Special Projects

Relish: Big Red Cock is what's for dinner

We're pretty into President David Leebron and his Vision for the Second Century, so we went to eat at the Biosciences Research Collaborative last weekend. It was a poor choice. Dan swallowed something in a flask and had to be hospitalized, while Siegfried got lost in all of the empty office space. To cheer ourselves up, we grabbed a whole bunch of dudes and went to check out a different BRC, located in the Washington area, which was in the New York Times once, so it has to be cool. The BRC, which stands for Big Red Cock (ha!) is not a gay bar - it's a gastropub! Gastropub is one of the pretentious words you learn when you pretend to be a food critic for your school's paper, and it means "a place that serves really nice (expensive) burgers and fries and stuff." While the BRC is a great gastropub, it's comparable to similar restaurants in the area, and it wouldn't be our first choice among them in terms of food, although the service is by far the best we've had in Houston.Upon arriving, the host asked us if we had any reservations. Not expecting to need any, he told us we would probably have to wait about half an hour. Suddenly he said "Hold on a minute, let me see what I can do," and briefly disappeared. Before Siegfried could inform our party that we might have to wait, the host had managed to find a table for all six of us. We also had an extremely pleasant waitress, who was helpful, funny and knowledgeable.

Graphic: "On my Honor, ...

Road trip takes toll as men's basketball drops two

For a team whose two leading scorers are both underclassmen, the Rice men's basketball team has not looked like a young and inexperienced team on the road in the conference this season. After a turbulent 0-4 start to conference play, the Owls impressively bounced back with consecutive road wins against University of Central Florida and Tulane University after trailing in the second half of each game. But if this past week of basketball taught us anything, it's that this young Rice team still has room to improve when matched up with experience-laden teams in the heat of conference play.

Letters to the Editor

Online Comment of the WeekIn response to "Feature: Joke candidates are no laughing matter," Feb. 4:

This week's Editorial Cartoon

Sun Airway: an underground gemstone

While I often find myself traversing the soundscape of underground Philadelphia-based indie electronic bands for the newest sounds, I never expected to find a gem like Sun Airway's Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier. In fact, the only reason I listened to the album in the first place was because Dead Oceans, one of my favorite record companies, produced it. The debut album of duo Patrick Marsceill and Jon Barthmus' ambient sound not only echoed in my ears but made a profound comment on the transient nature of relationships ?and love. The album begins with the song "Infinity," a fitting title as the synthesizer in the introduction creates an almost limitless feel to the listener. It is as if one is wandering through the paintings of surrealist Salvador Dali, endlessly searching for meaning. The opening rhythms soon give way to Barthmus' voice, which has the light and airy sound of Owl City's Adam Young but is grounded in a sort of inexplicable sadness. This tone continues throughout the album, even though the music is primarily pop in nature. This combination might not seem as if it would work, but Sun Airway pulls it off with a sincerity that would rival a ?young choirboy's.

David Eagleman, writer and scienist, thinks aloud

In this week's New Yorker magazine, Dr. David Eagleman, a novelist, neuroscientist at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice grad, is being profiled for his research and recent works. Dr. Eagleman does much of his current research on synesthesia and "neurolaw," which investigates the intersection of current knowledge of neuroscience and law making, criminal punishment and rehabilitation development, which he teaches a class about each fall (NEUR 525, Neuroscience and Law) at Rice. However, among his notable publications is Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, an internationally best-selling collection of short stories. In light of his feature in the New Yorker, as well as a recent appearance on PBS's NOVA, the Rice Thresher sat down to talk with Eagleman about his perspectives on the connection of art and science as well as his book Sum and the movement, "possibilianism," that sparked from it.Rice Thresher: Can you talk about the relationship between art, in your experience creativity in writing, and your experience with research and science? Specifically, how has your research on the brain affected the content that you write about?

