For some reason, it has taken twenty years for the United States to start paying attention to a genius. It took us five years to pay attention to Einstein. Since when do you have to make a bomb to be a genius?

The true comic’s comic, Louis C.K. is finally getting the attention he deserves. Maybe it is because his last name has periods in it. But, it is legally Szekely, so he did you a favor.

Maybe it is the brutal honesty. In his Emmy-nominated comedy special titled Hilarious (seriously, how do you not pay attention to that?), C.K. welcomes the crowd by reminding them that they aren’t most people because most people are dead. But, he comforts them by saying they’ll die too.

Maybe you just haven’t heard of him. If that is the case, I forgive you because you have come to the right place. If you do know him, please keep reading anyways.

Louis C.K.’s career began when he was 18 years old. Living in Boston, he would perform stand up at local open-mic nights, while working as a mechanic. He then moved to New York where he gained popularity in the underground comedy world.

For a decade afterwards, C.K. worked with the best comedy writers on television. He penned episodes for Late Night with Conan O’ Brien, the Late Show with David Letterman, and The Dana Carvey Show. And he would submit sketches to Saturday Night Live for airing.

He has also done extensive work with his good friend and fellow comedian, Chris Rock. Together, they have written two films, Down to Earth and I Think I Love My Wife. They also worked together on HBO’s The Chris Rock Show, where he won an Emmy.

He took his comedy television expertise to a new level with his show Louie. Louie is a series he created where he also stars in it, writes it, directs it, constructs the sets for it, and hems the costumes. OK, the first two are lies. Alright, fine, it’s the last two.

He signed with FX for a far smaller price than he could have gotten from a major network, but with complete executive control, it was an offer that could not be refused. The show is as he puts it, “It’s very vignette-y. It’s very vérité. All those French words.”

I don’t know what that means either, but it focuses on a fictionalized version of himself making his way through life as a divorced stand-up comedian with two kids. Each episode is independent of itself, so you can’t even make the excuse that you need to start from the beginning. Just watch it.

After a slow start, Louie has received considerable critical and fanatical acclaim. It is very similar to Seinfeld in structure, as it blends real stand-up comedy with the fictional world created for the comedian.

The similarities tend to end there, as the material on Louie would have George Costanza institutionalized. The show can be heavy and dramatic, but it always culminates with a comedic brilliance that leaves you in awe.

C.K. remains at his best on stage with a microphone in hand. His buddy Rock says C.K. is the best right now. Saying in an interview with Esquire, “He is one of the biggest comedians in the country.”

His last two stand-up specials Hilarious (2010) and Chewed Up (2008) have both been nominated for an Emmy in Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Special. And, he has been selling out tour tickets in a matter of hours.

Rock points to the fact that Louis is too blue collar for some to understand. But, the joke is on them, because he only wears black T-shirts on stage so that doesn’t even make sense.

His relaxed conversational style puts audiences at ease when listening to him. That is until they are thrown into a laughter seizure, which can be dangerous for those who aren’t careful.

His most recent undertaking may be his best yet. His newest stand-up special Live at the Beacon Theater is in the same class as usual, but there is one characteristic of it that sets it apart.

Instead of releasing the special through a network, C.K. did all of the work himself and then released it for purchase on his website for only $5. What a nice guy!

Even nicer was that it could have been a flop with the high hourly rate of internet piracy these days, but instead, it was an enormous success. After a week, the special earned $1,000,000 in profit.

Nicest of all was how C.K. distributed the profits. $250,000 is paying for the cost of the special. Another $250,000 is going to his staff who all got bonuses. He paid $220,000 to himself, but he donated the remaining $280,000 to various charities, so I think he earned it.

There are some people who redefine funny. Louis C.K. is one of those people. If you don’t know him yet, you have obviously not been paying attention, so you might want to check him out for yourself.

When a show is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, people get pretty excited. When that show has anything remotely to do with music, people go ballistic. NBC sure hopes they do, as they green-lighted their first ever musical show, Smash.

Recently, NBC has been getting teased in Hollywood, because of its noticeably terrible ratings.  But, with Smash, they hope they can rise from the ashes and once again, contend for television supremacy.

It starts February 6  at 10 p.m., the Monday after the Super Bowl, which I’m sure you’ve heard already. If you haven’t, I’m sure you will by halftime. This year, your favorite Super Bowl commercial is going to have to be the 12 second ad that just says “Smash” in fancy Broadway lights. There won’t be a second option.

You know that show American Idol, the one that only loses to the Super Bowl in viewers? They sort of started this singing craze that sent 22 million people into a musical orgasm for four hours per week.

It appears singing has become the new vampire, as this isn’t the first time we have seen a show that nailed the ‘heartbreak and _____’ routine. With American Idol’s success, Fox wanted to suck the life out that demographic with Glee and many thought they had succeeded.

Not so fast, though, NBC. NBC brings a new premise to the musical stage with Smash. I’m sorry I keep saying Smash. I’m brainwashed by NBC, but luckily I’m the only one.

The potential of the show cannot be ignored. It may not generate the ratings of American Idol, but bringing in Idol talent like Katharine McPhee certainly can’t hurt. She is given her biggest role on the biggest stage, on NBC of course, but still impressive.

McPhee is surrounded by experienced talent from the rest of the cast and crew. NBC also says to mention that Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston, and Jack Davenport star with Broadway-nominated actress Megan Hilty.

And then there is McPhee, who is acting for the first time with a fairly large fan base. Now you can see why NBC is all over this; they haven’t had one of those in years.

Behind the scenes, there is that Spielberg guy who is executive producing. He joins a group of rag tag producers all with considerable television and musical experience on their resumés. Hairspray or Chicago sound familiar? It sounds like it is in fairly capable hands.

The show promises to give the first behind the scenes at Broadway. Each character brings a different element to that process, giving us a thorough examination of the little known theater world. And with the aforementioned talent on board, it isn’t far-fetched to think it will be fairly accurate.

Once again, Smash premieres Monday, February 6 at 10 p.m. on NBC. If you want to catch it early, the pilot can be viewed on NBC.com and downloaded on iTunes for free. It will introduce you to the main characters as well as provide a preview for what is to come this season.

The next step in musical television has been taken ladies and gentlemen and it looks to be a hopeful one. I should mail that sentence to NBC… maybe they’ll frame it.

Smash has talent in front and behind the camera. They also have Spielberg too, who will hopefully fulfill the role of NBC’s oxygen tank.

As we return to Bentley for this spring semester, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on the lack of Community.  Of course, not the lack of community spirit amongst the Falcons, but rather, the loss of the show Community on NBC.

Since September 2009 Community has been entertaining viewers on NBC’s Thursday night comedy line-up.  The show revolves around the misadventures of a quirky study group at the fictional Greendale Community College, as they try to survive higher education together. Amongst the characters are a former lawyer, opinionated billionaire, hippie anarchist, vocal Christian, high-strung overachiever, former high school quarterback, and an eccentric filmmaker.

The idea for Community was spawned from producer Dan Harmon’s own experiences in community college.  Like the main character of the show, Harmon was motivated to succeed in college by a girl.  He too formed a study group with people he wouldn’t have otherwise interacted with, bringing about unexpected results.

Fans have responded to Community with overwhelming enthusiasm.  The show and its actors have been nominated for People’s Choice Awards and Teen Choice Awards, and in 2011 won a Creative Arts Emmy.  Approximately 4.5 million viewers watched the second season.  Despite its popularity, the show has been having problems with its viewership; ratings have become deflated as more people watch the show online or on demand.  It’s these wavering ratings that have been among the reasons that NBC has not set a date for the return of the show and has eliminated it from the mid-season lineup.

NBC has a history of cancelling programs too soon, being the first channel to cancel a show this season, The Playboy Club.  NBC is also infamous for cancelling Freaks and Geeks and the original Star Trek long before fans were through with the shows.  NBC is also the home of Chuck, another show whose fan base had to fight a long battle to keep their program on the air.  Few in the television business can forget the “Buy a Sandwich, Save Chuck” campaign, in which fans of the show were persuaded via Twitter to purchase Subway foot-longs and write a note in the comment box to “Save Chuck”.  NBC kept the show on for a few more seasons since the fan base supported the company’s sponsor so faithfully.

Likewise, the Community fan-base has been hard at work trying to save the show.  There are numerous online petitions to “Save Community”, as well as multiple hashtags on Twitter for #SixSeasonsAndAMovie, #SaveCommunity, and #OccupyNBC.  The Occupy NBC was an especially successful campaign, as fans mobbed around NBC’s headquarters in New York City.  Donning costumes and singing songs from the show, the effort constituted a very significant attempt to save the program.  A week later, NBC/Universal announced that Community would not be canceled, but with no guarantee of it being renewed.  It was only on January 6 that NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt announced that Community would indeed return, but at an undetermined time in the spring.

