tasteless.
As you probably already heard, despite the internet being your number one summer source for news, information and incisive, hard-hitting commentary, Michael Jackson passed away yesterday at the tender age of 50. Jackson was a monolithic figure on the pop culture landscape for almost his entire life, first as the pop boy-wonder, then as the reigning King of Music, and finally for his plastic surgery, reclusive behavior, accused pedophilia and confirmed weirdness. Because of this, Jackson will always occupy a peculiar niche in the pop-culture lexicon, a burning modern example of the difficulty in separating an artist from their work. It’s a shame that his story had no real final chapter, no redeeming Hollywood conclusion, though I would hope, in his way, he found peace. But however Weird he lived, he was the King of Pop music, and if a few kids had to get buggered to make Thriller, I suppose thems the breaks. Good Night, Mike. You were the worst kind of strange but I wouldn’t trade you for anything.
Those early jazzmen knew what they were up to
when they set about making funeral marches swing.
So swing me away, please, with a rousing tune.
Filed under: Edits | Tags: fordham, george tiller, holocaust museum, Liberty Forum, right-wing extremists, we were right, you were wrong
Ok, you guys, I know it is summertime and I shouldn’t be blogging or something, but ya know, it’s been raining for like a week and it’s slow at work, so…yeah.
But anyway, quick little heads up to remind everyone that the paper wins. (We always win.) In April, Fordham’s conservative blog the Liberty Forum posted a piece titled “Obama Administration: conservatives are the real terrorists.” Author Rachel Ring was inscensed by a Homeland Security memo predicted that the election of the first African American president and the advent of economic hard times could worsen the threat from right-wing extremist groups. Ring stated: “He’s [Obama] truly a left leaning liberal who would support the prosecution of people who are deemed “right wing extremists” who simply just differ in opinion with him on matters of gun control, immigration and abortion”
It was pretty clear back in April that the author hadn’t even taken the time to read what she was writing about, so the paper peppered their comments section, saying: “This report (should any of you have given it a gander) addresses the possibility of political exploitation used to radicalize an otherwise peaceful and acceptable political philosophy by fear mongers and irresponsible leadership,” and suggesting they read an article about a young, heavily-armed white supremacist who had shot two black police officers just days after the memo was released as evidence that right-wing extremism is indeed alive and well in our country.
Well, after George Tiller’s murder and this week’s shooting at the Holocaust Museum, we bet you guys feel like assholes, huh? This article in the New York Times and this article in the Washington Post are about the conservative outcry over the memo (which Ring was desperately trying to echo), and why they were all so very, very wrong.
Filed under: Strange Days | Tags: Fordham University, graduation, the new yorker
As some of the paper’s best friends graduate, many of them past paper contributors and editors, the paper would like to say happy graduation. Take a look at this May 31, 1969 cover of the New Yorker, which maps out the possible future for college grads. It’s hard to see some of the words on this page, but if you click on it you can take a closer look…it’s pretty beautiful.
Wherever you go, remember: the paper loves you all.
Filed under: Sports
Off In The Woods
Oh what could have been.
Just BGin' Around
It was the last go-round for many of these seniors; what started so long ago as a ill-fated masturbation pun has evolved into the culmination of four years of hard work, grit and determination—the strenuous training of lifting beer to mouth and back to table every Tuesday over the last 208 weeks—laid on the line for one last opportunity at the glory of a free, over-sized, gray T-shirt emblazoned with the immortal words of “Intramural Champions.” (more…)
In an interesting piece from this week’s New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell (author of Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference and Outliers: The Story of Sucess) leaves us with one more tidbit about perseverance: In order to win the battle with Goliath, David doesn’t play by the rules.
Gladwell’s example? Basketball’s full-court press.
Bring the pain.
Like our biblical hero, who–rather than awaiting the advance of the lumbering Philistine–engaged Goliath on his own terms, undermanned basketball teams can prosper through their use of the full-court press. By attacking even superior opponents over the full 94 feet of the floor, underdog teams are far more likely to emerge victoriously than those who retreat into a half-court defense, ostensibly playing a game that favors the more talented opposition.
