The worst Spring Weekends are those when you have to work and/or study while you friends are slip ‘n’ sliding their way down Wriston…so GIT ER’ DUN.

With gFlash+ (Apple / Android), you have access to a huge bank of flashcards and you get to make your own in Google Docs. They sync wirelessly to your phone, so all you have to do is type in the question and answer and get learnin’. Although it’s not the best looking app, it’s by far the best free one!

Once you clear out next week’s studying, make sure you also study for exams the week after – there’s really nothing worse than trying to get yourself awake and out of bed after a full weekend of debauchery.

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What’s going on around campus? We spend most of our time locked in blogging caves, so we rely upon you, valued readers, to tell us of new developments in the Brunonian bubble.

See something strange on the Main Green? Hear a weird rumor you want checked out? Send us a tip (they can be anonymous), and we’ll do the investigating. Know about a cool event or website? Tell us about that, too, since we were probably too busy playing Flabby Physics to notice. Send us something cool, and you can be peripherally famous by association! Ten thousand dollars if you can tell us who’s playing for Spring Weekend… #notarealcontest

We all know that finding the inspiration to cook can be trying at times.  I plan so many more meals than I actually crank out, as the idea of a dish is sometimes more appealing than actually doing the work.  And let’s face the facts, sometimes it’s just easier to heat a can of soup, or make pasta (again), or even run to Nice Slice for a quick dinner.  Despite this, the therapeutic qualities of cooking your own food are undeniable and I am going to share with you some of the many places where I find inspiration to put down the ramen and get out the cutting board.

One of the first places you can begin your path to culinary obsession is, of course, television.  If the Food Network isn’t enough to get you salivating, then I think you’re on a path to hopelessness.  I can remember when my love for cooking began and I started watching the Food Network regularly, my father used to come into the living room and say, “why are you watching the food porn channel?” [Read more →]

Mariya Petkova (‘09), a graduate of the IR program at Brown, works as a journalist in Egypt covering the events there for the local and Bulgarian media. Since January 25, she has been documenting her personal account of the events in Egypt on her blog, A Bulgarian in Egypt.

Her inspiring blog features illuminating photos (like the one shown above), personal interactions with Egyptian citizens, commentary on the political situation in Egypt, and much more. In one poignant post, Petkova describes, in full gruesome detail, her arrest and detainment by Egyptian authorities:

“…Next they brought in 6 blindfolded arrestees that looked particularly poor and destitute. They made them kneel down facing the wall which was already bloody from previous beatings. The officers started mocking them and eventually one grabbed an army knife and started beating them with it on the head and back. They were kicking them so hard that the arrestees would hit their heads in the wall….”

It is a true understatement to say that Mariya is brave in her journalistic endeavors in Egypt. Her inspirational work reminds us here at Brown that there is much more to a Brown education than simply an Ivy League degree. Rather, our experiences here should embolden us to go out and have a positive impact on the world, as Mariya is doing currently.