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A&E

Pitkin returns to campus for Red Weather’s 40th Anniversary

October 20, 2016

Amidst the astonishing total of 180 events that took place during Fallcoming weekend, the Literature and Creative Writing Department hosted a poetry and fiction reading to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the campus’ literary magazine, Red Weather’s inception. The event featured readings from award-winning current student writers Pascal Dafinis ’19 and Nora Silva ’19, as well as readings and comments from Kirkland and Hamilton alumni who worked on Red Weather during their time here. The festivities began with two moving student readings before the stage was turned over to Red Weather’s founder, Jo Pitkin K’78. Pitkin read some of her own poetry, including “The Lake House.” She expressed her gratitude in being able to celebrate the magazine which has served as a “great vehicle for students to share their creative work.” More ...

R.A.R.E. to present Nightshift this Saturday

October 20, 2016

By midday Friday, an 18-wheel semi-trailer will leave Manhattan and cruise the final miles of I-80 towards Hamilton College. Its cargo, contained in tens of human-sized black boxes, is energetic, prehistoric stuff–some of it is even synthesized from shells, the ancient spirals of the nautilus. If you were to ask Luke Gernet ’17, garden statue and President of Hamilton College’s R.A.R.E. (Relational Aesthetics and Related Endeavors), on his expectations for the prolix/mysteriously-named student organization this time last year, he would have laughed alongside fellow co-founder Chip Sinton ’16 at the thought of the club receiving an invoice for a delivery costing thousands of dollars. After all, the club’s original mission of “(re)creating artistic practices which take as their theoretical and practical point of departure the whole of human relations and social context” was nothing more than a glib attempt at getting Student Assembly to pay for a few friends’ beer. More ...

Pianos Extraordinaire: Fallcoming Jazz concert to be released as live album this spring

October 20, 2016

The annual Fallcoming Jazz concert, held Friday, Oct. 7, was a night that will be long remembered—and not only by those who were in attendance. In fact, this year’s concert served doubly as a performance and a recording session for an album that will be released in the spring by Arbors Records featuring the dueling pianists of the night, Dick Hyman and Rossano Sportiello. Each of these jazz legends is well known in his own right, and though Hyman is the older and better known of the two (Sportiello mentioned after the concert that, as a young pianist, he had always idolized Hyman and even referred to him as “a volcano of inspiration”), each demonstrated that he was a perfect match for the other. Together, they played some of the most inspiring jazz piano duets yet heard. Following a cheerful introduction of the players by the Joe Williams Director of the Fillius Jazz Archive Monk Rowe, Hyman took the mic to introduce their first selection: an old Fats Waller classic called “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” After a more-or-less traditional first take, Hyman turned to the audience to explain, “Since we are doing a recording session here, as well as a concert, we’re going to do another take of that one, at a slightly different tempo… And we may be doing that sort of thing throughout the evening.” More ...

Annual BLSU and La Vanguardia event applauds Latinx heritage and culture

October 6, 2016

The Black and Latino Student Union, in conjunction with La Vanguardia, hosted its annual student-led performance event, Café con Leche, on the evening of Friday, Sept. 30 at Cafe Opus. The BLSU is a cultural organization geared towards the empowerment of its members and seeking to spread awareness of cultural and ethnic diversity on campus. La Vanguardia forges an avenue in which to celebrate Hispanic heritage and facilitate positive cultural interactions between its members and the greater Hamilton community. The spectacle saw students from all walks of life gather to enjoy a cultural experience in celebration of Latinx Heritage Month. Just walking in, I could feel the immense sense of pride and appreciation for Hispanic culture that was shared among everyone in the audience, and not just because the mood was set with hip, rhythmic Spanish music playing in the background. It was evident from the outset that students were ready to express some of their most personal confessions and works of art in a space where they otherwise would not have had the opportunity to do so. More ...

Has HBO Found its New Hit?

October 6, 2016

With a long list of critically acclaimed shows such as The Sopranos, Deadwood, and Game of Thrones, HBO has always been the standard-bearer for premium cable television. Shows like the aforementioned programs have undoubtedly shaped the television landscape into what it currently is. Now, a multitude of platforms and channels like Netflix or AMC respectively are producing a seemingly never-ending stream of quality shows. With the pool of shows to pick from much more heavily saturated than earlier, HBO has struggled to maintain its supremacy over the premium television market. Over the past few years, one could even argue that these platforms have overtaken HBO in terms of show quality and variety. Granted HBO currently airs arguably the most talked about show Game of Thrones, but this is an exception rather than the norm as far as the rest of their lineup is concerned. Vinyl was supposed to be the next hit to replace Game of Thrones when it was released last winter. With big names behind it such as Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger along with high production costs, many had high hopes for the show. Unfortunately, these hopes were ill founded as Vinyl was met with middling reviews and a cancellation order after only one season. This flop caused many to question whether HBO had finally lost its touch. More ...

