Two days ago, I posted an embedded version of a video containing a fascinating lecture by Prof. Sarah Bolton, regarding the Physics of Musical Instruments. Some of our readers were very appreciative of the video being made available, and had nice things to say about the impressive content on Williams’ YouTube channel. I watched the first part of the “Physics of Musical Instruments”, and intended to watch the whole thing this weekend, when I would have time to really pay attention to the lecture. I was very impressed that Williams was making such fascinating, intellectually stimulating content available on the web. The experience of other colleges has shown that making such material available provides a lot of low-cost marketing and engagement for the college with alumni, parents, and prospective students, and has no real downside.

Just now, as I went to click Play on the video, I got the following message: “This is a private video. If you have been sent this video, please make sure you accept the sender’s friend request”

I have no idea how to gain access to the video now. When I click on the link to the original page on YouTube, I get a large exclamation mark with the message “This video is private.”

WTF, Williams?

Some have written asking if RTJr, my old roomate, was aware that his letters to a lost love had been answered. I assure you he is aware. Aware … but perplexed in how to answer. He has said to me that the response is beyond his wildest hopes and the promise of ardour, overwhelming.

Rechtal is an imposing figure on the firm ground of Philately. Yet, (and I know him so well), he is apprehensive, hesitant, unsure. The world of romance has been terra incognita to him since his meeting the beautiful L at a modern dance symposium at Bennington his senior year.

Given my own limited experience, I wonder if other more worldly readers might have suggestions I may relay to him. In strictest confidence, of course …

the letter continues … (more…)

Your one-stop blogging stop for any non-Eph content you’d like to share.

Random purple noise topic of the week: what are your favorite all-time comedy sketches?  I’d rank mine: 1.Pre-taped Call in Show (the last minute is just incredible), 2. Charlie Murphy meets Prince (see below), 3. Triumph at Star Wars, 4. Clinton at McDonald’s (I SO miss Phil Hartman), 5. Black White Supremacist, 6. Mercury Mistress, 7. The Audition, 8. Dick in a Box, 9. I’m [censored] Affleck / Damon, 10. Royal Deluxe II.  (Bad Idea Jeans, Citizen Kane, Bag O’ Glass, Wycked Sceptre, Celebrity Jeopardy, More Cowbell, Racial Draft and Ministry of Silly Walks were all strong contenders as well).

Today we’ll do a detail photo: A picture of a small aspect of the Williams campus that might otherwise be overlooked. (Other good examples are from #79 in the series here and from #74 here.) Have you looked closely enough at your campus that you can identify such an element?

Photo from Flickr user Bill McBride; original photo here (warning: contains puzzle answer).

What building is pictured here? Extra credit: What photos are often taken very near to this object?

Let’s just say that I was impressed. The casting was superb, the musical compositions magical, and the ending surprise joyful. If you’re on campus, it’s a show worth seeing.

Quiet housing implemented for fall 2010 semester – By Taylor Bundy

Following the release of the Neighborhood Review Committee (NRC) recent report, Campus Life announced Thursday that quiet housing will be implemented beginning next fall, with West College, which has 54 beds, designated for that purpose. Students in quiet housing will be required to abide by quiet hours from at least 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day. Applications for quiet housing are due today, and the room draw will take place next Wednesday.

CC funds new Snack Bar camera – By Zach Evans

After spring break, students will be able to view the length of the line at the Lee Snack Bar through a camera that feeds into an application on the Williams Students Online (WSO) Web site. The camera was proposed to College Council (CC) through WSO last spring and is receiving financial support from CC’s “Great Ideas” campaign.

According to David Moore ’10, president of WSO, the camera image will be accessible via an Internet connection anywhere on campus. “If you’re in Tyler at 12:30 a.m., it’s freezing outside and you want to know whether it’s worth it to head over to Snack Bar to try to get food before it closes, this will help you figure that out,” Moore said. The camera will be active only during the Snack Bar’s evening hours, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Ephs choose to serve country after graduation – By Dominique Exume

With 100 Days over and spring break fast approaching, seniors are no doubt thinking, perhaps a little frantically, about what they are going to do when they have to enter the real world. Henry Montalbano ’10 and Tim Bishop ’10 know exactly what they want to do – and it doesn’t involve commuting to a small cubicle every day, or at least not yet. They plan to join the military.

