Lifestyle

• Headed to the Big Apple: Artsbus Unites NYC and Students

  Lifestyle September 22, 2009 at 2:12 pm Comments are Disabled

  Patrick Wall Style Editor George Mason University prides itself on being a university that verses its students in culture. From the Patriot Center – which has welcomed acts like The Cure and New Kids on the Block – to the Center for the Arts, Mason has been successful in bringing culture to its students. But one of the most valuable programs offered is the Department of Art and Visual Technology’s annual Artsbus trips. Founded in 1987 by Mason professor Jerry Clapsaddle, the Artsbus takes students and community members alike to New York City to visit some of the city’s most prestigious museums. The program originally traveled to the city once a year. In the two decades since, it has expanded to offer 14 trips per year, bringing over 1,000 people to New York City per year. The program has expanded and is now a large part of the department’s curriculum. For students, the event represents an opportunity to visit some of the most prestigious museums in the world. “For non-art students, the trip is expensive,” said senior  Pujita Venkat, who is in the conservation studies program. “But it was a great experience.” Each semester Artsbus makes three day trips to […]

   

• Fashion on a Dime: Staying Fashionable in the Recession

  Lifestyle September 22, 2009 at 2:11 pm Comments are Disabled

  Jessica Martinez Broadside Correspondent In a recession, fashion is about shopping in your closet for classics and mixing them with new trends. Inexpensive shopping is the new chic thing to do and it is all about investing in pieces that will last for more than one season. Romanticism in fashion trends and the transition into autumnal hues make fall an anticipated season. The days of dropping a large amount of money on an item before it went out of style are long gone. This fall, dress in warm attire and brace for the upcoming cold weather months in nothing short of chic classy style. A crisp, white long-sleeved shirt always looks amazing, but this season, it is all about the collar. “White Oxford button-downs from your closet can seem plain and outdated,” said Stefania Anthony, a self-taught Texas-based designer who defines mixing classic pieces with new accessories. “Update it a bit by folding the sleeves and adding a dramatic necklace.” For an even trendier look, go for ruffles from the neck down, exaggerated bows and Edwardian-esque collars which make this staple piece one that transcends the seasons. Anthony is among those who believe that while fashion changes, style remains. Investment […]

   

• Customer Critique: P’s and Q’s at the Checkout Counter

  Lifestyle September 22, 2009 at 2:09 pm Comments are Disabled

  Heather Gioia Broadside Correspondent When you were young your parents probably told you to only “speak when you are spoken to.” You might have been the child that rambled on about everything and nothing, or possibly the child who said nothing whatsoever, even when someone spoke to you. Even if you were five years old when your parents told you this, the theory still holds: Speak when you are spoken to. When you place your items on the counter at the grocery store, maybe even pushing them towards the cashier, and your cashier says, “Hi! How are you today?” do not hesitate to answer. If, by chance, you miss this greeting and your cashier insists on being friendly and again, smiles and says, “Hi! How are you today?” you should respond. There is no excuse for not responding to a simple friendly greeting. This is especially true if your cashier insists on greeting you twice, thus giving you the benefit of the doubt that you didn’t hear them over the noise in the store. If you are a people person or up for conversation, this is your chance to make it known before your cashier dives into a conversation about […]

   

• ‘That’s Not What I Ordered’: Getting Lost in Translation at the Dining Hall

  Lifestyle September 22, 2009 at 2:07 pm Comments are Disabled

  Evan Benton Staff Writer Working in the food industry is hard work. It’s complicated, what with concentrating on both efficiency and excellence, all the while under the scrutinizing, often unfair eyes of the customer. Campus dining, if successful, must be characterized by either exceptionally fast service or large buffet-style choices. Failure at efficiency creates long lines of dissatisfied, angry customers. To combat this, particular George Mason University dining facilities like Sub Connection, Taco Bell and the popular new Burrito Del Rey have an assembly line method of service to enhance efficiency. However, this often thrusts both worker and consumer into disorganized chaos. The effect of this assembly line is most obvious at Sub Connection, Mason’s answer to Subway, in the Johnson Center atrium. Three predominantly Latina workers stand in line. The first takes care of the bread, meat, cheese and the most important question, “toasted?” The second handles the toasting, and the third plants the vegetables, pours the condiments and wraps the sandwich. Pretty good system, right? Well, make the line 15 people long (with more on the way), make anything below a shout nearly impossible to hear—like it is any weekday at noon in the JC—and problems begin. To […]

   

• An Ode to the ‘Greatest Generation’

  Lifestyle September 22, 2009 at 2:03 pm Comments are Disabled

  Patrick Wall Style Editor Legendary journalist Tom Brokaw called them the “Greatest Generation.” Countless Americans call them heroes. But for the veterans of World War II, the most fitting term might just be “brother” or “sister.” On Monday, George Mason University will host Never Forget: WWII Veterans. According to the group’s mission statement, the event aims to “provide George Mason students the opportunity to play a role in our American and global memory.” At 2 p.m., the Johnson Center Cinema will be showing the first two episodes of Band of Brothers, the popular HBO miniseries based on the experiences of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Mason history professor Harry Butowsky will give opening remarks. Butowsky teaches courses on World War I as well as the European and Pacific theaters of World War II. At 7 p.m., Mason will welcome four veterans to Harris Theater for a panel discussion. During the discussion, the four veterans will answer questions from the Mason community, as well as community members. The panel will be moderated by military history professor Christopher Hamner. Hamner is a specialist in the changing combat experiences of American soldiers from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries. The event is organized by […]

   

• Muse Sends Mixed Messages on New Album: English Rockers Show-off Collection of Mismatched Songs on The Resistance