Part of the monumental effort to save the show has been undertaken by its actors.   Stars Joel McHale, Danny Pundi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Gillian Jacobs, and Alison Brie gathered at the SAG Foundation Actors Center last December, encouraging fans to TiVo the show, watch it on Hulu, and purchase DVDs.  The cast of Community also came together to produce a “Save Greendale” video in collaboration with collegehumor.com.  In the video, the actors (in character), describe all the benefits of the fictitious Greendale Community College.  The video has over 3,000 tweets on Twitter and 30,000 likes currently on Facebook.

Facebook also is currently featuring multiple pages with slogans such as “Save Community” and “Tell NBC they Britta’d It” (referencing one of the characters on the show who ruins good things).  Pages like these encourage fans to “SEND THE NBC CEO AND THE NBC CHAIRMAN AN EVIL BEARD OR A PICTURE OF YOU WEARING AN EVIL BEARD! Let’s not wait till they announce the show is over!! LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD”.  The evil beard is another reference to the show, from an episode in which the worst case scenario comes true.  Though NBC has announced that the show should be making a comeback, many fans are taking no chances.

In a time in American history with so much turmoil and strife, protesting the hiatus of one television show could be considered petty.  There are certainly many more worthy causes that demand time and attention.  However, the idea of Community is of people coming together, of joining forces in times of difficulty, and of working and laughing together to get through tough times.  To many fans, Community is a concept that transcends the typical sitcom.  No matter what the outcome of NBC’s decisions in the future regarding the show, Community has certainly proven that it is one of the most-loved shows, if not the most-watched.

By Olivia LeClair

I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions. Any I’ve ever attempted to make were broken within a few weeks (I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences). This year, resolution-less, I instead read a rather well-known book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. The memoir recounts Rubin’s year-long project of monthly resolutions; to appreciate and improve her day-to-day life.

Rubin’s life was by no means miserable or pathetic. She was (and is) happily married with two children and she is financially stable. Yet, she still found herself unsatisfied and stressed. Inspired by memoirs such as Eat, Pray, Love and Julie and Julia, Rubin decided to take control of her life and begin what she called her happiness project.

One year, eleven resolutions, with one month at the end to combine it all. From January through November, Rubin worked to boost energy, remember love, aim higher, lighten up, be serious about play, make time for friends, buy some happiness, contemplate the heavens, pursue a passion, pay attention and keep a contented heart.

Along with making personal resolutions, Rubin researched different philosophical theories about happiness to see if she found that any were true (Utilitarianism from Philosophy 101, anyone?). I found it interesting that she explored the classic phrase, “Money can’t buy happiness.” To find her conclusions, you’ll just have to read the memoir yourself.

She may not have been cooking her way through Julia Child’s The Art of French Cooking, but Rubin had a challenge all her own. She freely admits that keeping the resolutions was a constant challenge, and some were far harder than others. One of my favorite rules was the “One Minute Rule”. Any task that can be done in under a minute, such as putting a coat away, must be done immediately and not put off.

Throughout the memoir, Rubin assumes a humble manner in her writing. She doesn’t think she’s the greatest thing since sliced bread because of her project, and shows that by readily admitting to her failures, or when something just didn’t work out.

Before I returned to Bentley for the semester, I tried to make a list of resolutions for the semester. I decided that I wanted to stop sweating the small stuff, take a decent crack at balancing all of the busy parts of my life, and try to pick up some stress management techniques.

As I write this, it is officially one week into the semester, and let me tell you, I forgot all about my resolutions this week. The stress and overload of a demanding schedule got the better of me, and I didn’t even make an effort to change anything.

Maybe this kind of realization is exactly what I needed. I know that at the very least, I’ll be more focused on balancing things out, since that was my biggest problem this week. I think that next week will be a fresh start, and I’ll be sure to update you on my progress in my future columns.

Even though I haven’t made great strides yet with my resolutions, I know that without reading The Happiness Project, I wouldn’t have even thought about them. I would definitely recommend reading it and making a visit to Rubin’s website, where she has guides for creating your own happiness project.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Happiness Project, and I’m glad it inspired me to make my own list of resolutions for this semester (whether I’ll continue to work on them or not remains to be seen). Regardless, the book gave an interesting, fresh perspective on quality of life and what it truly means to be “happy.”

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

By Lily Ann Montemayor

So, I was going to talk about Christmas music for the holidays, but then I changed my mind when my friend introduced me to Emancipator. I also want to talk about other things, but I can fill you in later. What I can tell you is that is Christmas-related is how I am not in favor of how Justin Bieber added his voice to All I Want for Christmas Is You, Mariah Carey’s Christmas classic. My advice is to stick with Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Christmas / Sarajevo 12/24 and watch that Christmas light show video that synchronizes to the song on the new YouTube interface.

If you haven’t been exposed to the awesome that is Emancipator, then I suggest downloading the free music that the artist himself provides on emancipatormusic.com and listen for yourself. And if you like him enough, maybe you’ll even download his non-free music too. Known as Emancipator, Doug Appling has been producing electronic “Trip Hop” music since 2006 starting at nineteen years old, yet he is getting more famous this year for his instrumental, chill-out music. He got his fame first in Japan when his first album Soon It Will Be Cold Enough sold 5,000 copies in six months and landed him an interview in Rolling Stones Japan. Now he’s touring all over the United States and he’s coming to New England in February 2012. Save it on your calendars Bentley students because this is something you don’t want to miss.

After hearing the amazing Emancipator on my friend’s radio, I ended up browsing more talented artists on the Internet when I stumbled upon this amazing Korean guitarist Sungha Jung. Let me tell you, he is this 15-year-old god on the strings. He has perfect pitch and picked up guitar five years ago when he got influenced from his father, who isn’t a musician but just decided to play as a hobby. He even had a custom made guitar for himself back in the day because of his small figure. Everyone who has listened to his music calls him a Guitar Prodigy or the “Korean August Rush” (love that movie, by the way), yet he simply just wants to do what he loves to do: Play guitar. You can watch his videos on www.sunghajung.com and if you would like to support this rising star, you can buy his second album Irony produced by internationally-renowned picking-guitarist Ulli Bogershausen. I think it is a great stocking stuffer gift.

After talking about Emancipator and Sugha Jung, I thought I would plug something new and not just a single artist sensation. Two years ago, I took a tour of the Sonicbids office in Boston, MA. The website, www.sonicbids.com, is a duel portal for bands and promoters so they can connect with each other easily, effectively and quickly. Bands get help from the website to get a gig and perform, while promoters can find and book a band via the website based on their criteria. The founder, Panos Panay, started the company thinking, “If you can trade stocks and buy books online, why can’t you get a gig or book a band using the web?” Good point, yeah? If you’re a musician or artist looking for some attention or a promoter that needs good music playing for your event, I think Sonicbids is your best bet. I know Adam Payne is a member and he’s doing well for himself. After all, he is the one who led the tour I went on two years ago.

Now for all of you who are looking for great Christmas presents and stocking stuffers for your friends and family, why not burn a CD of great music from Emancipator? You can find artists via Sonicbids as well. And I know I am probably going to buy a Sungha Jung album for my family –they’ll appreciate a guitar prodigy. And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, they’re great Hanukkah and Kwanzaa gifts too – and probably great presents for any holiday celebrated in December.

By Mike Lovett

Although 2012 is promising to be quite the year, it’s important to focus on what 2011 gave us – whether it was the good, the bad or the ugly.

Before we move on to the entertaining subjects of 2011, it’s important to reflect on the more serious events that happened in the world: Hurricane Irene, Casey Anthony, Occupy Wall Street and Osama – U-S-A! U-S-A! As that just about does it for the real-world stuff, let’s move on to the entertainment sector.

There were two magical real-world weddings that were aired on television. One was the most beautiful ceremony celebrating the loving union of a nation’s sweethearts – Kim and Kris. The other was the union of Prince William and Kate.

But in all seriousness, both the Royal and Kim weddings reeled in millions of viewers and even more money. The Kardashian nuptials earned money through the demonstration of a noble marriage, and the only person who might be confused as to which one that was is Kris Humphries.

Now, onto the real Hollywood things that aren’t actually about real things. Let’s start with television. There were a ton of great shows on this fall season, but two shows grabbed heavy attention: The X Factor and Two and a Half Men.

