Meet Kat Lukes, Blogger
Kat Lukes is a junior-year transfer student from Chicago studying Art History and French. She is a museum enthusiast, part-time doodler, and 6-time Lollapalooza attendee. Tim Curry is her spirit guide and she can probably kick your butt at Cards Against Humanity.
Film Review: 2014 Oscar Nominated Shorts, Live Action
Starting off with a sob and an uncomfortable laugh, Denmark’s "Helium" and the U.K.’s "The Voorman Problem" are the first two films in the theatrical release collection of the Oscar nominated live action shorts of 2014. They are reviewed by Nolan Miller.
"Helium" introduces us to the little blonde Danish boy named Alfred who is bedridden with a crippling and life-threatening disease. Enzo, a new janitor in the hospital, becomes friends with poor Alfred who reminds him of his own brother he lost as a young boy. With each successive visit to Alfred’s room we learn piece by piece of Helium, the collection of houses suspended by balloons where sick children go when they die to “get their strength back.” As Enzo gets close to the end of his fantastic tale complete with brief scenes of Alfred’s imaginings of Helium depicted on screen, Alfred's condition suddenly takes a turn for the worst. The short ends with Alfred, supposedly close to death, finally leaving for Helium by way of the gigantic, gold and red zeppelin called the “Helium Express.” An overly sentimental piece complete with a soundtrack oscillating back and forth between melancholy and hopeful tracks to shove its point home, "Helium" is designed to tug, no, yank violently at the heart strings of the audience.
"Helium" introduces us to the little blonde Danish boy named Alfred who is bedridden with a crippling and life-threatening disease. Enzo, a new janitor in the hospital, becomes friends with poor Alfred who reminds him of his own brother he lost as a young boy. With each successive visit to Alfred’s room we learn piece by piece of Helium, the collection of houses suspended by balloons where sick children go when they die to “get their strength back.” As Enzo gets close to the end of his fantastic tale complete with brief scenes of Alfred’s imaginings of Helium depicted on screen, Alfred's condition suddenly takes a turn for the worst. The short ends with Alfred, supposedly close to death, finally leaving for Helium by way of the gigantic, gold and red zeppelin called the “Helium Express.” An overly sentimental piece complete with a soundtrack oscillating back and forth between melancholy and hopeful tracks to shove its point home, "Helium" is designed to tug, no, yank violently at the heart strings of the audience.
Graphic Novel Review: Asterios Polyp
By Denis Sgouros
Asterios Polyp is a man haunted by the searing embers of his past; just ask the narrator, Ignazio, his still-born twin. Introduced looking broken and disheveled, Asterios lies alone on his king sized bed meant for two. He fidgets with his zippo, sounds of feminine ecstasy emanating from a television set its picture just out of frame, when a clap of thunder sparks the plot. It also sparks a fire in his apartment building. So it goes that on his 50th birthday, Asterios watches from out in the rain as all the mementos of his past go up in flames and he flees. He takes a wad of soggy $10 bills out of his wallet and purchases a greyhound ticket asking “how far would this take me?” The answer is Apogee.
Art Exhibit Review: “American Cool” at the National Portrait Gallery
By Sarah Shelton
After all the snow, class cancellations and the heart filled holiday, I took it upon myself to run way off campus to a much cooler place. I escaped to Chinatown where the National Portrait Gallery is putting famous photographs of famous people on display in the “American Cool” exhibit.Within the “American Cool” exhibit are original photographs of individuals from America’s past and present that fit into the nation’s idea of “cool.” To be cool is to something new and unattainable. Including everyone from celebrity rock stars, such as Jimmy Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, to timeless prose writers like Earnest Hemingway, the photographs offer an interpretation of what the term “cool” really means and how it is applied to a wide variety of people.
Meet Sarah Shelton, Blogger
Sarah Shelton is a junior transfer student pursuing a degree in Print Journalism and a minor in Creative Writing. She is an aspiring fashion journalist and hopes to one-day work for VOGUE UK. Sarah’s love is shared equally between cooking, stalking all things British, coffee drinking, and last but not least, play dates with her pug, Minnie.