UTexas Memes Page Ranked Second in Nation
We can’t get enough of memes. No, seriously—we can’t.
And apparently, neither can anyone else. College-specific memes are popping up nationwide, and social media news site Mashable has taken it upon itself to rank these viral Facebook pages.
UT’s page, UTexas Memes, landed in second place with 14,914 likes. In the top spot is Boston University, which has a meager 6,678 likes (what gives, Mashable?)
Other colleges where memes are all the rage include Purdue, Arizona State, and UCLA—and yes, the Aggies and Sooners made the cut, at ninth and 11th places respectively.
Just another thing the Longhorns are better at!
Want to learn more? Get the lowdown on the UTexas Memes page and its recently revealed creator.
Photo courtesy Facebook user Robert Svoboda.
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Record-Breaking Fast-Food Icon Leaves Wendy’s
Not many fast-food workers break world records, inspire documentaries, and hit cult-favorite status across one of the biggest campuses in the country.
But “Junior,”—for 13 years the fast-talking, hand-waving order-taker at the Wendy’s in the Texas Union—did all that and more.
Ishmael Mohammed Jr., or Junior, had worked on the Forty Acres since Sept. 14, 1998. In 2005, he hit a high, breaking the world record for most sales at a fast food restaurant within 30 minutes. Junior made a mind-boggling 246 transactions (or $1,035.43 worth) between noon and 12:30 p.m.
In the documentary he inspired, Junior! The Wendy’s Guy, one woman says, “Amazing. When I see this man, I have to stand back and watch in awe. And he’s so artistic—his hands will flare up like he’s playing a piano.” Another adds, “I think he’s a great asset to the University and the students.” (Watch here.)
Filmmaker Stephen Stephanian said he’d gradually lost touch with Junior since making the movie and was surprised to hear that he had left. “While I don’t know the details of his departure, I know Junior’s positive attitude inspired, encouraged, and delivered hope to students despite his own personal circumstances,” Stephanian said in an email. “It goes to show that we are responsible for choosing our own attitudes, and our decision affects the lives of so many others.”
Junior served thousands of students and alumni over the years, but a few weeks ago, he moved back to his hometown in New York, Wendy’s officials say. There is no official why yet, but the Daily Texan has more details.
Photo by Trent Lesikar. Courtesy the Daily Texan.
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New Texas Football Schedule Set
Okay, you can more safely set a fall wedding date now without worrying that it’ll conflict with a Texas football gameday. The Big 12 Conference released its 2012 football schedule today.
The schedule includes Big 12 newcomers TCU and West Virginia (which just slid out of its old Big East obligations). Its approach: 10-team, nine-game, round-robin.
The conference schedule for Texas begins Sept. 29 at Oklahoma State, followed by a home game against West Virginia on Oct. 6. Then, of course, the Longhorns will face Oklahoma on Oct. 13 in Dallas.
Texas then returns home to face Baylor on Oct. 20, followed by back-to-back road games at Kansas on Oct. 27 and at Texas Tech on Nov. 3. The Longhorns return home again on Nov. 10 to face Iowa State, then have a bye week before playing TCU on No. 24 at home. Finally, they face at Kansas State on Dec. 1.
Here is the complete schedule, but with two caveats: dates are subject to change as adjustments are expected to accommodate television partners’ requests (could that mean Thanksgiving?), and all times are TBA.
2012 Texas Football Schedule (home games in bold)
- Sept. 1: Wyoming
- Sept. 8: New Mexico
- Sept. 15: at Mississippi
- Sept. 29: at Oklahoma State
- Oct. 6: West Virginia
- Oct. 13: vs. Oklahoma (at Dallas)
- Oct. 20: Baylor
- Oct. 27: at Kansas
- Nov. 3: at Texas Tech
- Nov. 10: Iowa State
- Nov. 24: TCU
- Dec. 1: at Kansas State
Jaxon Shipley in action. Photo courtesy UT Athletics.
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Spirit and Traditions Council Hosts Basketball Party
About 60 members of the Spirit and Traditions Council met at Pluckers in West Campus Monday evening to watch the Texas Longhorns basketball team take on the Aggies for what might be the last time.
The council, or “STC,” is comprised of about 20 spirit-related student organizations from across campus, including the Longhorn Band, Texas Cowboys, Orange Jackets, Forever Texas, Texas Lonestars, Texas Spirits, Hellraisers, Texas Lassos, Wrangler Darlin’s, Texas Sweethearts, Iron Spikes, Tejas Club, Longhorn Honeys, UT Student Government, and the Texas Exes Student Chapter.
Founded in 2002 and sponsored by the Texas Exes, the STC provides a forum for like-minded UT groups to share ideas and support each other, and to work together to build a sense of UT spirit and community on the campus.
The Spirit and Traditions Council has an active calendar. Each fall, at the beginning of the semester, the STC produces the Big Yell, intended to teach new students about University history and traditions. The 2011 Big Yell featured a capacity crowd in the Student Activity Center ballroom, with more than 600 students, most of them freshmen.
Recent meetings have included special guests, including former Vice President for Student Affairs Jim Vick and UT historian Margaret Berry. The STC assists the Texas Exes with senior ring promotions on campus and awards a ring scholarship to one of its members each spring.
Near the end of the academic year, the group hosts an annual STC Conference to discuss campus-wide issues and concerns, and to introduce next year’s student leaders to the group.
Above: STC Officers. From left, Matt Portillo, Tiffany Williams, Erica Flores, Evan Rowley, and David Forinash. (Not pictured: Kait Rowland.)
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Ricky Williams to Retire from the NFL
NFL player and Longhorn legend Ricky Williams will retire, he announced today.
Williams, 34, won the Heisman Trophy in 1998. In an NFL career spanning 11 seasons, he became one of just 26 players to rush at least 10,000 yards.
