St. Patty's Day Events
St. Patrick's Day Parade starts at 1pm, from Broadway T stop (Thomas Park) to Andrew Square Saturday.
Gutbucket hits you where it hurts
Gutbucket, a jazz-punk fusion quartet (“avant-squonk”) played at Chum's Thursday night. Their songs– wordless save for the occasional wails of frontman-saxophonist Ken Thomson — sound like some sort of post-Miles Davis “Blue” angry head-banger jazz. Until you get into the music, it seems like an almost-choreographed train wreck… then you realize how together they are, how intense the sound really is… and the concert becomes an awesome aural experience… even if you're stupid enough to perch directly in front of the amps. The band isn't always loud– songs like Frogger, for example, are quietly jazzy, yet seamlessly flow into loud, angry punk ballads. The band is so tight, so together, it seems like their music is woven into some aural fabric;
the guitar and sax, the sax and bass, the bass and the percussion run into one another, pitch for pitch, beat for beat.
TrueStoryTheater leaves identity at the checkpoint
A bomb explodes in the street outside the museum.
The boy gazes out at the violence, then back at the exhibit: “The street looks just the same as this;
my God, I can't get out…!” He is part of the exhibit now, trapped inside the glass.
“Stay in here,” his father says. “Stay here behind the glass of fear and memory…”
Crossing the divide
Too often in discussions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, partisans on either side of the issue do not make the effort to actually sit down in the same room and really listen to one another. While some venues on our campus do attempt to bring people together – the Arab-Jewish Dialogue group comes to mind – the sad truth is that most events on this campus addressing this issue tend to lean to one side or the other, and are attended by people who come to see their point of view reinforced.
Actors overcome Devils in script, tech
Last weekend the Brandeis Ensemble Theater opened the Undergraduate Theater Collectives season with a production of David Lindsay-Abaires A Devil Inside in the Shapiro Theater. Although troubled by technical issues and an especially confusing climactic scene, the strength of the cast paved the way for an overall success.
The play begins with Mrs. Slater (Catherine Wagner 09) preparing for the twenty-first birthday of her apathetic son Gene (Michael Carnow 07). During the preparations, she informs him that his father, whom Gene was told died of heart failure, was actually brutally murdered. Mrs. Slater encourages Gene to avenge his fathers death. Gene thinks little of this and goes off to class on the subway, where he finally gets the courage up to talk to Caitlin (Erika Geller 09), a classmate of his who is 'aroused' by the lectures of their Russian literature professor, Carl (Aaron Arbiter 10). Carl has his own problems, having become obsessed with killing a dull man who owns a repair shop. This dull man, Brad (Josh Mervis 08), is trying to bring excitement to his life by writing a story about a devil he sees in his wallpaper. He is also renting a room to a mysterious artist named Lily (Sarah Jacobs 09). As the play progresses, Carl becomes paranoid that the dull man will kill him first. Caitlin then steals Carls notebooks and seduces/blackmails him into going through with plans to kill Brad first. Mrs. Slater shows Gene his fathers severed feet to convince him of the truth of her story while Lily starts vomiting blood. Caitlin and Carl paralyze Gene while botching an attempt to kill Brad, and the devil Brad sees in his wallpaper comes to life to fight with him. The play concludes with four characters are dead, a fifth dying, and Gene ironically rolling away on his wheelchair to seek his fathers killer;
the killer is in fact already dead.
Hot summer festivals, cool fall concerts
Seeing one band perform live for one night is a treat in itself, but to see several dozen groups over a period of multiple days is an entirely new experience. As the weather gets warm, festival season hits its peak. The several festivals being offered this year around the U.S. and Canada will give fans the opportunity to take in a combination of new groups, established headliners, and even old acts returning only to play as part of a festival. Here is a look at some of the upcoming festivals across the country that promise to be quite the experience, although some might require a bit of driving and planning ahead for the Brandeis student.
Reality check
Im sorry.
Now, I realize it may not be the journalistic norm to begin a column with an apology, but in this case I feel it is a necessary first step. See, I know Ive been a bad columnist for not having written at all since the new year, but Im going to need your forgiveness before I drop this bomb on you.
Strange but true
Israel recalls Ambassador After Sex Acts
Israel told its ambassador to El-Salvador to come home after police found him drunk in his office. He was bound and gagged, wearing nothing apart from sex accessories and a rubber ball in his mouth. The event, which occurred two weeks ago, is a new addition to a long list of recent scandals within the Israeli political realm.
