Stanford and Columbia will each receive $6 million to sustain a director on each campus and a fellow on each location to support the director. Each school will have an additional $6 million endowment to support “magic grants” — collaborative student projects related to technology and digital journalism.

“[The Institute] reflects a great promise, which is still unfulfilled — namely that people who work on content and people who work on technology will invent the next generation of media together,” said Electrical Engineering Professor Bernd Girod, who will serve as the Stanford director of the program. “It’s been long recognized that this is how it should be done, but it hasn’t really happened yet.”

The endowment will annually pay out roughly five percent — or $300,000 — each year for grants on each campus, according to Girod.

Columbia received an extra $6 million to support the development of a high-tech newsroom.

Each campus will choose its Brown Fellow by July and will begin a competition for magic grants in March, so that the selected students can prepare to develop their projects at the start of the next school year, Girod said.

“We want to tap into the creativity and new and original ideas that our graduate and post-graduate students have,” Girod said. “If a pair of students has a game-changing and original idea, we will fund them for a year.”

Preparing for the institute

Columbia is currently conducting a search for the Institute’s east coast director but is more concerned with finding the most qualified person than “meeting an artificial deadline,” according to William Grueskin ‘77, dean of academic affairs at the Columbia School of Journalism.

After soliciting applications and interviewing top candidates, a committee of Journalism School faculty will recommend a candidate to the J-School’s dean, Nicholas Lemann.

“We expect to make the hire later this year,” Grueskin said, adding that Girod will be involved in the search process.

“We’re looking for someone who can complement an engineer,” Girod said.  “That person will likely be technology-savvy, but will focus on content.”

Columbia does not yet have an exact timeline for construction of its technology newsroom but anticipates its completion in 2014.

“We expect the new newsroom will be a center for real innovation in multimedia, using tools in visual, aural and data-driven journalism,” Grueskin said. “The architectural plans aren’t complete, but we expect the space will include classrooms, offices and open areas for collaboration.”

In terms of Stanford space for the Institute, Girod said Stanford is currently in the process of identifying suitable space.

“We will likely convert some space in the School of Engineering,” Girod said.

Girod envisions the Institute having a similar style to that of the Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school), which has open spaces that “inspire people to work together.”

Connecting East and West

Though the programs will be anchored in the School of Engineering at Stanford and in the School of Journalism in New York, Girod says the magic grants will be open to the entire community on each campus.

Girod stressed that a multidisciplinary approach is necessary to solving the problems facing 21st-century journalism.

“It’s not something that’s just going to happen for engineering students,” Girod said. “The more surprising the ideas are, the better. Often the best out of the box thinking comes when people with different backgrounds come together.”

Participants on both campuses will see each other at regular intervals, according to Girod.

“There will be a mechanism in place to connect people east and west — fellows and grant recipients,” Girod said.

“Bridging the gap”

Columbia and Stanford announced Brown’s donation and the creation of the Institute on Monday in a joint press release, along with Cosmopolitan’s parent company, Hearst Corporation.

“[The Institute] will recognize the increasingly important connection between journalism and technology, bringing the best from the East and West Coasts,” the release said.

The gift had been in preparation for roughly two years, according to Girod, who has been involved since September.

Brown gave the gift in honor of her late husband David, who completed a B.A. in communication at Stanford, before attending the Columbia School of Journalism to receive an M.S. in Journalism in 1937.

That the Institute is among the first of its kind is mostly due to the shortcomings of technology, according to Girod.

“Technology is just not sophisticated enough to extract meaning from text, or recognize the story of a movie,” Girod said. “But we are at the cusp of bridging what people call ‘the semantic gap,’ — of unifying the worlds of content and technology,” Girod said.

The J-School has been working with its Columbia engineering colleagues since it started work on a joint degree master’s program in computer science and journalism, Grueskin said.

Columbia enrolled its first class of students in the program last fall and will be hosting a hackathon this coming weekend with ScraperWiki, an online tool that helps users gather data from the Internet.

“We’ve seen a number of journalism initiatives at Columbia, and beyond, designed to bolster the role that universities have often played in solving problems in society, business and other fields,” Grueskin said. “We want to be sure that the Brown Institute is relevant to the challenges journalists face and that we produce genuinely useful research, tools and training in the years to come.”

Sophomore guard Anthony Brown's 11 points helped Stanford end a three-game losing streak on Thursday, as the Cardinal improved to 12-1 on its home court with a convincing 68-44 win over Arizona State. (MIKE KHEIR/The Stanford Daily)

With the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament looming, the Stanford Cardinal (16-6, 6-4 Pac-12) is one of the many teams on the bubble. With a 68-team field, many talented teams will surely be left out. A win here or a loss there could decide the Card’s fate, making nearly every game a must-win. This was Stanford’s mindset going into Thursday night’s matchup against the Arizona State Sun Devils (7-15, 3-7) in front of the Cardinal’s home crowd at Maples Pavilion, as it blew the Sun Devils out, 68-44.

Things didn’t start out smoothly for Stanford, however, as it fell behind 12-7 on a Chris Colvin three-point jumper with 13:48 left in the first half.

That lead wouldn’t last long for Arizona State, as sophomore guard Anthony Brown started heating up. Brown finished the night with 11 points off the bench, all of which came in the last 6:38 of the first half. He went 3-of-5 from the three-point line during this stretch and added an outside jumper. This included a three as the shot clock expired with just seven seconds left in the first half, giving Stanford a 28-20 lead going into the break.

This would prove to be all the momentum the Cardinal needed, as it would not fall behind again. A pair of threes from sophomore guard Aaron Bright and a jumper by senior forward Josh Owens had Stanford up 14 just two minutes into the second half. This would be part of a massive 16-1 run for the Cardinal, which put the team up 44-23 with 13:27 remaining in the second half. That early deficit was completely forgotten, as Stanford was now firing on all cylinders.

The Cardinal continued to run the table, overwhelming the Sun Devils with explosive offensive attacks and shutdown defense. Behind the stellar play of young guards Bright and freshman Chasson Randle, the Stanford offense looked like a well-oiled machine. The Cardinal distributed the ball well, recording 14 assists against only four for Arizona State. This allowed everyone to get into the act, as Stanford had a very balanced scoring attack.

A pair of free throws from senior forward Andrew Zimmerman gave Stanford a 27-point lead, its biggest of the game, with 2:12 on the clock. The Cardinal would close out the game, giving the squad a much-needed win.

Bright led the way for Stanford, scoring 16 points to go along with four assists. Randle pitched in with 14 points as well. The young guards have been key to Stanford’s offense this year, giving the fans reason to believe that they have a good couple of years in store. Still, they have their eyes set on making a run this season.

After a rough stretch, this win puts Stanford right back into the Pac-12 mix. The Cardinal trails the Washington Huskies, who are 8-2 in the Pac-12, by just two games, with eight left on the schedule.

On Saturday, Stanford will welcome Arizona (15-8, 6-4) into Maples, and both teams will be looking to get back-to-back wins and get back into the heart of the Pac-12 conference race.

On Thursday, the Wildcats’ 78-74 upset victory over Cal pushed them to just two games behind conference leader Washington and into a tie with Stanford in the conference standings at 6-4.

If the Cardinal hopes to upset the Wildcats, its number-one goal will be to slow down junior forward Solomon Hill, who leads the team in just about every offensive category. The 6-foot-6 Hill averages 12.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, just outpacing senior guard Kyle Fogg’s 12.0 points per game and senior forward Jesse Perry’s 11.6 points per game.

A win for either team would be a significant boost for the second half of the conference season, as the Cardinal and Wildcats are part of a herd of six teams that trail Washington by three or fewer games in the Pac-12. In a conference with so much parity and probably only one or two NCAA Tournament bids on the line, every win over a quality opponent is critical.

The Cardinal and Wildcats tip off this Saturday at noon at Maples Pavilion.

Courtesy of Young the Giant

Three years ago, Sameer Gadhia ‘11 was a typical parent’s dream — a smart kid studying Human Biology at Stanford, getting involved in his spare time by singing in Talisman and enjoying Greek life in Sigma Nu. And then, like all nerdy Stanford students with vague aspirations of medical school, Gadhia did what any of them would do: drop out and become a rock star.

The Irvine, Calif., native is the frontman of Orange County band  Young the Giant who have been gaining more and more traction with the modern alt-rock sheen of their self-titled debut. 2011 was a stellar breakout year for them with performances on “The Tonight Show” and the MTV Video Music Awards, which Gadhia sees as only the beginning.

“You know, I’m very, very happy and very lucky that we’ve been put in this situation,” he said. “But we hope that this isn’t the climax or the peak for us.”

In fact, when it comes to singling out a particular “we’ve made it” moment, Gadhia doesn’t even consider his band’s high profile gigs.

“It’s just [to] be able to travel around the world and play shows to people that we’ve never seen or met, who don’t even speak our language,” Gadhia said. “We can’t speak theirs, but we can connect through the songs.”

However, he doesn’t discount their August showing at the VMAs. The band was joined by fans onstage as they closed out the ceremony with their galloping anthem “My Body.” The post-VMA boost was immediately evident when the group saw themselves trending on Twitter.

Now, the band formerly known as the Jakes is hoping to begin another banner year by launching their second headlining tour next week at the Fillmore in San Francisco. This is their first foray into the big leagues, stepping up from small-capacity venues to a full production. Twenty-nine out of their scheduled 45 shows are already sold-out.

It’s a lot to take in for a group of guys who have been playing together since adolescence. Though big mainstream fame and success seem imminent for them, in many ways, the members of Young the Giant are your typical young 20-somethings experiencing the real world for the first time and trying to carve out a career. They all live together in a big house in Los Angeles and are still subject to everyday annoyances like rent — though they’ll return to the vagabond lifestyle as soon as they hit the road. Despite spending inordinate amounts of time together as housemates and bandmates, the fivesome never get sick of one another.

“It’s strange because we hang out 24/7,” Gadhia admitted. “We’re very close — we’ll do four months on the road and then we’ll come back home for a little bit, and you know, maybe we’ll spend a day or two with families, but in two days, we’ll just start calling each other again to hang out [laughs], and so it’s never really done for us.”

Gadhia’s excited for the tour launch in San Francisco since, outside of minor appearances in events like Not So Silent Night, the band hasn’t played a real Bay Area show in a while. He’ll also be close to the Farm, where he would’ve been toting a degree from by now if he hadn’t left. However, Gadhia has no regrets about putting his studies on hold.

“I think when I was at Stanford, I was a little confused like a lot of Stanford students are as to what I wanted to major in,” he said. “I was doing HumBio, but I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. It’s really been helping me out, just being able to experience real life and seeing what it’s like now that everything is really going okay.”

