The Echo: The University of Central Arkansas’ Student Newspaper

‘Rick Rolling’ popular, easy Internet prank to pull

Zachary O'Neal — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:01:59 +0000

I am pretty sure that this is a something that pretty much anyone who uses YouTube has been a victim of. You know … you go on YouTube to look up some kind of “How to” video, or just pretty much anything you are interested in.
There are bound to be many times where you would click that video and see this slicked-back, brown-haired guy dancing in front of a microphone, dancing at the sound of the drum roll. You have been Rick Roll’d. It has become a popular prank over time.
There are many people who use the Internet daily and have no clue of what the prank is. It was said that this prank started growing more and more popular after April Fools’ Day of 2008. The song was pretty popular already, but I believe the Rick Roll phenomenon made it what it is today. You either hate it or you love it.
The basic object of the game is to get someone to view a specific item, then mislead them with a link that will lead them to a link of a music video featuring one of Rick Astley’s first singles, “Never Gonna Give You Up.” The song was written and produced by a trio of producers, Stock Aitken Waterman.
I recently introduced a friend to it and his reaction was “What the heck is this?” If you really have to ask what is going on, then obviously it is your first time ever being Rick Roll’d.
It always amuses me whenever I do get Rick Roll’d, the first thing my mind hints for me to look at is the comment section of the video. Most of the time there will be a lot of people raging about the prank. It is rare to actually see some people giving a little praise to the video. It has gotten to the point where Rick Rolling makes me laugh whether I am on the giving or the receiving end.
I cannot remember what I was looking up on YouTube to get Rick Roll’d, for the first time. I do know that it was on Youtbe though. It took me a minute to catch on to what was going on. I looked at the title to make sure I chose the right video I was trying to look up. It was. However, I had fallen victim to the prank.
I was a bit surprised at this time considering the fact I have never seen anything like it. As time progressed, I started to get Rick Roll’d more and more, to the point to where I have gotten used to the song.
For me, I do not know if it was the drum roll at the beginning that drew me into the song of the visuals within the video itself. The bottom line is, I finally decided to give it a chance. I now enjoy listening to the song without having to be motivated by being Rick Roll’d by some YouTuber.
Even now, Rick Rolling is still sweeping the nation as people have decided to fit the Astley video into just about any kind of video, such as “Barack Obama Gets Rick Roll’d” and even the Bill O’Reilly incident. The videos featuring them are not real, but the fact that the video got to fit in with bits and pieces of speech or a talk show and looks real, is amazing.
There are various kinds of websites you can use to easily disguise URLs. Tinyurl is a common example of how to do this. They do not work all the time, but I think it is still worth a shot if you are looking to attempt to prank someone. However, do not make it obvious. Try to throw the victim off with a title that you know will grab their attention.
If you successfully pull off a Rick Roll, you should expect a few reactions; anger, laughter or shock. There really are not many cases where you will get an in-between expression, because the viewer is either used to it or they are new. If you welcome someone to the world of Rick Rolling, give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.

Shakur-Davis talks of loss, drug use

Stephen Reynolds — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:01:56 +0000

