A largely anticipated event will be occurring later this year (in 77 days, 19 minutes and 20…19…18 seconds as I write this), something I’ve personally been waiting for since I finished the show. I’ve planned my Thanksgiving weekend around this occasion. I’m not going shopping on Black Friday this year (the first time I’ve skipped the holiday in years) because of this momentous occasion. Instead of bundling up and braving the crowds of New York City, I’ll be on my…
There’s a science fiction movie called Mr. Nobody, and it’s one of my favorites. Essentially, it’s about the butterfly effect: the idea that every small decision that you make ultimately has the power to change the course of your remaining life. The movie is about a boy who is faced with an impossible choice—when his parents separate, will he stay with his mother or his father?—and the consequences of either decision. This influences where he lives, who he falls in…
I like to put my money where my mouth is—and by that I mean, after being a vegetarian for 10 years I’ve recently also transitioned into no longer purchasing cosmetic products from companies that test on animals. While I know it’s not possible to be a totally ethical consumer, I feel better about doing something than I do about doing nothing, and this choice was the next natural step to my dietary lifestyle. No one can argue that animal testing…
“The Flash” is an awesome TV show. Veeeery minor spoilers follow, but nothing significant. It’s not without its flaws, which we will get to in depth, but it’s an incredibly fun and enjoyable program that anyone with even the most vague interest in the superhero genre should check out. “The Flash”’s biggest advantage is that it truly understands the balance between the funny and the serious and knows how to work that divide. As my friend says, this a show…
(Trigger warning for eating disorders) When the topic of eating disorders inevitably comes up in a psychology class, it usually tends to be just a few pages in a textbook or a few slides in a PowerPoint, usually about how anorexia is a disorder in which the individual has an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. These descriptions are almost always framed in a way that makes it seem as though “Losing Weight” and “Being Skinny” have suddenly become…
I have died 14 times. I have killed my best friends. I have fallen in love. Usually when someone starts a story with this clichéd (but oh so fun) device, they’re about to pivot into a pitch for why books are great. I’m going to make a much nerdier pivot into a pitch for why tabletop RPGs (Dungeons and Dragons) are great. RPGs offer nearly limitless customization and improvisation. You can do nearly anything you want. Each item on that…
Have you ever wondered what it means when you see the word “fragrance” as an ingredient in a product like shampoo, body wash, or deodorant? When the term “fragrance” (also listed as “parfum”) is applied to a product, what it means is a mix of ingredients that can include any of over 5,000 different chemicals, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Obviously, fragrance is added to products to make them smell better or to cover up…
Have you ever wanted to see Donald Duck/Octopus hybrid monstrosity? I really didn’t. And yet I have. Oh, don’t worry–it gets weirder. Not only did I have to witness this horrific perversion, but I also had to watch it–and turtle Goofy–dance underwater to a song that included the lyric “finny fun.” Apparently this is Kingdom Hearts. My friend, Leah, has been playing through the entire franchise since finals week last semester (she’s really responsible). This has served as my first…
Last week, I attended the debate between the Vassar Conservative Libertarian Union (VCLU) and the Vassar Democrats about the issues of gun control, energy policy and immigration. Like the majority of people at Vassar, I consider myself quite liberal, and because of that (and my own personal very negative experience with certain members of the organization) I went into it with a bit of a preconceived bias against the VCLU. At the same time, I recognized that the knowledge that…
One of my earliest memories, if not the earliest, is being four or five years old and watching the ending cinematic for Blizzard’s original Diablo. Yes, my folks made some questionable parenting decisions. Diablo was the first game I had ever played, and it quickly got me hooked into the entire Blizzard catalogue. The only Blizzard games I haven’t played are Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm. I have at least a basic level of lore knowledge for all of…