Gadhia insists he’ll finish his education someday, a notion that can grant his beleaguered parents some rest. Though Mr. and Mrs. Gadhia have come to accept their son’s lifestyle, that’s not to say they wouldn’t get behind him tossing away the mic for a degree.

“If I went to med school, they’d be ecstatic,” Gadhia laughed. “I think at this point, their expectations have been dumbed down a lot. I think, when I was at Stanford, it was more like ‘yeah you should go to med school’ like they wanted to push me, but now it’s like ‘just fucking graduate, just fucking graduate, please.’”

But for now, Gadhia’s heart is in the studio and on the stage — doing the Wacky Walk in Stanford Stadium will have to wait.

After Stanford withdrew from the competition for a tech campus in New York, administrators and faculty maintain that the $3 million Stanford spent on the proposal was not wasted, and that Stanford gained much valuable experience from the venture.

Until mid-December last year, Stanford administrators were eager to list the benefits that would come from building a campus in New York–not only would it bring Stanford’s name and entrepreneurial culture to the East Coast, but it would also allow Stanford to expand the undergraduate population by an estimated 400 students and give Stanford students the chance to study and work in New York. But now that Stanford has withdrawn from the competition, what, if anything, has Stanford gained from over a year’s worth of hard work and $3 million spent on the proposal?

The process of considering what a remote campus would look like was a crucial exercise for Stanford, according to Jim Plummer, dean of the School of Engineering.

“The fundamental question that drove all of this is, what is a research university in the 21st century going to look like?” Plummer said. “Can we be geographically distributed? Should we be? To what degree is distance education going to be a solution? So I actually think that while we’re sorry we didn’t win, the impact on Stanford will still be pretty profound because of the thought process that we went through and the ideas that were generated.”

Provost John Etchemendy also noted that while Stanford has been “constantly approached by institutions, individuals and countries asking…for us to start up a campus,” this is the first time that Stanford has seriously considered working out all the detailed logistics of designing a remote campus.

“We became very clear in our own minds under what circumstances it would make sense to do a remote campus, and that was something that we needed to think through,” Etchemendy said.

In this case, Stanford decided that the risks involved with building a New York campus would be too great to take on.

While some students objected to the lack of campus-wide consultation in the initial stages of the competition process, all the students interviewed by The Daily agreed that the experience was valuable.

“I think it was definitely worth looking into,” said material science and engineering graduate student Scott Himmelberger Ph.D. ‘15. “I think a lot of universities are starting to do that and are going to do so more in the future.”

Himmelberger wrote a letter to the editor in October expressing his support for the project.

“I guess you could just see this as a new venture that Stanford was experimenting with and they were testing the waters,” says Alyson Yamada ‘12, president of Stanford Women in Engineering. “Stanford teaches its students to be entrepreneurial like that…practice what you preach, right?”

Stanford has also enhanced its reputation and raised its profile on the East Coast by participating in the competition, said University spokesperson Lisa Lapin.

“From my standpoint, as a public relations official who cares a lot about Stanford’s reputation, we had positive press and attention from February to December,” Lapin noted. “There was nobody in NYC who didn’t know about it, and there was very broad, widespread acceptance of Stanford on the East Coast. A marketing campaign…would have cost us 20 times the proposal.”

Stanford’s reputation may have been bruised by the withdrawal and subsequent press speculation that Stanford was unprepared for the tough negotiation style of New York, but Sharath Chandra, a New York entrepreneur and founder of startup company My Memory Lane, said he believes that any negative effects will not be long-lasting.

“Residents here are asking what really happened, and it’s easy to blame the one that’s farther away, [but] I don’t think it’ll change what Stanford stands for, beyond the short term,” Chandra said.

Within individual departments on campus that would have been involved with the tech campus, there are varying assessments of how much was gained from the bid.

The School of Engineering had put together a proposal for a class on sustainable urban environments, which would use New York as its testing ground. While the course cannot take place in Palo Alto in the same way, the School of Engineering is hoping to adapt the idea so that a similar course can be held focusing on nearby cities.

“The ideas can well live on without the physical presence of the city,” Plummer said.

Computer Science Department representatives said, on the other hand, that they did not feel their department had benefited in any concrete way.

“I think the whole process was not a bad exercise, and we had a lot of fun talking about it,” said Department Chair Jennifer Widom, though she added that most of the department talks had to do with logistics and faculty hiring and would not be applicable to the future of the department’s work on campus.

Jordan Shapiro contributed to this report.

The three-week seminars, which are capped at an enrollment of 15 students each, will take students to Brazil, India, the Netherlands, Tanzania and Turkey. Applications for the seminars were due at 11:59 p.m. this past Sunday, Jan. 29.

BOSP Director Robert Sinclair said the ratio of applications to particular sites is much higher this round than compared to what it has been in previous years. He credits pent-up demand for the seminars, this year’s chosen locations and leading faculty for the increase.

Bing Overseas Studies Program (BOSP) received over 460 applications for its 2012-13 Overseas Seminars this summer. (OLLIE KHAKWANI/The Stanford Daily)

“I think the message is clear that this is a very popular program amongst the students and there’s a high demand for it,” Sinclair said.

According to Sinclair, BOSP has already sent a funding request to the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education for eight seminars in 2013-14 and may submit one or two more for the following year.

“We wanted to provide opportunities for students complementary to the regular quarter-long programs, and so we identified locations that would do that and provide new opportunities for students,” Sinclair said.

The Istanbul seminar, titled, “City of Empires: History, Memory and Global Experience in Eastern Mediterranean,” received 155 applicants, making it the most popular choice among students. The seminar will be Stanford’s first study abroad opportunity in the Middle East.

Ali Yaycioglu, history professor and leader of the Istanbul seminar, said there is a growing interest in the Middle East on campus. Yaycioglu said he is excited to share the city with his students while exploring it from a historical and anthropological perspective.

“We are going to see how one of the most historically complicated cities of the world is functioning and operating in postmodern times of global expansion and global finance,” Yaycioglu said.

Students participating in the Istanbul trip will get a chance to showcase photographs, writings and sketches from the trip in an exhibit currently being planned for this coming fall quarter.

Yaycioglu added that since Koc University is providing some accommodations for the trip, both Stanford and Koc will gain a lot through the mutual exposure.

“It goes beyond just Overseas Seminars. For us it shows the interest of the student body towards certain geography, culture and issues,” Yaycioglu said.

Marília Librandi-Rocha, assistant professor of Brazilian literature and culture and leader of the Brazil seminar, wrote in an email to The Daily that long-term benefits apply to her class, as well.

“I believe that besides the exact number of applicants, Stanford University is looking ahead: Brazil is an important new partner and this is the right moment to firm a connection [sic],” Librandi-Rocha said. “Brazil’s growing investments in education and in technology need Stanford knowledge. Both parts have a lot to gain.”

Fifty-seven students applied to the “Rio de Janeiro: A Cultural History” seminar.

For Robert Siegel, associate professor of microbiology and immunology and leader of “Issues of Development in Northern Tanzania,” the hardest part will be selecting 15 participants from the 79 applicants for his seminar. Nevertheless, Siegel is still looking forward to leading this trip again after having done so six years ago.

“I think for a lot of the students there’s an excitement to be able to experience Africa — particularly East Africa — and the culture there,” Siegel said. “I think a lot of students are interested in the topic of development.”

Music Professor Mark Applebaum will offer “The Amsterdam Trans-Idiomatic Arts Practicum in the Netherlands.” Thomas Hansen, Sharika Thiranagama and Sangeeta Mediratta will lead students in “Minority as Cultural Form in South Asia” in New Delhi and Mumbai, India.

Respectively, 122 and 54 students applied to the seminars.

According to Sinclair, the students will be notified of final acceptance decisions on March 2. Faculty will have until then to review the applications and host interviews if they wish, but the criteria for selecting students is still up to the discretion of each individual faculty member.

Sinclair said he is very excited to be offering the program once again.

“We’ve worked hard to provide this new opportunity, and it’s terrific for us to see the response,” Sinclair said. “We would like in turn to respond to that level of support and provide increasing opportunities over the years for students.”

“If this trend continues, we will be producing generations of narrow technically-trained workers rather than complete citizens who can think for themselves, criticize tradition and authority and understand the significance of another person’s suffering and achievements,” Nussbaum added.

Nussbaum, who is a professor of law and ethics at the University of Chicago, spoke about the implications of the narrow, technical education students are receiving in many countries. She is author of the book, “Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities.”

American philosopher Martha Nussbaum addressed a Stanford audience Thursday night about the need for open-minded and ethical thinking to address social issues of the 21st century. (IAN GARCIA-DOTY/The Stanford Daily)

Nussbaum emphasized that democracies need citizens with well-rounded educations. She said that courses in the humanities teach citizens the needed, “ability to deliberate well–the ability to think about the good of nation as a whole, not just one’s group.”

Debra Satz, director of the Center for Ethics in Society and senior associate dean for humanities and arts at Stanford, introduced Nussbaum, emphasizing how Stanford is also concerned about the state of the humanities.

Satz noted that enrollment in humanities courses has “fallen on hard times.”

“It makes sense to re-gauge our priorities,” she added.

Satz also noted that in England and India, the humanities are seen by students and administrators as a luxury. She noted that there are pressures to make classes larger and teaching more cost-effective.

Nussbaum emphasized how the thinking about economic development must change to accommodate a broader education view.

“What does it mean for a nation to advance, to improve its quality of life?” Nussbaum asked.

While noting that some developmental models emphasize GDP, she warned that such an emphasis, “doesn’t take into account social equality, equality of race, gender relations and other aspects such as health and education.”

Nussbaum agreed with Indian educator Rabindranath Tagore, the first Indian winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, that “history has come to a stage when the moral man and the complete man is more and more giving way…to the commercial man, the man of limited purpose.”

Nussbaum also said, “students should learn the rudiments of world history and should get understanding of major world religions.”

She noted that, “learning how to see another human being not as a thing, but as a full person is not an automatic achievement.”

Nussbaum added that enhanced education in the humanities will “refine the ability to think.”

Many in the audience who spoke with The Daily agreed with Nussbaum’s sentiments.

“What Nussbaum is saying has a lot of resonance with what Stanford is trying to achieve in education,” said Tom Dougherty, a post-doctoral scholar in Ethics in Society. “We have a responsibility to think about how we’re going to make sure that those values get achieved outside the classroom and on the campus. It needs commitment from the individuals–both the teachers and the students need to be involved–it can’t be top-down. We need to have individual students and teachers making sure that the university experience turns students into great citizens.”

Nussbaum’s talk was sponsored by the Center for Ethics in Society at Stanford.

The truth is, the clock was actually a full 12 hours off, as well.

Gibson Anderson ‘67, a Bonair Siding employee who volunteers to fix the clock when necessary, noticed that the chimes set to sound each morning on the quarter-hour had not been going off. Anderson came to campus Thursday afternoon to check on the clock and realized that it was running off by a half day.

