http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEWVwgDnuzE

Haven’t you heard? Youtube is going nuts for this adorably bro-y rendition of Call Me Maybe. This reminds us of that time the Princeton swim team did Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream. We are secretly hoping that this becomes a trend and that other athletic teams will soon hop on-board.

Follow the jump to see the British diving team lip-synching and cartwheeling to Sexy and I Know It. Can you say abs?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bws52wtv6Ts

If they did, then maybe this past week, good ol’ Harvard wouldn’t have topped the Princeton Review’s list of the Top 10 Dream Colleges. We reclaimed our golden spot from Stanford, who took last year’s prize for the most-fawned-over. Other schools making the list include Princeton, Yale, MIT and NYU.

So, despite the travesty of only a second-rate hip hop group coming to perform at our annual festival and the continued absence of hot breakfast, people still think Harvard’s a pretty awesome place to be. Quit your whining, folks.

Yes, we miss it, too. But shut up.

(Photo credit: temeculakoreanbbq.com.)

Real live palm trees!

I am a junior in college and Spring Break 2012 marks the first time that I have ever traveled west of New York State. Before you judge me, though, know that I go all or nothing. As in, for my first trip west, I went all the way to California (and I am SO sorry to anyone who makes that plane trip regularly. Six hours is a long time to sit). To Santa Monica, actually, which is apparently one of the most beautiful cities in America. Not that I’ve seen a whole lot of other cities, but this is what people tell me. Anyway, spring break in Cali…Woooo! Wouldn’t you know that it was warmer in Cambridge than in Santa Monica for EVERY SINGLE DAY that I was out there for break. Hrmpf.

zomg it's the circus.

But whatever, the point is that I was in the illustrious California for the first time ever and that was awesome sauce just on its own. I have to assume that I stuck out as an east-coaster, though, based on my total lack of understanding of, well, basically anything out there. The west coast is not part of the United States (as I know it). It’s another planet. Here are a few gems that stuck out about the Santa Monica/LA/Beverly Hills area:

1. Everybody jogs. Like seriously, everyone. And at all hours of the day. I was also out there on the day of the LA Marathon and I’ve never felt like such a slug as when I was surrounded by a horde of super-fit people wearing “I finished the marathon!” capes and grinning like over-exercised labradors.
2. Everyone has a tiny dog. Sometimes, people carry them in purses. I thought that only movie stars and Paris Hilton (yes, that’s two different categories) did that.
3. All of the women are blonde, tall, and skinny. All of the men are burly, tan, and dashing. Not a single person “could use some sun.”
4. Ladies will wear Uggs in sixty-degree weather. Apparently, that’s “cold.”
5. Parking doesn’t make any sense. 50% of parking is in expensive garages/lots, 40% is valet, and the other 10% consists of meters that are never empty anyway.
6. California really likes frozen yogurt. I thought Harvard Square was cool because we have 2 vendors, but Santa Monica sort of beat us out on that one. Smoothies, too.
7. Everyone is really cheery. Apparently growing up where the sun shines constantly will do that for you.
8.  –>
   

   California goes hardcore on the seaweed.

West-coasters, what was your first impression of Cambridge/the east coast? Did you feel as out of place as I felt going the other way?

Sources confirm that the third act will be a student band decided after a “battle of the bands”-esque contest.

If you don’t know who Das Racist is, we would suggest you get acquainted because they are awesome and they are going to be at Yardfest this year.

This is one of their classics:

We wonder who else will be there?

The Crimson’s annual selection of “15 Hottest Freshmen” is an annual target of ridicule and mockery by the bored blogosphere. (Hey, we don’t call it “Harvard hot” for no reason!) While Boston, the place we call “home” and our stock reply to the question: “Where do you go to school?,” doesn’t fare any better. Last year, GQ Magazine named Boston the worst dressed city in America, calling it the country’s “Bad-Taste Storm Sewer: all the worst fashion ideas from across the country flow there, stagnate, and putrefy.” Cambridge also earned a (dis)honorable mention as the “modest little burg” where “everyone dresses like the proprietor of his or her very own meth lab.” Ouch. (But are we really surprised?)

(Mr. John B. Thompson of GQ, if you happen to be reading this, we’d love to meet you. Major hearts.)

This coming week, Harvard’s fashion-related student organizations have teamed up to organize the first ever Harvard Fashion Week. The purpose, evidently, is beautifying the campus and changing the perception that the typical Harvard male spends most of his collegiate career in sweats as his female counterpart prances around in leggings-as-pants, a Northface, and Uggs.

Follow the jump for the listing of events of Harvard Fashion Week, sponsored by Eleganza2012, Identities 2012, the Vestis Council, and the South Asian Association.

Wednesday, March 21st | Identities: Showing of “The September Issue” in Harvard Hall 201 @ 7:30pm

Thursday, March 22nd | Vestis Council: Blog Relaunch Party in Adams UCR @ 9pm

Friday, March 23rd | SAA’s Andaaz: A South Asian Fashion Show in Cabot Theater @ 8pm

Saturday, March 24th | Eleganza: Rent the Runway Trunk Show in Adams UCR @ 2pm

You should go to at least one of these, if not for the free drinks, then for the opportunity to hang out with the hot people of Harvard. See, we didn’t even put that in quotation marks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8GWvcTscZs

(Source: SBNation.)

#besthandshakeever

Now that we’ve sounded just a little needy and insecure, here’s the Harvard Good Guy meme to make us all feel a little less pretentious. A little sweet to go with the sour, if you will.

Get it here while it’s fresh. (We hope) this one’s bound to blow up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=170xV1inVhw

Event is Saturday, February 25th.  Be sure to pick up a ticket fast, because Cultural Rhythms sells out every year.

However, something miraculous happened the next Tuesday. Excited chatter echoed throughout Annenberg. After receiving multiple texts about the event, I immediately rushed to the Berg. I weaved my way to the center table, wondering, “Could it be?”  Yes, it was true – Annenberg had fresh fruit. Freshmen swarmed the table, startled by the fruit salad, blueberries, grapes, pineapples, and strawberries. These items felt so foreign and valuable. I piled my plate with pineapple and skeptically surveyed the hall – what was going on?

It turns out these weren’t one-time inexplicable events. Spring semester has breathed new life into the dining halls. Trying to create more diverse selection of meals, HUDS has tweaked their menu and added exciting new options.

Here are just a few of the new items to check out:

1. Make-Your-Own Korean Barbecue
2. Fresh Fruit Tuesdays
3. New fro-yo flavors (Wild blueberry and pomegranate? Wild is right.)
4. Muffin Make-Over (Fewer calories and more exciting flavors like Orange-Cranberry.)
5. More vegetarian options

If all of this is too much for you to handle, don’t fret – there will always be Tofu Parmesan and Obscure Chickpea Mush to make you remember the value of a home-cooked meal.