Two weeks ago, I was watching TV with some buddies when I discovered something disturbing â€" an uncommon occurrence on TV, for sure.
At 2 a.m. on a main street in Athens, Ga., a parade is forming. This is not your average late-night parade, but a kazoo parade led by the singer of legendary indie-pop band The Music Tapes. Members of local band Oh Sanders followed a crowd of 300 fellow indie-music fans, passing spectators and fraternity houses while repeating the same six notes on the kazoo.
When UF was ranked the No. 1 party school at the beginning of the semester, I was not remotely surprised. The bar scene and nightlife have always been a significant part of college life in Gainesville.
It's mid-August, and the bells of Century Tower - maybe a few e-bill notifications, also - are beckoning you to UF, a sultry and sticky swamp where you become an under-financed, oversexed version of your at-home self.
Ah, back to school. Remember the days when going back to school meant buying a whole new wardrobe? Returning for another academic year was the perfect reason to go shopping and your perfect excuse for spending money. "It's for school next year" seemed to be one of the few replies that parents actually accepted. In college, it's like no one even cares.
For those strolling past the dimly lit bar windows of 1982 on a Monday night, be prepared to witness something other than locals watering down their worries. Instead, bystanders might find Gainesville's rock star wannabes imitating the greats on popular music video games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero.
In terms of sheer size, the only thing larger than "…Earth to the Dandy Warhols…" is Courtney Taylor-Taylor's massive ego. It would be irresponsible to credit the growth of said persona to past experience this kind of megalomania you're born with but those once-coveted Seth Cohen playlist adds and the exposure in 1960s revivalist doc Dig! couldn't have helped matters. Having since mistaken Sundance for the Academy and obscurity for fame, Taylor and his Dandy band shed the limitations of their modest guitar rock orientation, and with this latest paralysis-inducing, hour-plus space jam, permanently shoot to hell any lingering pop flirtations in favor of misfired trance drones, none of which will be featured in a K-Swiss commercial. "Earth" is the kind of brazen kiss off you'd expect from a man with two last names.
Their venue burned down in Boone, N.C., They played to a crowd of more than 100. They played to a crowd of less than 10. They were greeted by a shotgun-wielding man in the mountains while attempting to find another venue, a house party thrown by people on house arrest.
While watching "Hamlet 2," you may be bombarded by a number of questions that seem important. "Who is Steve Coogan?" you might find yourself thinking. "How did a barrage of misfits in Tucson magically learn to act and sing?" and "Why is the funniest joke about Elizabeth Shue, an actress who has been a blip on the blockbuster radar since the late 1990s?" Though these questions may seem minor, they'll consistently make you question the validity and overall merit of the movie at large.
A blustery force of innate headwinds faces every incoming freshman at UF, and that's before you count the crappy weather. For starters, there's the budget deficit strangling the liberal arts program (hope you're good at engineering!) and, for those who get hosed by the lottery system, the impossibility of scoring football tickets without selling a kidney. These challenges may seem daunting but manageable with determination and a spare organ.
I was having lunch with a friend who is involved in public health, and I decided to get her input on safe sex.
Thousands of students are drawn to the streets of downtown and midtown Gainesville every night. They come in droves, staggering out of the student ghetto, fumbling their way from the dorms and cruising out from the various apartment complexes that litter this college town.
Fresh meat.
Whether you're new to Gainesville or just looking for a new place to eat, Gainesville has a ton of local eats to check out this semester. Make the most of your time here and uncover these Gainesville gems that will give you the best food for your buck.
Looking for something entertaining to read during your downtime? Here is a book list that can revive your reading agenda for the fall.
For shop-a-holics who like to scour their local shopping mecca for the latest fashion trends, Gainesville has an excellent variety of small boutiques and shops that should satisfy anyone sick of trudging through The Oaks Mall.
Need something different to do on a Saturday night? The Hippodrome State Theatre is the whole package.
Dorm room living can be a huge adjustment for many students.
Feeling the pinch yet? Getting squeezed at the pump? Gouged at the grocery store? Not to worry. While Congress waffles over another round of stimulus checks and Sen. John McCain whets the collective petroleum appetite by dangling a gas tax holiday just out of reach of this nation's penny-pinching fingertips, Nine Inch Nails is actually offering a whiff of wallet-sparing practicality.
I want to tell you a secret.
Solutions by The State News
