TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013
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opinion
Brace yourselves: Election season is coming.
I have a test tomorrow... Well, KU Basketball it is!
Wait. So all these "Vote Ad Astra" chalk writings on campus are in fact not promoting a delicious Free State bear...?
To the guy asking about the Pikachu hat, this Pikachu already has another trainer. Signed, Girl with the Pikachu hat.
Am I the only one on campus who feels indifferent toward KU basketball? I mean, I'm happy that they work hard and see success; but my day can still be a good one after a Kansas loss.
We're almost running out of records to beat. #KUbballprobs
I don't care now thick the blanket is or if the other options suck. Changing your baby on a cafeteria table is disgusting and not OK!
Left my laptop at my dorm. I might have to actually pay attention in history
Is it bad that whenever I get a girl's number, I check to see if she's on the honor roll list?
Combination of orange and body odor does not equal a pleasant scent.
Last senior home game. Let the depression set in, :( :
Of course the next two weeks are gonna be the worst... Can spring break just come early?
A solution to the lack of a changing station: Don't have kids. Life changes a lot when kids arrive. That was your choice.
4:12 a.m. Did my professor send that email after waking up or staying up?
Nothing says good morning like face planting into the ground while stepping off the bus.
I do not approve of your shorts- wearing behavior.
Sometimes I wonder what campus would be like if Wescoe was a parking garage like it was supposed to be.
In the underground during lunch and no one wants to sit with anyone. My table! My own! MY PRECIOUS!!!!
SaluteTheSeniors
I'm less concerned about a baby being changed on a table and more worried about the dangers associated with leaving a baby on a table without anything to keep it from rolling off
I wish I had enough free time to take naps in the library.
It's called a Bill Self-ie
Anyone else feel like the buses feel relieved when they let out that "pssssss" sound at stoops?
Withey block party round two?
POLITICS
America must find North Korea's kryptonite
A after the British Empire fell and the Soviet Union dissolved, the world had only one superpower left. We called it America.
The last country with immeasurable influence over a planet that could be blown halfway to hell by a single nuclear weapon. America has served as a watchful protector that champions diplomacy and justice over killing, but still flexes the capacity to do so better than anyone in the world. Our foreign policy dwells in the gray areas while red, white and blue are sleeping in their Tempurpedic beds. America is Bruce Wayne at home and Batman overseas. And after recently launching its third nuclear test, North Korea has established itself as the Joker of the world.
We've dealt with supervillains before: Germany, Japan, Soviet Union. But they attacked (or spent 50 years threatening to) for clear reasons - for economic gain, for communism or for world domination. But in North
Korea, we found a villain that we are not fully able to understand. What exactly do they want, and how do we stop it?
The U.S. Security Council has imposed a series of escalating economic sanctions against North Korea since it conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, including an embargo on military and technological resources. But what do you take from the country that has nothing? According to estimates by the Council on Foreign Relations, they are still getting aid - China provides 80 percent of North Korea's consumer goods and 45 percent of its food. But even during this period of relative economic stability, the regime raises prices above the average citizen's reach and even withholds rations from soldiers. We cannot possibly hurt North Korea's economy more than it already hurts itself.
There's a story Alfred the butler tells in "The Dark Knight" to make some sense of the Joker's mind. He recounts his time in Burma, attempting to track
down a jewel thief. Alfred and his men searched and searched, but they never could find anyone who traded with him, because the thief had been throwing away the stolen jewels. He explains that some men – or in our case, countries – aren't looking for anything logical, like money.
"They can't be bought, bullied reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."
North Korea is crazy. And like the Joker, we don't take them seriously because of it. We spooped Kim Jong-ll for his oversized sunglasses and Fresh Prince-era hair; we mock his son and current leader Kim Jong-Un for looking like he could (and would) eat
the average North Korean. They are strange and isolated from the rest of the world, but at the same time, they demand attention with a constant stream of threats, including a recent video that showed our president and troops engulfed in flames. But they are serious about creating nuclear weapons, and in doing so, they are in direct violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which was created to disarm all but five countries of nuclear weapons.
America is one of those countries. However, it's difficult to convince other governments to forfeit their weapons when we're sitting on the biggest stockpile in the world, so we've been trimming some fat. In 1967, the U.S. had more than 30,000 warheads, according to defense.gov. Today, the U.S. has just over 1,700. President Obama has made non-proliferation a priority, not only narrowing the stockpile, but also narrowing the circumstances in which we would use such force.
But North Korea is pushing
us. They want us to break our own rules. they're a purple-clad clown, dangling from a Gotham rooftop, just taunting us to give it the push it needs.
Even Batman had to call in the Justice League sometimes. We need the U.N. to be on the same page when dealing with North Korea, but China continues to undermine our sanctions in order to maintain a stable buffer zone between themselves and U.S.-occupied South Korea. We need to shut down the regime - without the use or our nuclear weapons - or this situation could ignite a larger problem.
Batman later asks Alfred if he ever caught the jewel thief of the forest. Alfred solemnly replies yes. Batman asks how,
RELATIONSHIP
"We burnt the forest down."
Webber is a freshman majoring in journalism and political science from Prairie Village. Follow him on Twitter @wnwebber
Cheating not the same for every person, relationship
In relationships, there exists a cheating curve, meaning that what one person considers cheating can be drastically different from another. This curve varies from person to person, and unfortunately, the discrepancies in what constitutes infidelity aren't always made clear, which can strain relationships.
Most people probably agree that certain activities, like kissing or engaging in a full-on bedroom romp with someone else while in an exclusive relationship, are cheating. In a way, the curve in American society has a least a little consistency.
However, a common disagree ment on the issue is whether or not going to a gentleman's club while in a relationship, either serious or not, is a cheating offense. And with the stigma the establishments have, it's no wonder.