Gibson Anderson ‘67, a Bonair Siding employee who volunteers to fix the Stanford Clock Tower when necessary, noticed the clock was 12 hours off on Thursday afternoon. Anderson will finish recalibrating the Clock Tower this afternoon. (IAN GARCIA-DOTY/The Stanford Daily)

Anderson began to fix the clock around 5 p.m., accounting for the numerous cycles of the Westminster chimes and the fast-moving hands observers heard and saw on the clock yesterday afternoon. Anderson will return today, having been unable to continue working after sunset.

“The clock hasn’t been maintained in a while because the Ph.D. student doing that finished his degree and went to Europe,” Anderson chuckled.

“But what he would do is come in every now and then to check on the clock and either add or take away weights to fine-tune the pendulum,” Anderson said, motioning toward some small metal chips on top of the clock’s pendulum.

In accordance with Jane Stanford’s request, the Seth Thomas Clock Company, at the time one of two leading tower clock makers built the clock in 1901, Anderson said.

The clock was originally housed in Memorial Church; however, when a 1906 earthquake hit campus, the clock was not replaced. Instead, it was held temporarily near the church.

Then, in 1983, William Kimball, an alumnus of Stanford University, donated enough money to build a clock tower at the corner of Escondido and Lasuen Malls, right next to the “Circle of Death,” where it remains today. The face of the original clock is on the inside of the clock tower.

“At some point, the Mechanical Engineering Department took over,” Anderson said. “There was some minor damage on the clock, but the engineering department did some really great renovation to it. You can’t even notice it,” Anderson continued, pointing down at the pendulum, “but the pendulum was changed as well.”

One of the major problems with such large timepieces is the fluctuation in the swing of the pendulum due to changes in the temperature, Anderson said. Heat would cause the metal in the pendulum to expand.

So in 1997, the pendulum was replaced with a new one that uses two kinds of metal. The metals expand in different directions at different rates, thereby leaving the length of the pendulum unchanged and temperature-compensated.

The clock still has to be wound up every four days, however. Three cranks are on one side of the gears, with one operating the time, one operating the hour intervals and the last operating the quarter intervals. On the other side are propellers, with blades set to a very specific slope in order to get just the right amount of air resistance to keep time.

A yellowed logbook lies at the ladder of the clock tower, where names, dates and the accuracy of the clock have been recorded. Until about Jan. 7, of this year, the clock had only been 10 to 15 seconds off the actual time. The clock is recalibrated according to an atomic clock, which lies in the corner of the bottom of the clock tower.

The clock was cleaned about two years ago–completely taken apart and put back together again–and every so often someone goes up the tower to clean the bells.

Today, the clock tower remains the most complete mechanical clock displayed in the Bay Area, telling time, ringing on the hour and chiming at every quarter. All the gears that run it are still the originals, except for one gear that was recast by the Engineering Department.

“A clock is nothing but a big gear. It’s all mechanical,” Anderson concluded. “The first mechanical clock was built in 1000 A.D., but there haven’t been any revolutionary changes in the creation of clocks. There have only been incremental changes in the making of clocks. The clock’s lost about a minute each week–that’s actually pretty good. For a big machine, this is as accurate as it’s going to get.”

Thursday, Jan. 26

A non-injury vehicle vs. vehicle collision occurred at 2:45 p.m. near the intersection of Campus Drive and Bonair Siding.

Somebody stole parts from a bike that was locked outside of Wallenberg Hall between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 27

A cable-locked bike was stolen from a rack outside of Crothers Memorial Hall between midnight and 6:30 a.m.

Somebody entered a common work area in the Green Earth Sciences building and stole a camera from the victim’s work area between 3 p.m. on Jan. 26 and 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 27.

A man was cited and released for resisting and delaying an officer at 9:10 a.m. near the intersection of Serra Mall and Galvez Street.

Saturday, Jan. 28

Somebody broke a sliding window for a large display in Building 200 by unknown means between 6:30 p.m. the previous night and 9:30 a.m.

An unknown suspect stole personal welding equipment from a fenced yard area of the Biology Greenhouse between 8 a.m. on Jan. 26 and 2:20 p.m. on Jan. 28.

Sunday, Jan. 29

A male was transported to the San Jose Main Jail and booked for driving under the influence near the intersection of Blackwelder Court and Escondido Road at 2 a.m.

Somebody attempted to steal a hat from the Stanford Bookstore, but when confronted immediately outside the store he returned the hat and left the premises. The incident took place between 2:10 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 30

A vehicle vs. vehicle collision, resulting in an injury, occurred at 8:19 a.m. near the intersection of Campus Drive and Bonair Siding.

Tuesday, Jan. 31

Somebody was transported to the San Jose Main Jail and booked on a warrant out of the Santa Clara Police Department at 1:45 a.m.

A male was cited and released for driving on a suspended license at 5:55 a.m. near the intersection of Campus Drive and Palm Drive.

A cable-locked bike was stolen from a rack near Parking Structure 5 between 6:20 p.m. the previous night and 8:45 a.m.

A male was cited and released on a bench warrant out of Bakersfield at 2:20 p.m.

A U-locked bike was stolen from a rack outside of Durand between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Three clutch three-pointers from freshman forward Taylor Greenfield, who finished with 10 points on the night, helped propel Stanford to a 62-49 win over second-place Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz. Thursday night. (MEHMET INONU/The Stanford Daily)

In the end, the Cardinal (18-1, 9-0 Pac-12) managed to pull out a 62-49 win over Arizona State (15-5, 6-3) thanks to a dominant performance from the Ogwumike sisters, but not before the Sun Devils pushed Stanford to the brink of its first conference defeat in over two years.

The Sun Devils, the second-best team in the Pac-12, got out to an early lead thanks to a solid start from center Kali Bennett, while both teams struggled to find net in the first half. A pair of three-pointers from Cardinal freshman forward Taylor Greenfield and eight points in the last six minutes of the half from senior forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike left the game tied at 28 at the half, though.

The pattern of sour shooting continued for both sides early in the second half, but Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike teamed up to score 10 points in the first six minutes of the half to give the Cardinal a 40-34 lead. That slim lead evaporated quickly when Sun Devil guard Micaela Pickens reeled off six straight points, including a steal of Nneka Ogwumike that led to a fast-break layup and tied the score at 40 with less than 12 minutes to go in the game.

Over the next five minutes though, the Ogwumike sisters and sophomore guard Toni Kokenis rose to the challenge with strong offense and dogged defense, as the trio added nine points to the Cardinal’s total before another Greenfield three-pointer made it 52-40 — snuffing out any upset hopes that the Sun Devils might have still had.

When all was said and done, the Cardinal’s sister act had put on a show once again, as Nneka finished with a team-high 22 points and 16 rebounds and sister Chiney added 20 points and 16 boards of her own. Greenfield added 10 points thanks to her three three-pointers, and Kokenis rounded out the Cardinal’s top scorers by contributing seven points of her own.

After a tough fight against the Sun Devils, Stanford’s road trip does get a little easier on Saturday. The Cardinal, which is still leading the Pac-12 thanks to a spotless conference record, plays Arizona (13-8, 2-7) on Saturday. While Arizona State was able to challenge the Cardinal, the story won’t likely be the same for the Wildcats, who are the worst team in the conference.

Arizona did start the season on a scorching run, going 12-2 in its first 14 games, but has stumbled to a 1-6 record since then. Junior guard Davellyn White paces the Wildcats with 18.2 points per game, followed by sophomores Candice Warthen and Erica Barnes, who add 12.8 and 12.3 points per game, respectively.

With a win over the Wildcats, the Cardinal would have wins against every team in the conference this season, an interesting feat in the first year of the Pac-12. The Cardinal is a near-lock to complete another perfect conference season and capture its 12th consecutive conference title.

Stanford and Arizona tip off their conference showdown at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Tempe, Ariz.

Sophomore heavyweight Dan Scherer, right, will face off against Arizona State All-American Levi Cooper in one of this weekend's best matches. (WENDING LU/The Stanford Daily)

This Friday’s match against Utah Valley (3-7, 0-3 Western Wrestling Conference) will be the final home event for the Cardinal this season. The Cardinal and Wolverines have wrestled two common opponents, Boise State and Chattanooga, and both teams beat Boise State but lost to Chattanooga. However, the Card wrestled a much closer match against Chattanooga and scored more points than the Wolverines against Boise State.

The two teams have also competed in two of the same tournaments: the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and the Midlands Championships. Stanford finished 25th at both tournaments without injured star Nick Amuchastegui, while Utah Valley finished 23rd in Las Vegas and 24th at Midlands.

Utah Valley comes into the dual with one ranked wrestler, No. 12 Josh Wilson at 149 pounds. The junior is 13-6 on the year, including a victory over Stanford junior Timmy Boone at the Las Vegas Invitational by a score of 3-2.

The California Collegiate Open will take place at San Francisco State University. Wrestlers who are redshirting are allowed to wrestle in the tournament but will wrestle unattached, meaning that their wins will not contribute to the team score. This will likely be the final opportunity for most freshmen to compete in matches this season.

Finally, Stanford will end the regular season on Sunday at struggling Arizona State (6-10, 2-2 Pac-12). The Sun Devils’ only win in 2012 was a seven-point victory over Cal State-Bakersfield. Prior to Sunday’s win over Bakersfield, the Sun Devils had lost seven duals in a row.

Arizona State doesn’t have any ranked wrestlers, but Stanford will have some tough matches come Sunday. Sun Devil senior 174-pounder Eric Starks finished third last year in the Pac-12 Tournament and qualified for the NCAAs, though he shouldn’t give Amuchastegui much trouble. Amuchastegui hasn’t wrestled many close matches this season and has blown out multiple ranked opponents.

Sun Devil heavyweight Levi Cooper is an All-American, so he should have a good match against Cardinal sophomore Dan Scherer, who is unranked but has put together a very strong season.

Stanford is coming off a tough loss to top-15 Oregon State, so the squad needs to bounce back this weekend. The Cardinal’s wrestlers will need to build on their strong second half of the season in the final weekend before the postseason.

 
UCLA (3-1, 2-1) fell to Washington, a team Stanford beat by 0.200 points in its second meet of the season, for its first loss of the season last Friday. Last season, UCLA was the defending NCAA champion and had lofty expectations heading into 2011. However, after losing to the Cardinal in its opening meet of the season, the Bruins would go on to lose to Stanford two more times before beating them in the Pac-10 Championships.

Stanford’s meet against Oregon State was its first road test of the season, and it looked as though not being at home may have fazed the Cardinal gymnasts, as the team posted a season-low 194.525. This score included a 47.950 on beam, the only event score below 48.000 for Stanford on the season, as senior Alyssa Brown’s career-best of 9.925 was not enough to make up for the team’s three falls on the event before her. Head coach Kristen Smyth attributed the Cardinal’s struggles in large part to the amount of pressure in the hostile atmosphere, but hoped the women would be better prepared for that in the future.

