandria, Virginia – a metropolis bursting with structured architecture, Bland’s city roots highlight her pieces' structural urban flair.

Bland attended Thomas Jefferson High School For Science and Technology but with the high school’s rigorous curriculum of the sciences, there was no room for an art program. Bland started out small and quickly became a pioneering woman on the forefront of fashion at her high school campus. At the ripe age of 17, Bland put out her first 20-piece runway show at Thomas Jefferson. This one student’s love for fashion was foreign at her tech-based high school and her runway show gained her attention from all over the state.

A SCAD alum, Bland majored in fashion design and minored in art history. Through grants and scholarships, immense discipline and the need “to make it happen,” Bland earned a BFA in 3 short years. With experience at iconic American companies like Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren and Banana Republic, Bland became empowered to start up her own line. She moved to Brooklyn to pursue a solo career and fell madly in love with King’s County. “Brooklyn was so warm and the community was vibrant,” she reflects.

Since its two year establishment, Brooklyn Royalty has grown tremendously. Her one-woman operation has expanded to full-scale collections and even collaborations with fellow designers, artists and musicians. Still a self-sufficient woman, Bland continues to design, manage her blog and website and even handles all the marketing and advertising. She laughs as she explains that out of sheer necessity, she has learned to keep it together by staying disciplined, never procrastinating and not being intimidated by big tasks.

Bland's Spring 2009 collection Falling Off the Edge of the World, will debut this September during New York Fashion Week. To get a look at the Brooklyn Royalty line, check out the online store and be on the look out for more of this up and coming designer!

Ex-Dartmouth Coach Heads to Daniel Webster

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:45:41 EDT

According to the Union Leader, Dave Faucher, the former head coach of Dartmouth’s basketball team, is heading to Daniel Webster College in New Hampshire to coach their men’s team. In other words, the 59-year-old coach is going from the Ivy League to a no-name Division 3 team.

Talk about a major downgrade…

While the rumor has yet to be confirmed, Jeremy Currier, Webster’s previous head coach, resigned on Monday amidst rumors that Faucher, who left Dartmouth in 2004, had been tapped to replace him.

Actually, he didn’t leave Dartmouth; he was axed due to the team’s underperformance from 2000-2004.

His teams had a record of 136-208 over the next 13 years and Faucher was let go after the 2003-04 season. He led the Big Green to an 18-8 record in 1996-97. Dartmouth was 10-4 in the Ivy League that season, one of three seasons it reached that mark during his tenure.

And so, if you take these stats into consideration, maybe it’s not really a downgrade after all – at least, not for Faucher.

For Daniel Webster, on the other hand...

Ice Cream and Greene

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:01:14 EDT

Besides a shark and a futon-box-girl walking around the lively Clemson campus, there is another character that is interesting and provides great historical information along with his great costume: Samuel Greene. While getting the one free scoop provided by the school for the Welcome for Freshmen, Marsh Dean ran into who he thought was Ben Franklin, but was quickly corrected that he in fact was Samuel Greene. "George Washington was my boss..." he continually stated.

No one knows who this man really is but he informed us that he walks around campus in his free time and he really enjoys giving the younger people information they might not know about the past. This year is going to be interesting with anymore characters walking around like this... haha

Sigur Ros - "Inni mer syngur vitleysingur"

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:18:13 EDT

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/144812-video-sigur-rs-inn-mr-syngur-vitleysingur

Brand new Sigur Rós video! Gorgeous, as always.

Fred Phelps: Douche of the year?

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:12:33 EDT

The mystery of Michael Phelp's father has been solved!

Fred Phelps is the father of Olympian and American hero, Michael Phelps. He earned Douche of the year by successfully avoiding his son after his divorce to wife Deborah Phelps until Michael's wins at the 2004 Olympics.

"Oh hey Michael, congrats on the gold medals and sponsorship deals, remember me? Your father? Gimme a hug son!"