In the The X Factor, Simon Cowell finally brought life to the Fox fall season schedule with a show that was eerily close to American Idol. For fans of the real deal, another season of American Idol is just around the corner. It begins with a two-day premier on Jan 18 and 19, followed by two more hours that Sunday, nuzzled between The X-Factor and Glee. Fox really has a type.

The other show that grabbed the spotlight by the throat was Two and a Half Men. Do you recall Charlie Sheen going a little crazy a few months back? Of course you do, he re-defined “winning”. Well, surprising he got fired from his role on the show.

In his stead stepped Ashton Kutcher, who has shown promise of extending the show’s life. The premiere easily reeled in a show record of 27.7 million viewers and started with a tribute to its former character. Tribute probably isn’t the right word as (Spoiler Alert!) they killed him off.

We move onto the big screen. 2011 saw the end of perhaps the biggest movie series of all time. The two-part finale of Harry Potter ended on a mountainous high note and put itself down in film history. And as if Justin Bieber wasn’t big enough, he got his own movie. He may have gotten his own baby, too, but that case is still open.

In the theater, we also saw the return of The Muppets and thankfully another Big Momma’s House. And the year isn’t even over! Sherlock Holmes returns in the highly anticipated sequel Game of Shadows, and director David Fincher (The Social Network) returns to the silver screen with his film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

2012 will also be the test of the vampire craze that Twilight started. The final movie will be released next November, and the news of who won the game between Team Edward and Team Jacob will finally be announced.

In 2012 there is good news and bad news in the sitcom world. The good news is Arrested Development is making a triumphant return to production for its fourth season later next year. It should be in the middle of production on its ninth season right now, but we won’t get into that.

The terrible, horrific news is that Community did not find itself on the midseason schedule. Though NBC says it will air all 22 episodes of the third season, it doesn’t cure the hurt. Luckily, it is being replaced by another witty comedy, 30 Rock, which at least eases the pain.

2012 is looking to be a super year for movies. Just to be clear that is a pun, I am not using “super” as an adjective for movies. Superheroes are taking over movie theaters as The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spiderman, The Avengers and The Three Stooges will all debut in the next year. Ok, the last one doesn’t count, but it is still coming soon.

So, thank you 2011, you gave us a lot to remember. 2012, you better bring your A game. Readers: There is plenty to look forward to next year, just make sure to savor it, because the world is going to end. Happy Holidays!

By Lindsay Beauregard

The holiday season is one of the happiest, yet most stressful times of the year. It is always important to step back, look around and be thankful for what we have, as well as to enjoy the company of those around us and help those less fortunate than us – because that’s what the holidays are about.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza or a different holiday during this season, here are some of the best ways to ring in your holiday.

The Nutcracker or The Slutcracker: Go see the classic ballet and last season of The Nutcracker at the Boston Opera house from now until December 31. Or take the more unusual route and venture to Davis Square, Somerville Theater for the sexual retelling of The Nutcracker (The Slutcracker). The burlesque show is playing until December 24, so don’t miss out on the naughty show.

SNL Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas: An SNL special hosted by Kristin Wiig’s maniacal child character Gilly presents the best holiday skits from 35 seasons of Saturday Night Live. Featuring Alec Baldwin’s Schweddy Balls, Adam Sandler’s Hanukkah Song and a lovely rendition of Santa’s My Boyfriend by Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Kristin Wiig are among the best moments of the holiday special.

Give A Little: CDW, a company specializing in IT products, is making a big difference this holiday. The company is donating a total of $250,000 to 11 organizations, including Make-A-Wish Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network and American Cancer Society. Go to cdwgives.com to select the charitable organization you would like CDW to help the most.

Soup kitchens are also looking for all the help they can get this time of year. Donate food or your time to a soup kitchen in the area like Haley House or The Greater Boston Food Bank. Families all around Boston will benefit from your kindness.

For the child in all of us, write a letter to Santa Claus and bring your stamped letter to a local Macy’s. Not only will writing to the Big Guy help your Christmas wishes come true, it will also help wishes for children across America come true – for every letter Macy’s receives, it will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Elf Yourself: Find pictures of yourself and four of your friends and venture over to elfyourself.com. Pick from dances including funk, hip hop and country, add your pictures and prepare to laugh as you watch yourself as a dancing elf.

25 Days of Christmas: Now that the Countdown to the 25 Days of Christmas has ended and the real deal has started, it’s time to plop yourself in front of the TV and enjoy the annual event. The lineup features holiday favorites such as The Polar Express, classics like Rudolph, comedies like Home Alone and all of the oldies but goodies we love – basically every holiday movie you can think of.  And of course, the Countdown is not complete without the cheesy ABC Family made for TV movies. This year the channel’s 12 Dates of Christmas premiere is this Sunday, December 11 at 8 p.m.

Santa Speedo Run: Make your way to the Back Bay this Saturday at 1 p.m. to watch people only in speedos and Santa hats run through the streets, raising money for charity.

Have a Holiday Party: Crank the Pandora holiday stations, break out the ugly Christmas sweater from Goodwill, hang the mistletoe with care and play the 12 Drinking Games of Christmas from Urban Outfitters for a night not to forget. Make sure to stock up on eggnog and candy canes and hang those stockings with care.

Urban Outfitters and Newbury Comics: Shop for the best presents for all of your family and friends. These two stores carry something for everyone and have unique gifts that are just as fun to give as they are to receive.

Go Caroling: Always remember what Buddy the Elf said: “The best was to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

By Radhika Bansil

Yes, Falcons, it’s that time of year again. We’re pulling out the big coats, putting up the holiday lights and dusting the cobwebs off of those textbooks we didn’t touch all semester. Believe it or not, 2011 is coming to an end and 2012 is just around the corner. As we ask ourselves, “Where did the year go?” we start to make plans for the upcoming year. That’s right, it’s resolution time.

While we all know these resolutions do not have a high success rate, according to Psychcentral, about 45 percent of America sets at least one resolution annually. Why is it, you may ask, that we still make these resolutions?
There’s something energizing about making a resolution at the start of the New Year. We enjoy the stimulating, clean, unsullied days ahead that foster a “can do” feeling of optimism. We feel empowered by joining with friends and family to achieve our personal goals.

Starting fresh gives us the chance to focus on the good, forget about the bad and make the upcoming year better than the rest. And so we make goals to ensure positive results.
Lady GaGa says we were “born this way”, but we all want to move towards betterment – get bigger, get smaller, study more or quit bad habits. The start of the New Year marks the end of procrastination and the beginning of many days of action.

But do we always take that action? Yes, the first few days of January, we commit ourselves to goals, but come February – perhaps even mid-January – those ambitions are pushed to the back of the closet. In fact, over 95 percent of New Year’s resolutions are abandoned.

So, Falcons, let’s not be a statistic this year. Let’s actually follow through with our goals. How to accomplish this fantastical feat? Here are a few simple tips to help you along the way.
Find your “why”. Each resolution should have a legitimate reason for completion. Think about what you want and what you will get out of it, because setting empty-hearted goals will only set you up for failure. Finding the reason why you want something will help you want it more; and that want is what motivates.

Get out of your own way! The only thing standing between you and those skinny jeans, that 4.0 or those un-blackened lungs is yourself. If, deep down, you think you cannot do something, it is that doubt that will lead you to failure’s front porch. Push that negativity aside and let the power of positive thinking guide you to success.

Don’t be too ambitious. As bad as it sounds, you do not want to overwhelm yourself. Think about your capacity and time constrictions. You know yourself better than anyone else, so set realistic goals. This will help maximize the amount of time that “can do” attitudes stays afloat and it will be smooth sailing from there onwards.

Last but not least, stop punishing yourself! Resolutions should not be arduous tasks, but lifestyle changes. These are the things that will improve your quality of living, so you might as well enjoy it. Chances are, you do not want these resolutions to be one-time goals. Try not to look at them as means to an end, but rather a change in habits. Building good habits will carry you from this year to many ahead.

And always remember: Resolutions are challenging and are often not a one-step process. Break your goals down to as many small goals as possible. Think of little things you can do every week, or even every day to move one step closer to success and then add it to your schedule.

Whether it’s enjoying a salad rather than munching on fries at lunch, smoking one less cigarette after your first class, or studying an extra half an hour before bed, taking one step at a time will make your resolutions seem a lot easier.

There it is, Bentley. The clock is ticking on 2011. You know why we set resolutions and now you know how to achieve them. Now the only question is: what will your resolution be?

On Wednesday, November 9, Berklee College of Music presented the Broadway hit RENT. Directed by Kelton Washington, the show was brought to life by Berklee’s Musical Theatre Club for one night only. The students’ performance was extraordinary, captivating the audience with their impeccable acting and singing skills.

