Let the games begin

Cynthia Mason

The Columbus Books-A-Million, in conjunction with Hollywood Premier Cinemas of Starkville, will be hosting an event for the much-anticipated release of “The Hunger Games” on March 23. The Starkville movie theatre will open for a special midnight showing at 12 am on the movie’s official release day.

Those attending are encouraged to dress in costume as their favorite character from the book or movie. There will be games and prizes, including a contest for the most creative costume. Books-A-Million will also have a cash-only booth selling movie-related merchandise and books in the theater lobby prior to the show.

The event begins at 10 pm Thursday, March 22 and the winner of the costume contest will be announced 30 minutes prior to the movie. For more information Call Cynthia Mason at 662-327-5447.

Art in Columbus event is a hit

Liz Kennedy

News Editor

The first Art in Columbus event was held on Thursday, Feb. 5, on Main Street in downtown Columbus.

The event was inspired by Fondran After 5, an art event held in Jackson’s art district once a month. The owners of Renee Reedy Photography and Film, who are also from Fondran, missed having a time for artists to come together and show their work, so they partnered with Random Acts of Culture and other studios in the area to come up with this event.

Renee Reedy, The Southern Letter Press and The Rozenswieg Art Center are the three studios that decided to put this together. According to Jessica Peterson, the owner of The Southern, the studios wanted to work together to showcase art.

"I think it was kind of a moment of spontaneous generation," said Peterson.

There was a good turnout for the opening event. Renee Reedy showcased the “New Friends” exhibit of dolls by Adele Elliot. The Rosenzwieg held Bernie Imes’ show “Partial to Home,” which was a collection of photographs from around the area. The Southern presented the “Installation Anonymous” answers, people’s answers to questions about love. The Southern also gave letterpress demonstrations.

There was a very good reaction from the community.

“I think that it will be a very interesting and beneficial thing to do. Columbus has a lot to be proud of in the area of the arts,” says Allegra Brigham, former MUW interim president.

The events are scheduled for the first Thursday of each month. For more information, contact Renee Reedy Studio at www.reneereedy.com or Random Acts of Culture at www.randomactsofculture.biz.

Internet goes on strike

Danton J. Thompson

Managing Editor

On Wednesday the 18^th many websites including Wikipedia, Google, 4Chan, Megaupload and Reddit are uniting in opposing and protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) by blacking out most of their website’s posts or logos, or in Wikipedia’s case, shutting it down completely.

The Stop Online Piracy Act has been gaining steam from Congress since its introduction late last year. SOPA and PIPA, if passed, would have the power to block Internet service providers from letting people go to certain websites or in some cases, delete entire websites from the Internet altogether. Almost immediately the Internet’s underworld cried foul on the bill they thought seemed “too vague” and “censors the internet.”

After the bill was finally looked over by the Obama Administration, it too found the wording of the bill a little too extreme and vague.

"While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cyber security risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet," said leaders from the Obama Administration in a statement on whitehouse.gov.

Most people and organizations against SOPA and PIPA are blaming “Hollywood bigwigs” for the resurgence of strength these bills have picked up since being introduced. Sites such as Megaupload and Reddit have gone so far as to release statements blaming them directly.

“The freedom, innovation, and economic opportunity that the Internet enables is in jeopardy. It's all about money.  Boycott the goods and services of the companies that support SOPA and Protect IP,” said a Reddit administrator on its page, announcing its internet strike opposing the bills.

Megaupload, in its post joining the fight against SOPA and PIPA, recounted an incident involving Universal Music Group (UMG), a strong supporter of SOPA, in which it enlisted the help of musicians P. Diddy, Will.i.am, Kanye West and Chris Brown to produce a promotional song and video for Megaupload which it called the Mega Song. After becoming an instant viral hit on YouTube, Twitter and other sites hosting the video, UMG unlawfully claimed ownership of the Mega Song and had the video taken down from YouTube and the other sites where the video was hosted.

Though the list of people and organizations opposing SOPA and PIPA is a mile long, from Arianna Huffington to Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, the list of organizations supporting the bills is even longer and stronger. Major corporations from 3M, to Electronic Arts to CBS and Nike have announced unwavering supporting for the passing of these bills. These  companies said they feel that their properties should be protected by whatever means possible to keep them from being stolen and traded across the Internet.

Though some companies received no backlash after formally announcing their support for the bill, most organizations faced harsh criticism from their Internet followers for supporting such a bill. After GoDaddy.com announced its support for SOPA, many websites hosted on GoDaddy began to swap to a different server. The largest network leaving GoDaddy was the I Can Has Cheezburger network, which walked away with its over 1,000 domains.

Both Microsoft and Sony announced support for SOPA in its earliest of days, but quietly switched over to the list of opposers after facing a severe backlash from the millions of users of their home gaming consoles and Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia has high hopes that this Internet strike will reach far enough to have a massive impact on the future of the two bills.