Sunday could potentially mark the official collegiate debut of sophomore Amanda Spinner. Despite never having competed in an official collegiate meet due to six knee surgeries throughout her career, Spinner is a captain and leader of the team. Spinner scored a 9.625 out of a possible 9.8 in an exhibition routine at Oregon State and the Cardinal hopes she can come in and contribute right away, especially due to the health problems that have plagued the team recently.

The Cardinal and the Bruins face off Sunday in Los Angeles at 12:30 p.m.

Not only is it amazing that the Cardinal is bringing in the best class in school history, but it’s also amazing that Stanford did it without any of the things that would have appealed most to recruits 13 months ago: the chance to be coached by Jim Harbaugh (and his enthusiasm, previously unknown to mankind), the opportunity to play alongside all-but-assured first overall pick Andrew Luck and the likelihood of ending up at a BCS bowl next season.

I can’t say whether the coaching staff’s sales pitch has changed, but Stanford now has quite different laurels to rest on: David Shaw’s soft-spoken confidence and deep Cardinal heritage, the appeal of a somewhat anonymous life on the Farm and an undeniably world-class education. All those things had to have weighed heavily on the Class of 2012’s minds, and all seem much more permanent than a coach who belonged in the NFL, a star quarterback whose college career eventually had to end and an always-unpredictable shot at an upper-tier postseason berth.

So as you look at Stanford’s 12th-ranked recruiting class, with its three top-10 offensive linemen, host of potential defensive playmakers, dynamic group of receivers and well-fathered running back, all of whom are coming to the Farm from around the country for the things that have defined the school since its inception, you’ve just got to ask: has Stanford football turned a corner for the long run?

When people talk about the Cardinal’s conversion from Pac-10 doormat to national contender over the past few years, usually they bring up toughness, a blue-collar work ethic, renovated facilities and better coaching. But of everything that’s changed, the one thing that few people acknowledge is the recruits themselves. Their transformation — or, rather, the transformation in how they view Stanford — is why this recruiting class was so strong, and it’s also why Stanford’s going to be a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future.

First, there’s the issue of the “anonymity” of Cardinal student-athletes, who enjoy getting lost in the crowd of Nobel laureates, cutting-edge researchers and successful entrepreneurs who call the Farm home. Barry Sanders admitted that it was an important (though exaggerated) consideration in choosing Stanford. But you know what? Cardinal student-athletes were just as anonymous — if not more so — five or 10 years ago, when the football program was struggling to stay afloat. It seems like this only became a consideration in the last year or so, when Andrew Luck became a national figure. But many recruits have taken notice, and Stanford is reaping the rewards of that recognition.

On the other hand, I’m not sure that many linemen have to deal with the attention a star like Luck would garner. There have got to be are other reasons why high-quality players are flocking to Stanford. The appeal of academics is one likely suspect, but again, Stanford was never really outperformed by Division I schools in that category.

It’s safe to say that the attention Stanford has earned during the Harbaugh-Gerhart-Luck era is carrying over just enough to bring in top athletes and fuel this recruiting push for the time being. Yet the Cardinal’s prospects still look good for the long run.

Stanford’s entrance requirements have long been considered the limiting factor for the football team’s success. When recruiting season comes around, it’s hard to miss coaches being quoted as saying something along the lines of, “There are only a few dozen good players in the country who could possibly get in here, and it’s our job to find them.”

Fair enough. But why, then, are those academically inclined recruits all of a sudden showing up at the top of the ESPNU 150?
Shaw seemed to hint at the answer after the class was announced. “Every single offer that we make and everything that we tell all of these guys is that the offer is contingent on their admission to Stanford,” he told ESPN.

Stanford coaches are known to start the recruiting process early, working with guidance counselors and prospective Cardinal athletes to make sure that the recruit has the necessary test scores and grades to make it to the Farm. Qualifying for Stanford admission is a lot of work in and of itself, and if you’re a top-tier football recruit with offers from a bunch of top-tier football schools, you might not be inclined to put in the effort.

Unless, of course, Stanford is a top-tier football school. For the past two or three years, that’s what it’s been.

If Sanders and the incoming offensive linemen live up to expectations, the Cardinal is still going to be consistently ranked for the next few years. And if the pieces fall into place, you’re looking at a potential BCS bowl berth in 2014. Stanford has drastically outperformed its recruiting rankings recently; can you imagine if the coaching staff can pull that off again, but with a top-15 group?

All the Cardinal has to do is remain in the national conversation for the next few years. Then high-caliber recruits will keep working hard in school, keep getting admitted to Stanford, keep coming to the Farm.

And keep winning here.

 Joseph Beyda was so bummed to find out that Barry Sanders never had a nickname that he’s determined to find a good one for Barry J. Sanders. Send him your ideas for a good sobriquet at jbeyda@stanford.edu.

Eight of the schools on the list are characterized in one markedly different way: unlike Stanford, they are small, liberal arts colleges that do not function as research powerhouses or institutions serving graduate students. Slightly more similar to Stanford are the two universities on the list: Brown and the University of Chicago. So what might differentiate the intellectual institution from its non-intellectual counterpart? Given that universities are comprised of self-selected student bodies – for example, some students might shy away from the unofficial slogan that the University of Chicago is “where fun goes to die” – certain characteristics might distinguish the typical (if that term can be used) Stanford student from a more “intellectual” student.

One possible difference highlights the divergence of intellectual and practical. Some might be quick to suggest that subjects in the humanities are more intellectual, and Stanford’s renown in engineering, science and social sciences attracts students preparing for delineated professional careers. Of course, another set of recent rankings provided by the Times Higher Education places the Humanities at Stanford at number two in the world.

Another possibility is location. Some students who choose to go to school within Silicon Valley seek almost immediate employment and immersion in an entrepreneurial environment. And other students who seek a different experience may then shy away.

None of this is to say that Stanford lacks intellectual character. Clearly, Stanford undergraduates cannot be lumped into one category or affixed with one large label. There are surely many students in the Philosophy Department who would gladly debate Nietzsche with students from the University of Chicago. Moreover, the kinds of learning we consider to be “intellectual” are part of an arbitrary, fluid category.

Stanford has another slightly different priority in the form of athletics. The front page of yesterday’sStanford Daily did, after all, devote itself to a story on the top recruiting class in Stanford football history (“Best Class Ever,” Feb. 2). Other statistics have cited that, were Stanford its own country, it would rank quite highly on the list of countries that have amassed the most medals in the Olympics. In contrast, both the University of Chicago and Brown do not boast particularly impressive athletics records.

Whether it is seen as an “intellectual” institution or not, Stanford certainly offers a wide variety of experiences to its undergraduates. The diverse nature of the student body, the activities available to it and the variety of academic focuses promoted by Stanford enable any undergraduate to make what they will of their undergraduate years. And while you may raise a few eyebrows with a conversation about Nietzsche at Tresidder Student Union, there is certainly still the possibility that someone will engage with you.

Courtesy of Columbia Records

Though the god Apollo has blessed us with the likes of Adele and Mumford & Sons, the musical world has seen its darker days. When clouds gather and Kanye starts to think he can sing or Taylor Swift performs live, there’s only one remedy to the noise — indulging in the classics. The following list of music videos, from classic rock to straight bizarre, runs the gambit from guilty pleasure to prime quality. Whatever your musical preference, no one can deny a boogying Christopher Walken.

“Africa” — Toto

Unverified fact: Stanford houses the piano used in this music video.

Toto’s saccharine tale of longing and nostalgia probably has little to do with most Stanford students, even those freshmen still condemned to harried, long-distance relationships. The song narrates the pining for “the rains down in Africa,” taken as literally or as sexually explicitly as the listener desires. Meanwhile, the video’s plot pairs shots of a researching safari man, an astute looking black woman and a miniature band performing on the cover of a book entitled “Africa.” Close-ups of a globe, specifically of Africa, remind us that Toto’s “Africa” not only provides us with a brilliant image of the ’80s take on international relations and otherness, but also makes us wonder if there actually is anything more to Africa than maps, primal masks and safari men — all included in this video. The jingle will not escape your mind and soon, you too will miss the rains.

“The Universal” — Blur

The entrancing violin that strings along through “The Universal” sets the tone for Blur’s most self-aware piece: unnerving calm. In a tribute to Stanley Kubrick’s rendition of “A Clockwork Orange”, the band casts itself as the droogs with Damon Albarn as its haunting leader. Albarn performs with a sense of drama and theatricality fit for any of Shakespeare’s fools. The modern setting, bedecked in cool whites, blues and scorching reds, contains miniature plotlines of its own. A seductive vamp peers from a crowd of men; the Red man and pedantic gawker converse while a priest and young man laugh. As discontentment brews outside, the plot thickens and ends with a silenced bang. “The Universal” will add in nicely to any cinephile’s or optimist’s collection.

“Weapon of Choice” — Fatboy Slim

Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice” flows like a dream, if the kind of dreams one has contain bounding and twirling Christopher Walken. Walken, dressed as a deflated businessman, ostensibly hears Fatboy Slim’s invigorating track and begins to prance and bop around a deserted hotel. The surprisingly agile actor taps on tables and sashays through corridors, fulfilling the adult version of “Home Alone.”

Courtesy of Columbia Records

“Total Eclipse of the Heart” — Bonnie Tyler

This classic rock hit surfaces everywhere from the “Glee” ensemble’s cover to oldies radio stations, and it still hasn’t lost its cheesy ‘80s niche. The delicate crooning and melancholic piano create a sincere love ballad, jiving awkwardly with the visuals presented in this iconic work. Tyler’s memorable video does better without description, only faith in the wonders of ‘80s music video making and the desire to witness a pastiche of visuals set to classic rock. There’s a reason why it topped VH1’s list of “most cheesetastic” music videos.

And in case you’ve been riding the Grammy wave, check out Nicki Minaj’s latest foray into the crazy.

 “Stupid Hoe” — Nicki Minaj

Though VEVO quite readily brags that Nicki Minaj’s newest video “clocked 4.8 million views, the highest single-video VEVO number in 24 hours EVER!” the video plays like an epileptic nightmare of disjointed scenes over a track equally inane and garbled in the many personas of Nicki Minaj. Hype Williams, the mad hatter of the hip hop music video world, manages to match the audio energy with the frenetic editing, but the harmony ends there. Bizarre — albeit expected — shots of Minaj accompany superimposed star graphics fit for ‘90s computer games. A caged Minaj in cheetah accents interplays with shots of — you guessed it! — a caged cheetah, while another Minaj plays the innocent child with visual distortion reminiscent of Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” Minaj’s lyrics equal the music in quality and pace, especially with the last line, “I am the female Weezy.” The pronouncement comes not so much as a shock or incredible claim, but as a sad realization for the state of Young Money Entertainment. Here’s hoping Drake steps it up.