Performing RENT is a challenge for many actors and actresses, as there are many taboo and emotionally heavy subjects within the play. Many of the characters are struggling musicians or actors suffering from AIDS or HIV, while other characters are addicted to drugs and dealing with the repercussions of their sexuality. Overall, it’s a heavy burden on an actor/actress.

All of the actors accomplished this task with flying colors, especially Claudia Yanez. Yanez played Mimi, a club dancer and drug addict who suffers from HIV. Yanez conveyed Mimi’s emotional turmoil impeccably throughout the show and belted her song Out Tonight and performed all of her solos with a strong burning passion.

When Yanez performed her duet Without You with Mimi’s love interest, Roger – played by Jon Behar, the pair channeled all of their emotion into the audience. Their performance was capable of giving the audience chills – as their piece was heart-wrenching, yet beautiful.

Along the dramatic lines, Behar’s rendition of One Song Glory was also spectacular. Roger, the HIV positive and struggling musician is attempting to write a meaningful song before he dies. Roger understands the burden of HIV as he knows he will soon join his ex-girlfriend, April, who killed herself when she discovered she was HIV positive. Behar conveyed all of this emotion and more within One Song Glory.

Today 4 U by Angel, the drag queen with AIDS, was the comedic precipice of the show. Angel, dressed as a sexy Santa Claus, danced all over the stage in high heels better than any woman could. The scene was a highlight and lifted the spirits of the audience.

On the same comedic note, Maureen’s, played by Lizzy Perkins, performance of Over the Moon was hilarious. As Maureen asked the crowd to “moo” with her, she kept a straight face and performed her metaphor with massive amounts of enthusiasm. Her scene was a humorous piece, as opposed to the dramatic and heavy material within the play.

Of all of the musical numbers, La Vie Boheme stole the show – the song is a celebration of the character’s bohemian lifestyle with fast paced beats and fun lyrics. Not only were the actors on stage clapping, dancing and singing, but the audience was as well. The energy encompassed the whole auditorium and everybody was clearly having a good time.

Unfortunately, due to an issue with some of the microphones, there were some distracting noises from the sound system. But, the actors worked well through the challenges and kept their façade the whole time.

Overall, Berklee’s rendition of RENT was done very well. The energy exuding from the actors and actresses permeated the crowd. Respectively, heads were nodding, feet were tapping, tears were being shed and songs were being sung.

Berklee often holds events at the performance center. Whether it is a musical performance, a play or lectures, Berklee is a place to keep an eye out for tickets. Cheaper than the Boston Opera House or Stuart Street Playhouse, Berklee is a great place for entertainment.

For more information and ticket sales, visit berklee.edu/events/.

If you read my last article, YouTube is the website that fostered my K-POP obsession. From then on out, I ended up stumbling on a bunch of YouTube singing inspirations beyond the craze of Justin Bieber.

If you do not know who Charice is, YouTube her up. Although she is not as popular as Bieber, this small Filipino teenager has such amazing soul and energy in her singing that I cannot begin to describe how much Filipino pride I have for her. She also sang with one of my favorite K-POP bands, Super Junior, on the Korean show Star King.

Luckily, Ellen DeGeneres is just as much of a YouTube freak as I am. She found Charice’s video singing on that Korean TV show and invited her to sing on her show in the U.S. Charice took off from there. She has worked with so many U.S. artists and even appeared on one of my favorite TV shows, Glee. What I admire about Charice is that she used her talents to support her family and to escape her violent father. Her life story means the world to the Filipino community and we’re lucky to have her represent the country in a remarkable way. Thank you, YouTube and Ellen.

After Charice I ended up stumbling on a bunch of other singers that did not quite make it big as her, but still worth noting. I am going to plug another Filipino out there – Joseph Vincent. You will have a hard time finding a Wiki page on him, but you can find his YouTube channel, hoorahjencar. As of right now, he has about 47 million views on his uploaded videos and 3.6 million channel views. He was also on Ellen’s show for her Wonderful Web of Wonderment in 2010, a contest in which Gresyson Chance won $10,000 dollars and a record label deal.

Although Mr. Vincent lost the contest, Ellen thought he was great, and he had such an awesome response the last time he was on her show that she invited him back to perform again.

After he sang Mike Posner’s Cooler Than Me, Ellen announced, “Well, we pretty much like you too, so we thought we’d give you $10,000 dollars!”

This kid is on the rise so look him up when you have a chance. My favorite is his cover of Nelly’s Just a Dream with Jason Chen.

After talking to some of my Asian friends, I discovered Wong Fu Productions for the first time where YouTube channels like NigaHiga, KevJumba and ChesterSee were surfacing in my line of vision. If you heard of them, they are all YouTube comedians. You can associate their comedic singing talents with that of SNL’s Lonely Island hits. A personal fan of NigaHiga aka Ryan Higa, an addicting song and video that I like playing is Nice Guys which features not only KevJumba and ChesterSee, but also other YouTube sensations worth watching including KinaGrannis and lilcdawg aka Cathy Nguyen. Back to Nice Guys, the collaboration with all of these comedians and artists yielded three million views – and that’s only on Chester’s channel. Kevin Jumba’s channel had 13.2 views and 26.7 million on Ryan’s channel. That’s a lot of views. Each also has plenty of other music favorites as well as a bunch of comedic bits that you would love to watch on your five minute break in the library. They might not be on the YouTube for singing, but they sure make a fine comedic music video.

There’s Mike Tompkins and his channel pbpproductions. Tompkins sings not only his own vocals, but also composes his own instrument sounds with his voice – that’s talent right there. Another I want to plug is Sam Tsui from the kurthugoschneider channel – his cover of Britney’s Hold it Against Me made me actually like her song. Nick Pitera of the goonieman86 channel, who sang with Sam Tsui, is so vocally ranged that he can go from a strong voice of Prince Charming to the delicate style of Disney Princesses.

Watch his One Man Disney Movie if you’re a Disney freak – you’ll be impressed. The last piece of talent I want to share is two mixers of K-POP music DJ Masa and Don Faustino. Look them up – DJ Masa was featured on Korea’s variety show Sponge Zero basically thanking him for spreading the love for K-POP by digitally mixing it with US hits.

All of these artists are a small dose of what YouTube has to offer. Ellen and I can agree that talent on the web is definitely out there, we just have to take the time to find it.

Have you ever wanted to be in a band and travel the country performing? For many, this is a just a dream, but for the band Parachute, it is a reality. Parachute has come far since the band initially formed under the name “Sparky’s Flaw”, and has since taken a unique path to budding success.

During high school in Charlottesville, VA, Will Anderson, John Stubblefield, Kit French, Alex Hargrave and Nate McFarland began their journey. What started as a group of friends playing instruments for fun turned into a dream they wanted to pursue.

The band performed throughout their college years, but it wasn’t until after graduation that they changed their name to Parachute and became a nationally recognized band.

Parachute’s style is very unique and all their own; a mix of rock, R&B and pop only begins to describe their music. While Parachute has a distinct sound, none of their songs are similar. What’s even more special is that their lyrics have meaning and were inspired from events in their own lives.

What makes the band so unique is how little fame fazes them and how much they give back to their fans. Parachute loves to use social media; the band has its own Twitter account and Facebook page, which are constantly updated.

Throughout their concerts, Parachute tweets about what is going on backstage and when they will be available to take pictures and sign autographs. They also upload photos from their adventures on tour, as well as pictures of their fans and performances.

Their work with Nivea Skincare earned them a spot on the New Year’s Eve countdown stage in 2008, their first major performance. Throughout the summer of 2009, Parachute opened for bands including The Script, 3 Doors Down, Secondhand Serenade and OAR. This past summer they opened for the Goo Goo Dolls with Michelle Branch.

Currently, Parachute is on their debut tour, which is extremely exciting, not only for them, but for all their fans as well. The tour began Oct. 10 and will be wrapping up Dec. 13 in Duluth, Ga. Parachute brought singer Kate Voegele and the up-and-coming band Courrier with them on tour as their opening acts.

The tour made a stop in Boston at the Royale Night Club in the middle of October, and the experience was one to remember.

The Royale Night Club is a perfect representation of Boston. From afar, it appears to be any old club – nothing special on the outside, merely a brick building with few windows.

Inside, however, you are immediately greeted with a regal scene: Marble floors, a grand staircase and beautiful columns. The stage was small and provided an intimate performance; no area on the floor was far from the stage. This was the perfect venue to accompany such a unique band.

Parachute’s free and laidback lifestyle is apparent at their concerts. The amount of energy the members bring to the stage is equal to that of some of the greatest performers. By leaping off the stage and singing in the crowd, the band makes sure to engage their audience.

