Posts by Miriam Furst

Pinkberry, the frozen yogurt franchise from Los Angeles, is opening this summer at the Providence Place Mall. For those of you whose first exposure to froyo was on Thayer Street, Pinkberry first opened in 2005 and, following its success and spread to the East Coast, competitors responded to the froyo sensation by opening other froyo chains and independent Pinkberry knock-offs… hence, Juniper on Thayer (once again: Sorry, Juniper).

The store hopes to open by July 12, according to Brian Galvin, who handles Pinkberry’s public relations. He also asked in an email to BlogDailyHerald what we’d think of a potential Pinkberry on Thayer. While we’re not making any promises, FroyoWorld and Juniper might face some neighborly competition soon.

Image via.

Sir Kensington's Gourmet Ketchup is the Ratty's newest addition.

The Daily Meal, an online food and drink blog, recently re-ranked the country’s “Top 20 universities“ based exclusively on the quality of their dining services. Even though the writers praised Brown’s ability to cater to vegetarian and kosher eaters, we still came in close to last out of the 20 schools, with our ranking at #18.

The number one school on the list, Washington University in St. Louis, might offer a kitchen space where students can learn to make sushi, but I doubt its dining halls can get fratty like the Ratty. And, as if the Ratty didn’t have enough surprises over the weekend, today it introduced Sir Kensington’s Gourmet Scooping Ketchup — a brand created by two Brown alums.

We might only be #18 on the Daily Meal list, but at least we have alternative ketchup, Gail, and as of tomorrow, Mama Kim’s at the Blue Room.

The Princeton Review released a new guidebook on April 3 entitled The Best 300 Professors. The Princeton Review creates books for high school students, ranking colleges based on different criteria from best campus food to happiest students (a list we occasionally top).

In its most recent book, The Princeton Review collaborated with RateMyProfessors.com, students and administrators from colleges across the nation. According to GoLocalProv, Brown is the only school in Rhode Island to have any professors mentioned in the book. With five professors on the list, Brown is one of the best represented colleges. So, as pre-registeration for next fall approaches, consider enrolling in a class with one of these professors, whose areas of specialty and Fall ’12 course offerings are listed below…

• Barrett Hazeltine, engineering (ENGN9)
• Joseph Pucci, classics (The Idea of Self, Fortunatus)
• Stephanie Ravillon, French (Fren30, Fren60)
• Robert Serrano, economics (Microeconomics I)
• Daniel Stupar, studio art (unlisted for Fall ’12)

And, if you’re a second semester senior and haven’t had the chance to take a class with any of these professors, at least make your way to Professor Hazeltine’s office in Barus & Holley, introduce yourself, and receive a legendary handshake.

To no one’s surprise, most Brown students spent about five minutes this morning, between 8 and 8:05, clicking refresh over and over again on the Brown Marketplace website. Around 8:10, most Brunonians gave up, went back to sleep, or angrily updated their Facebook statuses.

Freshman year, when I lived in Keeney, newbies to Spring Weekend ran around the halls shrieking and thinking that the problem lay in their computers or internet connections. My friends and I tried to use each other’s computers, plug in ethernets, and use different web browsers.

No upperclassmen engage in such efforts though. They’re not surprised when the BSA website crashes. In fact, I would have been more surprised if I actually walked away from my computer today with two spring weekend tickets.To be honest, I don’t know why I bothered trying…

It’s pretty absurd that most of the student body wakes up to try to get tickets when year after year the system fails. How can this be this difficult? It’s really time for a new system. Whether that means having students buy tickets in order of class year, like Banner pre-registration, or some sort of system involving a Ticket Oak, BCA needs to mastermind something new.

And, on a side note, though the cost is steeper, it’s easier to get tickets for Coachella.

Brown loves making us wait for our spring break. While all of your friends at other schools have already hit the beach with college students nationwide, we’ve been studying for midterms embracing the unusually warm March weather and pretending we’re already on break.

For those Brunonians who will be tanning on a beach next week instead of on the Main Green, you know you need to pack bathing suits, sunblock, sunglasses, and all those other generic vacation items. But, if you want to stand out on the beach and be the most ridiculous college student there, consider bringing along the following items…

1) A Boom Box Fanny Pack. There’s no doubt that you will make an impression on the beach with this fanny pack. It has built-in speakers that are compatible with iPods and iPhones, so you can blast your music in public and obnoxiously play “Call Me Maybe” on repeat. You know you want to.

2) You want to be able to enjoy drinks on the beach, right? You want them to be cold but don’t want to pay the overpriced charge at the tiki bar. A cooler is out of the question because packing a heavy, bulky vessel in your suitcase is ridiculous. Or is it? Outsmart everyone with this collapsible cooler on wheels. It’s easy to pack and you’ll definitely make a scene trying to roll that on the beach. [Read more →]

When I was accepted to Brown, I told my former math teacher that I would never take another math class again, thanks to the open curriculum. Scarred by grumpy math teachers in middle school, I stubbornly held true to this statement; I know I’m not alone on this one.

