text: Oct. 13, at 12:20 p.m. — The English lounge was packed with people sitting under a shroud of excited silence. They were all there for the Refugeography, Bao Phi’s introductory event to the Cornell community. Bao Phi, a Visiting Critic in the Department of Literatures in English for this academic year, has won the Minnesota Grand Slam twice, made it to the finals for the National Poetry Slam and has written three heavily awarded children’s books. After Bao Phi was introduced on stage, he confessed that this event would be his first time performing in-person since March 2020 — no one would have been able to realize.
  Arts & Culture
  ‘Maid’ Is A Necessary Watch
  By Audrey Ahn | October 25, 2021
  To call “Maid” ‘entertaining’ would be almost degrading. Calling it ‘necessary’ would be more fitting.
  Arts & Culture
  “I Don’t Do Drugs, I Am Drugs” at the Kava Lounge and Tea Bar’s Immersive Visionary Art Exhibitions
  By Amira Olingou | October 24, 2021
  This space is part fantastical apothecary and part dive bar. Every wall is vetted in new, local Ithacan artwork that rotates on a monthly basis. And the owners, a husband and wife duo, use intuition, attention to aesthetic cohesiveness and above all an adherence to their central ethos of connection, communion and creativity to guide their curatorial decisions.
  Arts & Culture
  The ‘BEYOND’ Art Exhibit Makes a Colorful Splash at Center Ithaca
  By Ashley Koca | October 24, 2021
  Professing the need to tap into ‘the inner child,’ Vasquez removes the stiff stereotype traditionally associated with galleries and, in its place, welcomes play.
  Arts & Culture
  Why Do We Love Death Games?
  By Dylan McIntyre | October 21, 2021
  Humans have always had an odd obsession with watching others fight for their amusement.
  Arts & Culture
  ‘Music of the Spheres’: Coldplay’s Foray into Outer Space
  By PJ Brown | October 18, 2021
  The connection between the cosmos and love is a constant message throughout the album, but the band never fully uncovers what it wants this to mean until the album’s closing track.
  Arts & Culture
  Formerly Incarcerated Ithacans Share Stories in Radio Play “Steppin’ Into My Shoes”
  By Tilda Wilson | October 17, 2021
  From the perspective of a Cornell student, it might be easy to imagine that Ithaca is a white, academic, upper-class community, but Taylor wants more people to realize that “while that identity exists here, our community is so much broader than that. The stories told in these oral histories, while painful, show other aspects of our community.”
  Arts & Culture
  The Twisted Squid Game
  By Isabella DiLizia | October 12, 2021
  In each appallingly violent and tension-infused round, participants are easily discarded, devoid of dignity and pitted against each other in a battle royale which elicits the most atavistic of selfish urges.
  Arts & Culture
  A Look Into ‘No Time to Die’
  By Aditi Hukerikar | October 12, 2021
  After multiple delays due to the pandemic, the latest James Bond film No Time to Die has finally hit theaters. Daniel Craig returns to his role as the titular character for the fifth film in his run in the franchise as the iconic agent embarks on yet another thrilling mission.
  No Time to Die picks up with James Bond and Madeleine Swan’s (Léa Seydoux) whereabouts after the previous film Spectre. After a seeming betrayal from Madeleine at his former lover Vesper Lynd’s grave, Bond abandons his career as a spy to go into retirement. He gets back into the action after meeting new character Nomi (Lashana Lynch), the MI6 agent who took up the 007 mantle in his absence, which leads to him reuniting with Swan and others from his MI6 past as he uncovers a plot to unleash a dangerous bioweapon.
  In true Bond fashion, this film featured enthralling action sequences that complemented a riveting plot. This film definitely keeps viewers engaged through its twists.