Arts in the Autumn
A sea of students canvassed a packed Harder Stadium one pleasantly breezy evening in late August, singing along to the summery songs of UCSB alumnus Jack Johnson’s catalogue as the sun sank behind the stage. Though there was still a month of summer to go for UCSB students, the feeling that summer was winding down was palpable, and the kick-off event of Arts & Lecture’s 2008 season was the perfect denouement. It’s now September: Time to put away the board shorts, cut back (a little) on the Natty Ice consumption and hit the books, but that doesn’t mean it has to be all work, no play from here on out. Artsweek scopes out Fall Quarter’s essential concerts, lectures, films and exhibits that will serve as a welcome reprieve from all that schoolwork.
SB Officials Split Over Oil Issue
Citing record-high gas prices and a state economy strapped for cash, a divided Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted in support of expanded offshore oil drilling late August.
Picking on the Pitbull
Change and experience. Those were the buzzwords of the presidential primaries. And as Sen. Joe Biden called out in the beginning, both those terms are bullshit. It’s not about change or experience – it’s about action.
UCSB Falters on Road Trip
The UCSB men’s soccer team has a lot of talent to go around. It just lacks a lot of experience. This is the trade-off that Head Coach Tim Vom Steeg will have to deal with in his 10th year at the helm. As one would expect from such a team, it’s been an inconsistent early season.
Chick-Lite
Diane English’s “The Women,” a less catty, more sappy remake of the 1939 George Cukor classic, plays out like a “Sex and the City” episode that got watered-down with excessive life lessons. There is not one male in this cast, so instead of having sex with men, the four leading ladies have numerous heart-to-hearts about men, which really doesn’t compare.
Anti-Harrassment Bill To Protect UC Scientists
In response to a string of increasingly vicious anti-animal research attacks on University of California employees, the California State Assembly has passed legislation to legally shelter UC researchers from future harassment.
Hybrids Not Worth It in the Long Run
I recently walked out of a restaurant with my family to find a pamphlet slid under the windshield wiper of our car. It read, “You are killing the environment!” I read on to learn that the reason we were killing the environment was because we drove a Chevrolet Suburban (SUV), which gets only half the gas mileage of a sedan or coupe.
Bengals?
What the hell has happened to the Cincinatti Bengals?
Funny Games
Not only are the Coen brothers masters of modern dark comedy: They are masters of film period, having proved themselves across a wide range of genres, from “No Country for Old Men” to “The Big Lebowski.” Their newest creation, which they wrote and directed, is “Burn After Reading,” starring a number of returning Coen players like George Clooney and Frances McDormand, as well as fine additions to their universe with John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton and Brad Pitt.
Candidates Vie for 3rd District
As Isla Vista’s student population floods back into town for the new school year, candidates for the 3rd District supervisor — the community’s only elected official — are starting to heat up their campaigns once more.