Red and the Blue Blunder: There's No Arm Swing On The Off Beat People! (VIDEOS)

Earlier this week, Penn had its Opening Convocation for the Class of 2013 at The Palestra. Below you'll find the 45 minute video, but let me point out some highlights for you:

• 7:40 - President Amy Gutmann talks about a Penn undergrad who won $250,000 on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" and also used to dress up as a hot dog at Penn basketball games!

• 10:53 - President Amy Gutmann plays "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" with the Class of 2013

• 20:25 - Off The Beat performs "Coldplay"

• 32:25 - The Glee Club performs "Let The River Run"

• 43:05: - Everyone sings "The Red and the Blue" and at 43:59 one of the professors(?) on the podium commits the ultimate Penn blunder at 43:59! 
  

Was it me or was there no mention of the breakdown of the class of 2013 students in terms of "the nubmer of students who own their own businesses", "the number of students who are magicians", etc...  I remember that info used to be one of the more interesting parts of this ceremony!

Another "Red and Blue" performance by the Glee Club HERE.

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READ MORE - Red and the Blue Blunder: There's No Arm Swing On The Off Beat People! (VIDEOS)

Penn Mixes Gory With Fun (VIDEOS)

This year instead of reading books, the Penn Reading Project had incoming freshmen use Thomas Eakins' "The Gross Clinic" as a visual text as a means to "introduce students from the start to the critical skill of interpreting visual material."

Below you will find a video lecture of Dr. Kathleen Foster and Dr. David B. Brownlee discussing "The Gross Clinic" and the shock value of Eakins' gory painting.  This lecture is actually really interesting and I encourage all of you to watch this.

Then on a lighter note, David Fox (Director of Academic Initiatives) sent me this very fun music video Penn did called "The Gross Clinic Bounce" which pretty much sums up the painting in some creative rhymes and graphics.   Check it out below! 

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He's Not So Hot For Teacher

What if you met a former teacher and found out he was a total jerk? John Carroll (C'05, 34th Street Magazine section editor, Kelly Writers House writing advisor) examines this concept for us in a short story of his that recently got published.

John went to Penn hoping to write for the Daily Pennsylvanian and become a journalist, but left as primarily an author of fiction.  Thanks to the mentorship of Max Apple and the nurturing community of the Kelly Writers House, John just finished three years of work as their Assistant Director of Development and has now left to pursue his MFA in Creative Writing at American University.

John has written a story called "Baby Blue" which is included in a new short story collection of Philadelphia-based fiction by Philadelphia authors called Philly Fiction 2: A Second Collection of Short Stories Highlighting Philadelphia as a City of Literary Inspiration . 

His story is about a guy who meets up with a former high school teacher several years after graduation.  And it turns out his teacher isn't the great guy he remembered him to be.   Per John,

"The story centers on our narrator, who is working through becoming an adult via this renewed relationship with a former teacher. They meet by chance and wind up making plans to see a Phillies game, and our narrator winds up seeing an odd side of his former teacher."

Check out an excerpt from it below: +/-

More Penn authors!

New to DT? 14 easy suggestions to get started!

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While Penn's Newest Move Onto Campus, Penn's Oldest Stake Their Territory (VIDEOS)

As you'll see above, yesterday was the start of move-in day for the freshmen at Penn.

Let's also not forget about these other residents of Penn who seem to be the subject/fodder for many Penn videos I've covered HERE over the years...

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READ MORE - While Penn's Newest Move Onto Campus, Penn's Oldest Stake Their Territory (VIDEOS)

You're Never Going to Guess What Good Grades Earned You from Wharton in 1929!

Over the past 2 years, I have done many Now and Then Thursday posts and videos comparing my experiences at Penn with what's going on at Penn today.

I'm now going to take "Now and Then Thursdays" to the next level thanks to Joan Myerson Shrager (College for Women, School of Education, '60).

Not only has digital artist extraordinaire Joan emailed me to let me know that her family is now 3 generations at Penn (Joan; her parents Ruth Leone Meyers Myerson (College for Women, '30) and  Adolph Myerson (Wharton '29); and Joan's son Steven Gold (C'85)  ...but she has shared with me exclusive photos and stories passed down to her of what Penn was like when her parents went.

