get your deals here!

So I'm a huge fan of saving money.  I am alll for coupons, sales, and haggling for a good deal.

Free SVA Behance Portfolio Website!

             We are all going to school with hopes of landing a job in some sort of creative line of work.  As the time to look for jobs inevitably draws closer, it is important to do everything that you can to get your work seen by as many people as possible.  SVA offers an amazing free way to get your work seen by Art and Creative Directors online.  Many people either fail to take advantage of or just don’t know about SVA’s online portfolio services.  Our school has partnered with Behance.com to offer SVA students an easy to use portfolio sharing website for free. All you need is your SVA username and password to create your own personal Behance portfolio site.  In 2011 Behance.com won a Webby Award for its new innovative portfolio website interface, so its safe to say that this site has proven itself.  Head on over to http://portfolios.sva.edu and click the “Signup” button for unlimited access not only to SVA portfolios but creative’s all over the world!  Make sure to take advantage of this free service that our school offers, in addition to showing your work to the masses, you can get inspiration from millions of creative people.

Alice Loves Youtube

So if you have been on the 5th floor and read the bulletin you would probably know that I like to watch random videos on youtube. My choice in videos vary depending on the mood.  I will share a few:

1. Stress reliever video:  fun or cute cat/baby movies:

2.  When you get bored: Are you familiar with "Virtual Barbershop?" It has been around for many years, but I will post it here for those who haven't tried this one out (you need a headphone or earphone)

3. Jimmy Kimmel's "I told my Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy" (I find 1:27-1:29 the most hilarious!)

                   

4. good for insomnia (it is educational but it is educational)
                                         

5. Susan Boyle- Britain's Got Talent 2009 ( makes me cry no matter how many times I watch it)



6. Class of 99, Wear Sunscreen (touching, inspirational, and nostalgic)



Enjoy~! I will continue to post some more youtube movie clips later on in the blog :))

That's a lot of pasta!

Finals are here and it is crazy stressful for everyone! To ease the pain and make sure that you guys are keeping up with eating, we decided to throw a Pasta Party! RA's Brent, Becca, Irving and I cooked up a storm of pasta, garlic bread, salad and more! Everyone managed to have second and third helpings and we raised almost $40 for the Ludlow Charity which is awesome!

Good luck with Finals everyone and happy holidays!

Midnight Pancake!!

           So the Midnight pancake was a huge success!!! We made regular and chocolate chip pancakes and they turned out to be golden and yummy (thanks to our RHD Nicole Shillings who showed us a simple and wonderful demo on how to flip pancakes at the right time). Thank you everyone for coming and making contribution to the Fugees Family!!! 

Post Crossing

 

 

 

 One day while hanging with some of my gal pals and I mentioned that I never get mail. No one sends postcards or letters. That's when I heard about something called 'Post Crossing'.

 

 

 

 

What is Post Crossing?

It's a project that allows anyone to receive postcards (real ones, not electronic) from random places in the world.

How does it work?

Go to Post Crossing.

1. Request an address and a Post ID
2. Mail the postcard to that address
3. Receive a postcard from another postcrosser!
4. Register the Postcard ID you have received
5. Go to number 1 to receive more postcards!

Testitonimal

“I love Postcrossing because there is such a warm fuzzy feeling you get when you open your post box to find a postcard that someone has taken the time to share a little piece of their life with you, from somewhere on this big beautiful world. You get to meet new people from all walks of life. You get to travel everywhere without actually going. You get to experience things that you couldn't even imagine if you weren't a part of Postcrossing.”

Hillary,Student, 19, Canada

Memos from Nicole: Winter Break

Memo: Winter Break Reminders

Dear Ludlodians,

It may be hard to imagine, since you're all crazed with finals and it feels like it will never end, but Winter Break is upon us!!  YAY!  I just wanted to give you a few reminders before you start your winter hibernation (literally, I know you're all just going to sleep for 3 weeks):

If you are leaving for break, please be sure to do the following:

• Throw away any perishable food items that may spoil. 
• Clean out your fridge.
• Throw away all of your trash.
• Turn your heater onto low.
• Turn off your lights.
• Close your window.