To add on to the douchebaggery, reports show that he has yet to congratulate his son on his performance in Beijing. Again, he has yet to congratulate his son for achieving eight gold medals in one Olympics, something no other Olympian has achieved in the history of history.

Good job Fred Phelps! I hope you are having fun being a retired Maryland state trooper and hating yourself for ditching your son. Actually I'm glad you did what you did because if you hadn't then maybe Michael Phelps would have turned out to be douche, having been raised by a douche, and not, as I have said before, an American hero and a perfect example of the American dream to achieve greatness.

For more info here is the link:

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/The-mystery-of-Michael-Phelps-missing-father?urn=oly,102215

BMX in Beijing

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:11:51 EDT

The Coolest Article Ever:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/sports/olympics/21bmx.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Asylum Spot-On With Hot Cartoon Castings

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:01:24 EDT

Ever wonder who would play those hot cartoon vixens in real life? Well, Asylum for All Mankind has matched up the animations with the celebrities, picking--surprisingly well--who should play who. For those too lazy to follow the link, here's the list:

Uma Thurman as Cheetara
Lindsay Lohan as Ariel
Christina Aguilera as Betty Boop
Rihanna as Valerie Brown of Josie and the ****cats
Rachel McAdams as Snow White
Hillary Duff as Tinkerbell
Catherine Zeta-Jones as Wonder Woman
Jessica Biel as She-Ra
Emmy Rossum as Belle
Hayden Panettiere as Smurfette
Jessica Alba as Betty Rubble
Elisha Cuthbert as Judy Jetson
Kim Kardashian as Jasmine
Ali Larter as Jem
Jessica Simpson as Hello Nurse
Megan Fox as Pocahontas
Scarlett Johansson as Jessica Rabbit

Eau de Cancer

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:12:27 EDT

As scientists discover more and more things that cause cancer (like lotion, for instance), at least efforts and progress is constantly being made to fight cancer. Researchers have identified an "odor profile" for skin cancer, and a simple, non-invasive test could be developed to diagnosed the most common forms of skin cancer.

A biopsy will no longer be the standard procedure for testing for cancer, and instead, the scent of a person's skin would be tested for the distinct combinations of volatile organic compounds (VOC) that indicates cancer.

Heavy Users to be Curbed

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:56:39 EDT

...Internet users, that is. Comcast will proceed with plans to slow down connection speed for "heaviest users". This is essentially a method to punish users of BitTorrent, and other P2P sharing programs that hog the bandwidth. Of course, this plan say nothing about targetting BitTorrent users, but I can think of very few people that also fit the profile.

It's time for the tech-savvy internet users to up their game and find new ways to break the law in the name of pirated mp3s and computer games.

Another Kennedy Running For Office?

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:55:14 EDT

Michael Moore, the angry liberal filmmaker is suggesting a socialite fill the shoes of Barack Obama’s VP nomination – but not just any socialite! Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former president John F. Kennedy, is the one few surviving Kennedys and now she is also a VP hopeful.

Maybe it is this Harvard grad’s will to live or her irrestible charm but Moore feels she is a shoe-in for the job. Moore expresses his feelings in a letter written to Kennedy:

"What Obama needs is a vice presidential candidate who is not a professional politician, but someone who is well-known and beloved by people across the political spectrum; someone who, like Obama, spoke out against the war; someone who has a good and generous heart, who will be cheered by the rest of the world; someone whom we've known and loved and admired all our lives and who has dedicated her life to public service and to the greater good for all," Moore writes in the letter published on his Web site.

"That person, Caroline, is you."

An avid supporter of Obama’s campaign and a Democrat, Kennedy joined Obama’s team back in June to help him find a VP – who knew such an attractive candidate was right under his nose!

Although Kennedy is just a whimsical possibility, she would definitely spice up the Democratic ballot.

Comcast Wants To Bang You

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:33:29 EDT

Much like middle-aged parents trying to relate to their teens, the folks at Comcast are trying to speak the slang. Instead of sprinkling their already existing advertisements with a few yo's and bro's, they are reinventing their marketing techniques and going with a more sexual approach.

