Every Monday, the Rambler will release a “20 Questions Video. This series will feature a different staff member each week and we hope will allow the campus community to learn more about and feel more connected with our unique staff. Our very first video features Director of Student Wellbeing Ashley Hill.
Learning Good: Community and the Individual
Most of the time when someone thinks about making the correct decision, there is some thought about whether it is right or wrong. This idea of right or wrong is shaped by many things in our life such as prior experience or how something makes us feel. Often we think about how our decisions will affect those around us as well.
There is an entire field of philosophy that is focused on trying to create a framework that can make this decision as to what is right or wrong easier. This is what we call ethics.
When the average person thinks of philosophy, they often think of some broad conception of how the world works or should work. While this may make up the majority of philosophical works, the interesting thing about works on ethics is that ethics can be easily applied to your everyday life.
One thing that is problematic when trying to introduce ethics into your everyday life is that oftentimes the most ethical decision will not be the one that provides you with the most immediate pleasure. Something as simple as taking a pen that is left on a desk from the class before yours may not seem to be a very important part of your life, but it can become much more challenging when thinking about it through an ethical lens.
An example of how ethical behavior can help to improve both your life and others’ lives is the story of the Stag Hunt. The Stag Hunt is an example used in game theory where four people are on the hunt for an animal to feed their families. Along their journey, one of the hunters has the opportunity to kill a rabbit, which would be enough to feed his family, but the cost is that without all four hunters, they will not be able to kill the stag, and the other hunters will have to return to their families with nothing.
Ethical behavior has a lot in common with this story. In any scenario, you could choose to act in the way that provides the most immediate benefit to yourself. In the Stag Hunt this would be choosing to kill the rabbit, thus having enough to immediately feed your own family. The problem with this is that by choosing to kill the rabbit, you are causing harm to those who have trusted you by negatively impacting their ability to care for their families.
If you were to choose to continue on with the hunt and go on to kill the Stag, you would eventually obtain the same benefit that you would get from killing the rabbit in that you are able to feed your family. In addition to being able to feed your family, you have also gained the trust of your hunting partners, thus hopefully being able to go on other expeditions and continuing to have a working relationship.
The lesson to take from this is that ethics is not about pleasure in the moment. By only focusing on what is your best interest, it is easy to lose the trust of those around you. While we exist as individuals in society, we have to maneuver through the society in which we exist. Ethical behavior helps us navigate society by making our actions both more predictable and more palatable to those around us. Moving forward, I will look at how different people have thought about ethics as well as how these theories can apply in day-to-day scenarios.
Learning Good is a weekly feature by columnist Will Easley that focuses on ethics and daily life.
TU SpeakOut takes on ‘Modern Romance’
Valentine’s Day might be over and done with, but love is still in the air. The campus poetry club, SpeakOut, held their first performance of the year last Thursday, titled Modern Romance. Before introducing the first act, the club’s fearless leader, Joey Howard, lightly joked, “We made the decision to call it Modern Romance after the Aziz Ansari allegations.”
The performances consisted of talented young poets sharing their experiences with love. Some were very warm and heartfelt, while others talked about bitter breakups which often led the audience to cheer in praise.
Memoirs of an NYU Frat Party
Madison Plucknett
Dingy hallways and Broken banisters
A hover only toilet seat
Cigarettes with colorful filters
Smoked indoors and
Ashed on the floor
A slightly tipsy trip over a loose floorboard
And
A picture I don’t remember taking
Snapshot memories with distorted details
A hand I don’t remember holding
Wrapped in a kiss I never said no to
Followed by waking up in my own bed at noon the next day
Yesterday’s makeup on my pillow
Bruises beyond explanation
A hangover from hell
But I only had a few beers
But I’ve always been a lightweight
And anyway I must have walked home
So I showered
And I Rationalized because reality resisted me
And rationalizing was easier than admitting
It happened to Me Too.
Madison Plucknett was among the students who decided to twist around the meaning of modern romance around into a poem called, “Memoir of an NYU Frat Party.”