But just because we may have forgotten the significance of pi doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate Pi Day. Now that we’re at Brown, March 14 doesn’t mean our math teachers bring pie to class and assign less homework as they revel in the majesty that is pi. Instead, we can celebrate Pi Day in a way better fit for college students: by eating. SPEC will be serving pies of all sorts (e.g., pumpkin, apple, and even chicken pot pie) at their Pi Day event at The Underground tonight from 8–10 p.m.

Pi Day also happens to fall on a Wednesday, which means you can celebrate at Whisko. I’m sure that would make your childhood math teachers really proud (but please make sure your BAC doesn’t get up to 3.14).

For those who want to honor the holiday in a more academic way, Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) is sponsoring a Pi Day celebration with the Puzzle Club and the Go Club for puzzles in the Science Center at the SciLi from 7–8:30 p.m.

So embrace Pi Day and celebrate the fact that you love math, or that Brown didn’t make you take it once you got here.

Woolley Dorm has always been home to the Emery Gym and Chicken Finger Friday, but now the dorm also has a resident nail technician. London native Roxanne Alaghband ’15 sets up her own salon right in the Woolley kitchen. Equipped with 26 different nail polish colors and a variety of sanitation devices, Roxanne offers manicures and pedicures for $10 and $20, respectively.

Roxanne went to beauty school last summer in London for two months and is CIBTAC (Confederation of International Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology)-certified, which means she’s licensed to give manicures and pedicures across Europe.

Even though a dorm kitchen may seem like a strange place to get a manicure, Roxanne takes hygiene very seriously. She asks all her clients to put on hand sanitizer, and she uses a tub equipped with a replaceable plastic rim for soaking hands and feet. She changes the plastic inside the tub after every treatment and gives each client a new nail file.

Roxanne said her favorite part of her work is “meeting new people.” Her clients range from freshmen to upperclassmen and even some graduate students. Interested students should email the nail expert directly to set up an appointment, Roxanne_Alaghband@brown.edu.

OREO HITS THE BIG 100 TODAY. To honor the best-selling cookie of the 21st century and 100 years of snacking, Kraft is launching a worldwide, multimedia campaign with the theme “Celebrate the kid inside.” In addition to video and print advertisements, Kraft is airing commercials in fifteen different countries that will showcase moments in which Oreos bring out the inner kid in everyone, according to a New York Times article.

Obviously, no birthday is complete without cake and sprinkles. So, Kraft is pimping out the Oreo frosting and adding sprinkles in a limited-time, special edition “birthday cake Oreo.” Grab yourself a package of these tasty cookies to enjoy with a glass of milk. If you’re not down with the classics, test out some of these recipes, after the jump  [Read more →]

You aren’t going to Mardi Gras for the long weekend, and you’re not going home either. Instead of watching TV shows in your bed all day (which is more difficult since the demise of Megavideo), go out and explore Providence and beyond. There’s really a lot to do beyond College Hill…

Ice skating at Kennedy Plaza costs $6 and is open until 10 PM.

1)   Go ice-skating at Kennedy Plaza downtown. Who cares if you haven’t skated since you were 9 years old? It’s like riding a bike…you never forget. And even if you do, worst-case scenario is you fall on your face in front of some Providence locals, big deal.

2)   Visit Newport for the annual Winter Festival, which includes activities like mansion tours and scenic trolley rides. For those 21+, indulge in a package deal that includes a helicopter ride, vineyard tour and wine-tasting.  The festival takes place the 17^th to the 26^th. [Read more →]

Unless you have an exciting date (and the Ratty doesn’t count), the best part of Valentine’s Day is when an a cappella group disrupts your class to serenade an unsuspecting fellow classmate. I’m not sure which scenario is more awkward: the crowded lecture hall where 100+ students witness your embarrassment or the intimate seminar where everyone has a great view of your face as it grows redder than a Solo cup.

Even professors excitedly await the spectacle. Last spring, my professor in a relatively small class remarked that she hoped someone would come to serenade a student. Luckily for her and the other amused students, the Ursa Minors walked in during the last few minutes of class to sing “Only You” to a girl sitting right in the middle of the room. She awkwardly slouched in her seat, nervously whispered to her friend, “Who sent that to me?” and, essentially, did not play it cool. At all.

That girl was me.

Now, one year older and wiser (not really, but I can pretend), I’m offering advice about how to act natural if the Ursas interrupt your class, call your name, and serenade you. And just a heads up, I heard the pirate a(“RRR”) capella group is doing valentines this year too, so be prepared. [Read more →]