Both Montalbano and Bishop seem very enthusiastic about their future careers. Montalbano wants to be in the Army, and Bishop is currently trying to decide between the Army and the Marines. This determination to join the armed forces is rare at a liberal arts college. “When I tell people that I want to join the military, people usually offer a very polite response, but at the same time they’re wondering, ‘Well, why is this kid coming to Williams and then joining the army?’” Montalbano said.

Support men’s basketball in NCAAs – By Alex Mokover

I can’t think of a better way to come together than over the best basketball team in the nation. Whether hugging a complete stranger after a thunderous jam by Troy Whittington ’11, the best dunker in Division III, or chanting “defense” in unison with 500 of your closest friends, being a member of the student section is the perfect way to have fun, blow off steam and feel a real sense of community. We’re going to have the best seats in the house reserved for the student section and the cheer sheets printed out, so all we need are your lungs and your passion. The games are at 8 p.m. Friday night and 7 p.m. Saturday, and will be the absolute perfect way to set the weekend off right. A great team is something that the campus can really unite behind, and I guarantee a good time will be had by all. Whether these will be the first games you’ve seen all year or you haven’t missed a game yet, grab your frieds, come out, be loud and watch the best team in the country. Tickets go on sale on Thursday at 9 a.m. in Lasell, and it’s a good idea to get your tickets early. NCAA rules stipulate that we have to send some tickets to other schools, and there is a good chance that the games sell out before game time. Hope to see you there, and GO EPHS!

An interesting piece of news from the Williams College Library:

The Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA) will no longer be available after March 31 2010. For budgetary reasons, the Getty announced last spring that it could no longer support the database.  Efforts from the Getty to find another institution to take this project on have failed as a result, the Getty announced that all access to BHA will cease as of March 31.

BHA was a core resource for Western art research and it will greatly be missed but the Williams College Libraries and the Clark Art Institute library subscribe to many electronic resources valuable for art-historical research.   Williams College Libraries art database | Clark Art Institute art databases.

To learn more about these resources, contact a reference librarian at  Williams or at the Clark Art Institute library.

It’s useful to keep this in mind when you hear blather about how books and journals, and the physical library itself, will be made obsolete by ebooks and online databases. In short: any digital media that the College gains access to through a subscription can go away at any moment, because the provider can go out of business. Is it wise to outsource the future of libraries to a bunch of shaky nonprofits and external businesses like Google or Amazon?

Jason Coppelas ‘10 posted this quote on WSO. It comes from here. It’s an article about the new reality show High Society that really isn’t worth reading, except for the following:

Beer pong, which originated at Dartmouth and achieved perfection at Williams, is, like most racquet sports, an elite pastime.

Is there truth to this?

Two very different narratives for the Eph women and men hoopsters have led them to the same place: the Sweet Sixteen.  Also below, information about forthcoming swimming and track and field national championships.  Follow this link to watch all of this weekend’s action live. 

