You can feel the changes already: one month into the semester and you’re actually (somewhat) acclimated to life at Brown. You’ve figured out your classes (and took the S/NC jump), you have more than two people to sit with in the Ratty (and finally got that creepy dude off your back), and are well on your way to comprehending the difference between credits and points (one of them is for muffins only, right?).  Looks like the only things left to master are homework and living for the weekend.

Oh, right…the weekend.

There are a lot of activities I could advocate for and against here, but for brevity’s sake, this post will deal with the locale where a lot of them will probably take place: Wriston Quad. One-armed Caesar Augustus has seen enough shenanigans in his day (and survived a hurricane!), so make his rusty visage proud by handling yourself like a champ in these situations.

But I’m basically Ansel Adams!

As inebriation and the hysteria of seeing your best friend from POLS 40 in the basement of Sigma set in, cameras and iPhones will inevitably be yanked out of purses and pockets. Like a well-built piece of flypaper, anything with a camera in it causes the more narcissistic of us to flock towards the flash. So go easy on the party’s flow – don’t take more than two pictures of the same group of people. Stick to one serious, one funny. You’ll wake up the next morning and not remember half of their names, so make the tagging easier and keep your photo seminars brief.

[Read more →]

Staying in Providence for the long weekend and want to make some transcontinental friends? You’re in luck: While many Brown students go M.I.A., around 300 students from other schools will be flocking to College Hill for the third annual IvyQ conference.

This meeting of queer-identifying students and allies “aims to create a pan-Ivy community of LGBTQ students and allies equipped with the skills to examine their identities, value those of others, and understand intersectionality,” according to the conference’s official website. While the conference originated in the Ivy League, it’s grown to include colleges from around the country, from UNC-Chapel Hill to Grinnell (which is in Iowa, by the way).

While registration filled up two weeks ago due to high demand (500 students, oh my!), some events, like the keynote speeches, will be open to the general public. And students dying to participate can still sign up for the waitlist.

BlogDH spoke with some of IvyQ’s coordinators, who gave us the lowdown on the conference. [Read more →]

If you’re someone who watches the Super Bowl for the commercials, loses friends over the Marvel vs. DC debate, and saw High School Musical On Ice during sophomore year eighth grade, swing by the Meehan Ice Rink after the men’s hockey game for the Brown Band’s Superhero Ice Show.

Like, right now.

It’s everything you know and love about the band — scrambling, suggestive formations and tubas — but ON ICE! Why? Because everything is better on ice: from Disney movies to scotch.

If you miss it, there’s another ice show February 17 (the same night as IvyQ, making that weekend the biggest rainbow snow cone ever), but you’re still a horrible person without school spirit.

Image via.

If you’ve got some free time this evening (HA!), lie down and look up at the night sky. The Geminid Meteor Shower is going on … well … everywhere tonight, starting at 7 pm. The best place to watch would be dark corners (also good for hook-ups, hint, hint), or the Ladd Observatory, if you’re feeling up for a trek.

Besides, it couldn’t hurt to make some wishes during these upcoming weeks.

Please let me pass Chem0330, please let me pass Chem0330, please let me pass Chem0330 …

Image via.

The Annual Beary Keys Holiday Concert
8 — 9:30 pm | Salomon 001 | Free

The Bear Necessities and the Higher Keys join forces once again with the goal of imparting holiday merriment on the masses. With offering like this, we don’t doubt their capabilities.

B.U.M.S. Holiday Concert
4 — 5:30 pm | St. Stephen’s Church | Free

Yup, the holiday cheer-spreading continues. This one’s in a church. With traditional carols. And seasonal refreshments. Plus, it’s going down right during that awkward afternoon lull during which, let’s face it, you’re not getting anything done. Cheer up with the Madrigals. Then, get back to work.

“Night” Multimedia Performance
8 — 9:30 pm | Granoff, Studio 1 | Free

“Night” is the concert-culmination of the course, Digital Performance. Explore myth, fantasy, reality and various pasts with graduate students from the MEME program.

Eurydice
8-9:30 pm | Production Workshop | Free

Alum Sarah Ruhl turns the myth of Orpheus on its head in this retelling. Seen from the point of view of Eurydice, this sad romance is the perfect study break.

CHATTERTAPS: A Holiday Performance
7-8 pm | Salomon 101 | Free

Treat yourself to a dose of holiday cheer while the musical movements of the Chattertocks and What’s on Tap? entertain. Singing and dancing abound in this fun alternative to writing your paper.

Brown University Orchestra Concert
8-10 pm  | Sayles Hall | $3

There’s nothing like classical music to spur your studies. Get new inspiration for your Pandora playlist from the orchestra’s renditions of: Mussorgsky’s Introduction to Khovantschina, Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B minor, featuring cellist Saul Richmond-Rakerd ’13, the winner of the 2011 Concerto Competition, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, op. 70.

Out of Bounds Sketch Comedy Presents: Miracle on Thayer Street
MacMilan 117 | 9 — 10 pm  | Free!

Continuing the holiday spree of comedic delights, Out of Bounds will titillate you with its humorous riffs on classic holiday cheer.

Snowflake Ball
Alumnae Hall  | 7 — 10 pm  | $5

Brown Ballroom Dance’s annual winter formal will get you up and out of your seats at this classy affair.