Wanna Hook Up? has become the new slogan for the Boston-area Comcast advertisements in hopes that college students will relate to the cable company and feel compelled to hook up with Comcast and make the lucrative connection.

"These students are a significant segment of the economy and an important part of the business," says spokesman Jim Hughes. "We need to be creative to stand out to this important audience . . . to speak in a way that is relevant to them."

Hughes avoids talking about the obvious sexual come-hither. He helpfully explains that hooking up is all about connecting wires and cable boxes and "hooking up with friends and family by phone."

Nobody hooks up with family, Comcast - unless they're Mormons (in which case, you totally have the wrong audience) but kudos for trying to reach out to the college demographic.

Take Adderall and Shed Pounds

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:25:42 EDT

Adderall is best known as drug that treats the former kiddie cocaine Ritalin patients. The drug is typically prescribed to ADD or ADHD patients to help their concentration and still their racing minds. For years, Adderall has been sold on the blackish college market to help students get through intense cram study sessions.

But it appears that ever since Nicole Richie admitted she was taking Aderall to treat her chronic ADD, women everywhere noticed her shrinking size and wanted desperately to join the ADD brigade. MSNBC is reporting than women are flooding their local pharmacies begging for refills on the hot commodity drug.

"Since 2002, the number of prescriptions for all amphetamine-based drugs used to treat ADD — including Concerta and Strattera — have skyrocketed. Sales for Adderall XR (extended release) have more than doubled in the past five years, from 4.2 million in 2002 to 9.5 million in 2007, according to IMS Health, a health-care information company. And online, Adderall ranks right up there with Viagra in most-hawked pharmaceuticals on the Internet; indeed, type in the words "Adderall abuse" and you're likely to be directed to a site that sells the stuff."

Most users see Adderall as the perfect weight loss drug – they gain concentration, become inspired, lose inhibitions and shed a few pounds. But sadly this is simply too much of a good thing. Women taking too much of the miracle drug can suffer some of the same effects as meth addicts.

A member of the Amphetamine family, when taken in large amounts Adderall’s effects can be harmful and addictive.

"And therein lies the problem. Amphetamines have a way of creeping up on you. "Young people don't realize that medications like Adderall can be harmful if not prescribed for the appropriate condition," says Sophy. When taken at higher than prescribed dosage, Adderall can be psychologically and physically addictive, and some long-term users need to take increasing amounts to get the same appetite suppression, says Thompson. There are also a number of undesirable side effects: dry mouth, headaches, "fast heartbeat," "trouble sleeping." Many users turn to other drugs, like sleeping pills, Thompson says, to counteract Adderall's stimulant effect."

So next time you are having trouble studying for the Chemisty exam just a few hours away, think twice before popping the homework helper and opt out for a cup of some old-fashioned espresso.

MSNBC Wrongly Reports Stephanie Tubbs Jones Has Died

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:22:54 EDT

“Oops.”

That’s all MSNBC had to say for itself when they wrongly reported that Ohio congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, 58, had died from a brain aneurysm.

Too bad for them – and good thing for the rest of us – one observant reader caught the news network’s gross error and took a snapshot of the headline (above) before they took it down.

Journalism 101: Always double-check your sources before reporting anything.

And so, let us join hands together and laugh at the news giant’s heartless blunder, because if the congresswoman does pass on, we’ll know who to blame.

Obnoxious UCSD Student Goes to Israel, No One Cries

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:56:04 EDT

I’m sure the campus is crying now that Danielle Sheldon, self-described Zionist and provocateur, has left UC San Diego to move to Israel. Certainly diplomatic antics, such as pointedly wearing an Israeli Defense Forces shirt to Arabic class, must have ingratiated her with students and faculty.

An LA Times article detailed Sheldon’s maneuverings:

Growing up in Sherman Oaks, Danielle Sheldon described herself as "fiercely Zionist."

The 19-year old grew up speaking Hebrew and wore her politics literally on her sleeve. While attending UC San Diego, she made a point of showing up for Arabic class wearing an Israeli Defense Forces T-shirt.

