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Author Archives: Julia Bumke

If you want to get on Facebook, Tigers, you're gonna have to get through this guy first. (source: wikipedia.org)

It’s common knowledge that midterm week is conspiring to kill our souls (while maiming cute puppies and taunting us with beautiful weather, of course). But lo and behold, the internet can save us, Tigers! Steve Lambert (picture at left) has created a program called “Self Control” that will block you from Facebook, Twitter, your email, or any other sites that provide procrastinating pleasure. It works for up to twelve hours, and here’s the catch: once you’ve pressed “Start,” there’s no way to stop the clock. You can quit out of the application, restart your computer, scream profanities at it at the top of your lungs… nothing doing. It’s iron-clad. And, as the week’s slogged on, I have become an increasingly devoted fan, despite the sadness of seeing this screen every five minutes:

So go ahead and try it. If you dare…

Mar 9, 2010

“Self Control” (What a Silly Concept)

By Julia Bumke

Posted in Goings On Tagged Facebook, midterms, self-control One comment

MOLLY BREAN ‘13, TRIANGLE CLUB’S NEW BUSINESS MANAGER, LOVES BENT SPOON CUPCAKES, DRINKS HER DR. PEPPER IN AN IV, AND REALLY, REALLY WANTS TO MAIM THOSE BOZOS WHO PRACTICE THEIR INSTRUMENTS IN THE DORMS…

Name: Molly Brean

Age: 18 Major: Undeclared, but probably Slavic Languages and Literatures

Hometown: Pittsburgh

Eating club/residential college/affiliation: Rockefeller

Name: Molly Brean

Age: 18

Major: Undeclared, but probably Slavic Languages and Literatures

Hometown: Pittsburgh

Eating club/residential college/affiliation: Rockefeller

21 Questions With…Molly Brean ‘13

By Julia Bumke

Posted in 21 Questions Tagged bent spoon, Princeton Triangle Club, scarfing One comment

(source: oscars.org)

The Oscars are upon us, Tigers! I know you all would like nothing better than to waste all your waking hours on the NYTimes Carpetbagger blog (for the uninitiated, it’s the Times’s Awards-Season blog, and is frankly the best thing since sliced bread. Despite the fact that sliced bread has never seemed particularly awesome, but there you go.). However, midterms are once again upon us…which is decidedly not conducive to wasting time. Obviously. Why on earth would we waste time when we have tremendous pressure to get approximately ten zillion things done before spring break hits? Silly question.

Paint [the Oscars] Black…and Orange…

By Julia Bumke

Posted in Goings On Tagged Coen Brothers, midterms, Oscars, Princeton Leave a comment

Party hard, Ivy Leaguers! (source: http://www.ivyplussociety.org/recent.html)

While we joke that this blessed Orange Bubble of ours is pretty darn all-consuming, especially with the vaguely incestuous dating pool that is our campus, it’s undeniable that Princeton alums are a bit…shall we say…into the whole alumni thing. They chant, they booze it up at Reunions every year (”Yeah guys, third reunion! CHUG!”), they wear ridiculously ugly orange-and-black sport coats like they’re going out of style (oh wait: they never were in style)…

…they join Ivy League networking communities and Ivies-Only dating clubs?

Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger…

By Julia Bumke

Posted in Alumni, Goings On Tagged Alumni, crazies, dating Tigers, networking Leave a comment

Photo source: The Princeton Packet, www.centraljersey.com

Despite this year’s tighter budget and a slightly worse-for-wear endowment, President Tilghman is still thinking ahead towards breaking ground on new Neuroscience and Psychology buildings as part of an innovative Natural Sciences neighborhood (as The Ink reported earlier this week). While the natural sciences project is has been deemed “shovel-ready” by the powers-that-be, plans for a series of new academic neighborhoods, including ones in arts and transit and the social sciences, have still had their share of difficulties in light of the recession:

“Many plans in our capital plan have been delayed, and the major factor is how we can pay for them,” said University Representative Cass Cliatt. “The plans for these buildings are ready as soon as we have the backing to pay for them.”