Afeni Shakur-Davis enlivened Monday night’s audience as she spoke about empowerment and how young people can learn to better themselves, their peers and their world.
Shakur-Davis, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict and the mother of renowned hip-hip artist Tupac Shakur, spoke to a ethnically and generationally diverse crowd in Reynolds Performance Hall.
Her speech covered many topics, but focused on advice for young students and aspiring political activists.
She spoke briefly about her addiction and said that the last time she used drugs was in 1991.
After a pause, Shakur-Davis smiled and said, “I’ll be real with you, except for marijuana,” which drew many laughs and a round of a applause from the crowd.
Shakur-Davis talked openly about her time in the Black Panther Party and how it affected her attitude towards people and the world in general.
“My time in the Panthers was fueled by my anger,” she said. “I was a very angry young woman.”
She that she has mellowed since those days. She said she believes she has changed her ways and that, she now knows that there is no place for being angry all the time.
“When we start at anger, we have nowhere left to go,” she said.
She said this statement was the theme for her speech, as well as her mantra for the rest of her life.
She explained that the death of her son was her motivation for turning it all around.
She said initially she way angry, but she soon realized that she wasn’t unique in her pain.
She said she realized that thousands of mothers all over the world have had children taken from them.
“Most of them probably lived the rest of their lives in anger and hate,” she said. “I wanted to do something different.”
Instead of mourning Tupac’s death, she said she made a point to cherish his life and his legacy.
“The core of Tupac was just a normal guy who wasn’t afraid to say what he wanted to say and wasn’t afraid to get in anyone’s way,” she said.
She went on to talk about how different Tupac was in life and in death.
She said he was just as inspirational to her as he was to everyone else, but that she thinks many of his biggest fans today weren’t big fans of his until he died.
“He stepped on a lot of toes when he was alive, which meant he didn’t have that many friends,” she said.
She candidly shared with the audience her thoughts on rebellion, integrity and compassion.
She said these three qualities are what she has found to be the most important in human beings.
She offered the audience some words of advice,
“Challenge everything,” she said. “You have to believe in something and stick to it. Challenge everything that doesn’t stick logically or rationally.”
At the end of the lecture she brought Verne Cambridge to the stage to speak about the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, a.k.a. “Thug Mansion,” which is a center in Stone Mountain, Ga. for children who come from broken homes. ”Thug Mansion is a safe place” for children to go to learn how to express their creative talents and have decent lives who otherwise couldn’t.
“Our mission is to help as many children as we can in as many ways as we can. We have a speciality in the arts,” Cambridge said.
Shakur-Davis ended the evening by encouraging young women to empower themselves.
She said this could be done only by forcing men to see them for their minds and not for their bodies.
She said that it is up to both sides to make the change that needs to be made.
She said her favorite Tupac songs are “California Love,” “Dear Mama” and “Hail Mary.”

The Top 5 Movies to Watch This Black History Month

ashtondenton — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:01:55 +0000

1. “Amistad” (1997)

Directed by Steven Spielberg, this film concerns a mutiny on an 1839 slave ship that is traveling towards the northeastern coast of America. Most of the film takes place in the court where the free man who led the revolt is put on trial. Granted, slavery is always a depressing topic, but no one can deny its importance in history. The film stars Morgan Freeman, Djimon Hounsou, Anthony Hopkins and Matthew McConaughey.

2. “Glory” (1989)

Directed by Edward Zwick,this film is set during the Civil War, the war that changed Black history forever in America, and a topic well worth discussing during Black History Month. Robert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War’s first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates. This film stars Morgan Freeman, Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington and Cary Elwes.

3. “The Tuskegee Airmen” (1995)

The true story of how a group of African-American pilots overcame opposition to become one of the finest US fighter groups in World War II. The Tuskegee Airmen broke ground as the first blacks allowed to fly and maintain combat aircraft for U.S. military during World War II. The Airmen were collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007. The film stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Lawrence Fishburn.

4. “Pinky” (1949)

This film, directed by Elia Kazan shows how African Americans had to live and function under Jim Crow segregation laws. The title character is a light-skinned black woman who returns home to the South after having lived as a free woman in the North. Ethel Waters earned an Oscar nomination for playing the title character’s grandmother. The movie also stars Jeanne Crain, Ethel Barrymore.

5. “The Color Purple” (1985)

While I was hesitant to put this on the list, simply for its lack of true historical value, I think its success speaks for itself. Directed by Steven Spielberg, this inspiring tale of the trials and tribulations of a incredibly strong Southern black woman is a story that should resonate with anyone regardless of their heritage. The film stars Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery and recent visitor to the UCA campus, Danny Glover.