She first visited Israel three years ago and "felt at home immediately."

On Tuesday, Sheldon came "home" for good.

She was one of more than 200 American and British Jews who arrived in Israel to perform "aliyah" -- assuming Israeli citizenship and committing to a new life in the Jewish state.

"The place I belong most in the world is Israel," said Sheldon, who plans to attend graduate school then focus on a military career specializing in counter-terrorism.

If you were wondering who wrote the book How to Win Friends and Influence People, here’s a hint: not Danielle Sheldon.

Fraternity Pissed About Vandalism

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:50:07 EDT

When you gotta go, you gotta go. And apparently thirteen Theta Delta Chi pledges from UVA had to pee so badly that they broke into a Union College fraternity house to do their business.

Unfortunately for the Union College fraternity, the pledges did their business all over the sofas.

Now the students may have to pay for their pee spree. From the timesunion.com: Union College has asked that the Theta Delta Chi pledges pay nearly $2,000 in restitution to clean up the mess they left overnight at the fraternity house, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert M. Carney said.

The pledges were on a road trip to visit their fraternity at other campuses when they allegedly broke into the home and damaged property, including urinating on two sofas.

The act is disgusting and disgraceful but understandable – have you ever seen a rest stop bathroom? Gross.

85-Year-Old Granny Makes Burglar Call Police

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:38:19 EDT

Don’t mess with 85-year-old Leda Smith, because if you do, she’ll pull out her .22-caliber revolver and make you pee your pants – Dirty Harry style.

Last Sunday, a 17-year-old burglar learned this lesson the hard way when he attempted to break into the gun-toting granny’s house and steal… uh, whatever it is grandmothers keep in their homes.

The Associated Press reports (via The Daily Press):

“I walked right on past him to the bedroom and got my gun,” Leda Smith said…

After the 17-year-old boy called 911 [on himself], Smith kept holding the gun on him until state police arrived at her home in Springhill Township, about 45 miles south of Pittsburgh.

“It was exciting,” Smith said. “I just hope I broke up the (burglary) ring because they have been hitting a lot of places around here.”

Way to play it cool, Grandma. If Sunday night bingo doesn’t work out for you, maybe you should consider a career in law enforcement.

Then again, the whole “not being able to walk/run faster than a turtle” thing might be a problem.

Tulane Students Star In Reality TV Show

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:21:23 EDT

A group of college students will be hitting the small screen today as part of a new reality TV series.

But surprise! The show won’t feature drinking and relationship drama.

Tonight “Architecture School” debuts as a six-part series on the Sundance Channel. The documentary follows a group of Tulane architecture students as they design and build a single-family house for a sale in a Katrina-damaged neighborhood.

The New York Times explains:

The students themselves ultimately vote on which plan to pursue. They settle on an S-shaped building designed by Adriana Camacho, a lively student from Trinidad who seeks to bring a West Indies sensibility to her design: an airy, tropical openness.

Over the next several weeks the students become a construction crew, pounding shovels into the ground, wielding hammers and saws, pouring cement — “I’m excited for the concrete,” one says. They learn how to make a cantilever, how to configure windows that open and shut, which direction is best for bending corrugated metal. The hands-on work is integral to this “design/build” course, so that students get direct experience with the execution of their ideas.

Overall the show sounds a lot every other Flip That Design Star Handyman Challenge type show, but with college students. But that small change makes all the difference because everyone knows there’s nothing sexier than attractive young people ~~screwing~~ ~~nailing~~ building together.

Dartmouth Alum a Shoo-in For Gold in Beijing

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:41:24 EDT

Dartmouth has two alumni competing at the Beijing Olympics this year – ’97 alumnus Adam Nelson and ’04 alumnus Jarrod Shoemaker. But of the two men, Dartmouth students should definitely keep a close eye on the latter.

