Two things.

First of all, the long-awaited web make-over is in effect as of today. Thousands of hours put into work by Middlebury faculty and staff has come into fruition, but MiddBlog wants to know: what are your opinions on the new look?

Secondly, the Middlebury Class of 2013.5 just kicked off their orientation with a dose of dosey do last night at the social space in McCullough Student Center! Their class includes 7 international students (a record!), of which one is a transfer student, and its total tally is a coincidental one-hundred and one, of which 4 American students are transfers. I also want to say that their orientation is going great so far, with the help of their busy Feb leaders from the class of 2012.5 (25 in all).

Rumor has it that a Middkid ‘08 started this website: Dear Sir or Madam. It sends letters or other correspondence to companies or individuals with ridiculous requests in flowery prose. So far, he’s asked Toyota for a solid gold car, invited Skiing magazine to cover his ski wedding, and inquired buying enough syrup to power a gigantic Coca-cola fountain.

And his latest: a Craigslist posting for an amphibious Hyundai. An email response:

from: Fred Decatt
to: XXXX@aol.com
date: Fri, Jan 8, 2010 at 2:04 PM
subject: Re: Amphibious Hyundai (defective?) – $1000 (Cambridge)

Are you sure? It was functioning reasonably well in the shallows. Once the water reached the height of the windows, however, I began noticing leaks. Tiburon does mean shark in Spanish, and my friend assured me it would work… he thought maybe I had faulty ballast? Have you repaired any amphibious cars?

Who hasn’t ever daydreamed of being that lucky contestant, standing opposite the game-show lectern from that classy wiz of a TV host, Alex Trebek, if only to make witty small-talk about your hometown after a commercial break?

If you’re tired of sitting in front of the tube tuned into Jeopardy! on late weekday afternoons, or you actually think, “It can’t really be that hard,” this is your chance to make your dream come true and prove them non-believers.

On February 9 at 9:00 p.m. (ET, 6:00 p.m. PT), you can try your luck, or rather, test your wits, and take the Jeopardy! College Online Test to become a contestant on the college tournament of the classic Merv Griffin game show (the edition with the college sweatshirts… not the one with the 12-year-old punks looking really proud they know that the capital of Vermont is Montpelier… I mean, duh…). Just make sure to follow the link above and register ahead of time.

“Do you have what it takes to become the next Jeopardy! champ?” One MiddKid did. His name was Keith Williams, class of ‘07, though he was a first-year when he won the tournament back in 2003. A native of New Hampshire, eventually an economics major, and a Dissipated 8 member, Williams snagged a total winnings of $50,000 and a 2004 Volvo S60R in the nail-biter of a final (brought to you by MiddBlog in 2008).

Since then, the cash prize has doubled to $100,000. Students from Notre Dame, Mississippi State, UCLA, Stanford (the only school to have won twice), and Carnegie Mellon have won; the Ivies have yet to make a showing on the champions’ board, according to the tournament’s well-catalogued Wikipedia (a resource Jeopardy!-alum Williams was later quoted in the NY Times as frequently using… by the way…).

Make yourself useful over Feb break, study up on your world populations and famous quotes, and bring that cup back to Midd! Or, sit back on your couch a’whistlin’ that 30-second theme song (REEmix!), you daydreamer, you, and enjoy classic SNL spoofs and sassy Ken Jennings comments (below) .

Move over, Girl Talk: Middlebury has its own masher-upper.

Freshman Greg Dorris, AKA Change Your Plans, recently released Pushing and Pulling, a digital mixtape of dance music collaged together from 160 distinct audio samples.  I won’t go into detail, since the WRMC blog already covered the story — let me just say that Dorris’s musical puree is definitely worth a listen.

Change Your Plans’s Facebook page.

Download the mixtape, Pushing and Pulling, here.

Middlebury is a small college in the middle of nowhere Vermont with big dreams. In the last 10-15 years, the college has taken significant (financial) risks to help achieve those dreams (McCardell Bicentennial Hall, the New Library), knowing full well that at times it would reap the rewards and that at other times it would pay. Right now, it’s paying, and changes have to be made.

In December 2009, the Administration sent out surveys to faculty, staff and students asking direct questions about which (drastic yet necessary) changes to the college’s major cost drivers (salary, benefits, financial aid, infrastructure and student life) were most palatable and which were unthinkable. In two open meetings to the community today, President Liebowitz presented the findings.

With an overall response rate of 49% (that’s 1,924 surveys, 1,068 of which were from students), the survey results painted an interesting picture of agreement at the expense of ingenuity.

All groups were posed with six potential ways to cut costs: reduction of financial aid, salary reduction, reduction of building and landscape maintenance, reduction of faculty size, increase in the size of the student body, and a reduction in staff and faculty benefits. All groups found any sort of reduction in financial aid to be unacceptable, and all groups agreed that maintenance of buildings and grounds was the most acceptable change.

