Peaceful Uprising

March 2, 2009

Reading Time: 2 minutes Tim DeChristopher, an economics student at the University of Utah, gained attention from the press for his bidding on proposed oil drilling properties in Southern Utah in late December. His participation at the auction gained attention because, unlike the oil company representatives in attendance, his intention for bidding on land parcels was the prevention of speculation and development in the land surrounding the Arches and Canyonlands national parks.

Jenn’s Dusty Shelf

March 2, 2009

Reading Time: 2 minutes Noah Baumbach rivals Wes Anderson as one of the most important filmmakers of the 21st century, in my opinion. Reason being, he creates depth in superficiality; he makes memorable characters with consequential flaws which make it impossible not to fancy them.

Jenn’s Dusty Shelf

February 23, 2009

Reading Time: 2 minutes I have the hugest crush on John Cusack. There is something about his B-class celebrity that really speaks to my heart. My admiration began immediately after I watched High Fidelity. Cusack plays Rob Gordon, a record store owner/retired D.J. that is going through a bad breakup.

Jenn’s Dusty Shelf

February 9, 2009

Reading Time: 2 minutes Dolores O’Riordan’s voice is one of the most recognizable female voices in rock; O’Riordan may well be the reason The Cranberries earned much of their success in the mid 1990s. The band’s most commercially successful album, No Need to Argue sold over seven million albums in the United States and is popularly recognized as the couch album, as the cover art and album notes all contain the band sitting on an old plaid couch in various locations.

Jenn’s Dusty Shelf

February 2, 2009

Reading Time: 2 minutes Stephen Chbosky has published only one novel in his career. Chbosky more commonly authors screenplays and television scripts, although his novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of the most popular books floating around America’s youth. The story follows Charlie, an awkward freshman and his path to self-discovery through writing letters to someone he has never met.

Jenn’s Dusty Shelf

January 26, 2009

Reading Time: 2 minutes Green Day rarely gains respect outside of the albums Dookie and American Idiot. But I have to respectfully disagree and claim that Nimrod is the album that proves the band’s importance. Although the tacky track, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” is probably the only track on the album still getting airplay, the album truly has some good tunes that were reluctantly looked over.

Jenn’s Dusty Shelf

January 12, 2009

Reading Time: 2 minutes My childhood heroes included the employees of the fictional record store Empire Records. A.J., Lucas, Gina, Corey, Joe, Warren, Deb, and Mark all entertained me for endless hours as I watched them play out their regular day at work. Shoplifters, impromptu dance numbers, and a washed-up celebrity make Empire Records a movie to watch again and again.

Jenn’s Dusty Shelf

January 5, 2009

Reading Time: 2 minutes Morrissey and Marr made a name for themselves when they joined forces to become the legendary as well as infamous group The Smiths. I use the word infamous because most people have heard of The Smiths, but have never actually heard their music — or if they have, they don’t know it.

Jenn’s Dusty Shelf

December 8, 2008

Reading Time: 2 minutes Revisiting this film time and again has never disappointed me, ever. Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums is easily my favorite movie of all time — reason being the quirky characters. Anderson picked a stellar cast, including Gene Hackman as Royal Tenenbaum, Luke Wilson as Richie Tenenbaum, Gwyneth Paltrow as Margot Tenenbaum, and Ben Stiller as Chas Tenenbaum, just to name a few.

TRL 1998-2008

November 24, 2008

Reading Time: < 1 minute Music fans across the nation probably stopped watching MTV post 2000 because “Hit Me Baby One More Time” didn’t carry the same amplitude as “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” not only on a sonogramic level, but also on a quality level. Some MTV generation fans left when Carson Daly did, and some may only remember the days of Spring Break specials in Ft.