AWS Website Banner 11/4 – 12/4
The University of Chicago’s Independent Student Newspaper since 1892

Chicago Maroon
The University of Chicago’s Independent Student Newspaper since 1892

Chicago Maroon
AWS Website Banner 11/4 – 12/4
The University of Chicago’s Independent Student Newspaper since 1892

Chicago Maroon
Stories and content by Alec Brandon

wtf

By Alec Brandon / May 23, 2008
Wendy Doniger, the Mircea Eliade distinguished service professor in the Divinity School,

100,000

By Alec Brandon / May 21, 2008
It looks like this blog will hit the big 100,000 unique visitors mark tomorrow.It is hard

Dr. Jekyll and Hyde Park

By Alec Brandon / May 20, 2008
[img id=”80636″ align=”alignleft”] Recently, the Hyde Park Interwebs and listhosts have been quiet. Even the Hyde Park Herald has been pretty tame of late, suggesting that maybe crazy goes on break when the weather gets nice—but that doesn’t mean that the fight to improve Hyde Park is over. Remember, this is a community that flipped...

Arts, Schvarts

By Alec Brandon / May 5, 2008
Bespectacled in a pair of trendy sunglasses, Mark McGowan, a British performance artist, has buried himself up to his neck in the sand on a beach in Britain. He plans to stay that way for 48 hours. He could stay for another 48 years, and I still wouldn’t get what makes it art. It seems...

Summer internment

By Alec Brandon / April 22, 2008
[img id=”80509″ align=”alignleft”] It must really pay to sell your soul. Or, at least, given the effort of so many students to land this or that summer job you’d certainly think so. Metcalf season may have passed, but this is the time of the year when all the non–finance and consulting people (read: the ones...

The housing crunch

By Alec Brandon / April 7, 2008
High-school seniors are trying to figure out where to go to school next year. College seniors are furiously trying to finish their B.A. papers—not to mention scrambling to figure out what to do with the rest of our lives. First-, second-, and third-years, meanwhile, are attempting to make productive plans for the summer. They are...

Obama’s bracket

By Alec Brandon / March 20, 2008

I have to say, I was pretty disappointed by Obama's NCAA bracket.In 3 of the 4 regions he has the #1 playing the #2 in the Elite 8. Even worse, his big surprise is Pitt making it to the final four. Now,...

Sinbad mans up

By Alec Brandon / March 11, 2008

If First Kid taught me anything, it's that you never want to get Sinbad angry. He is 6 feet and 5 inches of pure power. Hell, the man has overcome death, you just don't mess with that.But, that is what...

After Goolsbee-gate, should we invade Canda? Yes, we can

By Alec Brandon / March 10, 2008
[img id=”80438″ align=”alignleft”] Last week there was a fundamental shift in the world’s international order. I’m not talking about Colombia’s air strike against FARC rebels in Ecuador. Nor am I referring to Saudi Arabia being stood up by the Arab council, or the turmoil in Israel. All that stuff is to be expected. No, this...

I love “I Love L.A.”

By Alec Brandon / March 2, 2008

I'm watching the Lakers-Mavericks game right now and ABC just played the Randy Newman song, "I Love L.A." The song is frequently used by the media to celebrate Los Angeles (kind of like "New York, New...

David Brooks is dead to me

By Alec Brandon / March 1, 2008

David Brooks has an interesting column today remembering William F. Buckley with a special U of C connection.The entire column revolves around a column Brooks wrote as a college student at the U of C....

Sunstien and Nussbaum: Splitsville

By Alec Brandon / February 29, 2008

Above the Law has the full scoop on Sunstein's departure from the U of C (I had previously hypothesized that it was a personal issue).Highlights include Nussbaum on Sunstein's kissing ability, the girl...

Go back to Canada

By Alec Brandon / February 29, 2008

Pretentious, bow-tie, wearing Canadian Adam Goldenberg cries about getting J.K. Rowlings for his graduation speech:They invited J. K. Rowling to speak at Commencement. In four months, I’m going to graduate,...

It’s not easy being green

By Alec Brandon / February 26, 2008
The stars arrived in style at last night’s Oscars. Every performer and presenter was offered a free ride in the Green Car Journal’s green car of the year: GMC’s new line of hybrid SUVs. Over the past few years, being green has become a way of life in the city of angels. Hollywood stars have...

Aid should focus on those who need it

By Alec Brandon / February 12, 2008
Last October, Senator Chuck Grassley (R–IA) decided to get on the high horse of populism, proposing a bill that would force universities to spend more of their swelling endowments. Basically, his proposal would require colleges with endowments greater than $500 million to spend at least 5 percent of their endowment every year. While Grassley’s legislation...

