A Blog brought to you Daily by the Herald

Today, President John Maeda announced that he will be leaving RISD at the end of this semester (read: in two weeks). Maeda will conclude his six-year term, and move on to be the first Design Partner at the Silicon Valley firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in January 2014. He will also chair the eBay Design Advisory Board. When RISD students return to the steeper sections of College Hill on January 6th, 2014 for Wintersession, John Maeda will have departed… so get your selfies in with Maeda now, before it’s too late! Here is the video Maeda e-mailed to the RISD community this afternoon, along with his official announcement:

Maeda concluded his campus-wide e-mail with heartwarming last words: [Read more →]

We think this tricycle might be art.

December not only brings revenue to our favorite holiday outlets, but also to our friends at Loui’s [Ed.—While its website spells it "Louis," the sign, pictured above, spells it "Loui's." We're going to go with the sign on this one], who, bless ‘em, fire up the grills and prepare eggs any way you like at 5 a.m., just in time to get you over the finals-season all-nighter hump. (Although some of us prefer the pumpkin pancakes, and wonder if anyone, ever, has ordered the fish and chips.)

While you barely may be able to keep your eyes open at that hour, you may have noticed the eclectic artwork and hangings that adorn every foot of Loui’s wall space. What you may not know is some of the history and thought behind some of the more noteworthy of these pieces. Blog took a few morning trips to Loui’s, had a look around, and sat down with Johnny—the owner and son of the legendary Louis—himself.

Our trips and learnings culminated into BlogDH’s Original Loui’s I-SPY GAME! RISD museum, ShmISD museum—the walls of Loui’s are where it’s at.

Next time you make the trip to Loui’s, see if you can spy the following artworks of interest, and comment with any other odd and delightful curios you come across! [Read more →]

While we know the picture above is absolutely terrifying, we can take comfort in the fact that our stroll through Van Wickle Gates isn’t quite on the horizon… yet. In the meantime, we want to celebrate the incredible members of the Class of 2014 and focus on what makes them special—like their inability to suppress the urge to friend every single member of the Brown Class of 2014 Admitted Students Facebook group, or their tendency to be at the GCB at any given moment.

TL;DR: We’re thrilled to present BlogDailyHerald’s first-ever Senior Superlatives. Here’s how it works:

Anyone with a Brown email address is eligible to vote. This means all students and faculty are allowed to nominate members of the senior class.

You’ll 1) nominate seniors in 30 different categories. Nominations will close on Friday, December 6 at 11:59 p.m.
You’ll then 2) vote for one of the top five nominees in each category. Voting will close Monday, December 9 at 11:59 p.m.

Your job now: Nominate seniors across 30 categories in a Google Form after the jump. Ready, set, go!

[Read more →]

Tuesday, December 3:

Event: Serial Entrepreneur Angus Davis — Talk and Q&A
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: List 120

Brown Entrepreneurship Program and RISD E’Ship host a talk with Angus Davis, the man who sold his first venture to Microsoft for nearly $1 billion. Davis is also a Renaissance man: he’s a serial entrepreneur, innovator, angel investor, and advocate for education reform. You should go and take notes.

Wednesday, December 4:

Event: Make Your Own Cuneiform Tablet
Time: 4:00–5:00 p.m.
Location: Rhode Island Hall 108

This is probably the coolest thing we’ve ever seen in Morning Mail. The event is hosted by the Egyptology and Ancient Western Asian Studies DUGs. Go. [Read more →]

Hours before you witnessed your mom’s pre-dinner panic, got drunk off mulled wine with Grandma, and sat down for mashed potatoes and stuffing, juniors studying abroad this semester had the unique opportunity to engage in the Turkey Day festivities in different countries (and time zones) around the world. Although unconventional, these Thanksgiving celebrations proved to be a reminder of these students’ national pride as they were able to take this slice of Americana with them and share it with both old and new friends. Check out how your peers celebrated Thanksgiving abroad! It’s like the Ludacris song, but with Thanksgiving.  [Read more →]

‘Tis the season for overly dramatic and arboreal scuffles.

In response to last year’s flak regarding renaming the 17-foot evergreen in the State House a “Holiday Tree,” Rhode Island’s Governor Chafee ’75 P’14 P’17 has restored the Christmas tree title in a statement issued on Monday.

