Yield for me!

On 02.26.10, In Uncategorized, By Riley

Unlike many people who live off-campus, I walk to class everyday. My route brings me past Farm Road pond, across Grant Egbert Boulevard (GEB) and through the Park School parking lot. But the crosswalk on GEB has been giving me a lot of trouble all year. You know those signs – “must stop for pedestrians in crosswalk”? There’s one near the Gardens and Emerson, one up in the Terraces, but none on my (and many other students’) route up to campus. But the same rules apply: Pedestrians have the right of way in the crosswalk.

I’ve noticed many fellow pedestrians are reluctant to cross the street when a car is coming. They’ll wait for all cars to pass, then advance. I guess I’m audacious when I don’t break stride going from the path next to the pond to the parking lot. Doing this has caused a lot of drivers to honk at me, swerve and give me the finger, or get their car spit on.

Driver’s ignorance has made me so upset and fearful for my own safety that I’ve considered stopping at Public Safety and requesting that a sign be put in the crosswalk. Then, I realized, I’m a driver too. I stop for pedestrians in crosswalks – hell, I’m one myself most of the time. Calling attention to the intersection of Farm and GEB wouldn’t be helping anyone – it would just be getting more drivers in trouble on a campus where, when you’re behind the wheel, you better hope a campus cop isn’t anywhere near and that he has no reason to pull you over.

What’s going on here? The ignorant drivers aren’t the problem. And besides, it’s fun, as a pedestrian, to exercise control over a car.

I just took the hardest test of senior year

On 02.24.10, In Events, By Riley

In four years of college, I haven’t taken a single math course. I know IC, like many other colleges offers fundamental math courses, like “What is Math?” Not having to take math has been great. I am not a student of the sciences – I don’t even think I associate with anyone who is. I’m a humanities student – I study Television-Radio.

But when the opportunity to take a course at Cornell called “Understanding Beer and Wine,” I knew I couldn’t pass it up. So I filled out my paperwork, and IC’s paperwork, and Cornell’s paperwork. Then I enrolled in the class. When I read that we had to bring four glasses for sampling each class, I knew thought this course was for me.

But then came the second week of classes. Our syllabi had been handed out and the summary of the course had been explained. I found myself listening to professors explain proteins binding to starches and some other scientific vernacular that was over my head. The history and cultural aspects of beer and wine-making is all very interesting – those notes are detailed and thorough. The scientific notes on the other hand lend themselves to doodles and jokes about how over-my-head half of the course matter is.

When it came time for the test I studied hard. More so than I study for most tests I take at IC. (I don’t take tests at IC anymore, if anything I write papers.) An hour two days before, three hours the night before, and another two hours the morning of the exam weren’t enough.

The test was hard. I was as prepared as I could have been. And worst of all – we didn’t get any samples to take the edge off.

Tagged with: college • cornell • test

movies, photographs

On 02.21.10, In Findings, By Sarah

This is really damn cool. Simple, beautiful photographs of performers and stars we’ve loved over and over this year. The Oscars are coming up, with co-hosts (an unusual idea and I think one of the first, or only time they’re doing this) Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin…how can you lose?! Sunday March 7th –next Sunday!!

Check out today’s New York Times Magazine, its the feature.

Tagged with: culture • love

A Joke

On 02.17.10, In Pics & Toons, By Riley

National Anthem? National Ant-Hem?

Get It?!

Tagged with: america

website love

On 02.16.10, In Findings, By Sarah

You should be reading this website, or at least bookmark it or acknowledge it. It has lots of band’s information and zebra print- two things I can definitely appreciate.

Tagged with: culture • funny people • internet

happy mardi gras?

On 02.16.10, In Events, By Sarah

I am glad that the Saints won the bowl. And it makes anyone even happier for Mardi Gras because New Orleans deserves all the good economy it can get. I love it! Although I have never given up anything for lent (I’m not starting now) one of my favorite things to do is exercise my self control. Even though it is exercising self control for something I could never believe in, I still enjoy people bettering themselves and personal motivation. Whatever you might give up, I’ve seen friends give up pop, chocolate, other unmentionables and their favorite foods, good luck with that! I’m going to enjoy things in moderation, but also enjoy them!

My only real personal story relating to Mardi Gras goes back to eighth grade, first year of french class. My best friend at the time, Robin, and I were one of many groups who had to bake a King’s Cake. The King’s Cake has a tiny plastic baby in it (I know, woahhh) and whomever gets the small plastic infant in their bite of cake, they are the King for the day. Our cake involved a lot of frosting dye (purple, green and yellow of course) and it was a kind of cinnamon role deliciousness cake. I kind of wish I had some now.

Now this holiday has a lot of religious celebrations and is originally a religious holiday. I am not sorry that religion has never been a part of my life, and my only story typically revolves around food. I don’t mean any disrespect here, I just only know the cake side. And since I’ve never traveled to New Orleans (which I would one day for Mardi Gras) and am now only 21, I’ve never had the uncontrollable drunken experience of Mardi Gras. I’m sure some readers out there have.

Any good Mardi Gras stories out there to share? Lets hear them, please!