IN PRINT: Academic Neighborhoods and Budget Qualms

By Julia Bumke

Posted in In Print Tagged budget cuts, neuroscience and psychology building, Science Neighborhood, Shirley Tilghman, Town Topics Leave a comment

Princetonians pile up in Frist for the Big Game

As we start up another grueling week here in the Orange Bubble (halfway to spring break, guys!), it’s nice to drain our brains every now and then by obsessing over the Winter Games. However, given NBC’s total stinginess about putting Olympic events online this time around, it’s often tough to tune in if you don’t have a TV with you on campus–especially if you don’t want to deal with annoying tape delays.

The solution? We’re getting creative. Case in point: the total mob at Frist this evening, where a bunch of students created an impromptu viewing party for a much-hyped Canada vs. United States Hockey game. When I passed through, over seventy-five kids were watching, clad in hockey jerseys, wrapped in flags from both countries, and screaming at the top of their lungs.

Pass the guacamole, Tigers!

Feb 21, 2010

Spotted: Olympic Pride, Princeton-Style

By Julia Bumke

Posted in Goings On Tagged Canada, frist, USA, Winter Olympics Leave a comment

Princeton" Coming to a Home-Shopping Channel Near You! (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Anyone who argues that us Ivy Leaguers don’t think outside the box clearly hasn’t heard about EGR 495. In the course, Special Topics in Entrepreneurship, students designed products and created ad campaigns to sell them, infomercial style (as The Princeton Packet described last month). The designs were then presented to a panel of judges compiled by Infomercial legend A.J. Khubani, Princeton professor and seller of the Ab Roller and the Swivel Sweeper . Now who doesn’t want some good cheery tiger-manufactured infomercials? No one, that’s who.

What seals this deal? The fact that the best project design won its creators a sweet free trip to China probably had something to do with the class’s crowd-pleasing abilities. Students from the winning group got to try their hands at manufacturing their product for sale in the US, and, as Princetonians are wont to mooch from as many free international trips as they can during their four years here, class members thought up some pretty epically awesome inventions.

Descriptions of the best designs after the jump…

EGR 495: China, Entrepreneurship, and Inventive Quests for the Perfect Push-Up Bra

By Julia Bumke

Posted in Goings On Tagged entrepreneurs, ORFE, Princeton, push-up bras One comment

Okay, not to keep beating the increasingly dead horse that was the Great Snow Day of 2010, but hey–it’s our first impromptu day off in years. I think we’re entitled to some serious waxing poetic.

So, without further ado, my top five most bizarre, endearing, disturbing, or otherwise patently Princeton parts of yesterday’s snow day:

1. How one of my professors (He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, for the Press Club’s own protection) decided to hold his lecture AND precept yesterday despite the snow…but was forced to relent when a grand total of four people showed up at our 11:00 lecture. That’s what we call karma, Prof.

2. The battle of brains (and very much not brawn) that ensued at the Democrats vs. Republicans snowball game last night on Dod Field. My favorite political epithets that were shouted: “Global Warming THIS shit, baby!” “We’ve found those weapons of mass destruction! This guy’s ARM is our weapon of mass destruction!”

3. The fact that, when I went to steal a tray from the Whitman dining hall for sledding, there were already at least ten trays sitting abandoned on Whitman hill. Way to rebel against the man, guys. I’m impressed.

4. The completely blocked archway up by Campbell yesterday. A group of kids built a fort that made the entire arch impassible–until PSafe cruelly spoiled the party and built a bridge through the snow.

5. My favorite part of the snow day? The nerdy snowmen that people managed to think up…with the overall best going to a group from the freshman HUM sequence:

Gotta love the HUM nerdiness: that's a cyclops in the back, with Odysseus center front flanked by two sheep.

Yep, that’s a scene from the Odyssey right there, complete with cyclops, Odysseus, and two sheep. According to Lily Alberts, one of the masterminds behind the idea, the group flirted with depicting the rings of Hell from Dante’s Inferno by building an assortment of snowmen with their heads on backwards, but they thought that might be just a tad obscure (and hey, if it’s Dante you want, we’ve got a brand-new video game for that. I so, so wish I were kidding). Gotta love Classics humor.

Enjoy the snow today, Inkblots–and try to avoid the wrath of Professors who don’t know how to deal with the concept of a day off. Don’t worry, They’ll learn. Eventually…

Feb 11, 2010

Cyclops Snowmen, Tray Sledding, and Stubborn Professors: Sounds Like a Princeton Snow Day to me!

