The Phoenix

Ashes to ashes

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Both residents of the university and the community have expressed concern for Loyola's ongoing conquest of the Rogers Park neighborhood. "The 800-pound gorilla won," said Sam Mashni, owner of Granville Liquors, when Loyola succeeded in revoking his store's liquor license.

A man in the arena

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

This is my last column for the Phoenix. The temptation - strong - is to make this some sort of self-indulgent retrospective. But I think my record speaks for itself. And as my always beautiful, though sometimes critical, girlfriend has told me, "Pat, we get it.

Good night and good luck: Nellie b.'s take

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Staring into the abyss that is the end of Pratt pier on a starless night, I ponder: What do I have to say to wrap it all up? Four years of college, four years of Phoenix, four years of searching for the answers that never seem to come as fully formed and as perfectly straightforward as we want them to be.

Yale student's abortion piece: Is it art?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

It just makes me profoundly sad. It makes me profoundly sad that as I sit down to write my column, I find myself hesitant for the first time to do so because I know that in order to produce a well informed opinion on "abortion art," I'll have to research it.

For reader, punishments for drug crimes not needed

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

It's time to question the morality of punishing nonviolent victimless crimes. Punishing victimless "drug crimes" exceeds the standard for retributive punishment established in the Law of God - Exodus 21:23-25 "life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise" (Also see Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21).

Good night and good luck

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

I've been thinking about all this for a long time. I've written 66 columns for this newspaper and have thought, throughout, about what I wanted to do next, how I wanted to cap off my college career without totally debasing myself. I will debase myself - Loyola, in its only true act of charity, gives its seniors a week between exams and graduation to eviscerate any lingering brain cells - but I also want to do something nice.

Loyola professor: Stossell missed the mark

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

John Stossel began his talk April 15 by lamenting the fact that there was a course in socialism being taught in the political science department and that the Loyola Phoenix seemed to be even more left than was the Princeton student paper in the bad old days in the 60s, when he was a student there.

Loyola votes "yes" for sustainability

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Is the Loyola community doing enough for the planet? According to most students, the answer is "no."

Earlier this month, 1,321 Loyola undergraduates voted "yes" for a more sustainable campus. An overwhelming majority of us - over 82 percent - endorsed additional funding for environmental projects.

Review: Young@Heart

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

On the surface, it sounds like a cheap gimmick: a chorus of 80-year-olds from New England, clutching canes and oxygen tanks, belting out ditties by Sonic Youth and The Clash? This is the stuff of SNL skits, not award-winning documentaries. However, Young@Heart, British filmmaker Stephen Walker's latest documentary, manages to steer clear of the clichés and contrivances, instead presenting a hilarious, often heartbreaking portrait of a group of senior citizens who do not go gently into that good night - but rather, sing out with all their hearts.

Review: Tokyo Police Club

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Tokyo Police Club's Elephant Shell is the kind of independent album that would've been impossible before the era of blogs and iTunes singles: a massively-hyped debut from a band whose members have no previous resumé.

Still, though the breathless buzz surrounding TPC sometimes feels a bit disproportional, it isn't entirely without merit, either; their debut and primary claim to Internet-darling status, 2007's A Lesson In Crime EP, nearly burst at the seams of its 16-minute run time, over-stuffed with hooks and bowing at the edges from the muscular, charging drums and the rusted-clockwork guitars, textured yet mathematical, that pushed in every direction.

Con Safos (With Respect)

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

During the revolutionary period of the late 1960s and early '70s, Mexican-Americans from California, Arizona and New Mexico united under the Chicano Movement and demanded racial equality and worker rights. The prevailing social inequality and the political reform of such activists as César Chávez inspired Chicano artists.

Review: Whitesnake

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Let's be discrete: Good to be Bad is probably best enjoyed in a vacuum, a sequined and hairsprayed time capsule buried in a backyard somewhere in New Jersey. In this backyard, every song is at least five minutes long, each one with a comic book's worth of Guitar-Heroics, power chords and searing slow-tempo bridges that burn, break and then let loose splintered floodgates of Rock.

