Features

‘Spiderman' Writers Attend Book Signing for Inauguration Edition of the Popular Comic Book

UC Irvine snowboard team member Daniel Seo hits the jumps at Mountain High this past weekend.

At 4:10 a.m. on Jan. 20, the second metro headed for Washington, D.C. from a Virginia suburb is nearly packed. In the last hour before dawn, the frigid air bites through the heavily bundled passengers, even inside the train. The people don't seem to mind the cold as they whisper excitedly to each other. Though no definite words can be made out, it is as though the collective murmurings of the passengers form the name that is on everyone's mind, the name of a man "whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant."

The UC Irvine Track and Field team kicked off the year with the Blue and Gold track meet at Anteater Stadium. Lauren Collins looks to improve on her NCAA championship apperance from last season in the decathlon.

Sara Farsakh frantically scribbles notes on the sides of her paper, adding names and places as they come to mind. Behind her, a friend massages her shoulders like she would a boxer about to enter the ring with her toughest yet most anticipated opponent. Farsakh just spent most of the previous day and half the night debating whether she will be able to share this story in public and dreading the path her emotions might take should she choose to do so. Her decision made, all she can do now is stare at the floor and focus intently on keeping her intentions and emotions in check as she waits for the introduction to her first public speech in years. With a few deep breaths and a couple mutters of "bismillahi rahmani rahim" (I begin in the name of Allah, most beneficent, most merciful) under her breath, she begins...

Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know: Audrina from "The Hills" is smiling her fake, toothy smile on the red carpet as the paparazzi cameras flash and click like machine guns. It's still difficult for me to wrap my head around the name "Audrina," which sounds like the unfortunate union of the names Christina and Audrey. I suppose it's better than the alternative, "Chrudrey."

Battle Series: All-American Pie vs. The Birthday Cake

President-elect Barack Obama dips a hand into the past when appointing non-Cabinet officials.

SUBURBAN OUTFITTER: Back home in the Bay Area, I never thought about shopping for spring and summer clothing until March when, if I were lucky, the temperature would slowly climb to the cool mid-60s. Here in Irvine, however, it's mid-January and a ridiculous 85 degrees. Even though I'm wearing denim cutoffs, I feel like I'm about to pass out as I trudge up a slight slope in Aldrich Park. What does this tell me (besides that I'm ludicrously out of shape)? It's time to shop for the new season.

THE SOCIAList: After the reaction I got from my "Gossip Guy" article in the features section last week, the New University features staff, for some odd reason, awarded me a column in their section with the free rein to speak about whatever I want.

An Assessment of Barack Obama's Cabinet Nominations and Selections

An Assessment of Barack Obama's Cabinet Nominations and Selections