Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare opens tonight, November 13th @ 8pm and runs until the 23rd of November. The play is performed in Parker Theatre. I saw it tonight at the Gala performance and it was a wonderful performance! And the upstairs of Parker Theatre looks fabulous! They gutted it out to make a food service in the lobby, so they completely remodeled it! WHOA!
Here’s the information:
Tickets are $16. To get tickets call 845-257-3880 or go the McKenna Box Office from 11:30-4:30 (I believe those times are pretty accurate. If you’re unsure, you can just call them up.)
I know the price seems a little steep, but listen up students: tickets are $8 ON THURSDAYS! And $14 bucks any other day if you let em know you’re a student! So take advantage of that I say. You have 2 Thursday’s to see it for cheap! (General admission is $16).
Saturday night was GIRL’S NIGHT! So it was just me and my best friend Renee Levine. We’ve both been “hella” busy, as Renee, the Californian native would say. Therefore, we wanted to hang out and get a chance to talk. We haven’t seen each other in a dog’s age. Since we were both finished with our obligations at 5pm, we planned to meet up and then decided we wanted to go to this event called Dance Evolution 2008, The Joker’s Revenge.
Dance Evolution was an event of all sorts that took place at the New Paltz high school, which was a 3 minute drive to get there! So close! Even if you didn’t have a car, they had shuttles leaving from the Haggerty Administration Building circle on campus, so you could make it to the event on time and without paying a cent! However the event was 4 bucks if you lived on campus and 8 bucks if you lived off…so not ENTIRELY free. I drove Renee, my friend Akeem, who lives in the same suite as my brother at UAlbany, Angie, and Lisa, Angie’s roommate. Dance Evolution was SUPPOSED to start at 6pm “sharp,” but there were major technical difficulties and it almost started an hour later than anticipated! To be honest, that was a little frustrating. This is no fault to anyone, especially the performers. Heck, I’m sure it was frustrating for them too, but it was a while to sit in the audience and wait for the show to start. At any rate, everything turned out alright. The event had several entertaining acts, as well as an enthused audience. Let me show you!
Below are several videos! The first one is the National Anthem sung by Paula (I didn’t get her last name) and the black National Anthem.
Video of M’Powered! 9-17 year olds dancing hip hop and African dance! This dance group is A-MA-ZING!
Then after the concert, Renee and I were starving so we drove into town and decided to try this new sushi place. It was called Hokkaido. The restaurant was a cute little place and we were excited to get a nice meal, but uh, we couldn’t find the door. There were stairs on the side of the restaurant, but no doorway. So we actually walked around the building a couple of times until we finally found the entrance around the corner. AH. So we sat down, ordered some endamame, and some rolls. For those who don’t know endamame is a healthy appetizer. Here, I’ll copy and paste what Wikipedia says about them: “endamame is a preparation of baby soybeans in the pod commonly found in Japan, China and Korea. The pods are boiled in water together with condiments such as salt, and served whole.” I ordered the common California Roll and the Shitaki Avocado Roll: both hit the spot!
Then after we had some “us” time to talk and catch up on each other’s lives and thoughts, we went back to Renee’s apartment on Main Street, which she shares with three other people. I changed into my pj’s which I brought from my room and jumped on the couch with Renee to watch Thirteen going on Thirty. I bought that movie over the summer and haven’t really had a chance to watch it yet. It was an uplifting chick flick, but there were parts of it that were SO SAD! However, it ends nicely, thank the lord. It stars Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo and Judy Greer. I really love Jennifer Garner. I find her acting to be so genuine. Anyway, it was a nice ending to a nice night. Our girl’s night, sleepover was a success!