Preview: Fallcoming Jazz Concert features Dick Hyman

October 6, 2016

This Friday, Oct. 7 from 9-11p.m., Hamilton will host its 23rd annual Fallcoming Jazz Concert in the Fillius Events Barn with “Pianos Extraordinaire.” The concert features Dick Hyman, an American jazz keyboardist and composer and Rossano Sportiello, an award-winning, Italian jazz pianist. In their spirited performance, the impressive duo merges jazz, classical, and improvised music, creating a cohesive product while still retaining the semblances of their own unique styles. Improvisation is one of the major features that sets jazz music apart from other genres. No other style of music relies as heavily on “composing in the moment” as jazz, though improvisation takes place in almost all other styles of music. Generating original content extemporaneously forces the musician to rise to a level of creativity that helps him or her become more attuned to his or her musical process. The educational benefit to the recordings of improvised jazz and to improvisation itself is undisputed. During live jazz performance, a palpable unification of performer, listener, and musical venue occurs, creating a multi-dimensional form of instrumental art. Audience members of “Pianos Extraordinaire” will undoubtedly have this experience. More ...

Women to Watch: Powerful Female Characters on TV

October 6, 2016

TV Show: Supergirl Network: CBS/CW Seasons: 1-2 Actress: Melissa Benoist Background Info: It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a superhero TV show on a major network with a female lead! In last year’s addition to the growing lineup of superheroes on TV, a woman finally got to lead the show, and she did not disappoint. The leading lady’s magnificent acting made every scene convincing whether she felt overjoyed or miserable. However, she’s not the only one who shines. Complementing her on the show are three other female leads, all with their own powers: Cat Grant, Lucy Lane and Supergirl’s adopted sister, Alex Danvers. Cat Grant is the “Queen of all Media,” the CEO of a major news organization and is confident, beautiful and egotistical. But more than that, Ms. Grant is aware of how difficult it can be to be a successful business woman. In a poignant episode, she describes her annoyance in having been forced to keep her composure at all times, so she won’t be seen as a complete maniac. This is a relevant example of our world today, where men can let loose but if a woman gets angry, she will often be viewed as insane or inferior. Ms. Grant is neither of these. More ...

Penny Lane weighs in on her film, NUTS!, presented at F.I.L.M.

September 29, 2016

F.I.L.M.’s second screening this semester was NUTS!—an intellectually stimulating documentary that questions the validity of easily believing figures of popular culture and history. NUTS! is the creative vision of film director Penny Lane, assistant professor of art and art history at Colgate University, who introduced the film last Sunday, Sept. 25 at Hamilton. The film has been shown in 60 countries over the summer and was screened at many film festivals, including Sundance Film Festival. Lane is also the director of Our Nixon, another innovative documentary released in 2013. NUTS! starts with the sweeping success of Dr. John Romulus Brinkley in Milford, Kansas as a genius who not only introduced surgical implantation of goat testicles as a cure to impotence, but also succeeded in developing the world’s most wide-spanning radio station, with a transmission of one million watts. Brinkley, a self-made man, faced the persistent attempts of the authorities to condemn him. He was almost a heroic figure to many Americans in the film. More ...

Women to Watch: Powerful Females Characters on TV

September 29, 2016

TV Show: Parks and Recreation (2007-10) Network: NBC Seasons: 1-7 Actress: Aubrey Plaza More ...

Jon F. West showcases powerful pipes while singing in his concert on Saturday night

September 29, 2016

I am not a connoisseur of classical music. I’m not even confident that I possess an average familiarity with the genre. Anybody reading this review who considers themselves an aficionado will most likely be struck by my staggering ignorance. However, staggering ignorance can be usefully applied to provide a completely outside perspective. Or, it might just make for an interesting read. I’m relying on the latter being true. Entering this concert hall, the disparity in median age from the concerts I normally attend was evident. This isn’t a denigration of any kind. Everyone has felt isolated from the seemingly predominant tastes of their generation at some point, and I’ve always felt a lack of connection with contemporary trends (“Oh, like that snobby guy I hate?” you might ask. “Yes, that is me,” I respond). This was still the most extreme step into the past I’ve ever taken. Mid-show, while attempting to type a few notes on my luminous smart phone, I received an absolutely withering gaze from an older gentleman sitting in my row. More ...