So long, 2014. Peace. It’s been great, really. So many memories. A lot of laughs, a lot of tears, a lot of brand new Taylor Swift jams to tweet about.
Is cultural appropriation better or worse if it’s done in the name of throwing mad shade? #ShakeItOff
— DBK Diversions (@DBKDiversions) August 18, 2014
Haters gonna hate, we guess.
We’ve already counted down our favorite pop culture of the year: For our thoughts on music, click here. TV is here, movies are here, and potpourri is here.
But 2014 was about more than Groot, Smarf, Nathan Fielder or any other mythical creatures, for that matter. 2014 saw the Diversions desk tackling everything from basketball movies to Banksy, from Green Day to cosplay.
Come to think of it, this was the year we…
… Got to know College Park
CDepot: A music on materiality, nostalgia and College Park
“Long and narrow, the shop is surprisingly huge (8,000 square feet, according to CDepot’s website), and seemingly every inch of it is put to use. Open boxes of vinyl LPs cover the threadbare floor, while huge racks of CDs and DVDs run, seemingly forever, along the walls and through the center of the gray and blue space. Old records and posters hang in frames above the racks, and DVD box sets pile up behind the cashiers’ counter.”
‘We got a veteran in the house’
“When he gets up there, he acts like he’s a terrible singer. But when he starts, everyone’s like, ‘What!’” said bartender and key manager Stephanie Lundi. “He always gets the most claps.”
“In my two years as a Terp, I’ve lived on polar ends of the school housing spectrum: 60-year-old Wicomico Hall last year and Prince Frederick Hall, which opened in August, this year.
My current home is a 186,000-square foot vision of the future on South Campus, barely 100 feet from Wicomico. It is, in a word, impressive.”
… Met some amazing people
Finding your Rivendell with author David Mitchell
“Thankfully, I had nothing to fear. Mitchell entered to applause, smiling and looking slightly embarrassed. He talked about how ideally he’d hop around to the six different narrator sections of The Bone Clocks in his reading, but realized the spoiler minefield he would have walked us through. Instead, he jumped around the first section, giving us the necessary details to fill in where he was.’For this you’re going to have to imagine that I’m a 15-year old punk girl running away from home,’ he said to a laughing crowd. ‘I know you’re all capable of that.'”
Kevin Hart hits campus Saturday with movie screening, comedy show
“Hart took the stage to a riotous ovation from the crowd packed into Cole Field House. The show, one in a series of college stops Hart is using to try out brand-new material, had been the talk of the campus since tickets went on sale at midnight on Oct. 14. Throughout the set, laughter and applause were nearly constant, with some students intermittently rising from their seats with delight.”
Meet Donnie Sengstack, a stuttering sophomore stand-up
“’I don’t really see my stutter as a disability. I just see it as something that makes me unique.'”
Orchestra
Senior staff writer Danielle Ohl looks at the state of the orchestra, on the campus and across the country.
… Got cultured at The Clarice
“Spring Awakening, which opens Friday night at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, merges dancing and acting while touching not only on sexual themes but also several others: questioning a modern society controlled by patriarchal figures. Rebellion. Morality and truth. The pleasure of sex and the elements our society chooses to keep secret.”
A humble giant
Brian MacDevitt
“Professor and lighting designer Brian MacDevitt cooks a mean fennel pasta, loves New York and oh, yeah — he’s won five Tony Awards.”
Rebranded and on the rise
The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, following its newly launched rebranding initiative, sold a higher percentage of student tickets this fall season as compared with last fall.
… Mourned some shocking losses
Versatile actor Philip Seymour Hoffman dies of alleged overdose
“One of the greatest actors of his generation, Hoffman could find the harrowing humanity in the most inscrutable of films. He took on the most difficult roles but never found himself outmatched. From broad comedy to dark psychodrama to spot-on impersonation, there was no human face Hoffman couldn’t wear.”
Robin Williams
“He made the sort of movies that you can’t help but finish when you come across them on TV; the sort of movies that you can always quote effortlessly with old friends; the sort of movies that you smile over when you find them on a DVD shelf.”
“You’ve done your part in this livable community. Though we love to poke fun at you, if we had it our way, we wish you wouldn’t go so soon.”
