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The Observer is a student-run, daily print & online newspaper serving Notre Dame, Saint Mary's & Holy Cross. Learn about us.

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Scene Selects

| Monday, November 28, 2011

Flannel Shirts

It hasn’t snowed significantly yet in South Bend, but colder weather is moving in just in time for the beginning of December. Even though these cold few weeks are full of papers, tests and stress, it doesn’t mean they are all bad. Flannel shirts can now return in full force to block out the biting wind or act as a comforting layer of warmth during long hours in the library. With their bright or bold plaid patterns, each flannel is unique and shows some personality. So here’s to cold weather and that oversized flannel finally coming out for winter.

 

Plaid Wrapping Paper

It’s the perfect way to decorate a dorm door as well as the classiest way to hide presents bought for friends and family. The red, green and gold of a good plaid hearken back to the 1950s when housewives like Betty Draper hand crafted bows and tags for Christmas presents galore. Bring the spirit of the season to your hall by adorning just about anything with this holiday season staple.

 

HeyTell

HeyTell is a free iPhone and Android app that allows users to deliver voice messages straight to their friends’ phones, walkie-talkie style. The conversation thread is available too, so users can entertain themselves by listening to their entire back-and-forth record of voice messages. The app is perfect for quick communication, be it incoherent mumblings or crucial information, and is way more fun than lame text messages.

 

The Hunger Games

With the first trailers for the March 23 release of “The Hunger Games” popping up, there seems to be a renewed interest in Suzanne Collins’ first novel of “The Hunger Games” trilogy. Long-time fans are re-reading the novel to prepare for the upcoming movie release. Those drawn in by the movie trailer are reading the book for the first time. In “The Hunger Games,” Collins tells a gripping story of a futuristic, hierarchical society in which teenagers are pitted against each other in an annual, televised battle to the death.

 

Christmas Lights

Thanksgiving is over, which means it’s finally socially acceptable to deck your halls and rock around the Christmas tree. Don’t have the space to fit a Christmas tree in your small dorm room? Get in the holiday spirit by stringing lights around the room. If you don’t have a loft, part of the fun is in getting creative to avoid hammering nails in the wall — unless you don’t mind large fines at your end of the year room inspection.Flannel Shirts

It hasn’t snowed significantly yet in South Bend, but colder weather is moving in just in time for the beginning of December. Even though these cold few weeks are full of papers, tests and stress, it doesn’t mean they are all bad. Flannel shirts can now return in full force to block out the biting wind or act as a comforting layer of warmth during long hours in the library. With their bright or bold plaid patterns, each flannel is unique and shows some personality. So here’s to cold weather and that oversized flannel finally coming out for winter.

 

Plaid Wrapping Paper

It’s the perfect way to decorate a dorm door as well as the classiest way to hide presents bought for friends and family. The red, green and gold of a good plaid hearken back to the 1950s when housewives like Betty Draper hand crafted bows and tags for Christmas presents galore. Bring the spirit of the season to your hall by adorning just about anything with this holiday season staple.

 

HeyTell

HeyTell is a free iPhone and Android app that allows users to deliver voice messages straight to their friends’ phones, walkie-talkie style. The conversation thread is available too, so users can entertain themselves by listening to their entire back-and-forth record of voice messages. The app is perfect for quick communication, be it incoherent mumblings or crucial information, and is way more fun than lame text messages.

 

The Hunger Games

With the first trailers for the March 23 release of “The Hunger Games” popping up, there seems to be a renewed interest in Suzanne Collins’ first novel of “The Hunger Games” trilogy. Long-time fans are re-reading the novel to prepare for the upcoming movie release. Those drawn in by the movie trailer are reading the book for the first time. In “The Hunger Games,” Collins tells a gripping story of a futuristic, hierarchical society in which teenagers are pitted against each other in an annual, televised battle to the death.

 

Christmas Lights

Thanksgiving is over, which means it’s finally socially acceptable to deck your halls and rock around the Christmas tree. Don’t have the space to fit a Christmas tree in your small dorm room? Get in the holiday spirit by stringing lights around the room. If you don’t have a loft, part of the fun is in getting creative to avoid hammering nails in the wall — unless you don’t mind large fines at your end of the year room inspection.

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The Observer is a student-run, daily print & online newspaper serving Notre Dame, Saint Mary's & Holy Cross. Learn about us.

