Griffin became a fan favorite during the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, where he won a landmark decision over Stephan Bonnar for the show’s grand prize of a UFC contract. The fight helped the UFC make massive strides in professional sports, proving to critics that MMA was less mindless brutality and more a human chess match with strategy and tact integral to success. His persona is that of a humble everyman who at times can be too self deprecating. When Griffin enters the Octagon, he brings along the wonderment and intensity that makes it seem that it can be you surrounded by the 8 sides. Griffin won his first and only championship against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 86, but failed to successfully defend the title against fellow TUF alum Rashad Evans at UFC 92.The Ohio native remained one of the more popular fighters in the company, but his way of handling the aftermath of the Silva fight made it nearly impossible for even the most devout of Griffin fans to defend. ”People want to know what happened with the Anderson Silva fight and I can’t tell you. It’s pretty bad.” Said Griffin in a recent interview with BSN Video.”What I can tell you right now,today, this is the most motivated I’ve ever been.” Griffin’s shot a redemption will come at UFC 106 in a rematch against another man with a shaky career history, Tito Ortiz. Ortiz has not competed professionally since May of 2008, and is lately more notable for marrying a woman whose most intimate moments can be viewed with a decent broadband connection. Griffin lost the first fight against Ortiz due to a split decision, but should have a sizable advantage because of Ortiz’s extended hiatus. We live in a culture where winning allows people to forgive and forget past indiscretions. Athletes like Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez have had their far worse offenses overlooked in the public because of their recent championship success. A string of victories starting at 106 can lead Griffin back on the path as the UFC’s favorite son.

]]> http://www.umlconnector.com/?feed=rss2&p=1363 http://www.umlconnector.com/?p=1363 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UmlConnector/~3/9J5wOZC_0jE/ http://www.umlconnector.com/?p=1360#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:23:16 +0000 Greg Vellante http://www.umlconnector.com/?p=1360   Actress Milla Jovovich approaches the screen and speaks directly to the audience, claiming that everything in The Fourth Kind is backed up by actual video and audio, and is a dramatization of something truly real. We are then encouraged to believe what we want to believe, and thus, the most pretentiously tedious “thriller” of the year begins.

  The Fourth Kind is plagued by an unyielding determination to make the audience “believe”. It transfers between an interview with director Olatunde Osunsanmi and Dr. Abigail Taylor (on who the film is based), a dramatized story arc in which Jovovich plays Taylor, and split-screens used to show actual footage alongside the performances. 

  Weeks after “Paranormal Activity” managed to evoke dread by making the fake seem real, The Fourth Kind presents the complete opposite. The footage meant to enhance data only falters the film, as the split-screen tactics overstay their welcome fairly soon into the running time. 

  Those who take the footage shown as concrete evidence of alien encounters will probably buy into the entire ruse The Fourth Kind carries in its bag of tricks. If the contrary, then The Fourth Kind will do nothing for you rather than bore and trail along on a thrill-less route to nowhere.

  The burning question that The Fourth Kind wants to sear into the audience’s mindset is whether or not alien abduction is a real occurrence. Although, after the movie fails as both a fact-based study and a fast-paced thriller, I believe the more important question is, why should I care?`

  Sainthood opens up with three powerful tracks, starting with the electronic “Arrow”. The second track “Don’t Rush” is simply about the one, but that one has already found someone else. “One way or another/I’ll find my way to cover/I’d love to find my other.”

  The single “Hell” is a testament to getting over someone and finding the confidence within to let go, despite the intense pain that goes along with it. 

  The middle songs are not their strongest but do exhibit their versatility. Taking a cue from Robert Smith, “The Cure” is a hopeless song  about trying to make things work: “All I said to you/all I did for you/seems silly to me now”. Tears replaced by anger, the 80s punk-inspired “Northshore” blares lyrics like “Don’t heal/don’t mend/don’t take/don’t send/don’t love me”.

  The album wraps up beautifully, with themes of fear, anxiety and internal conflicts. “Sentimental Tune” captures the nervousness and fear of going into a relationship, wondering if it will all be worth it in the end. Closing with “Someday”, the song bleeds out fear and self-assurance issues that both the twins and young adults face on an everyday basis. 

  Sainthood is another Quin twin essential, filled with lyrical substance and emotions that listeners have come to love.

