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Student senators to focus on budget By Jose Aguilar The Daily Cougar The Student Government Association senators for the Honors College, the College of Technology and Graduate At Large are coming together to tackle the University budget, fees and to improve communication with students. Reyes Ramirez first decided to run for SGA because of his willingness to help others — something he felt his experience would help him with. “Because I was experienced in the workings of the University, I felt I was able to help the student body,” Ramirez said. “Being an SGA senator I felt gave me the ability to do so.” The Honors College is unique to the SGA because it comprises a mix of all colleges and includes faculty, which, Ramirez said, results in strong teamwork between students, faculty and staff. “The Honors College is a perfect example of how (we) can work together,” he said. Ramirez hopes this mentality will carry through to the SGA, the Faculty Senate and Staff Council while tackling the 5% budget reduction currently being mandated to all public universities by the state. He said this is the most pressing issue affecting UH at the moment because of the potential cuts in classes or programs. “While I am not assuming that the provost and deans will be slashing things left and right, I am pushing that student input be a prominent factor if the need arises,” Ramirez said. The notion of program cuts also relates to another of Ramirez’ goals— expanding the Student Bill of Rights. “I have too many cases where students are kicked out of programs or being treated unfairly; there exists protocol to deal with such things,” he said. “Many (students) do not know that there are guidelines in place for when they are relieved from a program, (or that) they may appeal and convene a committee to overturn the decision.” Post-baccalaureate technology student Bradley Bates is embarking on his first foray into student government. He decided to run for a seat in the Senate when he see SGA, page 7
WEATHER » hi
81 Lo 63
Forecast, Page 2
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Rebellious poet focuses on basics By Sara Nichols The Daily Cougar Poet August Kleinzahler is notorious for harping his criticism of the current literary world: he publically scoffs the famous Garrison Keillor and scorns creative writing institutions at universities across America. The American poet Allen Ginsberg called Kleinzahler “a loner, a genius,” and a Los Angeles Times article labeled him the “bad boy of American poetry.” Kleinzahler’s poetry may be dark and seedy at times, but its honesty seeps through with his sophisticated handling of the language and rhythm. Kleinzahler visited the Honors College on April 20th to read from his latest collection of poetry, Sleeping it Off in Rapid City, and gave a lecture the next day entitled, “The Future of Poetry in the Digital Age.” English professor Sally Connolly
plucked Kleinzahler from his home in San Francisco to read at UH in honor of National Poetry Month. Despite his reputation, Kleinzahler read with enthusiasm and charm. Kleinzahler did not seem to mind his place as the rebel of contemporary poetry, and he said that he acquired it by speaking very critically about creative writing programs. “For any old Mr. Magoo to be called a bad boy is just great. I like that just fine,” Kleinzahler said. “I don’t think the institutional environment is conducive to the arts — I think the arts and the artists by nature are antiinstitutional.” However, Kleinzahler said he believes in the importance of teaching poetic structure, background and technique rather than work shopping the writing itself. “The most important thing to teach a student is to be a better
courtesy of David Liittschwager
The bad boy of American poetry, August Kleinzahler, visited the Honors College last week to read from his latest poetry collection, Sleeping It Off in Rapid City, and give a lecture entitled “The Future of Poetry in the Digital Age.” reader,” Kleinzahler said, “and you cannot write unless you can read intelligibly.” In addition to being well read, Kleinzahler said a poet must
learn to detach himself from his own work and look at it in a “disinterested and critical fashion.” see POET, page 10
Students debate celibacy By Safiya Ravat The Daily Cougar
I took his job. It’s unusual for it to happen that way, and it’s unusual for universities to hire their own. But in this case, it worked out well for me and well for the University.” In hiring Smith, the University highlighted his body of work in the field of optometry as well as his list of academic and professional awards, which has continued to grow. The
While the Catholic Church is being ravaged by numerous allegations of sexual abuse acts committed by Catholic clergy, students of different faiths discuss whether the underlying problem may be celibacy. Celibacy is a lifestyle assumed by some religious clergy in which one refrains from marriage and sexual relationships. Leaders of many faiths, including Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, practice this religious tradition. “As far as celibacy in Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church has more of a culturally instituted precept that says priests and nuns cannot marry,” management information systems junior Ossy Ebadan said. “But from the Bible, from beginning to end, you will never see a scripture or a command that says that.” Though the Apostle Paul did encourage others to remain celibate, Ebadan said, it was not a practice mandated in the religion. “Celibacy is only within the Roman Catholic rights,” anthropology senior Franklin Romero said. “In the Roman Catholic Church around 1013, Pope Gregory mandated the concept of being celibate.” Romero, a practicing Catholic, said there were a few reasons why it
see DEAN, page 3
see CELIBACY, page 10
steven oster The houstonian
College of Optometry dean Earl Smith III said one of the things he enjoys the most about being dean is getting the opportunity to work with young faculty and students.
DEAN PROFILE
Looking at life with fresh eyes By Jared Luck The Daily Cougar Earl Smith III is proud and forthcoming about the developments and scientific breakthroughs happening at the College of Optometry under his stewardship as dean. He joked that if people knew just how rewarding the position is, there would be a mad dash for his desk.
“Dean is really a great job. Don’t let the secret out,” Smith said with a grin. Smith, who received his bachelors and doctorate from UH, joined the University faculty in 1978, and in 2003 was named dean of the college. He said his hiring had nothing to do with the University being loyal to him — it was just circumstantial. “It was a chance opportunity,” he said. “My Ph.D. advisor left, and
2 n Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Daily Cougavr
CAMPUS BEAT FORECAST Thursday
Friday
83˚72˚
85˚72˚
CALENDAR
2010 School of Art Masters Thesis Exhibition: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., The Art Museum of UH. Each year, Blaffer Gallery presents an exhibition showcasing works by graduating Master of Fine Arts students in the School of Art. This year, 11 students are featured in the exhibition. The MFA candidates are Debra Barrera, Nancy Douthey, Geoff Hippenstiel, Sura Khudairi, Robyn Lehmer, Grant C. MacManus, Richard Nix, Anne J. Regan, Keijiro Suzuki, Tala Vahabzadeh, and Vanessa VanAlstyne. Admission is free, and refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact the Blaffer Gallery at kveneman@uh.edu or the Web site blaffergallery.org
& SALAD deal at your SUBWAY in the Law Center
Or trade your soup for our delicious cheesy pizza! Pepperoni, sausage or other meat for only $1.25 extra!
