Honey, Please

September is coming to a close, so what perfect timing to remind you that it's National Honey Month!

Here are some honey/honeybee facts to sweeten your week (with knowledge!):

1. 15 billion dollars are added to the US agricultural market from honey alone
2. North Dakota is the largest producer of honey in the country (33 million pounds in 2013)
3. North Dakota sends its bees to pollinate crops like blueberries and apples on both coasts
4. Approximately 90 different vegetables, fruits and nuts wouldn't be pollinated without the bees!
5. In the 1940's, there were about 5 million honeybee colonies. Today, only 2.5 million
6. New pathogens, viruses and pests are a few of the causes of this extreme decline
7. Congress passed an amendment in the Farm Bill to help protect and bring back the honeybees

You can check out more on this issue of decline here and a TED talk about it here.

What is Rosh Hashanah?

This past weekend was the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. You may be asking, "How can it be the new year in September?" Well the answer to your question is because the Judaic calendar is a lunar calendar, meaning it follows how long the moon revolves around Earth. So it is the year 5774 according to the Jewish calendar.

What do Jewish people do on Rosh Hashanah? Well it is two days of praying in temple, and being with family with yummy dinners. It is a time to reflect about past sins and how to improve for the new year.

A classic Jewish tradition during the new year is to eat apples and honey to welcome a sweet new year. Apples and honey in general is quite amazing regardless.

A week later is another holiday called Yom Kippur. This is the holiday follows Rosh Hashanah because Yom Kippur is the holiday where Jews fast and repent for their sins.

I hope that was informative in a crash course on one holiday in Judaism. So... Happy New Year!

Get in tune with New York!

Now that you've been living in the city for a few weeks, would you say you're fully in tune with New York? Do you walk down the street with a spring in your step and think 'man oh man, I'm in the Big Apple'. If not then maybe this mini playlist of New York songs will get you in the mindset and you'll now become one with the magic of the city!

Empire State of Mind

New York State of Mind

New York, New York

Juggling!!!???? Whoa.

       Ever wanted to learn how to juggle but didn't know how to start? Well fear not dear residents, the Bryant park juggling association will come to your rescue. I first learned about these free classes through a friend who really loved juggling and was frustrated with the lack of space in the residence halls for her to fully enjoy her hobby. We went to a couple of meetings together, I  really didn't know how to juggle but the guy watching over the equipment was more than willing to help me out. Usually when you start out, it's with three hacky sack balls but for the more experienced they have a wide range of equipment to choose from. It's a great option if you're looking for something interesting to do,  and honestly how many people can say they've learned how to juggle in Bryant park.

Bryant park juggling calendar

Bryant park jugglers blog

Bryant park jugglers twitter

-RA Desiree

Movie Weekend Update!

Movies that opened this weekend that hit the top of the box office were:

1) The Maze Runner: $32,500,000
2) A Walk Among the Tombstones: $13,126,000
3) This Is Where I Leave You: $11,860,000

Coming in at number 1 this past weekend was The Maze Runner, which is a story about, Thomas is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they're all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow "runners" for a shot at escape (IMDB.com). Based on James Dashner's novel with the same title. Barnes and Noble give the The Maze Runner  novel a 4.5/5.

At number 2, was A Walk Among the Tombstones, starring Liam Neeson (Schindler's List and Taken). This movie is about a private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife (IMDB.com). Based upon a 1992 crime novel by Lawrence Block, with the same title.

Finally, number 3 at the box office this past weekend was the comedy, This Is Where I Leave You, starring Jason Bateman and Tina Fey. When their father passes away, four grown siblings are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens (IMDB.com).

SVA students can get discounted tickets at VASA! $7 tickets!

Roller Skate Dance Party!?

I don't know about you guys, but I just got all too excited about this roller skating dance party I heard about. The Central Park Dance Skaters Association is hosting a series of skate circles for the public to enjoy.

