Cards Against Hypnosis at Regis University

By: Kamil Wojciak, Staff Writer

“I felt so relaxed . . . I felt excitement when I won one million dollars” John Butler said, one of the performers on Cards Against Hypnosis. On February 8th, for Thursday Thrills, David Hall performed his comedy hypnosis show Cards Against Hypnosis. This performance took place at the Main Cafe in the Student Center at 8:00 PM, open to all individuals looking to have a great laugh.

To start off, Hall demonstrated the power of hypnosis through the “Magnetic Fingers” trick to the audience, showing the audience how hypnosis really works. Hypnosis, even though it may seem like magic, utilizes the power of one’s consciousness to heighten one’s ability for suggestion. By Hall’s skill of persuasion and the audience members focusing on the objective of holding their fingers in place, it really seemed that their fingers were magnetic and pulling each other closer.

After showing the power of hypnosis to the audience, he asked for volunteers to become “the stars of the show”. With the volunteers, David Hall put them in a dream-like state ready for the acts to come; these acts are the fundamental core of Cards Against Hypnosis.

The special mechanic of Cards Against Hypnosis is that the audience decides the outcome of the scenario that is going to take place. On a black card, a scenario is written on what the hypnotized participants will perform. After being shown the black card, Hall will show a white card that has possible outcomes of the scenario to the audience. An audience member (or sometimes just the audience in general) will decide on one of the possible outcomes.

With this unique and inclusive mechanic, the audience members made the participants carry out all sorts of acts, ranging from having a pen that can shoot out an invisible sleeping dart, having the participants hate dancing until they hear the words “Do the Nae Nae”, winning one million dollars from a slot machine, to even singing the ABC’s in heavy metal.

Even with all the silly and crazy acts, many of the performers have little recollection on the acts they participated in. “I remember some things, like the Bahamas, some dancing” G’avonti Patton stated, a performer on the show.

Although the performers themselves may not have a clear memory of the event they partaken in, the audience will for sure remember the highly comedic and amusing show, Cards Against Hypnosis.

A Little Place Called Aspen

Photo Source: Aspen X Games

By Josh Lenahan, Staff Writer

Lil Wayne, professional snowboarders, the brapp of snowmobiles, the smell of hops, and bottomless champagne powder. What kind of place could have all these mouthwatering, beat bumping, fun things within a five-minute walk of each other?

As Lloyd from everyone’s favorite Colorado-centered movie “Dumb and Dumber” put it, “A place where the beer flows like wine, where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. A little place called Aspen.”

With live music performances from Lil Wayne, Louis the Child, Kygo, and the Chainsmokers, X Games Aspen is a hotspot for action sports fans and concert goers alike. This last X Games in late January turned Aspen into action sports’ biggest stage of the year.

With snow sport events ranging from slopestyle, big airs, halfpipes, snowmobile and snow bike racing, and more, the action at X Games was nonstop. The music shows were sold out, but artists hosted after parties downtown – adding to the already world-renowned Aspen après-ski scene.

Pizza at the Aspen Alehouse, music at Belly Up, or a blast back in time to Aspen’s Red Onion –open since 1892 – the town offered something for everyone day and night.

Nestled in Colorado’s beautiful Roaring Fork Valley, Aspen is split into four alpine skiing areas accessible by shuttle throughout the day. All X Games events are held at Aspen’s Buttermilk Mountain. Kicking off on a Thursday, the sporting events stretched through the following Wednesday. With a modern bus system throughout the Valley, Aspen made it easy for everyone to get around throughout the weekend. It made driving unnecessary.  

If you happen to be an IKON pass holder, you could ski all day while catching snow sports in between laps, then enjoy some of Colorado's best après-ski locations downtown. To put it simply, there’s no reason to be bored during an X Games Aspen weekend. The snow sports themselves are worth the effort to get to Aspen – the slopestyle course as well as the skiing and snowboarding competitions make for memorable X Games.  

This year IKON pass holders can enjoy 5,300+ combined skiable acres, 4,400 feet of vertical drop, and some of the best snow Colorado has seen in years. The beautiful Valley, home to the infamous Maroon Bells, buzzes with life during an X Games weekend, and this last one was one for the books.

Eighteen years in, Aspen has been the longest re-occurring X Games host and doesn’t seem to be ditching its commitment anytime soon. After renewing a five-year agreement with X Games, Aspen will have hosted the games for 23 consecutive years by 2024.

“Aspen is truly a special community and we could not be happier to commit to another five years,” said Tim Reed, X Games vice president, in a recent news release.

An essential piece to the puzzle that is the World of X Games, Aspen has been crucial in the success of the world’s biggest action sports events.

Baseball Home Opener

Regis Baseball opening up the season with a 1-1 record this weekend. // Amy Reglin

By: Amy Reglin, Staff Photographer

The Regis Men’s Baseball team started their season with a home opener this past weekend. They played St. Edwards University for a non-conference game on both Saturday and Sunday. The Rangers won the game on Saturday but dropped the game on Sunday. This puts them 1-1 on the season. The baseball team is on the road playing until March 1st but be sure to come to the next home game!

Rock Still Lives

By: AC Covarrubias, Staff Writer

         Music is an art form that has been around since the dawn of humanity and as we evolve, so makes the music we have created. Rock is one genre that nowadays seems to be an endangered genre. There are bands such as imagine dragons who by themselves are a fantastic rock band, but they are not as influential as bands such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and AC/DC. These bands are not the kings, but the gods that molded rock as we know today. Rock is being different in its purest form. It is all about gambling on your music, which is something most music records nowadays tend to avoid. Songs such as Black Sabbath (which is a song made by Black Sabbath in their first album, Black Sabbath in 1971), Stairway to Heaven, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, and Back in Black. Before the early 2000s music was evolving in new and unique ways, one could never have imagined. Black Sabbath gave birth to heavy metal, Led Zeppelin created what is considered the greatest rock song of all time, The Rolling Stones were the ones to invent arena rock, and AC/DC established the noisy good-time rock ‘n’ roll we know and love.

         So what? What relevance does it have in a world that is more in tune with rappers, pop stars, and EDM producers? The answer is reliability. Rock can be made in any form and still be loved, but again, retain its genre. Songs such as The Immigrant Song makes you feel that you are a Viking. Jumpin’ Jack Flash can make you feel upbeat and happy. Black Sabbath (the song) can make you feel a sense of dread and fear of mortality. Back in Black makes you feel like a badass, ready to defeat whatever comes at you. The bands who made these songs wrote them from their experiences, lessons, and imagination, not from corporate sellouts as common of as today. Not to say that all music artists of today are sellouts, or to say that all of these rock bands wrote all of their songs, they just made enough to get the world’s attention. It is what makes rock an art form, and poetry. Whether it is hard rock, metal, blues rock, or classic rock, one thing's for sure, music, in general, can bring people together.