“Weird Al” Is a monumentally important artist who deserves enshrinement in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” reads the first paragraph of  Stephen Thompson’s essay in the liner notes of The Essential “Weird Al’ Yankovic.
  The mere notion is laughable to most music listeners but the fact that the Editor of NPR Music can formulate this belief and have some legitimate reasons behind it (An incredible backing band,  far reaching influence on pop culture) could mean the rest of the world just has not given Alfred Matthew Yankovic a fair shake as being a true musician.
  This essential collection is for the die-hards who recognize the brilliance of the “Weird one”, and have been waiting to get their Cheeto coated hands on a n album like this for years.
  The collection is a double disc containing 38 hits handpicked by Yankovic that span his thirty year career  in satirist songwriting. The evolution of Yankovic’s parodies are documented through the arrangement of the tracks, with the accordion-based Queen  parody “Another One Rides the Bus” to the straight up instrumental pilfering of “Yoda” and “Like a Surgeon”.
  Original works such as “Everything You Know is Wrong” and “Dare to be Stupid” drip with elements of New Wave and Post-Punk that could of made “Weird Al” peers with Devo and Talking Heads had those bands took themselves a shred less seriously .
  Despite his reputation of being anything but, there are authentically funny moments in “Weird Al”’s discography. The underwater gargle guitar solo in “Smells like Nirvana” is hilarious and songs about  the sterility of the corporate grind (“Dog“), mundane suburban life (The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota“), and the nation’s obsession with gun culture (‘Trigger Happy”) are thought provoking jabs at society.

  Listening to The Essential “Weird Al” makes you realize how critical the visual aspects of Yankovic’s work were to any enjoyment of his songs,  “I’m Fat” just isn’t the same without a guy in a fat suit and an 8XL leather jacket waddling through a subway station. 

  So does “Weird Al” deserve  to be considered prolific in the recording industry ?  Truthfully Thompson is probably full of crap with his statement and the essay doesn’t go beyond doing an old friend a favor , but some credit has to be given to a man who has kept relevancy over the years though a regenerating niche. A end-to-end listen to the collection is unbearable, but throw the songs on shuffle to elicit groans and smiles from party guests. 

  An hour later, the raucous and rebellious crowd was hypnotized by the mystique of folk legend and notorious recluse Leonard Cohen. The performance was captured on CD and accompanying DVD to create a beneficial historical account of a tumultuous time defused by a songwriting legend.

  Leonard Cohen’s Live at the Isle of Wight 1970, released by Legacy Recordings, is a beautifully recorded capsule of a time in history. Cohen absolutely hypnotizes the volatile crowd with his ambien-infused songwriting which, as manager and keyboardist Bob Johnson says, “Cohen brought poetry into the music.”

  The DVD is beautifully shot with footage from the show and interviews from Kris Kristoptofferson, who was booed off the stage earlier, and Judy Collins, among others.  It sets the scene that makes the accompanying CD much more substantial, where Cohen is not simply singing for a crowd, but singing for an event in history.  

 Simply put, the album would not survive without the DVD, they are codependent, and listening to the album first is fruitless, as it is simply a sleep aide.  With them both as a complete product, it is an experience and a trip back forty years, to an incendiary time and the music that brought people together.

  The weeding of the O’Leary Library is being done not to just clear out old books and replace some of them, but it is also to renovate the fourth floor. After the process of weeding and moving books to Lydon is complete, O’Leary will go through a transformation of its space.

  “With moving most of the collection to Lydon it allows for more efficient use of the space,” said Dr. Nina Coppens the Interim Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, Division of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

  The plans to renovate the library came from a survey responded to by 800 students last semester.
  “Having 800 students was a great body of input from the students,” said Acting Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Melissa Pennell.

  From this survey Library Director Patricia Noreau said, “Students want more quiet study space and more collaborative study space.”
  With this in mind, the directors and deans looked into implementing the Learning Commons model.

  “The intent of this new library is with the intent to form a study area following the Learning Commons model,” said Noreau.
  The Learning Commons model is designed to create a new modern library combining quite study areas, work collaboration areas and technology into the library experience.

  Collaborative areas will be areas for group work, while there will be separate areas will exist as “reading rooms” for “ quiet study space where students can sit and read and study” said Dr. Nina Coppens.

  The design will be similar to that of the study areas on the mezzanine of O’Leary.

  In addition to the new study space, offices will be a part of this renovation. Currently, the fourth floor is home to the English department offices. However, the arrangement as it is now is not ideal.

  “Looking to reconfigure their space to be more departmental and more private for faculty ands students,” said Dean Pennell.
  In addition to rearranging the English Offices, there is talk of moving the Political Science offices also to O’Leary. This is due to the over crowding currently in Coburn Hall.

  Currently no plans are definite, however in the up coming spring semester more forums and collaboration with faculty and students will be taking place to plan out the changes coming to O’Leary.

  “ This is a chance to step back and look at the space and see how the library can get the maximum use of the space,” said Director of Libraries Noreau.

  This change is very similar to one that took place nearly 12 years ago when the stacks on the fifth floor were dissolved under a different library administration. The fifth floor was then turned into office space and the stacks were dissolved. During the time it generated a good deal of controversy due to the fact the library was being shrunk due to the need for more office space.