Rhode Island of all places is a peculiar site for a debate over public religious tokens, considering the Rhode Island Charter of 1663 was the first legal document in the world that completely decoupled church and state in favor of toleration, according to historian J. Stanley Lemons.

However, unsurprisingly, much of the hubbub last year surrounding the name “Holiday Tree” came from none other than Papa Bear Bill O’Reilly. In classic Factor fashion, he sent Jesse Watters up to Providence to ask Brown students for their take on the issue. Watters aired a segment portraying Brown students as the only population in the state that preferred the holiday tree over a Christmas tree, saying that all people he spoke to in Providence preferred the traditional name “except if you go to Brown University.” [Read more →]

Being off meal plan has really pushed my culinary boundaries. From making my way through the Smitten Kitchen cookbook to exploring the aisles of Trader Joe’s, I’ve tried it all. (Except maybe duck. I haven’t delved into fancy poultry.) However, when I don’t feel adventurous or I’ve had a hard day, there’s always one recipe I can fall back on: Puerto Rican-style rice and beans. It’s easy, it’s filling, and it reminds me of home. I could also eat it for a week straight and not get bored—an ideal recipe for any off meal plan cook.

Not pictured: the huge mess that is my kitchen.

What you’ll need:

• A couple of tablespoons of olive oil
• Half an onion, minced
• 1/3 of a red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1/4 tablespoon of Goya seasoning (I use Cilantro y achiote, but any type works because Goya = food of the Gods.)
• 1/4 tablespoon of oregano (I used thyme in this recipe, because I am a dorm room cook and I grab whatever herb is at arm’s length.)
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons (or 1 large spoonful) of white cooking wine
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon of white vinegar
• A can of Goya red kidney beans, drained
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Optional: Half of a chicken bouillon cube. Because Puerto Rican-style rice and beans are not strictly vegetarian. Oops.

Phew, that was a mouthful. Now, to the recipe!  [Read more →]

Brian Griffin, former Brown student and loving dog of the Griffin Family, was struck by a car while playing roller hockey and died in Quahog, Rhode Island on Sunday, November 24. He was 8 years old.

Brian was picked up as a stray by his owner, Peter Griffin. Brian was brought into the family of Peter, Lois, Chris, Meg, and Stewie. He loved his family deeply—he was known to spend lots of time with baby Stewie, and also was known to have been madly in love with Peter’s wife, Lois. His relationships with the Griffin’s neighbors were cordial, for the most part; the exception was his relationship with Glenn Quagmire, which was particularly tense. This was due to each individual’s fixation with Lois Griffin.

His admiration of Lois wasn’t exceptional—he was generally affectionate toward human women. Sadly, he was unable to maintain his various relationships, due in part to poor relationship advice from Stewie (remember: Stewie is an evil talking baby). The most notable case was his (ex-)girlfriend Jillian. The two moved in together, but things got rocky thereafter, largely due to Brian’s inability to handle her complete idiocy. He died a single man.

[Read more →]

Dave Binder, legendary Brown Spring Weekend performer and BlogDH superfan, has videotaped one of his most recent performances in Florida—”an evening of great interpretations of great singer songwriters”—and put it on YouTube for the world to enjoy. The backdrop is no Wriston Quad, but the way he covers his usual favorites, such as Van Morrison, Jimmy Buffett, The Eagles, and James Taylor, among others, is completely familiar. If he’s selling paradise, the combination of palm trees, acoustic guitar, and “Margaritaville” sure do the trick. But we also think taping and sharing a Sunday Binder Spring Weekend performance would have equally done the job, too—nothing screams paradise like sunshine, song, and dance on Wriston Quad.

“I can’t wait to go home,” seems to be the constant refrain of Brown students as Thanksgiving draws nearer and nearer. However, some of us will have to wait longer before going back home. I am of course talking about the wonderful International student body at Brown.

As some of us come from across several seas and timezones, going back home over Thanksgiving isn’t always possible. But five days of vacation can still be put to good use. What follows is a list of things to do over the Thanksgiving break so Internationals can celebrate in their own way, without feeling left out.

1. Visit your relatives living nearby. Your home away from home. If you have relatives living nearby, be sure to visit them over Thanksgiving. Not only will you get to eat “home food” again, but you can also practice speaking your native language again, which probably will have gotten a bit rusty with all these months abroad. [Read more →]