Memphis!!!

I went to see Memphis and it was a really great musical! It would have to be one of my favorites! The actors were terrific. It was the story in the 1950s in Tennessee of a white man who plays "black" music for a radio station and falls in love with a black woman who sings very well. It was a very beautiful love story along with awesome musical talents and dancing. It was very funny as well. I would love to see this again some time and I think it is a great play for all.

Growing Matters Gardening Experience

A month ago, I went on a gardening excursion with one other Humanities Scholar and several Art Scholars.  I met some cool people, got to enjoy the sunshine, and helped out in a big way.  We worked at the Hoover Y Garden, which is a huge garden that teaches people about sustainability and natural foods and is owned and operated by Growing Matters and Local Matters.  We were the first group to volunteer for the growing season so we got to dig up all the weeds and clean out the garden, which was surprisingly relaxing and quite enjoyable.  My arms were slightly sore the next day, but it was definitely worth it.  I recommend helping this organization in the future if you have the opportunity.  It is a great group of people with a great cause and I will definitely be volunteering there in the future.

GoBuckeye Day

About a month ago, tons of prospective students came to OSU on GoBuckeye Day.  It is one of the biggest recruitment days for the university and I got the opportunity to show my dorm room, along with my three roommates.  I had a blast and I loved interacting with all the students.  It was easy to see how nervous and scared they were to, but we made them feel right at home and answered all their questions.  It made me realize how far we all have come in just a year.  I used to be those kids, scared and worried about fitting in, but OSU, Humanities Scholars, and all the awesome friends I have made have showed me that it is okay to be yourself.  I hope we helped these prospective students start their life journeys in the right direction too. 

Water for Elephants

I was unable to attend the Water for Elephants Event due to a midterm, but I watched it with my roommates earlier that week and had a small discussion. I found the film very well done and was impressed with the acting.  More importantly, the plot line was really good and interesting.

Water for Elephants was originally a historical novel and then was turned into a movie last year.  I found it most interesting that the movie told a story from the eyes of the male character. It also discussed some major themes, more than just love, including animal and marital abuse. In that time period, marital and animal abuse wasn’t looked down upon.  This plays to the fact that we have come so far in such a short period of time.

Water for Elephants Movie

The Water For Elephants movie was pretty good however I didn't like how they changed some things. For instance, Uncle Al was not in the movie at all. He was the owner of the Circus, not August. Also, Reese Witherspoon, though a great actress, was way older than Marlena was supposed to be. I laughed at the scene where she said, where were you when I was 17. Clearly, Jacob, in real life, was not born yet. She was too old for this role but other than that, it was a good movie to watch.

Flag Wars Film and Discussion

I watched the Flag Wars film and honestly I was confused at first but it was very interesting. I learned a lot about gentrification and I think I became more aware of this issue. It was a very touching film and I felt really educated about this type of issue. However, the movie is of course going to be bias and it showed the opposing people as drunks and careless that they made you feel no sorrow for them. Nonetheless, gentrification goes on and it is a strong issue. It is wrong no matter what.

1st Year Bowling

I went bowling with the Humanities and PSL scholars. It was pretty fun. I did however think this was to be a fun get together of bowling until those crazy competitive PSLers turned it into a competition. Nonetheless, I still continued to see this as fun and exciting. I even bowled a Turkey. It was a great trip and I met a lot of different people. I'd love to do it again sometime.

Water For Elephants

I was unable to make it to the viewing of Water for Elephants so my roommates and I had our own vewing party and discussion.  It was the first time I had seen the movie and it was very different from what I thought it would be.  I've never actually been to a curcius but I've always wanted to go.  The beginning of this movie made me want to go more than ever; however, by the end of the movie I had different thoughts. The movie follows the journey of a newly orphaned Jacob who finds himself unemployed and homeless during the Great Depression.  He jumps on a circus train and gets a job as a vet for the animals aboard even though he never graduated from vet school.  He befriends many of the other circus preformers and falls for the ring master's wife.  Their circus is losing money and not exactly the most legit establishment.  In hopes of saving the circus the ring master buys a elephant.  When the elephant misbehaves or doesnt do as it is asked the ring master violently beats it.  These parts of the movie where very hard to watch.  Jacob and the ring masters wife have an affair and the ring master finds out.  However, Jacob and Marleina escape only to be recaptured by the ring master.  But it all ends up alright because in the end the circus preformers get back at the ring master for having their friends killed by letting all the animals loose during a preformance.  Ironically the elephant ends up killing the ring master. which is a bit far fetched if you ask me. and marleana and Jacob live happily ever after with an elephant... The movie was good, dont get me wrong, it was just a little too sappy and predictable for my taste.