In the morn we got up at 8am since Renee had work at 10:00AM and the Bistro, right down the street, was calling our names for a hot meal. So we got all freshened up and ready for some breakfast. The Bistro is always SUPER CROWDED so we wanted to get there early. Never have I ever walked into Bistro and sat down right away. There is ALWAYS a wait, because it is just that well known. However, today, we made history, by being seated right away. We were right by the door, but we were sitting! We both ordered the Breakfast Special, which is 2 eggs any way you like, homefries and 2 pieces of wheat toast, all for a little under $2!! Isn’t that amazing? It’s handy for all us poor college students, that’s for sure. Anyway, as soon as we were delivered our meal, the power went out….I’m not kidding here. The power just went, Ka-poot. So I saw another historical moment: The Bistro had to actually TURN DOWN customers, because they wouldn’t seat people until the power went back on. Crazy! And it wasn’t just The Bistro that lost power- it was all along Main Street! Starbucks had a sign on the door saying it was closed due to the power outage, and I know my friend who lived on Main Street didn’t have power…insane! While we were eating Renee looked at me and asked, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” I wasn’t sure, but she said, “I’m thankful we got our food before the power went out!” Wow were we on the same wavelength with that one!
I took a picture of some of these robots that were on the wall of the Bistro. They were called Junk Bots and they were on display for purchase. Interesting. Renee’s favorite was the robot that had a body similar to the shape of a piece of bread. Do you see it?
So I went out to eat a lot, at least one meal each day of this weekend, but it was fun and worth it! Plus I got to spend it with good company.
Alright, mucho sleepy. Must go to bedy bye! Night all! <3
Hey all! I’m doing this a little backwards, but I’m going to talk about Saturday and THEN about Halloween. Okie dokie smokie?
Saturday night was something called Midnight Theatre. This is an event that the theatre students put together, where we make light of the mainstage productions, and other current events that are taking place. For example, the hosts of Midnight Theatre, Andrea Green and Evan Teich, did some jokes about politics, since the elections are coming up Tuesday (S0 S00N!). Well there were a lot of laughs all around.
I actually have a video here of Paul Rigano and I at Midnight Theatre. In the musical production of Company here on campus, Paul played Harry and I played Sarah. (I’m sorry I keep talking about Company, but I guess it was a large part of my life thus far this semester.) Anyway, Harry and I were “happily” married. I use quotations because every marriage has their pitfalls. As a couple in the show, we did love each other, but we each had our vices; that definitely showed in our production. At any rate, there is a scene where Harry and I actually get so riled up that we perform karate on each other. And that karate eventually turns into petty street-fighting; anything to WIN against one another! So, I hope you enjoy this video of Harry and me during Midnight Theatre. In the beginning, Paul and I are reenacting the karate scene from Company to teach the audience about stage combat. However, the longer we are “play” fighting, the more we truly wanna beat the crud out of each other! Well, hopefully you watch and laugh!
P.S. If it wasn’t for my roommate Sam, this video would never have been up and running. So thanks Sam!!!
NOW, about Hall-o-ween! I hope you all had a marvelous Halloween! As you can see from Jessie’s blog and my previous blog on the Headless Horseman, New Paltz is pretty well known during the Halloween season. It’s quite the sweet spot. Lots of people get into the spooky spirit round these parts! For one thing, my friend Becca Cotton had this really cute Halloween get together where her house was DECKED OUT!
Oh and there was a live band playing in her living room! They called themselves Crazy Cat Lady. My friend and alum of SUNY New Paltz, Emma Jerome, is a singer in the band! Cool, huh? Let me show you some pics of Becca’s house, as well as me and my friend’s costumes!
So Halloween was a nice night! I was Twister, the board game, for Halloween with these really REALLY high pleather red boots. (I didn’t really want to put this picture up, cause it looks like one of those annoying myspace pictures, but I really wanted to show you the boots!) My friend asked me if I stole them from Ginger Spice! Pshhh nahh, she let me borrow them. We’re tight like that. Haha, well anyway, I don’t normally wear high heels, so this was an adventure in itself!
Sorry to change the subject, but who’s excited to vote!?!?! AHH I’M SO PUMPED. This will be the first time I am eligible to vote for the President of the United States! I feel so empowered! However, some people may not feel this way. Some say our vote doesn’t count, due to the electoral college, etc. etc.
That is why I want to end this blog with a quote that my acting teacher, Nancy Saklad, said to us during my freshman year in Acting One. As soon as she said it, I took out my notebook and scribbled it down. I felt and still feel that it is so inspirational. Also, I believe it pertains to tomorrow with a lot of us young-ins voting.
“We need people like you to help this world become a better place.