Take for example, your 1971 Fordham Rams (as if you were really expecting a reference to a Fordham team assembled during our lifetime):
In January of 1971, the Fordham University Rams played a basketball game against the University of Massachusetts Redmen. The game was in Amherst, at the legendary arena known as the Cage, where the Redmen hadn’t lost since December of 1969. Their record was 11–1. The Redmen’s star was none other than Julius Erving—Dr. J. The UMass team was very, very good. Fordham, by contrast, was a team of scrappy kids from the Bronx and Brooklyn. Their center had torn up his knee the first week of the season, which meant that their tallest player was six feet five. Their starting forward—and forwards are typically almost as tall as centers—was Charlie Yelverton, who was six feet two. But from the opening buzzer the Rams launched a full-court press, and never let up. “We jumped out to a thirteen-to-six lead, and it was a war the rest of the way,” Digger Phelps, the Fordham coach at the time, recalls. “These were tough city kids. We played you ninety-four feet. We knew that sooner or later we were going to make you crack.” Phelps sent in one indefatigable Irish or Italian kid from the Bronx after another to guard Erving, and, one by one, the indefatigable Irish and Italian kids fouled out. None of them were as good as Erving. It didn’t matter. Fordham won, 87–79. (more…)
Filed under: News | Tags: cajun boy in the city, Fordham College Republicans, Fordham University, Idiots, Newt Gingrich
Chairman Mao Zedong and President Nixon
The sentiments of many half-wits were echoed by Newt Gingrich on his recent trip to Fordham, when he told us how disgusting and terrible it is that President Obama shook hands with Hugo Chavez. (Really, for those of you who missed it, the fear-mongering cannot be overstated.)
Well Newt, lucky for us some dude put together an amazing photo gallery that shows us (gasp!) that President Obama isn’t the first President to civilly greet controversial world leaders. As the blogger points out:
“…it almost seems like getting to know your adversaries and becoming friendly with them actually acts as a deterrent from them starting wars with you? Go figure! Just like in real life with your neighbors and people you work with!”
The gallery contains pictures of Republican US Presidents cordially greeting everyone from Brezhnev to Gorbachev. Suck on that Newt Gingrich and all of you applauding monkeys who attended the event.
-Kate
Filed under: Strange Days | Tags: America, dumb, enhanced interrogation, hannity, Iraq, Keith Olbermann, olbermann, sad, Sadness, Sean Hannity, stupid, torture, waterboarding
One thousand apologies for the Thompson headline…but this ridiculousness deserves no other title.
A war of the egos is brewing between your angry neighbor Sean Hannity and flaming ideologue Keith Olbermann that has finally spilled over into a fifth dimension of absurdity. Hannity, who knows America can do no wrong, moronically agreed to undergo waterboarding after being antagonized to do so by actor Charles Grodin, whom I’ve never heard of. Hannity announced he would undergo waterboarding for charity, heroically proclaiming, if you will, to do it for “the troops’ families,” because there’s nothing more heartwarming to a grieving mother than seeing a bloated and confused man have water forced down his neck.
Keith Olbermann, anxious for a crusade, then called on Hannity to keep his word, offering to pay $1000 for every second Hannity is waterboarded. Olbermann hopes Hannity will be transformed by the experience, that the torture will make the commentator see the grave severity of waterboarding. While I agree Hannity could be changed by this experience, I am disgusted by Olbermann’s willingness to take part in this circus of stupidity.
Filed under: News, Sports | Tags: eddie's parade, Fordham University, mascot, punch, the ram
Apparently our school is receiving some national attention due to a little run-in our mascot, the Ram, had with an almost certainly drunk and/or high student in the cafeteria on Friday. (By national attention, we mean Deadspin, a subsidiary of the Gawker network. They also zing the Ram’s article on the incident.)
You remember Friday? It was beautiful out, so Eddie’s naturally looked like the Jersey Shore. Yeah? Yeah. Just setting the scene. So this mystery kid was in the Caf and sees the Fordham Ram walk in. The kid runs up to the Ram and punches him, knocking the Ram to the ground and dislodging his big, furry, fake head. Burn.
But it doesn’t end there. Sometimes drunken/high idiots (ourselves included) forget that when you hit someone they may or may not attempt to retaliate. Especially when that person is a large man in a ram costume. The Ram chased the puncher onto Eddie’s Parade and socked him in the face. (God I wish I had done my drinking outdoors on Friday afternoon.) Hundreds of Fordham babes and bros dropped their frisbees and watched on in horror (read: they were lovin’ it and you know it).
John Carroll, Fordham’s Director of Security, along with many other security workers caught up with the two fighting bros. Eventually both students were taken to the hospital (the puncher, reportedly, put up a bit of a stink though).
Comment if you were there, y’alls.
The new issue of The Nation–dated May 11, 2009–also mocks the New York Post on their cover. Great minds think alike, kids!
The Nation
the paper