In this poem Plucknett gave the audience a disturbing look into what happens inside the party of a frat house. This poem is incredibly well written and also very relevant in light of the #MeToo movement, which Plucknett refers to at the last line of her poem when she says, “it happened to Me Too”.
Plucknett was not the only student who cleverly redefined the modern romance. First-year student Jordan Strousse performed his poem about the realities of relationships entitled, “Just Married”. This poem peered into to the harsh realities of married life. What made Strousse’s poem stand out was his clever use and play on words throughout the poem and strong emphasis and drama weaved into each stanza. All in all, it was a depressing yet humorous take on modern romance.
All the students that performed for SpeakOut did an incredible job writing and performing their poetry. The theme of romance really played well throughout the performance space with the strong pink hue of lights, the big Grecian-style flower pots on either side of the microphone and the flowers spread out all over the floor. Even the unexpected accompaniment of the orchestra practicing in the space directly above us added some drama to each performance. It was a beautiful show, and hopefully there will be more performances to come from SpeakOut in the near future.
Rambler Weekly Playlist and Blog: February 23rd
In light of Transy Choir’s Cabaret on Sunday, and Mr. Burns premiering this week, I decided to make this week’s playlist villains and theater themed. This playlist includes a variety of theater and Broadway-style songs, both contemporary and classic.
Transy’s campus is buzzing with theater, music, and art events this weekend! TU’s Theater Program has worked countless hours to put on Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play, and I’m sure they would love to see you there. Mr. Burns will be performed seven times:
- Thursday, February 22nd at 7:30 PM,
- Friday, February 23rd at 7:30 PM
- Saturday, February 24th at 7:30 PM
- Thursday, March 1st at 7:30 PM
- Friday, March 2nd at 7:30 PM
- Saturday, March 3rd at 7:30 PM
- Sunday, March 4th at 2:00 PM
This dark comedy is loosely based on an episode of The Simpsons, so if you like the TV show, be prepared to love the play. I’ve also heard that even if you don’t watch The Simpsons, the show will still be entertaining and fun.
We also have the grand opening of Lavish! on Friday at 5 PM, which is an exhibit in Morlan Gallery by our very own Associate Arts Professor Zoe Strecker and other artists. They’ve put a great amount of time and effort into this exhibit, so please come see their art!
Another must-see event this weekend is TU Choir ensembles’ Cabaret! Join us Sunday at 7:30 PM in Haggin Auditorium for Villains! This year’s cabaret includes fun choreography and costumes and songs by various villains!
We also have a faculty recital on Saturday, February 24th, by our very own Adjunct Professor of Music Chris Roseland. He has been teaching here since the spring of 2017, and is an accomplished guitarist who will be performing a program of all Spanish music in Old Morrison Chapel at 4 PM!
Come out and support all of your local artists, musicians, and actors this weekend!
Taylor
J.T. Henderson goes out with a bang, clap, and ¡olé!
Senior J. T. Henderson stepped out to greet a packed Carrick Theater, dressed for the occasion in a sleek, blue suit, but still maintained a casual appearance, with no tie to be found. Henderson is in his final stretch here at Transy as a Molecular & Cellular Biology and Spanish double major with a minor in Music. He plans to further his education by attending medical school where he wants to get a degree in both public health and medicine.
Henderson’s Senior Recital was a dazzling display of varying styles of music that was split into four different songs.
For Henderson’s first piece, “Chieba” by Jan Bardley, he played multi-percussion with accompaniment from Daniel Cooper on the trumpet, who is a junior at Transy. This piece proved to be not only loud in volume, but was a great way to kick off his recital because of its upbeat nature and rousing rhythm.
Henderson on drums while Daniel Cooper plays trumpet. Both were moving around and dancing to the rhythm.