  As UMass Lowell students needs change over time the library will allocate its resources to best serve the UMass Lowell community. Students, faculty and administration are all integral parts of any changes that take place and as this evolution takes place all groups need to give their input to provide the best library services possible. 

  Guns, guns, guns, guns, guns, guns and maybe a few bullets. For a planet that is mostly desert wasteland, Pandora sure has enough guns scattered across its surface. Though without the piles of guns, I suppose the 90% of the population that makes a living hanging around shooting each other for fun would be rather put out.

  Gearbox Software’s Borderlands may not actually contain 87 bazillion guns. Still, the random gun generator that was developed for the game can produce a few million different guns, along with the thirty or so unique weapons lying around.

  In the game, the player takes control of one of four treasure hunters scouring Pandora for the only thing of any worth on the planet, The Vault. Supposedly filled with enough technology to conquer the galaxy or buy it, The Vault is considered a myth by most.

  But then again, most people do not have the voice of someone claiming to be the keeper of the vault ringing through their heads, demanding that they find it.

  Borderlands is a first person shooter role-playing hybrid, according to Gearbox. The player aims the shots, no amount of levels will compensate for being unable to line up a shot. By the same token, no matter how skilled a player is the game cannot be completed without searching out better guns and leveling up.

  The game is best played with a friend or three, as the cycle of grinding shinier and shiner weapons grows old without someone to show them off to. Still, combat is fast-paced and engaging, quests are mostly hilarious and the few NPCs the player runs into are filled with enough personality for three or four in other games.

  Fans already anticipated a high level of intensity during the weekend series between the River Hawks and the defending National Champion Boston University Terriers. That intensity multiplied when Tim Benedetto, the referee from the Hockey East Championship Game, was seen officiating this game.
  This left many fans questioning why Benedetto was allowed to call the first game between the ‘Hawks and Terriers after the infamous “no goal” call last March. The truth is that the referees for games are assigned well in advance.  
  “This is a decision that is made near the beginning of September for games around this point in the season,” said Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna. “The only restriction we may have is if an official is unable to make trips to teams further away such as Maine or Vermont.”
  With Lowell not that far out of reach Commissioner Bertagna  has no intention of going out of the way to keep Benedetto away from the Tsongas Arena.
  “He [Benedetto] has been one of the top referees for many years here, and we are not going to forget that because of one issue,” Bertagna said. “Mr. Benedetto feels bad about the way that things went, and regrets what happened that game.”
  The single issue, a questionable call back of a goal in the Hockey East Championship game, may require the blame to be spread on other areas aside from Benedetto. With all NHL reviews going to an office in the Toronto Headquarters, the TD Garden did not have sound in their replay booth.
  If a similar situation should arise, and there was still no audio replay was available, Bertagna mentioned the use of video replay from networks covering the game such as NESN.
  Also in defense of the decision made by Benedetto was a rule in place which states that if the referee has intention to blow the whistle, but is unable to, play will stop as if the referee blew the whistle.
  “The rule was put into place from a conference tournament game a couple years ago between Boston College and New Hampshire,” Bertagna said. “When New Hampshire goalie Kevin Reagan lost his helmet, play should have been stopped, but no whistle was blown.”
  While these are good steps towards any issues for the upcoming games it still makes UMass Lowell fans question why there could not be audio replay from NESN used against Boston University.
  There are still questions as to why a man who was seen running to his car after the Hockey East Championship game would be used for the rematch. This is in no way saying that Benedetto should be banned from any UMass Lowell or Boston university games. The fact that he is one of the longest tenured referees in Hockey East shows he is a credible official. It does seem odd to use him the very first game between Boston University and UMass Lowell though.
  With all the things that happened Commissioner Bertagna wanted River Hawk fans to realize that he knows there is still anger about what happened.
  “I understand that the city of Lowell is still upset about what happened in March,” Bertagna said. “Hockey East is doing everything to make sure it does not happen again.”
  Be that as it may, this may not be closure for River Hawks fans, and having to see Benedetto in the first rematch with the Terriers served as nothing but a painful reminder being rubbed in. 

Captain and goalkeeper Jaime Gillis set the NCAA division II record for consecutive shutout minutes in Saturday’s 3-0 win against Southern Connecticut at Cushing Field.  

  Gillis has gone a total of 1,232 minutes without allowing a goal, breaking the previous record of 1,192 set in 1997. The senior goalie from North Billerica had the full support of the River Hawk faithful behind her, and her teammates’ defensive stance and offensive production helped her cause.
  In the 37^th minute of play, sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn McHugh scored a header into the far post from a Colleen Fitzpatrick assist for a 1-0 ‘Hawks lead. Later in the 53^rd minute junior midfielder Brianne Bozzella scored her sixth goal of the year with a header after a break away to make the score 2-0 ‘Hawks.
  Freshman forward Colleen Soper capitalized on a penalty kick in the 65^th minute to cement the 3-0 victory, the River Hawks’ 11^th of the season.

