Articles filed under “Fun”

And think to myself, “What even is this?” “Why is it filled with concrete?” “Is that a … spigot?” So this week I continued my walk down Nassau Street but also sent some e-mails to those in the know.

According to University Architect Emeritus Jon Hlafter and Associate University Architect Natalie Shivers:

The National Register for Historic Places nomination for King’s Highway notes a stone horse trough with pedestrian water fountain on the south side of Nassau St. between Washington Rd. and University Pl. that used to be located at the head of Witherspoon Street in 1894 and was moved to its current location in 1904 to make way for the FitzRandolph Gateway.

In colonial times Nassau Street was known as King’s Highway, the main stage coach route between New York and Philadelphia — and apparently the horses got thirsty somewhere around present-day Panera Bread.

But why is the trough filled with concrete today?

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So remember in third grade when you learned about the apple that fell on Newton’s head and how he discovered this gravity stuff, which basically keeps the world in place and makes sure we don’t just float away? Well, in Titusville, NJ, somebody’s playing a cruel joke on Newton. And on your third grade teacher, for that matter.

This week’s bubble popper takes you just 12 miles off campus to Titusville’s very own anti-gravity illusion. Make sure to bring something that rolls. Trust me, you’ll be surprised.

Spoiler alert: check out the video if you don’t believe it’s real. (Ok, maybe not such a spoiler. But it’s better in person.)

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As you may have heard by now, SchwartzDY were eliminated last night on the Amazing Race. I’ll have a post up sometime in the near future about What It All Means, perhaps bundled with similar reflections on Jane Randall’s more successful run on America’s Next Top Model.  And by “in the near future,” I mean, “probably three months from now.”

Perhaps my procrastination is for the best. In all likelihood, you, like me, are just not Over It enough to really reflect on all that happened to Team Nassoon between the starting line and their Swedish sendoff.  Even using the past tense hurts right now, knowing that it’s all over for them, for us. One minute people you semi-know are mushing dogs and pitching tents in Lapland, and the next they’re just gone?

It’s like, is that it?  Is that the “real” we’re supposed to take away from “Reality TV” — that people just leave, and there’s no reason why, and we’re all supposed to be a-OK with it? How bleak. How horribly bleak. How cold and hard and bleak that is, like the frosty tundra our boys got stranded on as the Race passed them by:

race

But wait! All is not lost. Apparently someone eventually remembered about the permafrost-bound Princetonians, because here they are arriving at Elimination Station:

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(Photo Credit: Alison Lee 13)

(Photo Credit: Alison Lee '13)

Spotted on Sunday outside Cannon Club, which, surprise, is still closed. This cannon, like our other cannons, has tons of old, Princeton-y  stories. The relevant one here is that the senior class paints it every year. (See the 2011?)

Close-up after the jump.

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We like to look out for you here at the Ink, so here are some pointers we found in the news of the day.

Some bros, studying abroad, immersing themselves in culture that is liquid

Some bros, studying abroad, immersing themselves in culture that is liquid (via community.ifsa-butler.org)

First, our do: Study abroad. According to a new study by researchers at the University of Washington:

Students who go abroad while in college are likely to increase or even double their alcohol intake while they’re away, a new study has found.

Drinking increased most dramatically in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, the study by researchers at the University of Washington found. Students reported drinking more when they perceived their fellow travelers were drinking more heavily, and those who planned to make drinking part of their cultural immersion did so.

As they say… “When in Rome.” Or, “When in heavy-drinking Oxford/Spain/Cuba/Paris.” Cultural immersion!

Our don’t?: Post embarrassing photos of yourself on Facebook. Apparently they take a really long time to delete, so if you’re planning on hiding from your employer, they still might be able to find those pictures of you guzzling a sheepskin of wine in Athens. Gawker chimes in:

Jacqui Cheng of Ars Technica offers definitive proof: A Facebook picture she “deleted” in May 2009 and wrote an article about in July 2009 was still on Facebook’s servers today, more than 16 months later. The social network removed the links to the picture right away, but never got around to removing the actual image file, meaning anyone who had or could obtain an URL to the image could get it from Facebook.

So when you study abroad, tuck away the camera when happy hour starts. Because when you’re caught double-fisting tequila and wearing only a sombrero, you’ve gone more than native.

Bored of this? Or something kind of like this? (image source: http://www.flickr.com)

Bored of this? Or something kind of like this? (image source: http://www.flickr.com)

If you’re already sick of stuffy libraries and want to take advantage of these last, oh-so fleeting days of pleasant weather, read on. This week’s bubble-popper takes you just minutes off campus but hundreds of years back in time.

You’ve probably heard the story of that cannon buried in Cannon Green (we even get our own Wikipedia page about our little cannon – this is the big time, Princeton). And of that big chunk taken out of Nassau Hall by a renegade cannonball during the Battle of Princeton.

But what you perhaps haven’t heard is that the Revolutionary War left us with more than just a cannon and an endearing Orange Key fact about everyone’s favorite campus building – it left us with a big, open, leafy, green space perfect for hiking, reading, picnicking, or just plain enjoying the outdoors.

Try trading it in for this. (image source: http://www.state.nj.us)

Try trading it in for this. (image source: http://www.state.nj.us)

The Princeton Battlefield State Park, 100 acres located just a mile and a half south of campus on Mercer Road, commemorates the Battle of Princeton, considered, according to the park’s website, to be “the fiercest fight of its size during the American Revolution” (but they might be a little biased). There, GW racked up his first on-field victory against British regulars before taking his now-famous boat ride across the Delaware River.

