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NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Beer in Hell distilled down to movie form

By Kait Chura

"My name is Tucker Max, and I am an asshole."So begins the now-infamous blog of Tucker Max, a former law student who decided to chronicle his sexual exploits and soon found himself an Internet icon as a result. In the film I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, Max has taken his blog - which he started in 2002 on a bet with his friends and made into a book in 2006 - and tried his hand at screenwriting. What he develops may not hold true to the original blog, but the film's entertainment value is as apparent as Max's bluntness.

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

IT encourages cyber security

By Lawanda Turner

Phishers beware: This October marks the sixth-annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month, an initiative started by the Department of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Division. This is the fourth year Rice has participated in this event, which includes weekly discussions led by guest speakers at the residential colleges.

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Archi student dies

By Jocelyn Wright

Lovett College senior Jay Townsend died Monday of health problems stemming from a weakened heart caused by a childhood battle with cancer. He was 26 years old. Townsend was scheduled to receive his B.A. in Architecture next January and was working on his professional Bachelor of Architecture degree, Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman said in an e-mail Wednesday afternoon.

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Another 'dore closes

 

Freshman running back Charles Ross streaks down the field on his way to scoring Rice's first touchdown of the game against Vanderbilt last Saturday. The Owls held the Commodores to a 10-10 tie at halftime, but couldn't keep their ground during the second half. For the full story on Rice's first home game of the season, turn to page 13 or read the article online.

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Listen to Rice Sports Roundtable Discussion

 

Here's Week Two of our series of discussions about Rice sports. This week we talk about the football team's chances against Tulsa, projections for the rest of the women's cross country season, and thoughts on the volleyball and soccer seasons so far. Thanks for listening!

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Boys Noize's Power fizzles and sputters on turntable

By Kyle Barnhart

When Alexander Ridha, better known by his stage name, Boys Noize, announced that his heavily-anticipated sophomore release would be entitled Power, people got excited. And for good reason.After all, 2007's Oi Oi Oi was a stellar debut by the German DJ and a masterpiece of the contemporary electro house movement. Power's audacious title conjured up images of melting speaker stacks, lasers moving over sweaty, dancing twenty-somethings at 160 beats per minute and brownouts in European rave districts. There was certainly no reason to expect anything less: Boys Noize has been known to deliver the goods.

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Faculty concerns for merger must be addressed

By Staff Editorial

Within the last six weeks, Rice has undergone its greatest expansion in decades. Two new residential colleges ushered in their first classes. The off-campus BioScience Research Collaborative expanded Rice's borders. The Barbara and David Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center dropped jaws from students and faculty alike. The campus is opening up and stretching out, and Rice is finally able to reap the rewards of years of work.But if the memorandum of operation between Rice and the Baylor College of Medicine grows into something more, as Leebron's e-mail Friday about Rice and Baylor's "memorandum of understanding" would suggest, all these recent projects will become distant memories (see story, page 1).

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Rice families flock to campus

By Hallie Jordan

The campus buzzed with activity and new faces last week as more than 2,300 guests participated in this year's Families Weekend. This number is an increase from last year, when 1,975 guests visited campus for the weekend.The two most highly-attended events were filled to capacity: all 700 tickets were distributed for Friday evening's reception at the Museum of Fine Arts and all 1,300 tickets were sold for Saturday's pre-game barbecue. The events were capped because of limited space.

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Dear Denver: Denver advises readers on men, Windows

 

For the past few weeks, the Thresher has run a covert advice column online at www.ricethresher.org. After advising on everything from Screw dates to screwing roommates, it's time for "Dear Denver" to come to print.Dear Denver,

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Jones stands undefeated after powderpuff romp

By Ryan Glassman

The past weekend was the time of the year when Rice flexed its muscles, primping the school and putting itself on display for the annual Families Weekend. While the new Barbara and David Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center's opening was spectacular, and the football team's home opener drew some excitement, Week Three of powderpuff football may have stolen the show. With an extended slate of Saturday games on tap, parents watched their daughters battle in the heat during a day of big crowds and big plays. And on Sunday, fans saw a new league power, Jones College, on display. In our Game of the Week, Jones took on the tandem of Will Rice College and McMurtry College in a Sunday night primetime showdown for the finale of Week Three action.

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Sunday's Sports Update : Football falls to Tulsa for fifth-straight loss

By Meghan Hall

Last night's game against the University of Tulsa bore too many resemblances to last week's with Vanderbilt University and the end result was the same with a 27-10 loss. Although the Owls had the spark of playing against former coach Todd Graham, they fought the driving rain and came up short against the Golden Hurricane.Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne led his team down the field decisively on their first possession, and handed the ball off to running back Jamad Williams for a six-yard touchdown run. Then at the beginning of the second quarter, Rice (0-5, 0-2 Conference USA) was able to take advantage of good field position. The drive started at Tulsa's 48-yard line, and after a personal foul penalty on Tulsa (4-1, 2-0 C-USA), redshirt freshman Ryan Lewis tossed a 29-yard touchdown to senior tight end Taylor Wardlow.

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Lacking originality, Surrogates little more than skin deep

By Hannah Bosley

Imagine a futuristic world in which humans no longer travel beyond their front door. In this world, people stay at home plugged into a control chair, experiencing life vicariously through personal robot representatives. In the new sci-fi thriller Surrogates this far-fetched idea is brought to life.Based on the eponymous 2005 comic book series, Surrogates at first seems like a strange combination of The Stepford Wives and The Matrix. In a society where all public interactions occur via surrogates, physically-perfect robotic representations of humans, people have come to believe that the surrogate world is superior to their mere humanity. With the use of these surrogates, people experience "life, but better," as crime, injuries and other negative aspects of humanity are rendered virtually nonexistent.

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Freshman leads collegiate finishers at Corpus Christi

By Natalie Clericuzio

For the past several seasons, the women's cross country team has enjoyed myriad successes, not the least of which includes competing in the national meet for the past three years. After the impressive performances of the freshmen at last weekend's Islander Splash, held at Texas A&M- Corpus Christi, the cross country team has no reason to worry about continuing their tradition of success. Freshman Heather Olson (17:00) led the Rice finishers, placing third overall as the first varsity athlete finisher behind unattached Rice runners junior Becky Wade (16:45) and senior Britany Williams (16:49). Sophomore Marie Thompson, freshman Halsey Fowler, freshman Johanna Ohm and sophomore Michaela Reynolds placed seventh, 11th, 14th and 17th, respectively, to help Rice finish-in-second behind the University of Texas. Olson's performance earned her Conference USA Athlete of the Week honors.

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Erratum

By Staff Editorial

Last week's article, "Endowment falls 18 percent," stated that the loss in endowment funds entailed a "5 percent budgetcut for each department [and exactly] what will be cut has yet to be determined." According to Vice President for Finance Kathy Collins, schools and divisions were notified of the cuts last winter which were factored into the current fiscal year 2010. The Thresher regrets the error.

NEWS 10/1/09 7:00pm

Families Weekend exposes campus events

By Johanna Ohm

It was Saturday morning. I was sitting in the commons perusing that morning's edition of The New York Times, and though I had a mountain of work that screamed for an appointment with Fondren, I was going to neglect it. This year's Families Weekend brought students' families to the Rice campus, featured a smorgasbord of diverse, exciting events and provided a great excuse for students to step out of their dorm rooms and appreciate Rice from a non-student perspective.

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