Dear Sassy,

I am terrified for Valentine’s Day.  I really don’t know what to get my boyfriend.  I thought about planning a romantic date, but every idea I have seems worst than the last.  I’d like to avoid cliché gifts as much as possible.  Can you help me pull off a romantic, unforgettable Valentine’s Day?

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More than ever, publications are abandoning their print editions in favor of online versions. The Lode is not by any means doing that, but don’t think that our content stops with the print page. With only two print pages for sports, print is really only scratching the surface of our coverage.

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After securing their first win since Jan. 10, 2009, and their first winning streak of the season, the Michigan Tech men’s basketball looked like they were coming together heading into the second half of the season.
While that may be the case, the defending national champion Findlay Oilers certainly showed Michigan Tech that they have a long way to go. The Huskies hung with the Oilers for the first 14 minutes of the game, as both teams exchanged baskets nearly every position. Findlay then turned on the jets, wrapping up the first half with a 16-0 run. The visitors won by 22 points, 77-55, and it was back to the drawing board for Kevin Luke’s young team.
Michigan Tech has the pieces necessary to win games. Matt Gaedke has emerged lately to lead the team in scoring for three straight games. Ali Haidar has continued to show flashes of brilliance in the post, and once he and Mike Hojnacki can consistently score, the guards have shown their ability to hit big shots. Michigan Tech is second in the GLIAC in three-point shooting percentage.
The Huskies (4-11, 3-7 GLIAC) return to the road this week to take on Saginaw Valley State and Lake Superior State, who have both earned 7-3 records in the conference.
The upcoming stretch could be a make-or-break point of the season as Michigan Tech will face four of the five teams ahead of them in the GLIAC North Division standings, all of them on the road. Check out mtulode.com for a full preview of this weekend.

After an intial limited theater release, The Lovely Bones will debut nationwide on Friday Jan. 15. The film stars Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz as the parents of a murdered child. Also featured in the film is Saoirse Ronan as their deceased child, as well as Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, and Michael Imperioli.
The film is about a girl, Susie Salmon (Ronan) who is murdered by her neighboy George Harvey (Tucci). Upon Susie’s death, from on high, she observes the shattering of what remains of her family, namely her parents Jack and Abigail (Wahlberg and Weisz, respectively), who gradually drift apart of the murder of their daughter. She also observes her killer preparing to strike again.
This marks director Peter Jackson’s first film as a director since 2005 blockbuster “King Kong.” Although this film isn’t as grand in scale as The Lord of The Rings trilogy, adapting the screenplay from Alice Sebold’s novel presented challenges in it’s own way.
“One of the challenges that we’re discovering now is that, when you’re adapting, you know you’ve got to realize that you’re only going to get half the book into the movie,” said Jackson in a conference call with student media organizations, including the Lode. “You’ve got to start making decisions about what the most important aspects of the book are.”
Jackson also commented on the intended audience of the film, and the importance of leaving it open for a broad group of people. Specifically mentioned was his intent to keep the film from receiving an “R” rating, and how he wished to make the film in a way so that his own daughter could watch it.
“We wanted it to be a PG-13. We didn’t want to make an R-rated movie,” said Jackson. “We’ve got a daughter who was 12 years old when we made the movie, she’s 13 now. And we wanted her to see this film.”
On particular actors that he really enjoyed working with during the project, Jackson turned his attention to Michael Imperioli, a former castmember of The Sopranos, who plays a detective in the film.
“Interestingly enough, I worked with Mike Imperioli as well, and we cast him, because he did an audition for us, and we thought he was terrific,” said Jackson. “He was a great actor, too, a really nice guy.

This morning I wrote a letter to a friend about driving up to Michigan Tech. I described the long drive (for me at least, my passengers slept the whole way) and beautiful scenery. As is my habit with letters after I signed my name I dated the letter. Without thinking about it though, I wrote the year as 2009. Upon realizing this, I had to scribble out the date and rewrite it fresh as 2010. Every year I go through the same trouble adjusting from one date change to the next. It is one little thing that I have difficulty with every time January 1 rolls around. One thing that irritates me more though, are New Year’s resolutions.
The new year is a time to forget all the troubles of the past, a time to start anew, or a time for “rebirth”. While on the road during break I saw a church sign valiantly declare the passing of the last decade as a chance to “Be Born Again”. New Year’s causes everyone to get excited; everyone is ready for their fresh start at life. But once the clock flips over to January 1 and the parties die down, once everyone finally gets to sleep, the troubles haven’t disappeared. The world is still the same.
So why is everyone always in a frenzy year after countless year about resolutions? Why is such a simple act of flipping the page on a calendar prompt people to get into the “need to change” mindset? Now do not get me wrong, I am all for change. Personal, mental, physical, whatever positive change you need, I have nothing wrong with that. Everyone should be trying to lead a better, healthier, kinder lifestyle. But what I do not understand is why the changing of the year force people to enact (or at least attempt) this change?
The switch from December 31 to January 1 is not the only time a person can change their life. If you realize that there is something about your life that you need to change for the better, do it immediately! By the time you realize a change is necessary you have already waited long enough. Do not wait for the new year to force you to make a resolution, this only prolongs it! The only person who can completely create a positive change in you is yourself and this can happen at any time. One special night of celebration should not be the kick start to your positive resolution. All that is needed is for you to want this change and an inner strength to make it happen.
Now I realize you might be reading this and thinking to yourself that I have said this all too late, the night of resolution making has come and gone. You have probably made your resolution to lose weight, get fit, or to quit doing a certain harmful habit. And as I said before, positive change is good and it is great that you have a desire to lead a better lifestyle. But a simple declaration to lose weight in 2010 is not good enough. You need to make your resolution more precise. Create a weekly goal that is realistic and attainable. So instead of saying “I want to lose weight”, say “I want to lose two pounds every week until I reach my desired weight” (and be sure to write down your goal too as this can help you meet it). Creating a detailed plan lets you visualize your goal and makes it easier to attain it by working on it a bit at a time. Changes, just like mountain climbing, cannot happen all at once. You have to take it one step at a time.
So look back at those resolutions you made on January 1, 2010. Write them down, revise them, break them into smaller pieces, and work at a positive change in a smarter fashion. If the resolution you had made is not exactly what you want and you feel you need to work on something else, work on it now! Do not wait until 2011 to prompt you. Design your goal and get working on it. Life is too short to live a whole year waiting for change.

The broomball rinks are now in a new, more centralized location, and several games have already taken place among the six conferences and 22 divisions.
The Lode is just gearing up for the spring semester, but as part of our expanded coverage, we will do our best to bring you comprehensive coverage, particularly as the top teams begin to emerge from the pack.
Please closely follow broomball at mtulode.com Also note that we are seeking additional writers to be able to do justice to the hundreds of teams and players. Happy Broomball!

Looking to extend their winning streak to three games, the Minnesota Golden Gophers scored two key goals in the second period to skate away with a 3-2 win over the WCHA Last-Place Michigan Tech Huskies at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena Saturday night.

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