Raccoons Rule at the Old Amphitheater!
There’s a great place to take a walk between classes, particularly on a cool Autumn afternoon; it’s the road behind the gym, past the amphitheater, and down a winding paved path until it ends in a sudden drop off where some excavation has taken place in times past.
On this path you are surrounded by trees, and even though you are technically on campus, there is no sight of anything but forest primeval.
It has to be one of the college’s greatest assets; not many schools have such a resource on their campus.
The Bells of St. National’s, or Quasimodo, is that you?
The bells that ring each quarter hour, half hour, and hour at the college keep everyone well notified and running on time. Students know exactly when the last second arrives to be in class without receiving a late mark, and faculty know exactly when to pounce on an apprehensive class with an armload of freshly printed exams. Those bells are an audible ruler that measures our time on campus, and you could say that it is, if not comforting, at least somewhat reassuring in the sense that we always know what time it is, give or take ten minutes or so on either side of the national standard “ brought to you by radio transmission from the atomic cesium clock at Fort Collins, Colorado”.
That being said, there is another function the bells perform that is open to debate, if not outright contention; this being the playing of music each day before noon and before six in the evening. The music consists primarily of Sixties and Seventies songs of a Lawrence Welk variety, such as “Lara’s Theme” from Dr. Zhivago, “Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head” (cutely enough played on rainy days), the theme from The Godfather (haven’t really figured out the symbolism on that one), and of course, at Christmas, “The Little Drummer Boy”. The bells perform these masterpieces one note at a time, as if someone were playing a keyboard with one finger, which indeed may be the case. Read more »
I’d Like To Have Been In That Meeting… Harry Potter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWCYDaZHl6Q&feature=related
From DawsonBros, this is a great little dissection of the insanely popular Harry Potter series penned by J.K. Rowling. Interestingly, the entire scene is rendered in 3d using the free open source tool, Blender. A very unique approach to presenting hand-drawn-styled animation indeed, and hilarious to boot!
Not Exactly A Smoker’s Valhalla
Every Monday and Wednesday, as I wind my way up the road, passing the Gymnasium and the shiny new Health Sciences building – almost looks like it’s still wrapped up in plastic, it’s so shiny – I am privy to a tiny little show in the theater of life. It is a humorous little slice of irony I can’t help but notice. Would-be nurses from the Health Sciences building stand just on the pavement of the road, off the campus by sheer technicality, puffing away like they just purchased a new pair of lungs and they’re itching to break them in.
Before that, these individuals would stand across the street from the Health Sciences building – you know, home of the ‘Nursing Program’ – on what is apparently Mid America Science Museum property. I say apparently because of a delicious email that was sent to ZAllStudents, which was, in effect, a very stern warning to any smoking campus students to buzz off the museum property.
So now these students stand in the road. They aren’t really obstructing traffic yet, but one wonders how long it will be before this open/public land is taken away from them as well.
More interesting than that, though, is the thought – the notion if you will – that some number of aspiring nurses and other medical professionals, extremely well versed in human anatomy and disease and health and what have you – by their very nature as medical students – are routinely sucking down carcinogens commonly linked to cancer. My question is this: what would drive a student, pursuing a career in a field known for fighting and preventing death and disease, to ignore every single health warning by smoking?
Webcomic
Here’s an NPCC-themed webcomic by Sammy Goza. Enjoy!
Ninja Squirrel
Ninja Squirrel
Ninja Squirrel
Here He Comes
He’s the Ninja Squirrel
From the Roof
Down He Climbs
Eats Some Nuts
Then Fights Crime
Look Out!
Here Comes the Ninja Squirrel
Ninja Squirrel
Ninja Squirrel
There He Goes
He’s the Ninja Squirrel
Saves Some Peeps
Eats Some Nuts
Sees Some Bad Guys
Kicks Their Butts
Look Out!
Here Comes the Ninja Squirrel
Ninja Squirrel
Ninja Squirrel
See Him Jump
He’s the Ninja Squirrel
Stops a Robber
In His Tracks
Beats Him Up
Then Gets a Snack
Look Out!
Here Comes the Ninja Squirrel
Are you scared yet?
