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Friday, April 3, 2026
The Observer

Scene


The Observer

The Progression of Sci-Fi

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Sunday afternoon's 3 p.m. showing of the original "Planet of the Apes" kicks off a new series in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center (DPAC) called "Sci-Fi Through the Ages." The series was created to complement a seminar taught this semester by Professor Paulette Curtis entitled "An American Key: An Anthropologist Looks at the Genre." There are three more films being screened as part of this: "Brother From Another Planet," "Metropolis" and "Fantastic Planet."


The Observer

Now & Then: Football

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As the student body prepares for the first football weekend of the year, it's the perfect time to grow nostalgic and discuss seasons of old. To our generation, that includes probably around five seasons, if that.


The Observer

Lollapalooza: That festival in Grant Park

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This August, the Chicago area experienced its annual musical invasion known as Lollapalooza. With the addition of 20,000 extra tickets per day and the expansion of the park beyond the usual border of Columbus Drive, I questioned whether the event would have the same feel as in years past. Despite hesitations, the added space and extra concert-goers didn't hinder the festival at all — they simply amplified the energy in Grant Park and fed the unstoppable force that is Lollapalooza.


The Observer

Jersey Explosion

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If you've been living with no electricity, in the Antarctic or with your eyes shut this past year, you may not have noticed New Jersey's fast and steady takeover of television. From those crazy fist-pumpers on "Jersey Shore" to the crazy fist-punchers on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," loud-mouthed east-coasters are all the rage right now, with shows about GLT-ing, selling prom dresses and making cakes, to name a few.

The Observer

The soundtrack stands alone

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Whether you're rooting for Team Edward or Team Jacob, or you just despise the entire "Twilight" franchise in all its supernatural cheesiness, you can't argue that the soundtracks behind the films are albums that can stand completely on their own, apart from the series.


The Observer

Music Under the Radar: Hunters and Gatherers

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There are two types of music listeners: hunters and gatherers. Hunters are always on the prowl, reading music blogs and magazines, looking up the soundtracks of movies and TV shows, and Googling lyrics they hear on obscure radio stations. Music hunters have accounts at Pandora and last.fm, a collection of ticket stubs from this summer, and about 18 "Personal Best Of" lists. Hunters are ruthless in their pursuit of the perfect song, and go out of their way to explain a detailed opinion on everyone from Lady Gaga to Bon Iver.




The Observer

The Kids Are More Than All Right

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Though overshadowed by big summer blockbusters like "Toy Story 3" and "Inception," one of the best movies this summer was the small family dramedy, "The Kids Are All Right." The film, about a lesbian couple (Annette Bening and Julianne Moore), their two children (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) and the sperm-donor father (Mark Ruffalo), is an honest and real portrayal of what it takes to be a family and why it's worth the struggle.




The Observer

Mayer Hawthorne to croon a "strange arrangement" at the B1 Block Party

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A solo artist hailing from Los Angeles, Mayer Hawthorne will be performing with Guster this weekend at Legends along with his live band The County. The singer-songwriter's smooth voice draws from such musical influences as American soul musicians Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Barry White and Smokey Robinson as well as ‘60's Motown trio Holland-Dozier-Holland.



The Observer

There and Back: A Student's Tale

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Walking around San Diego during the last weekend of July, I was greeted by lamp posts bearing the banner of a character from the movie "Tron: Legacy," which will come out later this year. Underneath the omnipresent ads are the words, "Celebrating Pop Culture and the Arts."


The Observer

Guster: Not just any college band

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Do you remember your Frosh-O?  The awkward serenading, the scavenger hunt, the hundreds of people you met in three days whose names you tried to remember? And although you met a lot of people in those few days, your closest friends are probably now those whom you met in class or through sports.


The Observer

Students go "Into the Woods" in the shadow of the Dome

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Most students are still settling into their dorms, but the cast and crew of the St. Ed's Players have been spending the past two weeks crafting a twisted fairytale landscape in the laboratory theater on the third floor of Washington Hall. They will perform the Stephen Sondheim hit "Into the Woods" this weekend.



The Observer

Concert Rewind: John Mayer and Train

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Summer is the time for relaxing. For boat rides. For tanning on the beach. For new romance. For concerts. For sleeping in until 2 p.m. For lazy Sunday brunches.


The Observer

Now & Then: Move-In

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Getting settled at Notre Dame in the fall is quite a process, as many students with half of their lives still piled in the dorm hallway can attest to. Though time and technology have helped work out some of the kinks of move-in and registration, there is nothing more glamorous about moving into a dorm today than there was in the 1960s and the 1970s.