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archive

Scene Selects

| Monday, November 21, 2011

Suri’s Burn Book

Suri Cruise may be a tabloid fixture at five years old, but this blog is ten times more interesting than her couture fashion collection. The fictitious blog written in the voice of a bitingly sarcastic Suri is a collection of images and posts about other celebrity children and their unsophisticated tastes. Suri leaves no child unjudged, including Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Kinston Rossdale, Honor Warren (Jessica Alba’s adorable daughter) and Harper Beckham. 

 

Colette on “Pan Am”

The retro glamour of air travel in the 1960s is the main star of Pan Am, especially since the characters still have some kinks to work out ¾specifically, not being annoying. One exception is the French stewardess Colette, played adorably by Karine Vanasse, sporting winged eyeliner and a black bob to go along with the iconic light blue uniform. Vastly underused by the writers, Vanasse is able to make audiences feel every emotion, from her sweet encounters with Pilot Dean to her anger and sadness when visiting Germany due to her family’s experience during the Occupation. More Colette, less spy drama, please.

 

Big Bang Theory

The plot centers around Sheldon, a theoretical physicist, Leonard, an experimental physicist, Howard, an aerospace engineer, and Rajesh, an astrophysicist. These four geeky guys have their world of role-playing, Klingon and video games interrupted by the appearance of Penny, a waitress and aspiring actress. They soon realize that just as she can learn a lot from her new nerdy neighbors, they can learn from her as well. The combination of scientific jargon with the usual sitcom antics makes this a must-see, whether you are an astrophysicist yourself or can’t even remember what you learned in high school.

 

Threadless Tees

Everyone loves a good t-shirt, and t-shirts don’t get funnier, wittier, more artistic or more culturally astute than Threadless t-shirts. The Chicago-based company adds to their immense collection of shirts by marketing designs submitted through and voted on by its user community. With a $10 t-shirt sale starting on Thanksgiving, there has never been a better time to check them out at threadless.com

 

Dontevenreply.com

Dontevenreply.com is run by one hilariously cruel blogger, who trolls Craigslist looking for people with unusual requests. The blogger then replies to the postings in a ridiculous fashion, stringing the unsuspecting people along for an absurd and often vulgar ride. The end goal is to anger and frustrate people posting classified ads and then post the results online. His prank victims vary from false daycare service-providers to a car salesman, and the stupidity of the people replying may make you lose faith in humanity.

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The Observer is a student-run, daily print & online newspaper serving Notre Dame, Saint Mary's & Holy Cross. Learn about us.

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Scene Selects

Scene Staff | Wednesday, November 16, 2011

 

1. Cube Runner

Though one of the oldest and simplest iPhone apps, Cube Runner is still totally awesome. Piloting a little ship in between cubes by tilting the phone, the speed increases and the cubes change color, making it one of the simplest ways to entertain oneself in an odd minute of spare time. Sure, there are newer, fancier games, but there is something strangely compelling about cube running.

2. “Bones”

“Bones” is back again! Fox’s hit crime drama has begun its seventh season, complete with crazy murders and endearing “squints.”  “Bones” returned Nov. 3 after a hiatus due to actress Emily Deschanel’s pregnancy.

Fans have rooted for the romance between main characters Brennan (Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) throughout the past six seasons, in spite of continuous denial of their mutual attraction. This season, viewers are excited to see the newly acknowledged relationship between the all-too-rational forensic anthropologist and the spiritual FBI agent play out, as the two prepare for the birth of their baby.

Intermingled with the usual dead bodies is a cast of quirky characters that make “Bones” worth the watch — and the wait. “Bones” airs Thursdays on FOX, at 9 p.m.

3. Mouth-taped-shut.com

Who doesn’t love a bit of viral advertising? This site, dedicated to the upcoming American adaptation of the best-selling novel “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” is basically all pictures. Someone from the production posts new, behind-the-scenes photos from the set on a regular basis. Sometimes, they’re just fun to look at. Other times, they contain clues that, when paired together with other pictures or posts, lead to a secret. The secret often contains material from the film planted in some location for fans to find. If you’re pumped for this movie, don’t miss it.

4. Apple Cider

It’s not quite cold enough for hot chocolate, but just cold enough for a little pick-me-up every once in a while. This perfect stretch of fall calls for one thing — apple cider. The sweet cinnamon-y taste of this warm beverage is just what every student could use this time of year. 

