Thursday's Funpage

1. Wellness Center Announcements
2. Teach For America's final deadline
3. Mr. Rice Asia Pageant
4. Wyrd Sisters
5. Nourish International Chapter Founders Program
6. Participate in student filmmaking contest
7. Rice New Playwright's Festival
8. Candlelight Vigil for Gaza Sun, Feb 8 630-7pm
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1a. LOLcat of the Day: Concerto Cat
http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/funny-pictures-concerto-cat.jpg?w=320&h=480
2a. Sexy veggie ad banned from Super Bowl: ABSOLUTELY Crazy
http://www.peta.org/content/standalone/VeggieLove/Default.aspx
3a. Play with Yourself: Blocky
http://www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/blocky.jsp
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1. Wellness Center Announcements

* The Nirvana Sessions have resumed for the spring semester. Sessions are held on Tuesdays at 5:00 pm, Wednesdays at 12:30 pm,
and Thursdays at 3:30 pm in the Rice Memorial Chapel. Take 20
minutes out of your day to relax and refocus!
* The Wellness Center is offering a discounted rate on Hot Stone
Massage. During the month of February you can schedule an hour
appointment for $50. Gift certificates are available for your
Valentine!
* The next Backrub 101 workshop will take place on Tuesday, Feb.
10th from 5:30 - 7:30 pm. The cost is ONLY $5, but space is
limited!! Another workshop will be offered in March. To register
you must pre-pay either in person or over the phone by credit
card. Call the Wellness Center for more information.
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2. Teach For America's final deadline
Disparities in educational opportunities limit the life choices of the 13 million children growing up in poverty today, impacting their earning potential, voter participation, civic engagement and community involvement. These disparities disproportionately impact African-American, Latino/Hispanic, and Native American children, who are three times as likely to live in a low-income area.* You have the power to change this.

Teach For America seeks individuals from all backgrounds, academic majors, and career interests who possess the leadership skills and experience that will enable them to change the prospects of students growing up today and, ultimately, to effect fundamental change in our society that will make it a place of opportunity for all.

As a member of Teach For America, you will commit two years to teach in one of our country’s high-need public schools and will gain the skills, perspective, and experience that will help you make an impact over the long term and pursue your personal and professional goals, regardless of your career path.

This is a challenging endeavor, but by taking advantage of the support and resources that Teach For America provides, you can have a tremendous impact on the lives of your students.
To learn more, visit www.teachforamerica.org or contact admissions@teachforamerica.org.

FINAL Application Deadline: Friday, February 13th, 2009
Full salary and benefits. All academic majors.
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3. Mr. Rice Asia Pageant
On Saturday, February 7th, 2009, Wiess Commons, 6 pm.
Come join us for a night of food, fun, and Asian culture! Owl Microfinance, South Asian Society, and Chinese Student Association are hosting the Mr. Rice Asia pageant to raise money for microfinance in China and Pakistan.

A portion of the money raised goes to the Hashoo foundation, the 2008 BBC World Challenge winner! Another portion will go to microcredit in China. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6047364.stm

Microfinance is a financial practice whereby low interest loans are made to the socioeconomically deprived, typically in group formats. The loans give people the dignity and opportunity that comes from working your way up through poverty. In Bangladesh alone, the Grammen bank has helped lift millions from acute poverty.

For a 6 dollar admission fee, you get
A. Boba tea (limited quantities, first come first serve!)
B. Chipotle
C. Celebrity Judges: Ping Sun (University Representative), Dr. Gao (Diff E teacher), Gautami Shah (Hindi teacher), Indranil Dutta (Hindi teacher)

D. and entertainment from your fellow students
Konrad Stoick (Will Rice)
Arindam Sarkar (Lovett)
Zachary Jeng (Hanszen)
Ravi Shah (Baker)
Michael Nguyen/Sam Sok(Sid Rich)
Dave Luke (Baker)
Selim Sheikh (Martel)
Chethan Ramprasad (Hanszen)
David Sing (Lovett)


The Contest consists of a walk off, Q and A, and finally talent portion conducted by MCs Abhishek Nag and Ann Chou.
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4. Wyrd Sisters
The rice players are proud to present Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters, adapted by Stephen
Briggs and directed by Tommy Mings.

8pm
Februrary 6,7, & 12-14
Hamman Hall, Rice University

Wyrd sisters is a Monty Python-esque comedy about Macbeth's three witches. There is a wicked duke and duchess, a ghost of a murdered king, dim soldiers, strolling players, and a land in peril. But it is three witches, who view magic in the most practical way possible, who stand between the kingdom and destruction.

Ticket Prices are as follows:
Rice Students-$5
Rice Faculty & Staff-$8
Non-Rice Students-$8
Senior Citizens-$8
General Admission-$10
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5. Nourish International Chapter Founders Program
This year, 8 million people will die because they are simply too poor to stay alive.


