Ron Howard and crew somehow managed to take “The Da Vinci Code,” one of the most entertaining and controversial works of the past generation, and turn it into a lukewarm, flaccid experience that only served to make millions re-read Dan Brown’s book to get the bad taste out of their mouths. Luckily though, it appears that Howard is learning from his mistakes, and “Angels and Demons” ranks much better than its ‘Da Vinci Code’ predecessor, though it could be nothing more than a stupid action flick.
Andrew Tonkovich, a lecturer in the English Department, presented two readers from the spring 2009 edition of the Santa Monica Review at the UC Irvine Bookstore on Thursday.
Invited by Spicmacay, a club promoting Indian classical music, renowned musician Ustad Ali Ahmed Hossain Khan performs with the Shehnai, a double-reed wind instrument...
Few people could have guessed what surprises the 2009 Indian Culture Show would have in store. Some might have predicted it would have been simply fun to watch, or even that it would be a spectacular show, but few could have guessed it could arguably be called the most compelling show put on at UC Irvine this year.
East Bay Area natives Green Day have gotten a lot of criticism for “selling out.” Growing up in Northern California, surrounded by a thriving punk rock scene in Berkeley, it seemed that the band would follow suit in the same vein as the area’s Operation Ivy or Jawbreaker.
The rape kit’s importance cannot be underestimated. However, it often is. According to an investigative piece for KPRC Local 2 News in Houston, many women in Texas who are victims of rape end up paying for their own rape kits and in other states, including California, these completed kits gather dust while waiting to be examined.
Although the 2009 Kentucky Derby ended with a thrilling win when the horse Mine That Bird achieved a 50-1 long shot victory, horse racing continues to be marred by the events of last year’s derby when second-place competitor Eight Belles was euthanized after suffering two broken ankles. Unfortunately, not all horses in this year’s derby went unscathed, as shown by various injury reports from ESPN.
UC Irvine’s web page for the Office of the Chancellor extolls the virtues of our campus. It calls on the UCI community to uphold, in words and actions, the core values of our university: respect, integrity, commitment, empathy and appreciation. Yet, Chancellor Michael Drake and UCI administration have failed to lead by example.
One of the interesting things about America, or maybe society in general, is that pop culture can often spark meaningful debate about serious issues. Sometimes it’s a folk-rock star singing about the disillusionment of endless wars and at other times it’s Miss California USA saying, “…you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage,” but “in her country” it should just be opposite marriage.
In an attempt to blur the lines between church and state, 33 churches participated in a nationwide event called “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” in September 2008, prior to the historic November election. The goal of this event was to trigger a legal fight and ultimately overturn regulations that prevent places of worship from supporting or opposing candidates for office.
During the heat of his campaign for the presidency, Barack Obama stated in a speech to the Human Rights Campaign in the fall of 2007 that “America is ready to get rid of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. That work should have started long ago. It will start when I take office. America is ready to get rid of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. All that is required is leadership.”
