CSU WLAX National Champions

In case you missed it (which you probably did), the CSU Women’s Club Lacrosse team won their first national cahmpionship this past Saturday, May 10. 

The Rams beat 7-time champion Cal Poly in overtime 8 to 5.  Cal Poly had won every club national championship since 2000.  During that stretch they beat the Rams by 11 goals in 2004.

This championship goes to show that while most of CSU’s D1 programs are suffering, CSU still has one of the best club sports programs in the country.

The men’s lacrosse team will start their run at a national championship May 13 at 7 p.m against Virgina Tech in Dallas.

Lyrics Born at the Aggie

It always amazes me how Fort Collins attracts some of the better underground hip hop acts in the country.  I know a lot of people love the genre, but FOCO doesn’t really have the demographic, if you know what I mean.

Lyrics Born is Tom Shimura, a half-Japanese half-Italian American.  Much like Blue Scholars, he has drawn inspiration from his diverse backround and unique childhood.  Shimura grew up all over the United States from San Francisco to Tampa to even Salt Lake City.  He also spent some time in Tokyo. 

He’s the latest Bay-area rapper to come though the Aggie.  He’s worked with the other rappers that came through town, Heiroglyphics and Dialated Peoples.

Check him out Thursday, May 8 at the Aggie Theatre.

Downtown Bus Route: Makes too much sense to not happen

Our beloved Rocky Mountain Collegian recently reported on some students who are proposing a new bus route for Transfort.  The route would run only on weekends from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. or as I like to call it, the happiest hours of the week.  The students formed this proposal in conjunction with a class, but seriously, this plan makes too much sense not to happen.

Deciding on a designated drive for a trip to the bars always turns out bad.  The bus doesn’t run late enough (obviously).  Driving there and walking home isn’t much of an option for those that don’t live on the north side, plus if you leave your car parked downtown, you’re bound to have a ticket the next day.

I realize that none of the bus drivers want to work weekends or put up with a bunch drunks, but in a town where beer is a culture and in a state where Sunday liquor sales are soon to come, this is needed.

Get Lyrical

It has been awhile since I’ve mentioned the Lyric Cinema Cafe, but then again they haven’t had this stellar of a movie line up since There Will Be Blood was playing.

Right now the Lyric is showing The Counterfeiters, 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days and Chicago 10. Wow! is all I can think.

The Counterfeiters is the first Austrian film to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and it tells the true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history.

4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days has received nothing but rave reviews.  This Romanian Film tells the power story of a woman helping her friend have an illegal abortion during the fall of communism.  It won the Golden Palm at the Canne Film Festival last year.

Chicago 10 is a unique film in that it takes the transcript from the famous trial and animates what went on in the court room as well as mixing in some actual footage from the Chicago riots in 1968.  I think this film comes along at a perfect time with today’s democratic nominees battle it out.

To be able to see all these films in one place is pretty remarkable.  Normally only in large cities like Denver or New York would you be able to find these films, but thanks to the Lyric Cinema Cafe all you have to do is walk down to Old Town.

The Real Rocky Mountain Showdown

Titans will clash this weekend at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium.  The No. 7 CSU and No. 17 CU men’s lacrosse teams will meet for their annual tussle at the massive football stadium and for the first time the No. 5 CU and  No. 2 CSU women’s teams will also be playing at the stadium.

This is the best CSU sporting event of the year.  Why?  Because we rip CU a new one every year.  Nothing is worse than paying $20 for a seat to the CU vs. CSU football and expecting to lose.  With this game, I get to pay $8 and make fun of CU kids after they lose to the superior CSU team, BOTH games! 

This year the women’s team is doing extremely well with an 18-1 record.  The men’s team isn’t doing as well as in recent years due to a young team and the continuing growth of other schools squads, but they have still managed a respectable 9-5 record.

The game at Ivesco Field gives both teams a great atmosphere and from my experiecne the fans get a lot rowdier.  Tickets can be picked up from Ticketmaster, The CSU I-Box and at the stadium.

The men’s coach Flip Naumburg has been blogging for years (before it was called blogging).  I highly recommend reading it to get pumped for the game, learn about the team and to learn about the sport of lacrosse.