Courtesy of Nike

The idea of loving Kanye West, Kobe Bryant or Aziz Ansari isn’t foreign. But when you put them all together alongside the bests of business and entertainment, in the most dapper of duds and wrapped in self-satirizing Illuminati pretension, that just tickles our fancy into a whole new arena of idolization. We love Nike’s ad campaign: the KobeSystem.

After watching half a dozen of these videos — minute-long YouTube promotions released by nikebasketball– still not quite sure what they’re advertising. Premised around a fictional seminar taught by Kobe Bryant on achieving success beyond success, this unabashedly absurd mini-mini-series showcases the best in the business, in the broadest celebrity-sweeping marketing move since the telethon.

The first installment, “Welcome to the #KobeSystem” introduces the situation and characters, who are all at the top of their games in their respective fields: Leehom Wang (Chinese megastar), Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Airlines) and Aziz Ansari (comedian). Kobe promises the answer to the conundrum of where to go if you╒re at the top: over the top!

Courtesy of Nike

A clever logo, visually and metaphorically reminiscent of Mason iconography, adorns each member to the Kobe clan, and Kobe╒s ridiculous black and yellow (blackandyellow) track suit sets the color scheme for the logo and product as well. I think it might be basketball shoes? I can’t be sure.

Following the pilot, later episodes reveal different “levels” of the Kobe System, each ostensibly offering some didactic commentary on varying areas of success, in sports and in life. Of the seven levels released (so far), my favorite, hands down, comes from “Kanye West: Level 6 Beastion”. In 32 succulent seconds, Kanye proves he has the attitude (and maybe even acting skills) to please in any arena. And whoever wrote this cryptic scene has a knack for capturing that alluring sense of enigma while simultaneously parodying the modern trend of blind adulation. And therein lies the secret juice to these sweet videos: They exude pretension, and at the same time, slap it in the face.

The absurdity seeps off the screen, but like some meta-viewing phenomenon, only the truly keen will grasp it in full. The culturally inclined will laugh, bros and basketball freaks will bump fists, but only the critical cognoscenti will appreciate this work for its comedy and artistry. Facetiously celebrating indulgence and elitism — products of hard work rather than passive inheritance, mind you — makes a refreshing return to the world of advertising, where in recent months general opprobrium and one percent-directed detesting has dominated the airwaves. And whatever it is that the #KobeSystem advertises will probably do great in sales — it even has its own hashtag.

Courtesy of CBS Films

In his first big screen, post-“Harry Potter” role, Daniel Radcliffe trades wizard robes for Victorian coattails in director James Watkins’ “The Woman in Black.” Adapted from Susan Hill’s gothic novel of the same name, the lackluster thriller thrives on cheap scares, but never quite manages to tap into the pathos of the story about a family’s dark secret.

Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) is a young, widowed lawyer forced to leave his son behind in London on a weekend visit to the countryside in order to settle the estate of a recently deceased client. Plagued by memories of his wife, who died during childbirth, Arthur’s inner demons are no match for what he soon discovers in the dreary town of Crythin Gifford, where the reticent locals make no effort to conceal their displeasure at his arrival.

At the aptly named Eel Marsh House, a secluded estate accessible only during low tide, Arthur begins sifting through the late Drabslow family’s personal effects. He gradually pieces together their tragic story, beginning with the untimely death of little Nathaniel Drabslow, who drowned in the marsh surrounding the house and was never found. Predictably, strange things begin to appear around the abandoned house, yet they are not enough to deter Arthur from doing his job.

With the help of Sam (Ciarán Hinds), the only person in town who doesn’t seem to mind his presence, Arthur gets closer to solving the mystery connecting both the Drabslow family’s fate and the mysterious deaths that plague the town’s children. The only question is whether he can remedy the situation in time to save his own son.

While Radcliffe is arguably a much better actor when not portraying a boy wizard carrying the weight of the magical world on his shoulders, even with a suit and five o’clock shadow he does not quite make a plausible father. But fortunately, scenes with Arthur and his son are sparse, and instead Radcliffe grapples for most of the film with balancing the pesky combination of terror and compassion that the genre demands.

On that note, “The Woman in Black” is filled with well-timed little scares sure to keep audiences on the edge of their seats, but in general relies too much on gimmicky shots (the cinematographer seems to have a penchant for close-ups of creepy dolls) to make much of a lasting impression. Watkins is clearly adept at building suspense, but the overall effect is often sabotaged by silly-seeming dissonant elements, such as a grieving mother who spoon-feeds her two small dogs at the table in lieu of babies. At other times, the mood is disrupted by unintentionally humorous moments.

Most viewers probably won’t see the shocking conclusion coming, but unfortunately, by that point it’s moot. The identity of the titular woman in black is the story’s trump card, and once it’s out on the table, little else is offered to keep the viewer engaged.

MEHMET INONU/The Stanford Daily

People who complain about how much music sucks today need look no further than Wilco to have their arguments squashed. While other bands have shot to superstardom and either flamed out or comfortably nestled in mediocrity, the Chicago-based band has steadily chugged along, sneakily becoming one of the most important American rock bands around. Despite that, the members of Wilco still maintain a relatively low profile. Five of the six guys are married and, when not on the road, frontman Jeff Tweedy leads a regular life as a middle-aged dad out in the suburbs of northern Chicago.

Over the course of nearly two decades, these regular-guy rock stars have cultivated a dedicated fan base that loyally turns out in droves for Tweedy and Co.’s live shows. Their show last Saturday night at the San Jose Civic Auditorium, where Wilco played the first of four sold-out Bay Area shows, was no exception. The crowd was an odd mix, dominated by older, longtime fans with younger, standard hipsters sprinkled in between.

Wilco kicked off the night with “One Sunday Morning,” the contemplative 12-minute closer of their newest record, “The Whole Love,” before kicking it up a couple notches with the frenetic, water-droplet sounds of “Art of Almost.” At 20 minutes into the set, the guys had only made it through two songs. Opening with the lengthy, elegiac “Morning” and following it up with the experimental “Almost” was a bold move that served as a further testament that, at this point in their career, Wilco’s all about the music. They’re willing to forgo conventions in favor of indulging fans with the intricacies of their craft. Just listen to the plaintive twinges of Nels Cline’s guitar during “Morning.”

MEHMET INONU/The Stanford Daily

Columns upon columns of knotted white fabric hung from the stage’s grating, which at first looked like the attempts of multiple inmates to escape from prison. However, the cloth caught the kaleidoscopic lights in unusual ways, immediately changing its effect from confounding to entrancing.

Wilco’s genre-melding career has spawned a diverse catalog, from the bluesy flair of “Side with the Seeds” to the twangy groove of “California Stars.” Fans stomped and sang along to old favorites, such as “Box Full of Letters” and “I’m Always in Love.” Tweedy and Co. only dipped into their seminal record “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” twice, with tender treatments of classics “Jesus, Etc.” and “War on War,” neither of which has lost its verve in the decade since they were first released.

The band banged out a respectable 23-song set, peppered here and there with self-deprecating banter and corny jokes from Tweedy. High points included the deceptively buoyant “Born Alone” and “Capitol City,” whose playful whimsy was balanced by the longing of Tweedy’s voice.

After whipping out flickering, four-part harmonies during “Whole Love” and the almost honky-tonk bounce of “Walken” in the encore, Wilco drew the night to a close with a whirlwind, energetic rendition of “I’m A Wheel.”

Indie upstart White Denim opened for Wilco with a brief set that started out with the achiness of a subpar Bon Iver, but eventually hit its stride when they let their funkiness emerge on “Keys.”

Courtesy of MCT

For most of my life and long before it began, video games struggled to break into the mainstream and gain status as a respectable art. And with good reason: rose-tinted glasses or not, even the gaming pioneers of the Ford-Carter years would surely admit that their little hobby was just that, a curious plaything more remarkable for simply working than for touching the heart or soul. The Atari and Intellivision era brought higher fidelity to the medium as it stonewalled its way into the American consciousness with heavy marketing campaigns. Development fervor exploded before anyone knew it, and quality control was a distant afterthought. Games were everywhere, and so were their dedicated, magazine-reading fans. But to the uninformed masses picking up a sleek-looking cartridge off the shelf, the chances of going home with something fun — or even non-embarrassing — were about the same as finding gold doubloons in a barrel of dead fish. Games were broken and shallow, and it wasn’t long before the novelty wore off for most Americans. The affair was over. That’s probably why there are still 20 truckloads of unsold “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial” cartridges for the Atari 2600 buried in Alamogordo, N.M.

R.I.P. Video Games, 1947-1983.

In the oft-retold miracle of the industry, of course, the arc of history has kindly turned most of the medium’s main obstacles into laughably false clichés. Games today are no more inherently shallow, vulgar or childish than any other brand of storytelling. But that very framework — seeing games as storytelling devices — is a vestigial descendant of that same misunderstanding that, back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, relegated games to the artistically impotent sideline of comics and anime in the first place. Despite expectations to the contrary, games aren’t inherently about stories, per se. They’re interactive experiences from which stories can sometimes emerge, whether they’re totally scripted or unique to every player.

When Nintendo reinvigorated American gamers in 1985, it made a smart decision. It put stories aside and made them entirely subservient to gameplay (it kills me to say it, but I suppose there’s a potential comparison to adult films there: focus on the good stuff). As it turned out, making games with gameplay in mind was a winning formula, and the most successful titles of the time basically didn’t have stories at all — Mario, Final Fantasy, Zelda and so on. They didn’t need to. By having only the most basic of premises, they also blazed the trail for one of the signatures of the medium — letting players tell their own story, in their mind, based on simple actions. That could’ve been the redemptive trait that games “needed,” at least for the mainstream consumer who would never have known it anyway. But much of the time, games stepped into what many people considered the sacred, story-driven province of books, film and theatre. That, of course, typically resulted in them being lambasted or ignored.

Today, the script has been reversed. Like one might’ve expected in 1985, people can sit down and watch their son or daughter play a game like Uncharted or Call of Duty (notice that I said watch) and have nearly the same experience as the person holding the controller. For better or worse, mainstream games today tend to mimic Hollywood more than ever. It might be inevitable, really. That’s mostly because developers can finally take that approach without falling embarrassingly short of the mark, at least in terms of visuals — if it looks good at a glance and has a story pitch that can dance with commercials for ABC’s fall lineup, then armchair quarterbacks and soccer moms across the country will have a much better chance of picking it up.