• Before diving in to the game previews, congratulations to Blake Schultz ‘10 for winning the prestigious Jostens Trophy, which is awarded to the single D-III player who best exemplifies scholarship, playing ability, and community engagement.  You can read profiles of previous winners, including Mike Nogelo ‘98, here.
• The women were likely the final team to squeeze into the NCAA tournament, but they have made the most of it, going on the road to win two games, including probably their best game of the year, an incredibly efficient offensive performance against DeSales.  The women really spread the wealth over the weekend, with six different players scoring at least a dozen points in at least one of the two games (with only Chessie Jackson doing it twice).  The Ephs will need all six to play at maximum effectiveness level to have a chance versus number one Amherst, at Amherst.  The Lady Jeffs have dominated all NESCAC foes since hiring super-coach GP Gromacki, and Williams is no exception, with four straight losses, including two this year by a total of 58 (!)  points.  Williams will be a major underdog, but all the pressure is on Amherst, and if Williams can keep it close into the second half, anything is possible.  What is scary for the rest of NESCAC / the NCAA is that neither Amherst nor Williams regularly play any seniors, and each has only one Junior among its top four scorers, so this game is likely to be a preview of future tourney battles.  The Jeffs are led by NESCAC player of the year Caroline Stedman, who is a terror on both ends of the court.
• The men are in the opposite situation … they cruised into the Sweet 16 behind strong games from Alex Rubin, James Wang, and Blake Schultz, and like the Amherst women, are playing at home as a heavy favorite to make it into the Final Four.  I’ve heard that the fan support last weekend was among the most intense of the past decade, and hopefully the crowd will be even more amped up this weekend.  Friday night they play tourney cinderella SUNYIT, which has two excellent players in 6′7 center David Golembiowski (an all-American who averages over 20 points, 10 boards, and 3 blocks) and guard Diloo Brown.  SUNYIT, however, is badly outsized, and plays basically only six guys.  It would be a surprise were they to beat the Ephs, but they are a solid team.  The next game, if there is one for the Ephs, would be a much bigger challenge.  They’ll play either a red-hot Rhode Island College team, who is likewise a bit height-challenged, but is deep, quick and athletic, and easily beat a very tough Midd team.  The Ephs have struggled a bit against the press this year, so I imagine RIC will try to take advantage of its deep stable of quick perimeter athletes to try to prevent the Ephs from getting into any sort of offensive flow.  They have a star point guard, Antone Brown, to match up with James Wang, and two strong wing players in D-1 transfer Jake Grimes and Mason Choice, brother of Colby star Adam Choice.  The Ephs are more likely to face a veteran Brandeis squad, who, like the Ephs, starts three top-notch seniors in Kenny Small, Terrell Hollins (a rebounding beast underneath) and Andre Roberson.  Brandeis, like SUNYIT, has basically a six man rotation (the difference being, all six guys who play for Brandeis are top-notch players), so if the Ephs end up facing off with Brandeis as expected, the key may be to try to wear them down with Williams’ superior depth.
• Turning to non-hoops NCAA action, both the men’s and women’s track teams have several entrants in this weekend’s NCAA championship.  The men are predicted to finish 24th, and the women 6th.
• Meanwhile, the Eph swimmers are gearing up for next week’s national championship as well.  The women, led by superstars Logan Todhunter ‘12 and Caroline Wilson ‘13, are expected to crack the top five, and the men are a threat to break into the top ten.
• Williams should have an absolutely dominant lead in the Director’s Cup standings following the winter season.  They already hold the edge after the fall season, and this has been one of the most successful winter seasons ever.  Men’s and women’s hoops will both finish no worse than ninth, wrestling finished 23rd, men’s and women’s track and field should both garner some points (likely quite a few for the women), women’s and men’s swimming are likely to score well at the NCAA’s, and skiing is currently in12th place.  If men’s hoops, women’s swimming, and women’s track all come through as expected in the next week, Williams will have a virtually insurmountable lead heading into the spring season.

Another video featuring Eph “Julianna McKannis” from The Onion.

How Will The End Of Print Journalism Affect Old Loons Who Hoard Newspapers?

View more videos from Williams College here.

Thanks to David Kane for the link.

A statement from George Steinbrenner ‘52:

Kraft, who started his Yankees tenure as an administrative assistant, progressed all the way up to vice president of community relations. Kraft left that position in 1994, but Steinbrenner remained close with him all the way up to his passing.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of Dick Kraft, who was my great friend for 60 years,” Steinbrenner said. “We were roommates at Williams College and played together on the football team. He was a strong, tough lineman, who we called ‘Pusher’ for his driving abilities on the line of scrimmage.”

Kraft, a seasonal resident of Tampa , Fla., passed away Monday at the age of 79.

“Dick worked for the Yankees beginning in 1984 as an administrative assistant,” said Steinbrenner. “He retired in 1994, and ever since had worked with me closely during spring practice in Tampa. Dick was — and always will be — a champion to me, and my loyal friend, who I will miss dearly. I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife, Emily, and their daughters, Debbie and Pam, and his entire family.”

Our condolences to the family.

From iBerkshires:

Thanks to JeffZ for the link.

