The 1880

EVVYs Nominee List is up

The 27th annual EVVY award nominations are now up on their website. I’ll highlight a couple of the big ones (at least, as a film major):

Outstanding Intermediate Film
“Broken” Bryce Richards, Michael Grabow and Bradford Wilde
“Front Page” Kevin Mastman, Matthew McManus, Brian Vannucci, Tony Yacenda
“Dream on Cupid” Mike Grabow, Bradford Wilde and Bryce Richards

Outstanding Cinematography
“Billy Club” Elie Smolkin
“Front Page” Brian Vannucci
“2326 Pilot Episode” Elie Smolkin

Outstanding Cinematic Production
“No Wind, No Waves” Julian Higgins
“Animal Magic” Benjamin Phillippo, Katie Machaiek
“Front Page” Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus, Brian Vannucci, Tony Yacenda

Outstanding Multi-Cam Director
“Johnny Paula Directs GME 11/8/07″ Jonathan Paula
“GME: April 9, 2008″ Zachary Schiffman
“News @ 6″ William Gersh
“Speechless Ep. 5″ Eric Sagotsky

Outstanding Single Cam Director
“No Wind, No Waves” Julian Higgins
“Honor” Christina Densmore
“Looking Up” Ryan Cook

You can read the rest of the nominees on the EVVYs website (although, you guys could use a LITTLE bit of better separation techniques there!).

Moving Review: Bolt Bus (UPDATED)

The Bolt Bus in all its glory in South Station.

I took the Bolt Bus from Boston to New York City and here is a diary as to what went down. Hopefully I’ll have a full review to be read in the near future.

Boston -> New York

2:30 PM
In South Station. Only one person in line. A little bit of me is afraid that I will have the same driver from last time.

3:00 PM
Well, I just boarded the one-and-only Bolt Bus (I’m using their wi-fi as I write this!). I mentioned it in a previous post, and now I’m on my way to New York City.

The line was short until about 10 minutes before, when a bunch more people joined in the line. I paid $1.00 for my ticket, and I think it’s already been worth it. The bus is brand new (it has that new… bus smell) and the driver, Daniel, is fresh and excited to drive (complete with a playful welcome). I was able to join the (read: free) Wi-Fi right away, and the first thing I did was take a speed test. 317 kbps down, 133kbps up. Better than I was expecting.

4:40 PM
All’s well on the bus. The wireless has been very consistent save for one connection drop for about two minutes. It’s been great to browse craigslist and IM and what not. Sent a couple photos (including the one in this post) over the wireless without worry. Passing through Hartford– traffic seems decent and I’m assuming I’ll get into NYC at the scheduled time (7PM).

I’ve noticed the power plugs, on the back of the aisle seat, are a little awkwardly placed. Luckily there’s nobody sitting next to me, so I can let the power cable dangle as much as I want. Whatever the awkwardness, it’s worth it to have some juice.

7:32 PM
We arrived 32 minutes late due to traffic (not due to BoltBus, of course). As we got into the city, our driver Daniel was honking like a maniac at a bunch of different intersections. Not sure how much I liked that (again… one dollar.). Our drop-off point was outside as I expected, right by Penn Station. As we pulled in, some guy in the seats said “let’s have a round of applause for the driver for the best dollar we’ve ever spent,” and everybody clapped. I felt awkward joining in… I guess this is what separates bus travel from all others. Besides, he’s getting paid a flat hourly rate– he has nothing to do with the dollar fare.

New York -> Boston, 3 days later

The dismal “bus stop” from within the bus

9:10AM
“We treat everyone as first class citizens,” says our driver, Kenny. The bus is about 10 minutes late, and I can see how they save a lot of their overhead– their stop in NYC is on the side of the road. And that’s pretty shitty when it’s rainy and wet outside (i.e. NOW). While I was waiting I met with an older couple who had also already taken the bus and asked what I paid for my ticket. $7 I told her. She paid $10. Right before we get on the bus as it arrives, she lets me know about MegaBus and their $1 service (nevermind their creepy-looking mascot). There are not many people on the early Monday bus– there are a few empty rows. Kenny is just as excited as the last driver. He’s explained that they picked the best drivers from both Peter Pan and Greyhound. “We know that Greyhound has a bad reputation. There’s no yelling,” he says, “unless you’re disrupting others on the bus!” He laughs. Yeah, I’ve had a bad experience on the bus before. The wi-fi works right away (as I write this), and we’re off.

1:40PM
We’ve arrived back in South Station. We’re 40 minutes late, but that’s because of the crappy weather and the quick stop (that I was thankful for) 3/4 of the way through.

Conclusion
All in all, I feel like the experience I’ve had with Bolt Bus has been a positive one. They have brand new buses, excited drivers, free wifi & outlets, and very competitive pricing. However, it should be noted that having an actual spot in Port Authority in New York City instead of outside on a street corner would be nice, but this I’m sure would increase the ticket price.

