Articles by: style

 

• It’s all about you: Britt Wright gets personal on WGMU

  Lifestyle May 3, 2010 at 1:26 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Tea Hadzic, Broadside Correspondent Monday seems to be the most dreaded day of the week for students. But not for Britt Wright. Wright is a weekly DJ and host of his very own radio show on George Mason University’s WGMU. The title of his show is The Wright Hour, an hour-long show airing every Monday from 5 to 6 p.m. Wright’s show is entirely about you. You tell him what you want to discuss and what you want to hear, and he’ll make it happen for you . . . with a spin of his own style. “My duty is to entertain students through music and select conversations,” said Wright, a sophomore communication major from Richmond, Va. “Ideally, I wanted people to finishing their Monday evening off just right . . . and what better way than with The Wright Hour.” Hosting a show during his college career was not in Wright’s plans. He actually took COMM 148, which is the Radio Workshop course, during his freshman year. If a student does extremely well in the course, he or she is asked to host a show in the actual studio. Looks like Wright received an A-plus. Wright has discussed […]

   

• The best of the decade that was

  Lifestyle May 3, 2010 at 1:25 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer This past decade was a huge one for film. It’s hard to believe, but before the last decade, superhero movies were considered risky ventures, Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings were just books and the most successful films in 3D were Jaws 3-D and Friday the 13th Part III. So with that, let’s look back at the 2000s for the top five films of the last decade. This is my last column for Broadside, so I would just like to say thanks to anyone who took a minute to read my articles each week. 5. The Royal Tenenbaums The decade was ripe with quirky comedies like Juno and Little Miss Sunshine, but Wes Anderson’s take on family dynamics was borderline perfection. An incredible cast featuring Gene Hackman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller and Luke and Owen Wilson in their greatest roles has a style all its own and its views on love, relationships and growing up in mayhem make it a fantastic comedy. 4. Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 The 2000s were also about breaking down the norms, something Quentin Tarantino does better than the rest. Tarantino split up his four-hour film into […]

   

• Magic: The Gathering A card game bringing students together

  Lifestyle May 3, 2010 at 1:23 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Ramy Zabarah, Staff Writer We’ve all seen them, we’ve all heard them and we’ve all judged them, but does anyone actually know them? For most students, the bottom level of SUB I is a place to get a quick bite to eat, grab a drink after a long day of class or play a game of pool to unwind. But for a certain group of students, it’s a place where they can be themselves. Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game introduced in 1993 that has been credited as the precursor for other games such as Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! But Magic: The Gathering — or Magic, for short — is the main focus of this certain group of students who rule over the kingdom of SUB I. Although Magic is this group’s main game of choice, other similar games might make their way to the table, such as seminal fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons and various board games. Games of Magic are played in phases between two or more people. Each player starts out with a certain number of health points, and the objective is to either cause your opponent’s cards to run out, or to reduce […]

   

• New sparring club uses old-world techniques

  Lifestyle May 3, 2010 at 1:18 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Jason Ulrich, Broadside Correspondent Walking past one of the ballrooms in SUB II, spirited grunts, shoe squeaks and sword thrusts echo as two students engage each other in a sparring match using long swords. Some people join clubs to share in their ethnicity, some to share in a foreign language, while others have a strictly political aim. But there is one club on campus that puts all these aspects of modern society behind them for a couple of days out of the week. It is the George Mason Medieval Swordsmanship club, or GMMS for short. The swordsmen practice in medieval weaponry, helping each other learn different styles and techniques from countries such as Germany and Italy. Most of each meeting is made up of drills and sparring until “the desired result is met, or if something weirder is found,” says James Clark, club president and biology major. “We also laugh, joke and generally enjoy ourselves, even in the middle of a spar.” Still limping into existence, this club normally meets in an aerobics room inside the Aquatic Center or a ballroom in SUB II on Wednesdays and Sundays from 3 to 6 p.m. History professor Samuel Collins is the […]

   

• George checks our NUTS: Annual festival a smash hit with students

  Lifestyle May 3, 2010 at 1:15 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Aisha Jamil, Broadside Correspondent “Check your nuts!” — The memorable slogan blared out by volunteers that no student who attended this year’s Testival will forget. The slogan was also printed on this year’s blue T-shirts that featured several large peanuts on the front with the word “Testival” bolded and enlarged on the back. Testival, which is an annual testicular cancer awareness-raising event, provided George Mason University students a fun way to learn how to check themselves for lumps. With games like Testicle Toss, Guess that Nut, Balls to the Wall and Plinko, students were ready to stop by and play. Winners received prizes such as a blue balls keychain, a ballsy mouse pad, a nutty stress reliever, a ShamWow or a “Check Your Nuts” calendar depicting ordinary objects in suggestive poses. When asked what he learned at the event, sophomore Justin Ladson replied enthusiastically, “I learned how to check my balls!” In order to get the prized T-shirts, students had to talk to three different volunteers about testicular cancer, who taught them how to check for unusual lumps and nodules. “I learned how to do a self-exam,” said sophomore government major Nicholas Mondi. “They actually made me touch fake […]

   

• In My Own Words . . .

