Henry Solotaroff-Webber

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Patrick Modiano writes thoughtful novellas

In his collection of three novellas, last year’s Nobel Prize Winner Patrick Modiano gives his readers a hauntingly beautiful reminder of the power and resonance memory has on our daily lives. Though the three novellas “Afterimage,” “Suspended Sentences” and “Flowers of Ruin” tell three different narratives, they all feel connected not only because of their common location of pre- and post-occupation Paris or their narrator, different versions of Modiano himself, but because they all center themselves as an homage to how much nostalgia can affect our lives.

Lower voter turnout destroys democracy

Record Routine: Flaming Lips get no help from fwends

The Flaming Lips latest album, With a Little Help From My Fwends, is a track-by-track cover of the Beatles’ beloved Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, is weird. However, anyone who has been following the band at some point during its illustrious career has come to expect this of them. The question that should be asked is “how weird and what type of weird is it?” Is it the structured and joyous weird present in The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, or is it the cacophonous and depressing weird that has manifested itself in the band’s more recent albums, The Terror and Embryonic. The answer is not so black and white, as this album, a heartfelt homage to one of the greatest and most influential rock albums of all time, seems to mix both approaches.

Space tourism proves one giant leap too far

Last Friday, Michael Alsbury, a pilot flying a test run for a Virgin Galactic spaceship, lost his life when the spaceship crashed on its California test site.  In addition to the tragedy of Alsbury’s death, this crash could also be an early deathblow to the fledgling space tourism industry. Virigin Galactic has been one of the top contributors to advancing the front of space tourism.  While the company and founder, Richard Branson will have some difficult lessons to learn concerning the failed crash, some of which may involve listening to advisers who told them the ship was not ready for testing, perhaps we can all learn a lesson from the unfullfiled hype that the crash has imposed upon those who were excited for the potential of space tourism.

UW needs to expand weak certificate offerings

When I was navigating the majors fair this past Wednesday I was very impressed by the sheer breadth of majors that our university offers across many fields and disciplines.  It truly is encouraging to know that I have the option to make many different areas my main focus during my time here.  What was discouraging however was the “no” I received when I would walk up to many tables and ask if they offered a certificate in their department. 

Pseudo activism plagues millennial generation

I have recently noticed a trend concerning the content of my Facebook Newsfeed. It seems that one of the most recent videos to go viral is, ironically, a video concerning our generation’s overuse of our cellphones and social media as a whole, titled “Can We Auto-Correct Humanity?”.  

Common phrase alienates UW students

In our society, there is an ever- increasing sentiment that people should check their privilege in regard to things like race, sex or sexual orientation. This means that when interacting with another person, one should take into account the various ways in which things outside of anyone’s control have affected that person that may or may not apply to others, such as one’s race, sex or sexual orientation.  However, one area I believe is being greatly overlooked in terms of privilege checking is one’s family’s wealth.  

Vegetarian meal options remain poor

It is hard to put into words the increasing frustration I felt the three times I went up to the sandwich shop at Gordon’s and asked for a sandwich with tofurky, a tofu based turkey substitute. In response I have heard, “I don’t think we have that”, “Sorry, it’s frozen right now”, and “What is that” and each time I smiled and said nevermind when they asked me if I want something else, but what I would really like to say, more than anything, is,“Then why is it clearly displayed as a choice with all the other meats you serve at least a hundred times a day on a daily basis.”  This in addition to waiting eight minutes for veggie burgers, eating a disproportionate amount of rice bowls, and waiting for the day the vegetarian taco filling actually exists is what many vegetarian students at UW-Madison face when they elect to eat in the dining halls.  

Campus alcohol policy remains dated and ineffective

A recent objective of the administration has been to change the university's culture surrounding alcohol and other substance usage. Basically, the university would like to change the school’s reputation as a huge party school. 

NFL supporters now faced with moral dilemma