Dear Beyonce,

I am a huge, HUGE fan of yours. I get giggly and excited every time you come out with a new single or video. I will watch even the most boring and endless award show if it means I can catch a performance of yours. And I gush to anyone who will listen about how great you are.

You’re one of the defining artists of my generation. I grew up with you during the Destiny’s Child days, and loved your badass girl power vibe. And you’ve only gotten better. You are a magnetic performer. I am constantly blown away by your incredible energy and your ability to engage an audience. Not to mention your talent for singing and dancing. You don’t fake it the way many pop stars do.

It’s for these reasons that I am so disappointed that you have developed a habit of copying other artists’ work. The most dramatic example of this problem came recently, when Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker pointed out that you had copied much of the choreography in your “Countdown” video from her earlier works Rosas Danst Rosas and Achterland. And not only choreography – you used costumes and camera angles that are almost identical to those in films of De Keersmaeker’s work. This video puts shots from “Countdown” and footage of De Keersmaeker’s company side by side: Read More »

The countdown to spring has began. Soon enough we will be breaking out the sun-dresses and flip flops, pouring lemonade and flipping burgers. But as I cross out the days on my calendar (15 more to go) I can’t help but wonder if I’ve made the most of my winter.

Of course I’ve trekked through the snow on my way to class, stayed in bed for days on end and silently cursed the snow plows that prevented a well deserved snow day, but did I really enjoy winter? With February already behind us I’m left with a laundry list of to-dos before winter is gone for another whole year.

In case anyone else is in the same predicament, I have the top ten things everyone should do before winter comes to a screeching halt.

1. Cafeteria tray sledding. “Borrow” some trays, grab five of your friends and head over to the hill behind the dorms before all that snow turns to a slushy mess.

2. Mix peppermint schnapps and Cocoa. It’s the perfect complement to sledding. Just remember, kids: wrap up the celebration with this warm concoction. I learned the hard way that the liquor and sledding combo don’t end well.

3. Bake cookies (or just eat all the dough). Read More »