Parade
Pell Chafee Performance Center  | 7:30 — 10:30 pm  | $6

This Tony-award winning musical is brought to us tonight by the Brown/Trinity Rep M.F.A. Acting Program. Anti-Semitism and injustice are played out in this drama.

That Ship Has Sailed: A Staged Reading of a New Musical
The Underground  | Readings at 8 pm and 11 pm  | Free!

Phoebe Nir ’14 and Meghan Kelleher ’12 have written a musical. It is a love story. It is apparently “whimsical and heartbreaking” in equal measure. See it. #biased

Fermata Debut Concert
Hunter Auditorium  | 8 — 9 pm  | Free!

Brown’s newest performance ensemble plays music composed by Brown students for Brown students. Hear it.

The IMPROVidence Naughty and Nice Show
MacMilan 117  | 8 pm / 10 pm  | Free!

Holidays are always chock-full of comic fodder. Celebrate the times you were nice and got presents under the tree at IMPROVidence’s Nice Show, starting at 8 pm. Then reminisce about all your naughty nights with jolly St. Nick with IMPROVidence again at 10 pm. But what’s happening from 9 to 10? A Hanukkah interlude:

Brown Stand Up Comics Presents: Dreidel to the Grave
MacMilan 117  | 9 pm  | Free!

Sandwiched between IMPROVidence’s Naughty or Nice Show, the Brown Stand Up Comics promise to triple the holiday season laughs erupting out of MacMilan 117 tonight.

Speakeasy Sessions, volume IX
The Underground  | 10 pm — 2 am  | Free!

Brown Concert Agency is bringing out the bands tonight. Coming first out of the gate is We Should Worry, who describe themselves in this intriguing manner: “We’re like if Mumford & Sons got jiggy with Neutral Milk Hotel after a blind date set up by The Mountain Goats.” Enough said. Next up is Mz. Kitty, a group of punktastic females, and Kid Chocolate, a RISD rock band favorite. Last but not least, we have DJ 48 Lizards with a promise to bring electro-dubstep-jungle beats to the table and keep you dancing all night long.

Dead City
Leeds Theatre  | 8 — 10 pm  | $7 (but check your mail boxes for a $2 coupon)

Sheila Callaghan’s modern riff on James Joyce’s Ulysses takes the stage tonight in Alexandra Keegan’s ’12 production. Follow Samantha Blossom through New York City as she struggles to connect with those around her and find herself during the journey.

The Poler Bears Present: All of the Lights
Art House Lounge, Harkness House  | 8:30 — 9:30 pm  | $3

“The Ivy League’s first and sassiest vertical dance group” brings you their final dance of the season. Come out and support them while you can. When those polar ice caps melt, who knows what’s going to become of them?

St. Anthony Hall Presents Vices and Virtues
King House — 154 Hope Street | 10 pm — 2 am  | $4

There is apparently going to be “Champagne Elegance Upstairs” and “Debaucherous Dancing Downstairs.” Translation: Wear something snazzy, but don’t complain if it gets ripped off of you. Live music from the likes of Megalosaurus the Daffodil Killer will keep the dance floor packed.

Brown University Chorus Concert
Sayles Hall  | 8 — 10 pm  | $3

Ring in the holiday season with Handel’s Messiah. A 50 person chorus + a 25 person orchestra = holiday happiness.

Songs for Smiles: A Concert to Benefit Operation Smile
MacMillan 117 | 8 — 9 pm | $2 — $3 suggested donation

The Brown Derbies and the Higher Keys sing for a good cause tonight. Be philanthropic and hear some golden tunes all at once.

Animation Screening
Tech House | 4 —6 pm | Free!

Cartoons, animated films and theatrical shorts will be shown at Tech House for the “entertainment and edification of all.”

Fall Dance Concert
Ashamu Dance Studio | 8 pm | $5

Get your groove on as student choreographers show off their steps.

Shakespeare on the Green Scenes Festival: Rude Mechanicals II
Fox Auditorium | 8 pm | Free!

The Bard in all his wonderful — shortened — forms.

Wonderland
Buxton International House | 10 pm — 2 am | $3 entry, $1 drinks

Go down the rabbit hole with Alejandro tonight at Buxton. Magic and mystery lurk behind every corner, so watch out now.

The IMPROVidence Baby Show
Salomon 001 | 9 — 10 pm | $1

BABIES! Who doesn’t love ‘em? Improvidence shows off its fresh faces through means of comedic absurdity — like every other major event in life.

Fall Dance Concert
Ashamu Dance Studio | 8 pm | $5

The Theater Arts and Performance Studies Department showcases student choreography this weekend in its annual exhibition. Get your groove on with the best of them and cheer on your pals as they take to the stage.

Brownbrokers’ Fifth Annual Mini-Musical Festival
The Underground | 8 — 11 pm | Free!

This year’s line-up includes hipsters hamsters and cannibals, guidos and hula dancers, child stars and more. Will it be hilarious? Yes. Will it be musically titillating? Yes. Should you already be there, anxiously awaiting curtain call? Yes.

Shakespeare on the Green Scenes Festival: Rude Mechanicals II
Fox Auditorium | Performances at 8 pm AND Midnight | Free!

Join SotG for some classic fun with scenes from Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, All’s Well that Ends Well, The Sonnets and 10 Things I Hate About You.

Brown Stand Up Comics Present: Comicopia
Granoff Auditorium | 8 — 9 pm | Free!

Give thanks for your funny bone.