Bruce Cohen
Bruce Cohen - producer of American Beauty and Down With Love - came to Yale today to give a talk on text and subtext in mainstream cinema. It was so cool to be in a room with him and like 40 other people and listen to him talk. He had a lot of insight on the mechanisms of Hollywood and filmmaking in general, in addition to talking about how "gay" is increasingly moving away from subtext and becoming text in cinema and society as well. The "lecture" had a very casual atmosphere, and it was fascinating to be so close to him and hear all the things he had to say about film and American cinema in particular! He's a really cool guy.
- posted by Nicole @ 10:44 PM

 
Anarchists
Equally as funny as Marxists. People are naturally good and reasonable? Obviously they have never attended a Sigma Chi party . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 7:43 PM

 
Midsummer Nights Dream
So tonight marks the third time in the past four months that I've seen Midsummer Night's Dream, but I think tonight was possibly the best. An acting troupe from Cambridge, England came to perform at one of the theaters on campus. They were absolutely amazing! They were all college-age students, but they were so talented! The production was really unique - because they're a traveling company, the used very limited sets and costumes - but it worked because the cast was so dynamic. Puck - who is possibly the play's most pivotal character, in my opinion - was played by a girl. At first, I was skeptical, but she was terrific. There was great chemistry between her and the guy that played Oberon, and so there was an emphsis to their relationship that I've never really seen played up before. The girl who played Helena was also fantastic. In the other productions of Midsummer I've seen, I usually find the scenes with the acting troupe (Bottom, etc) to be rather long and tedious - but not so here! They were fabulous! What a great production! And the great thing is, they're going to come back next year (though Yale is gonna have to put them in a larger venue, cuz they totally packed this tiny little theater, and their audience is only gonna get bigger!)

I also went to go see the Planets performed by the New Haven Symphony (Thursday night). It was great - I absolutley love the Planets! Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter were the best. Though the symphony leaves something to be desired in regards to te brass section, they're pretty good; and they have a very charismatic, passionate, enthusaistic conductor!
- posted by Nicole @ 1:00 AM

 
Why My International Relations Professor is So Cool
An excerpt from the beginning of his lecture yesterday (read with a British accent): "Sorry I didn't post the lecture notes online last night, but I was on a plane from Geneva until about midnight so I didn't get a chance to do it." Later in the lecture, he incorporated new information on globalization he'd received at a conference at OXFORD (thus explaining why we didn't have class on Thursday the 18th). And - not that I'm stalking him - but I was just curious so I "googled" him, because I aspire TO BE this man (well, his female counterpart, anyway); so if you'd like an idea of just how brilliant he is (though - I assure you, he is equally as unassuming), check this out: http://www.ces.fas.harvard.edu/people/affiliates/Howorth.html
- posted by Nicole @ 3:41 PM

 
Marxism
Marxists are funny . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 11:40 PM

 
Ethiopian food
Two of my suitemates had birthdays this weekend, so tonight we went out to celebrate; we went to an Ethiopian restaurant called Laibella. It was a really cool experience! I've never had Ethiopian food, but Ankita (my suitemate from Kuwait) said it's a lot like Arab food. All the dinners are like thick stews - the closest thing I can relate it to is chili, but it's served with this thin, soft bread that's almost like a crepe. You use the bread to pick up the larger pieces of meat/fish or to soak up the remaining juices. In the menu, it explains how in Ethiopian tradition, if you eat out of the same bowl as another person you are tied together in bonds of frienship and loyalty - which totally kept with the spirit of the evening. The food was a little bit more spicy than I prefer, but the company was lovely and the experience was new. And besides, eating with your hands is always fun!
- posted by Nicole @ 2:18 AM

 
Culture!
The master of my residential college gives away tickets to cultural events in New York every year, and so I entered the draw and WON! I'm going to NYC on December 5th to see the New York City Ballet's production of the Nutracker! How cool is that?

I also just got invited to play in the premiere of a guitar concerto - written by a Yale graduate - by the director of my chamber ensemble. The first rehearsal is tonight - I can't wait to see how it goes.

Tae Kwon Do is sooooo much fun . . .


- posted by Nicole @ 1:21 PM

 
Tae Kwon Do
I went to the first session of Tae Kwon Do last night at the gym, and it was AWESOME! I had so much fun! What a great way to get rid of some stress . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 3:43 PM

 
My Bestest Friend
I had a fabulous weekend! My bestest friend in the whooooole world came to visit me and we had a great time! It was so good to see her, and it did wonderful things for my mental and emotional health. Sometimes you just need that little bit of home to pick you up and make you smile.

One Saturday we went to see Bend it Like Beckham at the Yale Medical School Film Society (the society sounds a lot more impressive than it really is). It was really funny, and made for a thoroughly enjoyable evening, even though the picture and sound quality of the venue left something to be desired. Aside from the technical imperfections of the auditorium, my only complaint comes from the inclusion of what - to me - felt like a superfluous scene. The final scene in the airport could have (and should have, in my opinion) been omitted; it cheesed up the ending, and completely devalued the penultimate scene on between Jess and her coach on the soccer field. But overall, a wonderful movie. I'd like to see it again, though, because I missed a lot of the lines due to the combination of poor sound and British accents. . .
- posted by Nicole @ 5:05 PM

 
Citizen Kane
Ok, study break . . . . Last night I had the priviledge of viewing Citizen Kane for my film class, and I must say that it was everything the "best American movie" should be. I was really struck by both the story and the cinematographic techniques used (revolutionary for that time period). And the ending! I know a lot of people feel that it's anti-climatic or ambiguous or whatever; the word that their pathetically uncultured minds are searching for is "subtle", or perhaps "understated". It kind of reminded me of the ending of Cabaret - equally haunting. I really enjoyed it.

I decided to take the sociology class. The prof is a little erratic (not to be confused with erotic), and his lectures are not entirly cohesive, but the subject matter and the reading will sell the course. (That, and the $40 I paid for the COURSE PACKET! . . . )

And back to PoliSci . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 12:36 AM

 
Salsa!
I learned how to salsa this weekend - it was so much fun! The ballroom dancing club gave lessons in one of the residential college dining halls. After we left the lesson, we went to the suite downstairs and had our own salsa party, which led to the creation of a new tradition: Salsa Saturdays!

I think I almost have my life in order. I'm shopping a history class tomorrow, and then I will make the final decision about a permanent schedule. I know I'm keeping my French class (it's going really well and I love the professor . . . Je suis l'etudiante. Je vais bien. Je ne parle pas tres bien francais.); I love my film class - it's great! We watched Rear Window last week, and tomorrow we're watching Citizan Kane; I like my international relations class as well - the professor is a visiting professor from the University of Bath in England. I'm still kind of undecided about my fourth class: either "The Sociology of the Arts and Popular Culture" or "Intro to Greek History", whadda ya think?

So . . . much . . . READING . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 6:24 PM

 
Diversity
On Monday night, I debated religion, politics, economics, and homosexuality with a guy from Mexico, a guy from the Phillipines, my suitemate (who is from Kuwait), and a girl from India. On Sunday I ate lunch with someone from Kenya. My French teacher is from the Congo.
- posted by Nicole @ 11:58 AM