Tennis team travels for two games this weekend

Zachary O'Neal — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:01:55 +0000

The Sugar Bears tennis team prepares to travel to two different states over the weekend to play against the Belmont Bruins in Nashville, Tenn. Saturday and the Murray State Racers in Murray, Ky. Sunday.
Coach Jeff Borengasser said he was unsure about his expectations for the weekend matches. He said that since this is his first season with UCA, he is not really familiar with the other schools.
“We’ve been playing and competing well,” Borengasser said. “I expect that we will play well and compete well. Based off of what we’ve done and what the other teams have done so far, I expect some good matches and we should have a chance to win.”
The Sugar Bears are 4-4 overall and 0-3 in conference play and are currently on a three-match win streak.
“We beat a couple of non-conference schools, including one we had lost to last year,” Borengasser said. “So that makes me optimistic that we’re improving and things are headed in the right direction. It’s a long season, but I anticipate some success.”
From Westminster College, coaching for seven years, Borengasser said the transition has been good. He also said the group of players the Sugar Bears have are good, as well.
“They want to get better, they have good team chemistry so the transition has been pretty easy,” Borengasser said. “We focus a lot on effort and being prepared for every match and being prepared for all parts of the game and being mentally tough. Those are things that I’ve been working with them on. They’re all doing really well.”
In addition to everyone’s contribution, Borengasser said most recently, senior Allison Murphy and sophomore Simona Horsikyan have been playing well.
“Everybody has actually really contributed and that’s the nice thing about the way team tennis works,” Borengasser said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the best player on the team, the middle or the lower part of the lineup. Everybody’s match counts the same so everybody’s actually been contributing.”
Borengasser said the weather has not been an effect on their gameplay as playing indoor or outdoor can result in a difference in play.
“Inside courts play a little faster, so they tend to favor the players that hit harder,” Borengasser said.
Borengasser said they have been excited about the season so far.
He said the team’s biggest strength is the depth of the team. With eight good players on the team, he said the doubles’ play has been good. He also said there is work to improve on knowing when to always use the right shot and the right strategy and continuing to give one-hundred percent effort.
“Those are the areas we keep trying to improve on,” Borengasser said. “[Our] toughest opponent was Steven F. Austin. They have a really good team. We didn’t win any matches against them, but we competed pretty well, so actually, even though it was the toughest match, it hopefully gives us confidence that even if we’re playing the very best we can compete and play well, we’ll always have a chance.”
The Bears face the Bruins Saturday at 5 p.m. and face the Racers Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
The Bruins enter Saturday’s match with a record of 3-2.
The Racers enter Sunday at 2-3.
The Racers defeated the Bears last February 5-2 in Conway.
After this weekend’s road trip, the Bears have three matches at home over the next two weekends.
The Bears are 0-4 in matches away from Conway this year.

Symphonic band features four composers

thomasgroves — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:01:53 +0000

The University of Central Arkansas Symphonic Band kicked off its spring season Wednesday night at Reynolds Performance Hall with a concert that featured pieces by four different composers.
The compositions they performed were by composers Vaclav Nehybel, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Gordon Jacob and Henry Fillmore.
Each piece brought its own unique sound, which was aptly described by director Brantley Douglas before each one was played.
The first composition, simply titled “Symphonic Movement,” was a bombastic and seemingly spastic piece based on an eight-note series.
Sophomore Percussionist Dakota Atchley said “Symphonic Movement” was his favorite piece.
“It is difficult across the board, and there aren’t any easy parts,” he said. “It’s very symphonic.”
Atchley said he really enjoyed the whole experience, and that he had a “ballin’ bell part;” which he danced to while playing.
“Every instrument is pretty fun,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to play a bunch of different things.”
Douglas said the second arrangement, “Toccata,” was a keyboard work of the Baroque period.
Its mellow, tonal and especially powerful sound gave the audience a look into music from the 17th century.
Sophomore Blake Bost said “Toccata” was his favorite piece and that, by itself, made the event worth attending.
“The ‘Toccata’ was definitely the best,” he said. “It was beautiful.”
Bost said that as a former band member, he could see that the UCA Symphonic Band has improved as a whole.
“I heard them perform last year and they weren’t as good,” he said. “The new director has done them good.”
Atchley said he could also see vast improvement in the group.
“Most of the players couldn’t even play through these the first time,” he said. “[The performance] tonight wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty close.”
After “Toccata” ended, its final note resonating throughout the hall, the audience clapped appreciatively as the band began its third composition: “An Original Suite.”
Douglas said it was a unique composition written for a ‘military’ band.
He said the British piece consisted of three movements: “March,” “Intermezzo” and “Finale.”
Douglas said “Intermezzo” had an Irish flair to it.
Sophomore Nathan Kuhnert said he was able to appreciate the flair.
“‘An Original Suite’ was possibly my favorite arrangement,” he said. “I especially loved the bass saxophone solo. It was pretty cool.”
The final piece, a march titled “Americans We,” celebrated American patriotism with its up-tempo and lively orchestration.
Littered with staccato beats, the composition ended the show in style.
“It was nice to end it like that,” Kuhnert said. “Most of the other songs were slower paced. While I’ve heard and played a lot of marches throughout high school, this one was unique and entertaining.”
The march also has some wonderful history behind it.
“’Americans We’ is known along with Souzas’s ‘The Stars and Stripes Forever’ and Bagley’s ‘National Emblem,’” Douglas said, of how it helped shape and celebrate American patriotism.
As “Americans We” faded triumphantly, many members of the audience jumped to their feet, applauding with enthusiasm.
Douglas thanked the audience for attending and congratulated the band members on their “excellent performance.”
As the audience made its way toward the exits, Atchley said he thought he could confidently say he could sum up how everyone in attendance felt about the event.
“I loved it,” he said.