Review: Unwed Sailor

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Post-rock is a diverse genre of music which, inspired as much by Beethoven as the setting of the sun, frequently revels in epic crescendos, odd time signatures and free-jazz influences. The post-rockers tend to craft long songs that rise and swell through a series of multiple movements.

Review: Intrigue With Faye

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

If there are any two things that can destroy a person's privacy, they are romantic relationships and constant video surveillance. In the InFusion Theatre Company's Chicago debut of Intrigue With Faye, a couple gets the worst of both worlds when they decide to test each other's trustworthiness by videotape.

Wax Ecstatic

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

I write this column every week. Sometimes I hear from people who like it; sometimes I hear from those who don't. About a month ago, I received a comment posted on one of my columns on the Phoenix's online addition, courtesy of someone calling himself "Every Man.

Greasy Spoon

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The late sexpot Marilyn Monroe once said, "Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and 50 cents for your soul." While I haven't tried that kissing bit just yet, I'm pretty sure Chicago's Hollywood - Grill, that is - won't touch your soul, only your appetite.

Mixtape

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

"On the Road Again" - Willie Nelson

And this time, it's ass, gas or grass. Don't you wish you'd gone to a better college and received a degree that actually meant something? Oh well - there's always grad school.

"I Stay Away" - Alice in Chains

Remember those lame kids in high school who'd come back every now and then after they graduated to see old teachers? Yeah.

Quick Takes

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

With the Cubs sporting a 10-1 lead in the eighth inning of their April 16 showdown with the Cincinnati Reds, Adam Dunn's solo home run in the Wrigleyville night should have been a minor roadblock to another round of "Go, Cubs, go!"

But when the feebly armed fan who caught Dunn's dinger, which had rolled down Sheffield Avenue, couldn't lob the ball back onto the playing field per Wrigley tradition, the fans inside the park - all of them - came to his rescue.

Raf Attack

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

There are 265 individuals and five teams that can call the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame home. Located in Springfield, Mass., the birthplace of basketball, the Hall of Fame's mission is to honor players who have shown exceptional skill at the game, all-time great coaches, referees and other major contributors to basketball.

Favela to play in PGA minority event

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

As junior Armando Favela sat on his couch watching the Chicago Cubs work their magic against the New York Mets and trying to study for final exams, he couldn't help but constantly play with his pitching wedge, which was never more than an arm's length away.

Beware of the Greek

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Way back in September, in my very first column of the year, I wrote about how not-newsworthy Loyola sports was at the time. "There's just nothing to talk about," I mused, not knowing that eight months later I'd be sitting here, singing the same old tune. I thought that by now, things would have changed, and we would have something to spark small talk for those awkward moments in Halas.

Thumbs Up / Thumbs Up

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Up to men's volleyball

I know the guys haven't seen the light at the end of the tunnel lately (who the hell says that?), but their Friday night MIVA Quarterfinals victory over two-time MIVA tournament defending champion IPFW should definitely raise their self-esteem after I have been continuously squashing it.

Men's volleyball to play Ohio St.

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Looking to overcome the odds, the fourth-seeded Loyola men's volleyball team proved Friday that streaks are meant to be broken with a thrilling 3-2 win over the No. 5 seed IPFW Mastodons. The victory marked the first time the Ramblers have eliminated the Mastodons in post-season action.

Braking out the brooms

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

When Loyola's women's softball team went to Dayton this weekend to take on first place Wright State, they brought an extra piece of equipment: their brooms. The Ramblers swept Wright State in the weekend series 3-0, knocking the Raiders out of first place and establishing their presence back at the top of the conference.

Men's golf takes Caputo

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The Loyola squad took the gold at the Caputo Invitational at Meadow Golf Course in Mundelein, Ill. The men, after beginning their spring season knee high in snow, are beginning to find the pins again.

Rambler southpaw, junior Armando Favela, led the pack in Mundelein after posting an impressive 71-77-72 over the two day tourney.

The Bar Exam

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT

1. Red Line Tap
7006 N. Glenwood Ave

Red Line Tap is the sort of bar that knows who it caters to: After nearly a century in operation and a major overhaul in the late 1990s, it's learned a thing or two about this neighborhood. It has a great beer selection, including brews from Rogue, Flying Dog and Great Lake - probably has the best variety of regional and craft beers on tap in Rogers Park.