Can you study with all the colors of the wind?

 

Greetings, readers! As you can see in the photo above, Vanderbilt students are in the thick of midterms. No worries, though, I, Samantha, have more interesting events to share with you than flashcard-making. 
 
My weekend commenced on Friday night with a get-together with a dozen friends on the 7th floor of the Baker building. What? You say that that’s where the Vanderbilt Call Center is located? What a coincidence!

Twice a month, the Call Center has a unique Friday night shift. As per usual, we called alumni and encouraged them to give back to the university. As per party, though, we put on Transformers 2, and ingested plenty of popcorn and Coke and root beer ice cream floats.

On Saturday, I spent an hour at the Centennial Park Annual Craft Fair. Centennial is a gorgeous park on the outskirts of campus. I found a nifty necklace there...

which is the only item I bought! The displays were lovely, though - hand carved rocking chairs, stunning quilts, homemade fudge, and most important to me, a collection of hand-made windchimes. As a diligent, plan-oriented individual, I have dreams for my retirement. Learning how to make wind chimes ranks pretty high on my dream list! I spent a few minutes chatting with the sweet, elderly woman who makes the chimes. We bonded. It was bliss.

Later on Saturday, I watched the General Relief Society Broadcast of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. For those of you who don’t have a mental catalog of Mormon lingo, the basic concept is thus: women of the Mormon faith, all over the world, come together via internet, radio, television, and (later) print, to hear speeches from male and female church leaders. The speakers tailor their remarks to womanhood. It’s awesome. Sister Stephens asked us, ““Is our heart soft? Do we have a humble heart, a teachable heart, a gentle heart?” That was my favorite moment.

Finally, I watched Angels Take Manhattan, the most recent episode of Doctor Who. 


As far as my Facebook newsfeed counts as evidence, I was not the only Vanderbilt student to do so. We all posted on Facebook from our own little nooks in campus about the heart-wrenching emotion we experienced as the Ponds and the Doctor separated. Honestly, I love that Doctor Who is often a stereotype-smashing show. It constantly questions gender roles, the meaning of education, the validity of social stratification, and other cultural "norms" all while whirling around the entirety of time and space in a police box.

 I know that right now, life at VU is pretty stressful. So as you embark upon your week, whether it's brimming with midterms, or other challenges, keep in mind the Doctor's advice: "The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and...bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant." 

Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorwhospoilers/8027076423/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Time for Some Weekend Goodness

Bryce here!  As we grudge through our swarm of midterms and papers, let's take a moment to see what we have to look forward to this weekend!

This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday VUT will be performing Dead Man's Cell Phone at 8pm Friday-Sunday and a special 2pm performance on Sunday.  It will be performed in Neely Auditorium.  Here's its description:

When Jean answers a stranger's cell phone, she beings a series of adventures that immerse her in his life, his family, his loves, and his work.  Written by MacArthur Award winner Sarah Ruhl, Dead Man's Cell Phone explores that which connects us in this digital age and offers a whimsical meditation on what it means to disconnect.

If you're interested, reserve your tickets by calling 615-322-2404 or emailing laura.hynek@vanderbilt.edu.  Tickets are free for undergraduates w/ID, $7 for graduate students w/ID, and $10 general admission.  

Also this Friday will be Vanderbilt's very own carnival night!  There will be tons of games, prizes, and fun to be played and had.  For more information follow the link here!

This Saturday, Vanderbilt's Capoeira club will be having its practice from 1:30-3 pm in the mat room on the 2nd floor of the REC.  Here is the club's description:

Capoerira: is an African-Brazillain art form that combines the music, dance, martial arts, beliefs and philosophies of West Africans brought to Brazil during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Often regarded as the “dance fight”, capoeira is an intense acrobatic dance/martial art that is performed (or played) in a small circle to the beat of traditional Afr-Brazilian songs. It has appeared in dance and martial arts competitions. Today, Capoeira is popular all over the world.

Also this Saturday is Vanderbilt's Marching Band Invitationals.  It is from 1-8pm and the awards ceremony is at 8:30pm.  The contest will be held in the Vanderbilt University Stadium.