The next piece “Raga No. 1” by William Cahn was unique, with Henderson playing the timpani, which looked like a set of four, copper-based drums all in semi circle, with Henderson sitting behind them. These drums are also called kettledrums, which are drums consisting of a copper base, with a skin stretched over top. He started off playing them softly with his mallets/drumsticks, and this sound gradually began to increase in volume as well as in tempo. The performance became physical, with Henderson moving back and forth between each of the four drums. Near the middle of the song, Henderson released one of his drumsticks and played one of the drums with his fingers, which created a softer sound and unique effect, while he used his other hand to simultaneously play another one of the drums using a drumstick.
The piece that followed was “About Escher” II. Phosphorescent Sea by Mario Carro, which was an absolutely stunning piece. It featured Henderson on the marimba and a collaboration with senior Peyton Thomas on violin. The blend of the marimba with the violin created a sound that simulated water flowing, and sounded as if more than two instruments were used in this piece. Listen to some of “About Escher” with the video clip below.
“This piece is really interesting because Escher is known for his highly geometrical subjects” said Henderson.
Henderson ended the recital on an energetic note (literally) with the piece “Concert Pieces for Timpani” by Paul Sarcich, which included stomping, clapping, and even one or two exclamations of olé mixed in. This piece was a duet with pianist and professor at Transylvania, Loren Tice, who also clapped along to the accompanying/different rhythm from Henderson’s and played piano where it was needed. This proved to be yet another rousing piece, which was a nice way to mix up the mood in the room with the selections.
Henderson introduced this piece in front of the audience by giving his reason for choosing it. “In an interview about why Sarcich wrote the music, he essentially said that the repertoire for the soloist is not weak and he wanted this to be that. That’s what drew me to this piece, especially this movement. It’s very lively and very non-traditional and technical in ways that I never made it look.”
Henderson added, “I played this piece during my sophomore year for the first time, loved it, and so I had to bring it back today.”
New Domesticity: Women’s Work in Women’s Art
What do you get when you put an art historian and a museum curator in a car together for the summer?
Dr. Emily Goodman, Assistant Professor of Art History here at Transylvania, curated Morlan Gallery’s latest exhibit, New Domesticity: Women’s Work in Women’s Art. Goodman, accompanied by Morlan Gallery Director Andrea Fisher, traveled across the state this past summer on a road trip in search of Kentucky-based women artists. Goodman and Fisher observed where and how these artists work, which turned out to be an eye-opening adventure/experience in itself. “We spent six weeks of traveling around, so a lot of it was day tripping. We went to Murray and Paducah and Mayfield all in one nice little go” Goodman said, “Western Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky are very different. I feel like in my first year in Kentucky, I got to see so much of it and I also realized I was naive in thinking Kentucky was a small state, it’s not, it’s so many different places.”
Along with the diverse geography Kentucky has to offer, Goodman discovered diversity in the artists she stumbled upon, and not only how those artists create art, but where they create it.
“One of the things I loved was getting to meet over twenty women and getting to see where women live and work and how those two ideas overlap, which was really interesting.” said Goodman. “There were some women who work out of their homes, and what those homes are like is really interesting. Some of those homes are you know, ‘I live in an apartment in downtown Lexington’, or ‘come on up where I live in a townhouse in Louisville’. Some of them are ‘I live on a 150 acre farm outside of Frankfort’, or outside of Murray, and you know, ‘come and have a look, there’s gonna be chickens running around, and sheep’, and all these fun things. It gave me a much better understanding of what Kentucky as a place is like and something that really informed the thinking about this show.”
The exhibit showcases women artists in Kentucky and the ways they use the idea of women and domesticity in their art. While each piece in the show is unique, they all tie into the exhibit as a whole and play their role in adding to its contemporary theme. “There are pieces that people are always drawn to, like Kristin Richards’ installation, Dawn.” said Goodman.
Dawn is a striking piece of art because not only is it bright and bold in color, but also sends a powerful message. This piece consists of three dishwasher racks/baskets suspended from the ceiling by industrial lights. Attached to each basket is a houseplant that hangs down over a large, rectangular glass pool that is filled halfway full with a blue liquid. That liquid is Dawn dish soap. Goodman recalls, “I remember right after she [Richards] installed it before the show was even open, you could smell it walking into MFA and I remember thinking ‘oh my God that smell is so pungent.’ I like when art has smells because smell is the closest sense to memory.”
