Download Salsa here, absolutely free.  And here it is on Facebook!

President Liebowitz is certainly doing the necessary political posturing if he wants to modify the system.  Unilaterally changing the cherished set-up without input would cause an uprising (I exaggerate, but people would be pissed).  Beyond President Liebowitz’s possible politicking, he seems to get that the dining hall system is important. His post is thoughtful and genuinely asks for input into what part of the dining hall system is most important for the Middlebury experience.

This issue isn’t easy.  In my mind, the dining hall system brings our student body together.  Any student can go to Ross or Proct[eu]r and relax with friends.  There’s no swiping or meal plan standing between us and our ideal socialist society.  Which, all kidding aside, is really valuable.  Liberal Arts Colleges are by definition not the real world, and equalizing the student body by not having a meal plan furthers our goals as an institution.

And yet, within the context of the recession, changing our expensive system seems to be something we should at least consider. In this discussion, I think it’s also important to acknowledge that the food has in, in my mind, gotten noticeably worse in the past year. (Anyone who disagrees should try the new replacement cream cheese.)

Ultimately, I believe the dining hall system plays a critical role in bringing out the best parts of Middlebury: community, friendships and open-mindedness.  We should make sacrifices to retain this essential part of the Middlebury experience.

Regardless, I think President Liebowitz is being sincere in asking for input. 

So I encourage you to read President Liebowitz’s post and drop a comment.

• OSCARS: There are 10 films nominated for Best Picture this year. (Interestingly, 10 films does not mean more big-time celebrities.) This fact alone seems to have packed tons of pre-show drama into the ceremonies. The new voting system is Australian. ABC is in a fight with Cabelvision, meaning approximately 3 million people won’t even get to watch the drama tonight. Tonight’s losers will be given consolation gift bags worth $91,000. Katherine Bigelow, who, incidentally is James Cameron’s ex-wife, could be the first female to win for Best Director. Unfortunately, however, her co-producer has been banned from the ceremonies for sending out campaign-esque emails. Have I convinced you to watch them yet?
• BEETHOVEN: New recordings demonstrate that modern musical instruments may actually ruin the tonal quality and sensuousness of great masterpieces such as Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
• GEITHNER: The Atlantic has a revealing portrait of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, arguably one of the most important men in finance right now. Yes, he’s unpopular, but he’s also doing the work of about 20 people.
• FEMINISM: This year’s fashion weeks in NY, Paris, London and Milan have been unusually focused on broader issues, particularly the economy. Also to come out of fashion weeks this year are examinations of feminism in the 21st century. Are women now libertines or just more liberal? And, how much does the political landscape of a country affect one’s idea that feminism still even exists?
• HEALTH CARE: The Health Care debate has been raging for over a year now in the Senate. Finally, this week, Obama threw up his arms and said “Let’s get it done” and Health Secretary Sibelius called insurance companies to task, asking them to justify their exorbitantly high rates. Tea Partiers may hate a strong central government, but, clearly, right now, it’s the only way to get anything accomplished. Especially with men like Jim Bunning in the Senate.
• ELECTIONS: It’s Election Day in Iraq today, only the second full-term elections since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The NY Times is keeping a live-blog today and CNN is already reporting on early violence at the polls.
• EARTHQUAKES: The aftershocks of the Haiti and Chile earthquakes have come in unusual forms. In Haiti, free goods from aid organizations are taking away from local businesses. It doesn’t help that foreign aid organizations have no leadership. The Chilean earthquake tilted the Earth’s axis, shortening days by 1.26 microseconds, and destroyed 12.5% of the 2009 wine harvest.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: OK Go, “This too Shall Pass.” The Boys of the treadmill video fame have paired with State Farm to bring you a video for their new song (behind the backs of their label EMI) that includes an epic Rude Goldberg machine.

