While some basked in the sun on the beach of some tropical paradise or lounged on the couch in front of Jersey Shore reruns, spring sport athletes were getting off to the start of their seasons and getting important preseason and out-of conference games under their belt. Many had the luxury of competing in warm arenas such as California, Georgia, and Texas, and were able to get a little taste of the weather they wished they could compete in year-round. In addition, some winter sport athletes kept their seasons going with trips to NCAA tournaments, and many gathered honors at these events.

Post-Season Athletics

Men’s Basketball

After a heartbreaking loss to Princeton for sole possession of the Ivy League Championship, Harvard men’s basketball sought to continue their season in the NIT tournament on March 15th, but fell to Oklahoma State in the first round. Losing 54-71, it was no close contest, but the men’s team did finish with league recognition of Keith Wright, Kyle Casey, and Christian Webster.

Wrestling

Harvard wrestling had two members go on the the NCAA Championships at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA March 17-19th. Steven Keith wrangled out one win in the 125 pound weight class before his series was cut-short. Keith finishes his sophomore campaign with a 23-17 overall record and a 1-2 mark at his second NCAA Championships. While Keith’s run for All-America honors ended before arriving at his goal, Walter Peppelman managed a seventh place match and won All-America honors as Harvard’s 25th All-American wrestler–the 17th in the last 7 years. Another impressive point to add to Peppelman’s accomplishments from the tournament is that he was the only wrestler in the tournament that managed to turn No. 1 seed of Boise State, Adam Hall, for backpoints twice in a single match.

Click for the full Spring Sports update

Ig Nobel Winners and Nobel Laureates show that they are capable of standing up

So  something awesome and bacteria-themed happened on September 30, 2010, at Sanders Theater, at approximately 7:38 p.m., eight minutes after schedule.  Every year, the people behind the Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) host the Ig Nobel Awards as a response to less prestigious awards ceremonies to celebrate research that “makes you laugh, then think [how the fuck did they get money for this?]”  Past Ig Nobel awards have been given to the likes of Kees Moeliker, a Dutch scientist who discovered homosexual necrophilia in ducks (Biology, 2003), and Shigeru Watanabe, Junko Sakamoto, and Masumi Wakita, of Keio University, for teaching pigeons how to tell Monet and Picasso paintings apart (Psychology, 1995).  The awards are presented by

bemused Nobel Laureates.

This year, new inductees to the venerable group include Italian scientists who mathematically proved that it’s more efficient for organizations to promote people at random (Management), American scientists who showed that microbes do indeed adhere to beards (Public Health), and a Chinese-English team that documented fellatio in fruit bats (Biology).  If you want actually know the names of these people and see pictures of people with lots of facial hair, check out the website.

Between awards presentations, there was an opera about bacteria, paper plane throwing, and a chance to win a date with a Nobel Laureate.

Also, AMANDA FUCKING PALMER of Dresden Dolls fame, presented the actual awards (a petri dish glued to what appeared to be a piece of cardboard) and performed as a musical guest as the left half of music duo Evelyn Evelyn, which sang a song about elephants.  And then another one about bacteria.

On very short notice, acclaimed actor Aaron Eckhart came to speak to Harvard through an HUTV event regarding a new film he worked on with his brother. He spoke eloquently about the nature of acting, the business, and his experiences over the years. Offering advice to aspiring directors, actors, screenwriters, and those simply interested in his work. Overall, it was a really great event.

[Also I fangirled out and ran to the front row when they made it available and, yes, he is that attractive in person. Did he look at me? Yes. Did we have a pseudo-conversation? Yes. Did we get married with our eyes? Absolutely.]

This Thursday at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum in the Kennedy School of Government you can go to see Lt. Dan Choi speak about his work in the grassroots movement to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Following his arrest last week in front of the White House for Civil Disobedience, a.k.a protest, he is continuing his tour around the country to spread the message of his aims to get the policy removed.

Choi was discharged from the National Guard after publicly stating, “I am gay,” on The Rachel Maddow Show in March of 2009 following his recent tour of duty in Iraq. The presentation is called Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell–Truth and Consequences: One Man’s Quest to Openly Serve His Country. The event takes place at 6 pm and is unticketed.