“I’ve been in the gallery with four different classes so far, and it’s the first one that every class wants to talk about, it was the first one people wanted to talk about at my curator’s talk last week, so this is the piece that is a public favorite.”
Dr. Emily Goodman
“To have the artists around as part of it I think is really awesome.” On the subject of Kentucky artists, Goodman said she really enjoyed working with them and that “They are fantastic and amazing.”
Goodman also said, “One of the cool things about this project and one of the things that is really informing my new line of scholarship around it is Kentucky artists are very genuine to be in Kentucky and there are artists that are in the show who have gallery spaces in other places. Lori Larusso has shows in LA and New York, and Rae Goodwin has done a lot of stuff in other places, primarily in New York” Goodman said, “But there’s a very authentic Kentucky thing where most people who are in the show are happy that their practice is in Kentucky and they’re interested in getting the local community involved, and I think one of the things I found really interesting is that Kentucky has a very authentic craft culture, really into quilting, really into ceramics. And what I found, especially when we were in western Kentucky towards Paducah, art institutions of contemporary art over there and here really use that as a way to bring in the community, but not in an off-putting way.”
The exhibit was created out of Goodman’s dissertation research, and its focus on women’s work around certain themes. “I like that art is open and can be multiple things at the same time, and I wanted to show and think about that. When I first came last year, I met a bunch of women artists who are doing really interesting things that really fit with what I was interested in as a scholar and this idea of domesticity, of traditional femininity, of food, of housework, of all of these ideas.” Goodman said. “And Andrea Fisher let me play in Morlan Gallery” she added.
The difference between the New Domesticity exhibit and past ones is its ability to draw people in with its unique atmosphere, mainly stemming from the Dawn piece mentioned above, which seems to be a focal point. Goodman talked about how galaries are supposed to work in the sense that they want people to use their vision as a primary sense. Galleries are usually secluded away from things like street noise and outside smells. “There’s a reason why we use white cubes and kind of hang one thing at a time, it’s so you can get this very visual experience” said Goodman, “So whenever art has a smell, I love it because it totally changes, and it changes the other art that’s in there too.”
New Domesticity has been in the gallery since January 15th, and will remain until February 16th. Some of the pieces not featured in Morlan Gallery are being displayed at The Parachute Factory here in Lexington, which is a non-profit space where artists can display their work while engaging the surrounding community. New Domesticity will remain there until February 24th.
The artists with work featured in this exhibit are Rae Goodwin, Helen LaFrance, Jennifer A. Reis, Stacey Chinn, Justine Riley, Bianca Lynne Spriggs, Lori Larusso, Bentley Utgaard, Colleen Merrill, Jane Burch Cochran, Judith Pointer-Jia, L.A. Watson, Diane Kahlo, Stacey Reason, and Kristin Richards.
Mitchell Fine Arts’ Morlan Gallery is open on weekdays from noon-5 p.m. The Parachute Factory is open Wednesdays-Fridays from 5-8 p.m. and Saturdays from noon-3 p.m.
Rambler Weekly Playlist & Blog: February 16th
The past week has been full of ups and downs, from the weather changes to our own emotional states as we realize that it’s already so far into the semester.
So in light of that, I decided to make this week’s playlist a mixture of moods. I chose some weekend vibes with songs like “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys and “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae, and to celebrate the fact that (most of us) survived this week, I added songs like “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees and “I will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor. Just for fun, I decided to throw in some classics from Amy Winehouse and Smash Mouth, so enjoy.
Fun fact about the song “All Star”: It was released on May 4th, 1999 as the second song on Smashmouth’s Astro Lounge album, and rose to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (which I think should’ve been no. #1). The smash hit (see what I did there) was written by Greg Camp, the founding guitarist for Smash Mouth. If you want to see the most 90s thing possible, check out the music video for “All Star” below.
