February 13, 2014 | Volume 3, Issue 18 | State College, NBL
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THE SAINTS COME MARCHING IN page 2
THE PURPOSE OF STAC page 3 SAY CHEESE page 6 BIG RED FOR THE RED CROSS page 8
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editor’s note
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THe SaINTS COMe MaRCHINg IN Spoiler alert. Don’t read the remainder of this article if you don’t want everything you know about Saint Valentine’s Day to be busted and blown up with flames.
JaCY LEWIS Gamma Phi Beta Editor-in-Chief
Jacy is a sophomore studying journalism. You may contact her at jacy_2012@hotmail.com.
I don’t want to be that person, but it’s time that Saint Valentine’s Day stops being only about the teddy bears and cliche chocolates that are circulated by corporations that want to make bucks in the middle of a cold seemingly heartless time. This holiday has became a way to say, “Hey I like you, but I’m only going to tell you once a year” or “Hey I’ve been creeping on you lately and you seem cool so let’s hang out and I will get you an equally creepy teddy bear as a reminder of me.” The American society has repeatedly disassociated holidays with their history. The history behind holidays like Saint Valentine’s Day have been pushed to the side, Cinco de Mayo and Saint Patrick’s Day are other examples of why context needs to be included while celebrating holidays. The origin of Saint Valentine’s Day started with the celebration of multiple saints called Valentinus. Most of the stories revolving around these saints end in them being killed. From a Christian stand point they became martyrs, which means they suffered persecution and death for refusing to renounce their beliefs. Saint Valentine of Rome was a martyr when he didn’t convert to Roman paganism. However, before he kicked the bucket he
performed a miracle by healing the jailer’s daughter, which should have probably gave him a get out of jail free card if life was like Monopoly. If we were really celebrating St. Valentine’s Day then we would be celebrating the death of a nice man. Truthfully, the 14th probably isn’t even the day he was executed. Originally, the holiday was a day of feasting, which sounds way better than a holiday centered around romance. To be honest, couples who go out to dinner on Valentine’s day hardly eat any of the food they order because of those pesky butterflies in their stomachs. This fact is heartbreaking. On average, a person will spend around $130 on Saint Valentine’s Day. An astonishing $1.6 billion dollars will be spent on candy alone. Haven’t people heard of Singles Awareness Day, which is the day after St. Valentine’s Day, when candy is half off? There has been no evidence supporting the connection of romantic love to Saint Valentine. Therefore, why has this holiday transformed into a consumer based day of romance? Chaucer’s poems about Valentines is the sole reason. He may be the Father of English literature, but that doesn’t mean he had the right to change the meaning of a holiday. As a side note, Chaucer also made the connection between lovers and birds, which doesn’t really make much sense especially because the Pope released those peace doves a couple of weeks back and they were attacked by other birds. This may seem like a long rant, but if I see another pink oversized teddy bear I will vomit. Simply because there is no practical use for an oversized pink blob. Where is it even going to go? If people still want to celebrate this holiday then go for it. This is a free country and I like to celebrate National Cat Day, so to each their own. Maybe America can start checking out the history behind all these little holidays and realize how much money they waste in sometimes hollow endeavors.
THE ODYSSEY AT NEBRASKA EXECUTIVE TEAM editor-in-Chief Jacy Lewis
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THE PURPOSE OF STAC Jeremy Payne is not only a fighter, but also a creator. Payne is a sophomore at UNL and right before his freshman year of college, started the club STAC. STAC stands for “Students Together Against Cancer.”
KaRa COSENTINO Phi Mu
Kara is a sophomore studying english and communications. You may contact her at karacosentino@gmail.com.