What also sucks is that if you go to their website to buy tickets, you can find that almost every weekend (Fri-Mon) ticket through August is at least $7, and usually $10. Looks like it’s going to be hard to pick up that elusive $1 after all; it would be nice if they didn’t sell their tickets so far in advance so that people could actually have a chance of getting them. I wouldn’t be surprised if one person just went through and grabbed every Fri-Mon $1 ticket through August. After all, it would only cost them 24 dollars.

Would I ride on it again? Sure. Is it better than the train? It’s not as on-time or comfortable, but they do have onboard wi-fi, and that’s a BIG plus. Will they eventually lose exciting and friendly service and get worn down just like the other bus lines? Probably, but $1 is inexpensive enough to double check down the road.

NYC and back for (sometimes) the price of a subway fare. Thanks, BoltBus.

Go Go BoltBus!

I go down to New York City quite a lot. To get there, I used to use Amtrak. However, due to their exorbitant rates (~$100 roundtrip), I decided to give the bus a try. However, if you follow the Boston Globe, you’ll know that it didn’t go so well for me (nevermind the disgusting emo picture). After that incident, I was back on the tracks again with Amtrak, paying a good Benjamin to get down to the Big Apple and back.

Then, along came BoltBus. A subsidiary of Greyhound (which happens to be “in an alliance” with Peter Pan– watch out for hostage situations!), BoltBus started service between only NYC & Washington, D.C.. However, on their site, they’ve been hinting at the idea of a Boston & New York connection, and sure enough, it’s launched. I’m going to NYC again in three weeks, so I thought I’d check what the fares were like.

How much did I pay? Eight dollars. And that’s on the expensive side– if you get it early, it can cost as little as $1 each way. To make things even better, they have free wi-fi on board for the ride.

First, I must point out that not everybody gets that $1 fare. BoltBus offers at least one seat on each bus for that rockbottom price. Then as seats start to fill up, the price goes up.

If you are, say, the fourth person to book a seat, it might cost $7. Wait a little longer, maybe $10 or $15. The top price is $20 if booked online, $25 if you buy your ticket last-minute from the driver. (There is also a 50-cent surcharge for booking online.)
–Scott Mayerowitz, ABC NEWS

How the hell can BoltBus sustain such low fares? The answer is simple: the interwebs. Instead of having to pay for facilities in bus stations or hire people to answer phones and sell tickets, BoltBus keeps all their business online– who needs a person to help you when you have a website?

In three weeks, I’ll be boarding this bus, and I’ll be sure to update then how the trip was. Will it be better than Amtrak? Probably not, but it’s 7% the price of the train. I’m assuming it’ll be a bit more than 7% the quality. Or at least, I can hope.

READER PARTICIPATION: Registration NIGHTMARES!

They’re on their way.

I thought instead of explaining the registration nightmares I’m having, I would open up the discussion to discuss how registration is going for you.

However, possibly even more importantly, if you could respond to this message with this information:

1. What grade you’re going to be in next semester (1st or 2nd semester as well!)
2. Whether or not you’re a transfer student
and
3. What day/time you have slotted for your registration
and, if you’d like
4. What you’ve experienced so far in the registration process

By knowing this, we can really see what’s going on with registration and its crazy order. I’m not sure about all of you, but I’m registering a full two days after some of my peers that will be seniors. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an upcoming junior who registers before me.

So, come on, participate!

FUCK. You’ve lost your Word document?

FUCK YOU, CLIPPY.

Our lovely staff member Megan called me last night, frantic that she had lost her Word document. We’ve all been in the same boat– often it’s the same situation: you’ve e-mailed yourself a copy of your document that you open and start editing. You save and then close the window, not immediately realizing that you haven’t downloaded the file to your computer. Shit.

First of all, let that be a warning to you: When you receive a document of ANY TYPE in your e-mail, save it to your computer first!

So, the first thing (as anybody might do) I did was search google for “saved word document open from email lost.” What came up seemed pretty helpful. It was “10 Ways to Find a Lost Word .doc” from the website HackCollege.

9. Open up C:\Documents and Settings\*USERNAME*\Local Settings\Temp
This is a hidden folder, so you’ll probably have to use Windows Explorer. Hit Start, then All Programs.
Go to Accessories, then Windows Explorer. Navigate to that folder, where *USERNAME* is whatever your computer calls you. Do you see your document in that folder?

Check out the full article here.

I’m sure this could help a few of you guys out more than once.

I’m sure the IT Helpdesk at Emerson would be happy that I told you this (when you do have a computer issue, go to them– they know their shit).

The E Spot

The E Spot. Em Magazine. Get it? Courtesy of espotmag.com.

