Scene

French farce 'Le Dindon' promises to bring laughs that transcend language

Oscar Snubs

Let's Get Tropical

"Chozen" Not the One

The First Holy Half Marathon

Reddit Co-Founder to Appear at Notre Dame

Golden Globes: the good, the bad and the ugly

'Frozen' breaks the ice of tradition

'The Wolf of Wall Street': All hail the penny stock king

The futuristic fashion of 'Her'

Though Spike Jonze’s new film,  “Her,” is undoubtedly a love story, the not-so-distant futuristic tale also has everything to do with the role of technology in our lives. Just as the movie’s unconventional romance and impressive gadgets characterize its technological theme, so did the film’s carefully designed wardrobe.

Top 20 Albums of 2013: 5-1

Top 20 Albums of 2013: 10-6

Top 20 albums of 2013: 15-11

Top 20 albums of 2013: 20-16

Alternative Adventures: How to Switch up Your Saturday Routine

As Scene on TV: "Archer" S. 5, Ep. 1

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Double Dog Dare

During Fall Break, I spent a lot of time back in Cleveland at a local coffee shop. By myself, for hours a day, I would read books and drink coffee. Peace, calm, contentment - all things that I hadn't enjoyed in a long time. What was keeping me from these things? I couldn't help but wonder. And I couldn't help myself remember. As I packed up my books and clothes and headed back to my home in Farley Hall, I realized the only person keeping me from the peace I was seeking in my life was me. I realized I said yes to so many opportunities that I never gave myself time to just sit on my futon or sit in a coffee shop and read books. So I dared myself to say no to things: the opposite of that Jim Carrey movie, "Yes Man." My problem was that I was a Yes Girl. I said yes to everything, afraid of missing out, afraid of silence, afraid of stillness. Every moment was spent with other people or spent doing something productive. I rarely gave myself any time to slow down and breathe. After Fall Break, though, things all changed. I remember one day my two good friends asked me to study with them. It was right after we returned from Fall Break. And for once, I said no. This was in sharp contrast to before Fall Break when I used to study with them every single night. Every single night I had so much fun with them. Every single night I wasn't alone. Every single night I got basically no homework done. Every single night I went to bed past two a.m. Every single night I got no sleep. Before my coffee shop revelation, I thought that was a good thing. I thought it was good to have a core group of people I hung out with every day, good to always be having a good time, good to be constantly on the go. But with that first no, and the many that followed, I found it's not that simple. When I said no to studying with my friends, I instead had dinner with an old friend and had a heart to heart with a freshman in my section. I did some reading for class. I went to bed before 11. I got 9 hours of sleep. And in the morning, I went to the Grotto before heading to class. For the first time in a long time, I felt free. It's so easy to get locked up in the go-go-go mentality of Notre Dame. Before Fall Break, my schedule had become as fixed and repetitive as the "lather, rinse, repeat" on the back of a shampoo bottle: wake up, shower, get dressed, go to work, go to class, go to lunch, go to class, go to work, go to dinner, go to Folk Choir, go to study, go to hang out with friends, go to sleep. Repeat 100 times. Since saying no, my schedule doesn't feel like it's suffocating or constraining me. Since saying no, I have time not only for friends and fun and work and conversation, but also, for silence and stillness and contemplation. It seems counterintuitive when we live in a place as lively and full of opportunities as Notre Dame. To say no to an opportunity goes against everything that got us into this school in the first place. We got in because we said yes to AP classes, yes to student government positions, yes to playing varsity sports, yes to acting in plays, yes to responsibilities. In essence, we said yes to every opportunity that could further our future. But we can't say yes to everything. I began to ask myself, "Why am I saying yes to studying with my friends?" If the answer was simply because I wanted to see them, then I should say yes. But if my answer was because I didn't like the thought of being alone even though I had a ton of work to do and knew I would get no work done with them, well, then maybe I should say no. Another thing that I realized in my journey through No-ville: saying no to something is just saying yes to something else. When I say no to a party, I'm really saying yes to watching the Irish Bachelorette with my roommate. When I say no to dinner, I'm really saying yes to a nap. When I say no to studying with my friend, I'm really saying yes to actually being productive. "Yes" and "no" are not inherently good or bad. Saying no is not a bad thing, if we're saying no for the right reasons. Similarly, saying yes is not a good thing, if we're saying yes for the wrong reasons. To feel free in my hectic life, I didn't have to say no to everything or yes to everything. I just had to be honest with myself and do what was best for me. Contact Gabriela Leskur at gleskur@nd.edu  The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Ansel Adams at The Snite