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_jWHffIx5E
Take it easy,
Taylor
Our Art Event of the Week begins next Thursday evening, with the Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play opening February 22nd at 7:30p.m. in Lucille Theater (the small building attached to MFA). The TU Theater Program has been working tirelessly on this play, so please go support them! Tickets are free!
Rambler Recipe: Apple Spice Mug Cake
Mug cakes. They are becoming an increasingly popular college treat. And why shouldn’t they be? They are easy to make, and they are great for a single serving snack without the work of making a full-size cake or a complete batch of cupcakes. There are recipes all over the Internet for how to make them, and grocery stores sell packets of pre-made cake mix specifically designed for mug cakes.
The problem is that many of these recipes do not live up to the hype. Some of them end up with a soupy center, while others will be dryer than the Sahara Desert. So how do you know which ones are good? Honestly, you cannot really know for sure unless you try it. You could also look at comments sections to see what others who have already tried it have to say. Or you could simply use the recipe I’ve provided below as a good starting point. This recipe has been tried and tested by the Transylvania Culinary Club with good results. But don’t take my word for it, try it out for yourself.
This is an apple spice cake with caramel sauce. Now, I know that may sound more like a fall treat, but honestly, this light and fluffy cake tastes good all year round.
First, in a mug, mix the dry ingredients together. This includes the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. You could also cheat and just buy a package of apple pie spice and add 2 teaspoons of that to the mixture. You are also going to want a larger mug, about 14 ounces or bigger, because this cake is going to rise a lot, and you do not want it overflowing.
Next, make a well in the center of the mixture. (Essentially this means just pushing the dry mix to the sides so there is a hole in the center of the mixture where you can pour the wet ingredients. This will make it easier to mix together.) Pour the wet ingredients into the center; this includes the water, milk, olive oil and applesauce. (Just a quick note here, if you decide to use regular applesauce instead of unsweetened, definitely cut back on the sugar in the first step.)
Mix all the ingredients together with a whisk or a fork if you do not own a whisk. Whisk until there are no lumps remaining. At this point, you are going to start heating up the cake. Put a paper towel in the microwave underneath the mug just in case there is any spillage. Heat the cake on high for about a minute and fifty seconds. Time will vary depending on your microwave.
For the last step, remove the cake from the microwave and drizzle some caramel sauce on top. It adds a whole new dimension to the cake, and you will not regret it.
And you’re done! Mug cakes are actually super easy to make, which is one of the things that gives them their appeal. The only problem is the number of ingredients, which is understandable! But keep in mind that mug cakes are made in small portions, so you can buy ingredients that will last you through several mug cakes. You won’t regret it.
Salted Caramel Apple Spice Mug Cake Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp. of allspice
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon water
- Caramel sauce (can be salted or unsalted depending on your preference)
Photo by Moira Hedrick
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. (Flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, spices).
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients (applesauce, olive oil, milk, water). Whisk everything together until combined and no lumps remain.
- Pour batter into a microwave-safe mug. 14-ounce mug or bigger. You want enough room for the cake to rise without flowing over.
- Place a paper towel in the microwave and set the mug on top (this is to catch any batter if your mug cake does happen to overflow, but don’t worry, it should not).
- Microwave mug cake for 1 minute and 50 seconds on high.
- Carefully remove from microwave, drizzle (salted) caramel sauce on top and enjoy!
Learn You a Thing: Dr. Steve Hess
The Learn You a Thing Podcast fromThe Rambler News Media is dedicated to improving public discourse around a multitude of topics that are of interest to the Transy community. This episode, political scientist Dr. Steve Hess explains how political life in China is tied inextricably to the Chinese Communist Party.
THE AFTER PARTY: Super Winter Flu Bowl
“Oh I’m Collin and I have homework so I’m too busy to help write a description for this episode. Also, I’m better than everyone and their time is less valuable than mine.” -Collin Ruegg
