Body of Lies: A good spin on espionage

October 13, 2008

Reading Time: 2 minutes Watch any one of the many trailers or TV spots for Body of Lies and you’re left without a clue as to what the movie is about. Instead, they entice you solely with shots of exploding trucks, the bankable name Ridley Scott, and acting giants Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe.

Fire and Rain

October 13, 2008

Reading Time: < 1 minute New Play Project, the Provo-based “Pioneers in Values-Driven Theatre,” have opened their latest semi-annual theater festival, Fire and Rain. The festivities continue until Oct. 20. According to the Project’s Web site, Fire and Rain is “more raw. Less sappy.

As close to real as it gets

October 13, 2008

Reading Time: 3 minutes Immediately in the fight between welterweights Jacob South and Simon Ione, Ione threw a bloodying punch to South’s head that simultaneously caused Ione’s shoulder to come out of its socket and left South on the ground. Despite the injury, Ione was able to get in several more punches before the referee stopped the fight nine seconds into the first round.

Six Men in the Same Marriage on the fifth floor of the library

October 13, 2008

Reading Time: 2 minutes A series of fine photographs of budding flowers of different scientific classifications will be on display throughout the month of October. Each photograph is vibrantly colorful and intimately detailed. Such titles as “Twenty or More Men In the Same Bridal Chamber” or “Two Of Them Tall and Two Short” might seem grotesque for photographs of flora and fauna, yet the titles are apt, and you’ll have to visit the exhibit to know what I mean.

Weezer delivers energetic performance

October 13, 2008

Reading Time: 2 minutes I love Weezer. Sort of. Well … it’s complicated. It’s probably more accurate to say I’m in love with the idea of what Weezer could be if, as one Facebook group puts it, they “got their s— together.” The releases of Make Believe and The Red Album have demonstrated Weezer’s contentment with mediocrity and safe radio play.

Balance

October 6, 2008

Reading Time: 3 minutes Stop. Breathe. You can do it, though with your rushing from somewhere to nowhere it feels a good deal like you have forgotten how. Stop. Breathe. Once you stop, you will remember how wonderful it feels to have the fall breeze brush against your face. Once you stop, you will remember who you were rushing to be.

Want “A”s, get “Z”s

October 6, 2008

Reading Time: 2 minutes Finding the pillow, counting sheep, and “Z”s are what most college students are not getting enough of. Rather, caffeine-fueled college students cram for exams, write papers until the crack of dawn, and snooze through their classes. A trend that shows if you can’t sleep: You won’t get “A”s.

Back to basics

October 6, 2008

Reading Time: 2 minutes There are a handful of writers and artists in the comic book industry that can sell a book just by splashing their names across the cover. In the case of the new Image Comics series Back to Brooklyn, there are two names gracing its cover that have fanboys scooping it off the shelves: Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti.

Hyperwords

October 6, 2008

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Firefox Internet browser is famous for being the most malleable program of its kind. As soon as Firefox 3, its most recent build, was released, hundreds –and now thousands — of plug-ins were created for it. Most are silly tools you would do better without: pointless additions that are just going to make your computer move slower.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: Teen comedy emits adult charm

October 6, 2008

Reading Time: 2 minutes Every 10 years, we need a good teen movie. The ’80s have Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The ’90s have Can’t Hardly Wait. And now the ’00s have Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. In Nick and Norah, Michael Cera (Arrested Development, Superbad) plays his typical awkward teenage self as one of the titled characters, Nick.