Special Projects

Rent worth the cost

Not many musicals carry the lofty expectations of Rent. A 12-year run on Broadway and a subsequent Hollywood butchering have placed the play firmly in the American pop- consciousness, and the play brings a cast of memorable characters and strong voices. These factors might be enough to intimidate most directors, but Jones College sophomore Hermione Gilpin and Jones junior Helen Shaw are not among them. However, the North College Theatre Association, a collaborative effort pooling the resources of Jones, Baker College and Martel College theaters, may have accepted the challenge of Rent a bit too prematurely. While the production lifts upward, it falls short of jumping "Over the Moon."

Sickness and trick-or-treats

Has the H1N1 scare impacted your Halloween plans?

Tips to help with sibling bickering

Are you sick of hearing the kids fight in the back seat on long road trips? And at the dinner table ... and just about everywhere else???

Health care spending in U.S. exceeds costs of other countries

Current estimates put U.S. health care spending at approximately 16% of GDP, second only to East Timor (Timor-Leste) among all United Nations member nations.[7] The health share of GDP is expected to continue its historical upward trend, reaching 19.5 percent of GDP by 2017.[33][34] Of each dollar spent on health care in the United States 31% goes to hospital care, 21% goes to physician services, 10% to pharmaceuticals, 8% to nursing homes, 7% to administrative costs, and 23% to all other categories (diagnostic laboratory services, pharmacies, medical device manufacturers, etc.[23]

Power of patience

Thanks to learning the hard way, I know how important it is to teach children how to wait: Not to just think of the "now," but think of the big picture and how their choices might impact their future.

Al Martino

American singer and actor Al Martino died yesterday, aged 82.

Captain Lou Albano

Legendary wrestling manager Captain Lou Albano has died at the age of 76. Albano reached fame in the 1970's and 80's during his time with the WWWF, later the WWF and WWE. Albano died while under hospice care at his New York home.

How do you divide up the holidays?

I'm thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas already.

"Working Mom" song

Someone named Pat Murphy commented on one of my old blog posts over the weekend, encouraging me to listen to his band's new single, called "Working Mom."

Academy Award-winning film director Paul Haggis leaves Scientology

Academy Award-winning film director Paul Haggis declared to Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis that he had decided to leave the Church of Scientology after being a member for 35 years. His letter to Davis was posted Saturday on the blog of former high-ranking Scientology official Marty Rathbun. Haggis received Academy Awards for writing and producing the 2004 film Crash.

New take on classic Our Town

On the surface of Our Town, the bare staging and the colloquial dialogue seem to suggest a simple play. But with director Gregory Boyd and the cast of the Alley Theater at the helm, the plot's simplistic action is imbued with more complex themes.For those unfamiliar with the play, there is no set for Our Town. Playwright Thornton Wilder penned the piece to have no backdrop, no curtains and only certain essential props like chairs and tables. Industrial ladders represent second-story windows and three rows of chairs signify a graveyard. With only the audience's imagination and a few instructions from the Stage Manager (James Black), Wilder creates the entire town of Grover's Corner - complete with its own Main Street, shops, churches, school buildings, railroads and family houses - from these meager elements.

Rice Football Midterm Grade Report 2009

Now that the season is halfway through, it's time to look back and see just where we are - besides last in the conference. Here's what assistant sports editor Jonathan Myers sees in the Owls' performance so far.Running Backs: D+

Photo: Picking daisies

A young girl enjoys the Center for the Study of Environment and Society's second annual wildflower planting last Friday at the southwest corner of Wiess College.

Endowment under new management

With the creation of the Rice Management Company at the beginning of this month, the endowment received a new organization to oversee its investments. The new organization will be headed by President of the Rice Management Company Scott Wise, formerly the vice president for investments, and a 10-member board of directors. Of the 10 members, seven currently serve on the Rice Board of Trustees and comprise part of a finance committee within the board, while the other three were recruited from outside the university, based on their background in financing, Wise said.

Panel speaks about law

Last Monday, Rice hosted a seven-member panel of lawyers who spoke to an audience of approximately 60 students in the Humanities Building on a variety of topics, including their daily work and the process of entering into and succeeding in law school. The speakers represented a wide variety of legal professions and were invited to speak by alumnus Rudy Ramirez (Lovett '01), who teaches LOVE 237: Introduction to Law each fall and works as an assistant to the Fort Bend district attorney. This is the fourth such panel Ramirez has organized.

Slideshow: This week in photos

CDC promotes HIV awareness

Changing health behaviors may require more than scary statistics to motivate people to act. In an effort to stave off the spread of HIV and AIDS, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is teaming up with local media to get its message across. As part of Act Against AIDS, a five-year communication campaign to reduce HIV incidence in the United States, the CDC is hosting round-table discussions across the country.

Furniture thrown from fifth floor McMurtry

After a table and wooden chair were thrown from the fifth floor of McMurtry College, Housing and Dining levied several thousand dollars' worth of fines at McMurtry and Will Rice College. The incident took place sometime between 3-8:30 a.m. on Oct. 12. Though the wooden chair survived the fall, the table sank several feet into the mud in the McMurtry quad.

Commentary: Nationals uncover silver lining amidst losses

It was another bad year for baseball in Washington, D.C. The Washington Nationals were again the worst team in the major leagues, again lost over 100 games and again found newer, more creative ways to achieve futility. Much of the national media enjoyed making the "Gnats" a punchline this year. But the lonely souls who actually followed the Nats weren't laughing.

Willy's dry after alcohol violation

Willy's Pub was dry this week in response to an incident Oct. 8 when a student brought outside alcohol into the room, became overly intoxicated and was later found outside Pub by Rice University Police, Associate Director of the Student Center Pamelyn Shefman said. The decision to make Pub dry was made by V&W Permits, the outside organization that owns Pub, whose voting members include Shefman, Assistant Dean of the Student Center and Campus-Wide Programs Boyd Beckwith, Pub Manager Trey O'Neill, Valhalla Manager Sean Walsh, Wellness Center Director Emily Page and economics graduate student alumnus Purvez Captain. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission was not involved in the decision.