Final Book Club Discussion

So I just got back from book club. It was a good time, there were bagels and hot chocolate so that was cool. We talked about the book for about 45 minutes and then watched the movie. Good times.

Aida Musical

Just a week after the Potluck and Movie night, I attended the Aida Musical, put on by the OSU theater and CAPA. I had never seen Aida before and did not know the plot beyond "Egyptian love story." However, all things Egypt are right up my ally so I knew I would probably like the show. I was not disappointed. I knew this was going to be a good show when we got to the theater downtown. The opening and closing number tied the show together nicely, and I appreciated the framing technique. All the singers and actors were fantastic, but Aida really stole the show, her ability to sing and to portray emotion in her voice while speaking or singing was amazing. Amneris was also a wonderful singer, but what was really great about her role was her ability to add humor to situations, and also be very serious at the end of the musical. Radames, like the other two main characters, was a very strong singer and had a lot of personality. The costumes and sets were beautiful and really made the show. Overall it was a great show with quality production and actors. I will definitely go to more OSU theater productions.

Potluck and Movie Night

Usually I have a hard time making it to most of the Humanities Scholars events. Many that I have wanted to participate in before (such as the gallery hop and Chicago trip) I was unable to attend due to all the other things I am involved with. However as soon as I saw an opportunity to watch Fight Club and get free Canes I seized the opportunity. Fight Club is such a great movie, I have seen it before but it was interesting to see it again knowing the surprise twist ending. I really love all of the movie until the very end, where I can't suspend my disbelief. I still love it and the ending makes sense, but my inability to believe that the movie is possible kind-of spoils some of the fun. The food was great and there were plenty of drinks, and of course the movie was awesome. I had a great time at this Humanities scholars event.

Chicago!

As I said before, with my busy schedule I'm just trying to catch up on blogging!

Chicago was a blast! I had never been to a city as big as it before, and it was awesome! First off, I was very pleasantly surprised at how nice the hostel was! The Second City comedy show was great and full of laughs! The Humanities festival seemed like it would have been really cool to spend some more time in the different sessions. The free time had to have been my favorite part of the trip; Cindy, Emma, and I walked through Millennium Park and went to the top of the Willis Tower! The group dinner at Gino's was a lot of fun and the pizza was SOOOO good! Navy Pier had to be my second favorite part of the trip; the ferris wheel especially! Overall, it was a great time and I can't wait to visit Chicago again!

Colin Beaven: No Impact Man

OK, so between school work and marching band, I have had barely any time to blog! So, I am finally getting caught up on this!

On October 5th, I had the privilege of seeing the author of "No Impact Man", Colin Beaven. I'll admit, I really wasn't the biggest fan of the book. I liked the idea behind his mission, I just didn't think he wrote about it very well. The book was very repetitive and just boring to me. I was looking forward to seeing Mr. Beaven, but didn't expect much from it. I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed the event. He was funny and didn't really discuss the book much. I loved hearing the story of how his daughter got in trouble at school the day before. He seemed like a really down-to-earth guy and the entire program was a pleasant surprise! I was very glad I attended this event!

Potluck and Movie Night

On Wednesday, November 10, we held a movie night in the Royer, which I thought was a great way to kick off the Veterans Day "break". Usually I can never make the Humanities meetings because Athletic Band practice conflicts with the meetings; however, since this even ran until around 9 instead of 8, I actually made it in time to pick at the scraps and finish the movie. I never seen Fight Club before (and still I have not seen it all the way through). The narrator defiantly had Gollum-Smeagle syndrome (and it was funny seeing on the security cameras the narrator just being beaten up my nothing).

Haverfield Project (a.k.a. the History of Haverfield)

On November 9, a group of navy veterans and Haverfield family members, who run a project called the Haverfield Project, talked to the PSL scholars (and the few Humanities scholars who went) about the history of Haverfield, both the man and the building, and why it is important to continue to pass down this knowledge. I thought it was important to know who our dorm is named for; interesting enough, most of the 4 story dorms on the Ohio State University are named after OSU graduates who had died between the Second World War and Korea. Our dorm is named after a naval officer who died at Pearl Harbor on the U.S.S Arizona. After his death, the United States honored him by commissioning a naval ship in his name (the one in the picture down stairs in the lobby).

Jane McGonigal

On November the 9th, Ms. Jane McGonigal provided an audience of OSU students with a different outlook on how video games are applicable to the real world. The topic sounded somewhat interesting, but after listening to her speech I felt as if I was being mesmerized by absolute ridiculous statistics and applications, not to mention the colorful adjectives. Her studies were very unique, and I for one would never have thought of applying such gaming activities to real life. I must give her credit for the distinct research that she has performed, but in no way do I feel as if the statistics she revealed to the audience actually relate to day-to-day life. The words she used to describe findings were loaded, such as "super-hero" qualities. Overall, Ms. McGonigal's presentation was unique, but didn't cross over into my credible interests.

