Articles by: jdavis15

 

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  Living In a Hearing World

  Lifestyle September 12, 2011 at 2:23 pm Comments are Disabled

  Most college students could never fathom being self-taught all of their lives. For Scott Smith, this scenario is a reality.

   

• Fall TV Preview

  Lifestyle September 12, 2011 at 2:19 pm Comments are Disabled

  With popular shows coming back this fall you may think it’ll be tough for all the new shows premiering to make it big. Well, you may want to think again. CBS’s “A Gifted Man” and “Person of Interest” are creating some buzz among those who love dramas and the supernatural. “Gifted Man” delves into the latter, so if you’re looking for something like “Ghost Whisperer” with a bit more pizzazz, then this is the perfect show for you. “Person of Interest” is sparking some interest among those who loved “Minority Report.” It takes the movie’s set-up a step farther, becoming a CIA crime show wrapped up in politics. “Person” will definitely be the “Inception” for TV-watchers this fall. “Charlie’s Angels” and “Pan Am” seem as though they’re going to be the biggest crowd-pleasers for ABC this fall. Minka Kelly, Rachael Taylor and Annie Ilonzeh are going to be playing the female crime-fighting trio from the classic series of the ‘70s. With luck, they’ll be able to live up to the original, and keep crime at bay with their groovy ways. “Pan Am” takes us back to the ‘60s when flying on planes was hot and the flight attendants were hotter. […]

   
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  How to Cure a Hangover

  Lifestyle September 12, 2011 at 2:17 pm Comments are Disabled

  Turning 21 is a rite of passage for Americans: It symbolizes the acquisition of the last major legal right — the license to legally consume alcohol. Naturally, it’s well within one’s rights to knock back a few drinks with friends on this special day, but, like many other good things, it’s easy to get carried away. If, and when, this happens, you’re going to wake up feeling terrible. In other words, you’ll have a hangover. Now, the science behind hangovers is fuzzy at best. We do know that alcohol inhibits the antidiuretic hormone which tells your kidneys when you need to use the bathroom, hence the excessive urination during alcohol consumption. This dries out your body, resulting in constricted brain cells and therefore a horrible headache in the morning. Other symptoms to look forward to include nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, diarrhea and a bad mood. Luckily, there are a few simple remedies that will alleviate your self-induced pain. First, there are some definite don’ts when it comes to hangover relief. The phrase “the hair of the dog that bit you” refers to drinking more alcohol when you wake up. While this might numb the pain and provide temporary […]

   
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  ‘Contagion’ Tells Us What We Already Know

  Lifestyle September 12, 2011 at 2:16 pm Comments are Disabled

  I’m not a germaphobe. I don’t feel the need to use Purell after every bit of human contact I have. When the swine flu, bird flu or any flu for that matter is announced, I don’t run out and grab face masks or get the super vaccine. Now that I’ve seen “Contagion,” though, I might actually think about it. “Contagion” is definitely what I would call a slow burn. It takes its story telling cues from the likes of “Traffic,” “Crash” and any other movie that follows the lives of multiple, seemingly unrelated people. This time, viewers watch as the characters deal with an unstoppable virus that decimates the world’s population. If you’ve seen “Outbreak,” you may think that you’re going to be in for a similar ride, but you’re not. Where “Outbreak” delivered a tightly wound action thriller in which a few people try to stop a virus while simultaneously debating the extremes to which humans should morally go in order to prevent a disaster, “Contagion” is a bleak story simply about surviving. Don’t get me wrong: I definitely think the film succeeded. The entire time I was watching, I couldn’t help but think about bathing in that Purell […]

   
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  Fall For the Book — What You Need to Know

  Lifestyle September 12, 2011 at 2:08 pm Comments are Disabled

  Each fall semester, George Mason University students and the surrounding community anticipate the arrival of the Fall for the Book festival, during which readers can connect with authors and attend various events. The annual celebration has grown significantly over the years, starting out as a two-day festival and now featuring six days of events. This year marks the 13th anniversary of the festival and will showcase nearly 150 authors from different stylistic backgrounds. Fall for the Book is not limited to the Mason campus and features additional locations around northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland. What makes Fall for the Book so different is its ability to let readers interact with authors on a higher level. “At some book fairs, the only chance you get to meet or hear an author is the minute you have with them while they’re signing a book before they move on to the next person in line,” said Kara Oakleaf, manager of Fall for the Book. “The individual readings allow the audience to hear from authors in their own events, and it really gives authors more time to read, more time to talk about their work and their writing process, more time to talk with […]

   

• Mac vs. PC — Which is the Right Laptop for a College Student?

