For most people, the word “opera” invokes images of chubby European men and women blaring about love, death and country on an ornately decorated stage while a full orchestra swells in the background. For me, “opera” recalls childhood trips with my father to the San Francisco Metropolitan Opera. My mother hated to go and so I was always my father’s companion, and for this reason I consider myself a legitimate opera fan. Needless to say I am biased about opera for this reason, but I’m pretty sure most other audience members walked away from “Patterns of Inheritance,” the student-produced opera which ran two weekends ago, confused, disappointed or both.
Although Louise Bourgeois’ oeuvre spans her entire adult life, it wasn’t until she reached her seventies that the artist and sculptor hit her creative peak. Since then, Bourgeois has produced an amalgam of sculptural pieces, assembled from a variety of materials, that reveal not only her family’s past but also her distinct and disturbing vision of sexuality.
Marnie Stern’s unfortunately-titled new album, “This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and That Is That” (which I will never type again), is something of revelation. Stern is one of the rare guitar gods (goddesses?) whose virtuosity is employed to engage and surprise listeners rather than to masturbate into our ears. The fact that she taught herself guitar at the age of 23 after hearing Sleater-Kinney for the first time is as remarkable as it is unsurprising in light of her music. Her work, while often hook-laden, is built differently from anything else you’re likely to hear these days.
At the end of my sophomore year of high school, we voted for class officers. A friend of mine, James, was the current president, but was not going to be able to run for office after a string of infractions involving drugs and alcohol. Despite his obvious alcoholism and little to no respect for the rules, I’d have to admit he was a very good class president during the time he served. He was dedicated to his job, and he had great ideas for policy change and fundraising events. When he wasn’t allowed to run for office again, our class was pretty upset. The two students who ended up running for the president position weren’t very good candidates, either. Both were just fishing for college application fillers, and no one really thought either of them would be a good choice for class president. Many people went to the administration, but they wouldn’t budge. We had two choices, and no matter how we felt, one would be our president.
You may have seen Benedict Bernstein ’09 hanging around the top floor of Usdan, talking (really loudly) about critical theory, the WSA, or how much he loves Obama. Benedict (Benny to those lucky enough to call him a friend) is quite a jolly fellow—always there to offer advice about cooking, especially if it involves a Cuisinart. Benny took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to sit down with me and explain the method behind the man.
He may be the closest thing we have to a modern-day Phil Ochs (forget about Bob Dylan — he’s too busy leering at Victoria’s Secret models), but with his floral decal blouse and ill-fitting girl’s bell-bottoms, Evan Greer looks more like an awkward middle-schooler than would-be revolutionary. Unlike most thirteen-year-old girls, however, the mop-topped Greer has a penchant for earnestness that far outweighs his vanity.
The office of Professor of Economics Gilbert Skillman is a swirl of paper and books that would make any bibliophile envious. Although he is a busy man, between the two courses he is teaching this semester and his faculty rock band, Busted Roses, Skillman is a self-described avid reader. Two books he is currently reading are “A Thousand Recordings to Hear Before You Die” by Tom Moon and “Disposing Dictators, Demystifying Voting Paradoxes” by Donald G. Saari.
WELCOME BACK FROM BREAK!
Crooked Still, an acclaimed bluegrass group based in Boston, packed Crowell Concert Hall over Homecoming Weekend, playing a sold-out show on Friday, Oct. 17. The quintet alternated between original work and more traditional songs throughout their lively performance.
Christian Castaneda, affectionately dubbed the “Omelet Master” by his faithful fans, can be found invigorating hungover Usdan diners with his blend of taste and theatre on any given Saturday or Sunday morning. Just look for the longest line in the Usdan cafeteria and you can find him at the head of it, bantering with students and flipping omelets for his customers’ viewing and eating pleasure. But there’s more to Castaneda than his deftness with a frying pan.
Cult status symbols—such as surfing and skateboarding—often waver between remaining underground and assimilating into the mainstream, eventually becoming billion-dollar commercial enterprises. Nowadays, bikes are no exception.
Dude, man. What’s going on? Did you hear that Sarah Palin had sex with a chicken? Yeah, dude, it was all over the Daily Kos, but of course the corporate-dominated, baby-seal-clubbing, Repuglican fascist cookie-jar-raiding, capitalist-dominated mainstream media full of Hannah-Montana brainwashed pigs won’t cover it. Markos Moulitsas is so fucking courageous, man. God. Not that I believe in God, just…God.