I interviewed Payne as to his motive for creating STAC and found his answers very amazing. In December of 2006, Jeremy was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer of the lymph tissue found in the lymph nodes, spleen, and other organs of the immune system. Payne said, “After going through fourteen months of chemotherapy, three surgeries, medicinal regimens, spinal taps, bone marrow biopsies, CT scans, PET scans, and many other rigorous medical tests, procedures, and surgeries, I wanted to forget about the whole experience.” He said it is due to mandatory community service hours from his high school that he was not able to forget about his experience. For his service hours, he decided to reach out to Make-a-Wish, where he did public service speaking for them for months. He said, “I decided that my experiences could benefit the lives of other people. Initially, I didn’t want people to associate me with cancer; I don’t want to receive pity for my experiences.” When he realized that beating cancer was something that he could not simply leave behind, Jeremy decided to act on it. “When I realized my story could help others, however, I started to find ways to reveal it. The summer before my freshman year of college is when I got my friend together to see if we could start this organization.” Payne acknowledges it was an ambitious project, but comments, “The reason I started STAC is not to help myself or to share my story, but to help people in similar situations to the people I met in the waiting room at Children’s Hospital in Omaha during my treatment.” The purpose of STAC is to: first, provide emotional and financial assistance to local cancer patients, secondly, provide the students of UNL with opportunities to develop skills in their areas of interest and use them in settings that benefit people in the local community, and third, to assist other cancer-related organizations. And because Payne decided to start STAC, they have accomplished so much in the past two years. “STAC has accomplished well beyond what it’s initial mission was intended. First…I have made it a huge emphasis to go to local high schools and middle schools to talk about leadership and finding your passion.”
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Besides helping younger students start clubs in their own schools, Payne said that the most important thing STAC has done is assist the local cancer patients in the area. “In our second year of existence, we were already able to help out two cancer patients. The first patient was about to give up a whole month’s worth of treatment because his insurance was getting too expensive.” STAC was able to supply him with that treatment right around the 2013 holiday. “To start off 2014, we made a donation to a woman who was one month away from entering remission. Our insurance payment took care of her final month of treatment before she became cancer free. And relieving that burden allowed her to become more comfortable around the time she was able to beat cancer.” STAC has done amazing things for the local community. If you want to get involved with STAC to help cancer patients around the area, you can find STAC on Facebook at: WWW. Facebook.com/huskerstac. Or, email Jeremy at: unlstac@gmail.com. You can also contact any of the executive members via email, Facebook, or Twitter. General STAC members meet every four weeks, and special committees meet every two weeks.
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fashion trends
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THE POWER OF RED With Valentine’s Day
If you’re absolutely positive that cutesy holidays aren’t your thing then make
coming up, everyone
sure you at least wear red for the (RED) campaign that raises awareness for
already has their plans to go out on a date with that special someone or sit in watching the best chick flicks with your girls.
aBBeY WALKER Alpha Omicron Pi
Abbey is a sophomore studying fashion communications. You may contact her at awalker012@yahoo.com.
Whatever your plans
HIV and AIDS programs in Africa. 100% of the money that they raise go to the program and has already helped 40 million people. You can help this cause by buying a (RED) product, donating or even wearing red to help raise awareness for this wonderful cause and help end AIDS. If you’re out and trying to catch that special someone’s eye or even just
may be that night, make sure you look your best because you never know
chilling at home and want to get into the spirit of the holiday, wear red, my
if that night you might meet that someone that makes all of the rest of your
friends. This color has powers that could turn your life upside down with
Valentine’s days special. If you’re single and going out, black might seem like
just simply slipping into your favorite red jeans or scarlet sweater! Even just
the best color to wear because hey, why not protest this holiday but there is
wearing red to help a cause will spread more love around the world than
science behind wearing the true Valentine’s Day color, red.
you think!
Honestly, I love wearing the holiday’s colors that day because it just gets you more into the spirit of the day but I truly believe that there is something behind wearing red. According to a psychological study done by the University of Rochester in 2008, when men were shown a few pictures of the same woman in different colors, they responded to being more sexually attracted to the one picture when she was wearing red. Even if the woman was near a red background or the picture was in a red frame, men continued to agree that she was more attractive than in the other pictures with different colors. Strangely though, the red effect only tends to work on the male brain but simply have no effect with females. Also the red effect only changed the level of attractiveness to men but it did not change their levels of likeability, intelligence, or kindness with other colors. Another reason to wear red is because it is the most emotionally intense color as well as a symbol for love. When someone sees red, his or her heartbeat and breathing increases, which can trigger more feelings and hormones towards a person. Also red catches the most attention when one person is wearing it in a crowd, which could help zone in the special person to get all of their attention. Another color that goes along with Valentine’s Day is pink, which actually has the opposite effect that red does. Pink is more tranquilizing and will calm your nervous.
debate & discuss
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SAY CHEESE we have because of the technology
Let’s talk a bit about selfies.
that’s been placed before us.
