A Music School Novice

Last Friday was an evening of firsts for me. I saw my first opera during my first visit to the Musical Arts Center over at the Jacobs School of Music. I'm a little embarassed to admit that I haven't been taking advantage of our music school's impressive, and often free, performances until now. Last weekend I saw the Magic Flute; it was spectacular, and definitely a feast for the eyes as well as the ears. Not only was I taken by the opera, but by the architecture of the MAC itself. What a shame to have never before seen the cool, contemporary interior of what I had always known as "the round building."













So, tonight I returned to my new favorite place to see a free Philharmonic Orchestra concert. The music was wonderful, and I was glad to experience some relaxation amid the stress of studying. With a musical friend, I was able to go backstage and see things from the performers' perspective. I even saw some parts of the set for the Magic Flute, up close!











Above: part of The Magic Flute set

I am now officially on a music school kick. If you visit the MAC soon, you might see me there!

The History of Magic

This week at Collins is annual Hogwarts week, full of activities revolving around the beloved book series by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter. So far, these have included Harry Potter film screenings, book discussions, a special "Daily Prophet" edition of the Collins Columns, and fireside chats with experts on literature and history. Later in the week there will be performances by Wizard Rock bands, a musical, and a Quidditch tournament, among other things. To support my "house," Hillcrest, I decided to attend "The History of Magic," an informational talk about the history of Collins with alumna Kristen Murphy. After the talk, we got to ask questions and chat about the differences between Collins then and now.

I learned some really unusual things about Collins! Here are my favorite 5 facts I learned this evening:

1. The duty office in the formal lounge used to be an apartment where Ralph L. Collins lived during his years here.

2. The Collins dining hall used to have a waffle-maker.

3. The annual Collins Viennese Ball was started by a student of the Jacobs School of Music. Naturally, the first Viennese Ball had a 25-piece orchestra!

4. The Cheshire Cafe was started as a Q-199 project by a couple who met in Collins, and who are now married.

5. Before Collins was Collins, it was the MRC, Men's Residence Center. The guys had to wear formal attire to the dining hall every evening, including ties.

Touring Bands Perform at Collins

The Collins Coffeehouse was hopping this Tuesday night. Literally, people were hopping! The bands The Pomegranates and Enlou delivered fantastic performances for Collins residents and friends. We stood inches from their faces, bopping along to their up-beat and percussive tunes with sounds similar to bands like the more well-known Arcade Fire.

A Collins resident acquainted with members of the bands decided to bring them to Collins for his Q199 project. Q199 is a class that all Freshmen must take to help orient them with
the inner-workings of Collins and residence life, and requires the completion final project for which students have to find a way to benefit the Collins community. The bands weren’t free, however; their show was supported by the various councils at Collins, notably, Arts Council. Arts Council, Community Council, and other such groups are designated a particular amount of money coming from resident activity fees to spend each semester on programs like these.

The show was a huge success, worth every penny, and, I have to say, the best Tuesday night ever.

Mooching Media

Not being a big reader, watching movies and tv shows is how I like to unwind. Despite the fact that I neither own a television nor any DVDs, I have managed to use mooching as an alternative means to access them. Here are my top three ways to mooch media when I need to unwind:

1. Friends who have TVs

Although I have no TV, a friend of mine owns three! We like to watch the new tv show "Glee" together at her apartment when it airs on wednesdays. I remember when I lived in the dorm last year, girls without TVs would regularly flock to the girls' rooms who had them.

2. The Collins Library

The Collins Library has a huge variety of DVDs and videos that any student can check out with his or her ID card. Collins Arts Council recently approved funding for a complete new horror movie collection including Dawn of the Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Carrie. Of course, I will never watch these because I would not be able to sleep again, but I still thought you should know.

3. Hulu.com

This web site lets you watch the most recent episodes of several movies and shows; this is where I'll go on Friday because I missed "Glee" tonight, and also where my roommate and I watch the hilarious Tina Fey on "30 Rock"... for free!

The Collins Inferno

Not everyone knows about the quirky, magical nooks of Collins LLC, but I’m pleased to let you in on one of its underground hang-outs: the Cheshire Café. The "Chesh” as we lovingly abbreviate it, has an ambiance that exudes eclectic weird-dom, and it works for us. For some regulars it becomes an alternative living room between the hours of 8 p.m. and midnight, a place to knit or play battleship, complete with cozy furnishings, as well as funky art and party lights. That’s not even the half of it, though. Most Collinsites who take advantage of the The Chesh are there for its delicious, and fairly priced, offerings of hot and cold beverages, baked goods, and gourmet chocolates.

Tonight was a special night at The Chesh. I’ll preface by telling you that this coming Saturday is the night of the annual Collins Halloween Dance, and its theme this year is “Inferno: Seven Paths To Hell.” In other words, it revolves around the seven deadly sins. In full Halloween spirit, there was a showing tonight of the thriller Seven amidst free candy and fun deadly sin-related decorations. Each sign found its place somewhere in the room; for instance, on the couch was a sign for "sloth," on the candy dish “greed”, on the baked goods “gluttony,” and on the barista “lust.” If this is any indication of what effort went into planning the dance, I can’t wait to dance this Saturday until I’m blue in the face.

Books for Rwanda

I recently visited the Village Deli on Kirkwood to hear about a nonprofit program called Books and Beyond that has teamed up with IU's Global Village Living-Learning Center. I had heard of the Global Village but didn't really know much about it or where it was. Since I also live in a Living-Learning Center, I was kind of curious.

Well, Google led me to some enlightening information about the LLC. Like Collins, it is a small community that requires its members to apply, pay a $100 activities fee, and take the Q199 introduction to residence life class. Its members also organize what are called "Village events," not too unlike the event programming that happens at Collins. The main difference, it seems, is that the Global Village is aimed toward people who study international relations or languages, and who are planning to study abroad.

Frankly, I had never heard of Books and Beyond, but I knew it had something to do with volunteering internationally. Having been a part of a volunteer trip in Costa Rica with Collins the past two years, talk of other international programs like these always pique my interest a little bit. So, I Googled that too, and found some helpful information. Students in the Global Village work with high school students at Newark Collegiate Academy, a TEAM charter school in New Jersey. The school's goal, along with other TEAM schools, is to have all of their students, all of whom are either African American or Hispanic, go to college. These two groups work together to produce and publish children's books, which are sent to students in Rwanda as models for them to create their own books. These books are sent back and sold in the United States, and the profits then go back to Rwanda.

All of the collaborative steps involved in this project seems to be geared toward improving kids' lives all across the board. How cool! The people I met at the meeting, including the students from Newark Collegiate Academy, all seemed to be friends, and very enthusiastic about the program.

I apologize for the information overload, but I had to share my findings! For more information about either the Global Village at IU or about Books and Beyond, check out these websites:

rps.indiana.edu/llprograms.cfml

http://www.indiana.edu/~college/global/books.shtml

http://www.indiana.edu/~college/global/

Finding My Inner Pep With IU Sports

Tonight I went to the IU men's soccer game against Butler University! The field is just behind the outdoor pool, across the street from Assembly Hall and the football stadium. I stood in a place called the "cage" on one side of the field, where students can stand and cheer on the sidelines, something that the women's games do not have.

This was only my second soccer game (my first was a women's game last week), and something I'm not well versed in. So, I won't be able to give a proper commentary on tonight's game, but judging from the score at the end of the second half, one to one, we met our match! My friend and I had to leave before overtime, so unfortunately I didn't get to see who won. I'm not someone who gets very invested in sports competition, but for me sports events are still a nice way to get out, be with friends, and get a little peppy.