  Lifestyle April 26, 2010 at 2:16 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Erin Thompson, Broadside Correspondent Hi, my name is Erin Thompson. I am a senior at the Mason LIFE Program. I would like to share my residential dorm life experiences. Mason LIFE Program has a residential program as a component that continues to build upon the foundation fostered in the independent living and community access classes as taught in the academic program. While one-third of the Mason LIFE students commute to the university, at least two-thirds are residential students who live on campus. But I am actually enjoying myself in the dorms. The reason I decided to live on campus is because I always wanted to be independent and hopefully to move out of my parents’ house. My parents always taught me how to be independent, like taking my own responsibility, doing my chores (including homework) and making sure that I take my medication ever morning. Also, making sure that I get to bed on time. In the Mason LIFE Program, we have a 102-dorm class that involves friendship, roommates and residential assistance. We usually meet every Tuesday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. This class will help us learn more and be very independent in our dorm room. We have […]

   

• Denzel returns to Broadway in Fences

  Lifestyle April 26, 2010 at 2:05 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Jason Ulrich, Broadside Correspondent In Denzel Washington’s riveting return to stage acting, both he and fellow thespians Viola Davis and Mykelti Williamson appear in the Broadway revival of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Fences. The play, written by famed playwright August Wilson, will officially open up today, April 26, and will run for 13 weeks at Cort Theatre in New York City. Part of Wilson’s famous “Pittsburgh Cycle,” a group of dramas concerned with the African American experience during the 20th century, Fences is one of his most popular pieces. Taking place in the Pittsburgh of 1957, Troy Maxson (Washington) is a family man who works as a garbage collector with aspirations to be the first black truck driver. The character, originally played by James Earl Jones, constructs a fence around his home throughout the play, reminiscing his heyday as a ballplayer for the Negro Leagues. Washington, whose last Broadway venture was 2005’s Julius Caeser, takes this tough role and runs with it, playing off both Maxson’s ferocious anger and indignation as well as displaying a surprising inflection of physical humor. Troy Maxson is unlike any character Washington has played in his long career. Through concentrating on the man’s […]

   

• Radiohead’s debut not so sweet

  Lifestyle April 26, 2010 at 2:03 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Ramy Zabarah, Staff Writer To everyone who’s sung the song “Creep” on Rock Band and called themselves a Radiohead fan, I ask you this: Where did it all begin? For over 18 years, the English alternative rock band has been writing, recording and performing music, gaining worldwide recognition for their unique style and experimental sound. But where did it all begin? The band’s debut album, Pablo Honey, was released in February 1993, after they signed a six album record deal with the British record label EMI. Despite what some may think, Radiohead didn’t always have the great diverse talent that they have today. Pablo Honey was a career landmark, but it failed to show signs of hope for the band at the time of its release. At the time of its original release, Pablo Honey couldn’t bring the band fame and fortune, or even proper venues to perform in. In fact, their first album tour was comprised of British colleges and small clubs. It wasn’t until the album gained recognition in the U.S. that the band started to build a name for themselves. Their debut single “Creep” had all the catchy qualities that the average listener was looking for, […]

   

• What a Buzzkill!

  Lifestyle April 26, 2010 at 2:00 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Dylan Hares, Staff Writer There is no doubt that George Mason University is growing. Lot I is closed for the construction of residence halls and Eastern Shore and Hampton Roads will see their first fall semesters starting in fall 2010. Both Student Union buildings are seeing construction and expansion, and we’re getting several new office and academic buildings all over campus. With all these expansions in these hard economic times, it begs the question from tuition-paying students: What is it that I’m paying for exactly? The consensus seems to be that Mason is a boring place on the weekends. At least half of the resident population goes home during this time and those who remain seek off-campus excitement. At least it seems that way when the campus is literally barren and on-campus events go unattended on the weekends. This past Monday, Provost Peter Stearns and Senior Vice President Maurice Scherrens hosted a very candid and open budget summit at Ike’s. Among the points touched on were the cause of rising tuition and where the money goes. According to Scherrens, this past year saw a $4.5 million reduction in the funding provided by the state. In the past 10 years, […]

   

• The sleeper hits of the summer

  Lifestyle April 26, 2010 at 1:59 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer Every summer, audiences become inundated with copious amounts of blockbusters. In the first month of this summer alone, Robin Hood and Prince of Persia will be released, as well as sequels to Iron Man, Sex and the City and the fourth Shrek movie. Yet hidden in between these mammoth films are sleeper hits, movies that come out of nowhere as a respite from the usual. In past years, these films have included Garden State, Little Miss Sunshine and last year’s District 9. So here are the top five potential sleeper hits of summer 2010. 5. Babies Summer can be a surprisingly great time for documentaries. Fahrenheit 9/11, March of the Penguins and Super Size Me all did remarkably well in their genre, during a time when blockbusters reign. This year, that surprise summer documentary could be Babies. The film chronicles a year in the life of four different babies across the world. And if there’s one thing that’s cuter than marching penguins, it’s cross-cultural babies. 4. Get Low Get Low, based on a true story, is about a man in the 1930s who decided to throw his own funeral while he was still alive. The […]