“I am excited about all the opportunities ahead,” Williams said in a press release. “Continuing my education, running The Ricky Williams Foundation and whatever other opportunities present themselves.”
Williams has retired once before—in 2004, after a four-game suspension for a positive marijuana test. He returned in 2005.
When news of his retirement plans broke today, Williams took to Twitter to say: “Thank you all, but this ain’t it, I’m gonna do something really special. ‘Be you and change the world.’”
*Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story stated that Williams had rushed 100,000 yards. Thanks to an astute reader for correcting us.
Photo courtesy Jim Sigmon
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Vote on Vince: Should He Do ‘Dancing With the Stars?’
By now the word is out: Texas’ favorite son, Vince Young, has been invited to compete on Dancing With the Stars.
Vince is 28 now and a quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, but apparently he’s still looking to have a little lighthearted fun outside the NFL.
He’s talking big on Twitter, telling his trash-talking former roommate, Michael Huff, “U know I got them dancing skills.”
And his own steakhouse here in Austin tells him, “YES! You would win!”
Sure, it sounds entertaining, but isn’t there a risk of injury? Or just other pursuits—like football training—to keep him busy?
The blogosphere isn’t so sure. Austin sportswriter Cedric Golden says, “To say his career is at a crossroad would be a massive understatement. A backup quarterback who threw four interceptions in his last real action should be out hustling to regain some credibility on the football field. That’s time better spent than shaking his moneymaker on national television.”
We’ve just got to know what Longhorn Nation thinks: should Vince Young dance in a ballroom the way he dances around tackles on the field? Or should he leave it ’til retirement?
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McConaughey, Dazed and Confused All Over Again
You know the great thing about Matthew McConaughey? We get older, and he stays the same age.
At least the A-list father of two certainly makes it seem that way.
McConaughey, garbed once again in pink (er, salmon) pants and a Bob Marley T-shirt, recently reprised his mustachioed Casanova-like character, David Wooderson, from the 1993 cult classic Dazed and Confused.
In the video, made for Butch Walker and the Black Widows’ song “Synthesizers,” the recently engaged McConaughey hilariously channels Wooderson—the character who launched his career—as he makes his grand entrance into a nightclub.
Despite almost 20 years passing since the film’s release, McConaughey, BS ’93, Life Member, doesn’t look like he’s aged much, and he doesn’t act like it either.
For those who have seen the film, it’s not surprising that Wooderson is still the life of the party, because, naturally, his life still is a party. The trumpet-blasting, DJ-directing, dance-floor-grooving chick magnet still commands attention with every action; he still exudes a palpable sense of cool.
Unfortunately for Dazed and Confused fans, plans for a sequel were scrapped a few years back—so cherish every glorious moment McConaughey gives us in this video.
Plus, it’s not every day McConaughey stars in something where he doesn’t take his shirt off, though female fans would probably like it a lot better if he did.
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UT Alumna’s Short Film Nominated for Academy Award
Can’t see the video? Click here.
It’s not every day that a film you made is a contender for an Oscar nomination.
With that mentality, Time Freak producer Gigi Causey, BS ’95, a graduate of UT’s Radio-Television-Film program, and her writer-director husband, Andrew Bowler, decided to film themselves watching the nomination announcements live at 5:30 a.m. last Tuesday morning.
Clad in bathrobes and pajamas, the film-making duo’s ecstatic reaction to Time Freak’s nomination in the Live-Action Short Film category has since gone viral, even earning a spot on Good Morning America’s “Play of the Day” segment.
And their YouTube video isn’t the only thing generating buzz. The 11-minute story of a neurotic inventor who, consumed with regret, creates a time machine and gets lost traveling in his past, has garnered international praise—even winning the grand prize at the Seattle International Film Festival.
Causey served as producer on the project, while Bowler wrote the screenplay and directed the short. Now based in LA, Causey has previously worked on movies including 2008′s Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and the upcoming Denzel Washington-Ryan Reynolds flick Safe House.
The Oscar winners will be announced at the 84th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 26.
Can’t see the video? Click here.
Photo courtesy Time Freak: The Movie.
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World’s Longest-Horned Longhorn is an Aussie [Watch]
The world’s longest-horned Texas Longhorn steer lives on a ranch in Australia, Texas Monthly reports.
In November, 7-year-old JR (yes, he’s named after the oil baron of Dallas fame) was awarded the Guinness World Record for longest horns: 109 inches, or nearly three meters from tip to tip.
How does Bevo stack up? His “mama,” Betty Baker, says Bevo’s horns were 78 inches at last measure, though they’ve probably grown a little since. “Some folks breed just for horns,” says Baker, who owns Bevo with her husband, John, at their Liberty Hill ranch, “but we breed for body, too. You can’t eat horns!”
A longhorn’s rack never stops growing, but growth slows down considerably when the animal is about 10 years old, Baker says.
The Aussies may have won this one for now. But let the record show that JR is still a Texas Longhorn. He’s just colonized the outback.
Photo by Horseshoe B. Longhorn Ranch
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Texas Executive MBA Hits Global Top 10
Rankings convey bragging rights, and this latest one is something to be proud of not just nationally but internationally.
The Texas Executive MBA Program is ranked ninth in the world, according to Poets & Quants for Executives’ second annual EMBA ranking.
Penn’s Wharton School leads the list of the 55 global schools; the University of Chicago and Northwestern University are not far behind. The only other public schools to crack the Top 10 were UCLA, Michigan, and McCombs.
The Poets & Quants ranking system, for those of you keeping score at home, was created by John Byrne, a former BusinessWeek executive who was responsible for launching that publication’s influential b-school rankings decades ago.
File photo by Valerie Cook
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