If you are staying:

• The Ludlow Residence is open during winter break.
• My office will be closed starting Thursday, December 20 - January 2.  
• Any extended overnight guest forms that need my approval must be submitted to me by Wednesday, December 19, at 3 pm. 
• RA's will be available over break should you need assistance.  Security can contact them for you. 
• Please click here and let us know you're staying!  

I hope you all have a wonderful break and I'm sure you all made A's on your finals.  

Best wishes,
Nicole Shillings
Ludlow Residence Hall Director

A Philosphy of Choice.

Freshman year, I had an amazing English teacher named George Moore (Whom you all should take).
The next year, I demanded that I take another one of is classes, and I found myself in his French Existentialism class. At the time of signing up, I knew little about this philosphy, save for it's connection to Camus (Whose writing I adore).

Upon taking the class, I was immersed in the most comprehensively correct philosphy I have come across so far. Now, let me make this clear, no single philosophy contains all the answers to lifes tribulations and termoil. No. BUT. Existentializm offers the most concise and useful toolkit for coping with guilt, suffering, and the monotony of life.

Albert Camus, Handsome Devil.

In a nutshell, the philosophy can be described as "Everything that happend to you, today, is ultimately your fault because you woke up and chose not to kill your self today."

This may seem like an incredibly grim and even morbid phrase. But in the eyes of Jean Paul Sartre's Existentialism, it's the most profoundly terrifying, yet empowering, reality.

The cornerstone of Existentialism is choice. You personally choose everything except your facticity (where you were born, your race, age, ect) but outside of that, how you react to anything is always your choice.

The weight of these choices is called Existential Angst. It manifests, theoretically, as the feeling you get when you are standing at the edge of a tall building or ledge and you feel as though your body wants to throw itself off the edge. Some call this Vertigo, Sartre calls it Existential Angst. Death represents a releif from these constant choices, BUT, it is the human strength and the human spirit that we choose to contine on, day by day, year by year.

Personally coming from a Judeo-Christian backround, I found Existentialism to be incredibly empowering. No longer was my life bound by some heavenly "plan" or by the will of some invisible god or bearded hippie. It was governed by me and me alone, every damn second of it was mine. And I found that refreshing.

Another aspect of Existentialism is the Pre-refelective conciousness. This is, in short terms, pure focus and pure envolvement with the world. Reflective conciousness is to watch oneself while doing something, instead of actually participating. Have you ever tried to hit a baseball but been so worried that you would miss that you overthough the process of hitting the ball to the point where you could not? That is reflective conciousness at work.

I found this profoundly relevant for my artistic work. When I consciously decided to stop worrying about the end result, weather or not it would be good, weather or not this particular line would be of quality, and started focusing simply on my subject matter, my framing, or just capturing the ephermal moment on film, my work improved.

Here are some links for those who wish to explore further;


Jean Paul Sartre, author of Being and Nothingness

Albert Camus, author of The Stranger, The Myth of Sisyphus, and The Plague.

Lastly, here are some quotes, I know how y'all love quotes:

Generosity is nothing else than a craze to possess. All which I abandon, all which I give, I enjoy in a higher manner through the fact that I give it away. To give is to enjoy possessively the object which one gives.

-Jean-Paul Sartre

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.

-Albert Camus

 Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.

-Jean-Paul Sartre

Alas, after a certain age every man is responsible for his face.

-Albert Camus 

Ludlow Resident Spotlight: Bryan Vargas

Bryan Vargas

Sophomore, Graphic Design/Advertising
3rd Floor Resident

What three frivolous things would you do, if you hit the lottery?
1. Pay for School.
2. Buy a Mercedes Benz SLS AMG.
3. Buy an apartment in the city.

If you could have a super power, what would it be and why?

I would have Telekinesis, I mean you'd be able to control and manipulate objects. Basically a Jean Grey!

What is the closest red item to you?

The little sweater on my stuffed moose, he's so cute.

What song summarizes your life?
"Primadonna" by Marina and the Diamonds from her album "Primadonna". This is my favorite line from it "Living life like I'm in a dream."

If you could have a dinner party and invite a famous person (living or dead) who would it be and why?

