If you ever need help procrastinating
If you are a frequent reader of the comics section of The Tech, you’ll be familiar with Piled Higher and Deeper, the home of the chocolate-loving Cecilia, the consistently unproductive Mike Slackenerny, and our lovable, flawed, and forever lost-in-purpose Nameless Hero. These slice-of-life comics portray the unfortunate (for them) but hilarious (for us) day-to-day struggles of graduate students. A live-action film adapted from Jorge Cham’s PhD Comics, The PhD Movie 2 follows the paths of Winston, the Nameless Hero who is finally graced with a name, and Cecilia.
The Tech talks to Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg is a man with great respect for history. Early in his four-decade career, his films were archetypes of Hollywood blockbusters — the modern adventure and sci-fi genres were built upon Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, among his other works. He then sojourned into new territory, broaching humanistic themes in critically acclaimed historical dramas. His WWII-era portrayals of the struggles of two remarkable men in Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan showed that he had the skill and tenacity to recreate pivotal events in history through cinema.
A rousing mixture of old and new at the BSO
The Boston Symphony Orchestra moves from strength to strength, following its successful season opener with another exceptional program — putting together a new composition by Sebastian Currier, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, and a particularly spellbinding rendition of Brahms’ Symphony No. 2.
An eye-catching trip to Neverland
The story of Peter Pan is as ageless as Peter himself — what began as a 1904 play by J.M. Barrie is still culturally relevant a century later. There are musicals, movies, video games, and an entire Disney franchise based on the boy who wouldn’t grow up. Maybe it’s because we’ll always cherish the idea of eternal youth, or maybe we just really like pirates.
Teenager shot by an ideology reveals some personality
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala. This 18-year-old girl is known as an activist who speaks up for female education and equality. After learning the importance of education through her parents, who ran several schools in Pakistan, she blogged for the BBC and stressed educational equality to the public. She survived a shooting by the Taliban at the age of 15.
Artist and theoretical physicist present kinetic sculpture
This past Monday, Kim Bernard, artist in residence at Harvard, visited the MIT List Visual Arts Center to speak on her sculpture, which had been inspired by the “predictable patterns in matter and motion.” Jacob Barandes, a physics lecturer from Harvard, accompanied Bernard to provide a physicist’s perspective on her artwork. Bernard and Barandes presented as part of the Catalyst Conversations lecture series, which hosts speakers who explore the intersection of visual art with science and technology.
Heroes Reborn offers a compelling second chance for disillusioned viewers
I was about 50 percent excited and 50 percent nervous about Heroes Reborn. I had watched the show here and there when it was in its first season back in 2006, but it wasn’t until sophomore year of college (when I bought my very own Netflix account) that I got hooked on the series. I spent a week binge-watching the first and second season, but I gave up on the third and fourth, understanding what people meant when they said the show was going downhill. I liked the comic-book feel to the show: overused tropes aside, who doesn’t like a story packed with superpowers?
BSO opens 135th season with an all-Russian program
The Boston Symphony Orchestra opened its first concert of the season in a fashion that reflected the all-Russian program: quick and to the point. Upon entering, conductor Andris Nelsons was greeted with a standing ovation; however, the audience barely had time to sit down before the BSO began Shostakovich’s playful Ninth Symphony. It was easy to appreciate the lightness of the strings and winds juxtaposed with the fanfare of the brass. I found myself captivated by Nelsons’ conducting, which conveyed excitement and scrutiny to detail, and the way the orchestra responded in kind. Navigating through Shostakovich’s bright Allegro, his eerie Moderato, and his loud Presto, the musicians demonstrated their versatility in both technical and emotional depth.
Electronic lyricism
I jump late onto most bandwagons — many of my favorite artists are inactive, and for a year or two, Metric belonged to that unfortunate club. Their unique blend of electronic and traditional rock instruments, as well as their profound and relatable lyrics, captivated me. Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? (2003) was one of the first albums I listened to in its entirety, and I was surprised to find that I loved every single track. Since the group seemed to have disappeared, I was stuck cycling between the same few albums. My musical limbo ended Sept. 18, 2015, with the release of Pagans in Vegas.
If only NASA had funding
Big-budget science fiction is experiencing something of a renaissance. Director Ridley Scott’s The Martian follows a string of commercially minded, studio-backed sci-fi movies, including Interstellar and Gravity, which play out small-scale personal dramas on a big-scale stage (outer space).