  Gillis’ record is an impressive feat that should lead to her gaining national recognition.

  “I’m really, really happy for her,” said head coach Elie Monteiro, “she’s a good kid, Her attitude has not changed from the day she was a freshman. “

  The ‘Hawks have not lost a game since Sept. 9, and Monteiro hopes the momentum carries into the upcoming Northeast-10 tournament.

  “We’ve got two games left and the goal is to obviously try to have a home game for the playoffs. One round would be great; two rounds would be awesome. We just to continue to play well going into the tournament. When you score three goals against a quality team like Southern Connecticut you have to feel good about it.”

  Gillis has not paid too much attention to the record, but she recognizes the significance of the streak.

  “I guess it is pretty cool, I owe a lot of credit to my team. I have not had to make too many saves this season because they are doing a great job in front of me. As long as we keep getting a shutout we’re not going to lose.”

  Gillis attributes a good practice regimen as the reason why the team has went over a month without a loss “Going out every day and working hard in practice carries out to the field for the games. Everyone is just working hard.”

  While coach Monteiro continues to sidestep any questions about the shutout streak. Gillis does not subscribe to any superstitions about the record.

  “I don’t mind talking about it. If we let a goal in and we still win, the streak’s over I do not care as long as we win.”

  The ‘Hawks are currently ranked third in the NE-10 with a 11-2-3 record, a 10-1-2 mark within the division.  Their next game is Oct. 24 on the road against first place Saint Rose at 1.

There is a scene of painfully impressive acting by 12-year-old Max Records near the beginning of “Where the Wild Things Are”. As the character Max, the actor portrays a young boy simply building a snow fort in his yard, and then calls to his older sister Claire to come outside and see.

  Blatantly perturbed that Max has interrupted an oh-so-precious teenage phone call, Claire yells back at him to go play with his friends. At this moment, Records displays a exceptional knack for voiceless emotion, as the look on his face lucidly tells us that Max doesn’t have any friends.

  Loneliness. It is a powerful and tragically common theme in life. “Where the Wild Things Are” is about such loneliness. Along with the unnerving anxiety, apprehensions, fears, and concerns that come with being a child.

  Max is a flawless caricature of such a child, and when he sails off to a distant land after getting into a fight with his mother (Catherine Keener), the Wild Things that he encounters are each in their own elements of Max’s entire psyche.

  There is Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini); a large, fun-loving creature with serious anger issues. There’s Judith (Catherine O’Hara), an almost manic-depressive downer who is in a relationship with Ira (Forest Whitaker), the most soft-spoken and gentle of the Wild Things. Alexander (Paul Dano) equals fear and nervousness. Douglas (Chris Cooper) represents knowledge. The Bull is a giant of few words, mainly isolated. And then there’s KW (Lauren Ambrose), a partial loner who attempts to break away from her normal pack.

  The Wild Things are vastly different from the illustrated creations brought to life by Maurice Sendak back in 1963 in the classic children’s book. They are given names, voices, personalities, pasts, hopes, dreams, and feelings. Despite looking like over sized citizens of Sesame Street, the Wild Things are nowhere as cuddly as one would assume.

  They are depressing, dark, and dismal creatures, and their lives have the misfortune of being dreadfully gloomy. This is not your classic children’s tale. This is an adult’s tale meant to remind us all, through metaphor, what it means to grow up.

  Max is a disobedient, angry child. His behavior at the inception of the film that leads him to runaway from home is nowhere near acceptable, and it takes a journey to a land of lonely, disheartened creatures to show him what the true meaning of family is.

  Just like Dorothy being whisked away to Oz in order to show her the essence of “home”, Max’s expedition to “Where the Wild Things Are” is just as symbolically enriched.

  The film moves quite slow at times, a pace that most young viewers will not be able to hold attention for. The dark and sometimes frightening elements may actually drive some children away from the theater, despite a PG-rating (a violently angry dismembering of one of the characters is most disturbing).

  Yet, this is a film that all children should see. They may not understand it fully at such a young age, but then again, did original readers of the book understand the in-depth themes, or was it just a simple tale of Wild Things?

  With brilliant direction by Spike Jonze and a thoroughly developed screenplay by Dave Eggers and Jonze, “Where the Wild Things Are” is a true work of masterfully captured emotion. The music, by Yeah Yeah Yeahs lead singer Katie O, is perfectly complimentary to the visionary impressionistic feel of the entire film.

  Emotionally raw and deeply endowed with genuine profoundness, “Where the Wild Things Are” may not be the book we read as children, but is certainly something far more powerful.