Last week's online poll results

Achcar defies views of Arabs

Author Gilbert Achcar spoke Wednesday night about his new book The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab - Israeli War of Narratives. Achcar said his 400-page book explains that he believes the perception of the Arab world as anti-Semitic and extremist is unfounded.

Rice Baseball 2011: Despite UT backing out, Rice still faces tough foes

For the first time in 11 years, the baseball team and the University of Texas will not tussle on the baseball diamond during the regular season. Agreements were in place to have a "home and home" played, with three games at Reckling Park in 2011 and three games at UT's Disch-Falk Field; however, UT backed out of the agreement in order to play a series against the University of Hawaii. While Owls fans may be disappointed by the omission, this season, it may work to Rice's advantage, as Texas is ranked higher (No. 6 in the nation according to BaseballAmerica.com) than any other squad the No. 18 Owls will face during the regular season.However, that does not mean that Rice's season will be free of challenges. Top 25-ranked foes on Rice's slate include Rice's season-opening opponent, No. 13 Stanford University, No. 16 Baylor University, No. 17 University of California, No. 19 University of Arizona, No. 21 Texas A&M University and No. 25 Tulane University.

Egypt must avoid relapse

It is a good day when autocrats who have been in power for over 30 years step down, and all signs point towards democratization and an improvement in a country's political system. That is exactly what happened in Egypt when former-President Hosni Mubarak resigned his position last week and the new leadership of the government of Egypt - the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces - even dissolved the old parliament which came to power in an election no one considers legitimate, and all signs seem to show that the military's top leadership is willing to allow - and accept - the results of a fair, legitimate election either late this year or early next. For those worrying about whether the transition will lead to a change in the stability of the country, the truth is not much would change for the worse. The military has said Egypt will "remain committed to all its regional and international treaties" - an implicit reference to their peace treaty with Israel. And with a new, democratically elected leadership, the country's policy makers shall be accountable to the people; no longer will there be the perception that the government is just an American pawn that is against its own people. This new trust in, and connection to, the government will lead to a greater long term stability (even if the U.S. can't simply send aid in return for a certain policy) both in Egypt and in the region as a whole.

Men's track collects twenty season best marks

One thing nearly all college sports fans have an opinion on is conference loyalty: Should you pull for your squad's conference mates in interconference competition, or does it mean nothing? For the men's track team, conference loyalty meant something this weekend, as they competed in the Texas A&M Challenge for the third year in a row, which features three teams from each of Conference USA, the Big 12, the Pac-10 and the Southeastern Conference. This meet combines the scores of the three teams representing each conference in order to determine conference supremacy for that season. While C-USA finished third and the Big 12 dominated, cruising to a 189-point margin of victory, Saturday's meet was not without positives for Rice, which compiled 20 season-best times or marks amongst its competing athletes. Head Coach Jon Warren (Jones '88) spoke about what he saw in the competition last week. "Lot of good things happened across the board and we're finding out some things about guys," Warren said. "Our distance events are coming together and the DMR [distance medley relay] guys are doing well."

Golf falters late after solid start

Looking to close the second round with a strong finish, the Owls instead squandered their place in the top-half of the leaderboard, falling to a 14th place finished at the UTSA/Oak Hills Invitational in San Antonio. Following a layoff from competition that neared four months, Rice stepped up to the tee on Monday morning and put forth a solid round. Led by senior Michael Whitehead, the team's strongest performer throughout the fall, the Owls shot a cumulative 293. The round left them in a tie for eighth in the 17- team field. Freshman Chris Contreras and sophomore Brock Wilson shot matching 73s to head the Owls' strong effort. Contreras felt that the course was ripe for scoring in the first round.

