Special Projects

Sports notebook: Baseball beats Bobcats in fall ball exhibition

Rice fans were granted a respite from this fall's poor performances in both football and soccer when the baseball team took the field at Reckling Park last Sunday. This year, the team's fall schedule was cut to one game, so the exhibition against Texas State University was fans' only chance to catch a glimpse of the Owls until the Feb. 19 season opener at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. Although the look was limited, it was certainly promising, as Rice came out on top 14-6 in the 14-inning exhibition against the Bobcats. Sophomore southpaw Taylor Wall, who enjoyed a weekend starting job as a freshman last year and will presumably receive the same role next spring, took the hill and allowed two hits and one run over the first two innings.

Letters to the Editor

Online Comments of the Week

KTRU Corner: No Age presents Losing Feeling

There is something unique in the dynamics of a music duo. Roles are duly assigned to each of the two - specific instruments played, singing and songwriting credits, auxiliary forms of multi-tasking - all of which can complement, and sometimes even contradict, the tried-and-true adage that less is more.The noise-pop duo No Age is a shining example of the good that can come from such a duo. Drummer Dean Spunt and guitarist Randy Randall both emerged from the Los Angeles hardcore/punk scene and formed the group after their previous band, Wives, parted ways.

This week's Editorial Cartoon

Amelia fails to take flight

Amelia Earhart was known for flying high. Unfortunately the new biopic,Amelia,doesn't quite reach the same heights as its real-life counterpart. Hilary Swank (Birds of America), who portrays Earhart, may bear a striking resemblance to the pilot; this fails, however, to make up for the stilted dialogue and characters, though they are based on real historical figures. The outcome, alas, is a flat movie that fails to live up to its potential. The film opens with Earhart beginning to capture the heart of the American people, displaying her daring escapades and achieving numerous firsts for women. Pushed by her manager-turned-husband George Putnam (Nights in Rodanthe's Richard Gere), Earhart begins as a phony who only wishes to garner publicity - and a boatload of money - for her famous flight across the Atlantic when, in actuality, she was only a simple passenger.

Cirque du Freak scares up a good time

Let's start by saying that, yes, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistantis just another vampire movie based off a series of teen novels. However, this particular film succeeds where its predecessors (ahem, Twilight) have failed, bringing superb casting and production quality to the table. There is no slack-jawed Kristen Stewart or awkwardly inarticulate Robert Pattinson, nor are there the gasping, misty-eyed tween fangirls screaming about Edward's abs. The casting aloneputs Cirque du Freak a bit higher on the totem pole than all those other teenage vampire stories, and the movie's unique plot never fails to entertain.

Soccer gains speed as season winds to disappointing close

If the soccer team had played as well in the first part of the year as they did this weekend, they might be resting their starters in the season finale in preparation for a deep playoff run. Instead, the team's play over the last weekend has resulted in little more than consolation for a team that has struggled and stumbled through a season of coming up just short. On Friday, the Owls (6-10-3, 3-6-1 Conference USA) traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on Colorado College in the frigid, low-20's contest. Rice persevered through a pair of overtimes to take the Tigers (11-5-2, 7-2-1 C-USA) to a 0-0 draw. With this shutout, the Rice defense had gone 220 straight minutes without giving up a goal.

Commentary: McGwire's return could open Cooperstown doors

Hold on to your syringes - Big Mac is back. Even though the Yankees clinched the American League pennant on Sunday, the most surprising story in baseball Monday was not the Bronx Bombers' return to the Fall Classic. No, that honor went instead to St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa's announcement that Mark McGwire, the steroid swinger, will be his hitting coach next season.

New RPC committees increase efficiency

The Thresher has a long, tumultuous history with the Rice Program Council. They plan events, we complain about them, the animosity continues. Last week's staff editorial notwithstanding ("Esperanza planning proves problematic," Oct. 23), however, we've had generally good things to say about RPC in the past year. Last year, they booked a big-name band, The National, for Homecoming, and Ben Kweller for Willy Week, and the on-campus Esperanza impressed even the sharpest of critics. Forget about last year's Rondelet, and RPC seems to be getting better each year.As such, we feel that RPC's idea to step up accessibility is well-founded (see story, page 1). While club membership in previous years may have been somewhat limited, this year's application process allowed interested students the opportunity to join any of the committees. Since our blanket tax monies fund the club, it only makes sense that RPC publicize their organization more and that students, especially underclassmen, get involved.

University address unfairly excludes students

On Monday, President David Leebron spoke to nearly 100 students at the Student Association meeting, displaying his wit and charm to an attentive and concerned audience. After touching on Rice's rise through the rankings, Leebron reached the meat of his presentation: the discussion surrounding the proposed merger between Rice and the Baylor College of Medicine. He handily fielded the subsequent questions, and students left the meeting feeling confident their concerns had been answered.Unfortunately, one question remained: How did this speech and the ensuing discussion differ from the one that occurred just a few days earlier at his State of the University address?

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.