THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2012
PAGE 5
opinion
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Just walked past a squirrel eating out of a thing of Nutella because they know it's the best.
Can we all just take a second to realize that the adorable old man from "Up" is in Wescoe
I'll make a deal with you ladies. I'll keep wearing cutoffs at the gym if u keep wearing spandex.
Pulling an all nighter to study for a test that isn't until next week. Fail.
Nice try Hash, but leave the snowman-making to us McColum kids.
If only all sororite girls were like those in "Legally Blonde," I would actually join one.
Saw my roommate on the way past Wescoe today. It think it's the first time I've seen him out of bed, I was starting to think I was rooming with a dead body.
Let's be real: All I know about anatomy is that I know nothing about anatomy. #testfail
Sorry, nobody will ever love anybody as much as Kanye West loves Kanye West.
To all the couples at E's for Valentine's Day, go big or go home.
Does anybody want to overthrow the Student Senate and establish a Student Empire? First we would have to destroy the Templin Jedi Council.
I love you Banana Desk Man. I took forward to my class in Budig all the time because of you.
You stay out of this, Meadowbrook.
The Anschutz Leprechaun keeps stealing my highlighters.
I texted my mom to see if she would be my Valentine. She texted back "Who is this?"
A guy just walked to the front of class, ran up the wall, did a backflip, and left. #onlylnBudig
You know those people whose voices travel unreasonable distances? Why are they never talking about something interesting?
I, Captain Ahab of McColum, will hunt down the white whale of Potter Lake. *mobydick* #epicfail
Aw, man. I'm sitting next to the creationists again.
It would be so easy to just ask this girl out, but sending her hints with dirty words in Words with Friends is way more
I can't be the only one on campus that thinks of a hungry T-Rex when the steam whistle goes off!
Apparently my roommate and I have been having convos in our sleep. Would it be weird to film us sleeping ...?
Is it just me, or is awkward small talk after bumming a cigarette required?
My Econ professor just made a Call of Duty reference. I know what I'll be majoring in.
That douchebag moment when you openly say you cheat on your girlfriend.
Remember kiddies, this campus war is being fought by parties that have not signed the Geneva Convention. Don't hold back.
Political showdown in Egypt inevitable
INTERNATIONAL
One year after the resignation of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the transition of power to a civilian government is still in the early stages and some significant obstacles remain.
Although the lower house of parliament has been elected, the upper house is still awaiting its own elections. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has promised to hold presidential elections by the end of June but no exact date has been set and the constitution commission, which will write the country's next constitution, has yet to be formed.
Even though the completion of parliamentary elections will be a positive step, the real showdown could begin shortly thereafter with the writing of Egypt's next constitution.
At some point in the future the Egyptian parliament will elect a 100-member constitution commission which will be responsible for drafting the country's new constitution. The role of the eventual president in this process
is unclear, as is the SCAF's. Theoretically it should have no part in this process but some fear the SCAF may be trying to influence the writing of the new constitution. Any attempt by the SCAF to do so, could lead to a political confrontation between the SCAF and the parliament.
For now it appears the constitution will be written after the presidential election but it remains to be seen how well the parliament, the president and the SCAF will work together once all elections are complete.
AP PHOTO
The SCAF must understand its role in Egypt and in the transition of power. It is simply filling a caretaker role while a civilian government is created.
Its function is not to exert its control and influence over every step in that process. The SCAF must also be able to provide law and order for the country without the continued killing of protesters. In the days following the riot in Port Said, ten people were killed while protesting the SCAF's handling of the incident and the transition as a whole. Deaths like these are never welcome or tolerable and are also counterproductive to the transition process.
Egyptian security forces fire tear gas at protesters during clashes near the Interior Ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. The number of people killed in clashes with Egyptian security forces in the wake of a deadly soccer riot rose on Saturday, according to a field doctor and a security official, as demonstrators in Cairo kept up their calls for an end to military rule and retribution for those killed in the soccer game violence.
Not only does Egypt receive large amounts of military aid, it
The SCAF should tread lightly when dealing with Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) in its country. If they no longer want foreign NGOs operating in Egypt, that is their business. But charging NGO workers for illegally operating in Egypt after allowing them to do so for years is unacceptable.
Even from the SCAF's point of view, risking over 1 billion dollars in annual aid and the relationship with one of its greatest allies doesn't seem like a wise move.
has also received over $28 billion in economic aid from the U.S. since 1975. As a new Egyptian government tries to move forward, it will likely want as much international aid as possible. Recent actions by the SCAF are putting Egypt's aid from the U.S. in jeopardy as well as the relationship between the two countries. For the sake of Egypt and its citizens, the SCAF needs to truly embrace the revolution and accept the transition to a civilian government.
ship between the two countries.
Keplar is a junior from Rusalin, Kan.
ENTERTAINMENT
Watchmen fans' question prequel
Beneath the placid surface of Kansas, chaos has erupted in nerd culture. Everywhere, every day nerds are raging against the injustice that has been recently released upon them. "Watchmen?!" they cry out, "Why would they do this to 'Watchmen?'"
And you're shouting back "Watchmen'? You mean that crappy movie from like three years ago? Whatever." But that's because you're not aware of the utter madness that is DC Comics' decision to create a prequel to the greatest graphic novel ever written.
First, some back story: "Watchmen", which began its run in 1986, is far and away the greatest comic book series ever published. Created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, "Watchmen" depicts an alternate universe where superhero vigilantism has been outlawed and the United States edges ever closer to a war with the USSR.