Census on campus: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., UC Satellite, University Center and the Center for Public Policy, Room 104 of the Fred J. Heyne Building. Census on Campus/Census representatives and Civic Houston Intership Program interns will provide assistance and resources about the 2010 Census at various information tables. For the Houston community, including UH, to prosper, everyone
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TODAY
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should participate. For more information, contact Mike Angel at 713-743-3976 or mangel2@uh.edu
FRIDAY Conference on Gender, Health and Economic Development: 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., Rockwell Pavilion, M.D. Anderson Memorial Library. This conference features six economists who do research from both theoretical and empirical perspectives in the area of gender, health and development. The speakers are Hoyt Bleakley of the University of Chicago, Erica Field of Harvard University, Nancy Qian of Yale University, Shelly Lundberg of the University of Washington, Emily Oster of the University of Chicago and Chinhui Juhn of the University of Houston. For more information, e-mail Professor Elaine Liu at emliu@mail.uh.edu INSIDE OUT: 6:30-8:30 p.m., UH Social Work Auditorium 2. What if everything you know about autism is only half the story? Join us at a special screening of Inside Out, Adam White’s award-winning documentary about comic books, monsters and autism.
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about About the Cougar The Daily Cougar is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer, at the University of Houston Printing Plant and online at http://www. thedailycougar.com. The University seeks to provide equal educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability or veteran status, or sexual orientation. The Daily Cougar is supported in part by Student Service Fees. the first copy of the Cougar is free; each additional copy is 25 cents. Subscriptions Rates are $70 per year or $40 per semester. Mail subscription requests to: Mail Subscriptions, The Daily Cougar, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204-4015. news tips Direct news tips and story ideas to the News Desk. Call (713) 743-5314, e-mail news@thedailycougar. com or fax (713) 743-5384. A “Submit news item” form is also available online at thedailycougar.com. Copyright No part of the newspaper in print or online may be reproduced without the written consent of the director of the Student Publications Department.
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NEWS
The Daily Cougar
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 n 3
Geologist weighs in on volcano eruption
DEAN continued from page 1
Professor says erupting cycle could start again; lava is still pouring out
gg
By Wyshanda Sennett The Daily Cougar The Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland erupted twice in less than a month, leading to the cancellation of trans-Atlantic flights and leaving thousands of passengers stranded in Europe. Dr. Jonathan Snow, associate professor of isotope geochemistry, said that two events may have caused the eruptions. “Iceland is sitting on top of a major plates boundary where two tectonic plates are spreading apart,” Snow said. “The second thing that causes volcanism there is the deep metal hot spot. The combination of those two things makes the volcanoes in Iceland the largest volcanoes I’ve found on any mid-ocean ridge plate boundary.” Snow said the Eyjafjallajökull volcano is at the tail end of the main eruption phase and there is still lava pouring out. He said that even though this
wikicommons
The double eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull has caused a minor disaster in the air travel business, as thousands of passengers were left stranded in Europe when ash plumes rose to flying altitude. part of the eruption is over, the erupting cycle could start up again. There are a few eruptive events that could last weeks or months. Snow said the volcano is small, but its eruption has garnered so much attention because its ash cloud has blown over four of the top 10 airports in the world. Though the ash cloud was high enough to affect air traffic, it is unlikely there will be any climate disruption. Professor Snow said he doesn’t believe this incident has anything to do with global warming.
Point. Click. Promote your event. Use the Campus Calendar at thedailycougar.com
Snow said some of the farmers living in the area had to deal with volcanic ash, which may make it difficult to farm there for a few years. Also, a nearby volcano, Katla, has historically erupted after the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Many people are speculating if that will happen this time. “There has not been any attributable measurements or seismic evidence that Katla will erupt,” Snow said. news@thedailycougar.com
school awarded him the Amoco Teaching Excellence Award in 1994. In 2003, he was named the Educator of the Year by the Texas Optometric Foundation. The achievement he is most proud of, the Glenn Fry Award given to Smith by the American Academy of Optometry in 1996, was a result of his work on emmetropization. Smith continues to conduct his own research, calling it his hobby. He is very excited about a lens design created in conjunction with the Vision Cooperative Research Center in Sydney, Australia that may help prevent or even cure nearsightedness. Smith said if he wanted to, he could, “do nothing but push paper,” but he enjoys interaction too much for that. “I like working with young faculty,” he said. “I like being able to identify things that are important for the college and trying to work towards achieving goals and things that move the college forward. I enjoy working with alumni, and I love working with students.” These days, a big part of Smith’s focus is the planned six-story, 167,000-square-foot extension to the J. Davis Armistead Building. What was once imagined as a 50,000-squarefoot, two-story building to house only the optometry school will instead be home to psychology, computer science, biology, and biomedical engineering pursuits. “Here, we’ll have a chance to rub shoulders with folks that are actually spectacular scholars, so that’s a great thing for us,” Smith said. “They’ll also
be building research infrastructure (here) that is critical for the future of the University, so that’s a really important thing.” Smith said the new building will be equipped with facilities that will help keep the vision research program, already rated “number 1, maybe number 2 in optometry depending on how you measure things,” competitive. It will provide an operatory clean room in which researchers can conduct experiments with transgenetic animals — animals with manipulated genes that require careful handling and an absolutely sterile environment. As for the optometry school faculty that Smith refers to as “simply outstanding,” they have similarly laudatory things to say about him. “We are very fortunate to have Dr. Smith in the dean’s office,” Executive Director of the University Eye Institute Nick Holdeman said. “His innovative leadership will be of value to the UHCO and to the profession of optometry for years to come.” Professor Laura Frishman shared Holdeman’s sentiments and called Smith “an inspiration to us all.” With passage of the new health care law, Smith believes the demand for optometrists is going to overtake the supply. “It’s never been a better time to go into optometry school,” he said. “The profession is doing exceedingly well — the quality of life, the rewards that come with it. It’s not just the monetary rewards but the fulfillment that comes from helping people. And the rewards of being able to contribute to the health and wellbeing of folks is absolutely fantastic.” news@thedailycougar.com
G.Y.T. APRIL IS STD AWARENESS MONTH the Health Center is offering affordable STD testing to UH students
Women’s Clinic Wednesday, April 28th 9:30am to 3:00pm STD tests as appropriate
FREE Cougar Condom Covers to first 100 folks to drop by the WRC or Student Health Center
UH HEALTH CENTER: Entrance 6 off Wheeler; Building 525 on campus map. Visit: www.uh.edu/admin/hc
Tests will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Students will pay for the office visit and STD testing at time of service. For more information call 713-743-5156.