Chicago!

Before this past weekend, I had never been to Chicago before. I'd heard so many great things about it, so I was very excited about being able to spend a weekend there with the Humanities Scholars! On Friday night, we saw a comedy show by The Second City, which is the group that has trained comedians like Steve Correl and Tine Fey. It was a fun time and a really enjoyable show. Saturday morning we went to the Humanities festival at the University of Illinois Chicago and listened to a lecture about the general population's fascination with public scandels. We had free time for most of Saturday afternoon. I went to Mullenium Park with my friends Molly, Alexis, and Bethany, and we took some fun pictures at the bean statue. That night the whole group went to Gino's pizza for a yummy dinner, and then Navy Pier to ride the ferris wheel. I'm scared to death of heights, but I went on it anyway-it ended up being worth it. The view of the city from the top of the ferris wheel was spectacular! I had a great weekend in Chicago, and I can't wait to go back again sometime!

Waiting For Superman

Last tuesday I joined other Honors and Scholars students for a $3 special viewing of Davis Guggenheims newest film "Waiting For Superman". This was not a specific Humanities event, it seemed most of the students were from Mount Leadership Society or ACES. However, I would definitely recommend this film to anyone with an interest in education. I found the film extremely interesting and it provided a rather shocking reality check.

The film chronicles the current state of education in the U.S. and how it is affecting children and young adults. The film is emotionally stirring because of the unique perspective it gives. Rather than illustrating a broad generalization of education, Guggenheim choses to explore the lives of five children from different parts of the country. The children's contrasting situations show the depth of current educational issues in the U.S. The ending of the film provided the shocking reality that despite the determination of these five children, the majority of the chronicled youth are in some way denied the basic right of a good education. A denial that is mirrored in a growing majority of American youth.

URBAN ARTS SPACE

Personally, being a pre-design major and a huge art (sometimes contemporary art) fan, I loved going down to the Urban Arts Space. The people that worked there were really nice and helpful with explaining the abstract art pieces. And the pizza was delicious.

The hair exhibit was a little strange. Admittedly, the explanation was really cool (the artists were making a statement about how hair is viewed as attractive on people and really gross once fallen off the scalp—so true), but I still couldn't get over the shocked-and-in-disgust factor in seeing hair on tiles, portrayed as art no less. I guess a lot of contemporary art is like that though. There are some pieces you look at with your eyebrows scrunched together and wonder, "how is this art?" Sometimes the title or explanatory summaries help clarify the artist's intentions... but when there are no summaries and the title is "Untitled," contemporary art can be a bit frustrating.

There were some very interesting pieces at the space though. My favorite of the night were the bookmarks. There was a whole wall dedicated to a line of bookmarks, posted on top of an ink-stamped page of a book to give it the illusion that the bookmarks are resting in-between an open page spread. Some of the bookmarks were real bookmarks but most of them were random pieces of paper. People apparently use a variety of unusual things as bookmarks: grocery lists, child-drawn pictures, notes from history class...etc. The most memorable of the ones on display was the financial bucket list. Things like "create a beautiful home" and "travel to Europe and China" were included among other personal benchmarks of financial success. It's amazing how much you can learn about someone from their bookmark.

In my humble opinion, I think the best kinds of contemporary art are those that makes statements about people and their lives. The best ones usually fall into one of two categories: things that are seemingly obvious/boring or things that are taboo. Contemporary art is the perfect place for both. (Like post secret! If you haven't heard of it, please check out www.postsecret.com, a perfect example of contemporary art.)

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the Urban Arts Space. Please feel free to comment about your favorite and least favorite pieces if you would like.

Thanks and sorry for the lengthy post!

Mid Book Club Discussion

Last night a small group met in the Haverfield lobby and walked with Ben and Daniel to Kafe Kerouac to discuss Eat Pray Love. First of all, the cafe was fantastic! It reminded me a lot of The Donkey at OU, if you haven't been to either I highly recommend making the trip up High St or down to Athens to experience what a true coffee shop should be. Eclectic, slightly alternative with records and Dr. Who books on sale,serving lattes named after authors ( I enjoyed some Franz Kafka). I must admit, I'm over 2/3 through the book and don't really understand what all the hype is about. In my opinion, it must be wonderful to have a career as a writer where you have the freedom to take time off and explore the world, but this is not my reality, nor do I believe it is a possibilty for many people. Many excellent thoughts and concerns were shared inside the tiny cafe and I can't wait to finish the book and attend the final discussion.