Andy Warhol, of course. The way he portrayed objects and people was just is so fascinating to me. I feel like I was born in the wrong era, the way Pop Art developed during 60's was just pure fucking genius.

What is one thing you cannot live without and why? 

My sunglasses, I can not go anywhere without them. I wear them even though it's raining, I like looking mysterious behind them.

If you had to eat the same thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

French Fries from Souvlaki Gr on Stanton Street, I'd DIE for them.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Spending money, period.

What’s the best thing about living in the Ludlow Residence?

The friends and memories I've made here.

"Cookin' Mad Eggs"

On November 28th Ludlow residents joined RA Brent in the Ludlow Kitchen for "All Hail The Mighty Egg". This event focused on preparing different styles of eggs, an inexpensive food that can be prepared in a variety of ways. People that attended got the see the successful preparation of omelets, how to separate egg whites to cook egg white omelets, cheesy eggs, over easy, fried, and my personal favorite “Birds Nests”. Aside from cooking food everyone got the chance to take a break from their work and to hang out in the kitchen with each other!

Wednesday Card Game Night

                                            WEDNESDAY CARD GAME NIGHT 

       So we had a final round of Wednesday Card Game Night on Wednesday November 28th. We decided to play UNO as a remembrance of our first Card Game Night where we played UNO! It was a good, fun, and competitive game. We were vicious with cards, but nice and friendly with words :))
Thank you guys for coming to the event.

First Friday Film and Food: A Fish Called Wanda

For November's First Friday Film and Food RA Bethany and several Ludlow residents, gathered the usual suspects for a screening of the off-beat, 80's heist comedy A Fish Called Wanda. Owing to diamond thief Otto's stupidity (which should not be mentioned as it is an insult to stupid people) we were reminded that "Aristotle was not Belgian, the principle of Buddhism is not 'every man for himself,' and the London Underground is not a political movement." No fish were harmed in the viewing of this film, apart from the numerous goldfish crackers on the menu. Cupcakes and other baked goods, but thankfully not French fries, made surprise appearances as well.

In case you missed it here are a few choice scenes to get you up to speed:
Apology
Vulgarian
Do you speak Italian?

With the semester drawing to a close, the final installment of the First Friday Film and Food series will be Real Genius. Join us in the Community Room at 8:00 PM for LOTS of popcorn.

Macy's Balloon Inflation 2012!!

Huge balloons + crowds = Macy's Balloon Inflation Event.

 We got there around 5:00PM and there were already so many people even though the event does not end until 10:00 PM.

If you want to see the balloons actually being inflated, I suggest you go there before 4:00 PM because they were pretty much all blown up by the time we got there. It was fun and exciting to get a preview of the Thanksgiving parade. Just for the heads up, if  you are planning to go there next year, you would probably want to get there way earlier than 5:00 PM if you don't want to fight the crowd.

Toy Tokyo

Recently I have been obsessed with an awesome little store called Toy Tokyo, it is full of toys and collectibles that are all unique and wildly imaginative.

No Shave November Winners!

After a Month of no Shaving, out contestants Tristan Kelley, Ryan Fraiser, Samm Dove and Bryan Vargas competed for Ludlow's 2012 best Beard! November was a long month, from Hurricane Sandy to Thanksgiving & then Black Friday. At first Im sure many people took part in the event but as the month went on some just threw in the towel. To be honest I kinda gave up too haha. After Black Friday I just gave up. So I can relate to those who didn't show up. Our Winners, Tristan, Ryan, and the lovely Samm all won Movie tickets, in the end everyone was a winner. Good Job guys!

Union Square Holiday Market

 The holiday shopping season officially begins with the opening of the popular Union Square Holiday Market, operated by Urban Space Management, open annually between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.  Be sure to stop by for a variety of unique items that would make perfect holiday gifts such as handcrafted jewelry, fine art, clothes, handmade ornaments and toys for kids of all ages.

I went last year and found something for a few family members. It was a lot of fun and festive. Stop by the apple cider booth and walk around looking at the art, items, and holiday decorations. Tis the season of giving, one of my favorite things to do. 

Walk on up to Union Square and check it out!