Sketch comedy is really, really hard to do right.  I was worried in the first scene or two of Mister Show that the cast wasn’t going to pull it off; the pace seemed strange, as if jokes were being force-fed instead of slipped to the audience.   However, a fast pace seemed to help everyone (including the audience) get into stride after the first 15 minutes.  Even better, once we thought we knew what to expect, the cast gave us something new–for instance, a hilariously impossible sketch about a mafioso out to convince is underlings that there are no numbers larger than 24.  There are no dull moments in Mister Show.  Scene transitions–often a momentum-killer–are effectively eliminated by the strategic use of video sketches between scenes.  The set, lighting, and sound were simple but effective: I didn’t notice them, which meant they supported the goofy actors flawlessly.

A crisp, taut, funny show.  In short: see it.

In the Hepburn Zoo.  Two performances left: TONIGHT at 10:30 and Saturday at 7:30. Both are “sold out,” but getting a ticket at the door is usually easy.  Just make sure to arrive a little early.  Be prepared for some offensive language–just sayin’.

You can upload your face picture (and others) on the yearbook’s photo upload website using the login information sent to your email, or you can ask kaleidoscope@middlebury.edu.

Despite my personal skepticism of whether or not this yearly publication in its current form is right for Midd (see below), I’ve submitted my picture. Here’s a list of reasons that you might do the same…

• POST-GRAD LOVE LIFE, PLAN B. Senior crush lists don’t always work. Maybe your Proctor crush is too alternative for Facebook. Adding your most flattering picture to the yearbook increases your chances–from zero to slightly higher-than-zero–that the lucky gal or guy will stumble across your face in just in time for your 5th reunion weekend….
• YOUR FACE (IN PRINT!). Yes, a bit vain, perhaps, but user-edited Web media completely takes the fun out of seeing oneself on the Internet. Who doesn’t get a little kick out of seeing your name or face in print?
• RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE 2010s. If I had posted a picture of myself like the one to the right on FB, and then found out I was going to be U.S. president a few decades later, I probably would have untagged it or deleted it long before the fact. Having a concrete freeze-frame of your 2010 hairdo and granola Vermont style will force you to take a bit of ownership for the good ol’ days in front of your kids.
• MAKING THE MOST OF IT. You don’t decide exactly how your tax dollars are spent, but you still benefit in some respect from the programs and security that they buy. Likewise, if you disagree with the yearbook, it will nonetheless be published in June with the label “Middlebury College 2009-2010.” If you were a part of that, it seems a waste of your student activities money not to be included.

What’s there to disagree about? Last March, MiddBlog posted on why Middlebury doesn’t need a yearbook. To recap the reasoning, still valid from its original posting a year ago:

• Publishing a yearbook is expensive, especially as it’s provided “free” to seniors (they’ve paid into the student activities feed coffers for four years, and get a part of that back in the form of the book).
• It isn’t a well-known part of Middlebury graduation tradition.
• Documenting everything from an entire year at a busy place like Midd seems impossible.
• Most of all, perhaps, Facebook and the Web partially replace the need for the extra 200 pages of photos sitting on your shelf 10, 25, 50 years from now. Ditching the yearbook for FB ruins the sentimental part of it, but on the upside would save a tree or two.

As much as I support participating in the current yearbook, I also think discussing the yearbook’s future should continue. It’s a large sum of money being spent, going towards a publication that many say (today) that they’re against.

MiddBlog wants to know. What’s your take? Is a Midd yearbook worth the money? Will you value a yearbook down the road, or is Facebook the answer? How should the idea of a yearbook adapt to the “social media age”? Does DePauw University have it right?