That's it for now!  I promise I've only scratched the surface of all the awesome events going on around campus, so keep your eyes open and your ears keen, and you'll find something fun in no time!

Mob War!

Hey hey hey! This is Linda posting.
Guess what we did this weekend!
FAMILY BUSINESS!
It's when we deal with our mayfield family business through roast and hunger-game-violence.
JK.

If you don't know what that is, you're missing out. Basically, it's a card game where every player represents a gang and plays cards to kill members of other gangs. Mob war! Also, you can save people from other gangs or your own people and stuff.
It was a great game. Muffin tradition.
Some of my roommates like to be rational and play the game fair...
hahaha.
Yesterday a lot of people chose to pass their turns by burning a card that subject gansters to mob war. Bobby is the nice guy in this game. He would not kill anyone; he would play cards to save other gangsters, so people would feel bad killing his people. I'd say that Nell, Lindsey and John also do that sometimes. Luke is kind of the pro who introduced us to this game. And I'm the mean one.
And I love it.
Downside: everyone wants to kill you off and no one would save your people.
Meh. It was fun!
We love card games. Can't wait to play CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY next time! 
It's another cathartic game that allows us to insult one another, as well as the world.

It's that time again!

Hello all!

Xaralambos posting this time. It's the middle of the week, so by now I know most of us are looking forward to the weekend. If you find yourself with noting to do, or just need a break from the daily grind, there are more than a couple of events happening on and around campus.

To those of you whom don't already know, Great Performances starts this Friday, September 21st, with Kyle Abraham's Live! The Realest MC, starting at 7:30 p.m.  If you're a longtime fan of the performing arts, then you'll probably enjoy the performance. If not, then a performance which deftly balances both heartbreak and humor, while analyzing the tribulations of a man searching for something real in a world populated solely by the fabricated, might not be the worst performance to start watching. For those of you wondering, yes, it has been described as an extension of the classic Pinocchio story. Information about the performance can be found on Kyle Abrahams website, while information for Vanderbilt's Great Performances program can be found here.

If performance isn't really your thing, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts has a number of exhibitions currently on display. They've had a number of oil paintings by English painter John Constable on display since late June. However, they're on loan from The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and their due to be sent back next Sunday, September 30th. Also, starting this weekend, The Frist is having an exhibition of the work of Carrie Mae Weems, a photographer who primarily focuses on various issues that many African Americans face in today's society, but has started to expand her focus to include injustices and inequalities on a global scale. So, if dancing isn't your cup of tea, remember that the Frist is free to students on Thursday and Friday nights, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. More information on these exhibits and more can be found on their website, www.FristCenter.org

Finally, if you're looking for something else entirely, there's The Great Escape, a self-described bargain store and collector's paradise. It's stocked with a great amount of out-of-print material, phenomenally old comics, and a great music selection. The Great Escape is having a sale on Saturday, where a vast number of movies and music albums are being sold for only a dollar. It's a bit out of walking distance, so you'll probably want to take a cab or hitch a ride with someone else, but it's definitely worth it.

Well, that looks like most of it. Remember, this Friday our Mayfield will be watching Tucker and Dale v.s. Evil, so feel free to come by and hang out. Until next time...

Lone Range-ineer Away! Hi-yo Silver!

Video debut!

Oh, look at that, we have our first video up!  Everyone should go check it out, even though I won't be because I heard enough of myself speaking to last a lifetime! Anyway, enjoy!
-Jacob

What you (might have) missed this weekend

Howdy, strangers!

Katie here.

This week has been a crazy one for me, what with resigning from The Hustler and contracting bronchitis, but I still managed to have a lot of fun this weekend.

On Friday, we went to the Vanderbilt Orchestra and Vanderbilt Wind Symphony joint concert, and it was absolutely heavenly. 

I had never actually gone to one of these concerts before, and I really now regret not having gone sooner. I'm not very musically adept, but I really enjoyed this concert. You should definitely try to make it to one if you never have. 

