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This Week in USC History Sept. 28, 1982 Bates House didn’t hold elections because not enough people ran for officer positions. The four appointed officers were the only people who came to the interest meeting. _‘ Scooters wheel onto campus Laura Dalrymple The Gamecock Newly redesigned, sleeker scooters have reappeared as a recent trend. The lightweight size, low price and convenient portability make the scooters popular among college students. by Chrissy Taylor The Gamecock With new body innovations, a vari ety of colors and rising sales, the new scooters are the hottest things on two wheels. The nostalgic scooters, seen around campus and elsewhere, are modeled af ter the ones from the 1950s but now have a lightweight aluminum body that’s stronger than older models. The scooters, first manufactured by Razor Scooter and now distributed by other brands, feature smaller wheels with a roller blade style, unlike the larger wheels of the past. “What’s really convenient about these is that you can fold the handlebars and body so that it fits into a backpack, which Razor makes for them,” said Ger ald Locke of Outspoken Bicycles. “Some also come with a shoulder strap,” Locke said. Outspoken in Five Points has sold about 20 scooters since March, and sales and inquiries are increasing by the day. Although they’re marketed for a larg er age group, most consumers are par ents who buy the scooters Tor their 10 to 12-year-old children. The scooters have a brake that grips the back wheel and handle grips for easy balancing. They hold 250 pounds and go at least 25 mph with a solid fork or spring suspension allowing for smooth riding over rough surfaces. Newer models with more features, such as wider footboards, knobby tires and higher handlebars, will eventually be available, said Mark Merril, also of Outspoken. Some models have two height settings and others can be set at any height. When models with height * adjustment become more widespread, more adults are expected to use them. “By Christmas, these will be a big product on the market,” Merril said. There are also four-wheel scooters that turn in the rider’s desired direction. Some available accessories include wheel ie bars and skid plates, which attach to the bottom of the board for sliding tricks. The scooters feature different-colored wheels and intercliangeable handle grips. Available colors include green, blue, pink and orange. If the scooter expands its varieties and more accessories can be customized, the scooter phenomenon could turn in to a sport, much like skateboarding and BMX biking, said Locke. “I don’t think this is just a fad be cause [the scooters] are more practical and innovations are already being made for more variety. I think they will sell better over a long period of time. They won’t become a one-time hit like roller blades were,” Locke said. The basic model, sold with a back pack, is about $ 109. The Razor extreme model with spring suspension is about $129. The spotlight desk can be reached at gamecockspotlight@hotmail.conx Local bars perfect art of happy hour by James Battle The Gamecock My mother once asked me, “What is happy hour?” I told her, “It’s a drinking time designed for alcoholics, unemployed people and...uh college stu dents.” As bad as it sounds, college really is the only time in life where it’s okay to be knee-walking drunk at five in the afternoon. To help those of us who enjoy this 4 to 7 p.m. hedonism, I went to a few bars to investigate their sanitation, lighting quality and most importantly, booze. My first stop brought me to Tavern on the Greene, located on Greene Street across from Andy’s Deli. The cool thing about Tavern is it’s slightly hard to find, so you feel like a local drinking there even if you’re from New Jersey. They don’t have many drink specials, $2.50 liquor drinks and $1.75 domestic beer, but the bartender John ensures either Widespread Panic, Grateful Dead, or Phish is blasting on the stereo. He’s also pretty easy to talk to and knows just about everything on the subject of music. Usually, the pool table is free during happy hour, and the wait for a beer is less than five seconds. However, it’s not a good place to recover from em physema, as it always has a good cloud of smoke. I’d recommend Tavern on the Greene to someone looking for a casual beer and good music. i*iy ucAi aiup wab oiiar^y b, lucaieu on naraen ^ireei near circle k. nrsi of all, if you can make it into Sharky’s without tripping on the first three stairs, you’re a natural athlete. I nearly lost my teeth there to the amusement of about 's, but Sharky’s happy hour deal, $1 Bud Light along with free pizza, is well worth the embarrassment. They’re pretty slow with the pizza so don’t plan on catching a meal, but you can’t beat $1 beer with a stick. Make sure you don’t order Budweiser thinking it’s also $1, as my buddy’s crfedit card discovered. The other great thing about Sharky’s is the front patio where you can watch people on their afternoon run or coming home from work. It adds a little more satisfaction to your