Columnists

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Leading mad men of hip-hop of TV

Last Saturday, a number of Daily Cardinal-associated folk met up for a vaguely "Mad Men"-themed classy Christmas party. While I was pre-gaming in my blue-suit-and-skinny-tie combo, a friend observed that I had been acting remarkably somber in light of Russell Wilson and Co.'s epic late-breaking beat-down of Michigan State earlier that evening. He suggested that I needed to get out of character and act more like my goofy, excitable self.

Photoshop killed the movie poster

Cameron Crowe was once regarded as a seminal modern American filmmaker. He spent the ‘80s and ‘90s producing some of the most beloved films of those respective decades. In the 80's Crowe began his film career by adapting a screenplay from his non-fiction book "Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story," a chronicle of the lives of six different teenagers, which Crow secretly re-enrolled in high school at the age of 22 in order to capture.

Getting 'the talk' from books

My parents never gave me "the talk." Based on the awkward stories I've heard and knowing my own parents, I think I'm pretty lucky. The fallopian tubes scene from the Amanda Bynes movie "Sydney White" never happened, nor did the tennis conversation from "American Pie." I would probably have locked myself in my room with Fall Out Boy's "7 Minutes in Heaven" blaring if they had tried.

Occupy needs to change its tune

As Occupy Wall Street threatens to ignite a powerful left-leaning cultural movement in the United States, I have to wonder if music can play or should play an important role. American music and radical leftist politics share a long and fruitful history. No one may be more aware of this history than the union sympathizers so gallantly entrenched in the polite folk and gospel traditions that claim Pete Seeger and Josh White among their originators.

Cinematic plea for book-based freedom

I can't count the number of times I've gone to see a film adaptation of a book I've read only to be disappointed by the result. It's lead to my policy of almost always seeing a movie before I read its source material, simply because I know I'll probably be more impressed with the latter. But this seemingly inevitable degradation in the transition from paperback to film stock is because writing a novel and writing a movie are two very different processes.

Women's Hockey: UW continues rolling in sweep of St. Cloud State

When a group as talented as the No. 1 Wisconsin women’s hockey team (9-1 WCHA, 15-1 overall) outscores its opponent 11-1 over two games, it would be easy to think it was cruising without incident.

Live Review—Youth Lagoon entrances High Noon

Trevor Powers' dreamy soundscape, Youth Lagoon, got off to a great start Monday night at the High Noon and came to an even stronger finish.

Men's Hockey: Encouraging signs abound for young Wisconsin team

Head coach Mike Eaves has said all season long that it is a “process” with this year’s young Wisconsin men’s hockey team (4-7-1 WCHA, 5-8-1 overall), and after getting swept on the road by Colorado College, the team will have plenty to look at and grow from as they return home to face Mercyhurst (5-1-1 Atlantic Hockey, 6-5-1 overall) this weekend.

Women's Hockey: Badgers set to face-off with St. Cloud

Here’s the thing about the women’s hockey matchup between top-ranked Wisconsin and WCHA cellar team St. Cloud State this weekend: It is not going to be close.

File-sharing rights called into question

The Protect IP Act (in the U.S. Senate) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (in the House of Representatives) have caused incredible uproar in the Internet geek community over the last few weeks. If passed, the more egregious SOPA would restructure the means with which owners of various Intellectual Property (IP) rights owners could penalize websites that "facilitate" the illegal sharing of music, movies and other media.

High hopes for amateurs in the future of filmmaking

One of my favorite movies from the Sundance Film Festival this year ended up being "Like Crazy." The screening I attended followed just after director Jason Reitman ("Juno", "Up in the Air"), head of the festival's Grand Jury this year, awarded the 2011 Sundance Grand Jury Prize to "Like Crazy" director Drake Doremus.

Men's Hockey: Wisconsin searching for first road win of season

The end of last season was a disappointment for the Wisconsin men's hockey team (4-5-1 WCHA, 5-6-1 overall) as it stumbled down the stretch, before it was eliminated in the first round of the WCHA layoffs by Colorado College in Colorado Springs.

Column: Situations like Penn State’s have the potential to happen anywhere

Since news of the Penn State scandal first broke and as the horrifying details of alleged sexual assaults and cover-ups unfolded over the next week and a half, there has been one question nagging at so many sports fans: Could it happen here?

Column: Wisconsin hockey is taking fans for a ride

After watching the first month and a half of the season, I really can't figure out what to make of this season's Wisconsin men's hockey team.

The 'curious incident' of gaining new perspectives

Tis the season for thanksgiving. With the holidays approaching quickly, I've been more introspective.

Rihanna's direction stems from assault

Rihanna is the universal pop star. She lives in the upper echelon of fame, that mostly vacated space once occupied by untouchable stars like Elton John and Jimmy Page. The old icons were backed by wheelbarrows of LP and concert ticket dough and were not necessarily expected to engage with masses such as human beings. Before the turn of the century, there were a ton of arena-packing musicians who must have seemed like Norse gods or aliens from the back rows.

David's host of choices for 2012 Oscars

Notoriously crude, boorish director Bret Ratner (creator of cinematic masterpieces like "Rush Hour 3") made a complete ass out of himself at the premier of his new under-performing flick "Tower Heist" by commenting in a Q&A that "Rehearsals are for fags." This happened the same week as Ratner talked sleazily about sleeping with actress Olivia Munn on the "Howard Stern Show," only to admit a few days later that he lied about it all.

Column: Paterno, Spanier earned their fates

We all have legal responsibilities, and we all have moral ones; things we must do, and things society expects us to do.

UW Professor Dan Banda paving road to knowledge with new documentary

Everyone knows about issues like fair-trade coffee and blood diamonds, according to UW filmmaker Dan Banda, but very few people have heard about conflict minerals. His documentary, "A Road from Lubumbashi," seeks to change this.

Anthem of a revitalized romantic