Looks like we have a new magazine in town. This one’s called The E Spot, and seems to be (correct me if I’m wrong) an online magazine about sex and how it may apply to Emerson students. Why would I guess this? With categories on the main page such as “Relationshits,” “Sex Sex Sex,” and “Hot Shit,” it’s pretty much impossible to avoid. With a few risque photos and a few risque articles on sex and encounters, it’s something to check out if you’re looking for something a little… steamy.

Immediately it reminds me of Boink Magazine, Boston University’s sex-positive magazine. They’ve been pretty successful at getting some quality magazines printed out. However, they are quite a bit bigger than Emerson.

How this will coincide with Em Magazine’s nude photo shoot, I don’t know.

It seems like getting naked is all the rage for Emerson’s online material. Time to talk to the staff here? Only time will tell…

Have an event? Need a crew? Holding a meeting? Want to write for the 1880?

Holy fucking shit! Look at this fucking meeting! We should totally tell the 1880 about this shit. They'll totally put it on their motherfucking front page. Awesome!

Well then today’s your day! We just opened some new features of the site (via e-mail) that will make it easier for you, our readers, to find other readers who want to do cool shit for/with them. So, how do you do this?

For events / meetings / crews / general announcements
If you’re holding an event or wanting to make an announcement of some sort for a club, production, or brothel, feel free to contact us at announce [at] the1880.com. Lend some information as to who’s holding it, when it is, where it is, and what it’s all about. We’ll put your announcement up on the main site at a predetermined day (we’re trying to figure that out… we’re thinking Mondays for announcements & Thursdays for things going on on the weekend). Take advantage of this! You’ll be reaching lots of your fellow students!

For tip-giving
If you have a good idea for a story with a little bit of information you’d like us to cover, let us know all the info you have at tips [at] the1880.com.

For potential writers
You’ve been reading this website for a while. You’ve been itching to submit your own stuff. Well, then, you asshole(s), get on it! Contact us at write [at] the1880.com with what you want to write about and if you want to join the staff. We’re always looking for new faces who want to write stuff on a place that’s sort of like a newspaper but on a screen that people can access from strange terminals anywhere they want.

And now to your regularly scheduled programming…

Fed Up With Hand-Me-Down Night? Take Action TODAY!

This is a topic that hasn’t been taken lightly around Emerson’s campus.

As John Tyson says in the Facebook group, Official Hand-Me-Down Night Boycott:

Every year, the SGA spends progressively more and more money (this year, nearly $40,000) on, essetially, a giant one-night catered party for themselves and their friends. It’s a giant “pat yourself on the back” fest. To put that amount in perspective, it’s about the same that FPS or EIV receives for their budget for a whole year.

Despite efforts on the parts of many voting members this year to decrease the expense and scale of the event, it’s cost has only gone UP. This is in direct opposition to the general consensus of students, who, when surveyed, mostly agreed that they were not interested in the event, wouldn’t want to go again, and thought the expense was too great.

In light of this argument, the SGA has asked that any students who would like to state their case about the brouhaha can come to the meeting TODAY at 2PM in the upper lobby of the Little Building.

Here is the Facebook event for the SGA Student Initiative on Hand Me Down Night.

Of course, this post is open to any comments in support or against the SGA meeting, Hand-Me-Down Night, or the SGA as a whole, but keep it relatively clean– any lecherous fuckery will be taken care of.

If anybody is interested in writing a full statement, they are encouraged to do so in the comments/concerns box on the lower left corner of the main page.

Disclaimer: John Tyson, former VMA Senator in the SGA, is a staff member of The 1880.

Winter Weather Cancels Stuff On Campus

For the three Emerson students who have class today, as you probably already know, classes after 4 PM are cancelled. Additionally, the labs and the darkroom are closing at 4 as well.

The library will be staying open until 9 PM.

Enjoy the snow and stay warm!

WARNING: Science in the skies tonight.

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Is this what Nick Drake was talking about? Photo by leppre.

For the three science majors at Emerson, you might be interested in the event happening tonight in the cosmos. You better check it out, because the next time it’s going to happen is in December of 2010. So, get on the rooftops of your Allston apartments and look up– it’s a Total Lunar Eclipse. This, of course, is where the earth will block the light from the sun on the moon. It starts tonight at 8:43 PM ET, will reach it’s full eclipse at 10:01 PM ET until 10:51 PM ET, and fade away at 12:09 AM ET tomorrow morning.

The moon will appear red, and does not require any sort of special equipment (you know… those crazy glasses you need to see a solar eclipse) to view. Just look up into the sky. The cool thing is, it’ll block out a lot of light, so planets such as Saturn (which will be near the moon) will be visible during the eclipse. So, while you’re lighting your cigarettes outside of the LB, take a second and look into the sky. Too bad it won’t be light enough to look at the nude photos of Lindsay Lohan [NSFW] in New York Magazine. That was a completely tactless drop. Enjoy the eclipse.