Posts by Matt Klimerman

We’re gonna be honest with y’all: this week’s episode of Girls was a little strange.  Besides the always-awesome one-liners from our girl Shosh, this episode (aptly named “Boys”) aired on the side of serious, focusing primarily on Ray’s life crisis and Adam’s breakup recovery. We struggled to find one particular idea/word to write about this week, so here are some brief thoughts on three subjects covered in last Sunday’s episode:

Brands of difficult (n.)
How it’s used in the show: Adam: “I’m a difficult person, everyone’s a difficult person.  [Hannah] was accepting of my brand of difficult, she was okay with it.”

Let’s briefly address a thought that Adam (of all people, right?) proposed: the idea that we all have our own “brands of difficult.”  Maybe our goal in life shouldn’t be to find the least difficult people to surround ourselves with, but to find those who accept our personal brand of difficult, and whose brand of difficult we can also handle.  We all have our flaws—Tyra Banks would tell us these make us “flawesome” but, like, there’s nothing flawesome about the fact that we constantly leave our shoes directly in your walking path / leave dirty dishes in the sink / obsess over The Wire. The friends you make and keep are going to be the ones who will celebrate you at your best and stand by you at your worst. [Read more →]

Earlier today, the Brown Concert Agency posted a brief ticketing FAQ on its website outlining when Spring Weekend 2013 tickets will go on sale, as well as the number each student can purchase. From its site:

Q: When will tickets go on sale?

A: Tickets will go on sale starting at 8am on Monday, April 15. On this first day, Brown students only will be able to purchase 1 ticket each.

On Tuesday, April 16 at 8am, RISD students (and Brown faculty/staff) will be able to purchase 1 ticket, and Brown students will be able to purchase 1 additional ticket for guests.

From Wednesday, April 17 at 8am onwards, RISD and Brown students will be able to purchase a TOTAL of 3 tickets (one for themselves and up to two guests).

Its post also describes the process for a rain call (same as in past years — in case of a rainout, first-day tickets are guaranteed for Meehan, second- and third-day tickets are refunded), as well as an announcement that BSA is working on a “brand new ticketing system” as a means of preventing its website from crashing, which it has done in spectacular fashion each of the past few years. Let’s just hope we can spend April 15th kicking off a glorious Spring Week 2013, and not web-bashing the Birmingham Small Arms Company. Ya bish.

Sexit (n.): Well, in Hannah’s words: “To leave a party or another event to go have sex.” Depending on circumstances, this can either be an exhilarating covert operation filled with seductive hiding and passionate whispering, or the most awkward situation imaginable.

How it’s used in the show: The episode opens with Hannah basking in her own genius over the creation of a phrase she believes could go as “completely viral” as the term bootycall: Sexit. Lena really handed this one to us on a silver platter, which she probably stole from Patrick Wilson’s super awesome Greenpoint townhouse. Although Ray shoots her “brilliance” down with a quick Urban Dictionary search on his phone (why does Ray have a smartphone?), Hannah brings up a very interesting point: What’s the best way to bail on a social situation to bang, specifically in our own Brunonian world?

Place: Whisco
Time: 12:00 a.m.
Discreet sexit feasibility: EASY

Here’s an example of entry-level sexiting. At this point in the night, you and your desired sexual partner have probably ditched your respective group of friends, and are either aggressively making out on the dance floor or secluded in a corner of the patio. Leaving da club discreetly should not be that hard. If you’re worried about ditching your friends without saying bye (which honestly defeats the purpose of a sexit), shoot them a text once you’ve already left. Nothing puts the kibosh on a sexit like your belligerent roommate begging you not to leave without her. [Read more →]

As we enter the new year (and, in turn, the 2013 legislative session), many now speculate that the Democratic leadership in the Rhode Island State Legislature will pass a new bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Rhode Island is the only state in New England that does not allow same-sex couples to marry. State House Speaker Gordon Fox, the sponsor of the bill, said it would be debated on the House floor by the end of the month. The bill is likely to pass the House, but the outcome of the vote in the Senate is still uncertain. Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed is against gay marriage.

The majority of voters in RI support allowing same sex marriage, but the proposed bill is not without its opponents. Bishop Thomas Tobin, a powerful local figure (Rhode Island is the most Catholic state in the country), called the measure “immoral and unnecessary.” Governor Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14, who passed a law allowing for civil unions between same-sex couples two years ago, has said he is “eager” to sign the bill if it arrives at his desk.

Brown, of course, has had its own run-in with some anti-gay Crusaders in recent years (check this out if you’re a freshman or sophomore), and it’s safe to assume students still “love gays.” We were indeed ranked 4th most LGBT-friendly college last year.

The RI House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the bill today. Keep checking back here for more updates about the bill’s progress.

We love HBO’s Girls, and we know you do too. Instead of doing a traditional recap of each episode every week, we will be taking a term that is used in each episode, and applying it to Brown’s own unique culture.

Main hang (n.): A person who inhabits the role of a significant other without taking on the responsibilities and legitimate (read: daunting) title of “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”

How it’s used in the show: Hannah attempts to discuss her relationship with Adam, reminding him that they’re not together anymore, to which Adam replies: “I don’t really care about labels. You’re here all the time. You’re my main hang.”

To use the term “main hang” is to acknowledge that there is some sort of relationship present without the weightiness and definite-ness that comes with using the term boyfriend/girlfriend. However, main hang is still, in a sense, a label, despite the fact that Adam doesn’t “care about” them. So what makes it any less daunting than it’s traditional predecessor? Maybe we college kids are scared off by what the titles of boyfriend and girlfriend have come to mean. We’re shown that in most cases, without a breakup (which seems to almost always suck), boyfriends and girlfriends move on to become fiancees, and eventually spouses. In our collegiate bubble that places a premium on individuality and independence, it’s normal for us to feel trapped by the seemingly inevitable chain of events that comes with boyfriend/girlfriend labels, regardless of how much you currently like being with your significant other. Having a boyfriend or girlfriend also means having to deal with a potential breakup. There are the awkward condolences from friends (and even acquaintances!), and the uncertainty of how long is appropriate for mourning and rebounding moving on.   [Read more →]

As a means of ushering in the new year, we figured we would recap our most popular posts of 2012!

This year we lost BrownBares, Antonio’s dollar slices, Spotted@Brown, Tedeschi, and our sanity.  We invented games, stole from (and spent way too much time in) the Ratty, produced a webseries, and dressed up for Halloween. We complimented our peers, imagined The Hunger Games at Brown, and cursed the Birmingham Small Arms Company. This year certainly was one chuck full of fun and absurd happenings, and we couldn’t be happier to have had opportunity to relish in it all with you. Without further ado, here are our most read posts of 2012: [Read more →]

Here is a video of The Jabberwocks performing a phenomenal arrangement of “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye. Jared Newmark ’14 absolutely killed it on Kimbra’s part, and, overall, this performance definitely made me hate this song a little less.

While this guy had a difficult time getting the patrons of this coffee shop to “back, back, back it up” or get any “females twerking,” he still did a lovely job with his cover of the Lil Jon classic “Get Low.” People really love doing ironic covers of this song, and we could not be more supportive.

Candidates, representatives, proposition oh my! Last night was full of stress and tension, but one issue loomed in all Brunonians’ minds: “What’s my witty election status going to be?”

Come on, admit it: Gloating and touting your political savvy is the real benefit of voting (psh, who cares about civic duty?). Here’s some of campus’s best (or worst):

[Read more →]