After the concert, we watched a Polish movie called "Letters to Santa" (actually, it called something in Polish, but that is the English translation). The movie follows the lives of different families and individuals as their paths intertwine on Christmas Eve, and I highly recommend it. This next weekend, I will be choosing the Friday movie, so make sure to stop by our Mayfield if you're free on Friday night. More information about that will be available in the Wednesday blog post.

On Saturday, one of my best friends came in town, so I spent the afternoon showing her around downtown Nashville. If you want some of the best food you've ever eaten (and at an affordable price), check out Demos' Steak and Spaghetti House. 

Also on Saturday, I finally got a chance to catch up on two of my favorite TV shows, Suits and Dr. Who. I won't ruin the episodes for anyone who hasn't seen them, but you should really watch them! They're awesome. How I Met Your Mother and Once Upon a Time start back later this month, so be sure to check those out as well.

Today, I worked on homework, but I also attended Mass at the Cathedral of the Incarnation and afterwards went to Sunday Supper at the Frassatti House, home of University Catholic. Sunday Supper is always open to anyone, regardless of religious belief, so feel free to stop by and eat with us between 6 and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday evenings. 

In a few minutes, I'm headed out to a Midnight Worship birthday party. For anyone who doesn't know, Midnight Worship is a Christian worship group who meets on the steps of Wyatt on Tuesday nights at 11:30 (yes, I know, not quite midnight) to sing songs and pray. Anyone is welcome to join! 

Well, that's my weekend in a rather large nutshell. Until next time, goodnight, everybody!

What Week is It?

GAME WEEK!

Hi! It's Nell! I'll explain Game Week in a second. :) For now, I'll let you know what Mayfield 2 will be doing on Friday night! As my fellow housemate mentioned Sunday, this Sunday, Luke will be playing with the orchestra at Blair in Ingram Hall. The concert will start at 8 pm! We've gone to a lot of these concerts, and they are always a treat.

Afterwards, we will be returning to our Mayfield to watch a movie together. There will be popcorn for anyone who wants to join in. The movie we are watching is a Polish Christmas movie called Listy do M. (Letters to S.) that came out last year. Yes, that was my pick. :) There will be subtitles, no worries! So please stop by our safe haven if you want something fun to do. It'll probably start around 10 or 10:30 pm, depending on the time the concert ends (estimated around 10).

GAME WEEK! Being the manager of the Spirit of Gold Marching Band, a lot of my time during the week is dedicated to sitting in the band office and helping out behind the scenes. It's been getting busy, but this week is an important one, because there is a football game on Saturday at Vandy! This week, we will be playing against Presbyterian College at 11:30 AM! (Morning games are nice.) If you feel like tailgating by the stadium, and if you want to see the team going into the stadium, the parade at Star Walk begins at 10:00 AM. No matter when you start your Game Day, you should go to the game and stay to watch the halftime shown! :D What are we performing? Well, you can come and see!

Those are the things I know for sure I'll be going to. I wish I could go to the movie that the Russian Film Series will be showing in Buttrick 102. It is called The Diamond Arm. It will be in Russian, so this weekend is perfect if you love international movies, so it seems! It's a comedy, and they'll be starting the movie at 7 pm! I'd go if I could.

One other thing! Shakespeare in the Park is still going on this weekend! It's Much Ado About Nothing, and it starts at 7:30 pm, but there is some pre-show stuff going on at 6:30 pm. I might go this Saturday, and you should go if you haven't had the chance yet! It's still in Centennial Park, so why not give it a whirl?

Also, all of these events are free! Well, the football game is free for students, at least. I hope to see you there, or in our Mayfield! Nell logging out.

EDIT: There also seems to be a Tongue 'n' Cheek show going on tonight! What's Tongue 'n' Cheek? Well, they are our lovely comedic improv troupe on campus, and yes, they are wonderful! The show is free, at 7:30 pm tonight (Friday, 14 September). And as always, they are indeed performing at Sarratt Cinema!

Therefore, lots and lots of choices! Good luck!