The act of taking a picture of oneself has become the latest
Another huge question people
of a number of global trends
pose about selfies is what purpose
brought on by advancements
they serve? Everyone knows about
in technology. Anyone with
self-portraits. From van Gough to
a smart phone or an account
Gauguin to Kahlo, great artists have
on any social media site has
been known to paint themselves as
been exposed (or perhaps
subjects. Are self-portraits the same
overexposed) to selfies or share
thing as selfies? Though the art
their selfies with others. Many
behind selfies is up to interpretation,
claim that the selfie trend is
it is possible for the same motivation
yet another indicator of our
behind self-portraits to be behind a
generation’s self-obsession
selfie.
and constant need for attention and praise. But really, what are
Selfies capture the emotion of the
selfies all about? Are they an
taker through the subjects own eyes
act of narcissism, or a form of
. There is no better way to express
expression? Are they
human emotion than through facial
the future, or just a passing fad? First, let’s look at how selfies even became a ‘thing.’ When social media first began to
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JOSLYN MAENNER
expression. When you take a selfie,
Joslyn is a junior studying hospitality, restaurant and tourism management. You may contact her at joslyn.maenner@hotmail.com.
cheese!” You get to be the director, the
Gamma Phi Beta
explode selfies were present, but rare. You’d have to take a picture of yourself, most likely in front of a mirror, and then upload the picture from your camera to your MySpace or Facebook. These were most often referred to as ‘mirror pics.’ Eventually, smart phones allowed people to upload pictures directly from mobile phones to social media. Front-facing cameras on mobile devices became the real turning point in the selfie game, allowing users to see exactly how a picture would turn out.
there’s no one in front of you yelling “Smile for the camera!” or “Say producer, the editor and the subject. You get to decide what emotion you want to convey and what message you want your image to have. Selfies help us to document and remember how we felt in a certain time or place. What would it be like if you had a selfie of your parents or grandparents at your age. You could probably learn a lot more about what they were like and how they perceived
Imagine now how a selfie would be taken 18 years ago. Your best bet might
the world around them. So, save your
have been a Polaroid camera, but even that method would be difficult and
selfies. Keep them somewhere for
costly. And what would you do with your one copy? Give it to a friend or
sometime in the future. It’s amazing the things you’ll remember.
put it in your scrapbook maybe. Technological advancements help to explain why selfies have blown up so much in the past few years. It’s not so much a function of our generations “self-obsession,” but more about the opportunity
Selfies are here to stay. Our generation has been able to tap into a whole new experience and a whole new way to document our lives. If anything, this is just the beginning.
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debate & discuss
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CAN UNL BECOME A WET CAMPUS? There were around 18.2 million college students in 2007 so we can calculate that around 15,288,000 students drank during that year. While college enrollment has increased within the past seven years, one can only guess how many more students drink now, but I’ll let you figure that out.
Lincoln, Nebraska is certainly no stranger JOeL when it comes to GIROUARD drinking. Two years Sigma Chi Joel is a senior studying ago, both Lincoln and advertising & PR. You may contact him at Omaha were ranked jpgiro@yahoo.com. in the top 20 binge drinking cities in America while some lists included North Platte and Columbus as well. What does this mean? Well for starters, Nebraska likes to drink…a lot. Maybe we drink because of the god-awful winters that rip at our faces or the football games where we lose to teams who have no business competing with us. For whatever reason, the reality is that students at UNL love to indulge themselves with cheap Natty and the oh-so lovely plastic bottles of Barton’s strewn about every Friday and Saturday night. According to a study done by the Core Institute, 84% of college students reported that they consumed alcohol within the past year.
