Author Archives: Matthew Claudel

It would be easy for a comedian to write one gag after another based on the premise “So Einstein and Picasso walk into a bar…” but Steve Martin, in “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” manages to go beyond easy laughs and historical gimmicks. Don’t get us wrong – he has those too (even a ‘why »

When you combine Jason Sobocinski’s love for grilling and cheese with Tom Sobocinski’s love for vehicles, you get “The Cheese Truck.” The truck brings Caseus cheese shop and restaurant to the streets, offering an exciting assortment of vegetarian soups, mouth watering sandwiches, and healthy salads. scene interviews Jeff Weaver, sous chef at Caseus and the »

NEW YORK — Fall/winter. Spring/summer. Repeat. Every season designers — from established labels like Prada to up-and-coming designers like Billy Reid — create fashion lines and present them to the eager public. And every season they go through the motions: You can count on Ralph Lauren to create timeless classics, Hermes to outfit skinny French-types »

Apart from composing a massive cubic honeycomb façade, one which dominates the Hewitt Quadrangle, the marble of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library looks rather uninteresting from the exterior. White segments with a greyish grid for support. Ok. Yale is definitely not lacking in white marble. But then you walk inside. The architect, Gordon »

Postmodernism is definitely a movement of the past, and many believe there hasn’t been a well-defined movement to follow in its wake. Yet others cite the distinctive aesthetic founded on eco-consciousness and animated by a rugged DIY spirit (particularly in the current economic climate) as the emerging modern movement in art and design. This budding »

Of all the wonderful art, well-designed products, and awe-inspiring architecture to write about on Yale campus, I don’t know why the first thing I thought of was a phony little bookshelf in the Haas Art and Architecture Library. The small collection of 31 colored-resin books stands unobtrusively in a glass case, looking tattered and shoddy. »

When someone like Lady Gaga explodes onto the music scene with a four hit singles from one album, imitators are bound to fall into step behind her. Radka is undoubtedly one of them, fitting neatly into the freshly created genre of Gaga that incorporates catchy, upbeat dance music, tightly choreographed videos, outlandish costumes and overt, »

“When you think vegan, you think steamed brown rice next to tofu and covered with brown sauce… I want to make exciting, bright green … titillating food!” Creating titillating food is chef and author Bryant Terry’s ambition. His cooking demonstration in the Pierson College dining hall on Monday afternoon was largely a conversation about his »

Possibly the two most extraordinarily eccentric celebrities ever to grace the public eye – Lady Gaga and Boy George – will be joining forces for a concert in London. This February the O2 Arena will play host to (what I imagine will be) a parade of androgyny, bright colors and outlandish costumes. Lady Gaga cites »

Especially among our nor’eastern Ivy League peers, expectations have been absurdly high for Vampire Weekend’s sophomore album, “Contra.” I’ll be honest — the advent season, for me, did not end on Dec. 25 with the birth of the messiah, but on Jan. 12, the day “Contra” was released. It is virtually impossible for any musicians, »

Mustaches, long relegated to the likes of William Howard Taft and your over-enthusiastic uncle (the guy who only visited once a year and always brought age-inappropriate gifts) are making a re-appearance on upper lips everywhere. The benefits are clear: Added warmth Assertion of virility Distinct advantage when chopping wood Association with Jay Dockendorf Although he »

Let’s be honest — paying for music is passé. We have YouTube, Playlist, Grooveshark, friends with Library of Congress-sized music libraries … a whole host of sources can keep your parties bumpin’, satisfy your indie-music itch or give you unlimited background beats for late-night studying. Unfortunately, there’s always that minor inconvenience: most free music is »