What’s a superdelegate?

By Alec Brandon / February 7, 2008

Talking Points Memo has a great video that gives some background on who these mysteriously superdelegates are and what it is that they do.

Cheesy bacon

By Alec Brandon / February 3, 2008

Do you like cheese? Yes?Do you like bacon? Even more?Well, then you'll love cheesy bacon flavored popcorn, available only in some place in Wisconsin that I randomly ended up at this weekend.You'll have...

Coincidence?

By Alec Brandon / February 1, 2008
I gave $5 to the Obama campaign today.A couple hours later he devastates Hillary on Iraq

Michael Cera for convocation speaker!

By Alec Brandon / January 29, 2008

From my column in today's Maroon:Throughout his short career, Cera has perfectly portrayed the essence of your average, terminally awkward U of C student, but the Cera phenomenon is about more than just...

Current convocation setup is super bad

By Alec Brandon / January 29, 2008
Change is a pretty hot topic right now. Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Hillary Clinton can’t use the word enough. Apple is trying to change our lives with its MacBook Air. Even President Bush has joined the party, saying that if he were to seek a third term, he’d run on a platform of change...

Who cares about 1992?

By Alec Brandon / January 28, 2008

Editor's Blog fav Paul Krugman has a column up today discussing the political lessons of 1992.It is probably his most honest political column in a long time. The past few weeks have seem him take shot...

Obama wins1

By Alec Brandon / January 27, 2008

Big news out of Chicago tonight.Barack Obama has decidedly won the affection of the Chicago Cubs. And, by the Chicago Cubs, I mean all-star first baseman Derrek Lee.Apparently, Lee has given Obama nearly...

Playstation 3 stimulus package

By Alec Brandon / January 25, 2008

Congress and the President agreed on a fiscal stimulus package today.While I'm an economics major and really enjoy thinking about economics, macroeconomics questions like how to ward off a recession are...

Lake Wobegon!

By Alec Brandon / January 16, 2008
Barack Obama is obviously a fan:My wife is extraordinary and my children are above averag

Silent majority finds its voice in Co-Op debate

By Alec Brandon / January 15, 2008
I owe the residents of Hyde Park an apology. Over the past year this column has had more than its fair share of philippics against Hyde Park residents. I’ve denounced their selfishness, myopia, and ignorance. This hasn’t been very hard. We’re talking about people who have consistently blocked development on 53rd Street, fought to save...

Hillary gains a key endorsement

By Alec Brandon / January 13, 2008

Roseanne Barr!:Wednesday night, Roseanne wrote, “I have decided that having a woman president before any man of any color is what these times call for.”

Breaking: Chris Dodd won’t win Iowa

By Alec Brandon / January 4, 2008

With 42% of the precincts reporting in Iowa, Dodd is still polling at 0%.Update: While Obama and Huckabee are the projected winners of Iowa, Dodd is still at 0% (with 1 delegate, so like 0.001% or something)...

Sinbad!

By Alec Brandon / January 3, 2008

Remember Sinbad? The man whose rise to prominence enchanted America. Although his film choices were about as smart as Shaquille O'Neal, he was on a hit TV show and was probably a pretty good stand up comedian....

K-Fu4

By Alec Brandon / December 13, 2007
We at the Editors Blog are pretty pumped about the Cubs signing of Kosuke Fukudome (and by we, I mean

Recession?7

By Alec Brandon / December 13, 2007
Why are people so intent on showing us why a recession is coming?I mean, a lot of things

Snow day!!1

By Alec Brandon / December 4, 2007
We are suppose to get 6 inches of snow tonight.In related news, I have a final and a proj

Obama is evil!

By Alec Brandon / December 4, 2007
Did you know that Barack Obama has made it his life's goal to become president? And he'll do

100,000 Views

By Alec Brandon / November 30, 2007
A couple of days ago this blog passed the 100,000 view mark.It isn't the biggest deal in

ESPN Featured Comment of the Day

By Alec Brandon / November 30, 2007

We here at the Editors Blog are big (no HUGE) fans of ESPN's Featured Comment of the Day (you can see it on the bottom right of ESPN's home page, right now the comment is "I'd love to see TO in Green Bay...

Development key to safer Hyde Park

By Alec Brandon / November 27, 2007
In 1991, Yale University was stunned when an undergraduate was shot and killed on its campus. Christian Prince, a second-year, was walking home late one night when a car pulled up. The driver, a 16-year-old New Haven resident named James Fleming, jumped out of the car with a loaded gun and demanded that Prince hand...
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