Sexologist with plush vulva puppet.

Voice Vixen here, reporting on the Female Orgasm Seminar which took place this past Friday night. Content warning, the following does acknowledge the existence of sex and is textually NSFW.

6:45 So this thing hasn’t started yet and already Science Center C is a writing mass of hot bodies, packed front to back with Harvard Students who apparently want to know the ins and outs of the female orgasm. There is a table up front arrayed with various sex toys ranging from purple to pink to… pinker. I’ve picked up a raffle ticket, wish me luck!

6:46: A group of guys sitting behind me can’t seem to say the word clitoris without whispering. One of them says he hopes to hear about some “serious technique.” I suppress judgement, it seems clear that boys of Harvard could really use the help.

6:55 It IS SO LOUD IN HERE. It’s almost like every person in the room is having a really intelligibly vocal orgasm. Rabble rabble rabble!

Read the rest of this entry »

At Harvard, that is.

Half of the campus might be harboring a crush on David J. Malan ’99, but the course that he lectures, CS50, is actually churning out awesome applications that might make your life at Harvard that much easier. Check them out!

Shuttleboy: Never miss that shuttle again! Arguably one of the most famous and loved “boys” on campus, the web-based application that tracks the time and duration of trips for all of Harvard’s shuttles also features text-messaging and voice-calling options. Text: Sboy [first 3 letters of origin] [first 3 letters of destination] to 41411 for a list of departure times. For instance, if you want to go from Boylston gate to the Quad, text: Sboy boy qua to 41411. Or call 617-BUG-CS50 (617-284-2750), and select option 1 to talk to an automated machine. Or just access the URL. My friend prefers calling shuttleboy than the actual Harvard shuttle operator because “i don’t have to talk to a real person!”

HarvardEnergy: A detailed ranking of how “green” Harvard residential houses and dorms are, according to a multitude of categories like Carbon Dioxide emission, usage of electricity, etc. By measurement of CO2, Currier is the greenest house (how appropriate! It is called the Tree House for a reason), while Leverett is the least environmentally friendly. Clearly, Harvard’s largest house is only about quantity. Among the freshman dormitories, Matthews is the greenest and Canaday is the least green.

HarvardEvents: A comprehensive list of the gazillion (literally) events that are happening on all of Harvard’s 12 campuses, including everything from cultural nights, to parties, to the most random shindig like the Harvard Breakers’ Initiation. It also has a function that allows you to add all the events directly to your iCal, GCal or whatever else people use these days to schedule classes, functions and bedtimes into their lives. You’ll never miss a mixer with hot law school students again!

HarvardMaps: Like Google Maps, but specifically for Harvard.

HarvardNews: A comprehensive list of all news articles and blog entries that are written across the University campus. All Harvard publications and blogs, including the Voice, the Crimson, Harvard Gazette, and graduate school publications, are included. It is updated simultaneously as the article gets published!

HarvardTweets: Twitter updates from every Harvard-related person who is on Twitter, from Niall Ferguson to the IOP JFK Jr. Forum (Secretary of Homeland Security was at the IOP today!). Contact CS50 to get your name on the list!

HarvardIdeas: Clearly, CS50 has a solution for virtually any issue on campus. If you have any suggestion (like a Harvard Sports website perhaps?), use the link and drop them a line! An anonymous idea reads: “Add an option on harvard college facebook to allow us to search by room #.” I have no words.

Also worth checking out are some of its students’ projects: CrimsonList , CrimsonDining, Rover, and of course I Saw You Harvard (i’m curious how the Senior Bar episode goes!)

(Image courtesy of Google Images)

Next Wednesday (April 21st) around noon on the lawn of the Science Center, in honor of Gaypril, Joel (A Winthrop F Entryway tutor) is organizing a Public Kiss-In with the motivation of “kiss[ing] against homophobia.” He has established a website for the event which you can access here. In his open letter to Winthrop and numerous other lists it’s clear that all are welcome to participate.