Diego Costa, A&E editor

“There is nothing magical about Paris after the fifth time. Only the nauseating realization that everything is wrong and unfair. And that intellectuality may bring individual peace, but not happiness.

There I was, spending more time in the subway going places than spending time at places. Waiting. At the “Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson,” by Montparnasse, a series of black and white portraits (by Cartier-Bresson himself) of some of the world’s most famous and influential people.

And perhaps the saddest ones too: a surprisingly young Simone de Beauvoir in 1947; Isabelle Huppert stretching on a light-colored couch; Jeanne Lanvin staring at a design sketch; Marilyn Monroe thinking of something or someone she will never have again at a 1960 movie set; Truman Capote defying the lens with his melancholy gaze, non-apologetic queerness.

Also Susan Sontag smiling, but really not (the sage don’t smile), in 1972; Carl Jung smoking a pipe; Marcel Duchamp smoking a cigar; Roland Barthes trying not to pose; the light revealing every possible wrinkle on Samuel Beckett’s face, the translucent lightness of his eyes. All these humans who thought too much. Who expected the world of ideas to reshape the world of famine and dirt and war and amorality and selfishness — and ignorance.

It is easy to feel both contemporary and outdated in Paris; cosmopolitan and weary; ethereal and sinking dans la merde. Seven days in Paris, seven days of questioning what American flawlessness must be really hiding; how geography shapes the psyche. How things are the way they are and they will never change, simply because they really haven’t for the past centuries. Man remains mean; Paris remains dirty, beautiful and dirty.

It makes me wonder if ‘thinking’ achieves much more than the mere egotistical massaging of man’s spirit. But even if it doesn’t; ‘not thinking’ must do much worse.”

Rory Sazama, staff writer

“This spring break wasn’t about getting blasted off of Coors Light beer bongs or having casual sex with random communications majors. Nor has it ever been. This year’s break was an introspective exploration into what it is that I value in life.

For many, the concept of value lies in the ownership of meaningless and trite trinkets. From the packaged ready-to-wear punk rock uniforms sold at Hot Topic, to the repulsive whicker furniture sold at Pier 1, there exists a commodity to suit every single American need (true and faux). My realization of the harmful nature of the “I am what I own” mentality came as I took stock of what I could sell off this spring at a rummage sale.

I have been carrying around a mountain of books and Sinatra records for the last 15 years. I own two goldfish that have exhibited a will to live way beyond the average lifespan of their species. I don’t really need these things. This is not what I want to have as a representation of my persona.

I feel like I’ve been building my own consumer coffin with these items. I want more out of existence than the desire to own. I wish other people felt the same way.”

Tyler Gaskill, assistant A&E editor

“It may be over, but now is the best time to start planning for next year’s spring break.

What better way to celebrate winter’s death than by taking a week off from one’s laborious schedule to destroy their body with various substances, have sex with more people in one week than they’ve had in their entire lifetime, and do it all on an exotic location offering open bars that are teeming with scantily clad youths that are both willing and able?

Surprisingly, staying in Wisconsin can duplicate that exact experience — one simply need be creative.

Spring break plans for Wisconsinites are often conceived like prison breaks. No risk is too high, and no cost too illogical, for an escape from the sunless grey skies.

The ballooning popularity of spring break is being pumped with one hundred mistakes per-square-inch by the MTV hype machine.

MTV didn’t create spring break, but it is the parent to this new lineage of spring break. This new holiday is a celebration of the flesh, and Americans’ one chance to prove to the world they’re anything but prudish.

Where did this burp in America’s modest etiquette come from?

Springbreak.com says, “Actually, it was the movies that launched the massive annual event now known as Spring Break. The 1960 classic ‘Where the Boys Are’ spread the myth throughout the nation of the epic journey of college-age men and women to the idyllic shores of Florida — Ft. Lauderdale”

Students need the media-created drapes to be lifted from their eyes. “Romance and good times” can be found right here in good ‘ol beer brat country.

Wisconsin’s March landscape resembles that of a brittle skeleton. There are signs that life once flourished on the bare tree limbs, just none to be seen at present. But, it’s not the location students seek: it’s the experience.

So why not save some money, avoid the typical, and make the land of cheese melt?

Wisconsin doesn’t have the radioactive-blue oceans like a Cancun, Acapulco or even Florida. But Wisconsin does have icy lakes. A person looking for an experience should try Wisconsin’s lakes in March. It would be more memorable than a chance encounter with a dolphin or a mouthful of salt water.

Any open bars? Unfortunately, Wisconsin would cease as a functioning civilization if there were too many of these. Luckily, the state’s affinity for liquid courage, and rural setting, make beer cheap if you stay away from populated areas.

Saukville, Wis. — Vodka tonic, tall: $3.50; 16 oz. Sprecher Special Amber: $2.

After $20 worth of vodka tonics one might have the urge to find some sex.

Wisconsin has it covered. Milwaukee is home to a couple burlesques: Eve and Rain.

One could argue the volume of loose morals at these locations outweighs any tropic destination. The average age of people at these clubs usually pushes near three veteran decades. Fear not! Because when adults loose control it’s often more spectacular than anything rookie college students can think to muster.

Adults are this way because they no longer have the excuse that is spring break — the excuse to let desire put its hand on the wheel and drive their motives. Must an exotic location be reached to let ourselves free from our prisons of expectation?”

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