The University of NebraskaLincoln has around 25,000 students both undergraduates and graduates combined. While 25,000 students may seem like a lot, UNL is actually the 2nd smallest Big Ten School, ahead of only Northwestern, with 14,000 students. Since moving to the Big Ten Conference, the administration is obviously trying to draw in more out-of-state students and create more national awareness, but it has been a slow process. I’m sure most of you out-of-state students have noticed that recent hike in tuition prices and I can bet most of you are not happy. While I understand that UNL is trying to catch up with the rest of the Big Ten, the reality is that most people don’t know our school exists. When I applied for college back in New York, nobody from my grade applied to UNL and only 1 of 250 students the next year applied. I didn’t even know that UNL existed until a friend’s parent mentioned Nebraska. At that point, I couldn’t even point out the state of Nebraska on a map. And that got me thinking. Why is that? Why, besides the Midwest, does nobody know anything about UNL? The answer? ALCOHOL.
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The university loves to tell parents and other colleges that we are a leading example of a safe and dry campus, but we all know that is a mirage. Regardless of whether or not we’re a dry or wet campus, students are going to drink regularly, university policies be damned! I, for one, believe that a move by UNL to become a wet campus would be safer and more profitable.
A lot of high school students apply to colleges based on their sports teams, the majors they offer, or because they think it will look good on a resume, but a lot of high school students apply to colleges because of their desire to party. The prospect of almost complete freedom from parents and non-stop partying is what most high school students yearn for and they can’t wait to jump on the first chance they get.
“
Need an example? The University of Notre Dame, the 18th best college as ranked by US News, is a wet campus. While I can understand why the university thinks that our school will falter if it becomes a wet campus I do believe that it will actually improve it. By becoming a wet campus we will be able to drink responsibly after the sporting events. God knows we need it after some tough losses. Like Notre Dame, we can also create a bar in the Union, which would increase the amount of people hanging out, and drive up sales.
In all reality though, I do believe that if UNL were to become a wet campus, the students at UNL would be more responsible and wouldn’t drink as hard to prove something against the school.
If UNL were to become a wet campus, then maybe students wouldn’t engage in such risky behavior. This also might help prevent UNL PD from having to hand out MIPs every weekend like they’re cups at the Big Red Welcome.
“
Some readers are likely questioning how this article relates to UNL’s status as a dry campus. Even if the administration does not want to admit it, the allure of alcohol and partying is a driving force behind every college-bound student’s In all reality though, I do believe that if UNL were to become a wet decision to enroll. Greater enrollment for the university will increase revenue. Any Accounting or Economics major knows that the more campus, the students at UNL would be more responsible and wouldn’t students enrolled equates to more money in the university’s coffers, and drink as hard to prove something against the school. wasn’t that the underlying goal to move to the Big Ten? And maybe be In closing, whether or not you’re for becoming a wet campus or better nationally ranked, but that’s besides the point. staying dry it’s your duty to have an open mind when looking at our In September, Benjamin Curttright of the Daily Nebraskan wrote current situation. I hope that one day our student body will be able about how UNL’s dry campus policy is safer and more beneficial to to drink more responsibly and make safer choices. If Harvey Perlman first one to buy students than a wet campus would be. I, on the other hand, disagree. ever decides to make UNL a wet campus, I’ll be the him a drink.
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campus connections
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BIG RED FOR THE RED CROSS benefit military veterans and their families.