WOMEN’S RESOURCE
CENTER
4 n Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Daily Cougar
OPINION
COMING THURSDAY: Should UH do more to expand its Internet influence?
EDITOR Alan Dennis E-MAIL opinion@thedailycougar.com ONLINE www.thedailycougar.com/opinion
THE DAILY COUGAR
EDITORIAL CARTOON
editorial B oard Ronnie Turner, Editor in Chief Matthew Keever, Managing editor Patricia Estrada, News editor Hiba Adi, News editor Phillipe Craig, Sports editor Robert Higgs, Sports editor Travis Hensley, Life & Arts editor Alan Dennis, Opinion editor Jarrod Klawinsky, Special projects editor
STAFF EDITORIAL
Church’s continued silence sending wrong message
I
mishele lamshing The Daily Cougar
Apple’s use of influence dangerous In March, Apple engineer Gray Powell lost a prototype iPhone 4G at a bar while celebrating his birthday. The one-off phone was found and picked up by a stranger who identified the object Newton Liu as a disguised iPhone. Upon this discovery, he sold the phone to popular technology website Gizmodo in exchange for cold hard cash — $5,000 to be exact. Despite the phone being remotely bricked after its disappearance, Gizmodo’s editors and bloggers in no time had released details of the phone as they snapped photos of it and threw them on their website. At the same time, to ensure Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ dirty little secret was going to be exploited in every way possible, Jason Chen, an editor for Gizmodo, presented the phone’s observable features in a video. Bad move, Jason, bad move. Police raided Chen’s home Friday with
a warrant to seize his computers under the premise that they had been used to commit a felony. Perhaps Jobs was so upset by Powell misplacing his iPhone that he felt compelled to ask the police to go and trash Chen’s house. Now, it needs to be acknowledged that Jobs isn’t exactly a doltish individual. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize, based on Gizmodo’s eagerness to publicize one undercover Apple product, that it probably wouldn’t hesitate to do the same again if it had access to any more devices. Jobs knew that Chen was your average nerd who enjoys making what amounts to allowance money from blogging about technology and gadgetry. As if retrieving the sacred prototype iPhone didn’t settle things enough (Gizmodo did indeed return the phone), the police by way of Apple justified the need to storm Chen’s house with the explanation that
he might have been a top-secret, supercrazy intelligence agent who had Jobs on his hit list. But wait, perhaps we’re all missing the point. Maybe this whole fiasco is simply a marketing ploy fabricated by Apple’s brilliant marketing department. Could we be pulling away from rainbowcolored iPod commercials in favor of epic viral campaigns? If that truly is the case, then Steve Jobs, you’ve really outdone yourself this time. Maybe the iPad isn’t selling as well as you had hoped, or maybe college students are finally realizing your laptops shouldn’t cost more than their cars. Whatever the case, one thing is for sure — if Chen wasn’t a fan of Apple products before this happened, he certainly won’t be now. Newton Liu is a communication junior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com
Plan to fix Wall Street on right track President Barack Obama outlined his requirements for Wall Street reform for the kingpins of Wall Street on Thursday in New York. Obama presented principles aimed at preventing financial catastrophes such as the recent recession from happening in the future. His speech was Andrew timely, coming Taylor one day before the Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit against Goldman Sachs for fraud. The first of Obama’s desired reforms was the institution of a system to protect taxpayers from future bailouts when large institutions show signs of failure. This system would establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, the purpose of which it would be to protect consumers and regulate providers of financial products and services.
The second requirement was the imposition of the Volcker Rule, which applies restrictions on banks that prohibit sponsoring, ownership and investment in risky trade operations and funds without relation to the banks’ customers. Obama’s third requirement was to set standards of transparency upon financial tools such as derivatives, credit default swaps and other complicated financial innovations. A fourth requirement was the assurance that consumers and investors would be protected from financial abuse. In cooperation with the creation of the CFPA, Obama’s plan would strengthen the Financial Services Oversight Council and establish a Financial Consumer Coordinating Council. The fifth requirement would restructure the powers investors and pension holders have on the people who run their companies and how they are compensated.
Republicans were going fullspeed in efforts to block any debate of reform almost immediately after Obama finished his speech. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., led the efforts to filibuster the reform debate. The battles regained their usual tones, with Republicans accusing Democrats of speeding through vote processes and Democrats accusing Republicans of obstructing or stalling progress. One of the problems McConnell addressed was the proposal of a $50 billion fund he referred to as a bailout fund. The truth of the matter is that it is not a bailout fund paid for by the government — the fund is paid for by corporations in order to provide protection to consumers during banks’ demise. Moreover, the fund is something the Obama administration opposes as well see TAYLOR, page 5
n a story that has become all-too familiar, the Catholic Church has come under fire yet again. This time, a priest was accused of forcing an elderly woman to have sex with him in a church rectory. Monday, 86-year-old Rev. Stephen Valenta was sentenced to five years’ probation after entering a plea of no contest to a felony charge of injury to the elderly. Valenta was indicted last year and charged with prohibited The church sexual conduct and sexual needs to assault after a 2008 encounter deal with with a member of the St. Joseph Church in Rockdale this problem Catholic while he was serving as a visiting before it priest. The sentence came after gets even Valenta reached a plea deal with more out of prosecutors to drop the original charges. hand This might go without saying, but the Catholic Church needs to get a hold of its priests. With new allegations of abuse seemingly popping up on a weekly basis, Pope Benedict XVI would be wise to send a message that any member of the church caught abusing their power will be punished by excommunication. It may seem like common sense to say that people in positions of authority shouldn’t ever get away with using their influence maliciously, but for some reason certain priests in the Catholic Church haven’t gotten the memo. Even stranger, however, is the fact that the church has chosen to remain silent for the most part when given the opportunity to comment on any one of these cases. While no person should be condemned for a crime before all of the facts are brought to light, there is no denying that something strange is going on within the Catholic clergy. That Valenta’s only “punishment” is to spend five years in a halfway home (which he can leave at any time as long as he has an escort) while dealing with his problems is inexcusable. The church needs to deal with this problem before it gets even more out of hand; its members deserve to be protected.
