Filming Loneliness, Watching Alone

I’ve always liked watching movies alone; I haven’t had trouble going to the theaters alone since before I turned 18. But for a time earlier this year, I’d never done it quite so much, or in quite such a specific way.

WILLIAMS | Art Humanizes Currently and Formerly Incarcerated People

Isaac Scott has an unconventional resume. As a young man (born and raised) in Harlem, NY, searching for a father figure, he turned to drug dealing and street life. He cycled through home, streets and school until he gained his associate’s in 2004, but could not afford the small cost for his cap and gown. Frustrated, hurt, he turned back to the streets and spent 9 years in prison, where he learned vocational trades but was also introduced to visual art as a means of financial sustenance and emotional coping. When he left prison in 2014, he founded an arts and advocacy group called Isaac’s Quarterly, majored in Visual Arts at Columbia University, became an ordained minister and is currently working toward his masters of divinity in youth and family ministries at Liberty University.

WILLIAMS | Beyond Burnout: The Untold Story of Queer Intimacy on Dating Apps

I didn’t think C was the love of my life. I didn’t even think she was going to be my girlfriend. But I was happy to be there, walking side by side beneath the warm lights of Chicago’s French Market, still giggling and swaying under the influence of a first date’s customarily sweet awkwardness. Those who suffer from dating burnout, a term describing the hopelessness and cynicism daters often feel about finding long-lasting love — especially in the age of dating apps — might wonder at my willingness to go out with a woman from Tinder, even while thinking that she would not be my person. For many, that knowledge contradicts the purpose of going on the date in the first place — to receive a return on the investment of a perfectly curated profile, a couple of days of messaging beforehand, a well-groomed appearance on the day of the date and ultimately to settle down.

SOLAR FLARE | Songs for Grinding Out an Essay

I know what you’re thinking: “A playlist to write an essay to? Did they run out of ideas already?” Fear not. I just happen to be a part of a niche group of people who enjoy listening to words while typing other words. Something about having a beat makes me more productive, and I know that there are others out there who feel the same way. I dedicate this playlist to you all.

HATER FRIDAY | The Worst Walks at Cornell

As a native New Yorker, I love walking. No really, love it. I love it so much that sometimes I would elect to walk the two miles to or from my high school in lieu of taking the subway. Other times, I would spend my whole day just strolling. Back in June, I even walked the entire length of Manhattan, all 11 and a half miles.

HATER FRIDAY | Slow Walkers

Before we begin hating, I would like to send some love to the fast walkers of Cornell’s campus. Fast walkers, this article is not for you; I have nothing but the utmost respect for you. I may be biased as a fast walker myself, but I believe you all deserve hearty congratulations for your public service of keeping campus moving and people getting to classes on time. Kudos to the few of you — never change. Of course, I will still decide that we are subconsciously racing and feel the need to beat you wherever you are going.

I LOVE IT | Ode to Long Movies

Not every film can be enjoyed in a single evening. As you get into cinephilia, downloading Letterboxd and looking at their Top 250 (or perhaps those of Sight and Sound or AFI), you may come across those select few movies with runtimes that look like mistakes: Jesus Christ, how many hours even is 317 minutes? Some people end up shutting those movies out, excluding them from any potential watchlist for the obscene commitment they ask of audiences. Others, like me, set them aside as projects on a bucket list… I knew I couldn’t avoid Jacques Rivette my whole life. Earlier this month, I made that bucket list a whole lot shorter, watching a dozen or so of these ultralong “project” movies over break.