aLeXIS LOWE
“I am so proud of how we’ve grown in numbers as Alpha Delta Pi well as enthusiasm. I’m also Alexis is a freshman studying gender studies, premed.h. proud that we are not just You may contact her at another club; we’re actually ocean_lexi@hotmail.com. trained volunteers who can give back to our community,” said Anna Owens who is the Public Relations Chair and a member of Alpha Delta Pi. Owens came to the organization through her experience as a Red Cross volunteer in high school. She notes that the difference between her past and present experiences is that Campus Red Cross is a self-driven group, one where its members can work together to decide how to give their time and skills. “Campus Red Cross is one of the most opportunistic clubs I’m aware of here on campus. I say that because unlike many other college clubs, members are able to build a strong relationship with local staff of an internationally recognized organization. We hold a national leadership position within the American Red Cross, and there are plenty of opportunities to develop your leadership skills,” Wade Reigle the president of Campus Red Cross who is in Alpha Tau Omega said. Reigle is very passionate about his work with the American Red Cross and believes that the volunteer atmosphere is one of diversity, benefitting individuals of all majors and career paths, as well as fun-loving and full of caring people. “I personally want Campus Red Cross to be an organization that helps its members succeed as much as they help CRC succeed,” Reigle said. If you are looking to join this devoted group of volunteers in their efforts, the CRC is always accepting new members. They hold meeting generally on every Thursday at 5:30 in the Union. It truly is an RSO that is full of opportunities for everyone, no matter their goals and it’s a great way to gain experience in helping others. Here is a list of volunteer opportunities through the Campus Red Cross that are held every year: Blood Drives:usually 3 each year, one in the winter, one in the spring, and one during Homecoming week. Everyone should watch for those dates and consider being a donor! For some UNL students, “Big Red” does not just refer to school pride. For the officers and members of the Campus Red Cross, it’s something much bigger. The Campus Red Cross is an Registered Student Organization that connects directly with Lincoln’s local Red Cross chapter. The week of January 27th they once again let their presence be known with a campus blood drive in the Kauffman Center. I personally went and donated blood, which is always a great experience. For the hour of answering a few questions, having my blood pressure and iron levels taken, which for us college kids is a great way to get a quick, free check-up, then actually giving my one donation of blood. I was told that one donation can save up to 3 people’s lives. But the Campus Red Cross is so much more than blood donations. In fact, our campus chapter has opportunities for its members to be trained and to volunteer as first aid responders, disaster relief responders and basic aid instructors. Volunteers are given plenty of opportunities to work with the local National Guard as well, holding events to
First Aid Team:a team for volunteers who want to be trained in first aid through the ARC. Lincoln has one of the strongest Red Cross First Aid Teams in the country, and they are present at events such as Husker home games and concerts at the Pinnacle Bank Arena. Basic Aid Training:I’ve volunteered for this one and it is a really neat experience. CRC volunteers work alongside adult ARC volunteers, nursing students, and local firemen to visit Lincoln elementary schools and teach basic first aid to fourth graders. Events for Veterans:the CRC is very involved with the local National Guard, holding events for families of veterans including a Halloween Haunted Armory, a Holiday for Heroes event, and a Military Night Out. Be on the lookout for volunteer dates for the Military Night Out, as that is an event coming up this spring where volunteers host an event for kids of veterans, giving them a night out to relax.
sports talk
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HUSKER RECRUITING #BOOMS National signing day was Wednesday February 5, 2014 and featured all of the United States’ best high school football players on the signing block for their respective universities. The terrible pageantry of the “ESPNU Signing Day” is over—finally.
CHRISTIaN FOLSOM Delta Tau Delta
Christian is a sophomore studying broadcasting. You may contact him at christianfolsom@gmail.com.
Once upon a time, recruiting was a simple home visit or phone call from a coach offering you a chance to play for them. With changes in digital media of all kinds, including Twitter, Facebook and television coverage to name a few, recruiting has become a football zoo. These eighteen year old high school seniors can now turn on their television and see analysts on the leading sports network in the world, ESPN, talk about what kind of a player/person they are. Common clichés now heard concerning these young men are absolutely absurd in every sense of journalism, sports and morality. Players are now subject to a brighter spotlight as seniors in high school, than most are their entire collegiate careers. With that being said, here are the young men that were able to handle the scrutiny and media spotlight enough at Nebraska: AJ Bush - Quarterback from Norcross HS in Alpharetta, Georgia Demornay Pierson-El - Wide Receiver from West Potomac HS in Alexandria, Virginia Tanner Farmer- Offensive Guard from Highland Park HS in Highland, Illinois Mikale Wilbon - Running Back from De La Salle Institute in Chicago, Illinois
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Sedrick King - Defensive End, Plant City HS in Plant City, Florida D.J. Foster - Offensive Guard, Lincoln Southeast HS in Lincoln, Nebraska Josh Kalu - Safety, Alief Taylor HS in Houston, Texas Chris Jones - Cornerback, Sandalwood HS in Jacksonville, Florida Mick Stoltenberg - Offensive Tackle, Gretna HS in Gretna, Nebraska Larenzo Stewart - All Purpose Back, Klein Oak HS in Spring, Texas Luke Gifford- Athlete, Lincoln Southeast HS in Lincoln, Nebraska Trai Mosley - Cornerback, Hendrickson HS in Pflugerville, Texas Monte Harrison - Wide Receiver, Lee’s Summit West HS in Lee’s Summit, Missouri Drew Brown - Kicker, Southlake Carroll HS in Southlake, Texas Freedom Akinmoladun - Tight End, Grandview HS in Grandview, Missouri Glenn Irons - Wide Receiver, Edna Karr HS in New Orleans, Louisiana Jariah Tolbert - Wide Receiver, Edna Karr HS in New Orleans, Louisiana Jaevon Walton - Wide Receiver, Edna Karr HS in New Orleans, Louisiana Peyton Newell - Defensive End, Hiawatha HS in Hiawatha, Kansas Nick Gates - Offensive Tackle, Bishop Gorman HS in Las Vegas, Nevada DeAndre Wills - Defensive End, Clay Central HS in Lineville, Alabama Byerson Cockrell - Safety from East Mississippi CC in Scooba, Mississippi Joe Keels - Defensive End from Highland CC in Highland, Kansas Zack Darlington - Dual Threat Quarterback from Apopka HS in Apopka, Florida This class has become one of the better classes in Pelini’s tenure here at Nebraska and with his coaching expertise, along with some players of recruiting day past alongside them, these players will look to shape Nebraska into the powerhouse we all know Nebraska football should be.
