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Vilayanur Ramachandran, professor of psychology and director of the Brain and Perception Laboratory Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California at San Diego, delivered The James S. Plant Distinguished Scientist Lecture on April 22. His lecture was titled, "What neurology can tell us about human nature and the meaning of art." The James S. Plant Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series was established in 1987 through a bequest by Dr. Plant, class of 1912 and an eminent child psychologist. The series brings outstanding scientists to campus as guest lecturers.

Hamilton College has announced the names of four people who will be awarded honorary degrees at the college’s 192nd commencement on Sunday, May 23. They are Hamilton trustee Kevin Kennedy '70; Berkely Professor Margaret Miles; Hamilton graduate and Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Nelson ’72; and Joseph Wilder, jazz trumpeter.

Cmdr. Stephen R. Foley, a 1984 graduate of Hamilton College and now a graduate student at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., will assume command of the Blue Angels at Pensacola Naval Air Station on Nov. 14 after the 2004 air show season ends. He will fly the No. 1 jet in the six-plane team for the next two years.

Robert Parker, a candidate for May graduation from Hamilton College, has been awarded the College's prestigious Bristol Fellowship. Parker's project is titled “Calling on the Witch Doctor: Shamanism and Curing Ceremonies." He intends to study shamanism, "a technique of ecstasy, whereby the shaman can cure illness by traveling into the supernatural."

On April 22, the Hamilton Environmental Action Group (HEAG) and the Hamilton College Humane Organization (HCHO) celebrated Earth Day with several events and activities to raise awareness about health and environmental issues.

The Performing Arts at Hamilton closes the Classical Connections series on Saturday, April 24, with a performance by Chanticleer titled “Passport to Song,” at 8 p.m. at Wellin Hall in the Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts.

My pessimism about NYC derives from what I feel has been a loss of culture over the years.  I realize now that I may have been too harsh on what I consider to be my home city.  Despite the seemingly endless chains of Starbucks and nail salons, there is still much historic preservation in the City, some of which turned out to be just blocks away from our temporary home at One West Street. 

Everything in New York City is different from every other city in its scale.  London has its old world charm and LA has its tremendous sprawl along the coast.  But New York impresses itself upon the mind with its soaring skyline, underground maze of subways, and density of people. 

By defying the laws of the Grid created more than 100 years ago, Broadway has a little something extra to give to the "New York" experience, and I wanted to make sure I experienced it first hand.

This past Friday I visited the Knitting Factory, a trendy music club located in the heart of the Lower West Side.  I saw John Brown's Body, a funked-out, roots-reggae band that has performed at Hamilton College.