It’s not a tragedy by any stretch, and I’ll always accept the way the market rolls the dice. But even so, we find ourselves in an era when the common perception of what a video game is, exactly, is once again radically divided between the people who play them and those who don’t. Being who I am, though, I feel increasingly removed from the days of my youth, in the quiet years between the crash of ‘83 and the dawn of movie-quality rendering on home consoles. Back then, games that reigned supreme had stark but inspiring presentation and engaged my imagination like a masterful novel.

Even if they’re not on top anymore, those games are still out there. So let me close this tale with a shout-out to the little guys — the indie developers, the college guys making iOS games, the publishers still willing to bring this stuff to Steam and XBLA and even the folks making motion control into something meaningful. Keep your heads high and do your thing. People still notice, even if the sales charts don’t always show it.

Courtesy of Yuto Watanabe

When I first meet the Chocolate Heads crew they’re backstage, buzzing with laughter as they do their pre-show warm-ups. They carry that energy onto the stage as they flutter out the door and into the spacious Roble Dance Studio.

The driving beat of a tUnE-yArDs song fills the room as dancers prance across the floor. People are doing sprints, stretches and spontaneous dance moves as the tech folks adjust the lights and prepare the soundboard. I’m scribbling a description in my notebook: “hipster frat party meets colorful kindergarten classroom.”

We unite in a circle, holding hands, and as we sway back and forth, take turns declaring our role in the production. The choreographer and director, Aleta Hayes ‘91, starts speaking in an exaggerated British accent. I’m holding the hand of a homeschooled eight-year-old who loves linguistics, literature and astrophysics.

This is an unconventional rehearsal for an even less conventional performance. The Chocolate Heads Movement Band is an interdisciplinary group to say the least — Hayes prides herself in incorporating multiple art forms into her super-funky dance troupe. Their latest show, “Red Shift,” epitomizes the Heads’ unique approach to performing.

The show is about dark energy and dark matter. It “exploits the principle that gravitation brings matter together and dark energy forces matter apart.” I see you, humanities majors — don’t worry, you’re invited too. As their press release states, the group incorporates “themes of repulsion, attraction, distance, proximity, isolation, community, enmity and anomie into the piece.” It’s a perfect blend of science and art, successfully transcending the techie/fuzzie divide.

Courtesy of Yuto Watanabe

What sounds like an extremely ambitious project is actually a provocative performance that’s unexpectedly concise — wraps up in under an hour. Part astrophysics lecture, part dance show and part poetry slam, this piece is quintessentially Stanford. Dance can be hard for some of us to access, but this particular performance draws us in with its use of poetry and prose that complements the dancers’ movements.

It demands our attention, too, as it challenges our perceptions of performance. This dynamic show brings us into the process, asking us to constantly change our perspective on the piece as the dancers move on and off stage from all angles, the musician creates his tunes alongside the performers and a multicolored mobile spins just outside the traditional borders of the stage.

Music is an integral element of this piece. Freelance musician Ben Juodvalkis provides a live electronic score that is an exact reflection of the dancers’ versatility. He and the performers effortlessly glide between bass-thumping hip-hop beats and ethereal synthetic strings.

The dancers are incredibly skilled, but they never look stiff or restrained — their movements are both fluid and precise, and they truly seem to be enjoying the performance. Their movements are simultaneously scientific and sensuous, as they explore the mystery of physics. They turn the vastness of the universe into something intimate, creating constellations and clusters that display the interconnectedness of our galaxy and the real beings within it.

This sense of collaborative empowerment extends beyond the stage. Janani Balasubramanian ‘12, one of the members of the Chocolate Heads, tells me that she digs the “more than democratic” motto of the group.

“Everyone’s a Chocolate Head,” Balasubramanian said.

It’s that camaraderie and equality that attract performers and viewers alike. The audience can sense that these dancers are part of a unified collective with a shared artistic vision, and we, too, become a part of the show.

The Chocolate Heads will be performing “Red Shift” Feb. 3 and 4 at 8 p.m. in Roble Gym, Studio 38. The show is free and open to the public

Courtesy of Camden Minervino

After recently switching to a plant-based (almost strictly vegetarian) diet this summer, I realized that a vegetarian diet needs to function like a successful marriage: It should be sustainable for the long term but it also needs to stay exciting in order to flourish. Just like marriage, vegetarian diets make things complicated when it comes to socializing. Where should a vegetarian go out to eat where she won’t get stuck with either a) nothing to eat b) an iceberg wedge or c) cheese ravioli with cream sauce? Just like I hope to do if I one day find myself married; I attempted to find ways to keep the magic alive between my vegetarian diet and me when I go out to eat. Here’s what I tried:

LYFE Kitchen (Love Your Food Everyday) recently opened on Hamilton Ave in downtown Palo Alto. The restaurant’s concept is healthy fast food and its CEO is a former McDonald’s executive. Although this lively spot has a bright interior complete with a verdant herb garden, it still exudes an air of sterile commercialism that is reminiscent of other franchises or chain restaurants.

The menu itself is impressive in its vast array of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. The flatbread pizzas, however, failed to impress. Although I am usually one who goes wild for flatbread pizza, this one was like a cracker loaded with cheese and pomodoro sauce. Similarly, the roasted mushroom and goat cheese pizza was flavorful but a touch too sweet due to the pomegranate balsamic, caramelized onions, and goat cheese. The daily soups are often vegan and therefore many are made with (in my opinion too much) coconut milk. The roasted beet and farro salad, however, was a delicious selection of seasonal produce, nuts and fruits and I added the gardein (garden protein, kind of like tofu), which tasted surprisingly like chicken. As far as LYFE’s other meat alternatives, the entree “Art’s Unfried Gardein” actually tasted almost exactly like fried chicken. While I normally eschew diet foods that unabashedly attempt to imitate real foods, I thought that this one was actually quite tasty. All in all, LYFE Kitchen delivers a solid menu, but the flavors and seasonings prove that less is more.

 Verdict: Just friends.

Courtesy of Camden Minervino

Another spot I tried was Reposado, also on Hamilton Avenue. Reposado, an upscale and swanky Mexican restaurant, features unique twists on old favorites. Reposado isn’t marketed as a vegetarian restaurant and offers various meat, fish, and poultry options, making it an easy sell to friends. Common dining etiquette asserts that one should not fill up on chips before the meal, but quite frankly the chips, guacamole and salsas at Reposado are worth it. The guacamole is extremely zesty, made with liberal amounts of lime and cilantro and topped with queso añejo (shredded cheese). As far as vegetarian options go, Reposado actually provides a separate vegetarian menu –something rather rare at upscale restaurants. Instead of chastising diners for vegetarian preferences, this restaurant offers various meatless entrees that do not leave the meat to be desired. The vegetarian tacos are tasty, as are the unique, bean-filled ravioli. The only notable downside to Reposado is the bill at the end of the meal.

Verdict: I’d be ready for a second date.

Courtesy of Camden Minervino

There’s one restaurant, however, to which I just can’t stop returning: Oren’s Hummus Shop. This small and unpretentious café is new to the scene of trendy spots along University Avenue, having just opened this past summer. Oren’s Hummus Shop serves the best hummus I have ever tasted. (Yes, at first I too was skeptical that another pita and hummus restaurant was opening downtown, but Oren’s hummus is in a whole different league). I particularly enjoy the hummus topped with beans and tahini, and both the regular pita and the whole-wheat pita are irresistibly fluffy. Diners are also greeted with spicy green harissa sauce, a spicy red pepper sauce and a cabbage appetizer, all of which are delicious. I have tasted most of the dips and small plates, my favorite of which were the Moroccan carrots, the baba ghanoush (eggplant dip), the falafel and the Israeli chopped salad. The prices are reasonable and the small plates make this a perfect place to go to share bites with friends. The only downside is the inefficient service. I can work with that.

Verdict: Potential relationship. I wouldn’t mind going home to that hummus day after day, year after year.

Courtesy of MCT

The 2012 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards were this past Sunday night, and the red carpet was full of Hollywood’s finest having fun with their fashion choices. Whereas the Golden Globes showed us what’s in store for the spring with blush-colored, feminine dresses, the SAG Awards were spotted with black and grey. There were few fashion blunders, save Kristen Wiig’s black choker necklace and Shailene Woodley’s Hawaiian shirt-like, red-flowered gown. Instead, many celebrities played it safe — Dianna Agron and Lea Michele, for instance (perhaps because they were counted among the misses at the Golden Globes).

Some of the more adventurous stars, though, were spot on with their fashion picks. Angelina Jolie shone in a Jenny Packham shiny, black, halter gown and vintage jewelry, Viola Davis sparkled in a winning white, strapless, Marchesa gown and Emma Stone featured a flirty Alexander McQueen black party dress with ample lace. Rose Byrne took the greatest, but most successful, risk of all, looking fantastic in a white, beaded Elie Saab jumpsuit and blunt haircut.

Courtesy of MCT

Most awards were unsurprising. “Modern Family” and “Boardwalk Empire” took home awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, respectively, and both casts let the newcomers bask in the spotlight. Similarly, Octavia Spencer (“The Help”) and Christopher Plummer (“Beginners”), who have been in the lead this awards season, won for their supporting film roles.

However, there were a couple surprises in the SAG Awards for film, proving that this year’s race to the Oscars is a tight one. Interestingly, the SAG Awards did not mirror the Golden Globes’ nominations or winners. Perhaps the biggest surprise was Jean Dujardin, or “Jean De La Lune” as he called himself, taking the lead actor award for “The Artist.” Now the question is — who will win the Academy Award? The French actor from the clever silent film may have a chance against the Hollywood heavyweights, Pitt and Clooney in “Moneyball” and “The Descendants,” respectively. Another surprise was the winner of the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. “The Help” beat out “The Artist,” but again, both are strong Oscar contenders, particularly after “The Artist” won the Golden Globe.

Courtesy of MCT

Most award winners left no dry eye in the house. Viola Davis, who won the lead actress award for her performance in “The Help,” gave an incredibly poignant speech, which embodied the theme of the night: never give up on yourself. In her words, “You can’t trade in your dream for another dream. Dream big and dream fierce.”

Courtesy of MCT

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is like a group of guys at a bar. You want them to recognize all the hard work and success of your performance for the evening, but if they don’t — who needs them! The latter situation applies to this year, a shocking cast of awards overlooking many gems in what seemed like a year of Oscar heavy hitters.

Though recent years have shown an increase in obvious Oscar-grabbing blockbusters and “indie” toting artsy pieces, this year’s slew of films included many unrecognized jewels that those in the critical crowd feel were snubbed. In a year where many actors and actresses gave what were widely considered the best performances of their careers, those billed for awards were mostly of the pleasantly adequate grouping, sprinkled with nuggets of brilliance, like Rooney Mara (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”), Christopher Plummer (“Beginners”) and Gary Oldman (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”). But the eerie performances of Kirsten Dunst (“Melancholia”), Tilda Swinton (“We Need to Talk About Kevin”) and Ryan Gosling (“Drive,” “The Ides of March”), which ranged from winding depression to psychologically obscure, went completely unnoticed. Even Clint Eastwood and Leonardo Dicaprio’s “J. Edgar” fell completely off the Oscar grid and failed to earn a single nomination, which, if not deserved, was at least expected.