It’s easy to peg “Quarantine” as another “Blair Witch Project” rip-off with some “Night of the Living Dead” thrown in for good measure, but it’s distinctive enough where it counts and avoids such generic labeling.
Russell House Speaker Series Presents Michael Ondaateje
In preparation for Tuesday’s elections, student groups are working to inform voters and actively involve students in the campaign.
Over the past two weeks, the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) has approved multiple recommendations made by the Fountain Avenue Commission, a subcommittee of the WSA formed to discuss issues surrounding last spring’s incident on Fountain Avenue.
“What mattered most to me in my own project was the inclusion of the Jewish dimension, along all others, within an integrated historical narrative. There is more, however, to this concept of integrated history.”
On November 4, in an election that may well turn out to be the most important of our generation, voters across the country will choose the next president. While we understand that recent polls may have made the result seem inevitable, it is still our responsibility to make our voices heard.
As part of an $18 million project to study and improve parking and transportation downtown, funded by federal grants, the city of Middletown plans on conducting a comprehensive study to determine the feasibility and potential cost of implementing a streetcar system to provide easier access to businesses on Main Street.
Mike Levine's most recent column (Oct. 21, 2008, Volume CXLIV, Number 15), titled with customary dignity as "Why capitalism is screwed from the get-go," (to say nothing of his column's title itself) makes a number of ahistorical, absurd assertions about the nature of the capitalist system, and retreads objections that lost their relevance in 1972, speaking optimistically.
Strengthening the undergraduate experience was one of President Michael Roth’s seven proposed initiatives for faculty members to explore last year. As part of the initiative, within the next year the University will offer a new Writing Certificate and a multi-disciplinary pilot course geared at sophomores, as well as continuing to explore the idea of a senior capstone experience.
Fire Safety rolled through my house this morning. They fined me $100 for a cigarette butt in an ashtray in my room. Yes, I'm going to make the same argument that Wesleyan students have been making since the dawn of this atrocious new tradition of random, unannounced, unprovoked, pointless and EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE "safety" inspections.
The field hockey team found itself down 4-1 with 12 minutes to go against Bates College this past Saturday, but then came back to win 5-4. With its playoff hopes on the line, the team rallied to tie the game at the end of regulation, and then, in a thrilling conclusion, finished the win in penalty strokes.
November 4 is the day. We all know that the outcome of these national and local elections may be a defining moment of change for our generation. And right here, in Middletown, you can make this election your own by volunteering for a member of our Wesleyan community Matt Lesser '09, the Democratic candidate for State Representative.
Two years ago, I wrote the Argus in accepting noted professor Dr. Pedro Noguera's challenge in resolving the impasse for law school admissions ("I accept Noguera's challenge," Feb. 10, 2006, Volume CXLI, Number 26), through my proposal that was sought out by then-U.S. Attorney General, The Honorable John Ashcroft, in January of 2005, in response to the 2003 US Supreme Court decision Grutter vs. Bollinger (The Michigan Law School Admission Case).
The men’s crew team continued its success this past weekend, closing out a strong fall season with an outright first place win at the Head of the Fish Regatta, which is held annually in Saratoga, New York. The Cardinals defeated several highly touted programs, including Little Three rival Williams, who earlier in the fall won the competitive Head of the Charles Regatta.
Senior year, and everyone has so many options! Nobody knows where they're going to be! Except everybody seems to, and a lot of people aren't happy about it.
Dear uniformed author of the "Living in the Real World" article from last Friday's Argus (Oct. 17, 2008, Volume CXLIV, Number 14): While your words of caution in regard to how we should better secure ourselves from future robberies are merited, your opinion that we should stop actively pursuing higher safety is not.
The women’s soccer team achieved a milestone on Sunday, clinching a spot in the NESCAC tournament for the first time in team history. Despite dropping Sunday’s tightly contested overtime battle with Bates, 2-1, the Cardinals are poised to make a run for the championship in their first conference playoff.
Women’s volleyball enjoyed its fourth straight win last Thursday against non-conference opponent Rhode Island College, 3-0. This was the second time the Cardinals have defeated the Anchorwomen in three straight sets this season.