While this is Shoemaker’s first time at the Olympics, the list of his achievements and awards suggests he is a shoo-in for a gold medal in the triathlon competition.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a truncated list of his accomplishments, courtesy of USATriathon .org:

Qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team by finishing as the top American (11th overall) at the 2007 ITU Beijing World Cup… Finished sixth at the Pan Americans Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2007… First place at the 2007 ITU Drummondville Pan American Cup… Finished eighth at the Hy-Vee Triathlon ITU Des Moines World Cup in i2007… 2006 USAT Haul to the Great Wall Series Champion... Earned first world cup podium finish with second at Edmonton in 2006... 2005 ITU Under 23 World Champion… 2005 ITU New York City Continental Cup winner… 2005 Tiszajvarous ITU World Cup 7th place… 2004 Under 23 National Champion.

Still skeptical? I don't blame you, especially not after a Brown student, Alicia Sacramone, cost the U.S. a gold medal in women’s gymnastics.

Trust me, though – Shoemaker is the real deal.

He must be, because Johnson & Johnson doesn’t endorse just anyone...

Right?!

This Is Why You Will Be Paying Student Loans For The Rest Of Your Life

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:27:01 EDT

The cost of tuition probably really pisses you off (or more accurately, pisses your parents off), and since it costs somewhere in the neighborhood $13,000 for Pennsylvania residents and $24,000 for out-of-state residents to attend Penn State most of you (or, again your parents) are probably taking loans. So you, (ahem, your parents) will be happy to know that the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, the agency most people borrow from, spent $26,611 on "rally towels" at two Penn State football games recently. That's some good money management right there.

So the PHEAA has been getting a lot of flack for the last couple years after it was discovered the agency spent $768,000 on personal trips to "posh resorts" among other things. Actually the agency spends money left and right since at least 12 executives at PHEAA earn more than Gov. Ed Rendell who makes $164,500, which is probably part of the reason I'll be paying student loans until the day I die.

In today's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review there is a list of some of the more recent expenditures by the agency which include the "rally towels," a $5,300 tab for 14 people at a Scottsdale, Ariz. steakhouse, $10,000 worth of iPod Nanos for an Internet contest, $11,500 on screwdriver sets as giveaway items at conferences and spent $66,640 on Hershey's candy packages for 2,380 clients.

Here's my question, with the price of tuition, not only at Penn State but everywhere, why would the PHEAA need to spend money to get people to use their product? Although I totally get the money on the Hershey's thing, have you seen the price of chocolate these days?

First Female Amputee Competes in Able-Bodied Olympics

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:26:29 EDT

Natalie du Toit of South Africa trained all her life for the Olympics--until she was derailed by a motorbike accident seven years ago.

The accident left du Toit without the lower half of her left leg and with no muscle remaining in the top half.

At first it seemed as if du Toit's Olympic dreams had ended. She continued training, but failed to make the South African Olympic team in Athens in 2004.

When the IOC announced that an open water 10K swim would be added to the Olympics, du Toit's Olympic dreams were revived. Open water distance swimming relies much more heavily on arm strength, rather that leg strength. In May of 2008, du Toit finished fourth out of fifty swimmers at the Open Water World Championship off the coast of Spain, thus qualifying for the Beijing Olympics.

This Wednesday in Beijing, du Toit finally competed in the 10K at the Olympics. She finished 16th, a position she was very disappointed with--she had hoped to finish in the top five. In the process of her race however, du Toit managed to inspire many of her competitors. Larisa Ilchenko, the 10K gold medalist from Russia, went as far as to say that du Toit deserved her own gold medal, stating "I have enormous respect for her. It is an exceedingly hard event. Just looking at these people inspires you."

One-legged Swimmer Lost But Wants More

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:14:33 EDT

One-legged swimmer fearlessly conquers Olympic waters and loses but the world is still impressed. Twenty-four-year-old Natalie du Toit lost her limb in a horrifying motorcycle accident seven years ago but this determined lady promised herself she would stop at nothing to dominate the swim competitions.