Unlike many bands today, Parachute seamlessly transitions between songs with very few breaks. This contributes to their ability to keep their energy high. Anyone at the concert can tell that they truly enjoy what they are doing, and that is what makes the experience one which you won’t forget.

They are the type of band where, whether you know their music or not, their concert is an enjoyable experience.

For more information about Parachute, visit weareparachute.com.

The middle of November to winter break is the most excruciating time to be at school – stress levels run high, and that little thing called restlessness begins to set in. As we prepare for finals and winter break, we begin to look for more ways to procrastinate. If you’re looking for a study break, forget Facebook and StumbleUpon; go to a concert instead.

Boston is providing us with some great musical guests within the next month and a half, so take the opportunity and go rock out.

Here’s a list of the most sought after tickets:

The Kooks with The Postelles: The British indie rock band will be performing with The Postelles, a quirky Manhattan-based band, at the House of Blues this Saturday, November 19, at 6:00 p.m.

AVICII: The Swedish deejay and remixer will be blasting his electro house beats at the DCU Center in Worcester this Sunday, November 20, at 7:30. This is definitely a show you don’t want to miss. Get ready to rage.

Dashboard Confessional: If you’re looking to relive your middle school years of mixed CDs and AIM Dashboard lyrics, go to the Paradise Rock Club this Sunday, November 20, for Dashboard Confessional’s solo acoustic performance. Stolen and Hands Down should be enough to transport you back to 2005.

Breathe Carolina: Coined as the “electric crunkcore” band, Breathe Carolina will be playing their dance-infused music at the Middle East Downstairs on Monday, November 21, at 7:30 p.m.

JAY-Z and Kanye West: No explanation needed here. The two rappers will be performing at the TD Garden on November 21 at 7:30 p.m. Unfortunately, tickets are starting at $107. Not quite in the average college student’s budget.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra: The progressive rock band will be at the TD Garden for its Boston leg of the Winter Tour 2011. On November 27, be prepared for the elaborate concert featuring a full orchestra, special effects synced to classical yet hard rock music and a massive light show. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra will be performing at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with tickets starting at $45.

Allman Brothers Band: The bluesy band will be performing their hits on Tuesday, November 29, at 7:30 p.m. at the Orpheum Theater in Boston.

Bob Seger: Seger will be playing that old-time rock n’ roll at the DCU Center in Worcester. His night moves will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 29.

The B-52s: “15 miles to the love shack” – more like 15 miles to the House of Blues, where the iconic B52’s are playing on the first of December at 6:30 p.m. Although this concert may appeal more to the generation ahead of us, the B52’s would still be quite the energizing performance to attend.

City and Colour: The Canadian acoustic/folk singer Dallas Green will be performing at the House of Blues on Friday, December 2, at 7:00 p.m. City and Colour was Green’s side project from the hardcore band Alexisonfire until he quit in 2010 to focus solely on City and Colour.

Mac Miller: The young rapper is throwing down Saturday, December 3, at the House of Blues. Join him and the party at 6:00 p.m. sharp.

Matt and Kim with Mutemath: The New York City based duo will be performing their dance punk music at the House of Blues alongside the alternative rock band Mutemath. The two unique performances will commence at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, December 9.

The Maine: The indie pop punk, Arizona-based band will be presenting their new album at Brighton Music Hall on December 17. Pioneer, the band’s much-anticipated third full-length studio album, features the two singles Don’t Give Up On Us and Some Days.

Going to college in the Boston area, one of the America’s largest cities and biggest college towns, allows for endless possibilities of things to do in your free time. With the countless T stops and activity options, the main question on the weekend is, “Where are the best places to check out in Boston?”

For the chocolate lovers out there, L.A. Burdick is a must see. Located on Brattle Street in Harvard Square, this unique shop serves only the finest chocolates and sweet drinks. If you think the hot chocolate at Dunkin’ Donuts is good, wait until you taste the chocolaty goodness they serve here – every cup is filled with pure chocolate, lacking even a hint of watery flavor. Though the sweet treats are slightly expensive, the taste is worth every penny.

Perhaps you’re looking for a live performance without spending all of your summer savings. In this case, you should check out venues such as Paradise Rock Club, located on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, or Brighton Music Hall, located on Brighton Avenue in Allston. The two clubs feature bands such as Dashboard Confessional and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus while providing an intimate performance. These smaller venues are loaded with upcoming performances that cost between ten and twenty dollars per ticket.

For those looking to explore their geeky side, the upcoming Boston Sci-Fi Festival is the event to attend. The festival is set to take place in mid-February in Davis Square. Featuring popular flicks such as Battlestar Galactica, the 10-day festival will be releasing tickets for just $8.

If you are looking for a sporting event but don’t want to fight the crowds at the Garden, check out some of the events at Boston College or Northeastern. The Division I teams offer a hyped-up fan experience without the high prices of the big leagues.

A great place to satisfy your hunger in a fun and friendly environment is The Fours, a sports bar located near North Station on Canal Street. Serving the all-American food many college kids crave, this restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., allowing the crowds of hungry people to grab a bite and catch the game.

As the winter season approaches, it’s time to prepare to have fun in the snow. Boston offers many sledding hills that give us all reasons to unleash our inner kid. Places such as Flagstaff Hill in the Boston Commons, Larz Anderson Park in Brookline and Dorchester Park in Dorchester offer both small and large hills to satisfy the thrill-seekers and children inside us all.

Lastly, if you are looking for an activity that is out of the ordinary, a tour of the Sam Adams Brewery is a great way to learn about a large company while being entertained by a comical tour guide. Located off of the Orange Line, the free tour offers insight into the popular business. Free samples of beer are given out at the end – if you are 21 or older, of course.

Because of the variety of events and activities that the city has to offer, there are so many things to check out in lots of different areas in Boston. Our location at Bentley allows us to embark on many adventures that should be experienced before graduation. Happy searching!

By Olivia LeClair

Imagine if your parents hadn’t allowed you to have play dates or watch TV. Last spring, I read an article about a woman whom everyone was referring to as a “tiger mom”. That woman is Amy Chua, and earlier this year, she published a memoir titled Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. The book explores her parenting techniques, which generally reflect the traditions of Chinese parenting.

Chua and her husband Jed have two daughters – Sophia and Louisa (known as “Lulu”). Both girls are musical prodigies, on the piano and violin respectively, and are held to incredibly high academic standards.

The book chronicles Chua’s experiences raising Sophia and Lulu – the successes, fights and breakdowns are written in an honest, entertaining way. The girls certainly had a different childhood than many of us here at Bentley – they were not allowed to go to sleepovers, get any grade less than an A, be in a school play and the list goes on.

This memoir caused quite a spark when it came out and led to a lot of discussion comparing “American” parenting to “Chinese” parenting. In general, American parenting is considered less rigid than Chinese parenting, and American parents are said to care more about feelings and self-esteem than academic success.

This is where the danger of generalizations comes into place. No two sets of parents raise children exactly the same, and many cultures enter into this debate besides just American and Chinese parents. Chua acknowledges this throughout her memoir, and she points out that her mission was to write about her parenting experiences, not to make a statement about all Chinese or American parenting.

I found this book very engaging. I was really excited to randomly see it at the library and immediately read it. Some of Chua’s methods will make your eyes widen (though they may sound familiar to some students), but she presents it all in a non-scary way.

I think one of my favorite aspects of the memoir was realizing that, as much as Chua may have pushed her daughters, she pushed herself equally as hard. She was completely immersed in their academics and music education, to the point of practically learning the instruments herself. At one point in the book, she wrote that as much as she made them miserable, she made herself even more miserable.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother has been marketed by the media as a “how-to” guide to create tiger children. However, I got the opposite impression after reading it. Chua highlights the concessions that she made throughout the years regarding her parenting style, especially her struggles with Lulu. As it turns out, not all children will conform to extremely strict parenting.

To my readers who were raised by “tiger” parents, I’d be curious to know your thoughts on Chua’s memoir. I, along with most of my classmates, can’t even begin to relate to having such a strict and structured childhood.

I think the lesson to be learned from this memoir is balance- an issue that we as college students already grapple with constantly. Fun and games are certainly a necessary part of childhood, as are academics and strong expectations. I’m certainly not qualified to give parenting advice of any kind, but I’d like to think that my conclusions are right (I’ll probably read this in 15 years and laugh at myself).

If you haven’t already read Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, I’d definitely recommend that you pick it up at the library. It’s a quick, easy read that will keep you interested from start to finish. There’s also a lot of online debate over the memoir and its theories and accuracy. If you’re as fascinated by this topic as I am, Googling the title will bring up a ton of blogs and essays (even Sophia has her own blog).

