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L] shaken, notstirred Iwith Ellen McGarrity
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EIGHT REASONS WHY THE O.C. IS MY GUILTY PLEASURE
Iam a diehard fan of "The O.C."
And while you may not be, I bet
you've tuned in at least once in
the past year to see what all the fuss
is about (even my Wall Street-bound
brother knows who Summer and 1) Seth Cohen
Marissa are). So go on - indulge This kid is about as dorky as they
yourself in the eight reasons why this come - curly hair, super skinny, loves
show is my guilty pleasure (and maybe comic books - he's a walking, talking
yours too!). bundle of witty phrases. He even has a
YOU'LL PUT
THEM ITO
GOOD USE.
UNLIKE THOSE TXBOS
plastic horse named Captain Oats. Logi-
cally, I should swoon over handsome,
brooding Ryan, but it's Seth thatI secret-
ly wish was my boy toy (too bad cast-
mate Rachel Bilson has already snagged
this actor in real life). Summer's picked
up on this too - she's the hottest girl on
the show, and she can't even move on
from old flame Seth to appreciate new
and perfect boyfriend Zach. But does
anyone ever wonder why no one else
has caught "Seth fever" at the O.C. high
school now that uber-popular Summer
has dated him?
2) An unrealistic understanding
of what normal mothers look and
act like
Okay, I expect the young starlets in
these types of shows to have amazing
Hollywood bodies and wear a size 0,
but the moms? Kirsten Cohen and Julie
Cooper have brought new meaning to
the acronym "MILF" (Mom I'd Like to
F*#k, from the movie "American Pie").
Both women have children in their late
teens, yet they themselves look like they
could pass for 28. Julie really takes the
cake - during the course of the show,
she's divorced her first husband (played
by early '90s heartthrob Tate Donovan),
had an affair with her daughter's ex-boy-
friend (Abercrombie poster child Chris
Carmack), married Kirsten's father (a
seventy-something man who only cares
about money) and recently re-hooked up
with Donovan.
3) Eww!
Summer's catchphrase of the first
season is not only fun to say, but is also
very handy. Try using it around campus
in response to these everyday gripes
(and don't forget to scowl!):
"I fell in mud and ruined the bottom
of my sorority-monogrammed sweat
pants."
"Eww!"
"Exams this year went until Decem-
ber 23."
"Eww!"
"There's a Texas Longhorn fan stand-
ing right next to you."
"Eww!"
It's just so much cooler than Paris
Hilton's "That's hot."
4) Milking the fans for all they're
worth
From the beginning, this show has
made us wait. During the summer
of '03, Fox teased us with a handful
of episodes, then pulled the show off
the air for a couple months. It was on
and off the air about four more times
before the season ended prematurely in
March. As if that wasn't enough, fans
had to wait until November of this year
to see the first episode of season two.
Annoying - but you know this is one
of the reasons why fans love this show. _
It's never a guarantee that it will be on,
so you have to watch when you can.
The minds behind "The O.C." have also
cashed in on fan's devotion by making
the first season DVD available (around
$70 on the show's website - I know
because I asked Santa for it this Christ-
mas), plus selling CDs of music from
the show and charging a monthly fee
for access to The O.C. Insider online
newsletter.
5) Chrismakkah (aka Christmas +
Hanukkah)
What other show could combine a
Christian and Jewish holiday and still
manage not to offend anyone? Seth
- whose father is Jewish and mother is
Christian - introduced this amazingly
inventive concept last December. Meno-
rahs and Christmas trees coexist in the
Cohen living room and house guests
wear "Yamiclaus" (red yamakas with
a white stuffed ball on the top) - how
adorable.
6) Marissa's deviant behavior
This girl may look like an angel, but
there's definitely a little devil inside
that head of hers. Last year, when she
and the gang took a Spring Break trip
to 'TJ' (Tijuana), she was hospitalized
after drinking herself into oblivion.
Since then, she's barely made it through
an episode without busting out a bottle
or flask of vodka. Summer even caught
her spiking her latte at the school cof-
fee shop in the second episode of this
season.
And the word on the street is that
Marissa moves on from the hunks of
Newport in an upcoming episode - she
apparently hooks up with wild girl Alex
(Seth's new flame).