Praised as one of the greatest American photographers of the 20th century, Ansel Adams captured the natural beauty of the American west through his iconic black and white photography until his death in 1984. From November until January, Notre Dame's Snite Museum is housing an exhibition of his work in conjunction with the South Bend Museum of Art. The Ansel Adams exhibit features four of his photographs, two feature scenes from California and two in New Mexico, with more photographs currently on display at the South Bend Museum of Art as part of the traveling "Ansel Adams: Masterworks" collection. The four photographs at the Snite are "Mount Williamson, Sierra Nevada from Manzanar, California," "Aspens, Northern New Mexico," "Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada from Lone Pine, California," and "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico." The two featuring California are from the Mrs. Lorraine Gallagher Friemann Fund, "Aspens" is from Museum purchase by exchange from Samuel J. Schatz, and "Moonrise" was lent to the museum by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ayers.  "Mount Williamson" comes from a collection Adams created during World War II as an attempt to document the lives of Japanese Americans interned in Manzanar, California. The picture shows the mountains as a storm passes over them - the way the photograph captures the light falling through the clouds is particularly remarkable.  "Moonrise" features a small New Mexico town, though more than half of the photograph is taken up by the night sky. Adams is said to have claimed it was one of his best photos in a conversation with Dave McAlpin in January 1943. Adams started his career in California's Yosemite Park when his family took annual trips to the national park. His first trip to the park was when he was 14 years old and at age 17, he joined the Sierra Club. He worked as a custodian at the Club's LeConte Memorial Lodge in Yosemite and eventually became the official photographer of the Club's annual outings in Yosemite. This launched his career in photography. According to the Snite, his personal style combines "careful observation with an ability to capture fleeting effects of light and atmosphere." It is this style that allows for his extraordinary ability to capture light effects in his photographs not seen in many others. Adams was known for the stories he told about when he took each of his photographs. He was known for going to great lengths to get the photographs he wanted, going out for four consecutive mornings to capture the correct image for "Winter Sunrise." "He used camera and darkroom to manipulate tone in compositions that he 'preconceived' when confronting his subjects in the field," the Snite Museum said on the exhibit's website. "Adams wrote ten volumes on photographic technique and published countless books of photographs. He worked all over the American west, documenting the wilderness through his camera. He is credited with being one of the greatest artist-activists in the 20th century. His works showcase wilderness many Americans have never experienced and is part of the reason many of the national parks he features have remained untouched by industry. Contact Caelin Miltko at cmoriari@nd.edu 

The Kickback

I figured that for the last Kickback ever, we change things up a bit. And by change things up, I mean gift you with the greatest compilation of "Oh yeah how could I forget about this?" songs ever found in one era. Whether it brings back memories of a boring summer you spent indoors or losing 5-0 to your best friend when no bounces were going your way, the FIFA 11 soundtrack is the way to go. Basically, I was getting tired of listening to the same music that I have starred over the past year on Spotify and thought to look up the last five FIFA video game soundtracks. And with this week being papers week, followed by finals week, I may have made one of my better decisions on the academic year. And no, I'm not lying. If you need a random compilation of upbeat, quirky, catchy music to get through the long nights and fluorescent lights, search for the FIFA playlists on Spotify. Some incredibly generous people out there in the music community have put together unofficial playlists with all the songs (this also goes for movie soundtracks and even the new Grand Theft Auto). After listening to the last five FIFA soundtracks, FIFA 11 stands apart from all else. It features some really weird underground music like "Odessa" by Caribou or "Ace of Hz" by Ladytron, if you're into that stuff. It also features some low-key, head-nodding indie classics like "Rhinestone Eyes" by Gorillaz, "O.N.E." by Yeasayer and "I Can Change" by LCD Soundsystem. And if you're still not interested in that, the soundtrack carries some more top-40 based tunes that you'll be sure to recognize like "Tighten Up" by The Black Keys, "I Can Talk" by Two Door Cinema Club, "Flash Delirium" by MGMT and even some overly-aggressive Linkin Park. But the best part of the soundtrack are the songs that you know you have heard in some capacity before, and just never knew the name of. Everyone has those songs where Shazam took too long to load and you have to resort to hopelessly Googling "song in Acura commercial" so you can add to your collection. For me, it was Chromeo's "Don't Turn the Lights On" and "Can't Sleep" by Adrian Lux. You can even find some obligatory-for-any-FIFA Scandinavian rap and South American/Spanish lisp-pop. My usual finals week routine is a lot of Girl Talk and Childish Gambino. But now I have a backup. However, just a fair warning, you might be tempted to leave your work and play a few games of FIFA. And for that, you're welcome. 

Top 20 albums of 2013: #5-1

Every year, I hope for a bright and shining album to fill the No. 1 spot on my end-of-year list. Every year, one manages to turn up. As our best-album-of-the-year list series comes to a close, I guess I'd like to leave you with one message. If you really care about art in any form - books, movies, videogames, visual or performance arts, music, etc. - go out there and find that No. 1 spot for yourself. If you look hard enough, you'll find it out there. The search is worth its every step, should you keep stepping until you reach your destination.