5. Elf Yourself

Our campus is not yet covered in snow, but the winter season and all the Christmas delights that come with it are almost upon us. There are many ways to celebrate this upcoming season, from red cups at Starbucks to blasting Christmas carols in your room.

But for fun that never ends, check out elfyourself.com. Upload photos of your friends, professors, favorite TV show characters — anyone you want. Then choose the dance for them, as elves, to perform. Tunes range from funk to Charleston to classic Christmas. You’ll laugh for days, and the crazy dance moves you never knew your friends could do will put you in a fantastic holiday spirit.

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The Observer is a student-run, daily print & online newspaper serving Notre Dame, Saint Mary's & Holy Cross. Learn about us.

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Scene Selects

Scene Staff Report | Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Christmas coming early

Red Starbucks cups, Christmas music on the airwaves and ABC Family’s “25 Days of Christmas” — we are already inundated with the holiday spirit, whether or not all of the Halloween candy has been eaten. The weather in South Bend is still crisp and fall-like and the inevitable snow is not yet bogging us down. We can take this opportunity to appreciate the happy parts of winter that the red cups and Christmas commercials imply, without the usual frigid temperatures. While enjoying the last few weeks of moderate weather with Christmas tunes playing, we can enjoy the best of both seasons — hot chocolate in hand, surrounded by beautiful orange trees. What could be better?

Florence + the Machine, “Ceremonials”

With the release of sophomore albums from both Adele and Florence + the Machine, 2011 is shaping up to be a year full of emotionally charged, powerful music from young female singers. Featuring superb singles “What the Water Gave Me” and “Shake It Out,” the entire album is packed from start to finish with sweeping music and Florence’s howling, shiver-inducing voice. It turns out that 2009’s “Lungs” was only a sneak peek of the creativity and talent that was to come.

Leather Boots

That’s right folks — the time for flip-flops has slipped away from us. But fear not, for there is another option to replace the flip-flop as a daily footwear choice. No, we’re not talking about Uggs. We’re talking about some good old-fashioned leather boots. They are the perfect fall staple and no sweater-jeans combination is complete without a pair of leather boots. Walking around campus, roughly one in two women (not an actual statistic, more of an observation) can be seen in leather boots and no two pairs of boots are exactly the same. It’s become the Notre Dame fall uniform, and we’re definitely not complaining.

Crossword Puzzles

Looking for a quick break from writing a term paper or studying for that Orgo test? Crossword puzzles are the way to go. They exercise your mind and give your mind a break from the toil of studying the same subject over and over again. Sure, it’s not a break on Facebook where you can see all the pictures from last weekend, but they’re much easier to abandon when you need to get back to work. Check out page 15 of today’s Observer for a challenge.

Sharpie Pens

If you have never been excited about writing with a pen, you have never written with a Sharpie Pen. Sharpie markers were always cool, but there just aren’t that many situations that call for a permanent marker. That predicament has been rectified with the Sharpie Pen. Sold in a number of attractive colors and models, there is no smoother writing experience than allowing the Sharpie Pen to glide across a piece of paper, and you’ll be relieved to know it does not bleed through an average piece of paper. Mitch Hedberg favored Uniball pens, but if he had written with a Sharpie, he probably would have been won over.

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The Observer is a student-run, daily print & online newspaper serving Notre Dame, Saint Mary's & Holy Cross. Learn about us.

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archive

Scene Selects

Maija Gustin | Wednesday, November 2, 2011

1.     Multimedia Page:

You love looking at the photos in the Observer, right? Well, while you might only get to see one or two with any given article, the new Multimedia page at ndsmcobserver.com is full of photo galleries that hold the wealth of photos from games and events on campus and around South Bend that the Observer has.

2.     Blogs:

Observer writers have been writing blogs about everything from sports to studying abroad for a while now. Have you read any of them? Check out ND Minute for videos, like a chat with Fr. Malloy about his visit to Ground Zero; Observer Passport to read about the international experiences of students abroad, including blogs from a student in Cairo during last spring’s uprising even more waiting for you at ndsmcobserver.com

3.     Twitter:

Stay up to date with not only major stories from the Observer, including breaking news, but other updates from within the campus community by visiting the Twitter pages of any of the Observer sections.

4.     Live Blog:

Away from the TV during a football game? The Observer’s website has a love blog from our very own Sports writers running throughout each game to keep you caught up with all of the Fighting Irish action. 

5.     Poll:

Share your voice with campus and help shape the community by voting in the Observer poll, found at the bottom of ndsmcobserver.com