Edited by Anja Herrmann While catching up on lost sleep was on top of this summer’s agenda for most people, UCR students will always have additional activities up their sleeve. On my quest to find these stories, I have heard about visits to a wide array of countries rich in history, attempts to finally…
‘Roma’ by Alfonso Cuaron: A Review
By Andrea Undecimo Alfonso Cuaron’s new movie, ‘Roma’, which has earned him the Academy Award for Best Director, and has won the Best Foreign Movie and the Best Cinematography Award, is a stunning, touching and delicate film that stretches back into Cuaron’s childhood and gives us a beautiful and intricate portrait of Mexico in the…
Iran: between Tradition and Modernity
by Andrea Undecimo ‘Pink mosque in Shiraz’ When I first told my parents and my friends that I was going to spend two weeks, alone, in Iran, the reactions I received spanned from honest worry for my mental health, to attempts to persuade me not to go, because the place was crowded by religious fundamentalists…
Is Science Undemocratic?
by Andrea Undecimo A new truth has emerged: science is not democratic. This is at least what a famous Professor of Microbiology and Virology at the University of Milan, Roberto Burioni, has proposed in his book, published last year, whose title could be roughly translated as “The conspiracy of the ignorant: why science cannot be…
The Beauty of Difference – I
By Andrea Undecimo Being so used to the diversity that forms our small University, we sometimes forget what it really means to come from a different background, to have had another upbringing from ours and ultimately to see the world from a different perspective. Part of the educational process is, I believe, to put oneself…
A Night Under the Stars- the Nacht van de Nacht
by Andrea Undecimo Have you ever wondered what it feels like to walk in the streets at night with only the stars to light your way? What it looks like to be guided by only the starry sky and the moon? Indeed, we are so used to artificial lights that we sometimes forget about all this;…
A Week on the Red Carpet
By Andrea Undecimo The thought of people walking down red carpets in elegant dresses, a rich selection of premiere movies from all around the world, and juries that must present awards for the best movies. All this is usually associated with the glamour of Hollywood or the sophistication of the Cannes and Venice festivals, but…
Small talks on Art – II
By Andrea Undecimo The room is filled with paintings, drawings and stamps; a palette with colors on the table is waiting to be used. The speaker is crackling a joyful jazz symphony. While sitting on his couch, one has the feeling of having just entered the atelier of a famous artist. If it wasn’t for…
Small talks on Art: An Interview with Nuria – I
By Andrea Undecimo The foggy mornings and the rust-colored landscapes that appear through our windows these days can only mean one thing: summer is behind us and another semester has just started. Deadlines, papers and exams are frighteningly close; but together with them come cozy conversations with a cup of tea and a vibrant social…