What to do about the V word: Virginity

When and if I ever walk down the aisle, there’s a good chance I won’t be wearing a white dress. If you’re wondering why, let me explain: the color white has everything to do with ideas of purity, virtue and, of course, the big one, virginity.

Gourmet gals underwhlemed by local Thai

You haven’t been to Thai Restaurant? It’s the best Thai near campus — or so a fellow food fiend told us. And after that, we heard about Thai Restaurant everywhere — friends picking up takeout, an Instagram post and then another taking over our feeds. Why had no one bothered to clue us in sooner? And the place is Zagat-rated. Upon hearing all of this, and as devoted foodies of Charles Village, we knew it was unacceptable that we hadn’t yet been. We bumped Thai Restaurant to the top of our list, letting it glide VIP-style past places like Birroteca and Parts and Labor that have long been waiting in line.

The tale of the lost keys

Before coming to college, I never placed any real value in having keys, because for all intents and purposes, I never needed them. My dad drove my mother, brother and me to school and work and back home everyday, so I never needed the house keys. Then I never needed any of the car keys because I only got so far as getting my permit, and that’s about to expire on my 21st birthday in a few weeks. And finally, I didn’t need keys to my grandparents’ house because by the time I left school, it was late enough that they would be home.

The real ­life Little Tramp at Hopkins

The first time I saw Charlie Chaplin sing nonsensical Italian-French-Spanish opera, I fell in love. True, this moment came only a few weeks ago, in the dark, over air-conditioned space of Hodson 213, but in my heart, Charlie and I have been on intimate terms since the beginning of time itself. Yes, I’m that person, and I have a thing for The Little Tramp.

Snapshots of films coming this fall

While the summer often provides us with the biggest commercial hit movies of the year, the fall is when it really starts to get good. 2014 has been a less than memorable year in terms of movies thus far, and it probably isn’t a good sign for the industry when the real life news has been more suspenseful than anything in film. However, not all hope is lost; autumn often plays host to the greatest artistic achievements in film, and this year is shaping up to be no exception.

My eulogy to summer, my welcome to fall

My past two articles in “My Favorite Things” have been a bit out of order. My first of the semester was about the TV shows I will be starting and continuing this fall. My second was about my summer spent in Baltimore. In keeping with this theme of writing whatever I want in whatever order it comes to me, this article is no different. I write this with a hot tea at my side and in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. It pains me to say that I have accepted the fact that it is fall. Nevertheless, here it is, my eulogy for summer.

Yorke’s latest album forgoes taking risks

It’s hard not to listen to Thom Yorke’s new solo album, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, without considering the extent of his long and rather celebrated career, especially with his output as the front man of Radiohead during the ’90’s and early 2000’s. That being said, with his last career highlight being Radiohead’s In Rainbows, released in 2007, Yorke’s recent releases have not matched the level of success of The Bends, OK Computer, or Kid A. King of Limbs, Radiohead’s last release back in 2011, was an eight-track-long disappointment. Besides problems with mixing the album’s instrumentation too low, the further incorporation of their dub and jungle-inspired electronic influences didn’t equate to consistently successful songwriting.

Online fashion: shopping in class

As college students, we are all forced to re-evaluate our lives every time we open our wallet. Unfortunately, the sad reality of our poverty does not coincide with the fashionista lifestyle. Every class we take means 50 to 75 minutes of online shopping. Once my cart hits that beloved $500 mark, I am forced to exit out and spend an inordinate amount of money on Brody coffee. This is where my column is meant to help.

Local flavors, waffle cones and magic spoons

Bonjour, fellow foodies! We are back to food-columning again after a sabbatical year spent in Paris, where we trained our taste buds and refined our palettes. We know you missed us! Now we are back, we are seniors and we refuse to accept that summer is coming to an end.

This is why I'm a feminist

I often hear people throwing the word “feminist” around. Some people use it as an insult, others use it as a means of high praise, and a whole lot of people just don’t get it. As a self-proclaimed feminist, I’m here to clear the air. The following list should give anyone a good sense of what feminism is, the problems it hopes to address and why any self-respecting good human should want to be a feminist too:

Frequent FFC faux pas: the trash line

Picture this: it’s a typical Monday morning. You’ve got a 9 a.m. class — still don’t know why you decided that would be a good idea — and you wake up at 8:00. You’ve got plenty of time to get dressed and eat breakfast, but do you have enough time to bus your dishes?

Nothing happened and what it meant

It’s strange to think it was only freshman year of college when I finally, properly understood academic writing. Structure, message, evidence, etc. “Expository Writing” about Poe and I, haunted by his ghosts, tracing his steps all the way to graveyard, nodding to ravens, thinking that not to be stalked, seduced and entrapped by monsters may just mean not living at all.

Recycling old movies hurts modern cinema

Let’s take a poll: if I were to ask you the last three movies that you saw in theaters this summer, could you provide an answer? Now, if I were to ask the last three shows that you’ve marathoned on Netflix in the past couple of months, would that be something a little easier to recall? If so, you’re not alone; the aggregate domestic box office total dropped nearly 15 percent between this summer and last summer.

A summer spent in Baltimore

This summer was the first summer I have ever spent in Baltimore. It was also the first summer where I lived by myself away from home. I got a job not too far from campus and lived in my apartment from the previous semester. I had a whirlwind couple of weeks when I went home after an incredibly hard semester, and when I walked into the door of my apartment in Baltimore in early June, I was overcome with the feeling that I was betraying my home by living somewhere else.

Keep an eye out for these albums this fall

There are a lot of new albums coming out in the next few weeks, so read on to get the low down on the big ones.

Scandal misportrays a desireable couple

With the fall TV season starting up again, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what I’ll be seeing on my screen in the upcoming months — both what I expect to see and what I would like to see — and one of those shows I keep coming back to is Scandal.

Sometimes you just have to take a walk

Dysfunctional advice for the newest flock of Baby Blue Jays

"Ew, freshmen,” I say passing by Wolman — My RA friend Nebuchadnezzar’s heart shatters into billions of minuscule sharp-edged pieces.

From Morocco to Maryland: avoiding post-study abroad blues

There’s a city in Morocco known for being painted a very particular shade of blue. High up in the Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen’s pale blue walls seem to reflect its very place in the sky.