Check out this interview with former U.S. Marine, former Eph football player and current attorney, Lee Kindlon ‘98.  Even prior to joining the Marines, no one could question Kindlon’s toughness, considering he once played half of a football game with a broken leg.  (Of course, I once made it through an entire motions hearing with a nasty paper cut, but hey, I’m not one to brag …).  Kindlon also has some interesting quotes in this recent article on police interrogation tactics.

With the recent announcement of football coach Mike Whalen moving to Wesleyan, there is a possibility that Coach DiCenzo, who has been an assistant football coach and head wrestling coach for several years, may leave as well. 

Coach DiCenzo leaving Williams would be a serious blow to the football and wrestling programs.   Below is an email that was distributed to football team parents.  It was subsequently circulated to the wrestling team parents.  PLEASE take a moment to write or call the Athletic Director with your support of Coach DiCenzo. 

Thank you!

*   *   *  *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

“You all know that Coach Whalen is leaving for Wesleyan. That will be a significant loss to the football program and all of us personally. However, there is a very strong likelihood that Coach Dan DiCenzo will go with Mike to Wesleyan unless we all take immediate steps to let Williams know how we feel.

If Mike was the brains and backbone of Williams football, Dan DiCenzo is the heart of the team. If you haven’t seen it for yourself, ask your son.

The entire Williams coaching staff is exemplary, but Dan has distinguished himself by what he’s done over the last six years at Williams and deserves to be the head football coach. Dan’s resume includes stints with Trinity, Brown, and the Kansas City Chiefs, but Williams is his alma mater and that is where he has had his biggest impact. He is the best motivator on the team and knows each player personally and what makes them tick. He has a consummate knowledge of the game. Dan was a standout player at Williams and knows the system as both a player and a coach. He is the best recruiter in the NESCAC. His organizational skills are unparalleled. But most important is the emotion that he brings—he inspires his players; they love him and
want to play for him.

Dan is also the head wrestling coach and has done a phenomenal job with that program as well. If Williams loses Dan, they will have to hire two people to replace him.

If WE lose Dan DiCenzo, we lose more than a coach, we lose the foundation of our football program.

Dan has a definite offer at Wesleyan, but he wants to stay and be the head coach at Williams. In all likelihood, Williams will conduct an extensive national search. Dan will put himself through that process if he knows he is the top internal candidate.

Please contact the Athletic Director, Harry Sheehy, as soon as possible to let him know that he should do everything possible to retain Dan DiCenzo and consider him a top candidate to replace Mike Whalen as the head football coach at Williams.  If you have personal stories of what Dan has done for your son or your family make sure to share them.

Coach Sheehy’s number is: 413-597-2366
His email is: hsheehy at williams dot edu

Also, reach out to Dan DiCenzo and let him know how much he means to this team.
Dan’s number is: cell 860-463-8868  office: 413-597-3573
His email is: Dan.DiCenzo-II at williams dot edu

If you know of any alumni, former players or parents or anyone who could influence this process, please share this email with them. Encourage them to contact college administration or trustees as well.

Please do everything you can to make sure that Dan DiCenzo is walking our sideline (and wrestling mats) next season as head coach.”

Page 6 checks in with CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric and Brooks Perlin ‘96, finds everything to be in working order.

Couric has been dating Perlin for more than three years, to the surprise of rumor-mongers who periodically have them splitting up.

Those rumor-mongers mostly come from your newspaper, Page 6, but no matter.  Anyways, the fact that Katie and Brooks are still going isn’t really news.  As usual, the Post buries the lede:

Also nibbling cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery …

Mmm … frosting.  Some guys just have all the luck.

A profile of zombie writer Carrie Ryan ‘00, who has a new book that was released today:

It began soon after Ryan, 32, graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts with an English degree. She wanted to write chick lit set a big city. She had zero experience with big cities, however.

So she decided, in what she calls “my grand plan,” to go to law school. Her logic? With a law degree, she could work in a glamorous city, gleaning material. She enrolled at Duke University, where she met J.P. Davis, a fellow law student from Chapin, S.C., who shared her passion for fiction writing.