Central Park has been hosting these skate circles for decades now, permanently marked in their official events calendar. The CPDSA formed officially in 1995 after roller skating became a huge problem in the park and a collective effort was made to obtain permits for the activity.

 

There will be live DJ's, good weather, intimidatingly glorious skaters and terrible ones, too. It is New York, after all, so you really don't know who will show up besides yourself.

I myself have strong reservations (completely irrational ones) about roller skating, so I won't be participating in the circle itself, but the association has made it clear that you don't have to have skates to have fun. There will be space for people to dance around and get weird with the DJ's in the park.

If you do want to skate but don't have your own gear, you can rent from a Skate Truck that will be around. The Skate Circle is West of the Bandshell and East of Strawberry Fields and Sheep Meadow. They host the event from 2:45pm to 6:45pm Saturday and Sunday. DJ Scott Wozniack will be playing Saturday and DJ Misbehaviour on Sunday.

3 Residence Hall Room Organization Tips

We've been in the swing of school for a few weeks now and if you're like me, your room organization has seriously gone downhill since you moved in. Some of you may have not even gotten entirely settled before the start of classes. During my four years living in a residence hall I've experienced living in a variety of spaces, all of which being pretty small. Living in a small space can be challenging, but by utilizing some smart storage techniques, your room at Ludlow can feel like the studio of your dreams!


1) Hide the Clutter

For me the biggest change has been made simply by putting things away. Out of sight, out of mind. Now you may not all be hoarders like I am, but if you are you know the struggle of clutter. Storage bins from places like Bed Bath & Beyond and the Container store have made the biggest difference for me! They're great to put under your bed and on the stop shelf of your closet. You can also buy larger units with wheels to store all those misc. art supplies and your kitchen items!

Girls who struggle with sharing a bathroom may want to make their own make shift vanity on their desk using some make up storage units in order to minimize the time in the bathroom.


Another easy solution is to put up a tension rod and a curtain in your closet to create a make-shift "door." This can really relax the space and still let you have the messy closet that you need.

2) Utilize Vertical Space

While there square footage may be limited in Ludlow the windows are huge and the ceilings are high making the rooms feel brighter and bigger. A great way to better utilize the space is to use some of that vertical area. The doors are a prime opportunity to take advantage of this trick. They make over the door hangers for anything you could imagine including jewelry, shoes hampers. These are a great way to organize some of the little things that end up cluttering your desk.

Another way to use the vertical space is to make sure your bed is on the highest notches on the post, creating some extra hidden space, even if you already have your dressers under there. Getting into bed may take a little more muscle but at least you'll get to relax looking at your pristine room!

3) Control the Cords

Make a logical system to keep all of your electronic cords in order can really relieve some tripping hazards. We all have about a billion different things that need to get charged but there's no reason to have to untangle them every time you need to plug you iPhone in. This is also a way to make your desk more accessible and a better environment to get all of that homework done.

 








Just by making a few organizational changes your room can feel twice as big and help create a better working, sleeping and living environment!


-RA Charlotte

Got time to spend?

As the days get longer and the temperature gets colder, the options of activities in the big city become limited. After classes and work it's understandable that you'd want some time for yourself, but what to do? Instead of locking yourself in your room for hibernation why not surround yourself with tales of adventure, action, mystery, drama, or instructional manuals too, if thats your thing. A bookstore is the perfect option for the upcoming freeze over, they're warm and inviting. Strike up conversation with another bookstore goer or the owner. Bookstores are a great addition to any uneventful day and I'm sure you'll uncover some wonderful reading material with a little exploration!!


Here is a few bookstores to get you started

1. Strand 
2. Alabaster bookshop
3. Bluestocking
4. The Mysterious Bookshop
5. St. Mark's Bookshop
6. Book Thug Nation
7. Unoppressive Non-Imperealist Bargin Books
8. East Village books
9. Barnes and Noble (union square)
10. Barnes and Noble (fifth ave)
11. Baruch College Bookstore
12. Shakespeare & Co.
13. 192 Books

-RA Desiree

Film Review!

