Boo to the death of Lou Reed on Oct. 27. Bravo to his lasting legacy and the joy he brought to his millions of fans from his long career in music, as a solo artist and member of the Velvet Underground. Bravo to the ASU hockey team. The Sun Devils are ranked No. 1 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association and have started the season with a 13-game-winning streak. ASU also extended its winning streak to 34 consecutive games over rival UA earlier this year. Senior forward Kale Dolinski leads the nation in assists (19) and points (29) in 12 games played.
Boo to the Florida men who dressed as Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman for Halloween. Greg Cimeno wore a "Neighborhood Watch" T-shirt, while William Filene's Trayvon costume included a hoodie with a fake bloodstain and blackface. Blackface has a long and ugly history and is never acceptable. Cimeno commented on the Facebook post, "Anything for the laugh." No one is laughing.
Bravo to the return of Tempe's New Year's Eve block party. The festival on Mill Avenue was among the biggest in the nation before a sponsor, the Fiesta Bowl, withdrew last year. With a new sponsor in Circle K, though, Mill Avenue will once again be home to thousands of partiers.
Boo to Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia for his unoriginal joke about the quality (or in his view, lack thereof) of an ASU education. He may not be proud of what he accomplished in the classroom here, but most of us are. Demeaning the quality of our degrees in the national media isn't funny, and it could even set back those of us who aren't afforded a career in professional sports.
Bravo to Kanye West for his (albeit last minute) announcement that he will be stopping in Phoenix for his Yeezus tour.
Boo to a shortage of pentobarbital, a drug commonly used in lethal injections, leading some states with the death penalty to use other similar but untested drugs to carry out executions. The Danish company Lundbeck, which produces the drug, is subject to European Union statutes forbidding the exportation of products used in capital punishment.
Bravo to the more than 60 Saudi women who got behind the wheel of their cars Saturday to protest the state’s de facto ban on women driving. Many of the women uploaded videos of themselves driving and though some of them reported being stopped or followed by police, none of them were arrested.
Boo to several Roma families in being accused of child trafficking simply because their children did not have "typical" Romani characteristics. Genetic tests indicated that the blonde-haired, blue-eyed children of two different Roma families in Ireland were in fact their biological children.
Boo to the death of Marcia Wallace, who voiced Edna Krabappel on "The Simpsons," but bravo to the years of humor she brought us on the show. Wallace's portrayal of Bart's long-suffering fourth grade teacher was perfect, and her character will be retired because she can't be replaced.
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