by Brooke Dorris | May 5, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
If Guardians of the Galaxy fans were hoping for a worthy sequel, they’ve got it. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 might not be a classic like the first movie, but it definitely is worth watching, and viewers will leave the theater smiling and satisfied with many unanswered questions finally answered. The film opens with the Guardians – Star-Lord (aka Peter Quill), Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Baby Groot hired to protect precious batteries owned by a powerful and elite alien race, the Sovereign, from a space monster. When Rocket steals some of the batteries, the Guardians then find themselves on the run from the Sovereign. Along the way, Peter’s father finally reveals himself. Remember in the first movie when Peter (spoiler) is able to hold an Infinity Stone without dying? Moviegoers finally have the answer as to why that is possible when Ego (Kurt Russell) arrives. Even though this is a superhero movie, the real theme throughout the Marvel masterpiece is finding your family — and who truly is your family. Drax says it best: they’re not friends (as Nebula calls them), they are family. This movie isn’t just about saving the Galaxy after all; it’s about realizing that sometimes what you’ve been searching for your whole life is right in front of you. On a less-serious note, fans will absolutely love the way the characters have developed since the first movie. Baby Groot is adorable and is the tiny hero that the Guardians never realized they needed. Drax is funnier in this movie as well and has opened up a lot more to everyone. Gamora has also softened...
by Brooke Dorris | Apr 25, 2017 | News Slider
Best Buddy Nick Flatt won the fourth annual Mr. Lipscomb Pageant Monday night in Shamblin Theater, hosted by Delta Omega to raise awareness for Best Buddies. The pageant consisted of four categories: formal, cold-weather wear, talent and interview. Mr. Lipscomb is Delta Omega’s spring fundraiser for its philanthropy, Best Buddies. It is a pageant style competition with around 20-25 male Lipscomb students who have volunteered to participate in the event. It includes several rounds of competition such as formal wear, cold-weather wear, talent and questionnaire rounds. After each round, contestants are eliminated, bringing about the final winner who is crowned with the title of “Mr. Lipscomb.” For Flatt’s talent, he sang “God Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts and received a standing ovation. “I’m happy,” Flatt said. “My favorite part was when everyone stood up for me.” Justin Cook was runner-up in the pageant. For his talent portion, he performed a rendition of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” “My favorite category is talent,” Cook said. “I have channeled my inner-Celine Dion for the past two years, and it is always a crowd favorite. I love making everyone laugh.” There is also a Crowd Favorite award, and this year it went to Kasey Main. That award is given to the contestant that raises the most money in his specific jar, which people can donate to in the student center the entire week leading up to the event. Best Buddies International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental...
by Brooke Dorris | Mar 23, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Whitney Houston fans: this is the musical for you. Even if you are not the biggest Whitney Houston fan, you will still love TPAC’s latest show, The Bodyguard. Deborah Cox and Judson Mills bring to life Rachel Marron and Frank Farmer in the incredible new production. Frank Farmer, a former Secret Service Agent, is hired to protect music superstar Rachel Marron from an elusive stalker. Both headstrong and wanting to be in charge, they never expect to fall in love with each other. The Bodyguard is a musical based on the 1992 film The Bodyguard with the score featuring Whitney Houston songs such as hits like “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” “I Have Nothing” and her cover version of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” It is also based on a book by the Oscar-winning Alexander Dinelaris. Grammy® Award-nominated and multi-platinum R&B and Pop recording artist and actress Cox made her Broadway debut in the lead role in Aida. From there she has gone on to create platinum selling albums, which led her to receive an American Music Award nomination. From One Wish, her second album, came the double-platinum single “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here,” which held the record for longest running No. 1 R&B Single for 14 consecutive weeks. Cox even collaborated with Whitney Houston in 2000 to record the duet “Same Script Different Cast” for Houston’s Greatest Hits CD. But one actor who might have stolen the show was Douglas Baldeo, who plays Rachel’s adorable son Fletcher. Baldeo is a triple threat: he can sing, dance and act, and he proved that on opening night. When the...
by Brooke Dorris | Mar 10, 2017 | News Slider
If you noticed a bounce house in the SAC on Wednesday night, don’t worry– it was a part of girls’ social club Gamma Lambda’s Spring Fling. Cornhole, carnival games and a giant yellow balloon took over the SAC in order to raise money and support Monroe Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network. “Dance marathons are something that colleges across the country do to raise money for their local children’s miracle network hospitals,” said Katie Holliday, who put on the event for Gamma Lambda. Miracle Network Dance Marathon is a movement uniting high school, university and college students across the country and beyond to help raise money for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. In 2015, over 25 million dollars was raised. Gamma Lambda’s event was closely affiliated to Dance Marathon. Not only did they have great carnival games and a raffle, they also had DJ Rio come DJ the event. “He is actually a student here at Lipscomb University, and he is a member of Sigma Iota Delta.” Holliday said. The raffle included items like tickets to Nashville Predators’ games, tickets to Atlanta Braves’ games and gift cards to local boutiques and restaurants. When asked why they decided to partner with the Children’s Miracle Network, Holliday said, “Our President had looked into it and had gotten into contact with people at the hospital, and just got more info about it. It sounded like something we would be interested in, and we just really wanted to help out the hospital.” According to their website, the Children’s Miracle Network raises awareness and funds for 170 member hospitals that provide over...
by Brooke Dorris | Mar 2, 2017 | News Slider
When Lipscomb’s Gary Wilson was a student at Harding studying to be the Lipscomb Choral Director he is today, he never knew what kind of impact Dr. Cliff Ganus, his professor and mentor, would have on his life. “Dr. Cliff Ganus was my collegiate choral conductor and mentor,” Wilson said. “I wanted to do something with him to honor our professional relationship and friendship. He’s also about to start his 50th year at Harding, and this joint concert seemed like a good way to do that.” They have now been able to celebrate that mentorship and friendship by combining their two choirs for a performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana over the span of two weekends. “Cliff and I talked about pieces we might do together that neither of us would do alone,” Wilson said. “Carmina needs a large choir of about 100 to be effective, and both of us wanted to do it, and it seemed like a logical choice for this concert.” On February 19, the Harding University choir made the trip from Searcy, Arkansas, to perform at Lipscomb. The concert featured choirs from both Lipscomb and Harding, a full orchestra and the children’s choir from Lipscomb Academy. “It was miraculous!” Wilson said. “Think about it: two choirs with two conductors at Lipscomb, another choir and conductor at Harding, part of the orchestra that I rehearsed for a couple of weeks and the full orchestra that I rehearsed for about one and a half hours before the choir arrived. We basically ran straight through the piece one time before the performance, but everyone was well prepared, and...
