TRAVELIN’ WITH JACQUELINE | Blue Bees

Like most people, I don’t find insects particularly interesting, but I thought I’d attend a West Campus-scheduled Cornell Insect Collection Tour on Sunday, September 25 with my SA Erin! The Cornell University Insect Collection is located in Comstock Hall and is one of the world’s biggest insect collections. As you will see from the myriad photos that are to follow, I really enjoyed myself. I saw so many beautiful insects and learned about methods of insect preservation. One of the first organisms we were shown was water bugs!

WHITE KNUCKLES | My Modern Love

This piece is very different from what I usually write; it is inspired from the NYT Modern Love column, which I read avidly, and from my own life – for one can speak generally and universally only to a certain extent. When my mother told me about love, she always mentioned Paolo, her high school sweetheart. When I asked why it ended, she confessed that she was dating someone else, an older guy; when Paolo found out, a fist fight broke out, and two relationships were broken up. I always found myself amazed at the fact that they didn’t punch her, as I wondered how is love compatible with deceit, fist fights and lies? My mother would quickly add that Paolo was too immature for her; it would have ended anyway.

TRAVELIN’ WITH JACQUELINE | Hand to God

This week, I bring you all another event I attended through the charity of West Campus: Kitchen Theatre’s new play, Hand to God. For those of you (most of us), who aren’t familiar with this company, Kitchen Theatre is an organization in downtown Ithaca that performs plays in a small ninety-nine seat theater. Here’s an external view of Kitchen Theater, which you may recognize if you frequently ramble around the Commons:

I found this to be pretty cool because the smaller capacity ensures that everyone gets a good view of what’s happening onstage and produces a more informal atmosphere. Furthermore, before the play begins, the audience can help itself to an array of food that is provided by the company, an arrangement that encourages people to socialize with each other. You’re also actually allowed to bring the food into the theater with you, so you can chew while you view.

ITHACA A-LIVE | Cayuga’s Lodge X3

On March 5th, this past Saturday, Cayuga Lodge at 630 Stewart Avenue hosted yet another gig. The night featured Modern Hut of Ithaca, Marian McLaughlin – 3 piece experimental folk band of Baltimore, DC and Buffalo origins, and Cornell University’s own  _____. A co-founder of Don Giovanni Records in New Brunswick, NJ, Modern Hut singer and songwriter Joe Steinhardt graced us with his presence yet again at Cayuga Lodge. He opened the night with his unique brand of melancholy humour. Despite the disappointing early evening turnout, he was up to his usual shenanigans: drinking and singing, whining and joking with a cool, removed voice.

MUKHERJEE | Where’d the Winter Go?

Gloomy gray skies, thick blankets of white snow and slippery roads — this description of Ithaca winters was reiterated to me multiple times before I stepped on the plane headed to Cornell. In fact, the entire winter break, I spent half my time getting mentally prepared to come back to a cold land where my best friends would be a coat, gloves and cap. So you can imagine my surprise when I came back to Ithaca and saw green grass, clear blue skies and a temperature close to the fifties. However, I’m not complaining! I come from a tropical country and one of the few things I was dreading about going here was the harsh winter that I would have to face here.