NBC comedy works without Carell

Marisa Hicks — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:01:51 +0000

NBC’s “The Office” premiered its 15th episode in its eighth season, “Tallahassee,” on Feb. 16 which featured the familiar tension between characters Jim (John Krasinski) and Dwight (Rainn Wilson).
Despite bad reviews on NBC’s website, the episode featured a lot of much needed time with the characters, giving it a feel like the older seasons.
Without the former boss, Michael Scott (Steve Carell), in charge, or on set for that matter, there has been a lot of humor, and the tension which helped create that humor, missing from the show. Andy (Edward Helms) has been able to replace, somewhat, those mixed feelings. However, it has taken him much of the eighth season to do so.
Last week’s premiere offered viewers many laughs while following along with Jim and Dwight’s prank war. Also, a familiar face meets the Scranton branch’s “special project” team of the Dunder Mifflin Sabre paper company in Florida.
From the very early minutes of the episode Dwight complains about having to wake up the rest of the team because they are running 20 minutes behind schedule to meet other members of the company to collaborate and learn about the “special project.”
After getting kicked in the face by Erin (Ellie Kemper), who decided to sleep backward, Dwight decides to let her follow along with him to wake up the rest of the team. When they reach Jim’s room they stumble upon a trashed room with a suitcase filled with money, which was laid open. It looked as if someone had come through and murdered Jim, and just as they were trying to figure out what had happened they noticed the words “It was Dwight” written in red on one of the doors in the room.
In the previous episode, “Special Project,” Dwight was chosen to select the “perfect” team to send off to Florida and to lead the Scranton branch. Dwight was humiliated when Andy shot down his list and hand-picked a lesser qualified group so as to not hurt the company by sending off all of the stronger workers away to Florida for three weeks.
As in every other episode thus far since Robert California (James Spader) became the Chief Executive Officer of the company, all of the employees look for different ways to impress him. In “Special Project,” Jim spent the entire first half of the day trying to word a text message reply to Robert on why he was unable to meet up with him in Florida. Despite Jim’s efforts he decided to go to Florida and shot past having to prove himself to Andy and Dwight by showing the original text message from Robert.
These two episodes were the most entertaining episodes of the season and since Carell’s leave. No matter what, no efforts could ever replace Carell’s booming personality.
A lot of viewers have expressed online on NBC’s website that the show should be canceled now that Carell is no longer on the cast. However, I find the show is still worth watching. It’s fun to see how the characters have dealt with him leaving and how they have learned to cope with their former co-worker in command.
That’s not to say that Carell was not an important aspect to the show, because he made “The Office” what it is today. Just as in the real working environment, workers and bosses come and go. With Carell’s leave leading up to Andy being put in charge, the show really captures the right light to the story line with hilarious touches.
“The Office” airs Thursday nights at 8 p.m. on NBC.