Each group was also presented with important budget items relevant to their position on campus. In general, faculty were against reductions in salaries and benefits but in favor of streamlining curriculum and eliminating discounts to college events. Staff were also in favor of cutting access to places like the Juice Bar and the Snow Bowl but, again, opposed to reductions and salary and vacation benefits. Students were most against reducing dining hall options and the possibility of double majoring but were, almost overwhelmingly, in favor of reducing funding for sports.

What the survey revealed overall was that all three groups–students, faculty and staff–are in agreement about the changes that need to be made. It’s time to streamline and reduce excess luxury without sacrificing the diversity and academic rigor of the institution. In other words, people are in agreement with the changes that have been recommended since the college’s budget began suffering. Liebowitz’s presentation also revealed that all things related to 51 Main and Monterey are here to stay.

What was missing in this presentation and these results was something radical, some ingenious idea that will not only save money but change the way the college operates in an innovative way. (Though reducing athletics would definitely change the definition of the college, I don’t view it as a radical solution.)

At the meetings, Liebowitz talked a lot about Middlebury needing to compete with its peers, Amherst, Williams, Bates, etc. But what if Middlebury lead them? By making the obvious cuts, the college is adapting to the environment more than forging ahead. Now is the time to set the tone of liberal arts colleges for the next decade, and why not put that responsibility on Middlebury’s shoulders? Why stop dreaming big now? Unfortunately, I have no super idea of my own to throw into the rink first, but I want to put the challenge out there.

So MiddBlog wants to know: what radical ideas, practical or crazy, do you have? In what other ways can the college take risks, forge ahead and cut costs at the same time?

(Note: Once the results of a survey of alumni have been received, a full report will be published by the college.)

The randomness and absurdity of 2010 continues to astonish me. Cosmo models are winning elections. Movies about glorified smurfs are making millions. Bin Laden has returned. Kate Moss is getting married. Brad and Angelina might have split. Late night TV wars. James Franco everywhere. Whole countries basically disappearing. You get my point. It’s been a rough 3 weeks. Here are a few more examples:

• POLITICS: Since Scott Brown beat Martha Coakley for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat in Massachusetts, the Democratic party has been in turmoil, threatening the state of health care and Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner’s job futures. Also, John Edwards finally admitted he’s a Baby Daddy, proving that conservatives might be better at handling sex scandals. This week’s State of the Union address should be interesting.
• FASHION: It’s the year of the 1970’s skier and the amateur boxer. Check out the Men’s shows in Milan and Paris and the fringe shows in Berlin and Brazil. You’ll see me in Proctor in the mornings watching recaps on The Moment and LOVE.
• SUPREME COURT: In a (disturbing) decision this week that made Obama mad, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are…ummm…humans. This means they can spend as much on political campaigns as they want whenever they want. In future news, corporations will have to get parental consent before getting an abortion and will be eligible for health care.
• LATE NIGHT: It’s official. Conan has left NBC. For a petty sum of $32.5 million. At least one war is finally over.
• HAITI: It’s been over a week and thousands are still missing in Haiti. George Clooney hosted a telethon Friday night, along with a couple dozen of his celebrity friends and Apple, encouraging people to donate to relief efforts. Hopefully now that that’s done, we can get to rebuilding everything.
• DIAMONDS: The oceans on Uranus and Neptune are made of…wait for it…diamonds, liquid and frozen. How is that possible?
• MOVIES: This summer, Hulu may start charging for old episodes (so catch up on your favorites now). But that’s OK, because YouTube is going to start letting us rent both the movies you can already watch on it for free and wicked awesome indie flicks. In a related story, our movie ratings system is messed up.

Video of the week: “Hallelujah,” Justin Timberlake & Matt Morris @ the “Hope For Haiti Now” Telethon. Only Timberlake can make an ordinarily cliche song into something very moving.

Arts events tend to arrive at Middlebury in flocks around finals time, and this J-term is no exception.  Yesterday, I wrote a lot about Lovesong of the Electric Bear (see previous post).  I know more about Lovesong than I do about this J-Term’s other performances, but don’t let my informational bias narrow your options.  Here’s some more information:

Dance Company of Middlebury: Proyecto República Dominicana
I won’t be able to make this one, but you should.  Here’s what a cast member, Liz Boles (‘10) told me about the show:

The first half is a completely improvised collaboration between the dancers, musicians and lighting designer.  The second half … includes two duets and a quintet based on the theme of childhood memories.

During the last week of J-term, the company will travel to the Dominican Republic to teach dance workshops to elementary school kids and perform with Grupo de Teatro Balsamo, a Dominican theater company.  One goal is to compare attitudes about the arts in Middlebury and the D.R.

Friday and Saturday (1/22, 1/23), 8:00, CFA Dance Theater.  There will also be a free open dress rehearsal Thursday (TONIGHT) at 8:00.

Wild Party (Musical)
Yet another performance-as-coursework.  Wild Party is the Music Department’s J-term musical, written in 2000 and based on a 1928 book-length narrative poem by Joseph Moncure March.  The heyday of Vaudeville, a reckless love story, a party to end all parties — at Middlebury in midwinter?  Should be interesting.

Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday  (1/22, 1/23, 1/25, 1/26), 8:00, Town Hall Theater.

Middlebury College Orchestra
The Music department also offers its support to this concert.  The group will perform Eroica, Beethoven’s Symphony No 3 in E flat.  An underappreciated Middlebury insitution in a beautiful space — what more can I say?

Friday (1/22), 8:00, CFA Concert Hall.  Free.

How You Livin’?
Not exactly an arts event, but worth mentioning:

Members of the College community share their basic beliefs and ideas with anyone who will come and listen.

The generic description makes it sound almost inane, but the more I think about it, the more interesting it seems.  How often are we allowed, let alone invited, to explain who we are to an audience of our peers? I know I have a few monologs I’ve thought up while shaving or brushing my teeth; maybe this is the time to let them out. Here’s an article from the Campus about last year’s event.

Sunday, 2:00, Warner Hemicycle. Email gfrieden@middlebury.edu for more information about how to participate.

Is the end of J-Term bringing you down? Did your Ross Assassin blast you with their squirt gun? Did Scott Brown’s win put a damper on your shining optimism? As my mother always says a rolling snow ball gathers no ice…or something like that. So here’s some reasons to get you a’rolling:

1. ANGSTY TEENAGE POETRY NIGHT
Sunday 10 PM Gamut Room
-bring your old diaries, burn your love letters, break out the oregano

2. Still looking for Feb Break Ideas? Concerned that Arabic alone won’t get you a job in the CIA post-Grad? Try this: http://www.stilettospyschool.com/

3. Recipe for Proctor Banana Milk Shake
Mash up a banana, add ice cream, milk, nutmeg, a bit of cinnamon and voila! Or Bring on a little Yay-Term and make it a Pina Colada (oh I know what youre thinking, I mean mashed pineapples, get a HOLD Of yourself J-Term’s almost over)

4. And so long as college doesnt kick you in with stress, or swine flu, or render your liver obsolete, NOW you can live forever! (or at least elongate your life)

Snoo Wilson’s fever-dream-like play about Alan Turing—mathematician, WWII codebreaker and father of computer science—is this J-term’s official Theater Department play.  The play takes Turing (professor Alex Draper) from his deathbed to his childhood and back again.  Turing’s teddy bear, Porgy (Lilli Stein ‘11), leads her “Master” through the story, acting as a combination of confidante, guide, tormenter and Greek chorus.  Oh — and there’s a Disney-inspired soundtrack and a drag number.

Alan Turing. From the "Lovesong" research page, painstakingly compiled by assistant director Lindsey Messmore ('11). Clicking on the image redirects to the page.

Bit of a conflict of interests here: I can’t review this show because I’m acting in it. However, I can give a little background.  Lovesong is part of a multi-year series of plays that attempts to bring science to the Middlebury stage, an effort spearheaded by Theater professor Cheryl Faraone.  Alex Draper will play the main role in Lovesong again this summer at the Potomac Theater Project, Middlebury’s theater outlet in New York, where undergrads perform alongside professional actors.  The Wright stage has been modified by Midd’s adept tech theater staff to mimic PTP’s setup and prepare the play for its New York debut.

If you go, leave any preconceptions behind.  People who are already familiar with Turing’s life and ideas should know that this script sometimes strays from a realistic “historical” account and wanders into the fantastical. People who know nothing about Turing should also be ready for a challenging script—though probably not one as complicated as last year’s super-erudite Jumpers.  In short, expect the unexpected… Or, if you don’t like surprises, the playwright has made the entire script available for free online—a fitting gesture to Turing’s memory and influence.  You wouldn’t be reading this if it weren’t for him, after all.

Tickets are sold out.  However, arriving at Wright Theater early and adding your name to the waitlist often works.  There will also be an open dress rehearsal (for free!) on Thursday night at 8:00.

Will you be an internet lip-dub sensation, or a nobody?

My friends, we need LOTS OF PEOPLE to participate in this huge environmental video lip-dub at the recycling center. A lip-dub is a single, traveling camera moving throughout a space and discovering people who pop out to lip-synch a portion of the chosen song. Here’s an example:

We’re doing our lip-dub down at the Midd recycling center and our song will be “Earth’s Ours to Share” — our take on the Madonna/Middlebury classic “Like a Prayer.” Here’s the song (or download here):

So, Saturday January 23rd at 10AM — meet at the recycling center (past the Mods, white building). Remember to learn the song and show up with the right shirt-color. Details here. This is for a class called Sustainable TV, where we are making an hour long television show about the environment. So if you participate, you will not only be on public access television, you will go online, and since this genre is trendy at the moment, you will get LOTS of HITS. This all equals FAME. Who wants to be a star? You do.

Internet fame awaits you.

EDIT: faculty, staff, and community are welcome! bring your family!