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Farewell Auburn Plainsman, I Did My Best

By Brittany Cosby / Campus Editor | November 19

Though my time on The Plainsman staff was short lived, I felt it was only right to leave my legacy to the ones I leave behind.To the fall 2009 Plainsman staff, I leave safety walks to Moe's, "We do our best," Chick-fil-A in the Student Center, the candy drawer, e-board ramblings, late pagination days, laps around the office and the Diabeetus.To the Campus section, I leave the section fronts, filling space, writing for the front on Wednesday, the Scoop, story ideas and meeting deadline.To Ellison Langford, I leave Story Idea Wednesdays, drowning ourselves in queso, Chef's Table, Degrassi: The Next Generation, So You Think You Can Dance Tour, The Office recaps, walking around without shoes, sneaking off to Cold Stone for ice cream, sleepovers in Atlanta, Plainsman talks, good and bad photo discussions and breaking news.To Professor Judith Sheppard, I leave your insight into the journalism profession, nailing me on A.P.

OUR VIEW: Alabama PACT Payments Must Continue to be Paid Out

By Editorial Staff | November 12

Well, we got trouble, friends, trouble right here in Alabama.If you've read a newspaper or watched the local news, you should be aware of the current $345 million deficit faced by the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) account system.

Changes Needed with Cars, Pedestrians

By Lindsey Davidson / Editor | November 12

There is a problem in Auburn that needs to be addressed. Whether it is with the citizens or the city, it needs to be dealt with regardless.Two pedestrians have been struck by vehicles within the past month.A librarian walking across College Street to the conference center at night and was struck by a truck.There was a student this past Friday that was struck by a SUV on Magnolia Avenue.There still seems to be some debate of whether she was in a crosswalk.Both were life-flighted to nearby hospitals.The problem does not lie within the jaywalking, but more so with the lack of lighting in these areas.Several residents have commented on the severe problem the lack of lighting from the latest accident has caused.Bouncers from the nearby bars have said they hear sirens every night.

Reel Review: The Fourth Kind, 'It's one of a kind'

By Andrew Sims / ONLINE EDITOR | November 12

There are three kinds of movies - ones you love and can watch over and over again, ones that are tolerable and that you wish maybe you had just rented instead of spent the money to see in theater and finally, movies that make you sick to your stomach to even admit to other people that you saw.Many movies can quickly be classified into these simple categories, which is a great convenience to us, the viewer, when describing them to other people.However, there comes a time when veteran movie goers bring out a fourth, secret ranking.

The '90s: All That and a Bag of Chips

By Blake Hamilton / Associate Campus Editor | November 12

One night last week, I sat up at 3 a.m., as I am wont to do, writing an essay. Suddenly, something on TV caught my attention.

REEL REVIEW: 'Ally McBeal' Sings Back into My Heart

By Cliff McCollum / Opinions Editor | November 12

HHHHHI can remember the day I got the text message from Amy: Ally McBeal is coming to DVD.

It's That Time of Year Again

By Patrick Dever / Assistant Sports Editor | November 12

A homecoming game is nothing more than a warm-up for the next week.The starters gave a good showing for the 30 minutes they were actually in.Quarterback Chris Todd only threw one pass that fell incomplete and wide receiver Darvin Adams had as many touchdowns in the first half as Furman had points.The 63-31 score is a complete misrepresentation of how the game actually went.The Tiger offense seems to have enough depth at each position to be able to not worry about injuries.It does show the lack of depth on defense, as the second team gave up 28 points to the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) Paladins.Auburn lucks out by having its homecoming the week before Amen Corner.The term "Amen Corner" refers to the final two games of the season vs.

OUR VIEW: Cable Company Competition Could Comfort Citizen Concerns

By Editorial Staff | November 12

Charter's malevolent monopoly o'er The Plains could soon be coming to an end.Recent events in both Auburn and Opelika, as well as news from the financial sector, may help to finally bring down the cable kingpin and end its tyrannical oppression.The city of Auburn granted Knology a non-exclusive cable franchise Nov.