  Lifestyle September 18, 2009 at 8:50 pm Comments are Disabled

  Pearson Jones Assistant Style Editor Muse’s musical intuition has been distorted since its triumphant, mainstream success with their album Black Holes and Revelations, which launched the British trio across the pond and onto the radio wavelengths and music scene of the States. Muse’s newest album, The Resistance shamelessly borrows musical creativity from Queen and Radiohead, a catalyst for lead man Matthew Bellamy to compose his passion-project rock opera album he apparently has been planning to do for a while now. Not many bands have the gumption or musical perception to compose a 15 minute-long three-piece rock symphony—something that supposedly took Bellamy 10 years to write—complete with an overture-to-outro on an album already crammed to the brink with unfamiliar sounds and difficult music that listeners will need a couple of go-arounds to comprehend. The Resistance introduces itself with the albums weak single “Uprising,” a minimalistic beat-driven song that’s so unmemorable you’ll forget about it as quickly as it probably took Bellamy to write the uninspiring, anti-conformity lyrics. “They will not force us/They will stop degrading us/They will not control us/We will be victorious” is sung by Bellamy in a quickly spoken style. Bellamy’s lyrics are so cliché they end up losing […]

   

• Love, Sex and Breaking the Ice: "Dating Doctor" Keeps it Real

  Lifestyle September 14, 2009 at 12:07 pm Comments are Disabled

  Patrick Wall, Style Editor Ever told someone to be a “fat penguin”? Probably not. For most people, talking like this would earn them a fair share of strange looks. For Dave Coleman, it is what he does for a living. Affectionately known as the “Dating Doctor,” Coleman has spoken to over two million people, spending his career helping men and women around the world deal with issues of relationships, dating and sex. Last Monday, Coleman brought his wealth of expertise to George Mason University. He spoke to a crowd of nearly 100 people for two hours, addressing everything from how to maintain long-distance relationships to why “friends with benefits” never works. Rather than giving a lecture, Coleman brought humor and entertainment. Instead of being corny and out of touch, Coleman won over the crowd with his striking personality and down-to-earth style. Most of the evening’s lighter moments came during the audience participation phases. Coleman gently heckled the crowd, rewarding correct answers with treats, and in one instance, an entire bag of candy. “It was refreshing and interesting,” said senior conflict analysis and resolution major Lillie McVey. “The program brought forth students’ sexual desires and embarrassment in a comforting way.” The […]

   

• Mason Gets Naked: One Student’s Love Affair with All-Natural Juice

  Lifestyle September 14, 2009 at 12:07 pm Comments are Disabled

  Evan Benton, Staff Writer Once upon a time, while watching CNN (actually, it was most likely VH1 or NFL Network) I heard the unmistakable sound of a large truck backing up outside my window. Getting up with a groan, I walked over to my window and saw an enormous truck with the word “NAKED” emblazoned along its side. After parking awkwardly in a space much too small for its size, the driver exited the vehicle and began to unload box after box of similarly-titled boxes.  What was in the boxes? Bottles of juice. That was almost a year ago, but I still remember leaving my room in a furious rush of curiosity, wondering what in God’s name “naked juice” was supposed to be, and why they were putting it near food. I found out that NAKED is a brand of unadulterated, all-natural and organic juice.  And the truck driver proved to be a good spokesman for the Santa Monica, Calif. company, giving me a free shirt (albeit grossly oversized) and a nice green hat. Both having the word NAKED boldly written on the fabric proved to be great attention-getters. The One-Stop Patriot Shop in Chesapeake offers a wide spectrum of […]

   

• No Impact Woman: Broadside Talks to Director Colin Beavan’s Wife

  Lifestyle September 14, 2009 at 12:06 pm Comments are Disabled

  Josh Hylton, Staff Writer No Impact Man is a new documentary that portrays the life of a family in New York City who attempt to live for one year without having any negative impact on the environment. Recently, Broadside had a chance to speak with Michelle Beavan on her experiences. Broadside: What was the idea behind this year-long project? My husband, Colin Beavan, he writes books for a living, and in 2006 he really wanted to write about global warming. He wanted to change his focus, and so he came up with this idea about trying to live in New York City for a year without making any environmental impact, any negative environmental impact. He asked me if I would join him because he wanted to write a book about it, and so that was the genesis of the whole thing. It began with the book basically. Considering how much impact each human being does have on the environment, what was the breaking point for you? What was it that made you and Colin decide that doing this was a good idea? Colin came up with the idea in late 2006, and I had recently seen An Inconvenient Truth. It […]

   

• Leave it to Beavans: Family Goes Green in No Impact Man

  Lifestyle September 14, 2009 at 12:04 pm Comments are Disabled

  Josh Hylton, Staff Writer “Is it possible to have a good life without wasting too much?” This is the question filmmaker Colin Beavan poses in his new documentary No Impact Man. The film probes the neglectfulness of America and the ignorance to the harm caused through the millions of carbon footprints produced each day. For the film, Beavan, his wife Michelle and daughter Isabella, set out on an environmental experiment. Their goal is to see if it is possible to live a sustainable life in New York City without causing any negative impact on the environment. Though very few of us could survive without television, computers or video games, the Beavans went a year without toilet paper, incandescent light bulbs, magazines, newspapers, elevators, plastic bags or any form of motorized transportation. Is it all a tad extreme? Absolutely. Is it a little naïve to think their actions could influence an entire city, or the world, into significantly cutting back their carbon emissions? Perhaps. But it is also brave and noble, shunning the things they have become accustomed to and trying to lessen their impact on the environment while also providing a habitable home for themselves. What No Impact Man does […]