E D I TO R I A L policy STAFF EDITORIAL The Staff Editorial reflects the opinions of The Daily Cougar Editorial Board (the members of which are listed above the editorial). All other opinions, commentaries and cartoons reflect only the opinion of the author. Opinions expressed in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Houston or the students as a whole. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Daily Cougar welcomes letters to the editor from any member of the UH community. Letters should be no more than 250 words and signed, including the author’s full name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Anonymous letters will not be published. Deliver letters to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to letters@ thedailycougar.com; send them via campus mail to STP 4015; or fax them to (713) 7435384. Letters are subject to editing. ADVERTISEMENTS Advertisements published in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the University or the students as a whole. GUEST COMMENTARY Submissions are accepted from any member of the UH community and must be signed with the author’s name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Commentary should be kept to less than 500 words. Guest commentaries should not be written as replies to material already printed in the Cougar, but rather should present independent points of view. Rebuttals should be sent as letters. Deliver submissions to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to letters@thedailycougar.com; or fax them to (713) 743-5384. All submissions are subject to editing.
OpinioN
The Daily Cougar
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 n 5
EDITORIAL CARTOON
“ those who profess to
favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want rain without thunder and lightninG.”
Frederick Douglass American abolitionist, Author, orator (1817-1895)
usbicef
TAYLOR continued from page 4
due to fears that it could further complicate the bankruptcy process. The debate over potential legislation seems to get more bipartisan support than the debate over health care primarily because the effects of the recession are still fresh in the
minds of Americans everywhere. The charges against Goldman Sachs have also energized debates amongst members of Congress who are trying to appeal to voters for the upcoming midterm elections. Wall Street reform needs to be passed, and it needs to address the concerns of the taxpayers — safety from fraud and protection against bearing the burden when the financial industry screws up.
The plan Obama outlined accomplishes many issues related to those concerns. Any legislation should establish laws that protect the economy from the types of catastrophes America suffered in 2008 and 2009 and will hopefully provide a lesson for companies on Wall Street on excessive risk taking.
This thought about free speech is brought to you by
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Send letters to the editor to letters@thedailycougar.com Send guest columns to opinion@thedailycougar.com
Andrew Taylor is an economics senior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com
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Teaching Opportunities in Pasadena ISD Plan to attend our Career Choice Seminar:
SATURDAY, May 1st 2010 @ 10AM at the Beverly Hills/Challenger Location:
11111 Beamer Houston, TX 77089
The Pasadena ISD Alternative Teacher Certification Program is offering Career Choice Seminars for anyone interested in becoming a Texas certified teacher. Potential candidates must have a bachelor’s degree or above by May 2010 and must have an overall GPA of 2.5 on the 4.0 system in ALL semester hours attempted or a 2.7 GPA in the last 60 hours attempted. The application deadline for the 2010-2011 academic year is May 14, 2010 The seminars will provide an opportunity for potential candidates to learn about our program and the areas of certification offered.
For more information, please call:
(713) 740-0029
also, visit our website at: www.pasadenaisd.org/atcp
PRAYER FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS 59th Annual Observance
“The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him” Nahum 1:7
Hosted by Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International @ UHCOP FREE EVENT & FREE GIVEAWAYS!!! Join us for an informal time of fellowship, and a powerful time of prayer!
Date: May 6, 2010 Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm Place: Lynn Eusan Park (b/w Conrad Hilton & E. Cullen Building)
6 n Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Daily Cougar
LIFE+ARTS EDITOR
COMING THURSDAY: Looking for an alternative to the iPhone? Check out our review of T-Mobile’s Motorola CLIQ XT
Travis Hensley E-MAIL arts@thedailycougar.com ONLINE www.thedailycougar.com/life_arts
GAMING
‘Heroes’ sequel fails to deliver
q uirky writer
Sedaris talk pretty NPR humorist and novelist to visit Houston’s Jones Hall tonight to promote new book gg
By Jeff Jost The Daily Cougar The original No More Heroes released in America in 2008. It was the newest arrival from bizarre game developer Suda 51 (real name Goichi Suda) who had made a name for himself in America in 2005 with the experimental Killer 7. On the surface, it seemed nothing more that an uber-violent, offensive hack-and-slasher, but beyond that it was one of the most original, creative and downright bizarre titles of not only the year, but possibly the decade. The game featured anti-hero Travis Touchdown, a psychopathic otaku (anime nerd) with a beam katana who kills assassins in a bizarre tournament to the death. It also featured enemies that blew up in piles of blood and money, phone calls through the wiimote, frequent moments of fourth wall breaking and game play that actively taunted the gamer. It’s almost impossible to articulate how weird, post-modern and unexpected the game really was. After something like that, what could you possibly do with a sequel? The only real option was more of the same. With this year’s release of No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, we got to see just that. Travis Touchdown returns to the city of Santa Destroy after becoming No. 1 in the assassin ranks and walking away, only to find his best friend, Bishop, murdered by the evil corporation Pizza Bat. Now Travis has no choice but to climb the ranks again in order to get revenge. What follows is a series of breezy hack-and-slash levels leading up to challenging and often invigorating boss battles with bizarre characters. Fans of the original game will notice lots of changes in the second. It seems as though Suda 51 went through all the reviews of the first No More Heroes, isolated all of the complaints and went about fixing them in the sequel. There is no more laborious traveling between destinations, you don’t have to gain money to find the location of the next boss fight, all of the bizarre wiimote mini-games have been replaced with eight-bit classic video game homages, and you no longer rely on chance to get overdrive modes. But while these changes make the game run smoother, they lose a lot of the sarcastic edge that came with the original flaws. For example, the original game forced you to play mini-games in which Travis had to do inane everyday community service in order to gain money to actually fight and kill people, an absurd attempt to turn the usual open world video game formula on its head. But this touch of the original is now lost. see POWER UP page 7
Matthew Keever The Daily Cougar
Anne Fishbein
Despite his popularity, David Sedaris is well known for not allowing his picture to be taken. While The Daily Cougar was given tickets to his show tonight, a photo pass was not set aside for the Cougar or any other publication.