REEL REVIEW: 'A Christmas Carol' Causes 3D Explosion

By Brittany Cosby / Campus Editor | November 12

The first Christmas film kicked off the holiday season with another remake of Charles Dickens', "A Christmas Carol."Except this time director Robert Zemeckis made it into a 3D, IMAX, CGI extravaganza starring Jim Carrey in a variety of roles, but mainly as ole Scrooge himself.

Our View: Is Auburn Failing on Sexual Health Issues?

By Editorial Staff | November 5

We always look forward to receiving our annual package in the mail from Trojan, and not just for the free condoms.Included with a sampling of the company's products is the annual Trojan Sexual Health Report Card, a ranking system comprised of 13 different categories including sections on HIV Testing and Separate Sexual Awareness Programs as well as a Student Survey Portion.Auburn's ranking on the report card was a 2.14 GPA, putting us at 119 out of 141 colleges and universities.To make matters worse, the University of Alabama was No.

How I Survive in Auburn

By Ellison Langford / News Editor | November 5

It smells like good cigarettes and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and other peoples' sweat.It sounds like dozens of bearded guys wailing on each other in the pit and hundreds of voices singing about red balloons and desperately trying to leave home.It looks like black T-shirts and camo cutoffs and three days of not showering.It's The FEST, and it's the best time you'll probably never have.The FEST is a three-day punk rock festival in Gainesville, Fla.But what makes it super awesome is, instead of being on a couple massive stages outside with a score of nasty Porta Johns lined up by a fence, it's hosted in something like a dozen bars and venues around downtown G-Ville.It still feels like a show rather than whatever an outdoor concert feels like.I wouldn't know what an outdoor concert feels like because I've never been to one.But I've been to lots of shows in several different venues and The FEST feels like what a show should feel like.

Verizon and Google Team up Creating the New 'Droid'

By Daniel Chesser/ Staff Writer | November 5

Apple's iPhone seems to be the heavy-weight champion of cellular phones at the moment, but a new smart phone is looking to take the title of hippest personal digital assistant (PDA).Verizon and Google have joined to produce the Droid, a phone supposed to do everything the iPhone does, but better."The Droid is a phone that Verizon has combined with Google to produce a new operating system software called Android 2.0," said Kobie Robinson, Verizon store manager in Auburn.

Pigskin Predictions, Preferences, Picks

By Nick Van Der Linden / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | November 5

For those of you who are looking to see Auburn football after the Iron Bowl, you're in luck.Although we have not received a bowl bid yet, it is likely we will.The Tigers became bowl eligible by beating the Ole Miss Rebels in a game filled with exciting plays on both sides of the ball.We are 6-3 right now and play the Furman Paladins for Homecoming this weekend, which should be an easy win if we play like we did last Saturday.I think it is safe to say, not many people predicted us to be 7-3 going into the Georgia game, and with the way Georgia has been playing, we have a shot at winning that game as well.Whenever you hire a new head coach, you want to see progress throughout the year even if the team isn't winning games, and this was definitely the case last Saturday.I was curious to see how we would react after dropping three straight games after going 5-0.Sure it's easy to stay motivated after a win, but it takes a lot more to stay motivated after a loss.

'A Serious Man' a Mature Film

By Jacob Cole / STAFF WRITER | November 5

Throughout their careers, Joel and Ethan Coen have drawn heavily upon the work of grotesque moralist Flannery O'Connor. Black humor, bleak outlooks on humanity, many of the Coens' central themes can be traced back to O'Connor.Except, that is, O'Connor's spirituality: the Coen brothers have a decidedly anti-humanist streak and, barring the Hell imagery of "Barton Fink," have never really dabbled in the spiritual side of things. "A Serious Man" seeks to rectify this, and the Coens' retelling of the story of Job brings their work closer to O'Connor's oeuvre than ever before.Opening with a made-up Yiddish folk tale about a man who may or may not have invited a dybbuk (a corpse possessed by a wandering spirit) into his home, "A Serious Man" wastes no time taking stock of and poking fun at the brothers' storytelling conceits.Once the story cuts to its present, in 1967 Minnesota, the film reveals itself to be at once the Coens most autobiographical film and something that reaches far beyond,.Though quite a lot happens to Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) throughout the film, "A Serious Man" contains little in the way of story, and one could sum it up simply: a mild-mannered man suffers countless hardships and slowly comes undone.His wife informs him she wants a divorce out of the blue, work becomes more stressful as he frets over whether he will receive tenure, his redneck neighbor starts to build right on the property line and someone keeps calling from the Columbia Record Club to ask why Larry hasn't paid for records he never ordered.