We all know that feeling. That sensation of fear, of hopelessness. “The end is nigh!,” the pundits might say. Well, we think it is important to remember that humans have seen disaster before. Humans have faced the trials and tribulations and survived(well, not everyone survived, but come on, what do you expect?).
Picture 1814, the foggy streets of London, England. You and your significant other are whiling away the endless English nights in the Tavistock Arms Pub, drowning your sorrows and sharing gossip about those kooky Americans way across the pond. Imagine, for a moment, that between belches, you happen to take a quick, harmless, little gander out the window, whereupon you notice what looks suspiciously like God just spilled his pint. Imagine a forty foot wall of London’s finest ale rushing down the cobblestone path. Might I say, you would be quite scared(or, given your location, perhaps a little giddy). Might I add, you would probably be screaming like a little pansy.
This was the site of the London Beer Flood. If you were one of the nine unfortunate souls living in the basements of the poor houses in St. Giles parish, then you are dead and I do not wish to continue this awkward conversation. Thanks to a vat explosion at the Meux and Company Brewery, which led to a domino effect of further vat explosions, more than 300,000 imperial gallons of beer burst out onto the streets, destroying two homes and soldiering it’s way through one of the walls of the Tavistock Arms Pub. The aforementioned basements were flooded with the wretched lager, leaving eight dead from drowning and one dead from alcohol poisoning. Well, maybe it wasn’t all bad.
We blamed God earlier in this article, but don’t get your panties in a wad! A judge from the time ruled the disaster an ‘act of God’, a final, clenching proof of a supernatural deity with an immortal thirst for brew.
Speaking of food-related disaster stories, here’s a sweet little tale of a horrific tragedy a little closer to home. The scene is Boston, January 15, 1919. The setting, an unusually warm day. Throughout the town, you could hear the painful groaning and creaking of a distending tank packed to the brim with molasses. If you happened to be standing on Commercial Street on that fateful day, you might have noticed the 15 foot high wall of syrup rushing toward you at 35 miles an hour. If you weren’t, and we want to stress here just how lucky you are if this is the case, try to imagine 2.3 million US gallons of sweet sugary goodness rushing through the cobblestone streets, obliterating everything in it’s path. It was powerful enough to break girders and lift a train off it’s tracks. It was devastating enough to sweep buildings off of their foundations and crush them in one fell swoop. Try to imagine standing in 3 feet of molasses.
There were 150 reported injuries, and at least 21 people(and horses) were killed, some crushed and drowned. A truck was lifted up by the molasses and flung carelessly into the Boston Harbor. And while the London Beer Flood can be attributed to “God’s mysterious ways”, the Boston Molasses Disaster was initially blamed on Anarchists. Ultimately, the courts found the United States Industrial Alcohol Company responsible, and forced them to pay out around $600,000 dollars(think around $7 million in today’s money) in out-of-court settlements.
So when pondering the impending apocalypse, planning ahead for the inevitable doom of 2012, or even looking back fondly at the significant lack of doom as a result of the Y2K scare, just remember that time heals all wounds, and more importantly, humans have survived far worse disasters from days of old.
The Black Heart Gang Presents – Tale of How
A surrealistic dark fairy tale about persecuted birds, a gigantic murderous octopus, and a wise six legged mouse.
Tale of How
This video was used as an example piece for students interested in Digital Media. Produced by the Black Heart Gang, it demonstrates a wide variety of digital filmmaking tools that are in use by studios around the world today and represents some of the finest in modern creative thinking.
Sporto Kantès – “Whistle”
This is from a french design group called No Brain. Music by two guys that go by the name Sporto Kantès. Enjoy.
Sporto Kantès - "Whistle"
This video was used as an example piece for students interested in Digital Media. Produced by No Brain, it demonstrates a wide variety of digital filmmaking tools that are in use by studios around the world today and represents some of the finest in modern creative thinking.
NPCC 2009 TV Ad- Kristy Carter
NPCC 2009 TV Ad- Kristy Carter. Enjoy.
NPCC 2009 TV Ad- Kristy Carter
This commercial was developed during June 2009 in-house at the NPCC Video Production lab for use on television. It was one of three TV commercials produced within the span of a week and edited from longer testimonial interviews. The video features voice work by Ricky Coulter, and the music was arranged by the advertising staff.
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Authors
npccblog
J. Lovitt
Robert Dielborough