David Sedaris, who was named TIME Magazine’s 2001 Humorist of the Year, returns to Houston today to further his satirical commentary on society, his life and how the two have intertwined to form his perceptions of the world. “I’m just a big liar,” Sedaris once said to a group of students at a seminar. But after listening to and laughing along with him for a while, the reader stops caring how much he might embellish and instead gets submerged into Sedaris’ twisted, hilarious world. His upcoming book, a collection of parables entitled Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary, is planned for release in the fall. Sedaris is set to read excerpts from it tonight at Jones Hall in downtown Houston. His last book, a collection of short stories titled When You Are Engulfed In Flames, was released in June 2008, and I was lucky enough to attend his reading in Houston, which was also at Jones Hall. I first discovered Sedaris when looking for a writer with a style similar to my favorite author, Augusten Burroughs, who wrote Running With Scissors. Sedaris fit the bill, but rather than writing memoirs of a past that defines him, he takes everyday occurrences, places emphasis on the little things and shows you his life (which is not as different from anyone else’s as you might think) in a way that celebrates the ordinary. During his 2008 appearance, Sedaris see SEDARIS, page 7
‘Date Night’ should have stayed home By Aimee Buras The Daily Cougar The Fosters (Steve Carell and Tina Fey) are a married couple who are stuck in a rut. A spur of the moment decision moves their monotonous date night from suburban New Jersey to the Big Apple, and a stolen dinner reservation puts them directly in the cross hairs of a New York City crime boss. Carell and Fey have a chemistry that makes their characters believable, which is the film’s only saving grace. But having two popular comedic actors in a comedy is not much of a calculated risk. Even on a bad day, Carell and Fey are bound to say something funny, which is best demonstrated during the film’s outtakes, especially the ones involving the pair posing as a couple of rude fashionistas trying to get back into a posh New York City restaurant. For every scene that clicks, there is another one around the corner just waiting to unravel it all. The mistaken-identity plot line comes off as trite. There are also some running
jokes in the film about stealing dinner reservations and Jeanne Tripplehorn that probably fall on deaf ears. Despite the forced humor, much of the film’s best material seems to be dialogue that is ad-libbed rather than what was scripted. The supporting cast seems odd. Mark Ruffalo has about four lines of dialogue and is never heard from again. Rapper Common is cast as a corrupt cop, but having rappers play cops became blasé ever since Ice-T joined the cast of Law and Order: SVU. It seems as though no one told Ray Liotta that he was in a comedy, and his time on screen looks more like screen-test footage for ‘Goodfellas 2.’ James Franco and Mila Kunis are a low-life couple whose on-screen bickering comes off as dimwitted and unnecessary, if anything else. Then, there is Mark Wahlberg. His character is some sort of wellconnected shirtless agent who deals with intelligence agencies around the globe and is completely out of place for the kind of movie Date Night is
WIKICOMMONS
Tina Fey and Steve Carell’s chemistry in Date Night isn’t quite enough to save the movie trying to be. But it gives Carell the chance to do a pretty good Fat Albert impression. As much lukewarm praise as I give the film, it seems that director Shawn Levy has tapped into making lukewarm comedies starring popular comedic actors, and it has paid off. Steve Martin starred in his Pink Panther remake. Ben Stiller starred
in both of the Levy-directed Night in the Museum films. Both films made money. But for Date Night, the chance for Carell and Fey’s pairing to become something quite memorable ends up being about as much fun as a blind date arranged by your grandmother. arts@thedailycougar.com
life & arts | NEWS
The Daily Cougar
POWER UP continued from page 6
The game even goes as far as to include quite a few extras for fans of the first game. It brings in cameos from characters in the original, even allowing you to play as two of the returning characters in specific levels and fights. It allows you to get the double beam katanas (Rose Nasty) much sooner as well. Your cat from the first game, Jean, gets fat, and you have to carefully feed and exercise it to get it down to an appropriate weight. But even with all of this, it still seems like something is missing. The game suffers similar problems throughout its entire course. It follows in the footsteps of its predecessor very closely,
SEDARIS continued from page 6
read an excerpt from an article he had written for The New Yorker that at the time had not yet been published. In the article titled “Undecided,” he compared being uncertain in the presidential election to being unsure whether to order chicken or a “platter of (excrement) with bits of broken glass in it … to be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.” Originally, Sedaris wanted to compare one of the candidates — and no, he never said which one, but
SGA continued from page 1
noticed vacancies for the college last spring—something that has come full circle. Bradley Bates is currently the only senator for the College of Technology after returning senator Katie Kornahrens was appointed director of public relations by President Prince Wilson. Bates said he hopes to see student fees lowered. He wants to look into how the money is spent and how the fees can be reduced. It is a goal he feels is better attainable than tuition reduction. Bates was appointed to SGA’s Administration and Finance committee and hopes to be appointed to the University’s Student Fee Advisory committee, along with the Transportation and Parking Advisory Board. “It’s kind of a step one, step two process (with both University and SGA committees),” Bates said. “The central point of those committees is that fees are something we can work on bringing down. It might be the difference between a text book or two for some students.” Developing an incentive program for students to take Metro or ride their bikes to campus is also high on Bates’ agenda. Though he admits it will be hard to prove someone is biking to campus as opposed to someone providing Metro receipts, Bates hopes this is one rough idea the committee will help him with. “That is why I want to get on that committee, to ask how this can be done and to get some answers,”
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 n 7
delivering all of the absurd violence and mayhem, but without the sarcastic edge and playful tone of the original. Travis seems harsher and more sadistic while simultaneously whining about the lack of morality in the tournaments. The overdone accents of the side characters that seemed charmingly absurd in the first game now just feel grating. Many of the enemies are so crazy that it seems forced. Many of the clever gags from the first game are retread and loose their steam the second time around. I don’t know. Maybe it’s just that I am getting older and I no longer am amused by the ultra violence of a psychotic anime nerd with a light saber. Maybe it’s that the true charm of the first game was its originality and that is
inherently lost in making a sequel. Or maybe, just maybe, this isn’t as good of a game, even with all the improvements and extras. The writing just doesn’t seem as sharp and witty. The whole game seems to take itself far too seriously this time around. It actually builds a real romance between Travis and Sylvia, which is truly the most absurd part of the whole game. I personally would recommend first trying Suda’s other games, such as Killer 7 and the original No More Heroes, before you take the return trip to Santa Destroy. All that being said, the game does get lots of extra special points for including cult Japanese film director Takashi Miike as an actual character.
you can probably guess — to human excrement, which he said The New Yorker thought was tasteless. He laughed at the thought of human excrement being the last straw. “It was all luck and it all started with that radio piece. If it wasn’t for that, I’d probably still be cleaning apartments as a maid in New York,” Sedaris writes. Sedaris came from humble beginnings. As an elf at Macy’s, one of Santa’s helpers, he had to deal with frenzied children, stressed parents and the hassle of lastminute holiday shoppers. He kept a journal of his experiences, and eventually his work was published. The Santaland Diaries put Sedaris on the map, and since then, he has
written nearly a dozen books and is a frequent contributor to National Public Radio’s “This American Life,” a weekly public radio show broadcast on more than 500 stations to about 1.7 million listeners, according to the station’s website. Sedaris’ books also include Barrel Fever, Naked, Holidays on Ice, Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. He has also served as editor of Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules, an anthology of short stories that he enjoyed. For tickets and information on Sedaris’ appearance tonight, call Jones Hall at 713-227-3974.