We need your wit,
your smile,
your kindness,
your brilliance,
your enthusiasm,
and your creativity.
You will be the savior of this generation;
don’t deny us what you have to offer.”
So remember, you can vote from 6am till 9pm tomorrow! Don’t wear any pins, buttons, shirts, or any other paraphernalia representing candidates. If you do, you will not be allowed to vote! Bring Identification, and don’t be lazy and NOT wait on the lines because they’re long. YOU’RE VOTE IS WORTH IT! WE MATTER!
Just to clarify, for your viewing pleasure I have October’s Video Blog AND a video that includes a fellow NP Blogger, Holly Gooden, and the left arm of OL Ely Fry.
As for the video with Holly, It takes place lest night (10/24/08) on one exciting Friday night at Oscar’s with Holly, Eli and myself. The three of us were talking about politics and various states when Holly said this…
To tell the honest truth, I like my history and social studies classes -a lot. And when I hear a professor talking about the “hot button” issues in our fair nation, I always get really motivated to make change, because I believe that change does come from such simple, modest roots as one individual, and to quote Gandhi, I’ve always wanted to “Be the change [I] wish to see in the world.” Well, in less than a week, I supported two causes near and dear to my heart.
On this past Saturday (the 18th) I took part in the Gunk Project. Organized and coordinated by Wyatt Krause -RA in Lenape Hall- the Gunk Project was a day of cleaning up out fair Gunk. Many times during capture the flag on Tuesday nights at 10PM we have had players (Rob Schemitsch and a few others) who have been as brave to swim in the Gunk for the sake of the game. However, over the course of these capture the flag games we (Rob and Co.) have retrieved some SIX (6) bicycles and FOUR (4) traffic cones. It was then that Wyatt got the idea to have a Gunk cleaning project, aptly named, the Gunk Project. On Saturday, a few “dredgers” -Rob included- swum the Gunk to remove as much “stuff” from the depths as possible. To my knowledge, the dredgers worked tirelessly for hours to retrieve a screen door, a paper towel dispenser, two shopping carts, a computer monitor, a skate board, and various debris the likes of which I have forgotten! In addition to dredging out the Gunk, others and I went around to collect some THREE HUNDRED signatures of those that were in support of our efforts, and want to urge the administration in cleaning up the Gunk more, and making our campus more green.
I was very proud that so many students from different Residence Halls came together to clean up our campus, and that I was a part of that group as well. I believe that moving toward a greener campus, nation and lifestyle, we can all ensure that our lives and the lives of those that come after us will be secured, safe and healthy. This Gunk Project is a small step because not only do we want the administration to take up the next “leg-of-the-race” but we also want to inspire more pro active actions and good habits in our own lives and that if the people around us.
As for the second bit of getting involved that I am about to tell you about, I feel very strongly about both the subject matter and the actions involved. On Tuesday (10/14) I got a phone call from one of my best friends, Tim K. who is a sophomore at SUCO Oneonta. He tells me that there was a protest that took place on his campus that day involving a Christian man and his anti-homosexual views. He also said that he heard this man was coming to SUNY New Paltz soon! So after informing my entire Women: Images and Realities class, I waited until on week later on the 21st when he showed. I saw the men protesting homosexuality of all sorts on the concourse of the SUB on my way to my women studies class, and upon sounding the alarms, the bulk of the students went during the break to protest these individuals in return!
Personally I feel that everyone should be entitled to express themselves in the way that they were born to be, and should never be subject to anyone else condemning them. In that light I made a killer sign, sporting rainbow colors, that said: “DON’T LISTEN : D.” This also made me feel accomplished because I finally had the chance to demonstrate some inalienable rights bestowed upon me from birth, and protected through the United States Constitution! (What-WHAAT! -Take THAT!!!).
It is in these actions and in voting that I feel my civic duties are being fulfilled, and it is a great start!
With that in mind, I have a very appropriate song selection for this blog:
Due to no other reasons than the Presidential Debate and a Midterm tomorrow, I cut out of Gideon Yago’s presentation approximately twenty-three minutes ago. For those of you who went: good job; for the rest: FOOLS! (lol) But, seriously, let me tell you, in the half an hour I was there I was so shocked and inspired by what he had to say.