afternoon cocktail. As a bar, Sharky’s is a great option. The bartenders are usually college stu dents, so don’t be afraid to throw a little extra cash in the tip jar. After leaving Sharky’s, I felt pretty good and decided to cruise down Rose wood Drive to San Jose’s near the IHOP. San Jose’s is good if you’re fiending for a $1.99 margarita, and it must have about 200 waiters, which makes it easy to get sloshed. If you’re a money-grubber like me, you’ll take advantage of the free chips and sauce or the cheese dip for an extra two bucks. One of San Jose’s great spe cials is the 32 ounce beer ($1.99), which comes in a huge frosted mug that could deflect bullets in addition to providing a good a bicep work-out. The combi nation of Mexican music and Spansih television always puts me in a good mood, and I recommend buying a pack of Chiclets on your way out. By now happy hour is almost over, and you’re thinking either naptime or stick it out for the night. Either way, your alcoholic fantasies should have been realized, and you’ve taken advantage of yet another day at USC. The spotlight desk can be reached at gamecockspotiight@hotmail.com. Amy Goulding The Gamecock Rafter’s, Sharky’s and the Knock Knock Club are popular spots for college students during happy hour. Photos by Kevin Langston The Gamecock Wayne Coyne, lead singer of The Flaming Lips, sings a duet with his frog puppet at a perfor mance last year at Cat’s Cradle in Carboro, N.C. This performance was one of the infamous “headphone concerts.” The Flaming Lips return to the Southeast this week with appearances in Athens, Ga. and Carboro. Flaming Lips to bring unique style to N.C. by Kevin Langston The Gamecock n the heels of what has been considered by many to be last year’s best album and the finest of their career, The Flaming Lips have taken to the road once again this fall in support of their 1999 release, “The Soft Bulletin.” Hailed as “the world’s first headphone concerts,” the shows from last year’s tour were unlike anything the Lips had ever done before. As a band that has constantly evolved, the Flaming Lips have never settled for a “typical” live performance. To accommodate the multi-layered sound of “The Soft Bulletin,” the Lips’ Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd and Michael Ivins knew they were going to have to do something larger and more incredible than their previous tours. Building on the mysterious and popular “Boombox Experiments” prior to the release of “The Soft Bulletin,” The Flaming Lips decided to create a multimedia show of massive proportions. The “Boombox Experiments” were the brainchild of Coyne who sought to “experiment with multiple sound sources, listener participation and new dimensions of sound.” Coyne, Ivins and Drozd recorded music to four dif ferent CDs, and for full effect and intention, the four discs are to be played simultaneously on four separate boom boxes. Any combination of the four would yield differ ent results. The album comes with a disclaimer: “Warning: This is a unique recording. These eight compositions are to be played using as many as four compact disc players and have synchronized start times. This recording also contains frequencies not normally heard on commercial recordings and on rare occasion has caused the listener to become disoriented.” To create this sound live, Coyne invested in 40 boom boxes that he had audience members operate during the shows. Coyne, Drozd and Ivins then acted as conductors to the boombox operators as they played the accompa- ' Flaming Lips seepages What’s Happening FRIDAY. SEPT. 29 ELBOW ROOM: Daniell Howie, 10 p.m., All Ages, $7 Cover MACS ON MAIN: The 4th Element, 9 p.m., 21+, No Cov er HUNTER GATHERER: F-13, 11:30 p.m., 21+, $2 Cover FUBAR: Fall Down 200 featur ing Scenic Drive, Mechanizm, Ultra Vibe, Obey Bizar and Hy brid, All Ages, $5 Cover NEW BROOKLAND TAVERN: Brandstson, 6 p.m., 18+, $6 Cover DELANEY’S: Buddy Ray & Frank Smoak BILLY G’S: Ras Bonghi Reggae All Stars, 10 p.m., 21+, No Cover SHARKY’S: Blue Man Fiction JILLIAN’S: Shelley Magee and Blues DeVille, 9 p.m., 21+, $5 Cover SATURDAY. SEPT. 30 MAC’S ON MAIN: Fatback& The Groove Band, 8 p.m., 21+, No Cover ELBOW ROOM: Summer Jam 3 featuring Elijah Prophet, Gasoline Dream, Violent New Breed and more, 4 p.m.to 2 a.m., All Ages, $8 in advance, $10 at the door NEW BROOKLAND TAV ERN: Pigsaw Janet, 10 p.m., 18+, $5 Cover BILLY G’S: Soul Mites, 10 p.m., 21+, No Cover SHARKY’S: Blue Man Fiction JILLIAN’S: Skipp Pearson, 9 p.m., 21+, $5 Cover SUNDAY. OCT. 1 DECISIONS: Blues Jam with Brainstorm ELBOW ROOM: Juliana Hat field, Mayflies, USA FUBAR: Lucky Strike, Beef cake, Perfect Yesterday (5 p.m., $5, all ages); 454 Nute (9 p.m.) WRHA Movies Friday, Sept 29 - Sunday, Oct 1: 9 a.m. - The Outsiders 12 p.m. - Erin Brockovich 3 p.m. - Tommy Boy 8 p.m. - The Green Mile 12 am. - The Whole Nine Yards 3 a.m. - Tommy Boy Campus Notes Send Campus Notes to game cockspotlight@hotmaiI.com, Please include contact name and phone number, and a brief de scription of your event. We can’t promise to print everything, but we can promise to try.