• EARTHQUAKES: When one thing moves, another usually does too. Hence, the earthquake in Russia earlier in the week, Japan on Friday and Chile on Sunday, with the last one killing over 700 people.
• PATTERSON: You can’t be lazy, play favorites and get in the middle of abuse scandals and expect to keep your job, let alone to have people keep liking you. Yes, I’m talking to you Governor Patterson.
• ROGERS: Furthermore, just because you are featured in Vogue and WSJ Magazine doesn’t mean you can let there be security breaches at White House State Dinners and expect to keep your job. Yes, I’m talking to you Desiree Rogers. Take note, Ms. Smoot.
• iPAD: I don’t care if you are Apple. Child labor is not OK. So why, Steve Jobs, do you allow children under the age of 15 to manufacture iPads?
• TOYOTA: Also, if your company has just issued one of the largest auto recalls in history, you don’t withhold lawsuit information. Yes, I’m talking to you Toyota.
• BUFFET: In happier news, it turns out you can be one of the word’s wealthiest men, as well as one of the smartest, and still be funny. I wish all official letters I received were written by Warren Buffet and had jokes in them.
• HOCKEY: It’s official — Canada is better than the US at hockey.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Safer Roads PSA a/k/a most captivating PSA ever. Wear your seat belt. End of story.

Sam Wyer ‘12 and Zach Blair ‘12 (Midd Students) added their own video to the batch of Tufts Class of 2014 Applicants, and its…different. Even a Tufts admissions officer applauded their sense of humor on the Class Facebook page, go Middlebury! (and good luck to the two Middkids on their acceptance into Tufts)

Jeff Stevenson, the coordinator of Middlebury’s School in Latin America and a resident of Santiago, said the following in an email this afternoon:

All the students and I are fine.  There are still some weak aftershocks.  For the moment, everything is under control.

The official Web site of Middlebury’s Chile program also says all Middlebury students are accounted for and in Santiago.  Here’s a link to that page, which will be updated as needed.

EDIT 2/28 (RK): Jared Stensland ‘11 had just arrived for the spring semester in Chile when the earthquake hit. He posts on his blog about the earthquake, continuing classes, and the emotional turbulence of aftershocks. Here’s a sampling:

The actual event occurred during the night around 3, 330 local time.  Considering many different situations this was probably very good.  People were not in the streets when things were falling, or at work high up in sky scrappers.  We had eaten in and older sky scrapper that night for dinner on the very top floor.  Beautiful view, but I would not have wanted to feel the earthquake from up there.  As it was, my roommate Dan and I woke up to a strong shaking, which then grew a bit more, and with it our anxiety.  We got out of our beds after a moment and went to the door where there were two door frames (one of the bathroom).  We had a somewhat excited discussion about whether or not we should immediately evacuate the building for fear of it falling down.  It was certainly an instinct I think we both felt, though we decided to stay right where we were.  This, for those who aren’t already thinking it, is the right decision in such a situation….

When we did exit, after the initial earthquake had stopped, Dan went and knocked on our directors door which was very close.  He didn’t answer immediately, and phrases such as, “there’s no * expletive* way he slept through that” may have been uttered.  Our other director, his wife, did come to the door very soon and soon after he did as well. Apparently his glasses fell during the earthquake.  The power was out so he was both blind, and had no light, so finding his glasses was a task for him.  The first of many more difficult ones I would say.

The hall to the left was filled with dust.  When it cleared we could see other students from our program and the cause of the dust.  There were cracks in the cement on the other side of a small bridge like structure in the hotel that separates the two sides.  Eventually, almost all of us got together on that floor, except for a few who had gone to the lobby. Heads were counted, we were all there, and we all descended. …

After this there was a lot of waiting and a lot of conversation amongst the students about what happened.  Our conversations were all in Spanish… the Middlebury language pledge can survive a 7-magnitude earthquake it seems… should we put that in the brochure? Eventually we returned to bed to spend the rest of the night experiencing many more aftershocks than hours of sleep.

We are lucky to be in Providencia.  It is a newer part of Santiago and the buildings have been built with earthquakes in mind.  We are also lucky that we are all together with the directors and other employees of the college.

So, if you see this post in time, go see the full Voices concert tonight at 8:00 in McCullough.  $6 for Middlebury students.

As always: complete Winter Carnival schedule here.