Numbers.
Gideon opened his speech on a little background on his career, MTV, and statistics. He said that we -You and I- Americans from the ages of seventeen to twenty-one are, what he called, “A Nation Within a Nation.” There are some 78 MILLION Americans from the Ages of seventeen to twenty-one.
That’s ONE-in-every-FOUR AMERICANS…
That’s TWICE the population of CALIFORNIA + NEW YORK CITY…
That’s TWENTY MILLION MORE that GREAT BRITAIN…
That’s THREE TIMES the population of IRAQ…
If YOU think that YOUR vote doesn’t count, well than look at these numbers and You get back to me!
We will get REPRESENTATION once we prove it and VOTE!!!
Unfortunately, politicians, news teams, and the majority of C.E.O.’s -including the heads of M.T.V.- are old folks, who are not in touch and who are not in sync with TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT of the population and their mindset. That being said, it is YOUR job to prove that YOU voted, and that YOU are active in YOUR government, not passive. We have an immense skill that we don’t even know we possess: Networking.
Last year, I heard the word networking more that ever before in my life! And it is only NOW, that I have realized what my emails, Text Messaging, Instant Messaging, THIS BLOG (lol) Twitter, etc. have in potential.
WE are the ones who are technology savvy,
WE are the ones who can NETWORK within the ENTIRE AMERICAN POPULATION to self-mobilize: to vote and to get involved,
WE are the ones who need to PROVE that we are to be HEARD!
I believe that it is a privilege and a civic duty to vote and to get involved in YOUR Government, and again, I ts foolish to just sit back and let others make the choices for you!
Its been a good couple of days so far: good meetings, good work time, good meals, good down time -It’s All GOOD! For one thing, my Women: Images and Realities class gives a ton of extra credit. Which is excellent because it will help balance out some of me-harder-courses -so if You have any extra credit options, make it your business to capitalize on that! To tell you the truth, I really do have harder classes that I should be studying for right now -no worries, I’m feelin’ A+’s…
Outside of my classes I’ve been doing some pretty exciting things with my time. I got a haircut yesterday -all went well, I look good -if I do say so myself- lol.
“Hey EVERYONE: Come and See How GOOD I LOOK!” ~Anchorman.
I also am getting my bike tuned up as-I-write (wow). I ride a Mongoose Rockadile mountain bike, and I am on that bad boy all the time! So if you see a blue and white blur whizzing past on the roads, its me, say “hi,” please. Apparently the bike shop I took my bike to has been there for some thirty years and the owner really knows his stuff, so I feel comfortable leaving my bike there. And I am SO excited to pick it up this afternoon.
Speaking of which, I have a nice little schedule planned out for this afternoon: no Drawing II class (sadface) but I will be able to do some laundry, study, go to a prayer group, swim, eat, study, pick up my bike (!!!), study, eat again, do some extra credit, see Gideon YAGO, have a house meeting, eat again, and watch the Presidential DEBATE! Woo-Hooooo, Yeahh! Biz-E-Day To-Day, but as you can see, all good things.
Come to think of it, yesterday was a busy day too, because on top of all that I just mentioned, I went to a Study Abroad G.I. meeting and a NRHH G.I. meeting as well! From what I’ve heard studying abroad is one of the BEST COLLEGE EXPERIENCES EVER! and that information is coming from people that have studied abroad, such as my oldest sister, Marissa, and other peeps. Personally, I’m thinking of doing a summer session because I don’t want it to interfere with whats going on here at New Paltz -plus, I’d be great to get away for the summer! Oh, and that’s right, I forgot to mention where I’ll be going: Florence. I’m an Artist -why wouldn’t I go? lol. As far as NRHH, it is an organization that recognizes students, faculty, on campus organizations, etc. as part of a regular, weekly, monthly, yearly sort-of-thing. The members in it are the TOP 1% of Student Leaders on Campus!!! So, wish me LUCK! Anyway, my application needs to be in by October 31st at 12 NOON.
Look out NRHH, here I come! (I hope : D )
MEWSICK!
(music -haha, I made a joke with letters!)
