A cellar full of tasty surprises
Tucked away between Central Square and Harvard Square, Garden at The Cellar is one of those casual places that you can regularly count on to find great food at reasonable prices. Since they don’t take reservations, we repeatedly postponed the visit, but this time we decided to check it out anyway.
Corsets and Curds
Gastropubs are on-trend right now, and Stoddard’s Fine Food and Ale near Downtown Crossing has certainly embraced the spirit of that movement. With a menu that features comfort food, an extensive cocktail list, and (unsurprisingly) ale, this quirky restaurant is a solid choice if you are near the Common. The first thing you notice is the building itself, which is narrow (as are so many restaurants downtown) but which features two floors of bar space. Stoddard’s proudly embraces its history as the former home of a corset factory, decorating the walls with some samples straight out of the 19th century. The bar itself is lively and welcoming. You definitely get the feeling as you walk in that this is a restaurant that wants you to stick around, but anyone looking for a somewhat subdued dinner may want to turn around and walk right back out the door.
Forward/Play/Pause
Sonia Almeida, a local artist originally hailing from Portugal, created the works displayed in the LIST Visual Arts Center to examine the contrast between how we experience color and our scientific understanding of the theories of color (though I’m not sure I would have figured that out without reading the wall text in the exhibit). This theme was expressed with varying complexity throughout the exhibit, as some of the paintings featured simple gradients while others used wide contrasts of hues and forms to speak to the interplay between art and science. While some of the compositions successfully questioned the separation between my understanding and experience of color, a few of the works missed this mark.
The art and tech sides of creativity
If you’ve never Googled “arts at MIT,” I guarantee you’ll be shocked at the vast array of arts activities, exhibits and events going on every week on campus, from alumni-produced films and student performances to professional shows by one of our many visiting artists. Yet I’ve lost track how many times I’ve been asked “MIT has arts?” Art, science, and engineering just don’t typically connect in people’s minds. Partners of the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru), including MIT, think that’s a problem.
Inside Arcadia
Dramashop’s production of Arcadia continues this week, with performances from Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. in Little Kresge Theater. The play draws parallels between two eras of residents at Sidley Park in England their rumination on science and love. While the play asks serious questions about determinism and love, there are also plenty of laughs. The Tech interviewed cast members Keenan A. Sunderwirth ’14 and Garrett W. Schulte ’17.
Plants, blood and lots of singing
What could be more innocent than a musical that takes place in a flower shop? Well, a flesh-eating Venus flytrap, a psychotic dentist, and a name like “Little Shop of Horrors” certainly rules out any hope for a light-hearted show. The musical, based on the film by Roger Corman, follows a florist named Seymour, who tries to revive his flower shop by raising a Venus flytrap that lives off human blood.
Endless runtime
Is there anything more overdone than a wealthy, overachieving, pretty girl falling for the charming boy from the wrong side of the tracks? Endless Love follows Ivy-League-bound Jade’s predictable escape from the grips of her overprotective father and into the arms of bad boy David the summer after she graduates from high school.
A moving romance in a chaotic world
Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia pairs the parallel stories of teenaged Thomasina Coverly (Keenan A. Sunderwirth ’14) and her tutor Septimus Hodge (Garett W. Schulte ’17) in an early 19th-century England in Sidley Park, and follows Hannah Jarvis (Katherine A. Roe ’14) in modern day. While Thomasina investigates determinism and physics near the turn of the century, Hannah uncovers the identity of Sidley Park’s mysterious hermit.
The Disco Dance Floor by First East
Hastily printed signs warning of bright, flashing lights were emblazoned across the doorways of First East for a very real reason. From fall semester through IAP, the residents of First East designed and built a disco dance floor, which we unveiled as hosts of the annual Bad Ideas Ball.
A formal challenge to myths about atheism
Russell Blackford and Udo Schüklenk have written a volume discussing a selection of fifty “myths” about atheism that they say are commonly held by the public. I will comment on the substance of their efforts below, but first I have a huge bone to pick with the cover someone designed for this book. Why the radioactive violet background? Do you really need seven colors to spell the word “atheism”? Now on to the important stuff!
The most saccharine holiday
Labor Day is Henry’s (Gattlin Griffith) reminisces of Labor Day weekend in 1987 when he was 13. His mother Adele (Kate Winslet) has become a nervous shut-in after her divorce from Henry’s father, and has isolated Henry and herself. But on a monthly shopping trip, they are forced to harbor Frank (Josh Brolin), an escaped fugitive.
What have we learned?
Is the modern housing crisis like the Great Depression? In House/Divided, The Builders Association attempts to understand the parallels between the financial panic of the late 2000s and the 1930s, with a fascinating script that draws inspiration from The Grapes of Wrath and innovative incorporation of media.
PLANNINGTOROCK
For some artists, moving to another location can be an insignificant part of their life, but for the English-born musician Jam Rostron, this decision was more than just switching her address. Rostron, more commonly known by her stage name PLANNINGTOROCK, is a Germany-based musician and producer who moved from UK’s Bolton to Berlin at a young age and rediscovered herself. As an established persona in the alternative and underground scene, Rostron has been delivering some of the most unique and unusual music for the past few years. Last month, we took the opportunity to chat with her about her upcoming album All Love’s Legal, her musical roots and the direction of her career.
Love in the modern world
Enter Gloria, brilliantly performed by Paulina García, a joyful charmer who sings along to sappy tunes while driving, a divorced woman on her second wind, adapting to the awkward stage in life when her children start having children of their own and at an age when couples seldom remain married.
Panic! at the hip rolls
Opening for Panic! at the Disco is a daunting task. Fans trickled into the venue after braving the biting Boston chill while waiting in a line that, quite literally, wrapped around the block. It’s hard to please an overly excited, impatient group of people who are here for the main act and would likely be content to skip your performance entirely.
Affordable, delicious, and all-you-can-eat
For many, IAP is a time to learn the invaluable life skill of cooking. But IAP is also a great time to explore the restaurants that Cambridge has to offer, especially those near campus. A brief walk down Massachusetts Avenue yields Shalimar of India, a mid-size restaurant in Central Square.
That inappropriate, mildly amusing moment
What do you get when you make a rom-com about three good-looking twenty-something guys in New York City? Lots of raunchy jokes and romantic clichés.
BEST OF 2013: The Tech’s top 10 music albums
With their characteristic defiance and refusal to be defined by anyone but themselves, English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys showcases their willingness to take risks and experiment — and it pays off. Their haunting and gritty fifth album features more manipulation and new instruments than their previous albums, and blends together a compelling combination of musical styles, from punk, funk, and rock to R&B, soul, and hip hop. The terse, poetic, and fervent lyrics by lead vocalist Alex Turner relate of late nights filled with frustration, desire, and loneliness. Add these in and it makes a listen you’ll want to repeat.
ARTS IN REVIEW
2013 has been an exciting year for arts both on and off campus. As always, there have been plenty of performances and exhibitions at MIT, running the gamut of creative endeavours from Senegalese drumming, to experimental theater, to ballroom dancing. In addition, for the first time, there has been a push to promote entrepreneurship in the arts at MIT, with a new category in the 100K competition for art/design-related ventures and a hackathon event.
BEST OF 2013: The Tech’s top 10 movies
Based on Solomon Northrup’s autobiography of the same name, 12 Years a Slave follows Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofer) as he is kidnapped and sold into slavery. While Northrup is eventually freed, the plight of fellow slave Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o) shows the terrifying, incessant horror inflicted by slavery.