The Stir blogger Janelle Harris discussed the issue in a post headlined "Strip Clubs + Cheating = A Natural Combination." She advocates that attending a strip club is cheating and that one cannot simultaneously be in a serious relationship and get a lap dance.
Likewise, I won't pretend that "Mercedes, Vanilla or Delicious" (a blatant stereotype that made it difficult for me to take her opinion seriously) have never done that. However, it's unfair
She said, "All of the pieces for the freaky deaky equation (of cheating) are right there: mental fantasizing, physical desire and emotional hot-and-heaviness. And let's not pretend that, for a few extra bucks, Mercedes, Vanilla or Delicious won't... perform a little more than a lappy and a pole routine."
to say that always happens and equally naive to say that the "mental fantasizing" and "physical desire" she blames on being at a gentleman's club aren't natural phenomena anyway, regardless of relationship status or location.
She prefers her article saying that she isn't "crazy insecure," but after its conclusion and her suggestion that she has never been to a strip club herself, I respectfully disagreed.
Lately, the state government has been critical of these clubs too. According to the Lawrence Journal-World, last month the Kansas House of Representatives had hearings about Bill 2054, called the "Community Defense Act." The bill would place restric tions on "sexually oriented" businesses such as Allstars Gentlemans Club and the Outhouse.
If it passes, the bill would ban employees from being nude or toplames, serving alcoholic beverages, being open past midnight and offering private dances, and dictate where the establishments can be located.
I wouldn't say I can't believe this bill was actually a matter of discussion in the House, but in the wake of representatives, singles and couples alike bashing on these "sexually oriented" businesses by dubbing them intimidating to the community and a menace to relationships, I have to ask...why all the hating
on strip clubs?
To say that merely being at a strip club and/or having a lap dance is infidelity is comparing apples to oranges. It may be one thing if someone in an exclusive relationship actually has sexual contact with said dancer (i.e. more than just receiving a lap dance), but simply being at the establishment and seeing all there is to see is quite another.
I would be concerned if my long-term boyfriend made a habit of frequenting a club club to see a particular dancer, but that'd be more of a reflection of something he's lacking in our relationship. However, a visit and a lap dance for an event like a bachelor party or a night out with his friends is, as far as I'm concerned, no harm, no foul.
Therefore my best advice to anyone with Harris' opinion is, frankly, to get real, and that if you share her view but have never been to a strip club, go. I've been to one, and despite having a stranger thrown into my table, sending me scrambling to recover my cocktail and designer purse, I enjoyed it.
Despite Harris' plea, it is insecure to say going to a gentleman's club is cheating, whether we want to acknowledge it or not, and we have to be honest with ourselves.
We have to admit. "It's not the strip club; it's me," because in the end, it is. And when we do recognize it, it gives us all a little more freedom to be an "I" and a "me" while also being an "us" and a "we."
Keith is a graduate student in education from Wichita. Follow her on Twitter @Rachel_UDKeith.
HOLLYWOOD
Nic Cage: Best actor of all time
Ever since the ancient Greeks started the great tradition of theater in 600 B.C., patrons have long been enticed by the actors who made their presence known on stage. As acting has transitioned into the modern age, so has its medium.
The widespread availability of motion pictures has allowed individual actors to share their talents on a worldwide stage with their works being viewed by millions. There have been countless actors, but only a select few have been able to truly capture our hearts and souls with their inspiring interpretations of characters we see on the big screen. Names such as Tom Hanks, Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe often come into arguments of who is the best, but there is one name forgotten among their ranks.
The soft ballad of the sy! lables that form to create this man's name grace your ears like the poetry of a Shakespearean sonnet. I know you are already aware of whom I'm talking about: The great, the only, the titlating Nicolas Cage.
I bet there are many people out there who would disagree with what I just said, but just one look into Cage's starlit eyes and it is all too clear that he may as well have invented the rules on acting. In his long career, he has played dozens of unique roles ranging from superheros, knights, sorcerers, guinea pigs, treasure hunters, firefighters, ants, a guy named Mick, magicians, and let's not forget when he switches faces with John Travolta.
It's sad that most people don't even realize how good Nicolas Cage can be, and even worse, some unfortunate souls go out of their way to bad-mouth him. This is madness! To insult the
Cage is to insult the very face of the acting gods.
In fact, if I could think of two words to describe Cage's performances, they would be "flawless" and "perfect". I can't even think of a role he couldn't fill. I bet if you took the cast of "Dr. Dolittle" or "Dr. Dolittle 2" and replaced all the actors with Nicolas Cage, the movie would actually benefit from it.
Just visualizing the possibilities in my head makes my heart race and feet tremble. It's like taking a golden watch and covering it in chocolate; the watch was fine to begin with, but dip that bad boy in chocolate and it just gets that much better. Just as this watch is delicious, so is the future for movie fans.
According to Yahoo.com, Cage is rumored to appear in an estimated 14 films within the next two years. Some may think this is overbooking; on the contrary, I believe this to be passion. A passion that not only drives Cage to share his talents, but drives him to reface the image of cinema.
Just as he stole the Declaration of Independence in "National Treasure," he plans to steal our hearts yet again in these next breathtaking years. I hope you're ready, because you will be unable to hold in your emotions. Happiness, sorrow and love; all delivered to you in one small Cage... Nicolas Cage.
Conrad is a sophomore majoring illustration and animation from Andover.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
Favorite memory of the senior basketball players?
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@Juk_Opinion My favorite memory of KU will always be when I hugged Travis Releford. #SeniorNight
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Anson Editorial Board are Hannah Wise,
Sarah McCabe, Nake Witke, Dylan Lysen, Elise Farrine
and Jacob Smiel.
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