So lately I've been watching some great movies... being a film major and all, it tends to happen. But a movie I have become OBSESSED WITH is the fantastic movie, "The Silence of the Lambs." Directed by Jonathan Demme, based on the second novel by Thomas Harris of the same title, Clarice Starling portrayed by Jodie Foster must track down a serial killer named Buffalo Bill. But to do so, she will have to seek the help of the devilishly brilliant, psychopathic psychologist Hannibal Lecter, who is behind bars for eating his victims... Hannibal "The Cannibal." Hannibal is portrayed perfectly by Anthony Hopkins with is spooky gazes, smart wits, and clever words. He's so creepy that you just can't take your eyes off of him. 

Of any film major wants to learn about story structure, directing actors, and editing... "Lambs" encompasses all attributes of an amazing film. It has a larger than life status and it has been awarded with 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture (1991).

It's the perfect amount of horror, suspense and just great filmmaking.

Check out the trailer here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQKs169Sl0I

Response to Dolphin Rape Cave and Call to Action

(This post may be a trigger to those sensitive to the subject of sexual violence. Be advised.)

Currently on display on the sixth floor of the Photo building is a photograph by Nathaniel Shannon, titled Dolphin Rape Cave 2014.

Many students are outraged by the image and its graphic and crude portrayal of sexual assault, which can be a trigger for those who are survivors of rape and sexual assault. Requests for the photo to be removed were denied. Someone over the weekend tore down the photograph.

For me personally, this is not an issue about artistic freedom. I support his right to create and show this image. This is an issue about our denied right to not view an image. By displaying this photo in the hallway, students going to class are obligated to view it.

His intention, he claims, is to bring about a conversation. I feel in that respect he was successful. I also feel this was a cheap shock value photo.

Let us as a community do right by his wrong and make art that empowers us to fight sexual assault and show him and others that there are better ways, more thoughtful ways, more considerate ways, to bring this dialogue into a learning environment. Our college. Where we learn to communicate with sophisticated images, not cheap cheats for attention.

Because this image is not right. There is something on a basic moral level that is not right about him making this image that I want us to address as human beings first, artists second.

Please let us prove we are better than those committing these heinous acts. Just because you can make this type of image does not mean you should.

The Photo Department has announced that it will be holding a student forum in the SVA Theater (23rd Street between 8th and 9th Avenue) Thursday, 9/11/2014 at 6pm. I encourage you to attend as a member of this institution.

--Alli Golden

Below is the photograph, if you have not already seen it. Following the image is a response posted by the artist.

 

 

The IKEA Trip 2014

Yesterday a group of twenty-five Ludlowians went to IKEA! It was a beautiful day and we rode the bus down to Pier 11 and then hopped on the water taxi that goes there. It was the perfect way to enjoy one of the last days of summer and also get some neat items for our new rooms (eating some meatballs was pretty convenient as well). Here are some photos from the day and if you want to go to IKEA just ask RA's Adam, Alli or Shaun for directions how to get there!

If you went on the trip and took some photos why not send them in as we'd love to see them! Email them to ludlow@sva.edu or post on the Facebook group!

Local Man Buys Calendar. No Longer Slave to Time

Its that time of year again. The birds are chirping and the Residence Halls are filled with the buzzing of students, both new and returning. But not all the buzzing was blissful at 101 Ludlow Street. For local man, and Ludlow Resident: Mayson Andrews, it used to be a constant buzzing of alarms and missed calls. Followed by the haunting sounds of snoozes and passive aggressive text messages. Mayson’s life was a mess. His friends had started to refer to his lateness as “running on Mayson Time”. I was able to reach out to Mayson’s friend and fellow SVA student George Rennold to clarify exactly what “Running on Mayson Time” means. he had this to say:

“Maysons late to everything. So we tell him the wrong time of when we do stuff on purpose. like last week we went to see Guardians of the Galaxy at 8:10. We told him the showing was at 7:30 so he’d show up by at least 8:05… then we’d tell him the showing was sold out and we have to go to the 8:10. it’s a lot of lying. we lie to Mayson a lot… like im pretty sure our whole friendship is based off of lies... But hey, thats Mayson time, right?”

