Patti Smith confronts new school celebrity


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If the Grammys telecast Sunday and the recent Golden Globe Awards taught us anything, it’s that products that are mass produced to possess inherent widespread appeal have become synonymous with award-winning talent. Of course, it’s been this way for some time, and to harp on the grotesque nature of voyeurism and shameless self-promotion in relation […]

U.K.’s hands-off education policy puts students in control


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From behind, wild cackling erupts from the depths of someone’s throat. To the left, gangly arms flail about hoping to catch fleeting attention. Screams, loud noises and laughter give the room an air of madness. No, you’re not in a zoo. You’re in a classroom in City University London the sixth most popular university in […]

Mad Mel returns with a vengence


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A Hollywood comeback is never easy, especially when most of Hollywood perceives you to be an anti-Semite with a drinking problem who recently left his wife of more than 25 years for a much younger woman who has just given birth. Mel Gibson, a man once very near the top of the Hollywood hierarchy, is […]

How to lifehack your way through college


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Most people will tell you that a computer is nothing more than a time waster, and that doing something productive usually requires that you log off. In this case, however, the popular knowledge doesn’t hold. Computers and the Internet are some of the most important tools college students have to make their lives easier, more […]

The secret world of nut butters: it’s more than peanuts


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When exams are bearing down and the munchies kick in at 3 a.m., if it’s between ice cream and peanut butter, I’m going for the peanut butter. Creamy, crunchy and tinged with kindergarten nostalgia, peanut butter is a great food for traveling and snacking. But just as your world was rocked when you discovered cheese […]

All-ages venue thrives in Downtown’s gritty underground


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When the news broke in early 2003 that the Birch Hill Night Club, which sat on the border of Marlboro and Old Bridge, N.J., was sold to housing developers looking to construct an active adult community estate, teenagers in both townships, as well as the surrounding areas, swelled with hormone-driven anger. If you were classified […]

London transplant hasn’t the foggiest


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I have a confession to make. I am no longer a virgin to snow. During winter break, for two glorious days, I saw snow fall to the ground for the very first time. Contently watching from indoors while white powder peacefully rose above the windowsill like the ocean tide, the L.A. native inside of me […]

Does Avatar deserve its Titanic appeal?


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In 1997, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave a certain film 11 Oscars — Best Picture included — because it broke box office records, presented dazzling special effects and broke just about everyone’s heart with its true-to-life tragedy. In reality, however, it was a bad film that has not withstood the test […]

Online spoilers ruin all the fun


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My name is Nicholas Slayton, and I was a spoiler addict. No matter how hard we try to wait for the endings and plot thickeners of our favorite movies, books and shows, spoilers abound. The largest source of these are the Internet, where everything from the twists to the season finale of 24 to the […]

Going raw: uncooked foods can add to any healthy diet


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“Guess what’s in it,” I told my dad as he licked the spoon and pondered my new batch of lime pudding. “There are only three ingredients.” The lime flavor was obvious, and I had already told him about my addition of the natural sweetener Stevia. “What could the third be?” he wondered. “Milk?” “Nope. Avocado.” […]