Maya Beiser reimagines classic rock with her cello
Last Friday, I made my way to the front row of Kresge Auditorium to witness Maya Beiser’s Uncovered concert. Jherek Bischoff stood on the left of the stage with his Hofner bass (similar to Paul McCartney’s but with F-Holes), the drummer, Matt Kilmer, was all set with his sticks, and Maya Beiser positioned herself in the center, with her electric cello.
Boston Calling
Boston Calling took place in City Hall Plaza this past weekend, and the entire area buzzed with energy and excitement the whole time. Surrounding the two stages were dozens of tents where local companies and vendors sold food, flower crowns, and handed out samples. People flowed in and out between performances, but there was also a constant, huge mass of people right in front of the stages, waiting for the next performer to come out. The energy increased greatly during performances, fed by both the performers’ and the crowd’s excitement to be there. The crowd danced and sang along with the performers, all whilst cheering, tossing around beach balls, and waving their arms and blue light sticks along to the music (in the attempt to join the camaraderie, someone even waved his crutch instead). Boston Calling is truly an event that captures the youthful and fun personality of Boston.
A tale of two generations
When I first saw the theatrical release poster for The Intern, starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, I thought that I was in for a Devil Wears Prada part two — but I was only partially right. While The Intern is vaguely reminiscent of Hathaway’s breakout film, the roles are reversed. Hathaway plays the role of Jules Ostin, the hard working CEO and founder of an online clothing retail site, About The Fit. De Niro plays Ben Whittaker, a 70-year-old widow who joins the company as a senior intern after deciding that retirement was not for him.
Pilot episodes can be rough
I was incredibly excited to hear that Fox was premiering a TV spinoff of the futuristic sci-fi movie Minority Report (directed by Steven Spielberg, 2002). The series is appropriately (or perhaps, confusingly) called Minority Report. A quick summary for those who haven’t seen the film (I do recommend it!): fast forward to 2054, the government has future-predicting “pre-crime” tech that allows them to capture criminals before they commit (or even think to commit) crimes. Tom Cruise’s character, John Anderton, realizes that these methods are not completely reliable and can imprison innocent people. I enjoyed the movie version — I thought it was philosophically interesting and the plot was engaging and constantly thrilling. Minority Report, the TV show, however, leaves much to be desired.
Stand-up comedy and science collide at BAHFest
This past Saturday, students and visitors filled MIT’s Kresge Auditorium for the third annual Festival of Bad Ad Hoc Hypotheses. Created by Zachary Weinersmith, author of the Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal webcomic, BAHFest featured the outlandish theories of six speakers who competed to give the best argued, most nonsensical scientific presentation.
Boston Calling co-founder talks to The Tech
The fall installment of this year’s Boston Calling Music Festival will occur on Sept. 25-27, filling City Hall Plaza with live concert performances all through the weekend. Although Boston Calling has only been around since 2013, it has already gained an impressive following, received national acclaim, and has attracted prominent artists such as Bastille, Lorde, Tove Lo, and Marina and the Diamonds. The Tech recently interviewed Mike Snow, one of the co-founders of Boston Calling, to talk about the festival’s conception and successes.
Doctor Who returns with ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’
Fans awaiting the arrival of the ninth season of Doctor Who were subjected to quite the emotional roller coaster despite the fact that the season only just premiered this past Saturday. Before we even get to the episode we have the rumors and speculation. There has been speculation about impending regenerations (when The Doctor dies and regenerates into a “new” Doctor, and is consequently played by a new actor) and rumors about companion departures. Changing between Doctors and/or Companions is always a traumatic experience for fans.
The true-life story of James “Whitey” Bulger gets bleak big-screen adaptation
There are few genres as enduring in American cinema as the gangster film (see The Godfather, Goodfellas, and Casino, for starters). These films collectively explore our cultural fascination with violent, charismatic criminals — self-made figures who operate outside the system to great personal gain and at the expense of law, order, and often many lives. Generally, these films portray the gangster’s world as governed by highly intricate systems of hierarchy, fealty, and unwritten yet brutally enforced codes of behavior (no snitching!).
Restaurant roundup
Parts of this article were first published on the author’s blog, Spilling the Beans.
Video and board game fans flood athletic center in celebration of indie games
The 4th annual Boston Festival of Indie Games (FIG) took place this past Saturday at the MIT Johnson Athletic Center, where more than 100 independent game developers, studios, artists, and animators gathered to showcase their work. The celebration attracted thousands of visitors who ranged from casual gaming enthusiasts to video game scholars.