Reminder to Us Culturally Insensitive College Kids

When for Halloween
You dress like Pocahontas
A kitten will die.

Heaven and Hell

Orgo midterm done,
Sudden freedom means parties:
Let’s go to the Quad.

The Morning After

Halloween’s over
Hangovers and walks of shame–
Hello, Sunday brunch.

Whether your costume is a generic slut, subtle pop-culture reference, or Drew Faust, send in your photos!

Prize:
1st place -$50 to b.good burgers and international fame. Delicious!
2nd place – Not a winner
3rd place – Nobody remembers

Deadline:
November 1st, 7:00pm

Send submissions to thehvoicemail@gmail.com. The winners will be announced November 2nd.

Why are there so many things going on this weekend? Because 1) It’s Halloween. 2) Midterms and papers are over for the most part, so drop those books and go rage or whatever it is you do. There’s a ton of stuff going on so: NO EXCUSES.

The Grind Fests:

Sweet ‘N Nasty
Friday, October 30, 10pm-2am
Adams House Dining Hall
Tickets: $5 beforehand, $7 the night of the party, $4 for Adams Residents
“Free erotic goodie bags for the first 50 people on line for the dance.”

Heaven & Hell
Currier Tenman and Treehouse
Saturday, 10pm

Cultural Stuff:

Eternal Jamnation
by the Veritones and Opportunes
Sanders Theatre
Sunday, 7-9pm
Tickets: $7 w/ ID

PANDEMONIUM
by Harvard-Radcliffe Modern Dance Company
Adams Pool Theatre
Friday @ 7:30 pm, Saturday-Sunday @ 2:00 pm
Tickets: $5
Read the rest of this entry »

Even Fido can be racist this season!

Okay. So we all got this email:

Dear Harvard, As we approach the Halloween weekend, Native Americans at Harvard College (NAHC) would like to urge Harvard University students, staff and faculty to think critically about their costume choice. While some look forward to the annual Halloween festivities many people brace themselves for the recurring parade of Harvard students in culturally insensitive costumes whether it be the quintessential Pocahontas or Indian Squaw or the hypersexualized Geisha just to name a few.

And for those of you who didn’t have the patience to read the entire thing, we sympathize… kinda. Except we read it in its entirety out of sincere love for you and because they made us feel really, really guilty. Here is a paragraph-by-paragraph summary of its content:

• Wearing costumes that culturally appropriate is RACIST. It’s like wearing blackface, you ass. Also, your hipster Minnetonka Moccasins are tacky.
• Traditional dress ≠ costume. Traditional dress = an outfit.
• Think of the children….the Native American children.
• You can’t count your crummy costume as “honoring” Native Americans, but you can do your part on Sunday, the first day of Native American Heritage Month, by schoolin’ your racist ass.
• A paragraph on the interwoven histories of Native Americans and their contributions to the United States and Harvard University that we so love.
• “If people take the time to learn about other cultures and to get to know the Native American students at Harvard perhaps they would realize that we are not a costume. We are Harvard. And we have been since 1655.” (Sorry, that’s sort of hard to gist.)

Now, we understand the message but a picture is worth a thousand words isn’t it? Here are several long emails worth of pictures plus some controversy, after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »

HBO paid the Institute of Politics’ JFK Forum a visit this evening with an early screening of their newest documentary, By the People: The Election of Barack Obama.

After a brief introduction by the film’s directors, the lights dimmed on a packed Forum, and the audience was given the chance to experience an insider’s point of view into the President’s journey to the Oval Office: from Iowa to “Yes We Can” to Super Tuesday to his speech on race to the nomination and finally, to the moments before he climbed the steps of Grant Park to give his acceptance address on Election Night. We were let into the speech writing process with McHottie speechwriter Jon Favreau, into the grassroots organizing process with behind-the-scenes campaigner extraordinaire, Ronnie Cho, into the “situation room” with David Plouffe & David Axelrod, and into the phone bank with an adorable nine-year-old who sent the Forum into fits of hysterics at his exasperated efforts at getting a woman on the other line to understand that “Barack Obama is running for President…President of the United States…the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.”

Watch it on HBO (worth Hemenway-ing for 2 hours for!) November 3rd!

*Disclaimer: May make you nostalgic for the bygone days of nationwide hope and optimism. Consider yourself warned.

Yes, we can: Barack advocates for better library etiquette.