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entertainment news
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CHARM AND PATRIOTISM REIGN TRUE IN SUPER BOWL ADS
Though the game wasn’t that captivating, the 2014 Super Bowl ads proved to be an interesting bunch. Not as entertaining as years past, some companies were still able to stand out. Here are the top 5 who I think deserve a round of applause. 1.
Budweiser
Budweiser picked the two things that never fail to capture a person’s heart; a solider coming home and cute animals.
enjoy a refreshing soda. After all what isn’t more American than Coca-Cola?
DaNIeLLe WILKERSON Chi Omega
Danielle is a freshman studying broadcast/journalism. You may contact her at dani.wilkerson@aol.com.
3.
Cheerios
This ad was personally one of my favorites, not only is the little girl adorable, but it’s also one of the first major ad campaigns to feature an interracial couple. Daughter, Gracie, takes the news of getting a little brother a little too well from her dad. Without missing a beat she adds one to the family picture her dad as mapped out with Cheerios on the table, one for the new puppy. Seeing that little smirk dad is won over and agrees, evidence of a good negotiator and a smart girl.
The first ad centered on a soldier coming home to a surprise welcome home party thrown by Budweiser. The whole town came out to thank the man for his service and even the Clydesdales joined in on the festivities. It was a perfect mix of patriotism and emotion, enough to warm anyone’s heart. If that wasn’t enough, Budweiser introduced America to the cutest animal BFF’s since Disney’s Fox and the Hound. A puppy continues to venture from his adoption shelter and to visit the Clydesdale’s stables. Though the two ranch owners try to keep them part, true friendship rules over all and they are reunited back on the ranch. Again heartwarming and makes you smile. Job well done Budweiser.
4.
Audi
Straying from the touching or patriotic approach, Audi takes a funny spin on not compromising a thing for luxury. A couple goes to buy a dog together and what a surprise, they don’t agree. An employee suggests they compromise and breed them together creating mutant dog, a Doverwawa, a scary little thing with a huge head that takes over the world. There’s even a Sarah McLaughlin cameo mocking her animal commercials. Hands down one of the funniest of the night.
2.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola goes for the classic patriotic American approach with their “America the Beautiful” ad. The ad features a glimpse into the American melting pot we all experience daily. Through the different scenes “America the Beautiful” is played in varied languages including English, Spanish, and Arabic showing despite our differences we all come together to form one nation and of course
5.
H&M
I’m sorry; I’m just going to say what every other girl is thinking. Thank you David Beckman, you’re beautiful.st New Artist: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: “Get Lucky,” Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams and Nyle Rodgers Best Rock Song: “Cut Me Some Slack,” Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Krist Novoselic & Pat Smear
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THINKING ON THE HOLLYWOOD MACHINE If in 2000 you had asked a respected film critic or movie lover where they thought their beloved industry was headed in ten years, I doubt any of them would have guessed correctly. And yet, here we are, in 2014, with a year of more than 40 sequels and reboots behind us. We had Grown-Ups 2. Kick-Ass 2. Red 2. VHS 2. The list goes on and on.