Rating: 4 out of 5

Arnold Schwarzenegger has a love child, Kim Kardashian’s marriage lasted 72 days and now Justin Bieber is allegedly a father. Twenty-year-old Mariah Yeater claims that her now four-month-old child was the result of a rendezvous with Bieber backstage at one of his concerts.

Though the general population assumes Yeater’s claims are an attention-seeking manifestation of sorts, some still speculate the possibility of the allegations being true. Whether or not they are true, Yeater is thoroughly enjoying her 15 minutes in the limelight.

Bieb’s reaction to the baby drama is as expected – denial. The teen heartthrob responded with a slightly more hip version of Clinton’s infamous, “I have never had sexual relations with that woman.” Bieber went a step further by asserting that he has never even met the woman.

Though the simple swipe of a q-tip on the inside of Bieber’s cheek will solve this mystery, the repercussions of these rumors go beyond that.

First, we must consider the feelings of poor Selena Gomez – the classy teen icon already has enough on her plate – dealing with a middle-aged stalker whose been threatening to kill her. On top of a psycho stalker, now she has to worry about the possibility of her 17-year-old boyfriend being a father.

The rumor mill spewed that boyfriend Bieber has been spending big bucks on Gomez recently, perhaps to soften the blow. He recently wrote a check for $3,400 to rent a movie theater for the two of them. Nevertheless, Gomez appears to stand strong next to her man, putting her faith in him.

What’s more is that the abstinence crowd will have to find a new poster child. Any previous ideas about Bieber’s virginity have been thrown out the window. Parents of young Bieber fans will no longer look favorably upon their children listening to his music. There is a possibility that Bieber may end up losing a significant fan base.

A fan base, however, is not the only thing he stands to lose. Momma Bieber would not be thrilled if these allegations were true. It was not too long ago Justin Bieber’s mother Pattie Mallette discussed how proud she was of her son’s purity.

Many would also argue the worst part is the affect this scandal has had on the experience of going to a Justin Bieber concert. Yes, he always sings about girls, but we tend to assume that the kid is innocent. Unfortunately, we will now all be left wondering what happens behind those curtains.

As with everything else, everyone and their grandmother will have their opinions on whether or not the baby is actually Bieber’s. Of course, if the baby does turn out to be Bieber’s, Yeater will be charged with statutory rape, according to California law.

Yes, it is a popular saying that all press is good press, but is having your name sprawled across sleazy magazine covers at check-out aisles for maybe two weeks really worth having statutory rape on your record? Apparently that’s the case for Yeater.

Lawyers say that if the baby does turn out to be Bieber’s, Yeater will be getting anywhere between $5,000 and $10,000 per month. A decent chunk of change, yes, but the child support is most likely not as profitable as she was hoping it would be.

Whatever may be the case, both Bieber and Yeater’s reputations are tarnished forever, or at least until some other celebrity takes over the limelight with his or her respective scandal.

The opening night of the Boston Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet commenced at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 3. The Boston Opera House was buzzing with anticipation and crowds of ballet enthusiasts, first-time ballet fans and anyone who appreciates the most classic love story of all time, Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare’s most renowned play has appeared on stages all over the world since 1593. The Boston production, artistically directed by Mikko Nissinen, was a demonstration of vivid storytelling by every character and dancer involved.

Throughout the ballet, the dancers wowed the audience with their graceful athleticism and expressive acting, conveyed solely through their facial and body expressions. The stage was set with scenes from Verona, and ornate, colorful costumes whisked around the Opera House stage.

The play began with a jolt of energy in the form of dueling fights and hearty celebrations which lasted throughout the first act. Through various street celebrations, the dancers showcased their talents and costumes and also set the scene for the tension that would arise between the two feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets.

After a tumultuous end to the first act, the second began with a playful scene from the village jesters. The mischievous characters glided around the stage, showing a more whimsical side to the otherwise tragic plot. The audience applauded appreciatively, clearly enjoying the entertaining and comical performance.

However, the show was completely stolen by the chemistry radiating from the lead characters, Romeo and Juliet. From the first meeting between the two characters to the final goodbye scene, Romeo and Juliet displayed a captivating connection that kept the audience fixated on their performances.

During the scenes in which Romeo and Juliet had joint dances, the two dancers could almost be mistaken as one unit. Juliet’s petite, nimble character portrayed the dramatic and passionate role to a tee, while Romeo’s fierce yet compassionate character was precisely balanced. The scenes in which Romeo and Juliet openly interacted were powerful and climactic.

Although the characters and dancers themselves brought the show to life and gave the audience a compelling story to follow, the lighting, staging, and orchestra put the show over the top. The background to each scene was not only fitting but also coordinated perfectly with the mood being set by the characters.

When Romeo and Juliet spent their last morning together, the tangerine-pink backdrop illuminated the couples’ romance, while the dark, ominous backdrop, appearing after the couple’s inevitable separation, brought the plot back to the reality of the ballet’s tragic outcome. The orchestra strung the scenes together seamlessly, highlighting the carefree moods of festivals and celebrations with playful, quick pieces and coupling the sad, grievous scenes with slow, somber songs.

The ballet was a spotless work of art and kept the audience seeking more. The production proved appealing to all age groups, with older couples and younger friends raving during the walk out of the Opera House.

Anyone who has ever appreciated a solid love story will be sure to find the ballet mesmerizing, to say the least. Romeo and Juliet will be showcased at the Boston Opera House from November 3 to November 13.

If you are interested in getting tickets for the show or finding more information about the Boston Ballet itself, visit bostonballet.org.

CAB brings Donald Glover and Harrison Greenbaum to campus

By Brenna O’Connell

This past Saturday was CAB’s Fall Comedy Show, featuring comedians Donald Glover and Harrison Greenbaum. Matthew Schick, only a sophomore, executed the event without a hitch while his co-chair is abroad. Having to turn people away at the door, CAB delivered yet another sold-out show.

Last semester, Bo Burnham came to campus to a sold-out performance. Similar to last year, Joshua Seiden and Brandon Schug were the student openers, proving that business students also have a sense of humor.

You may remember Seiden as the freshman beatboxing juggler with the brothers of AEPi cheering him on. This year, he showed off his other talents in a purely stand-up set. He had people rolling in their seats and dropping their jaws with his risky and risqué jokes, among which he compared accounting to prostitution and the “freshman 15” to STDs contracted instead of pounds gained.

The second student opener, Brandon Schug, decided to go a different route by “explor[ing] different social issues around sex.”

Opening for Glover was Greenbaum, who affectionately describes himself as an “effeminate Jew.” In the eyes of many, he stole the show. Greenbaum has been named one of this year’s Comedians to Watch by Comedy Central. He started off his set by addressing the audience and in one breath pointing to a student exclaiming, “Holy shit, you look like you’re 12 years old!”

He also complimented the gentlemen in the front row. “You guys look a little date rape-y… I bet you know how to win over girls’ hearts with a game of Beirut,” he observed.

At the end, he inter-spliced his roots in magic by pulling off an impressive trick involving a student in the audience, Pamela Anderson, and about four photos of Asian babies. The general consensus of students in attendance found that Greenbaum had them constantly laughing with little build-up and background stories.

Glover was the main attraction, bringing droves of students to the Koumantzalis Auditorium. You may know him from NBC’s show Community, or perhaps you know him as Childish Gambino.Glover alerted at the beginning his routine “won’t be anything like [his performance on Community].”To continue the theme of some of Greenbaum’s jokes regarding HIV, Glover compared children to AIDS, admitting he would rather have the latter. “You can’t drop AIDS and go to jail!” he said.

His set consisted of anecdotes from his childhood and interesting takes on current social matters. He said that, although going to the “Auschwitz for kids” (Home Depot), he did miss how “kids can take weird stuff” without a second thought.

He also proposed a radical idea for taking the power away from the “n-word.” There will be no more discussion of who can use it, in what context or in what situation if we all start using it to describe anything.
“We may lose some of you [white people], but it is for the greater good,” he said.

Glover’s first album Camp is set to drop in November.

Schick was impressed by the turnout at the show.

“People were lined up in lawn chairs starting at 5 p.m. – two hours before doors even opened,” he said.

Unfortunately for some, the auditorium can only hold 480 students; any more than that is a fire code violation. For a select few, that did not thwart any attempts.

“I even caught a few determined students who snuck backstage during the show, but unfortunately we had to burst their bubble and escort them out of the building for security purposes,” said Schick.
Schick credited the great turnout to great comedian selection and great marketing.

