Author Archives: Charlotte

The audience is alive…with the Sound of Music

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I had never been to a movie at the theater where being loud was encouraged, not frowned upon, until this past Saturday when I went to the Sing-a-long Sound of Music at Cornell Cinema.

Instead of watching trailers before the movie started, one of the staff members led us in a warm up to get our voices ready and quizzed us on lyrics.  We then learned what to do with the goodie bag we were handed when we entered the theater.  We were instructed to wave the plastic white flowers during the song “Edelweiss”, pop the party popper at the exact moment when Maria and Captain Von Trapp kiss, and wave flashcards with different words and pictures on them during other songs.  In addition, we were told to chant “Maria! Maria! Maria!” as the camera zooms in on her after minutes of scenery shots, “hiss” the Baroness when she appears on screen, use hand motions during the song “Doe, a dear…”, the list goes on.

I thought the enthusiasm would die out by the end, given that the movie is three hours long, but the audience kept with the motions, props, and singing the whole time.  I’ve been watching the Sound of Music since I was a child, and my elementary school chorus sung the songs one year, so I know all the words, but I had no idea that so many people loved the Sound of Music!  It was truly impressive to hear the whole theater belting out “My favorite things,” “I am 16, going on 17”, and of course, “The Sound of Music.”

This event was very fun, and I learned that Denise was in a production of the Sound of Music, so she really knows all the words!  I highly recommend going to a film/musical with audience participation if you haven’t been to one yet!

Advice from a film maker

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This evening, I went to the Dinner Conversation with Marshall Curry, a documentary film maker who has won awards at film festivals and was nominated for an Oscar.  I love watching movies and I have always been amazed by documentaries in particular because the film maker does not have complete control of what happens like in other genres of movies, but they instead have to be willing to change their plan entirely based on the footage they get.

I found Mr. Curry’s story very inspiring.  He had wanted to make documentaries for a while, but he always thought of being a documentary maker as unrealistic of a goal as being the quarterback of a professional football team.  Finally, he told himself he would just give it a try, so he took a leave of absence from work and set about making his first film, Street Fight.  Never having made a film before or gone to film school, Mr. Curry bought a camera and started filming.  After shooting 200 hours of video, he took a weekend class on using editing software and then single-handedly edited the 200 hours down to 120 minutes and formed a cohesive story.  He then worked with a professional to get it down to 82 minutes.  It was with this first documentary that he was nominated for an Oscar.

While I do not intend to make documentaries in the future, some of the lessons Marshall Curry has learned through his experience with film making can apply to anyone.  First of all, he told us that anything you make is not going to perfect the first time and you can’t expect it to be.  Just put down your ideas and then use iterative improvement until you’re satisfied.  And secondly, it is important to be comfortable with failure, because it is through failure that you improve your skills.

Marshall Curry shared a fascinating story about his path to becoming a film maker and the skills he has learned along the way.  I am very glad I attended this dinner conversation.

Take a Break

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This event was lots of fun and allowed me to step away from my work and do something I love: carving pumpkins.  As a kid, I carved pumpkins every year with my family, so when I saw the workshop description I knew I wanted to attend it.

In addition to carving pumpkins, we heard from Sarah Rubenstein-Gillis who is a counselor for CAPS at Gannett.  She told us that carving pumpkins is a great use of our time because it is important to de-stress and do something relaxing regularly to stay emotionally healthy.  She also informed us of the wide selection of resources on campus to help students deal with large and small issues.  I had heard about all the resources before (Let’s Talk, CAPS, etc.), but what I didn’t realize, was that you don’t have to have a huge problem to seek out these resources.  They are open to everyone, with any problem that they want to talk to someone about, no matter how small.

Take away message from this event:  Don’t forget to do something you enjoy regularly.  You’re not a machine.  You have to take a break from work sometimes.

Adaptability

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Last Thursday I attended the Dinner Conversation with Michael Belkin and was struck by the challenges app developers face.  Years of work can go into creating the perfect app and launching it, but unlike other new products which are patented, software is different.  As soon as an app comes out, others can replicate it and sell it at a cheaper price.  It is possible to patent a specific algorithm, but there are many ways in computer science to solve the same problem, so even if another developer is not using the patented algorithm, they can still create a very similar product.  Plus, anyone who knows how to code can figure out how to create an app, so new ones are coming out everyday.

Even though this creates a difficult atmosphere for developers with new ideas like Michael Belkin, it enables people to build off others ideas and make improvements to apps that wouldn’t have been possible if there were strict patents.  Without this environment, we would have nowhere near the wide selection of apps we have to choose from today.