Now days after her Olympic defeat, du Toit reflects on the pressures and anxiety of swimming in an Olympic race… without her prosthetic limb. Although du Toit did not finish in the top five as she had hoped, she made some strides and inspired the world to get out there and achieve their dreams.

Du Toit refuses to let her defeat cast her as a loser, she vows she will come back stronger and rock the next Olympic competition.

"I tried my best," du Toit said. "I'm not too happy with it, but I'll be back for 2012."

Du Toit was gearing up to swim in the Athens Olympics four years ago but didn’t qualify as she struggled to keep up with her two-legged contemporaries. After the Athens letdown, she was determined to train harder in preparation for Beijing’s open water race. She may not have won the race but she has certainly won the hearts of people everywhere.

OTR would like to offer Natalie a pat on the back and a celebratory pound for making it this far!

UCLA and USC Make "Discovery"

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:59:20 EDT

Road tolls are about as fun as waking up for 9am church service the morning after a night of drunken Saturday night debauchery (i.e. not), but a new study from those crazy kids at UCLA and USC suggests toll roads are more fair than traditional taxes. Then again, love and war are the only things actually less fair than traditional taxes.

According to UCLA Newsroom:

The study notes that most forms of transportation finance — fuel taxes, sales taxes and tolls — are regressive forms of taxation in that they burden the poor more than the rich.

"Are tolls regressive? According to this and many previous analyses, yes. But for transport policy, whether tolls are regressive fails to fully address the justice and fairness issues that arise in financing road use," the researchers write. "Using sales taxes to fund roadways creates substantial savings to drivers by shifting some of the costs of driving from drivers to consumers at large, and in the process disproportionately favors the more affluent at the expense of the impoverished."

The researchers suggest that if policymakers are worried about low-income, peak-period commuters paying tolls, one way to address this would be to provide discounted "lifeline" pricing based on income levels, as is done by utility companies for qualifying customers, or provide travel credits to lower-income commuters. Another strategy is to use toll revenues to enhance transit services along the corridor so that people have an alternative to driving on the freeway.

While economists have long argued for "congestion tolls" on efficiency grounds, this groundbreaking new study suggests that such tolls may, surprisingly, increase equity in comparison to raising sales taxes to pay for transportation facilities.

UCLA and USC, way to play nice together! But this “groundbreaking new study” can be summarized in three words: common sense, stupid.

Rare Footage of the Goblin Shark!

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:06:56 EDT

Literally two seconds after posing the question "what devil creatures will we see next," Japan has an answer for us: the Goblin Shark.

According to the marine biology experts at Oceana,

If you cover the bottom half of it’s face, the goblin shark isn’t so freaky but when you look at its mouth, it’s like another creature took the liberty of inhabiting the goblin’s jaws. Interestingly, up to 25% of the shark’s body weight can be its liver, which helps to regulate its buoyancy.

Hmm -- the interesting part isn't the liver, guys. It's the fact that this beast's mouth shoots out like it's an alien from the film series Aliens.

Way to miss the proverbial boat...

In any case, now that Japan has stepped into the Monster Madness arena, one must wonder which country will be the next to unearth some foul creature?

Maybe this could become an event at the 2012 Olympics.

Michigan Loses Top '09 QB Prospect

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:49:15 EDT

"I'm too pretty to work hard"

What's it been, two, three months since there was some extremely disappointing news regarding the Michigan football program? Kevin Newsome, the 4-star Quarterback (4th overall QB of '09 according to Rivals) has re-opened his recruitment, effectively de-committing from the verbal agreement he had reached with Michigan last April. But for whatever reason, this doesn't seem like that big a deal. Had this been 10 weeks ago, it would have been the next chapter of a chaotic off-season that included the losing of Mallet and Boren, the failure to recruit Terrelle Pryor as well as the complications with Rich Rodriguez's buyout. The media's downplaying of this occurrence can only mean that the mess of last spring is over with and all eyes are now looking to the field for the results. Speaking of results, Sports Illustrated predicted Michigan to go 5-7 (3-5 in the Big 10)... Wow.