“This is going to be wow. I hope Wikipedia will melt phone systems in Washington on Wednesday. Tell everyone you know!” Wales announced to his Twitter followers.

The Senate will vote on PIPA on January 24 and SOPA will return to the House in February after a two week break.



Girls only!

Liz Kennedy

News editor

Some members of the Mississippi Brawl Stars team.What do you get when you mix the sports of skating and football and add female athletes into the mix? The answer is roller derby, a very competitive sport that any woman, athletic or not, can enjoy – and it’s fun to watch too.

Roller derby is not a very well-known sport, but that is all about to change. With around 1,000 teams on six continents, it is naturally gaining popularity in the United States. The sport even caught the attention of Hollywood with the movie “Whip It,” directed by Drew Barrymore.

The first professional teams started in the 1940s, but they were more theatrical than athletic, much like professional wrestling today. Around 2000 roller derby changed into a truly athletic sport.

The sport is popular in larger cities and on the coast. Recently, though, the sport is starting to gain popularity in the South. Proof of this is right here in Columbus with the local team, the Mississippi Brawl Stars. 

The team was started by Denna Ryan, Isa Beaulieu and W alumna Megan Dareing in March of 2010.

“The W is a target because the sport is perfect for college students,” says team member and W alumna Juna’uh Allgood.

Allgood got involved when she moved back to Columbus after graduating from MUW. Her friend Sarah Wilson, another MUW alum, told her about the sport and encouraged her to give it a try. She got involved with the team in December of 2010. She actually started that next month, January 2011.

“The hardest part is trying something new,” said Allgood.

The Brawl Stars are trying to become an official Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WTDA) league. To do this they need to have a certain number of members and have played for almost a year. When they have achieved that, they will apply to be an apprentice team and will later become a certified team.

The team has a pretty good following in the community, bringing in around 200 audience members for each bout. The team involves community members in whatever way it can. Recently, the team had the local chief of police ring the bell at the beginning of one of its bouts. In addition, they also use ticket sales to support the Palmer home and various other charities in the area.

The sport is very athletic, but is not like most typical sports. It is perfect for women who want to be part of a team, but may not fit in a traditional sport. The Brawl Stars’ ages fall anywhere from 18 to 40, and they all come from different walks of life.

Contrary to Internet rumors that all roller derby bouts end in blood and concussions for their players, Allgood says the bouts are not as violent as some might think they are.

“There are rules,” Allgood says.

Also, the party scene that is often associated with roller derby is absent. There are after parties, but, at the end of the day, they are athletes just like in any other sport.

There have recently been men who are trying to make their own leagues, but it is not common.

“This is one of the few times where men are trying to follow women,” says Allgood.

Another unique aspect of the sport is the creativity and performance involved. Players choose derby names, which are used as a fun outlet for the players’ personalities, much like an alter ego, and on the local level players can customize their uniforms. Also, the bouts can be themed, which gets the audience included.

To join the team you must be at least 18, a female and you must show an interest in learning. You do not have to know how to skate. There is a $10 application fee. For more information, contact Juna’uh Allgood at (601)692-3395.

Are you a phonetographer?

Sam S. Guyton

Contributing writer

A sample of the artists' phonetography pictures.Most people use their cell phones to take photos, but they don’t see the photographs as art.

But for phonetographers, images captured by camera phones can go beyond the ordinary and venture into the realm of art. This was the focus of an event held in downtown Columbus on Friday, Nov. 4.  The event, titled “Phonetography,” featured local photographers and artists who captured pictures using only their cellphones.

Photographs were printed and displayed on wires stretched around the room. Those attending received a glimpse into the varied subjects that find their way into a phone’s camera lens.

Erik Studdard, an MUW graduate, was driving force behind the event. 

“I am always taking pictures with my phone,” said Studdard. “I wanted to see if there were others who shared my interest, and it snowballed from there.”

Studdard has a background in graphic design and took that as an opportunity to transform his cellphone into a tool for creating this new style of art.

“Whatever you can do with a camera, you can do with a phone,” Studdard said.

Katie McDill, also a graduate from MUW, was another featured artist. She said she was happy to see a nice turnout for the show.

“I see pictures in everything, and the mobile phone makes it easy,” said McDill.

The event featured other artists such as Kelly Tippett, Dana LeBlanc, and MUW’s own faculty members Shawn Dickey and Chris Jenkins. 

The event was held at the Renee Reedy Photography Studio, located below Café on Main in downtown Columbus. The studio is owned by Renee Reedy and her husband, Will Reedy, both of whom had their own photos on display.  The studio is planning a grand opening for Nov. 15.

The studio will also be available for other showcases, and the Reedys said they are looking forward to more in the future.

“Columbus has a unique and cool downtown,” said Will Reedy.

The studio will be open to the public, and will also offer video and photo services according to Will Reedy.

 “This is our office and our showroom. We have done a lot of work and want a place we can showcase art,” said Will Reedy.