Looking for a good-luck omen during finals period? Look no further than the sky… in Australia.

At 4:25 today, you can watch via SOOH’s live video feed the annular solar eclipse happening in the Southern Hemisphere. Since the moon is at its furthest point from the Earth while passing in front of the sun, it’ll form a particularly bright halo called the Ring of Fire.

And if you missed it? The next solar eclipse will be in our backyard will be this November 3rd.

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YAM hears your weeping in the stacks you asking for a study break! Rock-dwellers and SciLi-ers alike, drop everything and head to room A10 in the basement of the Rock for a quick yoga sesh at 10 p.m. Check here for updates throughout the day. No matter what test you have tomorrow, YAM promises to keep you calm, cool, and collected with more yoga breaks throughout finals period.

See you there! Or at Pizza Nite. Or both.

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It’s that time of year.

Need a study break? Like free food?

In case you haven’t been benefiting from the Blog meal credit cooperative yet — or even if you have — come on down to the libraries tonight and tomorrow for the semesterly tradition of Pizza Nite! If you haven’t been before, you really ought to check it out. It’s quite the scene.

TONIGHT (Tuesday): SciLi basement
Tomorrow (Wednesday): Rock lobby
Both at 9pm.

Expect crowds. (Also, apples.)

All for you. Those boxes are all for you.

Finals have rolled around again, which means our cravings for scruffy dogs’ luv are at an all-time high. Unfortunately, we can’t literally give you dogs to cuddle, but we hope this installation of DogDH will tide you over until you track one down yourself. Keep the pics coming to blog@browndailyherald.com, and keep killing it in your end-of-semester shenanigans. We love you and you’re magnificent and you’re all doing great. (That’s what we imagine dogs would say if they could talk.)

John’s dog, Lach.

John Qua ’13: Both Lach and JQ “have long flowing blond locks, can devour inordinate amounts of ice cream, and prefer to be laying in people’s laps.”

Mary-Evelyn’s dog, Puppy.

The story of Puppy’s arrival in Mary-Evelyn Farrior ’14′s family is the best: “He showed up on our doorstep two years ago and has just stuck around ever since. He is the love of my life. This Halloween costume always kills me. He was also ironically stung by a bumblebee and had a severe allergic reaction on that very day. Although we lack great physical similarities, Puppy and I share an affinity for sleeping and snuggling that makes us rather alike in character.” [Read more →]

The ever joyous and festive Cinco de Mayo tends to fall during a not-so-festive reading period for Brown students. Sure, this timing may be less than ideal, but engaging in the Cinco de Mayo festivities is a welcome break from the tedium of studying. Need a study break? Here are six reasons why you should check out the 3rd Annual Cinco de Mayo Block Party, taking place today from 12-6 p.m. on Westminster between Eddy and Clemence.

1. Face painting. Everyone needs to regress a bit, especially during finals.
2. Mariachi de Brown. Bet you didn’t know we had a mariachi band.
3. Curious as to where all your favorite food trucks are? They may or may not be on dishing out on Westminster. Go say hello to Like No Udder, Sprout, Mijos, and PVD Pudding Pops, among others.
4. Writer’s block? You can write Happy Cinco de Mayo messages on a Mini Cooper courtesy of ZipCar.  Get those creative juices flowing.
5. Stressed? Smash a Pinata…or two.
6. If you’re of age, get your tequila fix at the Block Party’s outdoor bar. It’s a beautiful day, and margaritas are calling your name.

See you there!

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As impending finals threaten to suck the humor and happiness out of our daily lives, the Brown comedy community is working hard to get in a few last laughs. Starla, Improvidence, Out of Bounds, and Brown Stand Up put on well-attended shows last weekend. The Brown Noser released its final issue of the semester this week. Tonight, the trend continues with a first-of-its kind event-a live show from Brown Barrel Radio.

The Brown Barrel is an umbrella organization that includes most of Brown University’s comedy groups. Every two weeks, members offer up a podcast of off-the-cuff comedy in their Radio Show. The episodes are packed with sketches, routines and–most importantly–jingles. Tonight, the Barrel Radio Show will be bringing their typically recorded antics to a live audience. They’ve never raised the stakes like this. Will we be introduced to a new jingle? Will there be live renditions of said jingle? Come to Wilson 102 at 7 p.m. tonight to see for yourself. And while you’re on the comedy grind, check out Improvidence and OoB’s 2nd Annual Freaky Friday show at 9:30.

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Go outside. Like, right now. Spring might have decided to show up fashionably late this year, and we might still be a bit bitter from the overcast Spring Weekend. But the sun is out, the grass is soft, and it’s socially acceptable to take off clothing during the day.

On a day that’s as nice as today is, here’s what you should be doing:

1. Iced, iced coffee

If you’re not drinking liters of iced coffee, you’re doing it wrong. Because, seriously, who’s going to need Flex Points in two weeks from now? Alternatively, find out when fresh baked cookies come out of the Blue Room oven and attack like a cloud of descending locust.

2. Throw a frisbee.

Or, if you’re like me, get hit by a Frisbee.

3. Get a farmer’s tan…

… and then lose it. Let’s lose those shirts and show some skin. Who cares if you’re shivering because it’s just a few degrees too cold for your outfit? Refuse to put on a sweatshirt because you look too damn good.

[Read more →]

To chill or not to chill? A reading period mantra. During times like these (with little-to-no class…or, if you’re unlucky, a lot of class), it’s easy to get distracted. Suddenly everything in New England may look super fun and enticingly adventurous—that’s totally normal. Although I won’t encourage you to drop the books and find a car and zip to the destination of your dreams….who am I kidding? That’s exactly what I’m going to do.

If you find that you’re coming to resemble the above animation, consider putting brakes on the studying and indulging in some you time. Consider doing one of the following:

1. Go to the RISD Farm in Barrington, RI (it’s actually a beach). It’s beautiful, a stone’s throw away, and it’s private! Only Brown or RISD students allowed, so bring your ID. Try biking there for a good workout. [Read more →]

Have you listened through all your study playlists already? Twice? Clearly, the only thing left is to mash it all up and regurgitate it in a techno-pop hodgepodge (I mean, pop music has been doing it for years).

If you’re too impatient to wait for nostalgia to kick in, or in case you’ve already forgotten “Call Me Maybe,” T-Swift, One Direction, or “Gangnam Style” (literally parodied by everyone), you can jam out to this year’s annual pop music menagerie mashup by DJ Earworm.

Yes, it’s catchy as hell, and yes, I’ll be blasting this for End-of-the-World Parties. Try and judge.

You probably couldn’t love Monsters, Inc. any more than you already do. But, starting today, you have a whole new reason to love it: Mike and Sulley are back on the silver screen, and this time, they’re in 3D. Picture it: Flying doors, scary monsters, Roz’s hair all in three dimensions (although you may want to avert your eyes from the screen when they zoom in on her mole). The movie is playing both at Providence Place and in Seekonk. Watching monsters jump out of closet doors will definitely help you get your sanity back after Neuro. Maybe.