Students crowd in for ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’

Spencer Griffin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:01:50 +0000

The Student Activities Board gave the audience a taste of the past, Sunday night, with the showing of the 80s cult classic, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
Carla Grant, SAB secretary, said that it is the first throwback movie that SAB has done.
“It’s different because it came out when I was in college and this story never changes,” she said. “Everyone wants that special day, especially when they are in college.”
Several audience members dressed up in 80s apparel as there was a contest held before the movie.
The audience member with the best 80s clothing, voted on by a panel of SAB members, would receive a variety pack of 80s movies.
Freshman Jarred Sweeney won the costume contest.
“Throwback movies are cool,” he said. “Movies in the 80s are fun types of movies. I came to this movie because it is an 80s movie and its Matthew Broderick.”
Sweeney won the contest by wearing a blue jacket from the 80s.
Both Grant and Sweeney thought a costume competition was a great way for SAB to attract students to attend SAB movie nights.
They said they think students should enjoy the opportunities for free food and entertainment.
Sophomore SAB member Nathan Kuhnert said he thinks SAB could have a better turnout if they chose a different day to show movies.
“People are usually doing stuff on the weekend and just want to crash, so Sundays probably aren’t a good idea,” he said.
Grant said SAB is confined by scheduling conflicts.
“It is extremely hard to get this space booked so Sunday is the only feasible day,” she said.
Kuhnert said that he likes the 80s movies and with that they would do more throwback movies because it is unique.
Kuhnert, Sweeney and Grant all said that they like the throwback movies, and especially the ones from the 80s.
Grant said that the SAB chooses a movie through the movie committee.
“They review what is coming out and when and they vote on it,” she said. “One of the criteria is no R-rated movies.”
Before the showing of the movie, there were winners of several raffle ticket prizes.
One audience member won a $10 Wal-Mart gift card, while another won a T-shirt that had Cameron from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” on the front. Another audience member won a “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” DVD.
As usual, the best seat in the house was also awarded along with skittles, a pizza and a two-liter soda. This person also got to sit on the couch in the front row.
Audience members watched the movie with a smiles on their faces and pizza on their plates.
They had their choice of pizza and soda, as well as a bag of freshly popped popcorn.
Several audience members expressed their excitement of the movie choice while standing in line to get their food and drinks.
Smiles were brought to different audience members’ faces as they got to experience Matthew Broderick in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” either for the first time, or once again but on a larger screen.
The audience, who laughed and seemed to have a good time throughout the throwback movie, lingered for a while after to discuss their favorite parts.