A fond farewell to our departing colleagues

As the spring rolls around we prepare to bid adieu to several of our colleagues as they leave us for the higher callings of real life. Our outgoing editor-in-chief, Anna Wilde, has accompanied us on many long, late, and sweaty nights. Her baked goods, consistent ability to lose rock, paper, scissor bets, and constant Spurs boasting made her the perfect team mom. Her neglect of sleep, ability to find comma splices at 5 a.m. and uncanny controversy dodging made her the perfect editor in chief. Late nights with Anna were made bearable only by Joe Dwyer, outgoing A&E editor, constantly chiding Anna to "read our shit." Feliz Navidad, Joe, Feliz Navidad. When Anna wasn't reading our pages, she was making coffee and shrieking from patented James Liu pokes. And when James, outgoing photo editor, wasn't poking Anna, he was either editing 3 a.m. pictures or serenading the office with snide remarks and complaints about low-quality photos. With the departure of Helen Shaw, outgoing Calendar editor, our hearts will mourn the absence of her omnipresent JIBA attire and brain-stimulating sudoku puzzles. Our minds were also sharpened with former Backpage editor James Kohli's frequent witticisms and quips. He was truly the ying to our yang.

Meet the new Will Rice masters

Three colleges have picked new masters, who will start their five-year term in the 2011-2012 school year. Will Rice College chose Associate Professor of Sociology Bridget Gorman and Mike Reed; Wiess College chose Associate Professor of History Alexander Byrd and Jeanette Byrd; Jones College chose Associate Professor of Linguistics Michel Achard and Melanie Achard. Each week we will feature the new masters of an individual college.

Minorities get VISION of life at Rice

Wondering where all the prospies came from so long before Owl Days? Rice's admission board invited 210 prospective students to campus this year to participate in last weekend's VISION program. According to Associate Director of Admission Laura Villafranca, VISION, now in its 16th year, is an opportunity to showcase the university to a strong group of minority applicants in a way that goes beyond a traditional campus visit.

I Am Number Four worth only two

Of all the myriad film genres, none is more awkward than the teen action movie. The new film by director D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye), I Am Number Four serves as an exemplar of a film where the enormous concerns of a high school crush and the fate of the world weigh equally on the protagonist's mind. While the film has a few glimmering moments, it ends up transforming a relatively strong premise into a ridiculous tale that the audience is more likely to laugh at than connect to. The story focuses on teenager and alien John Smith (Alex Pettyfer, Tormented), the fourth in a group of nine extraterrestrials sent to Earth as infants for an unknown greater purpose involving their superhuman abilities. The evil Mogadorians pursue the nine, in order of their numbers, so they can conquer and decimate our fair planet.

SA General Election Results

In the Student Association general elections held from Feb. 8 to Feb. 14, 47 percent of the undergraduate student body voted. The ballot featured 22 positions and eight proposed amendments. Names of runners-up are given in parentheses.

Culture of care extends to aiding peers with mental health issues

I'm clinically depressed. I take antidepressants, and I see a therapist in the Counseling Center regularly. If you were to run into me today - perhaps chatting in the servery, waiting in line at Coffeehouse, lounging in Fondren or laughing with friends on the way to class - you would never be able to tell. If you know me personally, you probably had no idea. And why would I ever tell you? If you knew, you'd probably see me differently - you might judge me, look down on me, pity me or maybe even avoid me. So why am I telling you now? Because it's time to break the silence.Oh yes, we all know that Rice is one of the "happiest" colleges in the country. And it certainly seems that way: when we talk to our friends, we talk about classes, parties, campus events, weekend plans - we work hard, we play hard, we have fun, we're happy, productive, successful. But the sobering truth is that under the surface, too many of us are struggling to stay afloat. Too many of us are affected by mental health problems, too many of us are suffering in silence and too few of us are talking about it. It doesn't help that there is an enormous stigma surrounding mental illness. We can't talk to our friends about these issues - we don't want to be seen as crazy, weak, irrational, incapable, or otherwise abnormal. They wouldn't understand.

Student input necessary for success of ALFA committee

It is rare that a university has a multi-million dollar budget devoted solely to improving student life; therefore, it is imperative for the students to be involved with this unique opportunity ( see story pg. XX).The ALFA committee has made it a primary priority to maximize the amount of student input it accrues prior to submitting a proposal to administration.