Bates said. Bates is currently organizing his first town hall meeting, where he hopes to have students talk rather than him doing most of the talking. “You shouldn’t be telling them, ‘this is what we’re going to do, and this is what’s happening,’” he said. “I want to hear their issues. I’ve given my fees issue, but they may have other concerns and we’re their liaisons to the University administration as a whole.” Graduate Sen. Keith Richards said there are a lot of things that he still wants to accomplish in his second term with SGA. These include improving the election code, legislation and improving communication with his constituents. “One of my focuses has always been to look at the services offered on campus,” Richards said. “One of the key ones is Higher One, and also making sure that the SGA is running well, (making sure) people understand what their responsibilities as senators and people are following policy and procedure and getting things done.” Richards plans to go to different colleges and reach out to graduate students and get their input. “One of my biggest struggles with graduate students is that they are in their own little world in their respective colleges, and they are more focused on what happens in their respective industry in the national and international level then with what happens on campus,” Richards said, “So I have to go to them.” news@thedailycougar.com
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8 n Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Daily Cougar
SPORTS
COMING THURSDAY: Check in with baseball’s Chris Wallace as he reaps the benefits of playing in the Cape Cod Summer League
EDITORS Phillipe Craig, Robert Higgs E-MAIL sports@thedailycougar.com ONLINE www.thedailycougar.com/sports
Baseball
Cougars drop fifth consecutive game UH pitching staff shows slight improvement; late rally ends with tying runs in scoring position
gg
By Tristan Tippet The Daily Cougar Tuesday’s game between Houston and Sam Houston State featured two struggling pitching staffs. Yet, what occurred was a lowscoring affair that Sam Houston won 5-3 at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville. The Cougars (16-23) received solid efforts out of their pitchers, but they were outworked by SHSU (17-25). UH, which defeated the Bearkats 4-2 in the teams’ earlier meeting April 6. extended its losing streak to a season-high five games and suffered its sixth defeat in the last seven games. While five runs allowed by the Cougars’ pitchers is an improvement on how the staff had previously been doing performing, head coach Rayner Noble said it still represents their problems. “We really didn’t pitch the ball very well tonight; we had too many pitches up in the zone,” Noble said. “The difference in the game was they kept the ball down, and we didn’t.” Mo Wiley made his fifth start of the season and went 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk. Taylor Hammack, who’s been struggling of late, allowed two runs in two innings of relief and was charged with the loss. “He’s just having trouble
locating his pitches, and that’s the bottom line with him,” Noble said. “You know he had a couple of hitters on the ropes and just couldn’t make the pitch when he needed to make it. “That’s kind of been the story the last several weeks.” Barry Laird made an appearance and allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings. “Our pitching was just very average, which is the way it’s been for the last month,” Noble said. “I don’t think Sam Houston State is a really good hitting team, and the pitches that we gave them, anybody could’ve hit them. “Our guys have just got to start understanding what a good pitch is and what a bad pitch is, and we still haven’t understood that.” Meanwhile, SHSU’s trio of Justin Jackson, Brent Powers and Paul Spinn, in particular, did their job. Jackson entered with the best resume of the three with a 1-3 record and a 4.38 ERA in six starts. He went three innings and allowed two runs, with one scoring on a balk. Spinn, who started the day with a 1-5 record and a 6.57 ERA in seven starts, allowed one run on six hits and one walk in 5 1/3 innings of relief. The Cougars made things interesting by placing runners at second and third with one out in the top of the ninth while trailing by two. But Powers retired the
Daily cougar FILE PHOTO
Second baseman Ryan Still, second from left, and the Cougars saw their losing streak extended to five games after losing to Sam Houston State 5-3 on Tuesday in Huntsville. next two batters to end the threat. “We went up against two of their better pitchers that were weekend starters for them, and they pitched like weekend starters,” Noble said. “They did a good job.
“We had an opportunity for a couple of guys to be difference makers at the end of the game, and they didn’t do it. We had a chance to get back in the game and we didn’t.” The Cougars will have another
rematch when face Lamar at 6:30 p.m. today at Cougar Field. The Cardinals used a walk-off home run to beat the Cougars 7-6 on April 21 in Beaumont. sports@thedailycougar.com
golf
UH comes in 7th place at C-USA tournament Cougar Sports Services
courtesy of uh athletics
Junior Matt Eschenburg was one of several Cougars to get stronger as the weekend went on at the Conference USA Championships, but UH came away with a disappointing seventh-place finish.
The Cougars went into this week’s Conference USA Championships in Sorrento, Fla., with high hopes of finishing the season on a high note but ultimately came away with more of the same and a seventh-place finish at the Red Tail Golf Club. UH did improve its score each of the three days but couldn’t move up from its sixth-place standings after Sunday’s first round. The Cougars shot a 1-over 289 on Tuesday and finished the tournament with a team score of 23-over 887 on the par-72, 7,152-yard course. Central Florida, the tournament’s host, shot a 10-under 278 on the final day to claim the team championship with a cumulative score of 6-under 858, 18 shots better than secondplace Rice. Senior Jackie Lindsey led the Cougars, shooting 221 for a 16thplace finish. Lindsey lowered his
score by two strokes each of the three days and posted a 1-under 71 on Tuesday to wrap up his final C-USA event. He opened Tuesday’s final round with five consecutive pars before recording back-to-back birdies on No. 6 and 7. He then reeled off nine straight pars but stumbled on the 17th hole, bogeying the par-5 for the only positive number on his card. Junior Matt Eschenburg came in at a tie for 21st place with a 223, and junior Justin Kaplan tied for 24th with a total of 224. Like Eschenburg, redshirt freshman Joseph Reynolds improved his score each day and wrapped up his first C-USA Championship with a three-day total of 225. Rice’s Christopher Brown took home medalist honors for best individual performance after posting a 3-under 69 on Tuesday and finished the tournament with a 209. sports@thedailycougar.com
SPORTS
The Daily Cougar
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 n 9
Because Chris can be a woman’s name, too. Though The Daily Cougar strives for accuracy and fairness in its reporting, mistakes happen. Please report any errors you see in the paper to the editorial staff. Corrections will run on Page 2 as needed to amend the record. To report a correction, e-mail editor@thedailycougar.com or call (713) 743-5362.