‘Buried Life’ cast encourages pursuit of dreams

Lisa Burnett — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:01:45 +0000

A packed ballroom in the Student Center proved that the Student Activities’ Board presents: “The Buried Life” was a success on Thursday night.
Students lined the stairs preceding the event. Music blared as students filed in one after the other in anticipation to see the stars of the popular MTV show.
The evening began with Buried Life member, Dave Lingwood, breakdancing at the front of the ballroom to get the crowd pumped up for the presentation.
The group is made up of brothers Jonnie and Duncan Penn, Ben Nemtin and Lingwood.
The four told a quick story of where they were before they started “The Buried Life” project.
While in college, Jonnie read a poem titled “The Buried Life” by Matthew Arnold, where he got the idea for the group of four friends to make a list of things they wanted to accomplish before they died.
“We decided to make this list,” Jonnie said. “We just kept generating ideas.”
This list is compiled of items from making the front page of the newspaper to playing basketball with the president.
“There are no bad ideas,” Duncan said. “We came up with a list of around 200 things.”
The first item the group decided to put into action was to make Nemtin a knight for a day.
The group raised money and called local companies to publicize the event of a knight being in town for a day.
“Everyone we called showed up,” Nemtin said. “All of the news stations were there, and so that helped us achieve list item number two, being on the front page of the newspaper.”
The Buried Life members went back and forth throughout the evening by explaining the mission behind this project that the group has put into place.
“We started helping total strangers do things they have always wanted to do,” Jonnie said.
Every time the group finishes an item on their list, they help a complete stranger do something on his or her list.
The group told a story about a father and son named Sam and Laban.
The group met Sam in Dallas while he was selling his art on the side of the road.
Something on his list was to reconnect with his son, who he hadn’t seen in 17 years.
Duncan said that Sam was inspired by The Buried Life’s ambition to make his dream a reality.
“’In the last 17 years, there hasn’t been a day when I haven’t thought about him, and I was too scared to do so,’” Duncan said Sam told him this when the father and son were finally reconnecting.
Duncan said that Sam and Laban have now been spending holidays together and spending time together.
The Buried Life has received extensive amounts of feedback from viewers of their television show.
Emails, letters and Facebook messages flood their inboxes daily with list items that have been completed or want to be completed by their fans.
“Take pride in whatever it is you dream about,” Jonnie said.
The Buried Life told students that it’s important to make a list of your own, then go after that list.
The group also stressed the importance of helping others.
“Happiness is only real when it is shared,” Nemtin said.
Lingwood said that helping others has been the most influential task the group has completed.
“It’s been really interesting,” Lingwood said. “[We like] making a difference in someone’s life.”
The Buried Life has recently completed number 19 on their list, writing a book.
That book, “What do you want to do before you die?” will be released on March 27.
“We’ve been working on it for five years,” Nemtin said.
At the end of the evening, a microphone was opened up to the audience, where they were given the chance to tell the group what they want to do before they die.
The responses ranged from getting to go on a date with Duncan to making every homecoming for soldiers as special as it can be.
The Buried Life is currently filming a pilot for a new show, and they plan be done with it at the end of this year.
Lingwood said that he enjoyed his time at UCA.
“Everyone was so nice before and after the show,” Lingwood said. “The school has a really cool vibe. The all-brick was the classiest thing ever.”
The Buried Life showed the audience a video of the group completing a task that has proven to be quite difficult for them, playing basketball with the president of the United States.
“I think it’s a bit of a scary thing realizing that anything is possible,” Lingwood said.
Freshmen Lindsey Withers and Alexis Strickland were in the audience for the event.
“I’ve never seen their show before, but I knew it was a good thing that they were doing,” Withers said. “I thought it would be interesting, whatever they were going to tell us, whatever they were going to do, I thought it would be really cool to see.”
Withers said that The Buried Life’s presentation inspired her to help others complete items on their list.
“I bought this shirt that says ‘What do you want to do before you die?’ and I’m going to go around asking people that and maybe I can help some people,” Withers said.
Strickland came to the presentation because she is a fan of the television show.
“I just liked that they actually let people talk to them and tell them what they wanted to do, and they are going to give people a chance to cross something off of their list,” Strickland said.

‘Sympathy Pains’ searches for talent

Zachary O'Neal — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:01:43 +0000

