Watching the Masters last Sunday, two sights struck me. The first was that Fred Couples looks like a fourteen-year-old boy with gray hair. The second was that Phil Mickelson's wife, Amy, is gorgeous. No new revelation, but it got me thinking.
The Ritz-Carlton hotel is not a place I frequent, so my apprehension over entering this luxurious hotel for the first time ever was understandable. That uncertainty grew even more because I was interviewing the two most important people from the upcoming Lions Gate release, "Akeelah and the Bee": director/screenwriter Doug Atchison and lead actor Keke Palmer. Considering that the interview was held in such an extravagant hotel, I almost expected Atchison to be wearing a stuffy suit and tie. Instead, he just looked and acted like a laidback, average guy in a button-down shirt and slacks. On the other hand, my image of Palmer was that of her character in "Akeelah": an ordinary 12-year-old girl. Palmer was incredibly poised and mature beyond her years, perhaps as a result of all her experience in Hollywood. When most girls Palmer's age are gearing up for to enter junior high, Palmer has already appeared in various television shows, such as "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "ER," three made-for-TV movies, and a major motion picture (2004's "Barbershop 2: Back in Business"). She was the youngest actor ever nominated for a Screen Actors' Guild award for a leading role, an honor she garnered for her performance in 2004's television movie, "The Wool Cap," in which she starred opposite William H. Macy. And, as if that isn't enough, Palmer is also releasing a CD this summer. "Akeelah and the Bee," due out nationwide on Apr. 28, is Atchison's first movie with a major production company. The film tells the story of Akeelah Anderson, an inner-city girl who beats the odds to compete in the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee. Having experienced the Bee before, I had an engaging discussion with the director and star.
The Daily finally gets classy this week with its lookalike. One of senior Andrew Margules' pals eagerly e-mailed us to let us know that she and her friends had made an amazing discovery: their buddy looked just like the Austrian composer Franz Schubert! We scoured the Internet for photos of Schubby but, unfortunately, he died in 1823 - all we could find were oil paintings! Luckily, Andrew didn't have to sit for a portrait - the Daily's office, while rudimentary, at least has digital camera capability. While we're filled to the brim with pop culture knowledge here, we're lacking in the turn of the 19th century classical music knowledge. And while Andrew has some previous musical prowess, we just couldn't cut it, so instead of an informed interview, we've enclosed a list of important dates in Schubert's life.
At Tufts, it's common to see students dedicating a large part of their afternoons, evenings and sometimes dawns to their extracurricular activities. For every one of your friends that is a Tisch Reading Room devotee, there is an equally enthusiastic LCS tutor or Class Council member.
When an honor normally reserved for one player is given to two, it is typically because no single player stands out enough to earn the award alone. That wasn't the case, however, when the NESCAC awarded Co-Player of the Week honors in women's lacrosse last week -- they were for arguably the two best performances in the conference all season.
We all know money can't buy happiness, but it seems our celebrity-worshipping, consumerist generation doesn't really believe it. The burden of proof lies in "Friends with Money," though we might be a little too young to appreciate this glimpse into our futures.
After years of compromise and debate, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney yesterday signed into a law a sweeping health care bill designed to virtually guarantee health coverage to the more than 500,000 uninsured residents in the state by 2010.
The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate recently passed a resolution asking for departments to make "an open-minded evaluation" of whether Experimental College courses can count for major or distribution requirements.
Despite a recent study which found that the majority of students who check "other" on college applications are in fact white, Dean of Admissions Lee Coffin asserts that Tufts actually underreports the amount of diversity on campus.
Despite the rise of multi-faith families (and the Chrismukkah celebration of "The OC" fame), the celebrations of Easter and Passover are rarely combined. Perhaps that's because, with the Easter and Passover Holidays so close together, cooking two big meals can seem overwhelming. Instead of slaving in the kitchen twice in one week, these recipes make a multi-cultural celebration - we've dubbed it "Peaster" - easy and delicious.
Varsity collegiate players are used to being the best. Most were their team's MVP in high school, played on elite club teams, and were highly recruited by several programs at the intercollegiate level.
After a seven-year hiatus and ten years without a relatively acclaimed record, Steven Patrick Morrissey, best known for fronting revered '80s indie band The Smiths, rocketed back into the pop music scene with 2004's "You Are the Quarry."
First came a colorful yellowtail snapper, then a darting blue runner. Five-year-old Lauren Fernandez was excited to reel them in.
Two Tufts pre-med students won national positions at a recent meeting of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA).
The Tufts E-Men progressed to the semifinals of the UMassacre Tournament this weekend. Then they got stuck in the mud.
If you think that techno is a dead letter today, nearly as dated as a circa-1999 Ricky Martin ditty, you're more than a tad off-base. Sure, hip-hop rules the airwaves and many nightclubs, but the sounds of techno and trance still reign at many nocturnal spots.
Before I even make my point this week (if I even make one), I have to tell you a story that was too funny to leave out. If I had the time to change the whole column around it, I would have. My roommate taught me an important lesson this week - Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) will respond to drunken e-mails - thereby opening up a whole new realm of possibilities for activities to do drunk while waiting for Domino's to deliver at 3 a.m.
The varsity women's crew defended its home course this weekend, overcoming bleak weather to sweep Mt. Holyoke on the Malden River.
After a progression from post-rock to mariachi-influenced rock, Tucson-based outfit Calexico has completed yet another transformation: This week's release of "Garden Ruin" is a realization of the band's steady progression from lo-fi experimental to jazz-influenced rock and finally to a more solidly song-oriented Americana sound.
"The baby boomers had arrived in college, and everyone thought we were the most interesting generation who ever lived. We thought we invented rock and roll, and people were greatly mythologized," English Professor Jay Cantor said.
