Connoisseur of Fine Art and Fine Bagels Brit Byrd visited CC sophomore Alex Chang’s Nussbaum dorm-cum-museum. Here’s what he found out from its curator…

Impressionism, curatorship, and soft lighting are three concepts not usually associated with the address 600 W 113th St. This year however, the focused glow of one resident’s set of museum-caliber LEDs is on a mission to civilize the notoriously harsh fluorescence of Nussbaum.

Alex Chang (aka Peaches), CC ’15, has posters of two impressionistic works, Edgar Degas’ Rehearsal of the Scene and one of Claude Monet’s many famous Water Lilies framed on his wall with special lighting and sound. A set of Ikea INRIDATM lights and a LG Sound Bar TM audio system belie the setting of a college dorm in favor of a meticulously constructed bachelor den, more befitting of an address 40 blocks downtown.

Despite the holistic well-tuned glow, the display was not master-planned beforehand but rather, an act of consumer spontaneity. “I was already in Ikea, just getting typical stuff for my room when I ran across the LEDs and remembered how harsh the lighting was [in Nussbaum]. My mom works for LG and had been given the Sound Bar already, and it all kind of just came together while we were putting it up.”

The bespoke nature of the room is in sharp contrast with Chang’s Carman double last year which he described as “very much a stereotypical college dorm; the posters I had last year had a very pastel color scheme, so I guess that eventually led to me having the two impressionist prints this year.”

The new setting is intended to feel more like a home, but space limitations are still a source of frustration. A French-trained chef, Chang worked at the Mark Hotel on the Upper East Side over the summer, and loves to entertain—even if that entails simply making a meal for some of his suitemates. “The biggest problem that keeps me from making this room more of a home is a lack of space to eat,” he said. “Although I don’t miss the messiness of Carman, this room isn’t quite the forum of human interaction that last year’s was.”

Perhaps the biggest irony of the double-turned-gallery is that Chang’s roommate enjoys a far better view from his perch across the room. When asked for his opinion, he simply remarked, “the whole thing … is terribly… beautiful.”

Flight of fancy

It’s finally the weekend again!  After what we’re sure was a hot mess totally composed Bacchanal experience, perhaps you’d like to regain some dignity points.  With this in mind, Bwog urges you to try something new and follow this handy guide detailing the ideal operatic soundtrack to your drink of choice.  Toast to your friends and, as always, be responsible.

White Russian
Traviata: Libiamo ne’ lieti calici
Let’s be serious.  If this song wasn’t on the list we’d lose all credibility.  Just as Violetta gives Alfredo a white flower to show her love, give your beau a white Russian.

Franzia
Hamlet: O vin, dissipe la tristesse
“Let wine lighten my heavy heart!” Hamlet sings, convincing the troupe of players to perform at dinner–where he will prove that it ain’t a party till someone totally loses it and pours wine all over himself.

Jose Cuervo
Carmen: Les tringles des sistres tintaient
You just wanna go out and dance with your bitches?  Carmen feels ya, honey.

J. Roget Champagne
Don Giovanni: Champagne Aria
Don Giovanni is such a kind soul that he just wants to invite all of the peasants into his house to drink!  …or he’s trying to sleep with the bride-to-be.  But come on if Mariusz Kwiecien came onto you on your wedding night, would it really be a struggle?

Shots of Nikolai
Macbeth: Brindisi
Is someone totally harshing your vibe at the pregame going on about the ghost of the man they just had killed? Lady Macbeth knows how you’re feeling, man.  Roll your eyes and take a shot with her.

Natty
Faust: Le veau d’or
Just give up.  If the Devil’s there, your story will always be topped.  He will win every drinking game.  Never have you ever been hypnotized by the Devil?  Boom, drink up.

Manhattan
La Boheme: Musetta’s Waltz
Sure, Mimi and Rodolfo are the leads, but it’s Musetta who steals the show.  In an attempt to make her ex jealous, she sings about how she’s so hot that all these men follow her around and give her nice things. Like you’ve never been there before.

Precursor to Moulin Rouge via Wikimedia Commons

Some say 40 is the beginning of the end, but for CU seniors, it is only the beginning. Here begin the last 40 days ’til graduation, ceremoniously inaugurated last night on Low:

Ladies and gentlemen, your Class of 2012

Cue Bwog’s preliminary college bucket list, a guide to some the things some of us want to do before we put on our growing-up hat. But let this be mere fodder for your minds—we want to know what you still have to knock off your list: the insane, the inane and the downright dangerous. The comment section is yours, CU ’12. Take it away.

TO DO:

Eat

• Eat Koronet for a whole week
• Give out free food to a bunch of people on college walk for no particular cause
• Start an ice cream truck
• Eat a Spicy Special
• Go to HamDel, not drunk
• Live off of free food indefinitely

Drink, Think, Enjoy, Venture, and PrezBo after the jump.

It’s midterms, you’re busy, you got two hours of sleep, and in your delirious haze you stop at a food cart to grab a hot dog. Well, maybe today it’s just a hot dog. But maybe this is the start of something big. Maybe, just maybe, tomorrow you’ll wake up to find Morningside has turned into a land of dreams.

Today, an ambiguous sausage. Tomorrow, some part of a cow!

And if that hot dog, err, disagrees with you, well, um, we’re not gonna think too hard about why this might be there. But. It’s there. Just in case.

Are we the 1%? Discuss