7) The new allure of Ryan Atwood
It's no secret that I melt for Seth, but
Ryan's not far behind. During the first
season, I couldn't understand the appeal
of the show's troubled main character -
I mean, who could date someone with a
brown leather strap permanently affixed
to his wrist?!. But now that he's ditched
Marissa and Teresa, and stopped getting
in a fight every episode, he's starting to
grow on me. And his budding romance
with Lindsay (did they steal this name
from look-alike Lohan?) makes my
heart flutter - literally. I'm not just
using that phrase to be cute.
8) The incest factor
Has anyone else noticed that nearly
every character in the show is now relat-
ed? Ryan was adopted in the beginning
by the Cohens. After he started dat-
ing Marissa, her mom married Ryan's
new grandfather. And now that Ryan's
dating Lindsay, it was discovered she
is the illegitimate love child of Ryan's
grandfather.
Confused? Basically, Ryan has been
dating two of his "aunts" (Marissa is
the step-daughter of his grandfather and
Lindsey is the sister of his mom). Yeah,
it's really messed up. I thought they
were going to run out of family mem-
bers to hook up at the end of last season,
but they keep surprising me.
Ellen wonders if[anyone else remem-
bers when Mischa Barton had that bit
part opposite Hugh Grant in "Notting
Hill." She welcomes all "The O.C." fans
to write her at emcgarri@umich.edu.
eU
RealRetro jerseys honor the past
By Stephanie Canning
Daily Arts Writer
So you think your style is retro? It
may be, but is it real retro? The boys
of 521 Linden St. have reinvented the
concept of the retro-style throwback
jersey. Instead of famous athletes, the
jerseys serve as a tribute to some of
history's finest figures. The concept
for the jersey was thought up by LSA
junior Andrew Lloyd who, along with
his eight other roommates, has turned
this original and innovative vision
into a reality with the creation of their
company, The RealRetro.
"I saw the throw-back jersey craze
and thought it would be cool to eel-
ebrate accomplished historical figures
they way we celebrate athletes," Lloyd
says. The RealRetro jerseys feature
ten different figures, all of whom have
significantly impacted history.
Lloyd said the merchandise empha- -,
sizes the importance of education
while encouraging the idea that learn- TOMMASO suuEZ/uei
ing can indeed be fun. The founders of The Real Retro showcase their jerseys at their house at 521 Linden St.
The jerseys feature individuals that
were selected from a list that once lish major, supports the addition of Lloyd's silhouette is featured as the The RealRetro's merchandise has
included more than 200 prospective Shakespeare to The RealRetro roster, human in the image that depicts the universal appeal. The company has
candidates. Currently the RealRet- while Pat Ford, an Economics major, process of evolution. The number on sold t-shirts to people ranging fron
ro's "starting lineup" is comprised would be thrilled to see the addition the back of Napoleon's jersey, 55, is children in elementary school to col-
of Achilles, Julius Caesar, Cleopa- of an Adam Smith jersey. really 5'5", symbolic of his trade- lege-aged individuals.
tra, Charles Darwin, Amelia Earhart, Of the already existing jerseys, The mark height. "We'd love to see our professors
Genghis Kahn, Shakespeare's Romeo RealRetro's top sellers include Juliet The star and the cross that teaching classes in oui
and Juliet, Napoleon and General and Charles Darwin. appear in the logos on the -. shirts," says Lloyd.
George Patton. But this team roster is All of the t-shirts are printed on soft, front of both the Romeo They jer-
by no means complete. high-quality cotton, and the founders and Juliet jerseys seys have beer
The RealRetro will continue to add said the material has received many represent the idea shipped al]
players to its already outstanding line- compliments from many of those who of star-crossed over the Unit-
up; William Shakespeare, Beethoven, have purchased a jersey. lovers. The tags ed States -
Aphrodite and Harriet Tubman are The shirts are slightly more fitted on the shirts are s s afrom down
only a few of the figures scheduled to than a normal cotton t-shirt, which even custom- the street
make appearances. makes for a stylish look. They come designed and in Ann
All of the potential jersey candi- in a range of sizes and are can be uniquely placed Arbor to
dates are researched and voted upon worn around the house or dorm, to on the t-shirt. It New Mex-
by the entire house. Each roommate, class or even out on a Friday night. is obvious that ico. The
however, tends to be partial to the his- Each jersey is unique, featuring each jersey is the RealRetro
torical figures that would represent his one-of-a-kind designs with small result of an enor- is even mak-
major. details. On the back of the Charles mous amount of ing appear-
For example, Lloyd, who is an Eng- Darwin jersey, for example, Andrew thought and effort. ances overseas
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See www.zappos.com/cs.zhtmlifor details.
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