Dear Gun Hill Resident,

That abandoned-looking lot between your apartments and Ithaca Falls was the site of the Ithaca Gun factory.  They began around 1883 in a sprawling brick building, powered by water in nearby Fall Creek (and later steam, hence the smokestack) and making fine shotguns for the sporting set (Annie Oakley owned one and so did John Phillip Sousa) up until bankruptcy in 1979.

Proprietary remnants of the gun company moved elsewhere — leaving toxic contaminants that have cost millions to clean from the soil.  When the factory was torn down recently, the redeveloper of the site (for condos with great views of the valley) saved the “Ithaca Gun” smokestack as an icon of Gun Hill.

You are encouraged to explore public land around the base of Ithaca Falls (being especially careful if you’re fishing, bathing or walking on slippery rocks) but please stay out of fenced-off places with warning signs.  In the 19^th and early 20^th centuries the area around Ithaca Falls was a mill town, manufacturing all sorts of things.  The mills were knocked down and buried, although you can still see original stoneworks from water-mill days. 

Cornell Landscape Architecture students have plans to turn the area into a more accessible, historic park.  Until then, the Ithaca Falls-Gun Hill neighborhood is an industrial time capsule beneath your feet, which ought not climb over fences.  Let your fingers do the walking through the History Center (http://www.thehistorycenter.net/), where they have more details on Ithaca Gun and other vanished industries.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Artist,

Try Olin and Mann Library.  They have great printing facilites.  I can't quote the cost because it depends on type of paper, size, etc.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Rushing,

We have only one Panhellenic sorority choosing to recruit this fall.  It is our newest sorority Phi Sigma Sigma who is colonizing this fall.  If eligible women would like to contact them they can do so via the following email address: cornell@phisigmasigma.org

They also have a website which would allow women to registered as an interested student: http://www.phisigmasigma.org/PHISIGMASIGMA/Cornell_University/Home/Default.aspx

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Sincerely Anonymous,

Lots of movies have been made in Ithaca and on campus — all the way back to the silent film era of the early 1900s, but the 2008 romantic comedy “Made of Honors” seems not to be one of them.

So says Corey Earle, C.C. (Curator of Cornelliana, in Alumni Affairs and Development), noting: “Although ‘Made of Honor’ does feature a number of early scenes at Cornell University, it was not actually filmed in Ithaca. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMBD.com), it looks like Occidental College was the only academic filming location, likely chosen for its proximity to Hollywood. Observant Cornellians might notice a minor goof in the film: in the scenes that supposedly take place at Cornell in 1998, the Cornell items decorating the dorms use the current Cornell logo, which wasn't adopted until 2004.”

That is confirmed by Mike Powers, P.G. (Permissions Guy, in University Communications), who says: “To the best of my knowledge ‘Made of Honor’ was not filmed here. They did not approach us for the standard permissions and releases, which would have come through my office and which every studio does religiously. And a Hollywood-size film crew would have surely been noticed if they attempted to film without permissions.” 

It’s worth noting that true Made in Ithaca silent films have a loyal audience, at least locally.  For instance, the 1917 epic of the Arctic, “The Great White Trail,” will be shown outdoors Friday night, Sept. 2, 2011, at Robert H. Treman State Park.  (Before it was a state park, a snowy Enfield Glen substituted for the Arctic in some scenes of that film). Others are screened throughout the year at our local vaudeville/movie palace, the State Theater.  And efforts are underway to restore some of the moviemaking facilities of the Wharton Brothers studio, in what is now the lakeside Stewart Park. (Sigma Chi’s Greystone Manor was the Ithaca home of silent film Irene Castle.)

So stop worrying whether Patrick Dempsey (in a Bill Clinton on Halloween) stalked the Cornell campus.  Check out the much more likely cinematic ghosts in from that were actually made here, in Hollywood on Cayuga. 

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Molz,

Here are some facts (from the American Academy of Dermatology) that you should to consider when heading to tanning salons: No tan is healthy for skin, whether obtained at the beach or indoor tanning lamps. Short term indoor tanning consequences include redness, itching, dry skin. Long term included sagging, wrinkling, skin cancer.

Tanning lights and lamps generate mostly UVA radiation which doesn’t burn some skin types. But approx. 50% of indoor tanners have Types I and II skin. Physically, this pale skin can’t generate enough melanin or skin pigment. These people burn and consider it a tan.

The UVA exposure of the average salon visit is equivalent to an entire day in the sun. About 1-2million tanners have a serious habit, visiting indoor facilitates a hundred times a year. (Think John Boehmer)

Here is something from an Aug. 12, 2011 report on a very recent study: A new study that looked at the brain activity of frequent tanning salon visitors finds the ultraviolet radiation's impact on their brains mimics the patterns seen in drug addiction. New research in an upcoming issue of the journal Addiction Biology details how the brain activity of frequent tanners lying in tanning beds has parallels to what researchers have seen in the brains of people who are addicted to drugs or in the throes of a sugar rush. Basically, the part of the brain that signals reward lights up immediately. “What this shows is that the brain is in fact responding to UV light, and it responds in areas that are associated with reward,” Dr. Bryon Adinoff, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and an author of the study, told the New York Times in a report Thursday. "These are areas, particularly the striatum, that we see activated when someone is administered a drug or a high-value food like sugar.”

If you are still interested you can use the internet to find the nearest tanning salons, but I know enough people with skin cancer that I will pass on that activity.

You are beautiful just the way you are!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Lost,

That room is actually a corridor that runs between the Chemistry Teaching Labs on the first floor.  Todd Pfeiffer, Facilites is to thank for helping with this question.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Student,

Since every professor creates their own grading system it is impossible to give you a concrete answer.  It is technically possible for a prof to curve down.  What is expected of every professor, is to tell you at the first class session how they do create their grades and exactly what will be expected of you for the semester.  If you have this concern, please ask your prof directly.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Wanting to Listen In,

WVBR and Slope Radio were founded by students, like you, that wanted something thtat didn't exist, so go for it and find like-minded souls who support your efforts and start a new radio station.  Here is the history of WVBR, http://wvbr.com/info.

You might start by talking to the folks at Slope Radio to see who might want to join you.  Or others who are interested in starting a club to make your dream come true.  Check with Catherine Holmes who is in charge of Student Activites and ask how to start a new org on campus.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear TA,

I think your timing is perfect.  There is a time around 4:30 - 7 where there are not supposed to be any regularly scheduled classes, so students can gather for other events.  This is a great time to make office hours available.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Barefoot,

Matt Coats has a few suggestions.

Unfortunately, the Kane Sports Complex track is the only facility that has been set aside for wellness during the hours of 11 am -1 pm Monday – Friday. We ask that individuals do not run on the grass inside of this track since it is our varsity soccer game field. You may feel that one individual will not cause any damage to the field, but I cannot make an exception to permit one runner when I have declined to allow others.

As for other facilities to look into, I suggest possibly Jessup Fields, the Plantations, Stewart or Cass Park. I wish you the best in your quest to continue barefoot run.

Uncle Ezra