Take me out to the ball game...

To the Columbus Clipper's Dime-a-Dog night, to be exact. Gold team (consisting of Kristen Mitchell, Whitney Kindell, Natalie Howard, and I) got our tickets from Daniel in the lobby and left a little early for the game to beat the hungry rush. We got our ten cent weenies, found our seats, and watched the first half hour of the game. Unfortunately, we had to leave early because my cohorts had an executive board meeting for BHN Hall Council. We were sad to leave, but we were glad that we got to experience this fun event for the little time that we did! I hope to do this again next year!

Book Club

The Spring (Banned) Book Club choice was The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

I'll preface by saying that it is an excellent book... but, I was slightly disappointed with it as the choice for the banned book club, I was expecting a bit more depth. I have previously read the book (my freshmen year of high school) and loved it. At that point in my life it was definitely relevant. However, as a freshmen in college I found it less relevant. The themes (such as: be who you are, living deliberately, accepting mistakes, along with a major emphasis on loss of innocence) are cool and I totally dig the writing style, a set of letters to an anonymous friend. I just feel these are issues that are dealt with over and over in literature. Perhaps, Chbosky was borrowing too much from the classic literature he referenced.

The discussion was nice, the English professor had some interesting points to make, I just feel overall theres not that much to deal with in this book (though I'm not denying that it is a really great story and one that needs to be told).

I do love Adriaticos, more so when Ben is buying.

North African Social Movements

I have yet to be disappointed by a Dinner and Dialogue and last night was no exception. With all of the revolutions occurring in North Africa in the past 5 months, it was the perfect time to discuss what exactly compromises a social movement? Professor Barchiesi did a wonderful job of explaining how the recent demonstrations by dissatisfied citizens of North African dictatorships had broken some of the stereotypes associated with that region. These protests have been fairly peaceful and have been driven not by radical Islam, but by an honest desire by the people to establish a democracy. He went further to explain how these protests are a part of Africa's history, and why these movements toward democracy have a better chance of surviving than their ancestors in other parts of Africa, most of which are currently in a state of disrepair. Also, once the dictators have been ousted, how long will the close-knit group of revolutionaries stay bonded? It seems their only connection is in their anger with their current (or in some cases former) tyrannical regimes. I can't wait to see how the political hotbed of North Africa plays out in the coming months and years.

Visit to the Columbus Art Museum

A cold, rainy Sunday is the perfect time to visit an art museum. Though we have several on campus, it's always pleasant to get away from the chaos of OSU and actually visit Columbus.
I was very excited when I heard the Columbus Museum of Art had reopened, and the visit did not disappoint. The museum is not large, but it houses many works despite its' size. The ground floor exhibition dealt with food and art. I especially enjoyed the message boards located around the museum so patrons could leave their own comments. I found the upstairs much more intriguing, also it was less crowded. One room held many classic paintings, but the only problem was the lighting. Many of the works were displayed at such an angle that you couldn't even see them. While I loved the limited amount of Impressionist paintings, my favorite piece was a room full of 35 hanging glass boats. Everyone that walked in just stopped and stared, attempting to take it all in. I hope the Columbus Museum of Art continues to grow and add to its' collection.

Brunch with Ben and Daniel

I usually don't like North Commons, but hanging out with Humanities Scholars is always great. We walked over to the dining hall at noon and swiped everybody in. It was actually a pretty good meal, and we got to spend some time talking with Ben and his wife, while Daniel and his finace sat with some other scholars. It was a great time and more scholars should go next time!!!

The Drowsy Chaperone

A strange, yet provocatively humorous show, put on by OSU's student led Off the Lake, "The Drowsy Chaperone" was first and foremost a great effort and combination of talent accumulated on the stage. The story begins with an hilarious introduction by The Man in the Chair (Tyler Rogols) who's natural sense of stage presence and overabundance of talent created a light-hearted and easy going atmosphere straight from the start. The Man in the Chair is an older man, guiding the audience through what he calls "his favorite album in his collection." It is clear that the time period in which the Man in the Chair speaks is more contemporary in comparison with the actual story of "The Drowsy Chaperone," which takes place in 1920s Prohibition. Characters Janet Van de Graaff (Hannah Schwieterman) and Robert Martin (Justin LaBelle) are to be married in this sappy comedy; however, such characters as the unhelpful Chaperone (Jenna Lee Shively) and Aldolpho (Nick Navaratnam) stand in Janet's way of coming to terms with whether or not she should actually be married to a man that she hardly even knows.