RA on the Record: Bethany Altschwager

Ludlow is one very diverse community. We have students from different colleges, interns and more. Within that we don't only have undergrad students but we actually have a whole floor dedicated to graduate students. The leader of that pack is Bethany and she sure knows a thing or two about student life. Not only has she already gone through it once as an undergrad but she then worked in a private high school for four years dealing with student drama over and over. Now she's on the Art Therapy course and is loving it. When she isn't hiking or plunging into freezing rivers, you can find her watching cult classics and eating burgers (vegetarian of course!).

Adam: Hi Bethany

Bethany: Hi Adam

A: How're you today?

B: I'm doing well and yourself?

A: I'm pretty good. So you've become known at Ludlow as the 'film library'.

B: That's very true.

A: What would you say is your all time favourite movie?

B: My all time favourite movie or all time favourite 'good' movie?

A: Let's do both.

B: Favourite movie of all time is the Rocky Horror Picture Show and my favourite good movie is Casablanca

A: Have you been to one of those dress up Rocky Horror Picture Shows?

B: I've been many times including with the Ludlowians last month. I've actually been in one of them as a tranny. It basically meant running around in my underwear and dancing and singing.

A: So how does it feel being the Grad RA?

B: Well there's just the general weirdness of being in a dorm after not living in one in awhile. It's also weird being the only Grad RA. Remember when the Head of Student Affairs asked if there were any and I was the only one who raised my hand? I felt a little singled out there but I really like my floor and the other grad students are great.

A: What's your funniest story from undergrad?

B: My roommate was from Florida so when she came to Sarah Lawrence, she hadn't experience snow before. The first time it properly snowed I took her sledding and we ended up building a snow woman. She had a large butt and big breast and we used skittles for her 'parts'. It was really funny but the next day we went back and someone had destroyed her which was sad.

A: What was she called?

B: I think she was called Snowbunny after the playboy bunnies.

A: Would you rather be a playboy bunny or the president of the US?

B: I would rather be the president. The Hugh Hefner thing doesn't appeal to me.

A: Even though he's really rich?

B: No, just doesn't appeal to me.

A: Well what can the Ludlowians look forward to from you?

B: Clearly the films. If they're interested in exploring the vegetarian 'thing' or just general how to's I'm here. I'm also just willing to listen and help anyone out.

A: Well we should go get some ice-cream !

B: We should.

A: Thanks Bethany!

Ludlow Resident Spotlight: Lovely Dard

Lovely Dard

Freshman, Animation
19th Floor Resident

What three frivolous things would you do, if you hit the lottery?
I would buy a house, a lot of bbq chicken wings and probably save the rest in the bank. I know. Not exciting at all .. but times is hard out here ..

If you could have a super power, what would it be and why?

Super strength ! That would make my tiny self even more scary >:D

What is the closest red item to you?

I think it was a t shirt.

What song summarizes your life?
Damn, that's a hard one. Well ... You gotta get back to me on that one

If you could have a dinner party and invite a famous person (living or dead) who would it be and why?

Does it have to be one person ? Oh well I don't care, I'm gonna invite more than one ! I would invite my future husband, Pharrell Williams, because we're gonna get married. Robin Williams & Adam Sandler so they could make me laugh. ( I like to laugh while I eat. I know, I'm dangerous.) Uhhh, The Strokes, Kanye, Vampire Weekend, Arctic Monkeys. Would would have one big ass sing along as we eat barbecue chicken.

What is one thing you cannot live without and why? 

I cant live without my friends. I cannot stop emphasizing about how important they are to my life. I always tell them that they're essential to my existence because they were always the one's who were there through my struggles. They would cry with me and then make me laugh right after like something depressing. They also raised me in a way and taught me most of the things I know in life.

If you had to eat the same thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

BARBEQUE CHICKEN WINGSSS AND MACCC AND CHEEEEEESEEEEE. I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE that combination. I know I will never get tired of it yo. NEVER.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Wait, what? I'm too young for this!

What’s the best thing about living in the Ludlow Residence?

The best thing about living in Ludlow is meeting new people and the viewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. I've met so many cool people. My RA is the best and Did I mention the view ? All you other people not living in Ludlow should be jealous. Yes. That's right. GET MAD.