… Pissed off some Minnesotans
The Other UMD
“But the University of Minnesota Duluth also likes to delude itself into believing that it, too, is fit to bear the abbreviation “UMD.” That means our school’s good name is dragged through the Minnesotan mud. I wasn’t even aware of that university until freshman year, when an errant Google search brought me to an oddly Terrapin-free Web page about dining services. The schools even have similar school colors! What nerve. “
Reactions to “The other UMD” – Duluth, the whole Duluth, and nothing but Duluth
“We thought it would be a fun little piece — a quick, low-stakes reflection on one of the many fascinating little quibbles regarding our school. And then Minnesota got ahold of it, and the Internet promptly lost its damn mind.”
… Saw some great shows
“Staring into the night sky lit by strobe lights, I heard the crowd begin to chant ‘one more song.’ Despite the mixed quality of the performances, the rain, the crowds and the noise, Future Islands came back to redeem the festival. Herring’s voice was reduced to a rasp, but his spirit wasn’t. The members were called back to deliver one more epic performance, one final capper for the festival. One more song.”
Joey Bada$$, his music and the future
“Joey Bada$$ doesn’t care whether you’ll like his new album, because Joey Bada$$ didn’t make it for you. He only made it for Joey Bada$$.”
Joel McHale headlines SEE’s annual homecoming comedy show
“McHale’s set … touched on everything from this state’s official sport of jousting to Tyra Banks’ fear of dolphins. The 42-year-old star of Community and The Soup had laughter rippling constantly throughout the crowd of around 3,000.”
… And ate like kings (well, kind of)
In search of College Park’s best frozen yogurt
“Summertime in College Park means soaring temperatures, occasional thunderstorms and, of course, frozen yogurt. What was once a niche also-ran to ice cream has now become a pretty good alternative to the likes of Cold Stone and The Dairy.”
“Throughout the millennia, we’ve pureed, mashed, creamed, chopped, cooked, sauteed, blended and poured for the sole purpose of the warm, liquid-y magic we slurp up together. Soup is a luxurious appetizer, but soup is also a comfy concoction for nights lounging on your couch.”
“A large corporation made a decision this year that I’m sure is impacting the public in a huge way. No, Apple did not release an indestructible iPhone. No, Toyota did not decide to manufacture only pink cars. But McDonald’s did decide it would only be selling the McRib sandwich at select locations this year.”
Into the heart of College Park’s buffet scene
Kangnam BBQ
“But buffets can’t all be bad, right? Surely, there must be a good buffet somewhere, perhaps even in College Park. With that in mind, I set off on a trip into the heart of darkness to try to find a good all-you-can-eat buffet in College Park.”
***
See you in 2015! There will be more soup, and that’s a promise.
Did you have a favorite article or moment that we missed? Let us know in the comments!
Alan Madison, a Washington, D.C. resident browses for his favorite oldies classics.
Kevin Hart and Josh Gad gave a press conference to promote their new movie “The Wedding Ringer” in the Stamp’s Pyon Su room on Nov. 1.
Co-Stars Megan Morse Jans (Wendla) and Zach Brightbill(Melchior) share a kiss on stage during a scene of Spring Awakening during a rehearsal on stage on Tuesday, February 18th.
The new executive director of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Martin Wollesen, poses for a portrait on Thursday, August 31st.
Philip Seymour Hoffman starred in more than 50 films, winning an Oscar for his role as Truman Capote in Capote. He was also nominated for three more Academy awards.
The Google search for “umd dining services” yields some results from out-of-state.
On Saturday, September 13, All Things Go hosted an inaugural Fall Classic Festival at the Union Market in Washington D.C.. Samuel Herring of Future Islands performs during the set.
Brooklyn-based rapper Joey Bada$$ performs some of his biggest hits at SEE’s “Attack of the Backpack” concert at Ritchie Coliseum on September 25, 2014
Joel McHale played Student Entertainment Events’ Homecoming Comedy show to a crowd of about 3,000 students and guests in the Cole Field House on Saturday, Oct. 11.
With its appealing decor and broad array of eclectic toppings, Tutti Frutti may be the best frozen yogurt place around campus.
Interior of the Kangnam BBQ Sports Bar & Grill, a restaurant that opened along Route 1 in October.