Somehow, probably because she was in love, she let Davis talk her into watching “Dawn of the Dead,” the 2004 remake of George Romero’s classic zombie movie.

When it was over, she realized she had enjoyed herself.

A new direction

By the time she and Davis got their law degrees and moved to Charlotte, Davis had read her “The Zombie Survival Guide.” She was hooked.

“What I find fascinating,” she says, “is not necessarily the zombies, but the surviving.”

In Charlotte, the couple worked as lawyers by day. In the evenings, she wrote chick lit and Davis worked on his short stories. They talked about zombies. On walks, they’d imagine a world decimated by the undead.

Then, one evening in 2006, Ryan was leaving her office in the Bank of America building, contemplating an article she’d read on the overfishing of tuna.

How strange, she thought, to imagine a future where something as common as canned tuna was unknown. What other parts of our civilization, she wondered, might be forgotten in a future world?

Suddenly, she had an idea – a story about a world nearly destroyed by a zombie plague, a place where people have lived so long in their fenced-in village, sealed off from the zombie-filled forest, that they’ve collectively forgotten about the world’s oceans.

She pulled out her Blackberry and e-mailed herself a single sentence: My mother used to tell me about the ocean.

After working for a couple of evenings, she told Davis she was writing about zombies. I hope you don’t mind, she told him, but I’m using your world.

Ryan’s sentence about the ocean became the first line of her book.

Great timing

In 2007, she sold “The Forest of Hands and Teeth.” Her agent had sent the book out on a Friday. On Monday, she had a six-figure offer from Delacorte Press for a two-book deal.

In late 2008, she quit her job.

Today, instead of working in trusts and estates, Ryan writes at her computer near the fireplace in her Dilworth home. She wears sock-monkey slippers and rainbow fingerless gloves that keep her wrists from aching as she types.

On a good day, the weather is rainy gray, and she’s asking herself one of her favorite questions: What’s the worst thing that could happen?

Continue reading: A love story, with zombies

Carrie has a blog here.

From March 5 to March 12, dorms will compete with one another to see who can reduce their energy use the most. Small dorms and large dorms will compete separately, and the winner in each category will receive free snack bar points.

On each day of the competition, all dorms will be rated by how much they have reduced their energy use from a baseline calculated during the previous week. All dorms have electricity metered, and many dorms have heat and hot water metered, so think beyond turning off lights. Total points in the competition are determined by the daily rankings, and the dorm with the most points at the end of the competition wins.

What’s really cool is all the data that is being gathered, for example: http://www.williams.edu/resources/sustainability/indiv_building/metered_building_list.php?category=dorm&data_type=sq_ft

where we can see our current energy usage. After the break are the daily and overall rankings. A current WSO post is currently discussing just how the heck Milham house cut its energy usage by 60.7%!

(more…)

Gym Class Heroes is playing during Spring Fling. This is their most popular song. I’m interested to know what sorts of bands played when alums were in college.

A few months back Will Slack posted about Eph music groups Darlingside and Majordomo.  The UMass Daily Collegian recently published a glowing feature on Darlingside’s performance, including a video of a live performance of Surround:

Darlingside

Meanwhile, campus band Majordomo has released this snazzy new video of Heart Twice Broken:

Majordomo

The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal salary data.

Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession’s first 18 months — and that’s before overtime pay and bonuses are counted.

Federal workers are enjoying an extraordinary boom time — in pay and hiring — during a recession that has cost 7.3 million jobs in the private sector.

The highest-paid federal employees are doing best of all on salary increases. Defense Department civilian employees earning $150,000 or more increased from 1,868 in December 2007 to 10,100 in June 2009, the most recent figure available.

When the recession started, the Transportation Department had only one person earning a salary of $170,000 or more. Eighteen months later, 1,690 employees had salaries above $170,000.

The trend to six-figure salaries is occurring throughout the federal government, in agencies big and small, high-tech and low-tech. The primary cause: substantial pay raises and new salary rules.

I wonder if any Ephs working for the government can comment about this. I’ll be posting it on WSO to see what current students think about this, and whether or not it will influence future career decisions. Full article after the break.
(more…)

Yes, the Hood River Division of the Academy is pleased to accept your thanks, given across this obviously stolen photo from google.

