Posted by Cassie Myers on Friday, November 06, 2009 03:48 pm
If you haven’t watched “The Office” recently, then you probably saw it via YouTube or in “Casino Royale.” Parkour is sweeping the world. And now, apparently, it’s even reached Berkeley. That’s right–it’s been reported that about a dozen people on the UC Berkeley campus practice parkour every Thursday night.
So what is parkour exactly? Etymologically (oh yes, we’re going there) “parkour” comes from the French word “parcours” which means “route.” Basically, though, it’s a lot of people trying to find the most interesting way to get around, including read more »
Posted by Cassie Myers on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 05:44 pm
As All Hallows’ Eve approaches, the evil spirits from other realms begin to awaken, entering the portal of our world. (Don’t worry, this will end up being about sports. Just hang in there.) Berkeley’s least favorite spirit, the hobgoblin known as budget cuts, is hard at work again, cackling and doing whatever it can to make college less fun.
Now some professors are saying that sports should no longer be subsidized. (Tellingly, they call themselves the Sports Grinch Club.) Even some Knight thinks so—the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, which reports that there is an “out-of-control ‘arms race’ among college football programs competing to pay increasingly high coaches’ salaries and other associated costs.”
Athletic departments around the country are almost always out of dough. Cal is out to the tune of about $6 million this year, read more »
Posted by Jill Cowan on Thursday, October 08, 2009 12:10 am
Oh Berkeley. You’ve birthed many a-strange thing. So many, in fact, we’re too tired at the moment to attempt even an iceberg tip-grazing list. (Look ma, no links!)
Yesterday, though, we found one that might just take the (cup)cake. Fine, giant $25,000 cupcake cars in a Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog are hardly the weirdest things to come out of Berkeley, but that pun was just too entICING to resist. Alright, alright, we’ll knock it off. We just think it’s rather telling that our first thought while reading about “Bay Area artist” Lisa Pongrace’s cupcakey creations on a national, in no way regional blog was “Hm. Five bucks says she’s from B-Town.” And we were right:
THINGS WE NEED: A $25,000 Cupcake Car [BWE]
Cupcake Cars [YouTube]
Posted by Cassie Myers on Monday, October 05, 2009 07:19 pm
As you may or may not have heard, someone has apologized to you recently. No, it isn’t that girl who hit you with her backpack in the slap-dash rush out of Wheeler on Friday afternoon. It isn’t even the guy who laughed uproariously at inappropriate moments while you were trying to watch a movie. No, it was Sandy Barbour, Berkeley’s Director of Athletics.
Before you get excited, she isn’t apologizing for a soul-crushing Homecoming. She’s actually apologizing for a more literal crushing—that of your body against a complete stranger’s at Memorial Stadium. The letter of apology, addressed rather ambiguously to “Cal Football Fans,” laments the lack of crowd control at this past Saturday’s game.
Posted by Diana Newby on Thursday, June 25, 2009 06:40 pm
In a stroke of unparalleled brilliance, Stanford has unequivocally proven itself both eloquent and remarkably concise, at least in terms of marketing strategy. The recently released catchphrase for the upcoming football season quite flawlessly captures the spirit of not only the sport, but the school as a whole, in two simple words:
“We Work.”
Well done, Stanford. Although we seem to be alone in our approval, considering the Athletic Board has apparently expressed its discontent with the catchy little epigram. We can’t understand why anything so original and inspired could provoke the slightest degree of vexation. Sure, the current economic crisis renders it a tad on the douchey side. And taking into account an indisputable reputation for exorbitant wealth and snobbery, it might come off as mildly ironic as well.
But mostly, “We Work” is downright stupid—and, as such, hilarious.
Image Source: swanksalot under Creative Commons Stanford football: Is the new slogan dumb, insensitive, or … ??? (I can’t think of a third option) [CollegeSportsHotline]
Prolonging your grad date might not work either, if that’s what you’re thinking. Seniors, you’re screwed. Juniors, you’re probably screwed too. We hope you plan on getting a Ph.D. in something useful.
This Tuesday is the new D-Day. To panda or not to panda, that is the question; whether ’tis nobler in the tummy to suffer the orange chicken and BBQ pork of outrageous sodium, or to take arms against a sea of plastic utensils and by opposing, end them.
In other words, your presence is requested at the contract vote for Panda Express on Lower Sproul. Will protesters prevent this momentous decision? Probably not, but we’d never say no to another appearance of a panda suit.
Day: Tuesday, April 14 Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Where: Eshleman Hall
So what was up with those weirdos on Sproul today with the blue recycling bins? Oh, that’s SQUELCH!–just smile and move along, folks. Earlier today party chair Andy Morris e-mailed us a schedule of events for Upper Sproul Plaza:
His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama is trekking all the way from India to give a speech entitled “Peace Through Compassion” right here at UC Berkeley’s Greek Theater. And yes, you really do have to call him “His Holiness.”
Student ticket sales will begin Wednesday, March 11 at Zellerbach Hall and go for $20 in the stadium and $15 on the lawn. Adult and staff tickets will begin the 16th. Who would have thought that the Dalai Lama, Theodore Roosevelt and The Grateful Dead all had something in common?
Who: His Holiness When: April 25, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. Start lining up at noon. Where: Greek Theater
Image Source: FerneMillen under Creative Commons
Peace Through Compassion [Website]