And could somebody please give David Fincher an Oscar already? Fincher (“The Social Network,” “Benjamin Button”) released the critically acclaimed and audience-appreciated adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” but to no avail in the categories for Achievement in Directing or Best Picture. Instead, the Best Picture category is filled with a motley batch of duds from sparkling directors (“Midnight in Paris,” Woody Allen; “War Horse,” Steven Spielberg; “Hugo,” Martin Scorsese), evenly sentimental pieces (“The Help,” “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”), and a few genuine pieces of artistry (“The Artist,” “The Tree of Life”). Despite the crop of dazzling works to chose from this year, the batch of films in the Best Picture category represent the lot of the 2012 Academy Awards nominees: ranging from exceptional to blasé, and wholly incomplete.

Patchett took the stage and spoke briefly about the process of researching a novel. She described her own methods as “composting” — learning as much as possible about the relevant subject and then forgetting about it, allowing it to seep organically into her writing. She drew a wave of chuckles from the audience when she admitted her irritation with books that flaunted just how much research the author had done.

She then read a scene from “State of Wonder” in which an anaconda boards the boat that three American doctors and their native guides are steering down the Amazon River. (If you’re looking for more snake scenes, Patchett recommends Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book,” which she read on the plane from Nashville.) The passage was inspired, she said, by an eventful research trip: she was on a boat in the Amazon with a local guide and a number of tourists when one of the guests — a professional snake handler — reached into the murky water and pulled an anaconda from the river, providing a moment of surreal terror for the other passengers and instant inspiration for Patchett.

Patchett proceeded to open the floor for questions. The first was a predictable inquiry about her new independent bookstore, Parnassus Books, which had garnered coverage from numerous major media outlets, including the New York Times and NPR. Patchett delivered a spontaneous, impassioned speech about the enduring importance of literary communities and independent booksellers; she explained that as Nashville bookstores were being shut down at a corporate level, the community was increasingly concerned about the lack of bookstores in the city. Finally, she and another bibliophile, Karen Hayes, decided that if they wanted a bookstore, they would have to do it themselves — and so Parnassus Books opened for business in October.

There were many questions about her personal process of research, writing and editing. Here, Patchett’s clever sense of humor and ability to command the stage truly shone forth, as her answers included a number of memorable lines. Patchett mentioned having to take the anti-malaria medication Lariam, which her husband, a doctor, prescribed for her aforementioned trip to the Amazon, and she remarked that the prescription of a class four narcotic was a sure indicator of true love. In answering a different question, she declined to elaborate on an incident she coyly referred to as “when I kissed John Updike.” And when asked about inspiration and influences in writing, she replied, “I can trace back every good thing to where I stole it” — a frank and mindful quip, which earned a hearty laugh from the audience.

Not only is Patchett a great writer — many attendees were long-time fans — she is an excellent speaker, keeping the crowd engaged and entertained for more than an hour. She was truly an inspired choice for the Lane Lecture Series, and one hopes that the program will continue to bring authors of such caliber to campus.

Friends without benefits

A relationship category with all the makings of a terrible rom-com, seemingly platonic friendships abound at Stanford. Roxy’s seen it many times before: two friends who essentially act like they’re dating without any of the perks. Call her a cynic, but Roxy believes that — much like the cheesy pickup lines she heard last pub night — these relationships just don’t work. In her experience, at least one of the two wants the friendship to be a little…friendlier. If you’ve found yourself as a friend without benefits, Roxy suggests you think long and hard about the relationship — if you haven’t thought about anything else getting long and hard, it’s probably the other 50 percent of the friendship who’d like to see you with 50 percent less clothes on. And if you’re trying to move out of the friend zone and into the erogenous zones, Roxy suggests you make your move already.

Casual hookups

Roxy has heard many people bemoan the prevalence of the random hookup at Stanford, but to be honest, she doesn’t understand why they would oppose anything that makes them moan. As a busy Stanford student, Roxy hardly has time for meals let alone feelings. With so many constraints on our time, random hookups are a matter of efficiency — we have a population of 3,500 male and 3,300 female undergrads (in the spirit of science, Roxy did her research) and only four years where guilt-free, frat-party hookups are socially acceptable. That’s what they mean by getting the most out of college, right?

Not-so-casual hookups

Ultimately, hookups are more about quality than quantity, and Roxy recognizes that a one-time encounter may grow into something more. While she believes that feelings, like STIs and pregnancy, are an unpleasant outcome to be avoided at all costs, many others on this campus don’t have Roxy’s hard resolve. Often, these people claim to be completely devoid of feelings when all observers with a pulse could tell you otherwise. Reality check: If you’re texting that often and the messages don’t include pics (or setting a time to see the real thing), Roxy suggests you stop lying to yourself and accept that it’s no longer just about getting laid.

Old, married couples

While Roxy has taken to the rare silver fox, she finds few other “old” things sexy, and couples that begin to act like they’ve been married for 50-plus years are no exception. Perhaps Roxy’s least favorite type of relationship on campus, the old, married couple started dating and immediately stopped having fun of any kind. If you find yourself leaving your room only for food, class and the occasional shower and/or spend most of your time in bed together but haven’t done anything but cuddle for more than a week, it’s time for an intervention. Your friends may not have said anything to you, but Roxy is the best friend of all: If you’re not getting action, it’s time to get out. Or at least, you know, leave the dorm room once in a while.

<I>Looking for something else quick and dirty? Email Roxy at Intermission@stanforddaily.com<P>

Courtesy of Lionsgate

Falling somewhere between predictable romantic comedy and low-budget cop movie, “One for the Money” adapts best-selling author Janet Evanovich’s 1994 novel into an hour and a half of bland dialogue and Katherine Heigl’s failed attempts at a New Jersey accent.

Recently laid off from her job as a lingerie sales manager at Macy’s, Jersey girl Stephanie Plum (Katherine Heigl) seeks work as a bounty hunter in her cousin’s bail bond company. The assignments put her on the track of Joe Morelli (Jason O’Mara), a former love interest from high school who broke her heart. Attracted as much to the $50,000 reward for bringing Morelli in to the police as she is to the prospect of getting revenge on her high school ex for “stealing her canola oil,” Plum haphazardly throws herself into the chase with the help of another bounty hunter named Ranger.

Questions regarding Morelli’s guilt for shooting an unarmed man begin to surface shortly thereafter, and Plum finds herself working alongside her initial antagonist to find witnesses to the shooting. But the two cannot properly cooperate until they have engaged in a series of sexually-charged struggles, the most ridiculous of these involving Morelli handcuffing Plum, clad in nothing but a towel, to a shower rod.

With the help of Morelli and a sassy hooker named Lula, Plum sets out to uncover the mystery surrounding the shooting, plunging into a world of heroin-dealing thugs and violent boxers. As witnesses of the shooting begin disappearing, Morelli and Plum must overcome their hostilities in order to stay alive and solve the case. All seems in order until the end of the day when Plum must ask herself: Is she in this for the money, or for the guy?

With a fairly formulaic plot, we would expect the film to give us some witty one-liners, or at the very least some clever banter between Plum and Morelli to make up for the lack of narrative originality. Unfortunately, the screenwriters fail on all accounts and resort to bland, overused humor and banal jokes. One of the more cringe-worthy of these is Plum’s heavy-handed double entendre that “she’s going to nail Morelli” by bringing him into the police.

Probably the only thing worse than the dialogue is Heigl’s attempt to speak with a New Jersey accent, a task much better suited to any member of the Jersey Shore cast. Lucky for us, Heigl reserves her verbal stylization for a select few words that can really showcase a forced Jersey accent.

The few redeeming moments come from Plum’s loud-mouthed family in the beginning of the movie and Lula (Sherri Shepherd), characters who get far too little screen time considering the lead actress’ terrible acting.

Despite the popularity of Evanovich’s book, “One for the Money” is just another Katherine Heigl movie in a whole slew of her films. If you’re looking for a clever adaptation or comedy, look elsewhere. This one’s not worth your money.

The Artist takes over

Even though “Hugo” has the most nominations at 11, the black-and-white silent movie “The Artist” is the front-runner for Best Picture. It has been sweeping up awards left and right, and nothing is going to stop it now.

The Academy likes awkward numbers

This year we have an uncomfortably-odd nine nominees for Best Picture. This is due to a rule change in the preferential voting system, made to encourage greater passion for the films and a slate more representative of the strength of the year. This experiment seems to have failed with “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” getting a best picture nomination with a paltry 46 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Best Actor is up for grabs…

There are two acting categories that have inevitable winners and two with very large question marks. Christopher Plummer (“Beginners”) and Octavia Spencer (“The Help”) have won every precursor award out there and should repeat their wins in the supporting categories on Oscar night. Best Actor is a three-man race between George Clooney (“The Descendants”), Brad Pitt (“Moneyball”) and Jean Dujardin (“The Artist”). It’s anyone’s game.

…and so is Best Actress

Best Actress has been neatly divided between Viola Davis (“The Help”) and Meryl Streep (“The Iron Lady”). Don’t count either lady out yet. Meryl hasn’t won since 1982 and Viola Davis was viciously snubbed a couple of years ago for her supporting role in “Doubt,” in which Meryl Streep also starred.

Oscar nominations mean nothing

There were three big omissions from the acting categories this year. Just last week I lauded Tilda Swinton in “We Need to Talk About Kevin” and she had every precursor nomination for Best Actress in the bag, but was one-upped by Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Michael Fassbender was also overlooked for “Shame” and Albert Brooks just barely missed for “Drive.” Just because they didn’t get Oscar nominations, you should still go check out these incredible films and hold your favorite movie of 2011 dear to your heart, whether it’s “The Tree of Life,” “Super 8” or “Mr. Popper’s Penguins.”

It’s not often that the sweetest sound on the Stanford campus is that of a screeching fax machine.

But that was the story on Wednesday’s National Signing Day, when the Stanford football team signed its best recruiting class in school history.

The Cardinal signed 22 players from 14 different states on Wednesday, including three five-star prospects and three of the top eight offensive line prospects in the country. Altogether, the Cardinal finished with the nation’s fifth-best recruiting class according to Rivals.com, trailing only Alabama, Texas, Florida and Ohio State.

The Stanford football team, fresh off the best two-year run in program history, just restocked its squad with the best recruiting class in school history. (MICHAEL LIU/The Stanford Daily)

“I think we’ve got probably one of the best classes in the history of the school,” said head coach David Shaw. “But it’s not just about the rankings or the stars, it’s about the quality of the individuals that we added to our team. Needless to say, we are excited about this.”