Tagged with: freaks • holidays • idiot

cats, mos def and more apologies

On 02.16.10, In Findings, By Sarah

I know how I feel about cats. I’m not sure what you think, but I’m pretty sure most people enjoy the company of cats and kittens – and the especially enjoy the online cat extravaganza that we call the Internet. When I saw this delightful article about cat cafes at five thirty this morning (yes, radio strikes once again) I couldn’t help myself.

In the past five years, as reported, there have been 79 new cat cafes opened throughout Japan. The general idea of this is exactly what it sounds like: a place to go and drink whatever coffee beverage pleases you and hang out with cats. If this was available to me, I’d do it no questions asked.

My apologies again. The downfall of a lap top that has lasted almost four full years can be partly blamed for my lack of posts. I am also living in a house where the Internet does not work when you want it to. Also, I am never home and too busy – which sounds like an over exaggeration. I promise you it is not. So I can take my 6am Tuesday radio shift and use it wisely and begin a posting madness. Have you heard your local DJ yet?

Oh and on a side note, I am totally enamored and in love with The Ecstatic Mos Def’s 2009 album. It took me too long to hop on this band wagon. I know because it was on everyone’s ’09 list. Sorry it took me so long to get my hands on this incredible record (which gives you even more time!) Please download it, buy it or ask me for it. I recently got into drop box. Check it out.

Tagged with: cats • not america

Scarves- Why they bother me

On 02.15.10, In Contributors, Rants, By Jordan

I talk a lot. A lot about how I am going to write all these exciting new rants. Guess I talk a little too much. Instead of dwelling on the past though, let’s get into yet another one of my pet peeves.

Can someone please tell me when the hell scarves became a fashionable accessory? I first started noticing this disturbing trend during the spring of my senior year in high school. This one girl who I already did not like at all, started wearing scarves every single day, even though it was now spring and winter (when scarves are usually worn) had come and gone. This girl however did not just wear any old scarf. Instead, she chose to accessorize her outfit each day with a matching scarf. I imagined her closet having an electronic tie rack only filled with obnoxious, multi-colored scarves. Why would someone feel this would be a good fashion movement? Yeah man, I wanna go drape cloth over my neck. Why? Oh cuz that will be cool, I can get some decent neck sweat going and show everyone how much of a giant tool I am that I actually spend time in the morning picking out a scarf, I’m wearing yellow today because there is yellow writing in my shirt, see it matches. PUHHH-LEAZEEEE

If this girl and her constant shuffling of scarves (how annoying is this word to write) not enough, I then came to Ithaca. There are about as many scarves here as liberals. But why, oh why, do I have this hatred for scarves. Do I associate them with the girl who I did not like and her scarf fetish? That cannot be the reason, I would never let one person ruin an entire peace of clothing for me. I think I don’t like that wearing and accessorizing scarves has turned into this fad that is now everywhere. (We can have a fun time on this site counting down the 10 dumbest fads of the last decade. Do you smell that? I think it’s a future article)

Back to the point at hand though friends, and that is the wretched scarf. I know that ladies think they are trendy and cool with their scarves, but I cannot disagree more. You aren’t trendy or cool, you’re just following. I allow scarf wearing when the weather calls for it (and hey, that’s a lot of the time in Ithaca, NY), but why do these girls keep their scarves on once inside the moderate temperatures of a building. That is what I do not like. Sure, wear a scarf when it’s cold out, hell wear two. But when you are inside (or when it is the spring!) what’s with the scarves? They aren’t performing their primary function, they are just there as window dressing.

No matter what though, I have accepted that this fad is not going away. I am only one man and there is not much I can do to rebel against the army of scarves I pass every day.

All I can do is rant about it. I guess that will have to do. Enjoy your scarves oh trendy ones.

NeW bAtHrOoM oN cAmPuS!?1!?!Z!!?!?!

On 02.12.10, In Reviews, By Riley

I decided to take a new route from Friends to my noon class in Smiddy – why, I don’t know, nor does it matter – like it didn’t matter why Lewis and Clark trekked out to the West Coast. They made a discovery and so did I.

But instead of a new territory, I found a new bathroom, recently opened after the construction in the greener area of campus. But this bathroom is magnificent, luxurious, host to two rows of urinals!

Left side

To the right

This bathroom is so fresh, so new – I figured it just opened today – and that I, yes I, was among the first to use it. Upon closer inspection (note the trash bin) I wasn’t the first to use it. And if it did open today, the janitors haven’t been doing a good job emptying these paper towels.

Did I mention the stalls?! They are complete with the green handle for liquid or solid waste:

I am not an infant!

But, similar to the extremely short bubblers in the business school, these toilets are a foot off the ground! I almost expect to see one of those rings around it so children don’t fall in. I’m over six feet, dammit!

I remember, as a child, visiting historical sites from the 1800s. At these old houses, railings were at my father’s knees, people had to duck to get through doors, and, as the tour guide reminded us, Abe Lincoln was considered a giant at six foot three.

The construction workers and plumbers must have been under the impression that they were building a historical replica of a bathroom for such a house – not for a state-of-the-art green building.

Makes me sick.

Tagged with: bathroom rant • campus

new ways of defiance

On 02.10.10, In Findings, By Sarah

Have you done something strange today? [Also, you should all read this.]

Tagged with: genius • not america

Thacant