It would seem that that was indeed, “Mayson Time”. Or was it? I caught up with Mayson Andrews in the Ludlow lobby thursday september 4th. Mayson had just signed for a package he had bought from popular retail website Amazon.com. When i asked him what was in the flat package, he told me that “I hold in my hands the future.” Before i could comment, Mayson opened the box to reveal a calendar.  He had this to say:

“It’s a Calendar. It was like 15 bucks on amazon, and it goes from July 2014 to August 2015 so i dont gotta worry about waiting til january… im gonna write my classes on here and stuff, maybe some other important days, like the life size human battleship game on Monday the 8th or the ikea trip on Sunday the 7th... I dunno. I’m always late to things and my friends are kind of jerks about it… so I got a watch too.”

Mayson lifted his wrist to show me this sweet watch he also bought from Amazon.com. I wished Mayson luck as he went back to his room to get some rest before his first 9am of the semester. A day that will also mark the first day of Maysons new life as a punctual member of society.

For Ludlow Livewire, I’m Mike Patten, reminding you to get a calendar. And a watch.

SVA Theater

The SVA Theater is hosting the SVA Inaugural film festival the weekend of September 19th to the 21st. SVA finally has it's own film festival hosting the talents of students and alumni. It is of course free to all SVA students.

One of those events is a screening of the Avengers in 3D with a behind the scenes show afterward with an SVA alumni. The avengers showing is Friday, September 19th at 8pm. Other screenings include Rio 2, Lars and the Real Girl, Beavis and Butthead and more. To checkout more events going on next weekend at the SVA theater go to svatheatre.com. The SVA theater is is located at 333 West 23rd Street and a shuttle service will be available from the main building. Check it out!!

-RA Kate

Things You NEED from IKEA

New semester, new room, same excuse to buy new stuff at IKEA!

Being an SVA student as well as a New Yorker (you can sort of call yourself one now, you know your family is), you lead a very busy life. You have canvases to stretch, models to draw, gallery shows to criticize and an entire city to explore. 

But as much as you try to tell yourself you won't be spending any time at all in your room, in the deepest confines of your heart, you know that's not true. Where else are you going to stream Netflix for hours?

Instead of squinting at those four white walls and drab desk, spruce up your room with some fun and cheap accessories from IKEA this weekend!

Here's a list of some awesome (and completely necessary) things you need to get there:

Cactus, $2.99

Ivor, curtains, $14.99

Jansjo, LED work lamp, $9.99

Ullgump, low pile rug, $19.99

Signe, flatwoven rug, $2.99

IKEA PS 2014, clock, $14.99

Laborg, low pile rug, $19.99

Fniss, wastepaper basket, $1.49

Olik, vase, $1.99

Dofta, potpourri, $1.29

Angenam, vase, $14.99

Jamka, set of 4 food containers, $2.99

ice cube tray, $0.99

Dokument, letter tray, $8.99

Lampan, table lamp, $4.99

Garnityr, clothing organizer, $14.99

Tripp, food containers, set of 3, $3.99

The Ludlow BBQ!

The Ludlow BBQ was a huge hit again this year and thank you to everyone who came out and said hello! We had a selection of grilled goodies, drinks, snacks and ice cream (which all pretty much disappeared within minutes haha). DJ Mike was playing some sweet tunes that everyone was singing along with and bopping their heads to. It was great seeing everyone mingle and get to know each other. I hope a lot of new friendships have now blossomed because of it and you've got to know your neighbours a little bit better! Here are a selection of photos from the night and if you have any feel free to email them in at ludlow@sva.edu as we'd love to see them!

We are going to have a bunch more programs and events so keep an eye out and come by!