The UCA Digital Filmmaking department is looking for people to star in its feature film “Sympathy Pains.”
Auditions will be held Feb. 24 in Conway; Feb. 25 in Little Rock; March 10 in Memphis; March 16 in Fayetteville and March 17 in Hot Springs .
The film was produced by the UCA Filmmaking Department and written and directed by Joe Dull.
The auditions are open to anyone.
Dull said the reason for the various locations is to spread the net out as far as possible.
“Last time we just did auditions in Conway and Little Rock and we saw some wonderful people,” he said.
Dull said they are looking for men, women and children of all ethnicities that have a desire to act, to be in the film.
Dull said he expects the actors to have confidence and flexibility.
He said the actors should ask themselves two questions: “Can I pull off the part with raw talent?” and “What can I bring to the role?”
Film professor, Katiina Dull said they are looking for a variety of people to fill the film’s roles.
“The auditions are taking place all over Arkansas, as well as a stop in Memphis,” she said. “There are a range of roles we are looking to cast, everything from a bossy stand-up comedian to a scowling football coach who also happens to be the father-in-law.”
She said they will also need about 200 extras by the time they are done with the shoot, so they encourage anyone who wants to be involved in the film, even just a minor commitment, to contact her or Joe in Stanley Russ Hall.
Joe and Katiina encourage anyone who is interested in auditioning, or just to get more imformation about their films to go their website: daringlydullproductions.com.
On the website, there are trailers, a list of cast members and short synopsises of many of their films available for viewing.
The film projects listed on the site, along with “Sympathy Pains,” are “Table at Luigi’s,” “The Proposal,” “Starring: Rachel Miller. A Different Documentary” and “The Midterm Incident.”
“Sympathy Pains” is the story of Danny, who is described as a terrible comedian, who suffers from morning sickness after he discovers his wife is pregnant.
As he fights a battle between his family and his dream job, Danny attempts to juggle both and succeeds at neither.
Joe said the characters are his favorite part of this film.
“They are so much fun,” he said. “I really enjoy writing them. The lead character is drawn a little bit from myself. It’s fun to kind of make fun of myself in some way. The next lead character, my wife, is just one of the best characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of writing.”
He said what he dislikes most is within the production, the many hours of “writing and rewriting, writing and rewriting, writing and rewriting ….”
He said it is a labor of love.
“There are always fun parts but there’s also an awful lot of work,” he said. “From promoting the film to driving to audition locations, there are so many hours of mundane things that kind of make up the making of a film.”
He said the filming portion will begin in June and will most likely last through all of August.
He said post-production will continue through the summer of 2013.
He said “Sympathy Pains” should be completed in time for the Sundance and Slamdance Film Festival submissions, whose deadlines are in August.
The UCA Digital Filmmaking is the largest filmmaking program in Arkansas.
Added to that, it is one of the only programs in the nation to include a hands-on feature filmmaking course.
Recent UCA graduates have gone on to work on “Green Lantern,” “ The Pirates of the Caribbean” and the Jeff Nichols’ feature “Mud.”
The department’s last project, “Table at Luigi’s,” premiered in 2010 and has been screened across the country.
“Table at Luigi’s” involved nearly 100 UCA students.
It won Best in Show at the Indie Fest in La Jolla, Cali.; Best Romance Film at Bare Bones Film Festival in Muskogee, Okla.; the Love is in the Air Award at the Film Festival in Denver, Colo. and an Official Finalist Award in the Las Vegas Film Festival.
“The first film was such a success, we’re looking forward to repeating that and making it even stronger with this one,” Joe Dull said.
Katiina said she thinks everyone involved will enjoy working on “Sympathy Pains.”
“I am really excited to be able to do a second feature film at UCA,” she said. “It is as a lot of work, but it is great opportunity for the UCA film students. The script is really funny and so it should be a good time on set.”
Junior Codi Bogard is a producer of the film, grad-student Lyle Arnett is the post-production supervisor, senior Brandon Bogard is an editor and senior Kim Risi is the set dresser.

Baseball team opens season with three losses

Spencer Griffin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:01:40 +0000

The Bears fell behind early and were unable to comeback in a 5-1 loss to the Creighton Blue Jays Feb. 19 at Bear Stadium.
The loss capped the Bears’ season-opening series, which was a sweep by the Blue Jays.
Creighton took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning in the form of a two-run homerun from senior infielder Nick Judkins.
They added two more runs shortly after that in the second inning from a sacrifice fly and an RBI single to increase the lead to 4-0.
It took the Bears five innings to score their one and only run and that was from an RBI ground out by senior infielder Bryan Wilson that allowed junior catcher Michael Marietta to score.
After the Blue Jays were able to score runs off senior pitcher Ryan Angus in the first two innings, Angus was able to pitch three shutout innings.
In the sixth inning, junior Bears Ethan McKinzie came in to pitch for Angus and pitched until the ninth inning allowing only one run, one hit and had three strikeouts.
Angus picked up the loss for the Bears, while sophomore pitcher Nick Musec earnned the win for the Blue Jays.
This moves the Bears’ record to 0-3 on the season and Creighton’s record to 3-0.
Junior right fielder Forrestt Allday had two walks, two singles and a triple.
He also threw a base runner out from right field to third base.
Allday said the Bears were unable to string hits together to be able to score runs. He said,
“We had spurts of offense but just couldn’t come together as a unit,” he said. “Give Creighton credit, they capitalized on their opportunities and that was the difference in the game today.”
Allday said that the constant pitching changes by Creighton contributed to the lack of offense.
“Anytime even a little momentum got going for us, he would make a pitching change,” Allday said.
The Bears lost the Saturday matchup, 7-3, in 10 innings.
The Blue Jays started the scoring in the top of the fourth on a ground out by junior right fielder Brennan Murphy to score senior catcher Scott Thornburg.
The Blue Jays added two more runs in the top of the fifth on a two RBI-single by senior left fielder Anthony Bemboom.
The Bears answered with two runs in the bottom of the fith with an RBI-single center fielder Jonathan Davis to score freshman second baseman Griffin Glaude.
Junior left fielder Ethan Harris doubled later in the inning to score Davis and bring the Bears within one run.
The Bears tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with a double-play ground out by senior catcher Travis Snider to score Allday.
The Blue Jays exploded in the top of the tenth to score four runs and take 7-3 lead.
After a single by senior third baseman Blake Roberts, Snider grounded into a double play ad Wilson ended the game with a ground out to short.
Senior pitcher Reese McGraw picked up the win for the Blue Jays, going one and two-third innings, allowing only one hit while striking out two.