BReTT BERGSTROM Beta Theta Pi
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like the Star Wars films that Disney is now producing, will be adhering to the Marvel strategy. This means we’ll see spin-offs, standalone one-shot films, and perhaps even more TV series on top of the main franchise. Such wanton whoring of a beloved enterprise could never be good, right?
Even more concerning is the model that Marvel Studios has perfected. Remember back when the X-Men movies came out in the early 2000s and they were huge? Everybody I can remember had at least seen or heard of them regardless of opinion. Then came SpiderMan. Then...more X-Men. And spinoffs. And the Hulk. And then Thor, and Captain America, and the Avengers, and now here we are, 9 movies in and multiple franchises now successfully in place.
Wrong. Perhaps things are not as black and white as they first appear. Perhaps movie lovers should not be worried about the artistic integrity of the film industry because, somehow, against every notion about what Marvel and other sequel/reboot-focused companies are doing, the inundation of big-budget sequels and spinoffs is a good thing. Look at what Marvel has done with its respective franchises: we have “Thor”, a wellshot and acted escape into a fantasy world; the upcoming “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” a gritty political thriller; “the Amazing Spider-Man 2,” a light, comedic actionadventure movie; and even “Guardians of the Galaxy,” a space opera that will tie into the Avengers movies and the universe as a whole. Clearly, there is a huge range of variety in the topics and themes these movies focus on, and a wide range of demographics will no doubt be satisfied by at least one of these offerings. What’s more, their big budgets and high-profile casts not only ensure success; they also incubate and grow it, by drawing more fans and movie-goers into theaters and creating new fans and movie-lovers.
Each of these franchises, solely connected to Marvel and Disney, averages gross earnings of multiple hundreds of millions of dollars per movie. The Avengers alone made over a billion, earning itself a place as one of the most successful movies of all time. Clearly, Marvel has found a strategy that works. But are tactics such as these ruining the movie industry?
So perhaps things are not as bleak as they seem for the film industry. It is my sincere hope, and my guess, that in another ten years, theaters will be thriving, in no small part due to the big-budget renaissance currently in place thanks to Marvel, Disney, and the like. The theater experience is only going to improve, and I cannot wait to reap the benefits.
Brett is a sophomore studying journalism / English. You may contact him at bergie003@gmail.com.
I’m not so sure. On one hand, I am scared; news continues to surface that new franchises,
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laugh out loud
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UNL STORIES “It was a really hot day and I was walking on East Campus. I walked by
After being at UNL for a while, we all experience our fair share of weird or funny happenings. Whether it’s a group of fraternity guys doing an Anchor run or a guy in a Scooby Doo costume rollerblading down the street, this campus seems to bring out the best in people. There are too many crazy, weird, or humorous stories out there to cover in one article, but here is a small collection of stories
THIeN CHAU
a parking lot and saw a group of pickup trucks parked next to each other.
Sigma Chi
The beds of the trucks were lined with tarp and filled with water. A bunch
T h i e n i s a s o p h o m o re studying political science. You may contact him at chau402@yahoo.com.
of East Campus guys made pools out of their pickup trucks!”
“
There’s a fine line between a bad idea and genius redneck ingenuity. These guys were doing it right.
There are too many crazy, weird, or humorous stories out there to cover in one article, but here is a small collection of stories from anonymous students that will make you laugh or cringe.
“
from anonymous students that will make you laugh or cringe. “One night, I was at a party and the hallway outside was kind of like an art gallery. When I was leaving, I saw two guys steal a rug from the hallway.
“I was walking to class one morning and a Banana on a longboard came past me while his backpack was blaring Rasta music.” Speechless. “I saw a group of guys pretending to drown in the fountain in front of the Union. Then I heard a whistle and someone dressed as a lifeguard dove in to save them.”
Looks like pledge tasks are getting more creative.
I just shrugged it off and left. When I walked by the same building later that night, those two guys were sitting down and talking to a homeless guy about how to fix his life.”
“The sober bro was taking me home one night and we passed the corner of 16th and Vine. I looked over at the side of Delta Upsilon’s house, and some girl was popping a squat by their bushes.”
