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  • Afternoon Links

    The Daily Texan Life and Arts section is happy to complement your afternoon procrastination with a smattering of news from across the cultural spectrum. 

    Taylor Swift insults Tina Fey and Amy Poehler so that was pretty stupid.

    “Did you enjoy being ugly for once?” superfan Chris Stark asked Mila Kunis in an interview that’s gone viral.

    The use of “literally” for emphasis is included in three dictionaries.

    We like the new Smith Westerns song.

    Here’s the teaser trailer for season six of “Mad Men.” Getting excited yet? 

    Here is a look at the little black books of some pop culture icons like Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra.

    Tiny houses built of books! How cute!

    If you are a diehard Nick Cage fan, you might want to check out Nicholas Cage Roulette.

    How they turned the Bay Bridge into a bad ass work of art.

    This model’s virginity has a twitter account? There are also 5 accounts devoted to Cara Delevingne’s eyebrows.

  • Why Spring break needs to step up to the plate

    By Stuart Railey

    Like an unrelenting freight train heading straight for a cliff, the spring semester here at UT has refused to give up even for a moment. A crisis is mounting.

    In the same way that alcohol and prescription drugs don’t mix, piles of schoolwork and lack of sleep are combining to produce a volatile cocktail of despair and late-night Qdoba. In the face of overwhelming stress, the human body simply shuts down. Rudimentary operations like laundry and exercise cease to occur. College students are slowly dying off.

    Well, enough is enough. We need you, spring break.

    As responsible college students, we reserve unalienable rights, rights that can and should be exercised freely. It’s high time a beacon of justice was lit to rally around. The fetters of our college education cannot hold forever.

    Students, we deserve the right to procrastinate freely without pangs of guilt. We should be allowed to catch up on "Game of Thrones" without failing a test in Spanish class.

    We deserve the right to take a shower without wearing flip-flops to protect our feet from the bodily excretions of ages passed. Heck, we should be able to sit in the shower.

    And above all, we deserve the right to go to sleep at 4 a.m. and not bear the consequences of that decision. Starting a movie at 3 a.m.? Why not?

    At the heart of this present emergency lies a fundamental need for us to ignore our real-world responsibilities and reform our school’s academic calendar. Spring break can’t be in a week, it can’t be in a few days. Spring break needs to happen now.

    Save us from our impending doom, spring break. We need you now more than ever.

  • Lunchtime Links

    By Kelsey McKinney

    The Daily Texan Life and Arts section is happy to complement your afternoon procrastination with a smattering of news from across the cultural spectrum. 

    -There will be a spring festival this year that compliments South By Southwest called OUTlander Spring Festival. The festival will celebrate LGBT artists performing at this year's SXSW.

    -Here's a video of a kitten meeting a hedgehog. You're welcome, Monday. 

    -Is all of this hate for Anne Hathaway really a hatred for little girls? Is there more to not liking Anne Hathaway than simply disliking her? Wait – I literally can't think of one thing to hate Anne Hathaway for. 

    -In honor of the Joffrey Ballet performing "The Rite of Spring" on Tuesday, the Harry Ransom Center has posted pictures of the 193 costumes. 

    -Here is the video from the super tense and not funny Texas Student Media meeting that took place Friday.

    -An Austin benefactor who co-founded the Texas Book Festival has died, and the Statesman wrote a really beautiful obituary for her. 

    -Tiny houses are incredibly popular right now. Everyone is surprised. 

    -Happy 90th birthday to TIME Magazine – and they say print isn't cool anymore!

    -The ABC Family show about ballerinas, uncleverly titled "Bunheads," apparently has more to say about dance than just, "It's hard." 

    -Someone has invented couture kitchen aprons which you will look at for five minutes thinking, "Wow, this is absurd," only to decide that you need one immediately. 

  • SNL in review: Kevin Hart

    By Elizabeth Williams

    Saturday’s host was pint-size comedian and actor Kevin Hart with musical guests Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Hart’s ability to be extremely excited while talking a mile a minute got the episode off to a strong start but eventually wound down to end things with a whimper, not a bang. Sketches like “The Shark Tank” and “360 News” were, frankly, not funny at all.

    Here are some of the night’s highlights:

    Kevin Hart’s monologue: Hart opened with a short and sweet bit about watching a homeless man palm someone’s sandwich. He avoided the awkwardness of past comedy monologues on SNL, the prime example being Dane Cook pacing about the stage like a crazy man in 2005 and 2006.

    Steve Harvey Show-Phobias: Oh, Kenan Thompson, I love you. You’re the funniest person on SNL right now, and your Steve Harvey impression made me laugh so hard, I choked on my drink.

    New Pope: Hart plays the ever-precious Quvenzhané Wallis as she is crowned the spiritual leader of the Catholics. Who doesn’t want Quvenzhané Wallis to be pope? Also, pope jokes will never get old. Ever.

    Barnes & Noble Firing: Bobby Moynihan and Cecily Strong reprise their roles as two gratuitously profane minimum wage laborers. Hart can’t manage a straight face as Carl, played by Tim Robinson, creeps over his shoulder. That’s the way the popcorn pops.

    Macklemore and Ryan Lewis-Thrift Shop: Macklemore jumps around in red pants, gold epaulets and a black leather tank top while Ryan Lewis tries his darndest to be a hype man/beat dropper in a white fur jacket. Watch for the horn section's varying degrees of being “into it.”

    Bonus Pope jokes: Check out Weekend Update for more pope jokes! I really cannot get enough of these pope jokes, y’all. 

  • Late Afternoon Links

    By Sarah-Grace Sweeney

    The Daily Texan Life and Arts section is happy to complement your afternoon procrastination with a smattering of news from across the cultural spectrum. 

    Everyone loves the Golden Girls. Here is the Dutch Golden Girls credits. It's even got its own version of "Thank you for being a friend!" 

    The Northern Lights in Norway are quite lovely. 

     A new craft beer bar, Craft Pride, opens tonight on Rainey Street! It will feature 54 beer taps and only Texas breweries. 

    Local band Quiet Comapny's got a new music video. The band has rerecorded debut album Shine Honesty and added two new songs. The new/revisited album will be available April 9. 

    Here are some college course syllabi from famous authors like David Foster Wallace and Zadie Smith. 

    This is a list of every celebrity ever made fun of on South Park. It is pretty extensive. 

    Apparently you can bid on Jennifer Lawrence's sports bra from "Silver Linings Playbook." While we are big fans, a sweaty sports bra is just a sweaty sports bra, right? 

    A European chocolate company has recreated a 3-D Audrey Hepburn for an ad. Creepy? Cool? 

    The Guardian is trying to assign every state it's own rock song. You can add your suggestions on their blog! 

    Beyoncé is a part of a new campaign to fight for equal rights for women. She has partnered with Gucci designer Frida Giannini and Salma Hayek and will focus on equality in health, education and justice.

     

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