Bears senior pitcher Andy Steimetz picked up the loss in three and two-third innings work, allowing three runs on four hits, while striking out two.
Allday, Harris and Wilson all led the Bears with two hits.
Davis, Harris and Snider led the Bears in RBI with one a piece.
The Bears lost the series opener on Friday, 4-3.
The Blue Jays jumped out a 3-0 lead after the first two innings.
After junior Bears pitcher Jeffery Enloe walked the bases loaded in the first inning, a walk to Gerber, scored senior third baseman Chance Ross from third.
The Blue Jays added two more in the top of the second on an RBI-single by Judkins and an RBI-double from Thornburg.
The Bears answered with one run in the bottom of the third inning on a sac fly by sophomore designated Logan Moon, to score Davis from third.
The Bears scored one run each in the bottom of the seventh to move the score to 4-2 heading into the final innings.
After Bears reliever sophomore Bryce Biggerstaff retired three Blue Jays in the top of the ninth, the Bears took the plate.
Snider led off with a single to left. Wilson fouled out to left field in the next at-bat.
Marietta pinch-hit for junior second baseman Blake Marchala and grounded out to second. Snider advanced to second on the play.
Moon singled to left field into score Snider from second. Davis ended the game on a ground out to the shortstop.
Blue Jays junior pitcher Ty Blach picked up the win in five innings of work. Blach allowed only two hits, one run and three walks, while striking out six.
Enloe picked up the loss for the Bears, going three and one-third innings, allowing four runs, only two earned, on two hits and seven walks. Enloe also struck out four.
Biggerstaff pitched five and two-third innings, allowing no runs on three hits and one walk.
Biggerstaff also struck out three batters.
Moon led the Bears with two RBI.
Snider led the team in hits, going three-for-four, including a double to right field in the bottom of the seventh.
Allday said the series showed the things the team needs to work on and to get better.
“We just need to stay in our system and play our game. We obviously didn’t play to our full potential this weekend so we are going to work hard this week to get back on track,” he said.
Junior pitcher Ethan McKinzie, who had success against the Creighton offense, said, “I simply was able to locate a fastball and work ahead in the count. When you work ahead in the count, pressure is put on the hitter.”
McKinzie said the series showed that there is room for improvement and that the team just needs to stay with the system.
“There’s a lot of baseball left to play,” he said.
When preparing for the next series, McKinzie said, “We just need to stick with what we’ve been doing in practice and to build off the good things that come from that time and carry it in to next weekend’s games.”
The Bears host the SIU Edwardsville Cougars this weekend at Bear Stadium in a three-game series.
The Cougars enter the game 2-1 on the season.
The Bears swept the Cougars last February in the Bears’ opening series of the 2011 season with wins by 5-4, 14-4 and 16-13.
The series starts Friday at 3 p.m. Game two of the series is Saturday at 1 p.m. and the series finale is Sunday at 1 p.m.