» Anna Jacobsen

Wilderness land and the backcountry teem with diversity: Flora, fauna and geographic formations show a striking array of beauty. But in one area of the outdoors, diversity is markedly absent: its visitors.

Three highly anticipated albums released this week received widespread critical acclaim-Kanye West’s latest album is listed as number one on Billboard’s top 200.

Saturday’s football game against Nevada had a special treat for halftime entertainment: Band Day, an annual event bringing high school marching bands from around California together to perform with Fresno State’s band.

Fresno State is the only school in the Western Athletic Conference to charge students for football games, and some students think they’re getting a bad deal.

On Wednesday, the state of joined the ranks of three other states banning drinks that contain alcohol and energy boosters. Four Loko, an alcoholic energy drink, was blamed for the alcohol poisoning of nine Washington college students a month ago. One student almost died.

Some of the most popular professors are also some of the most mediocre.

Professors who teach from the textbook, almost verbatim, or worse, those who parrot off every line of their PowerPoint slides give students a bevy of easy courses to choose from.

Everest is the upper limit for exploration on earth, and now it has 3G Internet coverage.

In some ways, this is a good thing: Since 1953, when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first summited the world’s highest peak, climbers have been on their own for communication. Some lugged heavy satellite equipment and others did without.

For all the hype, hybrid cars may not be the best option for the environment or for people on a budget.

High gas prices and environmental concerns have made hybrids a popular choice. On a typical drive around Fresno, it’s not uncommon to spot a number of them.

“Death to False Metal” releases less than two months on the heels of Weezer’s “Hurley” and establishes the geek-rock band as an overachiever in the alternative music scene.

The band has kept fans guessing with a history of side projects, near breakups and quirky unpredictability. With “Hurley” and the upcoming Nov. 2 release “Death to False Metal,” Weezer embarks on a new chapter, switching from their old label, Universal, to join the indie ranks at Epitaph.