Mr. Belkin also mentioned that although his app, a social networking app for the LGBT community, was intended for adults, the people using the app are primarily teenagers.  His team had been planning a launch for the app, but the day before it was supposed to occur, a reporter asked if Mr. Belkin would talk about why his app was rated age 12+ (Apple initially rated it 17+ but Michael Belkin’s team petitioned it).  Although Mr. Belkin’s reasoning was that he didn’t want his app to be exclusive, but rather open to all, the article that was published made it seem like the intended user group was teenagers.  Teenagers began purchasing the app, to Mr. Belkin’s surprise, and he was forced to adapt.  He advised us that as an entrepreneur, you must be willing to change your ideas and strategies because it is impossible to know exactly how the public will react to your product.

Lyon Hall – More than just a dorm

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Everyday I walk down the slope and open the heavy door to enter Lyon Hall, I see the sign that says “War Memorial” but I’ve never understood how a dorm could be a memorial.  Today, as part of the Rose Behind the Scenes Tour, I learned about the the memorial I’ve been living in for the past month and a half and I now have a new appreciation for Lyon.

The two towers (Lyon and McFaddin) and the archway leading onto West Campus were built to honor the Cornell students who lost their lives serving in WWI.  The names of all these students are engraved on the interior walls of the arch.  If you walk inside Lyon Hall, there are two mysterious doors to the left, which do not lead to dorm rooms and are locked most of the year.  On the tour, we were able to see the Memorial Room which lies behind these locked doors.

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The construction of the memorial was organized by the secret society Quill and Dagger, who occupy the top of the Lyon hall tower and have their own elevator (I wish I had an elevator to take me up the 6 flights of stairs)!  No one is allowed to see the “sanctuary” at the top of the tower while they still could be chosen to be in the secret society (members are chosen at the beginning of their senior year).  So if you want to see it, I know I do, you just have to wait until your senior year after the Cornell Daily Sun publishes the names of members, find one of them, and get them to take you up!

 

400 years of mistreatment

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I learned about the first Thanksgiving, Pocahontas, and the Trail of Tears in school, but that was sadly pretty much the extent of my knowledge about American Indians before attending the Becker-Rose House Cafe this past Wednesday with Professor Cheyfitz.  I was shocked by the immense challenges that American Indians still face, as they attempt to protect their culture and I am interested in taking one of Prof. Cheyfitz’ courses in the future.

Even though American Indians were here first, they have no land they can call their own.  The US recognizes tribes as “Domestic Dependent Nations” but even the name undermines their sovereignty.  Many Indians live on reservations, but these are crime ridden, and overwhelmed by poverty.  Murder rates are high and one in three women living on reservations is raped at least once during her lifetime.  Only 9% of Indians receive 4 year college degrees compared to the 29% of the total US population.

It was saddening to hear about the terrible ways our country has treated American Indians throughout our history and the conditions that they live in today.  The US has taken land from Indians, prevented them from receiving medicine and vaccinations, and attempted to destroy their culture but kidnapping children and taking them to boarding schools, among other hideous crimes.  I was surprised to learn that Cornell sits on land taken from the Cayuga People, but the administration has refused to acknowledged this, even after repeated requests from Prof. Cheyfitz and others to mention it at Convocation or Graduation.  Prof. Cheyfitz’ talk was an eye-opening experience to the struggles that pervade the lives of American Indians.

Evolution of a Centuries-Old Practice

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Growing apples.  It seems simple, right?  You plant a seed, it grows into a tree, you pick the apples, and then you sell them.  But its not that simple at the Cornell Orchards, or for that matter, at any of the commercial orchards across the country.

We started our tour of the Orchards at the old apple trees planted a hundred years ago when the orchard was just starting; big trees you could sit under and enjoy the shade.  But the trees that make up the majority of the Orchard look entirely different.  I never would have imagined that the best apples would come from a twig-like tree growing 3 feet from a neighbor on either side.  These odd-looking plants allow the sun to reach the fruit, producing higher quality apples that can be sold as table fruit for more money than apples from the larger trees.

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I was struck by the complexity of an seemingly simple operation.  It all starts with the breeding of the apples to create the perfect combination of flavor, texture, resistance to disease and pests, and storability.  Cornell has invented many apples over the years, including the well-known Empire, and recently came out with two new varieties: Snap Dragon and Ruby Frost.  In addition to creating new types of apples, creating perfect trees is just as important.  By grafting, pruning, watering, and spraying, the Orchards is able to grow excellent quality apples in high quantities.  Once picked, some apples are processed into apple cider while others are sold or stored for the spring (they can keep up to 10 months in a room with carbon dioxide and little oxygen!).  From the breeding to the selling of the apples, the apple production system is far from simple, and I know I will appreciate each bite of that Empire I pick up at the dining hall a bit more knowing all the research and hard work that went into getting it there.