Shaw and his coaching staff had already compiled an excellent class of commits before Wednesday, but National Signing Day saw three five-star recruits all commit themselves to the Cardinal.

Stanford’s biggest grab came early in the day, when offensive tackle Andrus Peat, a 6-foot-7, 307-pound native of Tempe, Ariz., spurned Nebraska, Florida State and USC to come to the Farm. Peat, the country’s sixth-best offensive lineman, was expected to join the Cornhuskers in Lincoln, where his brother is currently a defensive tackle.

The Cardinal offensive line then got another boost when Kyle Murphy, the third-best tackle in the country, promised himself to Palo Alto. When Murphy added his name to a list that already included Peat, Joshua Garnett—the nation’s second-best guard—and three other four-star offensive linemen (Nick Davidson, Brandon Fanaika and Graham Shuler), the Cardinal had pieced together the nation’s most talented and promising group of offensive line prospects.

Shaw said he and the coaching staff knew long ago that this crew of linemen would be more than capable of replacing NFL-bound offensive linemen Jonathan Martin and David DeCastro.

“[The coaches] had a conversation last spring that I’ll never forget … The comment was made in the room that this could potentially be one of the best offensive line classes in modern football history,” Shaw said. “It’s just the combination of size, athletic ability, toughness … it’s rare that you get that many guys that can play this well.”

Shaw said that getting a big class of offensive linemen was the Cardinal coaching staff’s number one goal this year and that the Cardinal’s ground-based offensive philosophy made it easy to secure such a good class.

“We have a great offensive line here, but we haven’t had the volume of guys that we needed in the last two classes, to be honest,” Shaw said. “We needed to make a big push this year not just for quality, which you always want, but for quantity as well.

“I think we’ve got outstanding teachers here in [offensive line coaches] Mike Bloomgren and Ron Crook, as far as the techniques that help these guys to be successful on this level and the next,” Shaw continued. “We play a scheme that translates very well to the NFL. I think that’s extremely attractive [to recruits].”

In addition to the Cardinal’s big commitments along the offensive line, Stanford got a boost to an already-solid defensive class when defensive end Aziz Shittu, the third-best defensive end in the country, became the third five-star player to sign with the Cardinal. Shittu committed to the Cardinal last year, then decommitted in June 2011, but finally wound up back where he originally started on Wednesday.

While Peat, Murphy and Shittu stole the show and the headlines on Wednesday by choosing the Cardinal, Stanford also (finally) officially secured the services of players like Barry J. Sanders, Noor Davis and Alex Carter, who all committed to the Cardinal months ago.

Sanders, the son of football legend Barry Sanders and the nation’s ninth-best running back, will bring his 4.4 speed and shifty moves to an already-deep backfield.

“We didn’t need a running back, we’ve got a great group of running backs, so [the coaching staff] said, if we’re going to take one, we’re going to take a guy that’s a difference maker, a guy that’s special. And we found one in Barry Sanders,” Shaw said.

Davis, the nation’s fourth-best linebacker, adds to a corps of linebackers that is already stacked for next season.

“We’ve got a really good group of inside linebackers and outside linebackers, but when you run across a guy like Noor Davis, you can’t pass him up,” Shaw said. “He’s that good as a football player, and the high character as an individual that you want to surround yourself with guys like that.”

Finally, Carter, the nation’s third-best defensive back, could fill in right away in the defensive backfield for the Cardinal, which will lose three senior starters from 2011.

“We’re always looking for defensive backs, there’s been years where we’ve gone through classes without a single one,” Shaw said “But to get a guy like Alex Carter, who’s that big physical corner that NFL teams are looking for.”

While the Cardinal already has one of the nation’s finest groups of recruits assembled for 2012, it could get even better this Friday or next Wednesday if Jameis Winston, the nation’s top quarterback prospect, decides to switch his commitment from Florida State and come to the Farm instead. Winston committed to the Seminoles some time ago but recently has wavered in his commitment since learning of his acceptance to Stanford and decided to delay signing his letter of intent to later this week.

Altogether, Shaw assembled a class that topped the Pac-12 in his first-ever recruiting class as a head coach and a class that far outranked any of the recruiting classes of his predecessor, Jim Harbaugh. However, Shaw didn’t hint that his new group of players would come in with any special privileges in 2012—some will earn their way onto the field, others will be redshirted.

“There is a possibility that these guys can come in and compete,” Shaw said. “But at the same time, guys that come in ready to play, those are the guys that are going to play. I tell the guys all the time, I don’t care what year they are. True freshmen, fifth-year seniors, the best guy’s going to get on the field.”

With a recruiting class this talented and deep, Shaw’s biggest problem might just be finding enough spots for his best players. And with the new precedent he’s set in the recruiting game, that job might get even harder when the fax machines start screeching again next February.

(SERENITY NGUYEN/The Stanford Daily)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected a Stanford team last week as one of 20 collegiate teams set to compete in the biennial Solar Decathlon competition.

The Decathlon, hosted by the DOE, offers participating teams $100,000 in seed money to design, build and operate solar-powered homes with a zero net energy footprint. The Stanford team will have two years to build its home, which the team will assemble in Orange County in 2013 for a DOE panel to assess.

Stanford progressed through a selection process that pitted the team against around 40 different universities from both the U.S. and abroad. Each university submitted a 30-page proposal that outlined the team’s concept, organization, fundraising and scheduling. The Stanford team submitted its proposal in November and received word of the application’s success last Wednesday.

Derek Ouyang ‘13, co-founder of the Stanford Solar Decathlon team, noted that the Stanford team faces an inherent disadvantage in numbers due to the University’s small undergraduate population relative to competing engineering-focused schools. While typical Decathlon teams number in the hundreds, Ouyang currently expects a committed Stanford team of around 40 students.

“We expect that our team will be composed of about 25 percent graduate students, 75 percent undergraduate [students],” said Taylor Brady ‘13, co-founder of the Stanford team, in an email to The Daily. Brady said most of these students will be from the School of Engineering, but the team will also include “a fair portion” of students studying business, economics and marketing, as well.

Brady added that he anticipates the team splitting up into smaller groups, each focusing on an aspect of the house’s design and construction and meeting multiple times each week. The team has already begun to plan and design the house, a stage that is scheduled to continue into winter quarter of 2013. Construction will take place on campus during spring quarter of the same academic year, before the Sept. 2013 competition.

The team has received assistance from faculty from a variety of departments and is currently looking to develop partnerships with the Graduate School of Business (GSB) for marketing support and with the School of Engineering for facilities and funds. Both University President John Hennessy and Dean of Engineering Jim Plummer wrote letters of support for the team during the selection process.

Richard King, director and founder of the Solar Decathlon, noted that the overall cost of competing for teams could rise to multiples of the DOE seed money. Teams are expected to independently raise funding for the design, construction and transportation to the testing site.

“It’s almost a small business endeavor,” King said. “Not only are you designing the house and organizing a team, but you’re raising the funds and reaching out to corporations and other entities for support.”

The Stanford team has already identified potential financial, material and mentoring partnerships with large firms such as General Electric (GE) and Facebook.

Ouyang added that the team intends to develop partnerships with Silicon Valley companies and local construction firms as well as solar panel manufacturers. Ouyang emphasized that the University’s close ties with California firms may help provide a competitive advantage. The house will, however, be constructed entirely by students.

The Decathlon assesses competing teams’ houses through 10 equally weighted categories, with the highest cumulative score determining the competition winner. Grading categories include market appeal, feasibility, concept presentation and performance. The latter is assessed by having six team members live in the house and perform tasks, such as cooking or watching television, over a 10-day period while only using solar energy.

The DOE has credited the competition with workforce development in the energy sector as well as educating the public. King noted that teams’ concepts and blueprints are made available to the general public and have in the past sparked interest from the private sector, with some teams from previous years going on to form successful companies in the energy sector.

Brady and Ouyang noted that the project’s future after the Decathlon will depend largely on public reception and competitive success, but they envision potentially returning the house to campus to serve educational, residential and research functions. Past competitors have toured their projects for educational and commercial outreach or sold or donated their houses to homeowners and museums.

Brady noted that the principles developed and utilized in the house’s construction represent the future of the building industry. He highlighted the opportunity for innovation and social impact provided by participation in the Decathlon.

“Stanford is in a great position to excel at this competition, being at the heart of Silicon Valley and an innovator in green technology,” wrote Ouyang in an email to The Daily. “We’ve built solar cars before; it’s about time we built a solar home.”

Freedom Ride participants Rip Patton, Helen Singleton and Dr. Bob Singleton joined moderator Clayborne Carson, professor of history, on a panel hosted by the Stanford NAACP, Black Student Union, History Department and the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute.

“We want to get the student body to think about [the history of our civil rights] and to get students to see they can influence the system,” said Shawn Dye ‘14, chair of the Stanford NAACP political action committee. “The Freedom Riders were our age when they were [fighting for our civil rights].”

During the half-hour panel, the Freedom Riders shared personal stories and reasons for embarking on their history-making journey.

Helen Singleton recounted how traveling with her family informed her participation in the Rides.

“We were happy until we got to Washington, D.C.,” Helen Singleton said. “And as we pulled out of Washington and headed into Virginia, we could feel the tension in the car, because here was my father who was nervous because he was going into territory where he couldn’t protect his family.”

So when the opportunity came in the spring of 1961 for students to protest racial discrimination, the Singletons and Patton decided to join.

“When the [first] bus got burned and the second bus got beat up and the third bus got beat up and they called for more because they wanted the Rides to continue and show that violence would not overcome non-violence, it was a no-brainer for me,” Helen Singleton said.

Little deterred the panelists or their fellow activists from continuing the Rides.

“Each group that was arrested, they would be put in the paddy wagon,” Patton said. “And they would sing ‘We Shall Overcome.’”

The panelists also had words of advice for young idealists seeking to change the injustices they witness in the world.

“There’s no love in iPods; there’s no love in computers. We didn’t have those things … we had each other, we had love,” Patton said. “We need to get away from [the gadgets], either get away from them or learn how to use them to find a way for this country to move forward.”

“What was overt at that time is covert now. Many of the discriminations, we could stare them down. Now, they’re hidden,” Bob Singleton said. “They still discriminate … [so] you have to get together and ask yourself, ‘How do we combat [this]?’”

His wife had a more direct advice.

“Whatever pisses you off, that’s your issue,” she said to laughter and applause.

Finally, the speakers called on young people to remember that much remains to be improved in racial equality.

“Dr. King didn’t die getting a civil rights bill,” Carson reminded the audience at the end of the panel. “He died fighting for sanitation in Memphis. And those are issues we still haven’t dealt with.”