Speaker Addresses Jihad, Role of U.S. in the Middle East

Daniel Pipes, a New York Times News Service/Syndicate columnist and a former adviser to the Rudolph Giuliani presidential campaign, addressed a crowd of over 70 students last night in Embarcadero Hall. During his speech, Pipes spoke about Islamic fundamentalism and the role of the United States in the Middle East.

Hella Hyphy

Last Friday night, NorCal rap group The Federation brought its unique brand of hyped-up hyphy music straight to UCSB’s Storke Plaza. Before the show, Artsweek talked with Doonie Baby, Goldy and Stresmatic about performing, partying and pretty much everything in between.

Measure A Seeks to Renew Tax, Improve Roads

After failing to garner the necessary votes to pass Measure D in November 2006, proponents of the road improvement tax are trying to get a similar proposition, Measure A, back on the ballot for the November 2008 elections.

Say It Isn’t So, Serpico

It’s official: Al Pacino can no longer be considered a cutting-edge talent. After starring in some truly unfortunate movies (“S1m0ne,” “Two for the Money,” “Gigli”), Pacino has reached what is hopefully his career’s nadir with the laughably bad “88 Minutes.”

Accounting Team Wins Prize Money in Contest

A team of future accountants from UCSB earned second place and $15,000 in a national audit competition held last week in New York City.

The contest, sponsored by KPMG – an international company that provides audit, tax and advisory services – featured teams from five accounting programs. Of the five universities selected to compete, UCSB is the only one that does not have an accounting degree or graduate program.

When Legends Collide

Well, us martial-arts enthusiasts have been waiting for this for a long time, and it’s finally happened. Jackie Chan in a film without Chris Tucker. A bonus: we get Jet Li instead! Hollywood has also thoughtfully provided us with the token white kid, Jason (Michael Angarano), as the main protagonist, because Lord knows we couldn’t handle a Chinese lead. Oh, and Jason is a major martial arts buff, with an infinite amount of Bruce Lee posters on his bedroom wall, so of course he has to be the untapped hero.

County Harvests Benefits of Agriculture Industry

For the second year straight, Santa Barbara County’s bounty of agricultural products raked in over $1 billion in 2007.

Agriculture remained the county’s dominant producing industry last year, with a gross production value of a little over $1.1 billion for the year. According to a report released by the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, production has increased 8.5 percent – around $86 million – since 2006.

The Lineup

1. Renowned director Julian Schnabel garnered international acclaim for his recent hit “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” See the film about what happens when the editor-in-chief of French Elle has to deal with the aftermath of a sudden stroke at 7:30 p.m. on April 28 in Campbell Hall.

Good Burger

Ready to enter hamburger heaven? Put away those George Foreman grills and let On the Menu take you on a transcendent journey outside the fast food bubble of mass-produced, frozen patties as we shed some light on Santa Barbara’s options for the real beef deal.

Chicks and Dicks Cavort Downtown

Thursday, 9:23 a.m. – Fuuuuck. If the throbbing head and dry mouth is any indication, it feels like I probably went to OTT last night. Singing karaoke to “Benny and the Jets” must not have been a bad dream after all.