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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2012
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY GANSAN
opinion
Got on the bus to go one stop. Am I lazy or is it just too hot?
Can you put your swag on hold while crossing the street? I'm kind of in a hurry.
Dear boy next to me, no amount of cologne will mask the smell of your disgusting body odor.
I don't just sing in the shower. I perform.
Woke up this morning and couldn't tell if that was my heart beating or my liver.
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351 or at kansan.com
If CERN can use Comic Sans, so can your o-class class.
When I sent my FFA in, I got the response, "I think you have the wrong number." Sadly, my first thought was that the editor was passively telling me that.
Newsflash: Tropical Storm Isaac ravages newly renovated Wescoe Beach.
Apparently summer gave me my personal bubble back. Get me off this bus!
Wear something nice out to parties, bars, or clubs. But never EVER wear good shoes.
I miss seeing Tyshawn on campus...
Saw a guy pushing his bicycle up a hill at 7 a.m. I kindly ignored his muted sobs.
STEVE HOLT!
First contact I drunk text? Free For All.
Croakies: the perfect hickey disguise.
I haven't seen very many of my friends on campus this year. Oh... just remembered they graduated last year like I was supposed to.
That awkward moment when you happen to look at a guy the exact moment he adjusts his balls.
Buying a water from the vending machines is an urban myth.
My microbiology teacher just stuck a hostess cake on the projector. I have a hard time taking him seriously.
"Why do people show up early" said one girl showing up early for class.
My professor just confused the steam whistle for a tornado siren. What a scrub.
LOCAL
'Keep Lawrence weird' phenomenon
One of the things I love most about Lawrence is its eccentricity. It's a true college town, complete with t-shirt shops, late night pizza deliveries and local dive bars. But at the same time, Lawrence is a highly unique, liberal, hole-in-the-wall town where residents are just as likely to sport a full Uncle Sam costume as jeans and Sperrys.
A Lawrence gem I recently discovered was the "Keep Lawrence Weird" campaign. Though I know firsthand that Texas diehards find it a far cry from their own "Keep Austin Weird," this Kansas girl loves living in a place that so fully embraces its non conformity.
The "Keep Lawrence Weird" phenomenon has its own T-shirts, Tumblr website and a mention in the Lawrence Journal-World, but
I am just as guilty of this at anyone. I've already professed my love for Lawrence oddities, but when my friends and I are hungry, we debate over McDonalds or Chipotle, not Biggs BBQ or Local Burger. When we shop, we head to Gap or Urban Outfitters, not Shark's Surf Shop or Wildman Vintage. We when were bored, we hit up Hollywood Theatres or Redbox, not Liberty Hall or the Brits store's British movie rentals.
I've found that, unfortunately, the slogan is sometimes present in words only.
Don't get me wrong; anyone who knows me understands I enjoy McNuggets, Gap sales and Mad Men more than is probably healthy. But one of the great things about living in a town like Lawrence is the opportunity to explore events, restaurants and
shops that are decidedly local.
It's not always the most convenient, and it will likely cost more than a trip to somewhere more mainstream, but exploring some of the nooks and crannies of this city can be much more satisfying – and potentially eye-opening – than an umpteenth trip to your favorite chain store or restaurant.
Not all Lawrence originals are neglected, however. Certain establishments can boast great
popularity as well as local roots. I rarely wait less than an hour for a late night Pyramid Pizza delivery, and local pubs like 23rd Street Brewery and Free State Breweries are always hopping. Many students make it a point to visit Jefferson's with its famous dollar bill wall décor. Others, such as Zen Zero and Pachamamas, can be relatively obscure.
Lawrence's many unusual events, however, are even less frequented than the local stores and restaurants. For instance, Lawrence features an outdoor labyrinth for meditation; "Scary Larry Kansas bike polo," free Argentine tango classes and a knitting group called "Stitch N' Bitch." And that's in just the next seven days.
So, if your closest encounter with the Java Break coffee shop was through your car window
(they're open 24 hours and have a cereal bar; what are you waiting for? or you've never seen the stray cat that permanently resides in The Dusty Bookshelf (the original store was in Manhattan, but we'll let that slide), you're missing out.
And if you happened to find yourself in the middle of the downtown Busker Festival of magicians, gymmasts, and general freaks, don't be alarmed. Rather, sit back and enjoy the quirks of a place that most only experience for four years. Oh, and try not to bump into the sword swallower, will you?
Mayfield is a junior studying journalism, public policy and leadership from Overland Park. Follow her on twitter @lindsmayf.
TELEVISION
'Breaking Bad' plot careening to a close
Editor's note: This column may contain spoilers
What is Walt's master plan regarding the stolen methylamine? Will the growing conflict between Mike and Walt result in a good old-fashioned western duel? These questions and many more are at the center of the saga that is AMC's hit show "Breaking Bad." There is little doubt that Vince Gilligan's story about a chemistry teacher turned methamphetamine dealer will finish strong in this fifth and final season.
The August 19 episode, appropriately titled "Buyout", took viewers down an uncomfortable path with the show's biggest players. Jesse appears to have evolved into a caring and empathic character, a drastic change from where he started in season one. Jesse's newfound compassion for people, especially children, appears to have created a divide between he and Walt. It's as if Walt and Jesse have completely swapped personalities over the course of the show, with Walt becoming more selfish and indulgent while Jesse shows a softer and more humane side.