(l to r graduation day: Joan's Son Steve Gold (C'85), and Joan (College for Women C'60)

(l to r current day: Joan's son Steve Gold (C'85), and Joan (College for Women C'60)

Over the next several months, I will be sharing with you these stories, and I'm sure you'll find these stories as fascinating as I have!

Before we get to the stories from Joan's parents, get a glimpse of what Penn was like in Joan's time.  Per Joan:

"I have my 1960 yearbook and if I felt like counting I would bet over 3/4 of the book is male oriented with some women interspersed and a few pages about Miss Penn and the sororities. In my day, as they say, women could not eat in Houston Hall. Maybe you [DT] could invite some memories from us old timers about our favorite places like Paganos for pizza and Horn and Hardart's. We used the old Furness building as our library and sat in the stacks to do research. Imagine that. No Google, just microfiche that you could hardly read. Oh my............"

Now, to start things off, click HERE to find out what good grades from Wharton earned Joan's father in 1928!  You'll be amazed and jealous to find out that THIS really existed!

That's right, Joan's father's excellent grades earned him "permission to cut class", no penalties!

Per Joan:

"Imagine graduating from Wharton in 1929 --the Great Depression!  He completed 2 years at Law School but had to quit due to no money.  He was able to get a job as a teacher and then got a masters in Ed at Penn in 1932)"

If any alumni have photos or videos of "how Penn was" that you want to share, get in touch with me at merosler at gmail.com.



Other great Now and Then Thursday posts

New to DT? 14 easy suggestions to get started!

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From Survivor Palau to a Hot Daily Newsletter

What does one do after being in the spotlight on CBS' Survivor?

Ask Gregg Carey (C'99, Friars, Sprint Football, DKE) who appeared in Survivor Palau (2005).

Who knew?! (and let's not forget about THIS other Penn alum who was also on "Survivor"!)

...Gregg continues to be in the spotlight with his hot new email newsletter, named after the one luxury item he wasn't given in Palau - Toilet Paper!

After launching at the end of January 09, "The Toilet Paper, Daily News for the Thinking Man" published its 100th issue to its 15,000 daily readers last month.

Greg's free email targets males (and curious females) 22-40 with intelligent, edgy, and topical content. 

Per Gregg,

"Where other newsletters like Thrillist, Daily Candy, Urban Daddy, and Ideal Bite offer some form of a lifestyle tip: a restaurant recommendation, a fashion suggestion, or an opinion on a new gadget, the “product” that The Toilet Paper offers our readers is relevant knowledge. As Ricky Gervais, creator of the hit show "The Office" preaches, “Guys love facts.” We agree.

So, TTP takes one topical news story from the headlines (Politics, Business, Sports, or Pop Culture) and provides entertaining facts, statistics, quotes, lists, and definitions that support that topic; we think of it as funny and relevant bits for a guy’s daily banter; at the water cooler, on dates, at the bar with friends. Our simple format also provides a compelling way for our advertising partners to get their product information out to a valuable demographic in an entertaining and informative way. We have recently been featured in the NYPost, RadarOnline, The Guardian, Askmen.com and numerous other sites."

Check out a sample of his newsletter here:
Remember the Time (Michael Jackson Dies)

Get in touch with Gregg at gregg at bunkhousemedia.com!

And it is confirmed. Based on all my posts, the class of 1999 seems to be the most media-centric class that I can see!!

Other great Website Wednesday posts

New to DT? 14 easy suggestions to get started!

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Penn Featured on This 80's TV Show! (VIDEOS)

Check out these videos below that I found online from the TV show "A Different World".   In this episode, check out how Penn is featured!
(Video 1: at 8:40)
(Video 2: at 0:40)
(Video 3: at 0:21)

Quick Synopsis:
"Dwayne's old friend Milt comes for a visit. He believes that Hillman is holding Dwayne back, and encourages him to transfer to the University of Pennsylvania. Milt also recommends that Dwayne distance himself from "dead weight" like Ron. Dwayne considers his friend's words, until a talk with Whitley helps remind him of Ron's good qualities and the feeling of family that Hillman holds for its students. He defends the school's academic reputation to Milt. Col. Taylor and Mr. Gaines attend a reunion for U.S. servicemen. Col. Taylor tries to start a romance with a member of his old unit, only to discover that she is a complete mess."

Isn't it amazing how far sitcoms have come this day and age?!

...And watch THIS clip from another show that mentioned Penn last year!

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