RECESS | CAMPUS
Piano virtuoso Marc-André Hamelin comes to Duke
By Lena Yannella | November 28, 2018Canadian-born virtuoso Marc-André Hamelin performed at Baldwin Auditorium Nov. 17.
Canadian-born virtuoso Marc-André Hamelin performed at Baldwin Auditorium Nov. 17.
When I was young, I was obsessed with my dad’s action figures. He had worked at a comic book store during graduate school, and the memorabilia he collected during his employment now covered nearly every flat surface in our spare room, where I would sit on the floor playing with the Spidermans and Silver Surfers.
Some children have parents that tell them stories: stories about beautiful princesses and violent dragons, stories about Greek myths and triumphant gods, stories about familial pasts and collective struggles. But I had something different. I had one of my favorite stories from my dad come to life in front of me.
In Marielle Heller’s film “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” 90s era Manhattan possesses a melancholy that seemed to seep out of its very being. In an ever-damp and ever-cloudy setting, we are introduced to the now-unemployed Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy), a foul-mouthed and cynical writer known for her biographies of Dorothy Kilgallen and Estee Lauder. The film is an adaptation of the real Lee Israel’s terminal publication by the same name, one that she published late in her career before succumbing to cancer.
As a high-school sophomore, now first-year Jay Albright sold his video games and consoles to pay for music production equipment. The Atlanta native had indulged his love of beat-mixing for years, but it wasn’t until his late teens that he began to take himself seriously as an artist. In the end, his financial gamble paid off: Small Town Records, Duke’s student-run label, signed Albright, who raps under the pseudonym MAUI.
During most major holidays, my family either hosts or attends a dinner party. The host family spends the afternoon creating a wide and varied dinner spread. Guests arrive around 5 p.m., each also bringing a dish or two with them. Once everyone arrives, we load up our plates and head to the tables. One table is reserved for the adults and one for the kids.
As the darkness lifts, seven frozen figures are revealed on a dimly lit stage. Their stagnant poses and stoic demeanors create a hazy atmosphere, pulling the audience into what seems to be a memory, or perhaps a dream. The spell-like ambiance is disrupted by a figure moving toward the audience, speaking in a deep Irish accent.
I sat in the back row of the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, N.J., steady rain showering the fans on the lawn behind me. Marcus Mumford had been pouring his soul into the brooding climax of “White Blank Page” when dark clouds rolled overhead and thunder and lightning sent the band running offstage. For 45 minutes the storm repeatedly teased its retreat until, finally, the sky parted. As quickly as they had left, the band returned to the stage and, as the last sunlight of the day peeked through the grey, Mumford & Sons launched into their soaring anthem “Lover of the Light.”
Outside of Halloween, people do not often dress up in elaborate costumes in otherwise ordinary public spaces. Comicon, however, presents ample opportunity to see some of the most popular comic and television characters come to life. Attendees of all ages cosplay for the event, dressing up as their favorite characters and often adding their own personal twist to their costumes.
Research can be a form of storytelling, of capturing life from decades or even centuries before. It can give the world a better idea of how people used to live.
Lucy Corin, Trinity ’92, is a writer and visiting professor of English at Duke, as well as professor of English at the University of California at Davis. She has published two collections of short stories, “One Hundred Apocalypses and Other Apocalypses” and “The Entire Predicament," and one novel, “Everyday Psychokillers: A History for Girls."
Ariana Grande’s latest single “thank u, next” opens with a bright, synth pop beat. As the melody progresses, her sweet-as-sugar falsetto paints a chronological picture of her well-publicized romantic struggles.
Every president of the United States has been a man. But history was made in the final season of "House of Cards."
What “Beautiful Boy” lacks in finesse, it makes up for in heart. The film, helmed by Swedish director Felix Van Groeningen, chronicles the true story of journalist David Sheff’s (Steve Carell) desperate attempt to salvage his deteriorating relationship with his son, Nic (Timothée Chalamet), who is addicted to methamphetamines.
Maria Kuznetsova never had a doubt about what she wanted to do with her life. She always knew that she wanted to write.
Gustav Åhr — better known by his stage moniker Lil Peep — was just 21 years old and on the cusp of widespread fame. A rapper with the heart of an early-2000s emo kid, his distinctive sound combined trap beats and emo melodies with painfully honest lyrics about depression, failed relationships and indulgent drug use.
Excelling at acting or music alone is hard enough, but some are bold enough to pursue both domains professionally. For every successful transition, there is one that reminds people why being an actor-musician is so difficult.
The day is June 6, 1944 and groups of American battleships and troop transport planes approach the European shore.
Loving Vincent van Gogh isn’t an uncommon thing.
A couple weeks ago, a reader asked us what Duke students like to read for fun. I was wondering the same thing, so we asked you what your favorite non-assigned book was. Here are some of your responses. They have been edited for length and clarity.