And, why the toothbrush, cavity-conscious readers are asking themselves?

Because this years’ winners will receive a new and unused Hood River toothbrush, containing a scene of windsurfing in the handle!

Well, enough of the mind-boggling prizes. On to the winners.

2010, the third run for the glory that is EphBlog, featured 11 entrants (12, but I’ll get to that);

Yes!

A two-way tie for first place, each with all seven categories selected correctly – Young Alum and Chris

In second place with 6 out of 7 correct selections – Jimmy.

And in third place with 5 out of 7 correct selections – JG.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to ebaek, Ronit, Jeffz, Jr Mom, Whitney, Brandi, and Andy for their valiant but misguided contributions.

But wait, there is (more…)

By popular demand, I’m bringing back my Photo ID series, though not with my own photos. I am taking photos off of Flickr and sharing them with you.

For anyone who wasn’t around between 2005-2007 when I did this the first time, here’s the game: I post a picture, and then you try to guess where on campus it was taken, and also give any memories and musings you have about the place or object.

Sound like fun? Let’s go!

What is pictured here, and where are they found at Williams?

Photo courtesy of Flickr user SER Sean Crane. Original photo here (warning: contains puzzle answer).

the phone in one hand and a fork toying with the Roasted French Sea Bass Loup de Mer in the other, Irving Lazar has called to say that the voting for the Oscars has now been concluded.

Mr Lazar knows when things are over, including your career.

NB

I am unable to provide a credit for the wonderful photo of this most famous agent.

Any reader know?

in environmental and social reporting among liberal arts colleges.  Kinda random, but hey, first place sounds good …

Greylock is asking for student input for the menu for its Wednesday dinners. There is some support from different quarters for Greek, Indian, and vegan night, but I think Hai Nguyen’s suggestion is clearly the winner. Williamstown needs more (any) schwarma. And falafel.

Also, falafel pita pockets should be offered at the Snack Bar. They even have deep fryers! Someone should suggest this to Dining Services. Or start a petition drive. Bring it to College Council. Have Gargoyle do something about it. Let’s get this done, people.

David Kaiser makes the case for repealing DADT in response to this editorial by Gen. McPeak.

The ’50’s were the years when shoe stigmata by social types became popular: white, brown, and black. And “He’s a real shoe guy”, with as much lockjaw in your accent as you could muster.

http://www.word-detective.com/2009/08/24/white-shoe-firm/

Some thoughts from my memory bank: Weejuns could have a square of white adhesive tape on the top of the back to indicate well-worn, white bucks (red soles) were worn dirty, but you did not buy them dirty, cordovans were bulbous-toed, Purcells could be white, blue, or black (very daring), Top Siders were best if well-worn with salt stains, saddles could be either brown or black (avant).

Remember, in the 50’s, only men’s shoes were kicking up the dust of Spring Street. In truth, though, most of the styles were also walking the streets of Northampton and South Hadley.

Certainly your school years’ had equally fascinating footwear. Your comments are solicited!

Results of the online voting are here:

http://www.takeamericatocollege.com/vote-for-a-finalist/online-vote-winner-dennis-medina/

Thanks to all for your support!

Allow me to draw your attention to math professor Allison Pacelli’s baking blog, and her new business baking cakes and other pastries. She taught a winter study class on “The Art and Science of Baking,” and her students’ final projects are pictured below:

Warning: do not click on any of the following links if you are hungry.

Here are all the delicious things that her winter study class baked, with many photos of students in action. Oh, to be the roommate of a student in the class and “have to” help eat the products! The students apparently had to give a Power Point presentation of a step-by-step explanation of how to make their final project; for instance, how to make a French Buche de Noel.

Pacelli recently turned this into a business, Zucchero Dolce. Current Eph parents, take note: You can order care packages (such as cookies or birthday cakes) from Professor Pacelli, and have them freshly baked and delivered to your student! A Zucchero Dolce care package would be WAY better than the care packages that ACE sold to parents back in the day. I once ate cake baked by Professor Pacelli, and I can vouch for its deliciousness; highly recommended.