This year's midyears up to full time status
Despite starting their Brandeis careers a semester late, this year's midyear class are already involved in the community. Despite living in separate housing, midyears have also made friendships with their 'regular' counterparts.
Gravity Magazine: Ideas floating everywhere
At a typical Gravity meeting, the only way to be taken seriously is to make a joke out of everything. Every week, at 7 PM in the Brandeis Media Coalition (Shapiro Center, 3rd floor) a small group of Brandeis students meets to discuss the humor of the week. Any topic – the Brandeis meal plans, recent club activities, the structure of someone's face- you name it, and it's open game for jokes and hilariousness abounds. Unlike more serious publications on campus, Gravity is intended to be, as put by its current President Benjamin Douglas, a magazine that “makes people laugh and have fun.”
Candidate Statements
Note: Presidential candidates Frank Golub '10, Shreeya Sinha '09, Jonathan D'Oleo '08, and Iris Uzdil '09 did not submit statements as The Hoot went to press. Vice Presidential candidate Sung Lo Yoon also did not submit a statement as The Hoot went the press. Asher Tanenbaum 2008 President Past Leadership Experience: I am currently Class […]
Raunchy Romp released
No, its not Penthouse and its not Playboy either. But, there is a sexuality magazine prominent on this campus: Romp. The 23 page, black and white publication appeared this month, but it is not intended to be a pornographic magazine. The publication, chartered at the end of last spring, has released their first issue around campus. Romps editor-in-chief and founder Ilya Okunev states in the section, From the Editor, that Romp is a creative, artistic endeavor to reflect the overwhelming role of sexuality in our lives. Its a way to sublimate our sex lives into words and share them.
Brandeis hires new CIO to manage endowment
This January, Brandeis hired Deborah Kuenstner as its new Chief Investment Officer and Vice President for Investment Management in order to help manage the universitys increasingly large endowment. The institution of the management of the endowment as a job for a single individual is a relatively new step for the university.
LTS announces new channel
The Department of Library and Technology Services (LTS) has changed the IP channel lineup for the spring semester based on the results of a 440-student poll taken early this spring.
Club renewal process creates concern over decharting
Concern regarding the dechartering of clubs emerged over the past week due to confusion surrounding the club renewal process. Clubs that were on the agenda to be dechartered or derecognized due to a lack of club renewal forms include the Brandeis Democrats, Click Drive, Rabbis in Training (RabbIT), the Otaku Anime Club, Nashim, and the Mens Lacrosse Team, according to an e-mail sent by the Student Union.
Student Union to implement new voting software for elections
The Student Union and Library and Technology Services (LTS) have upgraded the online voting system in time for the spring elections. The Union decided to replace the six-year-old system in March of last year after technological errors allowed graduated seniors to vote in the Spring 2006 election, as well as disrupted the races for Campus Treasurer and Senator for the Class of 2010 during the Fall 2006 elections.
Despite Ridgewood demolition, housing lottery reaches 1787
Last weekends housing lottery ended at an unprecedented 1787, according to members of Residence Life, eliciting surprise from many students. According to Associate Director of Residence Life Jeremy Leiferman, this is the highest number the lottery has gone up to in the last four years, if not more.
Timeline of Finkelstein Event
Despite the debate from the RSA claiming that Conway joined the RSA with the sole intent of inviting the controversial speaker, Finkelstein was actually first introduced in an e-mail sent on Jan 18. by Professor Leslie Zebrowitz (PSYC) to the RSA, days after Professor Alan Dershowitz had been invited to rebut former President Jimmy Carter.
Radical Student Alliance/SDS disavows member, Finkelstein visit
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), formerly known as the Radical Student Alliance (RSA), as well as the Arab Culture Club (ACC), announced that they had dropped their sponsorship of a possible upcoming event with DePaul University Professor Norman Finkelstein, controversial critic of Professor Alan Dershowitz and author of The Holocaust Industry. This comes after an announcement on March 2, when the Finance Board stated that it gave funds to sponsor the event.
Equestrian team competes in first show of semester
The Brandeis Equestrian Team competed in its first show of the semester at Rising Star Equestrian Center in Medway on Sunday. The team sent six of its members to represent Brandeis. Placing well in her first show was midyear Beth Bowman 10, who came away with a second place ribbon on the flat and a fourth place over fences.
