Ah, Cards Against Humanity. The epic drunk-and-bored game of the early 21st century.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, here are the rules:

• Most of the cards are white and are nouns.
• The others are black and are questions or fill-in-the-blank types.
• Each turn, one player pulls a random black card.
• Then the other players put down a white card they think is funniest when paired with the aforementioned black card.
• That original player (who pulled the black card) picks his or her favorite pairing.
• The person who played that white card gets a point.

It’s Apples to Apples, but horribly and hilariously offensive. I called alum and co-creator of CAH Ben Hantoot ’09 to get his blessing for a Brown University expansion pack. He said it was chill. He was on his Bluetooth, driving what was probably a really nice car, what with all the big money to be made in board games these days. We had a funny conversation about smoking weed on Governor Street and the difference between Canadians’ and Americans’ card preferences, which you can read in Post- Magazine HERE. (I’m not going to pull a Jonah Lehrer and write the same article for two publications, even though I am not Jonah Lehrer and no one would care if I did.) All I can say is that I’m proud to attend the same school [wipes away single tear] as this modern genius once did. After Binder, let’s give Hantoot an honorary degree.

So here it is: the Brown University Expansion Pack. We hope you’ll mix them in with the original game, which you can download free on the Cards Against Humanity website. The card “Controversial Herald opinion articles” deserves to play in the big leagues. I, for one, will be at the GCB with these bad boys if you wanna hang out. Take a look after the jump.

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David Walton '01 in "Perfect Couples" — Courtesy of NBC Universal

David Walton ’01 plays Vance, one half of one of the three couples — probably the most volatile and crazy couple — featured in NBC’s new show “Perfect Couples.” He has had  a bumpy career so far, with roles on sitcoms that never got more than six episodes. And based on the first two episodes, starring in “Perfect Couples” may not be such a cool thing to do after all.

Walton said he first became interested in acting during his time at Brown, telling the HuffPo that he had to give up his spot on the crew team to pursue it. Well, that explains why Google suggests searches for “David Walton” be followed by the word “shirtless.”

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In an interview on televangelist Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network, Jindal–formerly a PLME, currently the Republican governor of Louisiana and a potential 2012 presidential contender–criticized Brown’s political correctness and liberal bent. “I wasn’t the traditional Brown student,” Jindal told Robertson.

The good stuff starts at about 7:00, with anecdotes about how Jindal’s freshman RC criticized him for “opening doors for the ladies” and refusing to attend a “mandatory” orientation session (we have those?) on diversity.

Weirdly, Jindal doesn’t mention that he once liked Brown enough to be a trustee. We’re hoping his new book answers our burning questions about his time at Brown, like which part of his bio education at Brown convinced him that intelligent design counts as science and whether he ever tried to hold the door for Ruth Simmons.

So much for any hope of having two Brown alums in Congress now that Providence Mayor David Cicilline ’83 is headed to Washington. Rep. Dan Maffei ’90 has conceded in his upstate New York race, trailing by 567 votes.

The Creative Arts Council is holding a wildly unpublicized advance screening tonight of a new Sean Penn movie, entitled Fair Game.

The film is based on the true story of Valerie Plame, a former CIA agent who made headlines in 2003 when she was outed as a covert agent. Naomi Watts portays Plame, and Penn plays her husband Joseph Wilson.

Presenting the film are director Doug Liman ’88 (who helmed The Bourne Identity, among other blockbusters) and producer Dave Bartis ’88. These two filmmakers and frequent collaborators helped start Brown Television back in the day, and also produced FOX’s “The O.C.”

Professor of International Studies James Der Derian will also be on hand for the panel discussion and Q&A which follow the film.

The event will take place at Salomon 101 at 7 PM, and the film’s trailer can be viewed here.

Benoit-Bird '98 illuminated the feeding patterns of marine life

Sebastian Ruth '97 created a musical outreach foundation in urban Providence

The MacArthur Foundation, which gives unrestricted grants to individuals who show creativity and rigor in their ground-breaking research, awarded two Brown alums with the MacArthur Fellowship, better known as the “Genius Award.”  The first recipient, Kelly Benoit-Bird ’98, is a marine biologist who used “acoustic engineering techniques” to illustrate the feeding behavior of several marine organisms, from bottom-of-the-food-chain plankton to the highest predators. Her research has further illuminated the feeding patterns of all marine life. The other recipient, Sebastian Ruth ’97, is a violinist who, after graduating from Brown, created Community MusicWorks, a Providence-based organization that helps bring music education to urban neighborhoods. Ruth’s quartet performs around Providence and open its rehearsals to the public. Ruth has inspired other musicians to create similar organizations in other urban centers around New England. In addition to being Brown alums, both Benoit-Bird and Ruth get the honor of being declared geniuses before they turn 36!

Steven Rattner ’74 P’10 P’13, Brown Corporation fellow and Obama’s former car czar (and Herald Editor), recently came out with his own take on his work in Washington before resigning last year in July.

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Andrew Pienaar ’01 has worked for Pixar on films such as The Incredibles, Wall-E, and Finding Nemo, and is now Lead Lighter for the upcoming short Day & Night, which will be released June 18, with the highly anticipated Toy Story 3. “It is the corollary to live action movies’ director of photography,” Pienaar said. His job encompasses 3-D lighting on the computer, which he compares to stage lighting.

Pienaar described the short as “very innovative,” and something that “no one has ever attempted before,” because Day & Night combines 2-D animation with 3-D technology. Day and Night are characters that are animated in 2-D, but there is a 3-D world literally within their bodies that reflect their internal states. [Read more →]