FOX's "New Girl"

       Let's get one thing said straight out of the gate: I am a HUGE Zooey Deschanel fan.

       However, I was disappointed with the first few episodes of New Girl. I was expecting a quirky, Middle Earth loving girly-girl in Deschanel's character Jess, but I didn't anticipate how simpleminded she was. The tagline for the show is "Simply Adorkable," but based on the first couple of episodes, it should have been switched to "Simply a Dumb Girl Who is Lucky that Craigslist Didn't Give Her Serial Killers for Room Mates." Who says that a dork has to be dumb? In the beginning, Jess wasn't nearly three-dimensional enough. 

       But hold on, there's hope. Now that we're past the Thanksgiving episode (which I believe is the best one so far), I think New Girl has some newfound potential. Jess is slowly but gradually shedding her dummy robe in favor of a more believable personality, while still being as puppy, rainbow, and unicorn loving as ever. 

       If you've given up on New Girl like I almost did, I'd say it's worth another shot. The show has the potential to be the classically cute comedy that can bring a smile to your face and light up the room. Tune in Tuesday nights at 9pm!


By Lauren Lessard

The Goat Rodeo Sessions

I know what you’re going to say: “Yoyo Ma playing bluegrass? Really?” Really.

If you haven’t heard of The Goat Rodeo Sessions yet, consider this your wake up call. Just imagine – the musical virtuoso and cellist prodigy Yoyo Ma plus the award-winning bluegrass-er Stuart Duncan PLUS the jazzy contrabassist Edgar Meyer PLUS the dreamy folk-inspired mandolin-playing Chris Thile. These four musicians, all stellar in their own rights, have come together to craft the album The Goat Rodeo Sessions, an eleven-song bluegrass journey with soul, power, and intoxicating sound.

If the folk revival is where your music’s gone recently, The Goat Rodeo Sessions is where it needs to be now.

Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvw0vbewH_Q

Your Voice

By Lauren Mahncke

Over the past few weeks, despite the lack of mainstream media attention, Occupy Wall Street has garnered up a lot of discussion about the current state of affairs in the United States. Despite differences in opinion on the movement, one thing that can be said about the movement is that this group of protesters is making their voices heard. And in a society that often prides fitting-in and conformity, a great lesson can be learned from the Occupy movement— silence does not set you free.

I believe that the one thing everyone has in this world is a voice, and this voice gives you power. When you start to figure out your voice, you start to figure out who you are.  When you begin to speak out, it’s a lot harder to be ignored. Realistically, one voice cannot change the world. But being a rebel in thought doesn’t get you very far until you begin to speak and act on your voice. And when a lot of voices join together, they become harder to ignore. Even if you don’t think you’re being heard, speechlessness does not protect you, it simply hides you. Only your voice can make your presence known.

For our generation, it is easier than ever to make our voices heard. Blogging in particular is an easy way to get your voice out, especially among your peers. So I invite you, the Stonehill community, to submit your posts to this blog. State your claim, tell the world what you think, and hear what others have to say. You never know who is listening.

Leaving Boston

Within the recent Boston genre of film, an interesting theme has surfaced; that being the need to leave the city that had loved. In Good Will Hunting, Will had only known the topic city. As he grows as a person, past his academic prowess, he realizes the need to branch out and explore new lands, heading west like the frontiersmen of old. In The Town, Doug MacRay has worked himself a niche life style that was quickly shrinking around him. Again, just like Will, Doug escapes his entrapment and chooses a life unfamiliar to him. The films suggest that leaving one’s comfort zone is a worthy goal in itself, but also, just the start of a larger journey of self. So, I too take such leave, entering the unknown, as a new chapter in the film of my life begins.

Daniel Perry

"As Long as He Doesn't Hit on Me: Unpacking Heteronormative Culture at Stonehill"

Click the title to be brought to the video page.


Video by: LucyRose Moller, Molly McKitrick, Kaitlin Foley, and Mandy Malachowski