  News1 September 12, 2011 at 2:03 pm Comments are Disabled

  Finding the right laptop to buy for school is an important matter that college students across the nation face. The two most popular types of computers on the market that most college students are interested in buying are Windows PCs and Apple MacBooks. Alex Seals from the George Mason University ITU Support Center is both a Windows and Apple user. Seals said that the hardware of Macs and PCs is almost identical with a few minor differences. The Mac operating system is appreciable because it is simple to use, except when using custom PC applications, Seals said. Seals also mentioned that Macs may be more efficient than PCs. So which product would be the best overall for a student to buy, given a limited budget? “Windows, definitely — for the price,” Seals said. “If you are trying to be cost-effective, Windows would be the better platform because with Apple you are mainly paying for the name,” Seals said. Security is a major concern for students using laptops, and Seals said that both PCs and Macs have holes in security that have yet to be remedied. According to Seals, both PCs and Macs are vulnerable to viruses, but currently Macs are […]

   

• Writing Center Hires New Director

  News1 September 12, 2011 at 2:03 pm Comments are Disabled

  “As much as I love to teach, I simply cannot spend 45 minutes a week with every student. Tutoring allows for a one-on-one relationship that just isn’t possible in a large classroom.”

   
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  Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team Visits Mason

  News1, Sports September 12, 2011 at 2:02 pm Comments are Disabled

  Moments before the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, a young Daniel Lasko stood in Harrisonburg, Pa., ready to take the oath of enlistment into the United States Marine Corps, swearing to protect his country. He swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and he swore to bear true faith and allegiance to the red, white and blue. Lasko was born in 1982 in Easton, Pa., and grew up an athlete, playing baseball at the high school level. He was well-equipped for the Marines at age 19 and made the decision to enlist, seeing it as an opportunity to serve his country. Before beginning his enlistment, Lasko was sent home to be with his family until he could be transported south to Parris Island in Port Royal, S.C. After viewing the violent attacks, some individuals may have begun to rethink their decision to volunteer for military duty. But not Daniel Lasko. He boarded a bus to Port Royal and began the 13-week camp on Sept. 17, just six days after the attacks. He graduated from boot camp in January of 2002 […]

   
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  New Bike Racks, Transportation Costs Encourage Bike Use

  News1 September 12, 2011 at 2:00 pm Comments are Disabled

  As the gas prices rise and awareness increases for environmentally friendly transportation, George Mason University is making an effort to become more bike friendly. “I’ve definitely noticed the number of bike racks around campus,” freshmen marketing major Brent Seth said. “It was one of the first things I noticed when I first got here.” This is not a surprise, as Mason has boosted the number of bike racks outside facilities and school buildings to keep up with the growing bike-riding population. According to the Mason Transportation Department’s webpage, one of the main selling points for a student to start biking to and around campus is the relative cost-effectiveness. They stated that while the initial costs of the bike itself and the safety equipment exist, they are merely a fraction of the cost involved in maintaining a car, a required parking pass, insurance and ever-rising gas prices. “I can definitely see the allure behind riding a bike [as opposed to driving a car],” sophomore government and international politics major Rita Halabi said. “Mason has really made an effort to get students biking to and from school.” The Mason Transportation Department’s webpage also claims that biking to and from school can be […]

   

• Student Enrollment up From Last Year

  News1 September 12, 2011 at 1:53 pm Comments are Disabled

  Every year students from all over the world arrive on campus to obtain a degree in order to get ahead in a competitive world.