Author Archives: Natasha Thondavadi

7.96 seconds is the amount of time it might take you to tie your shoes or put on your pants — but to Rowe Hessler, that’s the amount of time it took to solve a Rubik’s Cube in Sudler Hall last Saturday. Hessler is the winner of the three-by-three Rubik’s Cube Speedsolve at Yale’s Fall »

Has the idea of a career for which you don’t need an alarm clock ever appealed to you? The phrase “Yale alumni” conjures images of serious-looking professionals in suits sitting behind unnecessarily large mahogany desks. But what if, despite your Yale education, you don’t want to be a doctor or a lawyer or a business »

When non-Yalies ask me what I don’t like about our school, I usually have a hard time answering. But there always has been one incredibly troubling dilemma: the lack of a Mexican-food haunt close to campus. I don’t mean a Bulldog Burrito-esque greasy place where you go for a quick late-night snack. And places with »

A man dressed in a kimono warns audience members to silence their cell phones at the risk of beheading. This threat opening the Yale Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s version of “The Mikado” is one you probably should heed. As in, you want to be alive for this performance. Directed by Jacob Reske ’14, “The Mikado” »

Nestled in the dark, sexy enclave that is the Yale Cabaret lurks “Hong Kong Dinosaur,” a quirky Australian love story written by Amelia Roper DRA ’13 and directed by Kate Attwell DRA ’13. Living up the spectacle suggested by its name, almost every moment in the hour-long show leaves you with a bitter mixture of »

A few weeks after coming back to campus, as beautiful white snowdrifts have been transformed into puddles of murky slush — and then covered with snow again — the Yale Farm is a resplendent image of winter beauty. Contrary to popular belief, this huge tract of land atop Science Hill does not lie idle in »

Traveling to India around the holidays never fails to surprise me. I never expect Christmas to have as much of a presence in the predominantly Hindu country, but the city of Chennai is ripe with its own Christmas traditions: The Christmas tree, tropical-style. The absence of fir trees from many parts of India leads many »

Thanksgiving is a time defined not only by family and friends, but also by food. But as a vegetarian, I can commiserate with those who feel a little left out on a day so thoroughly devoted to consuming meat. For the herbivores out there, here are some vegan and vegetarian options to get your through »

William Bailey ART ’57 invites a new layer of meaning to items as commonplace as pots. Bailey’s exhibit at the Whitney Humanities Center is as unimposing as it is beautiful. The display of Bailey’s work is unceremonious, yet completely appropriate. Sketches hang on the wall in between doors, framed simply and unaccompanied by any description »

When I walked into Scoozzi, I was immediately greeted by the smiling face of the hostess, who offered to relieve me of my coat and backpack. Coming in from the cold New Haven weather, Scoozzi’s bright atmosphere and impeccable service were the silver lining to my otherwise gray and cloudy day. Scoozzi’s Restaurant Week menu »

“Rabbit Hole,” the senior project in theater studies for Maia Collier ’11, offers a display of tragic emotion — but few surprises. The first act opens with two women in a kitchen, performing seemingly everyday tasks. Izzy (Sarah Matthes ’13) pours a glass of orange juice as she describes her latest night out to her »

Breathing Room, a boutique yoga studio located in Federal Plaza, took me by surprise when I went there to attend a class Monday. I didn’t expect to find a trendy yoga studio in a somewhat-unmarked stairwell behind the courthouse. The décor features a mixture of urban grunge elements, such as an unfurnished brick wall, uncovered »