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So remember when you’d just started college shopping and everyone was trying to help you decide by posing these sort of useless, black-and-white questions?

“Big or small? Rural or urban?” they would ask.

And then you visited Princeton, and the sun was shining and the bunnies were hopping and the squirrels were eating trash and other small rodents and you realized, in a flash of inspiration, that you could have it all. Or at least, you could have it all location-wise. You could have the benefits of small-town life while being wedged in between two major cities, just an hour from each.

It's not too late! Just follow these NYC guidelines. (image source: http://twitpic.com/1pq5tb/full)

It's not too late! Just follow these NYC guidelines. (image source: http://twitpic.com/1pq5tb/full)

And then you got to Princeton, heard Triangle sing about Princeton’s orange bubble, and scoffed. Other people get stuck in the bubble, not you. You could still be metropolitan and cool, spending every weekend in Manhattan or Philly, frequenting museums, concerts, and other hipster haunts.

And then you started classes, were assigned three problem sets and two papers in one week, realized the magic of the Street, and never left.

We get it. We really do. It’s tough to make time to get off of campus, and it’s far too easy to get stuck in that infamous orange bubble and forget that there’s life beyond Nassau Street.

But there is. And you don’t even have to spend more than 10 minutes in transit to find it. Check out an example after the jump.

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Princeton isn’t exactly generous when it comes to Hollywood (or reality shows)–filmmakers first have to go through the Office of Communications if they want to use the Princeton name or film on campus. But some movies have made the cut. Most recently, scenes shot at the university have been featured in blockbusters like Transformers 2 and Across the Universe, and characters in movies including Spanglish and A Cinderella Story (You’re welcome for the middle school flashback.) have aspired to become Princetonians.

Then there’s Bollywood, which arrived on campus last fall. Scored by Slumdog Millionaire’s A.R. Rahman, Ye Maaya Chesave features several scenes shot at locations around campus.

Watch as the actors teleport from Firestone Plaza to the Holder cloisters to …that one strange inverted concrete cone on the lawn across from Murray Dodge. (Start at 1:30.)

www.flickr.com

www.flickr.com

We’re only two weeks into school but if you’re anything like me, you’re already behind on your work and feeling a little stressed. If you need a place to relax or collect your thoughts or even just to go for a run, the woods at the Institute for Advanced Study provide the perfect nature-y reprieve from the fast-paced life of Princeton.

Picture 3

Just a little over a mile, it is an easy walk to the woods. This map starts from McCarter Theater and takes you to the Institute for Advanced Study. The woods are right behind it.

6a00d8341c630a53ef01347fc41456970cIn her 1980 bestseller “The Official Preppy Handbook,” Lisa Birnbach defined the prep as someone who had a classic outlook on life and a classic wardrobe to match. You might think that thirty years later, and with the economy in the tubes, a manual on all things preppy would be of no use to you.  But then Lawnparties found you scrambling for an appropriate outfit and then it’s already time to start thinking about job interviews for next summer, and you start to sort of wish you knew some of the inside secrets of this pastel world.

Thankfully, Birnbach and celebrated graphic designer Chip Kidd have released an updated version of the handbook: “True Prep: It’s A Whole New Old World”.  You can watch Birnbach talk about the new book on the Colbert Report here.

Our favorite suggestions on how kick it with the country-clubbers after the jump:

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TI7_TracklistWelcome back to campus, everyone! If you’re looking for a way to while away the hours til classes start (or maybe just to drown out all of the frolicking freshmen), look no further than graphic designer Brian Gossett’s Ivy League-themed series of free downloadable playlists at Since 78.

TI_Cover

Inspired by Teruyoshi Hayashida’s prepster handbook Take Ivy, which was reissued this August, the seven-playlist series mixes new tunes from indie acts like Arcade Fire and Beirut with classic tracks from the likes of The Velvet Underground, Bowie, and Bob Dylan. They’re the perfect antidote to back-to-school blues: sit back, relax, and let the popsy optimism of the Ivy Leaguers in Vampire Weekend welcome you back to the Orange Bubble in style! Click here for the Part 1 of the series.

This is like OA for the real world. (via ew.com)

This is like OA for the real world. (via ew.com)

Remember when ex-Student Body President Connor Diemand-Yauman ‘10 got a special graduation ceremony and skipped the whole “walking across a stage” thing this past May? And then, remember when we told you CDY and best friend/Fantasticks star Jonathan Schwartz ‘10 had actually skipped graduation because they were starring on the upcoming 17th season of the CBS hit reality show The Amazing Race?

Well, that’s happening. Yes, ScwhartzDY™ (don’t try stealing that CBS) will be one of 11 teams throwing themselves into challenges around the world for the chance to win one million dollars. How’s that for your first paycheck outta college?

CBS today started promoting the event, and here are the guys introducing themselves on the Race website.

Look at that! Witty, tricky, and they got the whole “we’re best friends!” thing going on to boot. Everyone’s gonna be rooting for these tigers. (Not to mention “Relationship: Ivy League A Cappella Singers” — that’s one for the scrapbook.)

The two also answered some questions for CBS. Schwartz’s answers are particularly hilarious:

If I could switch places with someone: Yanni

Role model/hero: My parents, Mother Theresa and Kenny G (not necessarily in that order).

What are you passionate about? Tweezin’ the old unibrow

What would you do if you won the million dollars? If I were to win the million dollars I would buy a pony, but just one.

People would be surprised to learn: That my name, “Jonathan,” is translated to mean “gift from God.” Coincidence? I think not.

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