Newsome was reportedly upset earlier this year when Michigan received a verbal commitment from another 4-star dual threat QB (though ranked slightly lower), Shavodrick Beaver. It seems that Newsome was more of a Lloyd Carr player who expected a starting position to just be handed to him on a silver platter. Beaver is more of a Rich Rod mold in that he plans to work hard and compete for whatever time he can get. The time he gets could eventually be that of the starting QB, so brace yourself Michigan, a man by the name of Shavodrick Beaver may very well be the face of the program in the near future. The MSU, OSU and Notre Dame T-shirt companies should have a fun time with that one.

Jim Davis: The New Sartre

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:32:18 EDT

The Fray & Three Six Mafia - How to Stay Fly

Garfield Minus Garfield is a daily web comic taking classic Garfield comic strips and giving them an existentialist twist: removing Garfield.

As the page opener says, this unprecendented comic phenomenon delivers philosophy to a new demographic, illustrating the banalities of humanity for the everyday man.

I'm partial to May 20th and April 14th.

Death of Pandora

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:46:35 EDT

Internet radio led a glorious existence, quick to rise to popularity, but equally fast in sputtering out. Pandora, one of college students' most well-loved websites for music, is on the verge of shutting down. Founder Tim Westergren says that despite his website's immense popularity, there's jsut no way to make a profit, and he is, in fact, losing money by keeping the website up.

So unless a fast and brilliant plan to revite internet radio is hatched soon, it's time to say your last farewell.

Olympic Sport I'd Most Like to Do....If I could...

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 06:29:53 EDT

We watch it drooling, yet wouldn't it be wonderful if we had super powers, and could miraculously flip ourselves around a horse, or fly ourselves 60ft over a pole....

The choice is yours.

Corky & Sunshine Split

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:38:45 EDT

Two months ago, the crowds were yelling mismatch and now they are hanging their heads in shame as the Corky Romano star Chris Kattan and his way too hot model wife Sunshine Tutt are separated.

When Kattan and Tutt married eight short weeks ago, the world was skeptical that this mismatched couple would work. During his SNL days, Kattan has always shown signs of slight neurosis and he's never really been known for his jaw-dropping good looks.

So while the world wonders how this weirdo nabbed such a hot girl, they will be separating themselves and most importantly - their assets. Although Kattan's rep assures the press that there are no plans for divorce yet, this trial separation is sure to lead to a parting of hearts.

“They’ve got issues that they’re trying to work out,” adds an insider. “It’s not a divorce right now, but they’re taking time apart.”

If two months of marriage did these two in for a separation, bets can be placed that their nuptials will be kaput in a few more weeks.

UCSD Brain Makes Cool Video Games

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:34:22 EDT

Video game development is about to get even better because of work completed by a UC San Diego undergrad mega-genius, Alex Goldberg. Science Daily reports:

“It should be pretty easy for video game developers to integrate our research into new games. As a game developer myself, I know first hand that stretched out and flickering backgrounds and details are no longer acceptable in 3D video games,” said Alex Goldberg, the computer science undergraduate from UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering who did much of the work. Computer science professors Matthias Zwicker from UC San Diego, and Frédo Durand from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also contributed to the research project.

It almost makes you feel old hearing about this new technology and remembering the Game Boys of the early 1990s.

Vandy's Receiver Laughs In The Face Of Death

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:19:04 EDT

Forget Michael Phelps, Vanderbilt’s receiver is the real Superman.

George Smith has survived it all and still plays for the Commodores.

The Tennessean.com gives us a small look at the struggles the football star has endured:

The senior receiver is in his sixth year in the Commodore program. During that time he survived a life-threatening illness and a gunshot wound. He's currently sidelined with a broken foot but is expected back on the field sometime after the season starts.

After taking a redshirt his first year on campus, Smith contracted acute transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. He was hospitalized for six weeks during the spring of his freshman year. His recovery extended into the fall and he received a medical redshirt from the NCAA, leading to a rare sixth year of eligibility.