Minute to Win It

I attended the humanities minute to win it competition earlier in the quarter.  It was so much fun.  It was nice to do something simple for once.  My favorite games was the one where you had to flip a plastic cup on top of a pop bottle.  No matter how hard I tried I couldn't complete the Oreo challenge, I probably tried about 14 times.  I hope the humanities scholars keeps the minute to win it competition for next year because it was a blast to compete against my fellow humanities scholars.

Santa Maria Ship Tour

On Saturday the 12th, I went with a small group to visit the replica of Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria. I was really surprised by how small the ship was, considering it was the ship Columbus himself sailed on and chose as the lead ship. We were led through the deck and the hull of the ship as our guide explained how the sailors would have lived and sailed across the Atlantic to discover the new world. Returning to the size of the ship, it turns out the Santa Maria was actually the smallest of the three ships and wasn't even actually designed for exploration, and had to be torn apart on Christmas Eve when it hit land and was damaged beyond repair. The 39 people who Columbus had to leave behind before returning for them a year later disappeared and I found that interesting, because I never knew (or simply didn't remember) that such a tragedy occurred. Overall, this was a great experience and it definitely taught me I won't be exploring the seas any time soon!

Flag Wars: Olde Towne East Tour

Today I attended the Olde Towne East Tour around the Columbus area and it was a really great experience.  We met at a gallery that housed dozens of pieces of African art, and spoke with a resident featured in the film Flag Wars.  We discussed the effects and benefits of gentrification and heard from a few speakers about a coalition aimed against the destruction of one of the oldest communities in the country.  It was so interesting to hear about other perspectives in regards to the re-development of the poorer areas of the city and I wished more people attended because it was a really cool experience.  Students who want to get involved should join ReImagine OSU because one of its goals is to protect these old communities-which house hundreds of families-from demolition.

Falstaff Opera

This is a bit late, but on Friday, May 4, I went to see Falstaff with some of my fellow scholars. I have to admit, I'm usually not the biggest opera fan. This time, though, I was laughing and enjoying myself for all 2 and a half hours. The opera, which was in Italian, tells the story of Sir John Falstaff (played by Todd Thomas), who can been seen as somewhat of a drunken womanizer. He runs out of money and decides to seduce two wealthy women, Alice Page and Meg Ford. They both find out about the other and decide to trick Falstaff into humiliating himself, which they do quite well. The ending was sort of strange, with lots of dancing in fairy costumes and monks and witches. It's the sort of performance that you would just have to see for yourself to fully understand. In any case, I enjoyed it!

Stewart O'Nan

On Tuesday, Stewart O'Nan, who is a novelist, came to the Wexner Center.  He read from a couple of his books, including Snow Angels, Songs for the Missing, and a response he wrote to the articles published every Sunday in his hometown of teenagers who had died in car crashes.  He has very beautiful and poetic language, which is something I appreciate in small doses, but I often find reading an entire book in this manner is difficult.  He also writes on darker subejects, as someone is shot in Snow Angels and a girl is potentially kidnapped in Songs for the Missing.

He said in his question and answer section that he likes to write books about impossible situations.  Once he has created this impossible situation, he then explores how a character can possibly survive in this situation.  He talked about one of his books about a man who was the sheriff, priest and undertaker of a small town.  When a plauge of sorts hits the village, he finds himself in an impossible situation because, in order to help people, he has to do some bad thigns.  So the question becomes, is it better to help people in the wrong way, or do the right thing and let people suffer?

-Sarah Barringer

38th Annual Medieval and Renaissance Faire

I enjoyed going to the Renaissance Faire on the South Oval. One of my good friends was in it, so that made going to the event even better. I liked people watching because there were so many people in Renaissance costumes. Many of them were handmade. I watched two performances, a jester show and a dance. There were many vendors including, "Gardenia's Garb", "The Goblin Trader", and "Twisted Gypsy Braid". They sold renaissance clothing, jewelry, artworks, and even had Henna. They had food such as turkey legs, funnel cakes, and even fried pickles. I'm looking forward to going again next year!