Famous as both a brutal, "Taxi Driver"-esque depiction of 1980s America and as a deconstruction of superhero comics, "Watchmen" has become the standard by which all other comics are judged.
DC's planned miniseries will take place before the events of "Watchmen" and is imaginatively titled "Before Watchmen". To create it, they've rounded up the best talents in comics today, including J. Michael Straczynski, Darwyn Cooke, and other people you've never heard of. The idea is to devote several issues to each of the main characters and presumably create stunning new insights into the characters (or something, DC isn't too clear on this).
Because Alan Moore signed away the rights to his creations when they were published, his work has become a source of legendary hostility between the writer and his parent companies. Mostly this has stemmed from bad film adaptations of his comics like "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" or "V for Vendetta", but DC's planned "Watchmen" prequel takes it to a whole new level.
Nerds everywhere are up in arms about the prequel, claiming that tarnish the original masterpiece. Comic books haven't exactly ever been bastion of artistic integrity, but "Before Watchmen"
is so much more than another bad miniseries being foisted upon consumers.
Time magazine featured "Watchmen" on its list of the 100 greatest novels and the word "seminal" gets thrown around a lot when it's being discussed. It is to comics what "The Godfather" is to movies, if "The Godfather" had a omnipotent blue guy who zapped people's heads off.
To write a prequel to "Watchmen" is to take the book that got people to take comics seriously and reduce it to just another crummy shelf-filler.
Writer J. Michael Straczynski has been a passionate advocate for the miniseries and promises it will meet the exceedingly high bar nerds everywhere have set for it. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Straczynski points out that the entire medium of comic books is built upon artists working on other people's creations, citing Superman specifically.
While Straczynski makes a strong case for "Before Watchmen", the entire project smells like a shameless cash-in. If Straczynski or another writer had approached DC with a quality story involving "Watchmen" characters, people would not be reacting quite so strongly. Instead, DC has been trying to get the project off the ground since "Watchmen" was first released in 1986.
"Before Watchmen" is just another in a long string of uninteresting, creatively bankrupt comic book extravaganzas put out by DC Comics.
Then again, perhaps it's not worth getting too worked up over. There's a million terrible Batman comic books out there and more than a couple bad Batman movies, but the caped crusader is still good, right? I guess we should just be glad DC Comics isn't giving "Watchmen" the full George Lucas treatment.
Schumaker is a senior in film and media studies from Overland Park.
LITERATURE
Pondering about the fates, book explores life long bonds
**C** The Fates Will Find Their Way "is the debut novel from
young author Hannah Pittard, and it's quite a first impression. Told in an unconventional first-person-plural manner, The Fates recounts the memories of high school buddies as they theorize about the disappearance of classmate Nora Lindell decades earlier.
At some point in their youth, each of the boys dated Nora, and so they all have an attachment to her that continues even as they grow older. All that they know about her disappearance is that on Halloween night, early in their high school years, Nora got into the car of a mysterious man and was never seen again. From there, the boys obsess over where she might have gone.
Written as a series of non-chronological flashbacks, "The Fates Will Find Their Way" is pure nostalgic goodness, and Pittard makes the reader feel a part of the men's past. The story does not completely revolve around Nora Lindell, but also many different shared moments in their youth. The men recount past relationships, tragic deaths, childhood fantasies, teenage lust, bad parenting and much more.
More importantly, they wonder how each of these events might have played out differently, for better or worse, and how their lives might have been shaped by them. Pittard emphasizes people's innate desire for closure and understanding for the
things that have happened in their past, and shows that when they are deprived of it, it can have a profound effect on their lives even many years later.
Pittard's delivery in "The Fates will find their way" is very matter-of-fact and devoid of much superfluous language. Usually I prefer a more flowery style, but Pittard's voice works really well for the story's narrators.
The protagonists themselves are insecure, aging men with less-than perfect childhoods, and their thoughts and attitudes reflect this. Perhaps it's just my perception, but I felt an underlying theme of regret and sadness throughout the novel. Through their obsession with Nora Lindell's disappearance, the men seem to feel that they've lived unspectacular, "cookie-cutter" lives and envy the fates of others from their childhood.
I think The Fates Will Find Their Way, more than anything, is an examination of fate. As the characters reflect on their friendships, they realize just how little they truly knew about each other and what directions their lives would take. Pittard closes the novel with a reminder to appreciate the present life. This statement, more than any other in the story, struck me the most.
We've all been guilty of looking to our past and future to gauge the kinds of lives we have, but it is the present moment that is most important. Overall, "The Fates Will Find Their Way" is a fantastic treatise on fatalism and the human condition. However, if you prefer spelled-out resolution in your stories, you might not be satisfied with it, though I think if you look hard enough, you'll find closure in the novel's message.
Moreland is a junior in accounting from Lee's Summit.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
dowhatyoufeel
©UDK. Opinion It was my Senior Prom.
Duct tape tux. Golf cart. Mexican flag.
Mcdonalds drive thru.
What is the worst date you've ever been on?
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chatterfish15
@UDK. Opinion my worst date was when I went to a scary movie and the guy ended up hiding behind me rather than letting me hide behind him.
FakeJeffWithey
@UDK Opinion She had a purity ring. I was gone before the waitress got back with our drinks
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©UDK Opinion went on a blind date with this girl. As well as her sister, sisters bf, and her best friend. two years later find out she's gay
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