With "Buyout," Gilligan gave his viewers an eerie look (with this show, that's saying something) into how refined Walt has
become in disposing of people/things that need to be disposed of in order to secure his drug empire. Always the chemist, Walt has now perfected the art of using hydrofluoric acid in a polyethylene bin to turn evidential liabilities into slush. Disgusting and appalling? It sure is, but with Walt there are no loose ends, hence why he's made it as far in the business as he has. Unfortunately for Jesse and Walt, the latest form of chemical disincorpractory deals with a 14-year-old boy who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The progressive loss of life takes a serious toll on Jesse, and the final straw was listening to the nonchalant whistling of Walt while he prepares to make the next batch of meth. Now Jesse and Mike want out of the business, but Walt isn't budging. Now it become a chess game between Walt and Mike, with Jesse sitting back and letting the big boys duke it out for the final say. At the center of this feud is 1,000 gallons of methylamine, worth an estimated $15 million street value as we discover in Mike's dealings with a few unsavory characters. Between Walt's smarts and Mike's toughness, it's difficult to dissect how this situation will diffuse itself. The average "Breaking Bad" viewer would assume that one of these men has to go, but with these two characters something bigger might be in play here.
The unpredictability of the drug dealing business is paralleled to the unpredictability of "Breaking Bad's" plot-line over the course of the next few months until the series concludes. Gilligan is doing an excellent job of keeping viewers on the edge of their seats while continuing an intricate and complex tale that seemed to simple and stress-free in season one. With each Sunday that passes we get that much closer to the final chapter, one that promises to deliver an emphatic ending to a once-in-a-lifetime story.
Roque is a senior majoring in journalism from Overland Park. Follow him on Twitter @stephanergue4.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
Do you care that KU switched to two-ply toilet paper?
Follow us on Twitter @DUKU_Opinion. Tweet us your opinions, and we just might publish them.
@UDK_Opinion I'm glad our biggest concern in college is toilet paper.
@MelanieRR
COLUMN
Sororities hold key to saving the world
@pearsonaaronj
Well, let me rephrase that: I think that the whole sorority recruitment process could save the planet. I've lived in a fraternity for over two years and I've always marveled at how different the pledge process is for men and women. Things differ with each fraternity - some have it tougher than others at first - but you won't find a single fraternity in the nation that gives its new members gifts adorned with the house's letters every freaking day for months. You won't find one that bakes cookies for its pledges. To be honest, I would have been weared out if it worked like that for dudes.
Before you read the next paragraph of this column, I encourage you to swallow anything you may be eating, make sure your coffee has a lid on it and is securely placed in the middle of your desk. I'm about to drop a bold statement that - depending on who you are - will either make you gasp, make you cringe, or make you high-five all the girls sitting around you.
I may be crazy, but I think sorority girls could potentially save the planet.
At some point in history, it became customary for sororites to shower their new members with Vineyard Vines tote bags adorned with house letters and bright pink Nalgene bottles. Older members started spending every waking second complimenting and adoring each new pledge on Facebook. Social chairs started to load each week with functions and "bid day" parties so all the new "babies" could meet all the horny, beer-soaked Greek men. You can't forget to teach the pledges your house's hand-sign, either (some of which could likely be mistaken for gang signs in rougher neighborhoods, so I'd encourage their use only within Lawrence city limits).
@UOK_Opinion heck yes. It saves the environment and makes my bottom happy. #gogreen
I, along with 99.9 percent of all men, couldn't care less that we weren't given pink water bottles
This is all just the tip of the iceberg. Sure, people would probably get a lot more judgmental about petty things such as clothes and shoes, but it's not like that's something we don't already have a problem with. Whether you're in a sorority or you hate sororities, it's hard to deny that the world would be an obnoxiously happier place if we were all treated as sorority pledges. Wed all be smiling cheek-tocheek while singing songs and sharing clothes and twisting our fingers around to form obscure Greek alphabet letters.
and Lily Pulitzer bags. Most of us look back at our pledgeship as the "best time we never want to have again," but if companies and governments throughout the world adopted certain tenets of the average sorority new member process, maybe we could all be as annoyingly cheery and spirited as all the Greek women.
What if, instead of sitting through boring job interviews and printing off hundreds of resumes, we applied for jobs like freshmen girls rush? Instead of bragging about past endeavors just to impress employers, what if they tried to impress us? I'm not a huge fan of singing songs and clapping hands, but if the board of directors broke into song in the middle of my interview, I'd be just as entertained as confused and creeped out.
And wed eat cookies. Lots of warm, chocolate cookies. Show me the problem with that.
Many of us are going to start our lives in different cities after we graduate and not everyone is going to have friends once they get there. That's where serenades come in. There'd be no need for singing songs, dancing and giving out roses, but what would happen if all the companies in your industry took turns renting out a bar during the week and forced its new members into slightly-awkward mingle sessions? If that ever happens, I pray to God there's a Cosmopolitan magazine bureau in my town. I'd be more than happy to "mingle" with their newly-hired sex columnist.
Barbosa is a junior majoring in journalism from Leawood. For more hilarity, follow him on Twitter @ AJBARBROSA.
@jeffsanoubane
@UOK_Opinion No, I ONLY poop
in the privacy of my own home.
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CONTACT US
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
members of The Kansan Editorial Board are Ken Cummings,
Vikaas Shanker, Dylan Lyons, Ryan Newton and Elise Farrington.
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