RENT ME!
wikicommons
Minute Maid Park will be the prideful place to be this summer when the Astros host their “Pride in the Park” night to celebrate and promote awareness in the GLBT community.
convenient truths
Astros’ ‘Pride at the Park Night’ sends wrong message to fans Sports provide an escape for many, a place where people of all different walks of life can congregate and unite to support the common goal of their team beating its opponent. While some view sports as trivial competitions, Alan Dennis there are times when people attempt to use them to serve a higher purpose. Some people, however, go too far and attempt to use sports as a catalyst to effect social change, which can distort their true purpose of providing entertainment to the masses. On July 10, the Astros will work toward raising awareness for Houston’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community when they host “Pride at the Park Night” during a home game against the Cardinals. A portion of the ticket proceeds will be donated to six local non-profit organizations, and Mayor Annise Parker will even kick the night off by throwing out the opening pitch. Tickets prices will be discounted for everyone who attends — not just members of the GLBT community — so no one will be singled out. At least that’s the way it seems. The problem is that while the Astros feel they’re celebrating GLBT awareness, they are really doing more harm to the movement than good. In the interest of full disclosure, let me say that I am not a member of the GLBT community; I will never know some of the struggles people of that particular background have had to endure.
That said, what I do know is that the way to gain acceptance for the gay community — or any group, for that matter — isn’t by celebrating its existence once every 365 days. The GLBT community should always be embraced. It’s ludicrous for the Astros to say, “Let’s have Annise Parker throw out the first pitch of our GLBT event because she’s gay.” Parker should be a candidate to be involved in an Astros game by virtue of the fact that she’s the mayor of the fourth-largest city in the U.S., not because of her sexual orientation. Everyone should be welcome at any Astros game, and in many ways, this night subtly demonstrates that members of the GLBT community are not. Hosting Pride at the Park Night sends a message that the team wants to celebrate the GLBT community, just not all of the time and only on its own terms. What the Astros need to realize is that the best way to accept a certain group of people is by treating them the same way they would treat any other. Hosting an event that singles out a particular group of people is counterintuitive to our progression into an accepting culture. While it may be naïve to think members of the GLBT community are accepted equally everywhere in the nation, it’s equally absurd to not realize the extent to which Houston already embraces the gay community. If owner Drayton McLane really wants to send a message of support, he and the team should sponsor a float in the annual Pride Houston parade. The Astros’ front office has a long history of making mistakes when it comes to running their organization, but such blunders
usually manifest themselves on the field instead of away from it. Unless the Astros’ next campaigns involve “Heterosexuals at Home Plate” or “Caucasians in the Crawford Boxes,” this idea will unfortunately go down in the “loss” column.
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10 n Wednesday, April 28, 2010
CELIBACY continued from page 1
was mandated. “It was to emulate Christ, to sacrifice like Christ, because the Christian faith in general believes that Christ did not get married, that he lived a celibate life,” Romer said. Another reason, he said, was fear. “There was also the fear of succession with the pontiff.” he said. “They feared if Pope Gregory had kids, his kids would be the pope, and the Catholic Church didn’t want that because it would take away its argue of divinity and its legitimacy.” Regardless of its legitimacy, Romero said the recent sexual abuse scandals should not be blamed on celibacy or the Catholic Church. “It’s a perversion. These people should have never been priests,” Romero said. “But I don’t believe that it has to do with the actual act of celibacy. If you’re celibate, how does that make you want a little boy? It wouldn’t. There’s a perversion that pre-existed in them. Had they been a Jew, Muslim, Atheist (or) Agnostic, they would have still done what they did.” Romero said within the last 30 years there have been about 200
sexual abuse allegations against priests. Compared to the thousands of priests out there, Romero said, 200 makes up a small percentage. Today’s society makes celibacy even more difficult, broadcast journalism junior Christina Hilderbrand said. “It requires a lot more strength these days to remain celibate,” Hilderbrand said. “Especially with the society we live in, we are basically bombarded with sex day in and day out. But that doesn’t mean celibacy is an outdated rule; I just think people are not turning to God when need be.” Besides Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism also have traditions of celibacy, mainly as a sacrifice of worldly things. “Most Hindu priests actually get married,” freshman Sravya Chilukuri said, “but the priests that don’t get married seem to be more praised.” The problem with celibacy, Chilukuri said, is that it contradicts human nature, causing many who attempt it to fail. “Just recently, a rumor spread that a Hindu priest was having an affair with this actress,” Chilukuri said. “It was true, and he was humiliated in front of a lot of people.” Contrary to the other three major
religions, adherents of Judaism and Islam rarely practice celibacy. “Marriage is an important aspect in Islam. It’s half of your faith,” computer information systems junior Hani Khan said. “The Prophet Muhammad — peace be upon him — married, and he encouraged us to as well.” Though historically there were some Muslim scholars who chose the path of celibacy, they had to be exceptionally strong, biology sophomore Salimah Huq said. “It’s not mandatory for a Muslim to marry, but you have to have a lot of strength,” Huq said. “Islam trains Muslims to have that strength through fasting. We have to stop ourselves from the necessities of everyday living like food and water. So if we can abstain from those needs, then hopefully we can abstain from other wants, like physical desires.” Whether or not celibacy is the problem, all students agreed that the sexual abuse occurring is intolerable. “It just shows that many people have really strayed from what they originally believed,” Hilderbrand said. “A church or any religious place is supposed to be for families.” news@thedailycougar.com
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“That’s hard to do. You’ve got to be a little bit schizophrenic,” Kleinzahler said. “It’s like a set of muscles you’ve got to develop. I think you have to train yourself, and that’s what I think a good teacher can do in a classroom.” Kleinzahler said that although contemporary poetry does not typically adhere to traditional forms or meter, the poet must, “obey certain laws of shape, structure and movement,” for his or her poetry to be interesting. “I think very regular and traditional patterns, possibly because we live in an irregular world, sound a little tedious to our ears,” Kleinzahler said. “I try to vary the pattern but maintain a rhythmic pulse.” Kleinzahler said his early enthusiasm for writing was influenced by the late J.D. Salinger and Ernest Hemingway, who he said, “may have been a foolish and unpleasant man, but he was a wonderful writer.” He also said he enjoyed the Beat poets and the New York poets, as well as translations of traditional
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Chinese and Japanese poetry. “It’s a different voice from different cultures,” Kleinzahler said. “It wasn’t just John Keats and William Wordsworth — it was a whole different world. It was a treasure, I think.” Kleinzahler has lived in a rentcontrolled apartment in San Francisco for 35 years, but he was born and raised on the east coast of New Jersey. He said that going back and forth between the two places and experiencing their different tempos has been influential to his writing. “Re-entering the atmosphere after being in one or the other is disorienting,” Kleinzahler said, “and that disorientation sometimes breeds poetic-type yearnings.” Kleinzahler’s audiences at poetry readings vary by location, but he said he would always remember reading in a pub attached to a dog park in Sydney, Australia. He said his audience was “hard drinking, lively and smart.” “Lubricated, Aussie audiences can be thrilling,” Kleinzahler said, “particularly when half of them are women. However, I enjoyed very much the reading here at UH.”