You can change this.
Nourish International is inviting you to be a part of the solution to global poverty by applying for our Chapter Founders Program.
During the school year, Nourish Chapters run small businesses called ventures on campus to raise money, membership, and awareness. They then choose a compelling student-led project proposed by an international organization. Over the summer, students travel abroad to a local community to implement their chosen project as a tangible solution to poverty.
Steve Mullaney, founder of our Minnesota Chapter, wrote about his experience in Nebaj, Guatemala, where his team partnered with the community to build a greenhouse and an education center:
I met two boys: Eliu and Jacinto. Both just started talking with me. Both are brilliant. Eliu is twelve and is very motivated. He's aware of how knowing math will positively affect his future. He told me that he wants to go to the US—not to work, but to continue his studies. Like many other Guatemalan twelve year olds I've talked with he loves soccer, is fascinated by my stories of Minnesota snow, and is incredibly motivated/talented/brilliant. He asked me to help teach him algebra; I said yes.
On his first day of doing multiplication with two digits he mastered it in five example problems. Yes, he's behind grade level, but still—that's impressive. He's a sponge whose mind is naturally geared towards excellence in math. I've never seen the level of focus and intensity in anyone learning anything. Ever.
And then [my friend] Nick hits me with a bombshell which I know [that] I know, but wasn't something I was thinking about at the time: "It's like this with kids all around the world."

Students can have a global impact and ensure that brilliant students like Eliu have a chance to succeed. If you are interested, you can do two things:
· Apply to be a Chapter Founder – Between now and February 28th Nourish is accepting applications for its Chapter Founders Program. This spring, we'll be selecting students from 10 campuses across the country to receive professional training, support and $500 start-up capital. To start your application, click here.
· Tell a friend – If Nourish isn't the right opportunity for you, you can still help accomplish our mission of eradicating global poverty. Spreading the word to just three people drastically raises our chances of finding the right student on your campus. Nominate a friend now by clicking here.
To apply, get more information or nominate a friend, go to http://www.nourishinternational.org/students/founders. Act now - applications are being reviewed as they come in!
Sincerely,
The Nourish Team
chapter.founders@nourishinternational.org

About Nourish International
Nourish International was founded in 2003 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as the student group Hunger Lunch. Since incorporating as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit in 2006, Nourish has begun chapters on 23 campuses nationwide. In 2008, Nourish was awarded the North Carolina Peace Prize for excellence in cross-cultural solutions and sustainable development.
Since inception, Nourish students have raised and invested more than $100,000 in sustainable development projects in 14 communities worldwide.
For more information go to www.nourishinternational.org
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6. Participate in student filmmaking contest
Calling all (aspiring) student filmmakers! You could win acclaim and a $500 prize for making a short (5 minute or less) film about student life at Rice. Special prizes will be awarded for films focused on a residential college or student organization, an alternative Spring Break or other civic engagement experience, environmental or sustainability issues, or academic research. The deadline is Monday, April 6 at 5 p.m.; films will be screened at the Rice Media Center on April 8 at 7 p.m.

See http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~service/videocontest.html for contest rules.

Interested in participating, but unsure how to get started? Sign up for a free short course on documentary production taught by veteran filmmaker Doug Killgore, or take a course at the Digital Media Center (DMC) on using video cameras, editing video, or producing a DVD. See
www.ricedocumentaryclass.info and http://library.rice.edu/services/digital_media_center/services/short-courses You can check out a camcorder, tripod, and audio gear for free at the DMC (Herring 129), and you can edit your video at one of the DMC's 6 video editing stations.

The contest is sponsored by:

* Center for Civic Engagement
* Community Involvement Center
* Digital Media Center
* Fondren Library
* Information Technology
* Office of the Dean of Undergraduates
* Office of Sustainability
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7. Rice New Playwright's Festival
Seeking ONE ACT PLAY submissions for juried sit down readings April 6 + 7 at Hamman Hall on Rice University’s campus
E-mail your submissions, questions, comments to tab1@rice.edu or send them to
Teresa Bayer
Hanszen College
6350 Main Street
Houston, Texas 77005
Deadline February 28, 2009
Interested in acting in the plays? please let us know!
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8. Candlelight Vigil for Gaza Sun, Feb 8 630-7pm
Candlelight Vigil for Gaza
a call for peace and humanitarian aid
Sunday, Feb 8 at Willy's Statue 630-7pm

Please join us for a short vigil to reflect on the human costs of the recent conflict in Gaza and to call for a peaceful solution. We'll also be taking cash donations that will go towards the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's humanitarian aid efforts inside the Gaza Strip. Any amount you can contribute will go a long way in providing medical supplies and educational opportunities in Gaza.

The vigil will feature statements from student clubs, Rice faculty, community peace activists, and readings by local Palestinian-American poet Fady Joudah.

RSVP on the facebook event at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=58744128209&ref=mf

In Mike and Casey We Trust