An overweight American is determined to shed a few pounds but realizes that poses a few problems. Exercise? Sorry, sweat stings his eyes. Fruits and vegetables? Only if they come deep fried. Self control?...

After being the first person selected from TCU for Junior Fellow in the American Academy of Political and Social Science, a TCU graduate has the opportunity to do something only 10 people in the nation will be able to do.Haley Swedlund, who graduated in May 2005 with a political science degree, will be competing with other distinguished honorees for the Undergraduate Research Award for 2006.

Belle and Sebastian look to have a busy year planned. Along with gearing up for their longest-ever U.S. tour, the Glaswegian popsters look to release "The Life Pursuit" on Feb. 5 as their sixth full-length record. The lead-off single, "Funny Little Frog," nods to the band's acoustic popster past but also expounds on the formula with more elegant rhythms and hooks that sound straight out of the '70s. "Frog" plays to Belle and Sebastian's strengths, strong hooks and catchy melodies.Beth Orton, "Conceived," from "Comfort of Strangers"

TCU football recruitment is gearing up for the 2006 season with three recent high school commitments.Jimmy Young, a wide receiver from Ouachita Parish High School in Monroe, La.; Wayne Daniels, a defensive end from Kilgore High School; and Clarence Leatch, a defensive end from Tatum High School, have all made verbal commitments within the past week to attend and play football at TCU.

According to NCAA rules, head coach Gary Patterson is currently barred from commenting on the Horned Frogs' recruitment progress.

Wake up at 6 a.m. Drink a Red Bull. Rush to campus praying to find any parking. Drink a Red Bull. Attend class, grab lunch and spend the rest of the evening cramped in a corner at the library. Drink Red Bull intermittently throughout the night. In the fast-paced, competitive world of today's collegian, students around the nation are reaching for anything to give them that extra surge of energy for a long day's work.

But research shows that these cans of sugar may be doing more harm then many consumers realize.

You reach Berry Street while driving on Lubbock only to be impeded by an orange-and-white blockade preventing you from entering Berry. You spout a few curses before turning around your large SUV in the smallest parking lot known to man.The barrels forming two lanes on the usually six-lane road are annoying, but not permanent. The construction on Berry Street hinders traffic now, but the long-term benefits to TCU from the Berry Street Initiative outweigh any present nuisances.

Four members of the local band Green River Ordinance sit outside a coffee shop on Saturday morning, joking with each other about how they name songs. It is clear that the group's chemistry works.Ultimately, "We're weird, not cool," said Geoff Ice, a sophomore environmental science major.

After years of playing for crowds at intimate local venues, GRO hit the big time, at least for one night.

The band, which includes three TCU students, opened for Jon Bon Jovi on Jan. 15 at the American Airlines Center after winning a contest through Mix 102.9.

It's called "Il Mio Viaggio in Italia," and half of the dialogue is Italian and the other half is English.It sounds like a foreign film, and in a way, it is.

Last July, 18 radio-TV-film students overcame the language barrier to make a film in Italy.

The film, directed by TCU professor Charles LaMendola, is 38 minutes long.

The film is about an American college girl named Haely who answers an online advertisement to go to Italy to take care of an old man for the summer in exchange for room and board.