Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know: I was at a party in Los Angeles the other weekend and I couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation that some former contestants of Project Runway were having with each other. Speaking of "Revolutionary Road" this and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" that, they predicted which movie was going to win the phallic "this little man means I'm better than you" statue and which actress was going to cry or not cry when she accepted her award.

Daniel Joseph Riley and his maroon Volvo waited for me every morning at 6:30 a.m. Although I would always ask for five more minutes when he'd call, twenty-five minutes later we'd be on our way to Eastlake High School. He never once complained. Opening his car door, music would hit me – Elliott Smith, Damien Rice, or, if I was lucky, KC and Jojo. "Allllll myyy liiiiiiife," Daniel would wail, "I prayed for someone liiiiike youuuuu," his thumbs drumming on the plastic steering wheel, his brown curly hair bobbing to keep time with the music.

FUNDING: Reduced finances across the UC system chip away at some Student Affairs programs.

TREND: Theft is a constant threat to bike commuters; UCIPD offers tips to prevent and avoid it.

UCI Students Open Free Weekly Medical Clinic; Gaming Community Benefits Global Marketplace; UC System Initiates Pay Freezes for Administrators

SERVICE: Local delivery company offers frozen meals, snack food, toiletries and now alcohol in Irvine.

SHOWCASE: Students model fashion to raise money and awareness for the wish-granting organization.

CHARITY: Varied student groups contribute to toy drive to benefit child victims of Gaza strife.

Members of the UCI Atheists, Agnostics and Rationalists group demonstrate on Ring Road.

FORUM: A panel of professors discuss whether Proposition 8 infringes on rights in the Constitution.

Earlier this year, a compromising photo of wholesome American superstar Michael Phelps preparing to smoke from a bong surfaced. The photo, which immediately became the topic of the day in the sports world, as well as the rest of the world, has lead to eight arrests, public statements from Phelps, attempts at damage control from his handlers and actions from Phelps' sponsors.

Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the largest ticket broker and the largest concert promoter, respectively, intend to merge, according to The New York Times. Barring anti-trust regulation, the merger would create the largest concert conglomerate worldwide.

I was intrigued by the proposal to make public students' evaluations of their UC Irvine instructors in the "Motion to Release Teacher Evaluations" article on Feb. 9. It would be a nice way to end the misguided dependence some have on RateMyProfessors.com (RMP), where anyone, student or not, can post an evaluation, and there is no control over sample sizes or bias of participants. A number of assertions made by interviewees in the New University article, however, need context and consideration before they serve as a basis for a new policy.

While displaying your firm handshake, flex some muscles. In regard to his attempts at bipartisanship, President Barack Obama's White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel was quoted in The Wall Street Journal stating that Obama "has an open hand, but he has a very firm handshake."