When sophomore business major Alex Zsenyuk walked around campus for the first time since returning to school this week, his first reaction was “Wow.” Zsenyuk, who has been attending Portland State for about a year and a half, said that he can feel the difference in the number of students roaming the halls and South Park Blocks. “It feels like there are a lot more people,” Zsenyuk said.
If you were to think of the best folk acts putting out albums (or at least the most talked about) in the last couple of years, most would come up with a few names: Iron and Wine, Sufjan Stevens, Devendra Banhart. Add to that list Horse Feathers, ushered into inclusion by their new album House With No Home. From the first track, “Curs in the Weeds,” you know you are listening to something special. A simple guitar strum evolves into a full experience when lead singer Justin Ringle brings in his mysterious vocals. They swirl and float around his simple chords like the smoke escaping a giant cigar. Brother-and-sister duo Heather and Peter Broderick build up the songs with their beautiful string arrangements.
Rarely are the ceilings around PSU’s campus a visual point of interest, especially in student housing buildings such as the Ondine. Water stains, gum, plaster cracks or the occasional well-thrown pencil are not what one would call “decorative enhancements.” However, unlike many other items stuck to the Ondine’s ceilings over the years, the colorful array of bottle caps on the second floor have been installed with PSU’s fervent approval.
Though Halo is an excellent source for all the fragging you could possibly stomach, occasionally the collegiate gamer will find him or herself in need of something that tickles the old noodle a bit more than the (ahem) “spirited” discourse on Xbox Live. In the back-to-school spirit, the Vanguard presents a look at some fresh new games that challenge your brain in different ways.
Give Chuck Palahniuk this: he might be a ham-fisted provocateur, but at least his writing elicits a reaction. Choke, Clark Gregg’s new film based on the Portland author’s 2001 novel, doesn’t even come close. Reading Palahniuk’s books is like walking into a bathroom after someone else has emptied their bowels. The “author” is very satisfied, sure, but you’re left dealing with the stench they’ve left behind.
The Oregon Opportunity Grant was allocated an additional $4 million Friday morning, assuring students who want to begin attending classes later this year the same access to grant money as those registered for fall term.
Summer is a notoriously difficult time to produce theater in Portland. With the short reprieve from rain that our city offers, leisure time is likely spent participating in activities that require sunscreen. Local companies often capitalize on this by staging outdoor productions or, alternatively, dragging theatergoers into the cool confines of an auditorium by spoon-feeding them sweet pabulum along the lines of Phantom of the Opera or Disney High School Musical On Stage.
The good news for Portland State is their outing versus Sacramento State was not the same 48-9 beating the Vikings endured at the hands of Washington State last Saturday. But the bad news is the result was the same. Despite several bright spots, including a superb showing from junior quarterback Tygue Howland, Portland State was unable to contain the Hornets’ potent offensive attack-on the ground or through the air-and was handed its first Big Sky loss of the season 41-31.