He's watching.

An Edward Cullen lifesize cut-out in a window of Barker Center. Some professors/TFs have no shame.

Yeah.

At 1100 hours today, a poor Phoenix S.K. pledge was spotted on Mt. Auburn in full Royal Guard garb, red coat, black furry hat, serious face, and all. Though this small act of hilarity inspired giggles among passersby, here at Noice, we’re mostly just disappointed he didn’t break out in dance.

See our final club shenanigans from last week.

ZOMG, DAN RADCLIFFE TOUCHED THIS.

For those of you who have yet to hear, Boston’s own Museum of Science is hosting the first East Coast exhibition of Harry Potter paraphernalia from now until February 21, 2010. Exactly how this classifies as “science” is still a source of debate, but who cares? IT’S HARRY POTTER. Don’t ask questions.

Naturally, The Voice, composed of several, devoted Harry Potter babies, just had to check it out. Find out more after the jump.

For those of us who grew up with the books as well as the movies, expectations are high for anything that involves this precious symbol of our childhoods. Upon arriving, you will be overcome by an uncontrollable giddiness at the prospect of HP-related happiness and give those overeager Girl Scouts a run for their money on sugar-high excitement. Or maybe that’s just me.

Unfortunately, the only tokens of your trip will be your fond memories, an absurdly overpriced “Muggle” t-shirt, and a creepily accurate Dumbledore action figure—no photography or video allowed. Even if this investigator tried, she would’ve most likely been sharply repelled by a “guard” with a hideously thick (and strained) British accent.

In any case, be sure to give the exhibit a chance. Yes, the cheesiness can be overwhelming at first, the hoards of preteens and (eep!) toddlers with their tired-looking parents will test your patience, and the attempt at “moving pictures” are anticlimactic; but I repeat, IT’S HARRY POTTER. Tell me that being within 10 inches of the Marauder’s Map isn’t flippin’ awesome.

Some things to look out for/creep on (among other amazingness):

• Ron and Harry’s dormitory props. (e.g., beds, sheets, mirror, Chudley Cannon posters—they’re just like us! But don’t touch.  Or caress. Or sniff. It’s not socially acceptable.)
• The Quidditch case filled with the standard two Bludgers, one Quaffle, and the loveable snitch.
• Severus Snape (Alan Rickman)’s deliciously emo, purple robes.
• Actual dressrobes worn by the two Dumbledores—Richard Harris (*sniffle*) and Michael Gambon, respectively.
• Rita Skeeter’s Quick-Quotes Quill and ridiculously fashionable notebooks.
• Hermione Granger (our beloved Emma Watson)’s tacky, hot-pink, frilly mess of a dress from the Yule Ball.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fBNH5rXR38

Kawaii!

If you happened to be near the Yard any time between 3:30 and 4:30pm, chances are you witnessed the spectacle that was the hoard of Japanese students that descended upon our campus and dominated the Kodak moment space in front of our beloved John Harvard.

They migrated through the Yard, flooding the Science Center and creating a bottleneck in the bathroom. But no worries — their smiling faces, dark gray jackets with intricate yellow crests, and knee-high stockings made everything better.

These Sailor Moon-esque schoolchildren made Noice’s day. Visit again, young ‘uns!

Stay tuned for our next installment of Tourist of the Week: In Which The Tourists Become The Toured.

ETA: Another priceless shot.

What started off as a sad plea to “STOP THE COUNTRY MUSIC” and a 10-minute retaliation in the form of loud bursts of reggaeton, Lady Gaga, and “Livin’ on a Prayer” at exactly 10:59pm on a Sunday night, quickly and somewhat unexpectedly turned into a house-wide collaboration to blast music simultaneously from anywhere and everywhere that Dunsterites could. See how the impromptu party began, after the jump.

Sat, Sep 12, 2009 at 7:31 PM
[name redacted]
To: moose-droppings@lists.hcs.harvard.edu

When I get my speakers, I will have my revenge by blasting reggaeton 24/7, just to mess with whoever keeps blasting country in the courtyard…

—-
Sat, Sep 12, 2009 at 8:51 PM
[name redacted]
To: moose-droppings@lists.hcs.harvard.edu

I love video game music

—-

Sun, Sep 13, 2009 at 10:46 PM
[name redacted]
To: moose-droppings@lists.hcs.harvard.edu

I’m going to be literally blasting techno from some 200 watt speakers i got off craigslist--I am planning to run out of my room before it starts to avoid permanent ear damage. Gird your loins!

—-

Thus was born the beautiful (or cacophonous?) Blastfest. This past week’s joint-blasting consisted of Journey, and the world rejoiced.

We all hope in some way or another that this mighty tradition (though still at a young age) will continue. Options for next week’s Blastfest? Current ideas floating around are some Romanian Europop, Lil Wayne, and Noice’s personal favorite, “A Whole New World.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=840B27zYfOk

Courtesy of www.uterwincenter.com

On September 8th, the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) hosted something extraordinary that somehow seemed to have slipped under the radar: a brief chat with Mr. Ricardo Arjona.

For those of you who are not immediately struck by the frenzy usually accompanying a recognition of a world-famous name, Ricardo Arjona is a Grammy Award-winning, Guatemalan singer. He has been recording music for over 20 years now and prides himself in the cambios sociales (or, social change) that he has succeeded in encouraging through his art. As a Cuban American from the hub of Latino culture that is South Florida, I in particular found his presence on campus to be a must-see occurrence. (I also somewhat arrogantly texted all my Latin American friends from back home a hazy, Blackberry-snapped picture to make them aware of my good fortune.)

As I slipped in a couple minutes late to the talk entitled Ricardo Arjona: El Papel del Artista en Promover Cambios Sociales (or Ricardo Arjona: The Role of the Artist in Promoting Social Change) in Sackler Lecture Hall, I was struck by the eloquence and confidence that exuded from his person. He spoke about his experience with music as impetuses for his people to question the circumstances in which they find themselves and to start much-needed discussions on inherent societal problems. His elaboration on these social problems and the solutions he proposed were not what I expected, however: he gave surprisingly general, cookie-cutter answers like “we must educate the masses” and “politicians must learn to walk and talk the center road.” Don’t get me wrong—I definitely see the need for thorough education and perhaps more centrist Latin American politicians, yet I can’t help but think that the area is in dire need of more creative solutions. That might just be the Government concentrator in me talking, though.

Despite my slight disappointment at his political responses, there were several, token gems of the discourse. For example, in an original thought, he urged immigrants from Latin America to the United States to “paint the walls” of their abodes in an effort to make the States feel like home, instead of holding on to that last (sometimes futile) thread of hope of an imminent return to their homelands that tends to weigh down rather than support their dreams. Most strikingly, however, when asked about his approach to music, Arjona mentioned that canciones son fotografías y de allí viene todas las contradiciones que yo celebro (“songs are photographs, and from them come all the contradictions that I celebrate”). Political disagreements aside, I do hope Arjona will continue to inspire the Latino generations to come, as he has to date. If one song can impact one person to do something in favor of improving the lives of millions, that’s all that matters.

Listen: Quiero – Ricardo Arjona