By Julia Bumke

Posted in Goings On, Musings, Week in Review Tagged HUM sequence, nerdy princetonians, snow, snowmen Leave a comment

You don't mess with these guys: Muldoon (center) with his rock band, Rackett. [source: www.myspace.com/rackett

As Cornel West receives his fair share of air time for his outspoken criticism of Obama, it’s worthwhile to remember that our favorite snazzily-dressed Tigertown celebrity has some pretty stiff competition for the coveted position of Princeton’s most intriguing faculty member. Case in point: Paul Muldoon, whose roles as a professor, poet, and rock band leader were highlighted in this great profile piece from the Worcester Telegram.

Princeton’s Premier Personality (and no, it’s not Cornel West)

By Julia Bumke

Posted in Faculty, Goings On Tagged Paul Muldoon, Rackett, Small World One comment

The Haitian National Palace in Port-Au-Prince, which collapsed in the quake (source: UNDP Global)

As we slog on through reading period, it’s important for us to take some time and acknowledge the sheer terror that has overcome Haiti following its 7.0 earthquake on Tuesday morning. The Princeton University Chapel is holding a vigil tonight at 5 to honor those affected by the earthquake, and Princetonians have already created a Facebook site to brainstorm about what we can do to help as a school.

For a fascinating take on the events, check out the Twitter feed of Rick Morse ‘79. Morse owns Hotel Oloffson, an inn in Port-au-Prince, and has been tweeting about the state of affairs there for the past couple of days. The hotel (which, incidentally, has a Woodrow Wilson connection) was damaged in the quake, but is still continuing to operate amidst the chaos. Morse’s words are powerful and terrifying:

“Bodies.Bodies.Bodies Bodies.Bodies.Bodies.I don’t know how else to say it.They’re being brought out on the street…won’t understand the ramifications of all this for days to come.I’m still hearing of people trapped under buildings.3:44PM.Night is coming.”

Certainly gives us some much-needed perspective on how lucky we are in our little Orange Bubble. Our thoughts here at Press Club go out to everyone who has family or friends who have been affected.

Jan 14, 2010

Princeton on (and in) Haiti

By Julia Bumke

Posted in In the news, Week in Review Tagged disaster relief, Haitian earthquake, Princeton Leave a comment

stress of exams got you down? time to wallow in some bad karma! [source: ArtMechanic

As we slog on through the sheer hellishness that is reading period, complete with the perfunctory stupidity from old friends at home (“Why do you have your exams now? That’s just so…weird!”), I took comfort in getting an email from my dad today asking whether I thought he should interview prospective Harvard kids.

Yep, folks: the college interview season has begun for those sad souls out there who get to tear their hair out in pursuit of the perfect Ivy, and I must admit it’s really providing me with some much-needed schadenfreude. Sure, we’re locked in Firestone from dawn till dusk and it feels like we haven’t seen a proper night’s sleep since the Stone Age—but hey, look on the bright side! At least we don’t have to get dressed up for interviews with preppy millionaires who enjoy nothing more than crushing our hopes and dreams!

Tigers and Bulldogs and…John Harvard? Oh My?

By Julia Bumke

Posted in Musings, Nostalgia Tagged Harvard, reading period, schadenfreude, Yale 2 Comments

Kelvin Kay, en:user:kkmd

Ah, the wonders of the holiday season: a tree in Palmer Square that’s approximately ten trillion feet tall, a barrage of simply lovely end-of-term assignments, and, of course, the eternal quest for some cute Inkblot to kiss under the mistletoe. Never fear, Tigers! Former USG President Josh Weinstein ’09 has the site for you.

Goodcrush.com, which Weinstein started earlier this year (with some start-up help from Joseph Perla ‘09), provides Princeton’s resident lonely-hearts with a prime chance to rhapsodize about all their geeky missed connections, and, with luck, connect with that soul mate who looked oh-so-suave sitting in Lewis Library at 2AM.

All I Want For Christmas is You, Tiger…

By Julia Bumke

Posted in Goings On, Student Guides, Week in Review Tagged campus news, Dating, Mistletoe, Princeton Leave a comment

The most visited posts inthe past two weeks:

Author Archives: Julia Bumke

The most visited posts in
the past two weeks: