Hayes and Madorsky have found their thing and they’re sticking with it. This time, though, instead of UPS, they’re parodying a Nextel commercial. If this ad is to be taken literally, Hayes and Madorsky plan to spend the first few minutes of their term issuing terse to their cell phones and laptops to fix Georgetown’s problems and dance for the remaining time left in their term. And, really, that wouldn’t be the end of the world because their dancing is pretty spectacular.
H&M have also come out with two new UPS-style commercials that you can check out after the jump.
If you’re a Georgetown student, chances are that at some time you’ve walked by the “265 Kappa Hops” message taped on the sidewalk of the Key Bridge’s D.C. side. Like me, you’d probably never given it much thought.
But, for some reason, when I passed the message on Saturday, an article that ran in the Washington Post a few months ago came to mind. The article, “The Measure of this Man is in the Smoot,” tells the story of some MIT frat brothers who used 5′ 7″ pledge Oliver Smoot as a yardstick to measure Boston’s Harvard Bridge, marking every ten Smoots with a spot of paint. From the Post:
Somewhat miraculously, the markings have been repainted ever since — meaning that while Smoot was pursuing a quiet career in the Washington association bureaucracy, he was also becoming a Boston area landmark and a nerd legend.
“The first time I went to an MIT gathering of undergraduates,” Smoot said in a telephone interview this week, “I introduced myself to this young man, and he said, ‘Oh, I thought you were dead.’ “
Even the government got involved with the Smoots, the Post reports, scoring the bridge’s sidewalk every five feet seven inches when it was renovated a decade and a half ago.
At the time, they [the frat brothers] didn’t understand what they had done. But their Smoots were destined to become part of campus culture, since they contained two key elements of a classic MIT prank: a hint of science and a low level of vandalism.
Jay Keyser, a professor emeritus at MIT and a chronicler of the school’s wacky side, said: “What the Smoot does, it makes fun of measuring. . . . It makes fun of the precision of engineering.”
Could the Kappa Hop be the Smoot of Key Bridge? Hard to say. When I emailed Xavier Aguirre, the co-president of Alpha Kappa Psi, Georgetown’s Business Fraternity, he assured me that AKP had nothing to do with the Kappa Hop. Also, if 265 Kappa Hops does refer to the span of the Key Bridge, each Kappa Hop would be roughly equivalent to 6′ 5″. That seems to me to be quite a distance to hop, especially 265 times. Still, if the Kappa Hop isn’t a unit of measurement, I’m not sure what it would be. Thoughts, anyone?
Points to Kyle and Brian for a good concept, great background music and a fabulous narrator. It’s not for nothing that they won the support of the Voice’s Editorial Board, a fact they’re quick to point out. But even though this movie is just under two minutes long, it does drag a little towards the end, especially with their array of wacky characters (the overly-enthusiastic Brit! the southern with a drawl! the effeminate-sounding guy!). Still, given their poor competition, this video is one of the better GUSA videos of the election so far.
Georgetown has most culinary niches covered: cafés (see Milano and Bonaparte), a crêpe joint (see Snap) and the usual greasy gentrified Chinese food (see Kitchen #1), but one niche that hasn’t really been covered adequately is the newest ultra hip tradition—the cupcake place. Fortunately, that void in our stomachs has been filled by Georgetown Cupcake. A miniscule yet picturesque place on Potomac Street right across from Quick Pita, Georgetown Cupcake is noticeable from a distance, as most of its customers are waiting outside in the cold, unable to glimpse the smallest treat.
The walls are lined with gleaming coffee appliances, reflecting the light from the window to the glass divide separating the people from the cupcakes and back out the window again. On the wall is a pastel Warhol-esque cupcake portrait with painted pink and blue frosting just begging you to lick it.
The main attraction (the list of the day’s cupcakes) is right by the door. There are the usuals: vanilla squared (vanilla icing on a vanilla cupcake), chocolate squared (chocolate icing on a chocolate cupcake) and a delectable yet terrifying chocolate cubed (chocolate icing, chocolate cupcake, and chocolate sprinkles). They also offer lemon blossom, chocolate mint, key lime pie, and bubble gum, among other fruit inspired flavors. The cupcakes come in at $2.75 each (cheaper than Baked and Wired’s $4 over-sugared concoctions), although half a dozen, perfect for splitting among friends, is only $15 and comes in an adorable pink cardboard box.
My philosophy with new restaurants is to always go for the classics before the adventurous, because if they can’t master the basics, there’s no hope in attempting the complex. Immediately, my sweet tooth went for the red velvet, the ultimate test in pairing the rich flavors of the cake with a subtle enough icing. To my delight, it was perfectly executed. The cake was soft and fluffy, avoiding the all too common density of an uneven batter, while maintaining the palatial intricacies and a hint of nuttiness. The icing flavor was cream cheese (as it should be), managing cream cheese’s tanginess and avoiding its heaviness. The proportion of icing to cake was also superb; the icing wasn’t threatening to take over the cake in flavor or in size and had the right consistency. In short, it was a delectable treat and disappeared within moments.
My only recommendation, Hoyas, is to get there early. When I went (3 pm), they weren’t due to close for another four hours, yet they were selling out of cupcakes left and right. Apparently they had to close early on their opening day for the same reason. So go early, bring a coat, and don’t expect to be able to eat once you get inside. There’s only one four person table inside, and odds are, someone else has already snagged it. But grab a cupcake on your way to shopping on M or on the way back from lunch, and I promise you won’t regret it.
Georgetown Cupcake is located at 1209 Potomac St NW. For this holiday weekend, their hours are Sat 11am-7pm, Sun 12am-5pm, Monday- Closed. Their normal hours are Tue-Fri 11am-7pm, Sat and Sun 11am-9pm.
That’s got to be what Cartier and Rugg are thinking, anyway. After Ben and Matt won last year with Vote in a Box, an ingenious take-off on one of JT’s more infamous videos, Cartier and Rugg have come out with their own JT tribute: Saxaback. (I’ll let you guess what song it’s based off.) They had made a previous version, but had to yank it down after members of the administration complained about the use of images belonging to the University.
Props to Cartier and Rugg for bouncing back and for the great production of this video. I doubt it was easy to have the two candidates come spinning in from a white abyss, nor could it have been a small task to remake SexyBack with their own lyrics. Unfortunately, they should have spent a little less time on their computers and a little more time learning how to dance. Watching Cartier bob back and forth, Rugg standing with his arms crossed in the background like a poor man’s DJ Khaled, I couldn’t help but cringe. From the looks of their half-hearted dancing, Cartier and Rugg don’t seem to even convinced themselves that they should be elected, let alone 6,000 skeptical undergrads.
Juliana Brint explores what it means to be a student with ADD at Georgetown in this week’s cover. Adam Briscoe’s take? “It’s a square peg in a round hole. And thus far the University has demanded that ADD students become round pegs and has no assistance in maybe squaring up some of their own hole-iness.”
In case you haven’t noticed from our overload of GUSA posts, it’s campaign season! The Editorial Board announces their pick while Kate Mays follows the candidates as they sell their platforms to the masses.
Syracuse may have just dropped one to the worst team in the Big East, but that doesn’t mean that Saturday is going to be a walk in the park for the Hoyas. Tony Francavilla checks in with another of his excellent previews.
Whatever redeeming qualities this video has (there aren’t many) are ruined by the “Created with Flip4Mac” message that mars ever single shot. You guys couldn’t find some video editing software that doesn’t splatter itself all over your movie? I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure there are computers in Gelardin that might have just what you’re looking for…
But onto the movie itself. I find the three scenes (CPR to someone lying motionless in Healy, two guys embracing after washing their hands in the bathroom, and a girl making out with a teddy bear) not at all appealing and more than a little creepy. Also, I think the use of “Hide and Seek” might be a slight nod to the OC/”Dear Sister” SNL sketch but I can’t say I really get it. The same goes for this entire movie.
Hayes and Madorsky threw their hat into the GUSA-YouTube ring tonight with a clever take-off of those UPS ads. Never mind the slightly off-putting statement, “It’s not really how to vote. It’s who to vote for.” And don’t worry that the duo is adding UPS to the list of brands they’ve appropriated for their campaign. The video is a good concept, well-executed and, most importantly, brief (take note, Brown and Sevin). Bonus points for an awesome drawing of Lauinger.
Here’s the first in our coming series of interviews with GUSA candidates. Tim Brown (COL ‘09) discusses his campaign, Georgetown basketball, and empowering students.
Entries (RSS)