Tomorrow is the big day!

As millions flock to Washington for the inauguration, many of us prefer (or were forced) to stay at home and not be part of the mad rush of people that will surely cause all of the highways around D.C. and the surrounding states to be jam-packed with people and cars (I’ve had enough with the crowding during the Olympics to last a lifetime). But just because you’re not on the scene doesn’t mean you can’t be with the scene!

There are plenty of other people around who didn’t make the trek to D.C., so have a party! It may be last minute, but there is still plenty of time to gather your friends and a little patriotism together for a killer Proud to be An American bash.

Here are some fun ways for you to celebrate being in American – red, white, and blue style. Read More »

Martin Luther King Jr. wasn’t the only person with a dream.

Obama honors MLK with a national day of service.

Inaugural concert rocks D.C.

The 20 cutest celebrity kids.

Oh, that’s really embarassing, Katy Perry.

Take a little fashion dare.

No need to work out; fidgeting burns calories!

He may be talented, but Mickey Rourke is….weird.

We wish people broke out into spontaneous dance around us more often.

Show your allegiance: Gossip Girl Team T-Shirts

Despite my pounding headache right now, I just had a moment of clarity that I want to share with you all.

The Inauguration of our 44th president is on tomorrow, and frankly I can’t remember anyone ever really caring about this ceremonial aspect of an election. Until this year.

And, wow, do they care.

D.C is “poppin’ off,” as the kids say. People have been partying all week, and will continue all week. What seems like the entire world is flocking to DC and my campus is on security lock-down, since GW is only 4 blocks from the White House. A huge, free concert with everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Beyonce to Bono was held on the National Mall on yesterday to celebrate. There are legit balls, as in Cinderella balls, to honor this man. Even the Metro tickets have Obama on them. Signs, posters, and more port-o-potties than you can fathom are popping up all over the city. This is big.

It is all strangely reminiscent of the scene in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy accidentally crushes the Wicked Witch with her house, and all the little munchkins are crazy happy. Ding, Dong, the witch is dead Bush is gone! Read More »

Knowing just what to expect out of possibly the most important weekend of my life thus far (at least politically speaking), is like knowing what you’re getting for Christmas as a kid, how many times lightning will strike over Nebraska next year, or how much money you’ll lose or gain by January 2010 because of the deepening recession or reversal thereof.

It’s totally unpredictable.

Here’s what I do know:

For the first time in my life, my generation is thoroughly excited by not just a presidential candidate, but the president elect. We could all be dead wrong, but from the way things are looking, Barack Obama’s election into office will turn over new leaves for our country that haven’t been turned over in…at least eight years.

I grew up hearing stories about political union in a generation and, sure, we aren’t all in agreement about the change that Obama may or may not make. But so many of us are excited that, for once, I feel like a part of something that I am proud to be a part of.

So I’m on a bus heading to Washington DC from New York. Already, the 60-some people on board are buzzing – all revved up and ready to explode for their weekend in DC. While the inauguration itself is the event we’re all going down to experience and witness, the weekend of celebration before should be one for the books. Even the bars are allowed to stay open until 4am this weekend. (I know that means nothing to you, New Yorkers, so I say to you: imagine an event so big that New York bars were allowed to stay open until 6am.) Read More »

The Grateful Dead are going on tour. Well, the ones still alive.

Man loses millions. Fakes his own death. Not very good at it.

Welcome to the world, Seraphina Garner Affleck!

Whitney Port shows a bit too much on the beach.

Even Blake Lively got teased in middle school.

Public Universities still providing jobs in crappy economy.

Colleges sink to new low to get even more of your money: snacks!

Someone in the White House is a sex offender?

If the sand and accents weren’t enough, here is another reason I’m moving to Australia.

Security is getting tight for the big Inauguration.

This past week CC asked our readers whether or not racism was still an issue in the country. You all were pretty mixed in your responses—a third of you said that it was a major issue, another third said that we’d made progress but still need to work on it, and another third said that it wasn’t an issue anymore.

Probably a lot of the confusion comes from what we perceive to be racism.

For example, a male Caucasian clerk is friendly with a Caucasian female and then rude to an African American male—now this could be a clear cut case of sexism—clerk is hitting on the female and rude to the male, or a clear-cut case of racism.

The way in which you experience that scenario is really dependent on your previous life experiences.

During my childhood in Southern California, I understood racial tension to be part of a larger issue—i.e. gang violence or immigration. For me the civil rights movement was a thing of the past. In the scenario above, I definitely would have leaned towards the sexist explanation.

Then I moved to Washington, DC. Read More »

I have something shocking to tell you:

I just went a full 24 hours without Internet or TV.

I know it is hard to believe – impossible, even – but it is easy to go twenty-four hours without checking your email, refreshing your Facebook home page to see if there are any new updates from your friends and watching old re-runs of True-Life, I’m Moving to New York.

Unfortunately, I have become one of those girls who, in her downtime, sits with her laptop, refreshing Facebook every twenty seconds (just in case someone changes their status!) while watching reruns of Beverly Hills 90210 on the Soap Network. Did my ex-boyfriend break up with that tramp he’s been dating? Did my best friend add a new band to her favorite music? And did that person that I met once (and therefore HAD to add as a friend) add a new application?

Sad? Absolutely. Addicting? You bet.

In an effort to get my life back, I decided to throw caution to the wind and step away from technology. Read More »

The Real World is making its way to Brooklyn for its 21st season. In case you’re counting, this will be the third time the show has been in New York City. I know Brooklyn is its own distinct borough filled with unique charm, but when you take a subway or two right over to the previous Real World houses, it’s just too close. It’s time for the folks at MTV to branch out. Here are some suggestions for future destinations:

Minneapolis

It was heavily rumored that the Real World was heading to this upper Mid-western urban center for its 19th season. Sydney may have provided the castmates with sunny beaches and hot dudes with accents, but Minneapolis is pretty cool too. There’s a fantastic art scene, friendly locals, giant university, funky bars and the town is surrounded by gorgeous lakes. Plus, the the weather isn’t so bad in the summer.

Washington D.C.

Nothing goes better with historic buildings, sketchy elected officials and government offices than 20-somethings with ‘roid rage and girls in hooker boots. D.C. is vibrant, has a ton of cute neighborhoods and lots of things to do. Plus, it’s the most walk-able city in the nation, perfect for coming home drunk. Can you picture Real World folks as congressional pages? Tour guides? The options are endless. Read More »

Dear Senior,

Right about now you are probably rolling a keg back to your house and getting ready to celebrate your last last final. How exciting! Drink up, friend. Drink until the sun (or your lunch) comes up. Take shots, do keg stands, play a long and telling game of Never Have I Ever. Enjoy it.

You are going to need it. Once finals are over and you have tossed that over-priced cap into the air, the real work begins. Unless you, like everyone else, decide to take that 6 week trip to Europe, in which case the real work doesn’t begin until you’ve smuggled your Absinthe back into the country and unpack that over-sized backpack.

This work I speak of is not the job you will be getting post graduation; it is the apartment. The New York Times recently ran a story talking all about the infamous apartment hunt. The article is long and sort of eh, so I will recap it for you here:Finding an apartment in a big city is really f*cking hard. Read More »

After weeks of anxious waiting and post office stalking I finally got the letter…the LARGE envelope letter — you all know what that means (drumroll please) Grad School Here I Come!!!

After dancing around my apartment building, calling everyone I knew, and startling various DC residents at the local CVS while buying celebratory chocolate–(yes to those of you who may have seen me, I wasn’t insane—just very very excited!), I finally calmed down enough to think through the logistics…

…and then the panic set in. Read More »