“Students are less likely to attend if the artist isn’t a ‘household’ name,” said Schick. “Some of the better comedians are not fully well known yet, so even though they may be extremely funny, they won’t have the draw that a celebrity like Donald Glover would have.”

Urges students to get involved

By Sindhu Palaniappan

“You guys – you are not the leaders of tomorrow,” Khazei said to a table full of Bentley students anxiously waiting to hear from him. After a few confused glances towards each other and an unbearably uncomfortable silence, he continuesd, “You’re the leaders of today!”

Alan Khazei recently ran for a democratic seat in the U.S. Senate for the state of Massachusetts, although he recently dropped out. Khazei has been touring college campuses for three years now; he really believes that the younger generation can make all of the difference. Once a student at Harvard College and later Harvard Law, Khazei is a social entrepreneur that is passionate about giving back – as evidenced by all of his work with Be The Change, a national coalition devoted to building non-profits, and AmeriCorps, a federal community service program.

Along with his work with Be The Change and AmeriCorps, Khazei co-founded with his Harvard roommate a now national program called City Year. “City Year depends on 17 – 20 something’s – you are the generation that has a gift.” City Year, a partner with Bentley’s Service Learning, is an incredible program that allows students to donate a year to help inner city students in various locations around the country. “The 18 to 30 year old demographic is the group that voted in the first African American president in our nation’s history,” Khazei continues, further hitting home that the young generation is not only the group that senses injustice – but the group most apt to do something about it.

As the son of immigrants, a mother from Italy and a father from Iran, Khazei really feels like he is living the American Dream. “My father left a country of oppression and came to the US for its ideals and the freedom our citizens enjoy. My mother instilled in me this: That every person has a gift.”

There’s been a shift in what Americans want, Khazei said. People used to ask, ‘what can I do for my country?’ until fairly recently, where it turned into ‘am I better off than I was 4 years ago?’ There is a new selfish or self-centered focus, people aren’t trying to give back but instead they’re trying to figure out what they can take.

There are four keys points to this campaign, he made clear: (1) Unemployment – especially with the younger crowd. If you don’t have a job your first year out of college, you’ll be much worse off ten years down the road. (2) Poverty in the States. 46 million people, that’s 2 out of every 5 families, have fallen into poverty in the last 2 years. (3) Education – after “spending over 20 years with students in inner cities, one thing that is to be learned is that any child, with high expectations and a good learning environment, can succeed,” says Khazei. 30 years ago, 75% of jobs only required a high school diploma. Now, 66% of jobs expect some form of higher education. “Loan debt is like mortgage – it’s crippling.” (4) Service and Political Reform – “Young people lead everything,” says Khazei, “from ending genocide in Sudan to the LGBT movement, to Occupy Boston and Occupy Wall Street, all the way to Tiananmen Square. You move beyond social issues, your generation just looks at what work needs to be done, and then gets it done.”

He goes on to talk about how “Diversity is the wrong discussion. It means everyone is at the table. Inclusivity, however, means everyone around the table is equal.” From a man of such diverse backgrounds, he seems to be an authority on the topic. He closed by presenting an idea for students right here at Bentley to use – an idea that would allow us to use our voting power to accomplish things for everyone – how it should be used. “Promise them that you’ll give them a 100% voter turnout, if they can promise you more jobs openings,” he said, stressing again that if anyone has power – it’s out generation.

By Lacey Nemergut

Professor David Nelson passed away at age 69 on Monday, October 17, of an aggressive form of cancer. Nelson was hired by Timothy Sullivan in 1983 and has been a beloved and influential member of the Bentley faculty since then. Professor Nelson graduated from Beloit College in 1963 with a degree in Economics and earned his PhD in Economics and Finance from the University of Wisconsin in 1974.

Nelson taught various finance classes and has given seminars on specific aspects of the field.

Nelson taught three classes this semester. He was admitted to a hospital a week before his death and diagnosed with a terminal and aggressive form of cancer. His death came as a shock to both students and faculty. The community was not notified about his death.

“Dave Nelson was one of the primary architects of Bentley University as it is today,” said Aptul Gupta, the current Finance Department chair. “As the first chair of the freshly constituted Finance department, he recruited over a dozen new faculty members in a short four or five years, oversaw the development of new programs and courses in both graduate and undergraduate schools, and was a leader in the drive to get the College and our programs accredited by the AACSB.”

“He was the lead person who put together the Bentley faculty manual, which didn’t exist prior to the 1980s. Even the current version is pretty much a byproduct of his original work,” said Leonard Rosenthal, a close friend and fellow Bentley colleague.

“[Nelson] participated in a USAID grant under the leadership of Director of International Programs Jerry Bookin-Weiner to study European Community,” said John Joby, a former marketing chair at Bentley.

“We became closer as time went on. After his illness, he couldn’t spend as much time here,” said Rosenthal. “In his last three years, he was the department representative in the senate. He played an active role there. He was a respected member of the department.”

“He was hearty. He valued his friends so deeply. His generosity – he was a man who would give you the shirt off his back,” said Timothy Anderson, a close friend and Bentley colleague of Nelson.

“Dave had three loves in his life: His love of family, his love of teaching and his love of sailing, and unlike many of us, was able to achieve the proper balance between the three,” said Mark Davis, a personal friend and Bentley colleague. Davis and Nelson met 20 years ago teaching for the Bentley program at Yunnan University in Kunming, China.

Throughout his life, Nelson actively partook in a wide array of hobbies. His Bentley colleagues knew him best as a sailor.

“First on his little, 22-foot sailboat, Mirage, and then for the last 20 years or so [on] Spirit…. She wasn’t the prettiest boat in the Marina, but she spent less time than any other boat there. He used her,” said Anderson.
“He was a good friend and colleague and I will miss him,” said Davis. “I will especially miss those long and often deep conversations we had onboard the Spirit as we sailed through the night to reach our next port of call at day break on the following day.”

In addition to his love for sailing, Nelson was involved in a lengthy list of organizations and pastimes. He was a singer, songwriter and guitar player, and he would often sing to his grandchildren. He was a professional hypnotist. He served as the former chairman of the Greater Boston Chapter of the World Future Society. He was involved in the Seven Seas Cruising Association, a yacht club without portfolio that frequently presented seminars.
“Students, especially seniors, were invited to his home and, at David’s own expense, treated to a fine home-cooked meal and [were] asked to deliver their final term paper at his residence. He treated them as equals, now that they were done,” said Joby.

“Nelson was a passionate teacher who really cared about his students learning the material,” said Melissa Reville, one of Nelson’s students. “Not only did he share his love of finance with the class, but he shared his love for sailing and other hobbies with us, as well.”
There will be a memorial service for Professor Nelson on Thursday, November 10^th, in La Cava 325 B &C, starting at 4:30 pm.

By Lauren Brett

Are you afraid of the dark? Do you have to check your closet before you go to bed? Does the idea of sitting down and watching a scary movie haunt you as much as the scary movie itself?
Not all of us can be avid scary movie watchers, and for those of us that aren’t, it’s a burden we have to carry around for the rest of our lives while being shamelessly ridiculed by our peers, especially around the Thirteen Days of Halloween when the scary movie spirit kicks in.

For those who trembled and shuttered at the idea of seeing Paranormal Activity 3, have no fear, there are fun alternatives that can get you in the Halloween spirit. There are many holiday movies to watch with your friends while discretely hiding your fear of scary movies. Take a trip to the Library and experience the less chilling side of Halloween.

Beetlejuice: A Tim Burton movie from the 1980s starring Alec Baldwin, Michael Keaton and Geena Davis depicts a married couple who comes to the realization that they are dead. With this knowledge, they hire the help of a ghost named Beetlejuice to help drive the new family out of their old house. This movie holds little fright but lots of laughs.

Ghost Busters: Another film from the 1980s, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Remis star as three unemployed professors on the hunt for work. Their solution is the unconventional job of catching ghosts with a vacuum like machines. It’s a perfect comedy for anytime of the year, particularly the Halloween season. You’ll be humming the theme song all day long.

Hocus Pocus: A trio of sister witches are reawakened from a curse on Halloween night and have until dawn to collect as many children’s souls as possible in order to become immortal. The only people that can stop the haunting trio are a teenager, his love interest, sister, and a talking cat. Having aired on the Disney Channel, this movie is definitely a childhood favorite.

Rocky Horror Picture Show: An absolute classic, and a parody of several 1970s horror films, the Rocky Horror Picture Show is a cult classic. It is a musical with catchy music and very suggestive lyrics – be advised that you do not want to watch this movie with your parents. The movie follows a straight laced couple who stumble across the mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite scientist who is throwing a massive party where much confusion and hilarity ensue.