During the 2005 season, he was shot in the upper right arm by intruders who had crashed a party at a Vanderbilt dorm. Smith was among several people trying to convince the crashers to leave, when shots were fired.

A gunshot wound??? Nevermind Superman, Smith is more like the college-version of 50 cent.

Catching footballs must be no big thing when you’ve dodged death… twice.

Milennials Read Web Comments Like the Bible

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:18:47 EDT

Apparently whining on message boards and blogs does work. A recent study shows that today’s self-proclaimed liberal young people believe the information provided by the comment sections on websites to be more trustworthy than the information provided by corporate pigs in slimy ad agencies; therefore many companies are now checking out comments made on the internet about their products. 13WHAM.com reports:

Twitter is getting a lot of buzz because companies are monitoring the website for unhappy customers. Better to address a complaint early before it goes viral on the web. The Boston Globe reports that businesses in the US are monitoring the blogosphere for customer complaints and dealing with them.
Companies are listening because they have seen the future and it’s in blogs. According to the Millennial Strategy Group, young people trust Web comments more than advertising or the media. The young or so called “Milennials” will outnumber Baby Boomers and Generation X by 2010. A new generation with a new way to communicate and be heard.

That sounds peachy keen, except doesn’t the very democratic nature of commenting make it problematic for consumers? Sure anyone can comment, but anyone includes ad execs. Way to think, my young comrades.

Rapper Gets a Full Ride to Stanford

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:54:20 EDT

Move over Dr. Dre. Ahmad Ali Lewis is a rapper who is actually going to earn his PhD at Stanford University. A 32-year-old music artist from South Central LA, Lewis beat the odds and received a full scholarship as 1 of 20 transfers accepted out of 1,200 applicants.

Choosing a record deal over college, Lewis hit the Billboard charts when he was 18 with the song “Back in the Day.” After his solo career, he started the group 4th Avenue Jones, and went on to tour the country as well as overseas.

Fourteen years later, Lewis will continue his postponed college education. He has already graduated from two-year Long Beach City College as valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA. In the fall, he will transfer to Stanford as an undergraduate student to study sociology and African American studies and then proceed to receive his doctorate in social work. In the end, he wants to be a professor. According to him, “Rapping and teaching are not that far apart. You’re rapping, you’re talking. You’re a professor, you’re talking.” If that’s so, he must really enjoy the sound of his voice.

Lewis, who once lived near a crack house and street gangs, will soon head up to the Bay Area to step foot on the green grass, palm tree-lined campus of Stanford with students at least ten years his junior—teaching them a thing or two about life “back in the day.”

Bigfoot Discovery: Joke's On Us!

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:48:52 EDT

It must be a slow news summer because networks are covering whimsical legendary creatures. The Montauk monster, the chupacabra and now Bigfoot, strange animals have populated the airways with their existence, or lack there of.

Turns out that the Bigfoot discovery made week was just a publicity stunt. A group called Searching for Bigfoot was ecstatic when they learned about the Bigfoot discovery and went out to... what else? Search for Bigfoot!

This group meant business because they tracked down the frozen Bigfoot carcass and brought it back to Delaware County. After the creature thawed out, they realized their precious freak was nothing but a rubber costume in a freezer. Stanford professor and Bigfoot aficionado Steve Kulls was the first to post that the Bigfoot discovery was a hoax.

Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, the two men who claimed to find the body, have recently admitted that the entire discovery was a hoax. The two lying losers "requested an undisclosed sum of money as an advance, expected from the marketing and promotion."

When the group finally ran the necessary DNA testing on the alleged carcass, they quickly realized that the hairy details of this discovery were yet to be combed through. When the creature's hair was tested, it melted into one big clump -- something real hair never does.

After the body was released and the thawing process began, the researchers discovered a rubber costume -- nothing more and nothing less. Whitton and Dyer have mysteriously disappeared and refuse to make appearances on television shows.

Looks like the two Georgia men are a lot knottier than we thought.