"The Drowsy Chaperone," in its glory, prooves most spectacular; but there are still some elements of design that are left to be questioned. First and foremost, granted the space provided, I was confused by the layout of the set and the orchestra, which bisected the stage in an almost distracting manner. I found that at times the orchestra was overcoming the cast with their music, partially because there was no barrier in between them: like, for instance, and orchestra pit that is seated below the stage, entirely away from the level of the actors. I would have liked to see the orchestra at a different area, perhaps even in the balcony, to keep the distraction away from the actors and the set. The use of the cast throughout the audience was great, but the use of lighting to keep track of them was distracting. I thought that the intense white hue of the spot lights did little justice to the characters, and could have better been used as a softer white or yellow.

This performance of "The Drowsy Chaperone" was a great display of secular talent, which, hopefully, will lead to greater things in the future.

Medieval Faire

On May 7th the South Oval was filled with what reminisced the cultures of the 11th century. The Medieval Faire was filled with themed clothing, role play, and sounds from the actual Medieval period. As I walked through the South Oval I could only think back to one childhood memory, going to Medieval Times in Myrtle Beach, SC. If you have never been there, then I suggest going no matter what age you are because it's quite exciting. Overall, I found the event somewhat enjoyable due to the uniqueness of the faire.

Grammar Smackdown!

All week, I was very excited to attend the Grammar Smackdown at this evening's Humanities Community Meeting. (And yes, now I am watching my grammar in this very post!) Allow me to set the scene:

-five or so teams of 4-5 people

-two rounds

-the first round consisted of correcting sentences

-the second round was a tad more brutal, involving running to the head table and grabbing questions, then dashing back to your team to find the errors on each card

I found the event to, overall, be a fun affair. I did find the title to be a little misleading, as spelling corrections were also a part of the competition.

50 foot Hav sundae

today was just absolutely amazing out--so nice after all the rainy weather. I couldn't have asked for anything better than a 50 foot sundae to finish off the day; however, advertised as a lie, the 40 foot sundae was still delicious. I helped cut up bananas and scoop ice cream in the ground floor hallway, and it was a good time. A lot of people showed up so it was a lot of fun.

Picnic with Ben

So the rain held off long enough for four of us to join Ben in a simply lovely picnic. We mostly enjoyed playful banter about the Cap City Half Marathon. All of brought our own dinners while Ben partook of just a Wendy's beverage. We ate on one of the benches on the Oval. It was a lovely half and hour and I think more people should definitely come next time because it was simply delightful.

Mary Poppins

I thought Mary Poppins was very good. The set was phenomenal, the actors were great and did a wonderful job singing, and the choreography was great. That being said I don't really enjoy the plot of Marry Poppins very much. I just never really understood it very much and was often confused. It really isn't one of my favorite movies. I did enjoy the experience though and the talk back with the actors afterwords was extremely interesting.

The King's Speech

Allow me to begin by saying that this was not my first time seeing The King's Speech. I was able to see the film over Christmas break, before it gained the attention of the film community and the critics. As with any book or movie, the more you read/view it, the more you pick up on. I thoroughly enjoyed The King's Speech the first time I saw it and this second viewing left me with the same impression. Following the movie, the very limited amount of people who remained attempted to engage in a conversation about the significance of the film. The effort was not in the least successful and I found the comments to be bothersome. I was not at all surprised to see that the conversation lasted less than ten minutes. I think that in further Humanities video viewings, it would be productive to bring a film studies teacher to lead the discussion and therefore keep students from deviating to topics of pop culture and Pippa Middleton's choice of gown at the royal wedding. A movie that has earned such high critical esteem as The King's Speech deserves proper attention and discussion, not to be disregarded and only thought of when determining the "hotness" of Colin Firth.

The Psychology Colloquium

I went to the Research Colloquium that was hosted in the psych building today, May 3rd. It was really interesting to see all the different posters on several different research projects. There was food, and the students were really eager to share their findings with anyone who would listen. I also got to enjoy delicous cookies.