Author Archives: Raphael Shapiro

I went on a few runs last week. A couple. Two. I went on two runs, in as many days. Some people might call that a streak. I know I would. The first day, I felt pretty good. I ran for something like 40 minutes and it felt like a considerable loop and I have »

Here’s a philosophical question for you, one you’ve heard before. If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? I don’t know the answer to that question. My knowledge of forested areas and the sounds therein is pretty limited; I didn’t do FOOT. But »

Oftentimes a successful movie will be followed by the release of a sequel. A lot of books have sequels, and every successful movie of the last decade was based on a book, so this happens pretty often … times. And then sometimes if the series is really successful and the producers have exhausted every possible »

When you roll up in the club, you need to get bottle service. It’s a must. You haven’t truly experienced a night out without the luxuries afforded by reserving a bottle: the tiny black table, the tiny black couches, the slightly less sticky floor. These are the things of hope and promise, where dreams are »

Let me first say how thrilled I am to see everyone here today. I’m thrilled. We offered this seminar on the “Interracial Politics of Food and Television: 1996-’98” last year and only five students enrolled (and we had a lot of fun, we really — I really learned a lot). But anyway, I’m so excited »

Let me ask you a question. Why do you think car racing is so popular in America? Is it the potential for fiery crashes? The efficiency of the pit stops? The excitement of recognizing the brands on the hoods? While each of these is plausible, I think the answer is something far less subtle. It’s »

Edward Albee published his first play in 1958. He was 30 years old. By the time he reached his 82nd birthday this past March, he had completed 30 more, and had won three Pulitzer Prizes in drama. In 2005, he won a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. He is unquestionably one of the most influential »

A refreshingly warm October sun streamed in through the windows of the Chapel Street apartment. The dishwasher had just stopped running. Three half-finished mugs of tea sat on the dining room table. Eliza sat by one of them, and she gesticulated excitedly as she talked. “I think the two songs that sort of really came »

No. No. Uh uh. Get the fuck–– I just. No. My sister was over the other day to make sure my plants were watered and she brought along my little niece Maria Clara, right? So like, I didn’t want her to get bored or nothing, Maria Clara I mean, not my sister (she was busy »

So I did the math. There are 13 “official” underclassmen a cappella singing groups at Yale, each with about 15 to 20 members. That 13 doesn’t even include the two senior groups and the “alternative” groups not subjected to the strict guidelines of the Singing Group Council (Magevet, shalom). So, you do some broad estimations »

To many Yalies, the beginning of a new school year means reuniting with old friends and making new awkward acquaintances, move-in day and shopping period, going on FOOT and not going on FOOT and being totally OK with it. But to some, it means just one thing — another Dramat Fall Mainstage Musical. The auditions »

Yeah, I saw Lion King once. It fuckin’ sucked. I took my little cousins, Maria Clara, Maria Rose and Little Tony. I picked ’em up at my aunt’s house in Long Island City, which is sort of out of the way for me, but what are you gonna do? It’s family. Traffic on the LIE »