Outside the Box
A world of caution for concertgoers
It’s difficult to force yourself to shell out $20 for a new pair of shoes sometimes, but it’s not nearly as unfathomable when your favorite band comes to town. More often than not, bigger-name concerts in Eugene are kind of like meteor showers. They’re rare and you have to see them when they hit. After...
Outside the Box
Reclaiming V-Day
It’s here. In fact, it’s been here. That horrifically sweet time of year when the world is drenched in pink, chalky heart-shaped candies are distributed, and everyone asks one question: “Will you be mine?” Valentine’s Day has for too long been tagged as the one day a year set aside to show your true affections...
Outside the Box
When it’s not so entertaining
Over the past 13 weeks, I’ve talked about finding entertainment, whether it’s on campus, in the community or in your own home. This week I’m talking about finding it on your own time, rather than your invaluable class time. With the digital age came a huge influx of new tech toys to play with, from...
Outside the Box
Prepped for real life
While writing these weekly columns is enjoyable, I must confess that I have more than just that driving me. I am constantly working on my writing skills for the day when I am on the other side of the tape recorder, getting interviewed for my first job. My instructors are constantly reminding my class that...
Outside the Box | Google+ running in ‘Circles’
Dearest Google, I love you, I really do. My inner research nerd craves your juicy algorithms; your ability to give me access to the depths of the Internet is nothing short of amazing. But we need to talk. Turning your beautiful, helpful Google Maps into a game (a maze, no less) to promote your social...
Outside the Box | Turn off the laugh tracks!
It’s been a decade since the sitcom’s funeral was set. Critics wrote eulogies, fans sent in pleas and actors updated their résumé. Yet the rush of new sitcoms like New Girl, 2 Broke Girls, Up All Night, Mike & Molly, and more, have helped the TV medium breathe again. Except for one major failure: The...
Outside the Box | Navigating ‘Black Friday’
By Chelsea Van Baalen/The Torch chelseavanbaalen@lcctorch.com I was comatose with too much turkey, exhausted from sitting at a table for four hours and possibly still in my pajamas. Yet, my mother dragged me out of bed to be the first in the parking lot at 4 a.m. By the time I was 10-year-old, I hated...
Outside the Box | Find your style
By Chelsea Van Baalen/The Torch chelseavanbaalen@lcctorch.com Two years ago I didn’t know how to dress myself. Let me rephrase that, I knew how to put clothes on, I just didn’t know how to put any style on. I lived by the following equation: Jeans + T-Shirt + Sweatshirt + Scarf = Everyday. I’m even exposing...
Outside the Box: Don’t hold back
By Chelsea Van Baalen/The Torch chelseavanbaalen@lcctorch.com It started out as a rumor I heard as a sophomore in high school. When will it come out? Who would star in it? But most importantly, would it actually happen? I was deep into my Hunter S. Thompson phase, purchasing “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “The Great...
Outside the Box | Finding your inner-Eugenian
By Chelsea Van Baalen/The Torch chelseavanbaalen@lcctorch.com I’ve heard it everywhere: on the bus, on campus, waiting in line at various grocery stores, pushing a cart through Fred Meyer. Eugene is weird. But after a year of living here, I have to say, it’s a pretty cool weird. Unfortunately, it took me almost a year to...
Go forth and create
By Chelsea Van Baalen/The Torch chelseavanbaalen@lcctorch.com I have a confession to make. I’m not a journalism major. That’s not to say I don’t love journalism and obsess over AP style. It’s not as though I’ve thrown my previous experiences at Mt. Hood Community College’s “The Advocate” to the wind and am only here for...
It’s the end of the world . . .
By Chelsea Van Baalen/The Torch chelseavanbaalen@lcctorch.com This column goes out to a band I love. R.E.M. announced its break-up last week and I, like most of the music industry, am still reeling from the news. After surviving 31 years, 15 albums, dozens of singles and even losing a member, R.E.M. was a seemingly unstoppable alternative-rock...
Recent Comments
A world of caution for concertgoers
on Moodle revamp
Technology dean presents the future of online education, which has seen a 193 percent increase since 2009.
Patients with chronic illness need insurance
Shelbie Rife fashions a business from her culinary education
How tragedy transformed one student