[The following is the final installment of a five-part series I'm calling "The Top 5 Things You MUST Do In College." Everyone's already heard about buying flip-flops for the shower, stocking up on veggies to avoid the Freshman 15, and to steer clear of mojitos before midterms, but there are other tips for enjoying college that the experts might have neglected to tell you about.

This series is meant to provide advice for getting the most out of college, rather than just getting through it. So far we've already discussed having a professor as a BFF, checking out what's going on in your college town, joining new clubs, and living with strangers. Now, in the final post, we wrap it all up with one important piece of advice: write for the paper! ]

College is supposed to be the best time of your life, but nothing is ever perfect. Whether you’re dissatisfied with your campus’ food (let’s face it, caf pizza isn’t exactly Domino’s), or you’re peeved about your school’s guest policy (can’t have overnight guests?), or maybe you just don’t like how you’re forced to take core requirements in philosophy when you’re paying big money to get your degree in engineering. Whatever the gripe may be, everyone has one.

But does anyone want to hear it?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes. Read More »

Hezbollah has taken over the western portion of Beirut the capital of Lebanon. This recent violence stems from the Western-backed (read: US-funded) government’s attempt on Monday to shut down Hezbollah’s telecoms network calling it a threat to state security.

According to eyewitnesses, the takeover occurred on Thursday at 8am with widespread Hezbollah roadblocks. Witnesses report street fighting involving machine guns, RPGs and tanks throughout the city. Civilians, apparently, have been forbidden from exiting their homes or even standing out on their balconies. Foreign nationals are desperately seeking a way out of the city.

It is feared that such violence will spiral the country back into civil war. The first Lebanese civil war occurred from 1975-90.

Meanwhile, the situation in Myanmar (Burma) continues to deteriorate. As many as 100,000 dead or missing and thousands facing homelessness and disease, yet the government remains incredibly reluctant to allow foreign aid into the country.

On Friday, the UN World Food Program suspended operations when its’ first plane was impounded by the government. Aid flights will hopefully be resumed on Saturday.

According to the US government, Myanmar will allow one aid plane to land on Monday. Read More »

Two old women from L.A. apparently had a really unusual, really twisted idea of how to fund their retirement (and, as it turns out, youth-preserving plastic surgery): Murder homeless men.

Here’s how it would go. They would befriend some poor homeless guy, put him up in an apartment, and get him to sign a life insurance policy listing them as the beneficiaries. After waiting a couple of years (as an immediate death would raise the insurance company’s suspicions), they would drug him senseless, run him over with a car that — presumably — would not be traced back to them, and claim the payouts.

Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt evidently did exactly this in 1999, and got away with it. Then they did it again in 2005 and got caught. Even weirder — both women are in their 70s! These are serial-killing grannies we’re talking about!

Serial-killing grannies with expensive habits, evidently: A letter from Helen to Olga talks about Helen’s plastic surgery (at age 72!) and how painful it was. Since this letter was written in 2002, it was probably the first man’s murder that paid for said plastic surgery. Morbid to think about it, isn’t it? Read More »

Do you like to put stuff on your cat?

That random question headlines an even odder website, stuffonmycat.com.

What is this website all about? Well, it’s a little place in cyberspace dedicated to pictures of cats with stuff on them. Cats with teacups on them, cats with shoes on them, cats with baby clothes on them…just pictures and pictures of cats covered in stuff.

It sounds strange, but once you go there, you’ll find it hard to look away. Most of the cats are adorable. Some are freaky. All of them have owners who have found time to throw things on top of them. Read More »

If there was a magic potion I could take to rid me of my sweet tooth, I’m not going to lie, I would probably take it. The day I swear off sweets for good always somehow falls on the same day of an office party at work or someone’s birthday, aka lots of cake and sugary foods to ruin any type of healthy kick.

Apparently, the makers of Sugarest read my mind. These tablets supposedly rid you of your sugar cravings for 20-30 minutes after you place it in your mouth for a few minutes. The main ingredient causes sugary foods to lose their sweetness. Sounds like a pretty sweat deal right? Anticipate a need for a treat, pop a pill, suck on it, and voila! You have conquered sugar.

Read More »