'Black Dynamite' Positive Parody

By Jacob Cole / STAFF WRITER | November 5

In general, parodies only work if the creator loves whatever is being parodied (mocking that hate is satire).That's certainly true of "Black Dynamite," a loving homage to the low production values of the blaxploitation genre.Its star and co-writer, Michael Jai White, clearly sat down with a stack of DVDs and a notepad, and the result is the finest parody film since Shaun of the Dead.White plays Black Dynamite a combination of Richard Roundtree and Jim Kelly, a street savior dedicated to keeping the ghetto clean who just so happens to know kung fu.When the mob kills his brother, however, all hell breaks loose.BD gets what information he can from his old CIA buddy-cum-policeman O'Leary (according to the plaque on his desk, he has neither a title nor a first name), though most of their conversations involve hysterically over-expository background details of their time in 'Nam.With the perfunctory warning that O'Leary won't tolerate a street war no matter how close their bond, Black Dynamite leaves the station and, without hesitation, starts a street war.White, 41, has been a character actor for years, with a resume that's bound to include at least one film you've seen, though I can't match the same face across any two of them.With "Black Dynamite," though, he has a role that will finally turn him into a recognizable star.

Fly Over, Big Plays Lead to Win

By Patrick Dever / Assistant Sports Editor | November 5

Everything was in place for an Auburn football victory Saturday.The Tigers were well rested after a debilitating loss to LSU and were hungry for a win.The fans were ready for the Navy Nightmare (even if some of their Halloween costumes weren't blue).The band was pumped up, trying to make the most noise people can at 11:21 a.m.Aubie and the cheerleaders were rallying the students.Then, there was a fly over.It was the first fly over since Iron Bowl 2007, a game in which Auburn defeated Alabama for the sixth time in a row.There was no way Auburn could have lost to Ole Miss on a day that started with all those elements.The Tigers didn't disappoint either.

Our View: State Becoming More Open and Accessible on School Spending

By Editorial Staff | November 5

Throughout most of Alabama's history, the state has not been known as a bastion of truth and openness with regards to governmental actions and spending.The smoke-filled back room deals and spoils system have always plagued Alabama and still continue to be a problem even as we move into the 21st Century.When we hear Montgomery start to throw around words like "openness" and "accountability," we can't help but chuckle a bit.Can we really trust these folks?Honestly, we're starting to see more reasons to believe we can.There have been great strides made to try to reform the two-year college system and how lawmakers can interact with that system.With Governor Riley's new measures involving pass-through pork now being implemented, Alabama is finally starting to make its way into the light.Schools in Alabama have to fight for every cent they get from Montgomery, so legislators using their influence to steer education money to other venues should be seen as reprehensible.If our lawmakers are trying to do this, they should be called out and made to defend their actions and motives in the public sphere.Auburn is a land grant institution.This means the taxpayers in this state actually pay a large portion of the bills that go to make this campus the great university it is.Our tuition payments only cover a small portion of this university's costs, and Alabama's taxpayers certainly deserve to know how their money is being used.Especially in these difficult economic times, Auburn and other universities will need whatever they can get to help make up shortfalls and rising costs.We're entering some dark times for Alabama education, as we find new ways to increase the tax revenues funding our educational system.We can all agree pork barrel projects aren't going to help get us a better education.We applaud the governor's office for taking the lead on this issue and wish them well in hunting out corruption.Truthfully, this is a small step for Alabama, but it makes us hopeful for an Alabama that may one day come.

First Experience with Austin

By Lindsey Davidson / Editor | November 5

I've spent the past couple of days exploring the intoxicating city of Austin, Texas.Seeing 1.5 million bats swarm from under the Congress bridge was intense, to say the least.The music scene is beyond anything I have experienced.Going out on the town, my eyes were opened to the liberal ways of a foreign town because of spending all of my life in Georgia and Alabama.It's not that I have been sheltered, it's just the way of life is a little more conservative in the Bible Belt.There is a law in Austin that says you can be topless at any time.