As of late I have been listening to some CHOICE tunes -and believe me, they be bumpin’:
What is this COTA business, you ask? Ah, well it’s Celebration of the Arts that took place here at New Paltz’s Hasbrouck Park on Sunday September 28th. I know that was a little while ago, but I took some video footage and took some snapshots, so I thought I’d tell ya a little about it. Wow, this took place when we had that very long weekend! September seems so long ago! Well here’s the website that you could get a more in-depth view of what went on there!
There were all kinds of artists, from: emerging, working, closet, and those taking a chance by bending convention. To give you an idea, there were over 100 artists showcasing and selling their artwork, performances through out the day, a local writers’ tent for signings and book sales, children events, an arts networking tent, free professional development seminars for artists, habitats for artists installations, and foood.
So as I mentioned before, there were a lot of beautiful booths where artists were selling their work. We didn’t buy anything (alas the life of the poor college student) but my friends and I looked around! Check it out! Enjoy and till next time stay smiley!
I know at one time or another you all have been told to get involved in school and all the wonderful extra-curricular activities that school has to offer. Well, just in case you were wondering: they are right! This past weekend, I went to Rock The VOTE at Old Main Quad and it was a DE-light. On the topic of getting involved, I was doubly involved this weekend because I was not only supporting Q.A.C by going to Rock The VOTE, but I was also supporting voting, and all the other organizations that were there. To much dismay, I was only able to stay for an hour because I had laundry and other errands and such to tend to, but hey: better than NOTHIN’! But an hour was good because I got to spend some time with fellow Q.A.C.-ers, listen to the LIVE music, educate myself and take some pretty snazzy pictures!
On that note, I would like to invite all of you to purchase a digital camera (you did? GREAT!) and take it along with you, wherever you go. That is precisely what I do, and let me tell you, it works splendidly. There are more Kodak moments in a day than you could ever think up, and it should be for your photographic enjoyment that you document the day. For example, when you’re at Rock The VOTE and NP Blogger Holly decides to “dance” to the live music, you can capitalize on this -and many other occasions- with a digital camera. Speaking of which, I happen to have some choice pics from Rock The VOTE that I figured you’d all enjoy!
“All Smiles”
Yeah, Voting!
Wow -Look how Good!
Anyway, enough Internet embarrassment! I STRONGLY urge you to vote. Think of it as your civic duty, that’s really fun! No matter if you love ObamaNaderMcCain, or whoever else is on the ticket, just do it: VOTE. Otherwise, you’d just be a Silly GOOSE if you didn’t! I have recently discovered that the New Paltz Oracle (That’s our school Newspaper!) has published a sort of “both-sides-of-the-argument” two page spread in their paper stating the candidates’ positions on some major issues. And get THIS: The Information comes DIRECTLY from their websites!
So now you have NO excuse to “not vote” (<<what even IS that?)
Now as far as song for this post, well, I’m torn because as of late I have been listening to a lot of Frank Sinatra… so basically anything from:
It isn’t even the middle of the semester and I’m already pulling an all nighter for a test tomorrow. I enjoyed myself this weekend, spending time with old friends, watching lots of movies for another class assignment, seeing Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and Religulous, eating out in town and helping co-sponsor Rock the Vote on campus. However it is Monday morning at the wee hours and I now find myself depleted of money, hungry and sipping on energy drinks while listening to techno music to keep myself awake enough to study for this test. In other words, I am faced the consequences of a fun but irresponsible weekend. When I could have been studying between activities, I decided to sit out on the grass and read a book or watch a movie with a friend. This is a lesson to learn for all other weekends that I should plan ahead and actually stick to my schedule. Alright, I will get back to my Art of the Western World 2 work and stop procrastinating!
P.S. Has anyone ever realized how upbeat the band Justice is? You don’t need an energy drink if you listen to the track “Stress” long enough
This guy rapped a song called “Bubble Butt.” Obviously he could have sang, “Mary had a Little Lamb,” and the lady audience members would have still loved him.
The event took place right behind the Van Den Burg Hall, which houses our nursing and business programs. THAT’S how close this event was to campus.
Children were running all around, especially on this playground, despite the misty weather and the mud.
Kids made tambourines out of paper plates and decorated themselves! 