Loud roommates and claustrophobic Dunster walk-through coffins usually drive people to settle for a long night at Lamont instead. But certain peers, like those who play Miley Cyrus at full volume through their earbuds, can sometimes make us wish we hadn’t trekked all the way to the yard in the first place. Noice sympathizes with those who can’t even find sanctuary at the library. Beware of some of these types of people who may transform what should be a studious environment an experience from hell.

The Widener Walker. Some like to take a break from reading room by browsing the books, but beware of these leisurely strollers. It’s not unusual to see a random person hovering in between the expansive stacks. What’s weird is when they inadvertently end up playing hide and seek with you as you look for that elusive copy of a circa-1960s porn manual for your Lit & Sex paper. Peek-a-boo at its creepiest.
The Cabot Concentrator. Those isolated study rooms in Harvard’s dingiest library look like prison cells for a reason. Aesthetic appeal doesn’t even make the list–people come here to get some serious shit done. Those coffee stains crusted over on virtually every desk would shock us, if not for the fact that there’s probably a guy right now sprawled over his problem set, drooling. Noice advises bringing your own Clorox wipes to get rid of all the mystery bodily fluids.
The Lamont Lurker. Please extrapolate those assumptions you’ve held all along–that kid never ever EVER leaves. Ever. An anonymous source who works a late night shift at access services confirms the fact that these Lamonters will leave their stuff on the table at around 5 in the morning to head back to their house for a quick shower, and promptly plop back at their third floor desk to stick their noses back in the books at around 7am. This urban legend appears more than likely, given…

Today’s public service announcement continues after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »

Okay,  so apparently, despite the fact that Halloween is Saturday, Halloween will begin early in Cambridge with a “Monster Mash” parade in the Square and lots of mimes and people in costumes performing for your enjoyment. The target audience is admittedly for the “I think I’m ready to get out of diapers” crowd, but if you click here you can scrounge out some sweet deals compliments of Halloween that are currently going on. For example, Baskin Robbins has Haunted House cupcakes. I don’t know how that works, but I want to climb in one and eat my way out. If that’s not your thing, Curious George is making an appearance in the Square to read to you and the kiddies. The festivities begin at 4 p.m. and will wind down around 8 p.m. I would recommend wearing your most scantily clad costume to create an interesting juxtaposition with all of the kids dressed as Winnie the Pooh. ETC.

A mix of some oldies with some goodies. Enjoy!

1. Heads Will Roll – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2. Monster Mash – Bobby Boris Pickett
3. Thriller – Michael Jackson
4. Halloween – Dead Kennedys
5. Disturbia – Rihanna
6. Vulture – Patrick Wolf
7. Zombie Zoo – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
8. Night On Bald Mountain – Fantasia
9. She Wolf – Shakira
10. Creep – Radiohead

Music after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

For all you foodies and other starved students out there, I lovingly bestow upon you my midterm pick-me-upper, my “fml General Gao’s chicken again” curative, my black book of food fetishes – a collection of my food porn pics.

These are pictures of dishes that were just so good that I needed a visual testimony to their toe-curling deliciousness, and can only be fully appreciated one at a time.

So my first treat comes from Susan Feniger’s Street in Los Angeles. These savory little packages of pleasure are Spinach Varenykys, Ukranian pan-fried dumplings filled with spinach and a light layer of salted cheese. Fried onions and lemon marmalade offset the luxuriously creamy filling.

Now if this isn’t masochism for the palate, I couldn’t tell you what is.

Chris Liberge, anchor of On Harvard Time, calls Playboy Radio’s “Afternoon Advice,” a show in which Tiffany Granath answers callers’ questions about sex and relationships.

This call requires no introduction other than a warning to readers that this audio clip includes graphic sexual language and ideas. So: NSFWOL (Not Safe For Work Or Lamont).

[Video courtesy of On Harvard Time]

CORRECTION (10/28/09): The video is not an On Harvard Time venture after all, but is in fact courtesy of Leeburjay Productions.

Who: Jesse Kase, college student from afar visiting a friend at Harvard
Where: Strolling along the Charles River

1) Down/Faux Fur Jacket: Mother’s
2) Vintage Scarf: Grandmother’s
3) Pants: April 77 – From Paris
4) Glasses: Somewhere in New York
5) Military Booties: Mother’s
6) Bag: Somewhere in New York
7) Sweater: BCBG

Way to be quirky and cute, Harvard!