How To Celebrate Earth Day in FOCO

Here are some ideas to celebrate this “earth week”:

Monday, April 21
-Watch the “An Inconvenient Truth” presentation in Clark A102 on the CSU campus.

Tuesday, April 22
-See Mike Nelson, 7news Chief Meteorologist, talk about global warming at the Lincoln Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

-Stop by the CSU Plaza between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to check out the Earth Day fair.

Anyday
-Visit everyone’s favorite sustainable brewery, New Belgium.

-Use the recycle bin

-Ride your bike or take the bus to work or school

Rockin’ The Alley

Most of the music venues in Fort Collins aren’t worth while especially when compared to Boulder’s. Hodi’s doesn’t book enough big acts. The Aggie’s management is terrible. Every other venue is too small and not made for playing music.

Thank goodness then for the Alley House.

The Alley House is the residence of Matt Martin (FYI: I work with him) and it sits quietly in an alley (obviously) between Ram’s Bookstore and Total Eclipse Body Art. The Alley leads to the Alley Cat coffee shop and Algier’s hooka bar. If you walk by it during the day (and most nights), you wouldn’t suspect a thing, but once and awhile Martin will invite some of the best local (and some national and international) bands to play there. Several bands have got their start there (most notably Castles). Martin and his house were profiled in a recent edition of the Rocky Mountain Chronicle.

Friday, April 18 the Alley House will play host to one of my favorite local bands, Sour Boy Bitter Girl. The lead singer of this band is mysterious and doesn’t talk to the media or play shows very often. The Alley house doesn’t charge, but donations are recommended to support the musicians.

Martin has created something special in town. The Alley House is the only truly independent venue in town and concerts there are intimate and personal. There isn’t an experience like it within 50 miles of FOCO.

Blue Man Group in NoCo

Entertainment acts like the Blue Man Group are usually reserved fro big cities and Las Vegas, but on April 16, Northern Colorado will get a taste of the world famous group.  Starting at 7:30 p.m., The Blue Man Group will amaze the Budweiser Events Center.

The popular performing arts shows combine music, pantomime, dance, and unique instruments and set design. The current act is called “How to be a Megastar” and uses more rock music than the group has used in the past. According to the Coloradoan, the act tells how to build the perfect rock band and is often satirical.

ASCSU Campaign Spending

As ASCSU campaigns wind down with the election, so do the promises of transparency, student voice, and campus culture.  What becomes important now is how well the candidates budget their expenses.  Justin Weber Reports.

ASCSU Campaign Spending Audio News Package

ASCSU Election Details website- www.ascsu.colostat.edu/electiondetails.aspx

Lory Student Center Cinema

If you’re a student, why drive all the way to a boring and expensice Cinemark movie theater when you could just see free movies all the time on campus?  Because most of them are terrible and one time only.  I get it.  Still, campus has a lot to offer when it comes to film:

• Muhammad (Peace be upon him): The Last Prophet  is an animated biography about the Muslim prophet.  The Washington Post calls it “lush and solemn”, just like every great cartoon should be.  What will be interesting is how they tell his life story without being able to show him.  See it April 10 at 5:30 p.m. in the Lory Student Theater
• SiCKO is Micheal Moore’s latest documentary about heath care in the United States.  It’s a funny and entertaining film, partly because Moore’s puts aside his politcal bias (kind of) and seems to actually care about people.  The most touching (read: self promotional) moment comes when Moore pays for the surgery of the wife of an opponent so he can keep running his anti-Moore website.  It’s also interesting that this showing is being brought to us by Hartshorn Health Services.  Maybe they’re trying to push a certain viewpoint on us?  Decide for yourself at the Lory student Theater April 11 at 7 p.m.
• We Own The Night the latest Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Pheonix that follows some tired plotline about two brothers on oppisite sides of the law.  GUIDE shows newer movies every Tuesday at the Durrell Center starting at 9 p.m.  Free popcorn and soda are also available.  This is a great way to save money if you’re looking to see an actual movie instead of a documentary and it makes for a cheap mid-week date.