Category Archives: The California Aggie

Davis Beer Shoppe now on tap

18 Monday Feb 2013

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Originally published in The California Aggie

It’s 2 p.m. on a Friday and the bars of downtown Davis are, for the most part, quiet. But at the new Davis Beer Shoppe on G Street, a steady stream of customers strolls up to the wide wood counter to order a pint, which they sip leisurely to the tune of Irish folk music.

Owner Taylor Ramos keeps an eye on the proceedings, appropriately distracted for a guy who just opened the shop in March and found himself with a near immediate fan base.

“Right now we’re just trying to get what we have under control,” Ramos said in between greeting customers.

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Alumnus nominated for Sports Illustrated contest

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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Originally published in The California Aggie

It took Steve Wampler 20,000 pull-ups to reach the top of El Capitan.

Over the course of six days in August 2010, Wampler used a self-designed pulley system to hoist himself up the 3,000-foot Yosemite rock formation, becoming the first person with cerebral palsy to complete the daunting climb.

“[By the end] I was so exhausted and dehydrated and I lost 10 pounds and I was happy it was over, but I really didn’t take it in until a couple days later,” said Wampler, who graduated from UC Davis in 1992 with a degree in environmental engineering.

Though it took a few days for Wampler to process his achievement, news of the climb quickly caught the attention of the likes of “Ellen DeGeneres”, “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer” and now, Sports Illustrated.

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Movie Review: J. Edgar

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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Originally published in The California Aggie

J. Edgar Hoover is one of those unfortunate political figures to whom history has not been especially kind. Is it possible to truly understand anything about a guy who bounces back and forth between paranoid Communist-phobe and cross-dresser in the public eye? But surely there must have been a man behind the mockery. At least, that’s what director Clint Eastwood would have you believe in his skillful, emotional biopic J. Edgar.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the misunderstood title character, aging 50 years in the process with the help of some seriously heavy-duty makeup. The story moves as a series of flashbacks, switching between an aging Hoover dictating his memoirs in the 1970s and a young Hoover rising to power as the groundbreaking director of the new Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the 1930s.

But make no mistake — this is not the story of J. Edgar Hoover, Crime Fighter. Rather, it is the relationship between Hoover and his longtime associate Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer, best known as the Winklevoss twins in The Social Network) that serves as the emotional and narrative core of the film.

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John Ortiz-Hutson says goodbye to UC Davis

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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Originally published in The California Aggie

Upon walking into the nearly-empty ASUCD Coffee House at 8:15 a.m., it takes approximately 30 seconds for John Ortiz-Hutson to begin waving friendly “hellos” to colleagues and friends.

“I don’t know if ‘famous’ is the right word,” Ortiz-Hutson said, at the suggestion that he appears to be a celebrity of sorts on campus. A young woman has just smiled and greeted him, the third in a span of 45 minutes. “I’ve just been around, and I’m visible.”

For the past 23 years, Ortiz-Hutson has indeed been a fixture on the UC Davis campus, first as a senior learning skills officer at the Student Academic Success Center and then as the student affairs officer of the African American and African studies program. He will officially retire this week, culminating in a career that has allowed him to mentor and advise hundreds of students, as well as collaborate with dozens of campus departments.

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Disney Channel star trades acting for books

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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Originally published in The California Aggie

Sophomore history and classics double major Lindsey Black, like most college students, has a back-up plan. If earning a Ph.D., traveling to Europe to study and possibly becoming a professor doesn’t work out, Black may end up working as an actress in Hollywood.

If that seems a little bit backward to you, you’re probably not alone. But it’s the truth for Black, who transferred to UC Davis this past fall after spending her high school years starring in the Disney Channel television show “As the Bell Rings” and in the soon-to-be-released feature film 16-Love.

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Movie Review: 21 Jump Street

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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Originally published in The California Aggie

Judging by the audience reaction at last week’s early screening of 21 Jump Street, I can say with some certainty that your enjoyment of the film will be directly proportional to your enjoyment of dick jokes.

Because there are a lot of them. A whole lot. Too many to count, actually. And with a story by frat boy d’jour Jonah Hill, you can’t really expect anything else. But can I tell you something? Despite the fact that I have a relatively low tolerance for crude humor of any kind, I had a big stupid grin on my face for most of this movie.

HOW CAN THAT BE?

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UC Davis alumnus wins five Emmy awards for TV news reporting

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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Originally published in The California Aggie

Television news anchor and reporter Brad Hicks has UC Davis to thank for his first on-camera job.

Hicks had earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geography from UC Davis in 1986 and ‘88, respectively, and was coming off a stint at Texas A&M University as a Ph.D. student when he applied for a job at WGAL-TV in Pennsylvania anchoring the local farm report.

A native of Palo Alto, Calif., Hicks had little knowledge of agriculture. But, no matter.

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Movie Review: Dark Shadows

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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Dark Shadows

Originally published in The California Aggie

In the grand scheme of cinematic vampires, Barnabas Collins is, honestly, kind of a square.

He’s too gentlemanly to be scary, like Nosferatu or Dracula. His wardrobe is perpetually 200 years out of date, meaning he could never secretly live amongst the locals à la Edward Cullen. And with his stiff posture and raccoon eyes, his sex appeal is no match for Tom Cruise’s Lestat de Lioncourt (although no less than four women succumb to Barnabas’ advances throughout the course of the movie, so clearly I know nothing about vampire hotness).

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Managing campus fire extinguishers no easy feat

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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Originally published in The California Aggie

For Rocky Twitchell, every building at UC Davis has a number.

The Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center is 125, for example. Chemistry Annex? More than 200. Giedt Hall, a particular favorite of Twitchell’s, is a merciful four.

“Meyer has way too many,” he says emphatically driving past the rectangular hall on a busy Friday afternoon.

He’s no mathematician, but there is a common denominator in this numerical puzzle: fire extinguishers.

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