Author Archives: sv397

Nanette

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The writing was brilliant and it had excellent callbacks. I loved the way she combined art history and comedy. Separating the art from the artist is a conversation I’ve heard a lot about recently especially in light of the Cosby case and what that means for reruns of the Cosby show. Using Picasso as her example, Gadsby argues that the flaws of the artist bleed into the art and that is an extension of who they are, so it is naturally hard to separate the two. I really liked the point she made here, because by separating their actions you’re validating or glorifying them. Picasso is a perfect example of that. I had no idea that Picasso had affairs with underage girls until this special. I had always just thought and heard of him as a revolutionary artist, but hearing those details of his personal life made me question that and see his work differently. Highly recommend watching the special!

 

Star Child

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I think this was the first time I had to google what I saw after the movie. This was a confusing but at times interesting film. I think the AI part of the movie was definitely revolutionary for its time considering the amount of work that is going into it today. I don’t know if it’s possible for AI to ever become that advanced, but it’s certainly plausible that an AI computer could make a mistake which could end up being lethal. Another apparent theme was man vs machine/tool. In the initial scenes, we see the gorillas use tools as a way to advance themselves over the other tribes. As time passes, there is an increasing reliance on tools as the tools become more advanced. Ultimately, the very thing they created is what leads to their death.

You Will Rise

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Speaking with the artists that worked on the art piece in Rose Dining definitely made me appreciate the work a lot more. The piece was drawn on paper-mached maps and featured the portraits of several young women and men. I thought it was interesting that the colors were chosen by the health and wellness center, so that they would be uplifting. The piece featured a lot of turquoise, lavender and yellow tones. It was incredible to see how every detail was carefully chosen and thought out; from the colors to the material of the canvas. The maps represent our various paths to our present identity while the arrows show our interconnectedness. I hope they come again to do another piece next year!

They also spoke briefly about their anti-bullying project (You Will Rise) which gives people a platform to showcase their art. I don’t do a lot of art, but I think it’s a great cause and all of the art they showed looked beautiful.

Face Tats and Coat Racks

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While the topic of sexual assault cases is not talked about much, I was surprised that in 40 years there were no changes in the rates of sexual assault. I really liked the river analogy Laura used about trying to focus on the upstream issues in the community rather than pulling and helping out the victims downstream. While there definitely should be resources put towards the latter, there should also be attempts made to change the overall culture so more cases do not occur. Currently, a lot of attempts are focused on education through videos or lectures. These approaches can be seen as victimizing and I have seen a lot of people be turned away from them.

Laura’s approach is definitely more promising, I think it is more subtle and people will be more open to it. I hope there’s a follow-up talk about the results and if any improvements have been seen.

Making Chocolate Healthy

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It was great meeting Ben and learning about his company Five North Chocolate. I’ve always wondered about what it would be like to start your own company. Overall, it seems like a lot of work, but it is also rewarding. For me, I think the hardest part would be coming up with an idea that is marketable and something other people would want to buy. Ben’s story behind his company was equally interesting. It was cool that he went from making chocolate in his dorm to starting his own chocolate company. I also liked how he touched on some of his struggles along the way like getting supermarkets to promote your product. I had no idea how hard it was to get supermarkets to sell your product. This probably explains why there aren’t many new chocolate brands hitting the shelves other than the usual Mars, Nestle brands.

I would also highly recommend the chocolate! The flavor combinations are tasty and definitely do not taste like you’re eating dark chocolate.

Can I be a leader?

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This was definitely an interesting seminar. We first started by associating qualities we value and don’t value into categories. Then we narrowed it down to the 5 most important qualities to us. I noticed a lot of mine were centered around friends and family. Since coming to Cornell, I think my appreciation and respect for my friends and family back home and here has increased, because I often rely on them for support during difficult times in the semester. We then talked about important qualities of a leader and what we think makes a leader a good leader. I’ve always thought of good leaders as people that are respected by and inspiring to others. Some people that I think are good leaders are Tom Brady, Elon Musk and Michelle Obama. After our discussion, I realized that you don’t necessarily need to respect and love them on a character basis for them to be a good leader. Often, their ability to make good decisions and have enough forethought is enough.

We ended our discussion with 5 traits of an ideal Cornell student. It was interesting that the student we came up with did not seem like a fun student. Some of the main traits were passion, knowledge and responsibility. We ended up ruling out a lot of traits like humor, empathy and being adventurous. It was hard to narrow it down to 5, since people are a mix of so many more, but I think these are present in everyone.

PAO

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Wow, what a showcase. The Bhangra performances were very colorful and energetic. This was my first time at Pao Bhangra and it did not disappoint. All of the dances were amazing and very intricate. There was a lot of jumps and high steps and they had various props they used alongside their formations. There was a mix of English and Bollywood music. I also love that they had samosas and mango lassi at their intermission. I definitely will be going to the next one!

There’s 2 Helen Newmans?

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The Cornell’s women’s basketball game vs Brown was great. We missed the 1st quarter however, because we thought the game was in Helen Newman Hall on north campus. Turns out there is a Newman Arena in Bartels Hall. After a lot of walking, we finally made it to the right one! We were in the lead most of the game, but there was a moment in the 4th quarter where Brown made an attempt at a comeback. My favorite part of the game by far was the half-time show. A junior biddy or elementary school girls team came to scrimmage. They were adorable in their oversized jerseys and pennies. It was an intense scrimmage even though no points were scored. There were so full of energy and it reminded me of when I used to play basketball. Any time anyone got the ball, all the other players would swarm them and there was a lot of handoff passes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the game and it made me want to see other Cornell teams. This was my first Cornell basketball game. I don’t go to many Cornell athletic events other than the annual Homecoming game and the occasional hockey game, but this definitely made me want to check out more!

Test Anxiety

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The talk with Dr. Katrina was definitely helpful especially during Finals week. I often have test anxiety in the forms of appetite loss and not being able to fall asleep. One of the big things I took away was establishing a routine before exams to help calm myself. During finals week, I tried getting food before my exams as part of my routine and doing something other than study. It definitely worked for my early morning exams. Another big takeaway for me was that it was nice to know that other people have similar experiences with test anxiety and it made me more comfortable to talk about it.