Definitely the right people to be giving out life advice. This is definitely not the worst drunken thing that has been done to their “I was walking by the Union one night and saw a large group of guys run
property.
towards the fountain. They were carrying another guy and threw him into the water. They all just ran off and left the guy in the water by himself.”
If you have any funny or crazy stories you want to share, send them in to the Odyssey’s Facebook page and give your fellow students a good laugh.
Maybe he deserved it?
laugh out loud
www.theodysseyonline.com
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MACKLEMORE’S FUR COAT GOT A NEW OWNER Last month, my sorority little wore a fur vest out. I was first extremely confused by this statement. What was Delta Delta Delta she going for? Where do Meg is a junior studying you find something like business administration. that? However, I slowly You may contact her at started to see other girls megsron04@live.com. wearing fur vests out, each weekend noticing more and more in photos on my Facebook home page. By now, I’ve decided I want one too. My want was enhanced last Sunday during the Super Bowl.
Meg RONSPIES
Joe Namath is my new fashion icon. Kidding, but not kidding. The former NFL legend showed up to the game in an oversized fur coat. Firstly, I will say that for a 70-year-old man, he actually pulled the coat off. He was actually probably super warm, too. He changed the image of a fur coat in five minutes. Twitter feeds were BLOWING up. I looked up the topic online and was greeted with hundreds of funny tweets, ranging from “wanting to party with him in his new fur coat” to (my personal favorite) “If Joe Namath ran over and killed 105 rabbits on his way to the stadium, I think it’s honorable he’s wearing them as a coat”. Tweets
fluctuated from asking why he was wearing such an awful thing, this is animal cruelty, and all the way to his coat actually having its own twitter account. It does. This is real. Even though this seemed ridiculously shocking Sunday, it is not his first fur coat. In the 60’s, Namath would wear fur coats on the sidelines or sitting on the bench. His style has apparently been consistent for years. So, Joe Namath is not just “going with the trend” like my little is. He probably started the trend and kept it going. But, just where do you get such a fur coat? My little’s is from Goodwill, but Joe’s definitely isn’t. He purchased this coat from Marc Kaufman Furs in Manhattan, for a mere $3,000. For that much, be sure to check out the coat’s twitter feed, @JoeNamathCoat and @JoeFurCoat.
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laugh out loud
@UNLSMILE: Be the type of person that you want to meet. #UNL #UNLSmile Challenge: Do one good thing for someone or our campus today and tweet about it. @ihatetreclay: Olympic athletes claiming they eat McDonalds and have the bodies that they did is why I have trust issues.
www.theodysseyonline.com
@felicimaa: why even show up to class is you’re more than 15 minutes late? @DiGiornoPizza: I LOVE IT WHEN YOU CALL ME BIG PIZZA #PizzaSongLyrics @morganpfeiffer6: The bookstore doesn’t sell glitter
@michelleisawolf: Peyton Manning looks like you feel after you eat Papa Johns.
@AaronGreen22: Flappy Birds is ridiculously hard and makes me feel like a failure at life….
@rbestie: It wouldn’t be a Monday morning if I wasn’t running to catch the bus and wearing my shirt inside out
@hashtag_greg: With $1.5 million I could buy 4 Runzas for each of the 90,000 fans at a Nebraska football game. Make the right choice @esurance
@liz__khalifaa: I have things to do today but I think I’ll just sit here and watch Beyoncé’s Flawless video over and over again instead. #Iwokeuplikethis @Jskenn: Nebraska: We like to talk about football and the weather and that’s about it.
@ModernClueless: I wanna be 5’10” like @TaylorSwift13. @ShelbyRohlff12: Strawberry birthday cake for dinner. And probably other food, but that’s not important. Strawberry birthday cake.
@UberFacts: Where the Wild Things Are was originally “Where the Wild Horses Are” before author Maurice Sendak realized he didn’t know how to draw horses @BWWings: Football, we miss you already. @caleb_jergensen: Can we start a trend to #StopEsuranceSave30 ? @hashtagsutton: Retweet this for the chance to win 1.5 tons of bald eagle feathers. @girlposts: i always forget guys have armpit hair so when they lift their arms up it always scares me it’s like BAM WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE @howe007: The Internet is filled with grammar nazis because people with English majors don’t have jobs.
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