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Robbie & Bobby by Jason Poland
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 n 11
today’s crossword ACROSS
At the Hot Dog Stand by Mishele Lamshing
today’s sudoku How to play
Each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9; each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9; and each set of 3-by-3 boxes must also contain the numbers 1 to 9.
Previous puzzle solved
1 Post-sneeze word 6 Road rally 10 Brewski 14 At dawn 15 Nights before 16 Mince 17 Light bulb filler 18 Zoo barrier 19 Moussaka washdown 20 Elephant ancestors 22 More certain 23 Angry mood 24 Contest hopeful 26 Pointer 29 Part of YSL 31 Wet ground 32 She loved Lennon 33 Dissolve 34 Tarzan’s moniker 38 Rabbit relative 40 Swing off-course 42 Bone-dry 43 Martina’s rival 46 Oysters’ abodes 49 Estuary 50 Playpen occupant 51 Ginger cookie 52 — Kilmer of films 53 Purplish red 57 It has rings 59 Put on guard 60 Wistful feeling 65 Baseball gear 66 Sinister 67 Chestnuts and bays 68 — -carotene 69 Japanese soup 70 Historical period 71 Jet black 72 Did in the dragon 73 Hold up
DOWN
CO MI NG S OON
1 Long timber 2 “Tomb Raider” heroine 3 Joule fractions 4 Piggy-bank features 5 Thesaurus entry 6 Vaguely 7 Home-products brand 8 Desist
ARE YOU
READY?
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73 ©
9 C’— la vie! 1 0 Causes of woe 11 Lieutenant under Kirk 12 Jury complement 13 Wear jauntily 21 Submarine command 22 Whoa! 25 Pistons’ org. 26 Exceeds 27 No future — — 28 Elbow 30 Iffy attempts 35 Name in game shows 36 Opera highlight 37 Filmdom’s Patricia — 39 Take-home 41 Did not hurry (2 wds.) 44 Arial or Tahoma 45 Morticia’s cousin
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4 7 Pub throw 48 Harpooned 53 Ballroom dance 54 Sci-fi thriller 55 J. Paul — 56 Smithy’s block 58 Wed on the run 61 River to the Seine 62 Liverpool poky 63 Machu Picchu builder 64 Wan 66 911 responder
2009 United Feature Syndicate INC.
Previous puzzle solved J AMB F L E E K A RO WH F R U I OR E L S L E A F D E L E L MS N Y S E C U T A K E T WU N D E OD I E S I T S
I N C I T E S
C O L T S
E T L U A D B E O R K E A D I
E U P C RMA H I P J O I E A D A OME N YMA T A N S I R I N A R S S A B A S P A D L A I R D I N D L S E L E A R Y D
L O N G
A N T E
M E S S
O F L A T E
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T O G A S
E N S R A S E B T
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The Daily Cougar has you covered. Look out for the Graduation Guide on may 6 and the Finals Edition, with tons of Crossword and Sudoku puzzles, on may 3.
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BLOGS
12 n Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Daily Cougar
What’s hot on thedailycougar.com BLOGS »»You’ve got mail One of the first things I do each day upon waking up is check my Daily Cougar e-mail account. There are usually about 10 20 new e-emails in my inbox. Later that afternoon when I arrive at the office, I check my e-mail account again. Chances are, the number of new e-mails has at least doubled. Of course, not all of those e-mails are worth reading. A lot of them are press releases, and several more are spam. But mixed in the bunch are important e-mails from fellow editors, reporters, readers, students, UH administrators and other officials. Some of those press releases usually end up being valuable. These are the e-mails that I’m most concerned with. Each day, I have to make time to consider and respond to the various e-mails that I receive. Do I really have the time
to get around to all of them? Absolutely not. But it’s crucial that I address each of them at some point. As editor in chief of The Daily Cougar, I’m also the recipient in chief. Complaints that should probably have been sent to one of my section editors end up in my inbox daily. Ad queries that should have been sent to the advertising manager are sent to me. Stuff that has no business being sent to any newspaper ends up being directed to my e-mail address. My main job is to make sure that these e-mails either receive a timely response or are directed to the proper parties. It’s a very important part of my overall role as editor in chief, and it’s one that I take seriously. vFrankly, I enjoy receiving the e-mails. They allow me to interact with readers, and I get a sense of what others think about our newspaper. The e-mails also provide tips for great stories. Plus, they give me something to look forward to each morning. Well, that and trying to get to class on time.
»»Sharpstown Mall now targeted to Hispanics.
Sharpstown Mall, located on the corner of Bellaire Boulevard and Southwest Freeway, is now being transformed into a Latin American themed mall called PlazAmericas. Once named “Best Hip-hop Mall” by the Houston Press, the mall will undergo a $10 million renovation to target the Hispanic community. The mall will have a play area for children, an 83,000 square foot mercado and several stages for live entertainment Why the sudden change? Well it’s not too unexpected, as the Hispanic population is the majority in that area and continues to grow steadily, while the white population decreases and the number of blacks stays about the same. According to the official city of Houston Web site, these are the estimated race demographics for Council District F, which is the Sharpstown area.
COMMENTS Re: “Apple right to reject Adobe Flash” —
“It’s way easier to develop with Flash CS5 compared to Apple’s XCode. They’re hurting developers and the public here. The output is the same XCode or Flash both produce an iPhone/iPad equivalent binary. Apple’s being an idiot. People should break Web site content viewing for iPhone/iPad until Apple changes their licensing agreement for the better.”-— Daily Cougar User “Justwantedtoleaveacomment Re: “Race relations involve every color” —
“White Americans do not have a history month because there is nothing to celebrate. All accomplishments amongst white people are at the expense of another race. So that’s why they do not have a history month …”— Daily Cougar User “Truthfullyme” Re: “Perry uses inappropriate forum to criticize Obama” —
“I don’t understand the Daily Cougar editorial staff’s beef with NASCAR fans. Oh, they must all be high-falootin’, hillbillies who don’t have any sort of place in America. (sarcasm, of course) Yet, nothing was said about Obama when he openly mocked Tea Party supporters and said, “They should be saying ‘Thank you.” He basically referred to them as buffoons and idiots, while Perry only attacked the obvious politics involved in the NASA situation. Obama is too smug and arrogant and lowered his socialist position to a personal level attack. Shame on whoever wrote this.”— Daily
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