Casper: Afraid of ghosts? No need to be afraid of Casper. This cuddly ghost will have you feeling all fuzzy inside as you watch this heart-warming movie. Casper is a friendly ghost who has no desire to scare humans. His three bumbling uncles try and show him the ropes of how to scare humans, but they fail miserably and provide a lot of slapstick comedy. Also check out the sequel, Casper Meets Wendy, for more of the loveable ghost.

Nightmare before Christmas: Here’s a Tim Burton cartoon that may seem a little off, but then again it is a Tim Burton film. In Halloweentown, Jack Skellington the man in charge of Halloween every year decides he also wants to be in charge of Christmas. He decides to kidnap Santa Claus and create Christmas with the help of other ghouls from Halloweentown. Although it is an odd movie combining Christmas and Halloween, it is a must see.

Any of these suggestions will provide a laugh or too and only a slight fright. There will be no need to check for monsters under your bed and your roommate won’t have to worry about you crawling under their covers with them. Happy Halloween!

By Olivia LeClair

Sometimes a novel will catch me completely off guard – I go in with a certain set of expectations regarding the plot based on reviews of others and come out feeling completely backwards. One Day by David Nicholls was one of these instances.

Whenever I’m stressed, I usually read fluffy novels with little to no literary merit – they’re wonderful books, but you won’t find an English professor raving about them anytime soon.

One Day was supposed to be one of those books; I only read it because it was going to be a movie, and I figured it might be interesting. It turned out to be far more.

One Day is centered on the lives of two people – Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley. Although they attended college together, they only truly meet on July 15, 1988, the day after graduation.
Emma had always noticed Dexter, the golden boy, but he didn’t see her until that fateful last day. The chapters of the novel take place on July 15 of each year, spanning from 1988 to 2007.

The lives they lead couldn’t be more different. Dexter spends a year traveling before he is whirled up into the glamorous, yet short-lived life of a TV host. Emma is a waitress at a restaurant (which will make you scared to ever eat out) until she decides to become a teacher and pursue her life dream to be an author.

Emma and Dexter remain best friends through the years and encourage each other through good times and bad. Dexter is the one who points out that Emma has more potential in life than becoming a restaurant manager, and Emma cheers Dexter on when the entire world is laughing at him.

They move forward in their separate lives together, in a way only best friends can.

Marriage, death, children, divorce, success and failure all lie within the book, but not in any way possible to guess at. One Day takes the concept of a love story and turns it on its head. It’s predictable, yet not predictable at all (as dumb as that may sound, it’s true).

I’ll admit that the beginning was slow-going and it took me a few days to get into the plot. The yearly check-ins were hard to get used to, since the events of the year in between the chapters were often unclear and only hinted at.
However, once I adjusted to the format and the plot sped up, I flew through the rest of the novel. You’ll never know more information than you need to know, which actually turned out to be pretty refreshing.

Though this novel would technically be classified as romance, I was very happy to find that it was not a mushy, sappy love story. While reading it, I could imagine that the situations described could actually happen. The characters seemed like real people rather than a story just playing in my head.

I think of One Day as one of those novels whose importance you won’t realize initially. It teaches its lessons in incredibly subtle ways which you won’t even recognize until the last page. One Day will make you fall in love, break your heart and mend it.

It will make you determined to follow that age-old advice of marrying your best friend. At the very least, you’ll appreciate your true friends just a little bit more. You’ll call your parents just to say hi, and then head down to Academic Advising to see what you can do about achieving those seemingly far-fetched goals.

Rating: 5 out of 5

By Mike Lovett

After a five-year hiatus, the Fox television show Arrested Development – otherwise known as “the story of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together” – is coming back, and will be bigger than ever.

At a New York festival on October 2, creator Mitchell Hurwitz and the cast announced the plan for a short mini-series and movie in the very near future.

Hurwitz explained that the mini-series will serve as a lead-in for the movie, as each episode will focus on one character to catch viewers up on their lives since the show ended. Hurwitz said that trying to do that as part of the movie became too time-consuming.

“I found even if I just gave five minutes per character to that back story, we were halfway through the movie before the characters got together,” said Hurwitz.

For those of you who are not familiar with the show, let me explain what you missed in the first three seasons.

The show follows the Bluths, a crazed solar system of a family that (pun alert!) orbits around the golden son Michael (Jason Bateman). He is a noble, hard-working, widowed father who serves as the scale that must balance the rest of his family’s insanity.

His family, it seems, tries their hardest to make Michael’s life impossible. At the head of both the family and the family business is his father George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), who leaves Michael to pick up the pieces of the family company after he is investigated for fraud and arrested by the SEC.

While navigating through the shambles of The Bluth Company, Michael must deal with the insanity which ensues from the ridiculous actions of the rest of his family. Michael’s alcoholic and flat-out maniacal mother Lucille (Jessica Walter), his failed professional magician brother Gob (Will Arnett), his materialistic, attention-seeking twin sister Lindsay (Portia de Rossi), her husband Tobias (David Cross) and Buster (Tony Hale), his panic-attack stricken and socially inept younger brother, all provide laugh-out-loud humor through their escapades.

Absorbing all of this madness into their young adult minds are Michael’s son George Michael (Michael Cera) and Tobias’ and Lindsay’s daughter Maeby (Alia Shawkat). Together, they form a family that, on its best day, is absurdly dysfunctional.

Debuting in 2003, the show immediately developed a following due to its lightning-fast wit and unrelenting silliness. After the first season, it won five of seven Emmy nominations, including one for Outstanding Comedy Series. Season Two also received multiple Emmy nominations, and it also received a victory in Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, a category that contained three episodes from the show.

Despite its award-winning success, Arrested Development could not generate the ratings necessary to keep it on the air, and the third season became its last. A show with immense potential had met its premature end.
After all these years, fans still wonder what on earth Fox executives were thinking when they cancelled Arrested Development. After a few months of speculation, the show has ended its flirtation with the prospect of a movie and is moving ahead with cemented plans.

According to star Jason Bateman, viewers just have to wait a little bit longer. “We will do ten episodes and the movie. Probably shoot them all together next summer for a release in early ‘13. VERY excited!” Bateman tweeted.
In the meantime, everyone queue up your Netflix, grab a frozen banana and limber up for your respective, ridiculously inaccurate chicken dances, because the Bluths are back in business.

By Mike Lovett

The names Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson are all names synonymous with great movies. They have all played a part in some of the greatest comedies in the past 20 years: Father of the Bride, School of Rock and Wedding Crashers, respectively. The three have recently teamed up to star as the leads in The Big Year, a comedy about bird watching.

While the comical trio is accompanied by other well known comedy actors like Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation, I Love You Man) and Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), much more was expected of the movie.
Although the story was charming and fun, it was not the comedy expected from the previews or the actors. Was it terrible? No. But it also wasn’t of the caliber it was expected to be. Overall, the movie had a very positive and upbeat vibe, but as far as comedy movies go, it isn’t a must see.

The Big Year portrays three avid bird watchers, Wilson, Black and Martin, who are more affectionately known as birders. The film centers on their birding adventures as they participate in “A Big Year,” a competition where competitors try and spot as many different species of birds as possible in one calendar year. They travel all around North America, investing thousands of dollars into a contest governed by the honor system.

Martin plays a happily married business titan who has attempted to retire and failed. He desperately wants to put the corporate world behind him, and believes A Big Year is exactly what he needs to finally retire and leave the work which consumes his life.

Martin faces his biggest competition with Wilson, a frequent Big Year champion who holds multiple birding records. Wilson’s character only competes to keep his reigning title as champion birder. Because of his drive to remain number one, birding has been a major part of his life for years, much to the detriment of his personal life.

Black narrates the story and plays the part of the plucky underdog. Unknown to many, he has a birding super power. Balancing a fulltime job and A Big Year, Black attempts to realize his life dream of being the best birder.
The three characters cross paths throughout the movie and become acquaintances while traveling to rare bird sightings from the Gulf of Mexico to Attu, the westernmost island of Alaska. The trio also travels to such exotic places as an elderly woman’s backyard.

While on their escapades, they try to keep their participation in A Big Year a secret. However, it becomes difficult for them to keep their travels and birding quiet because they bump into many other birders along the way.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend The Big Year as a must see in theaters; it’s more of an Instant-Play-on-Netflix type of movie. It’s fairly entertaining without scenes that will make you cringe at their crudeness or awkwardness, so I suggest it as a family-night movie.

You won’t burst at the seams from laughter, but it will give you something to watch if you are bored. However, if there are other movie options, take one of those instead.
Rating: 3 out of 5

By Meghan Ryan