Princess of hearts
I admired Princess Diana when I was a kid because she was nice when she didn’t have to be. She could have just attended the requisite state functions, but instead she made an effort to reach out to less fortunate people, and she set the bar for later celebrity activists. In the 1980s, she famously shook the hand of a man with AIDS, despite the widespread fear and misunderstanding of people who were HIV positive at the time. Her complicated personal life became tabloid fodder, but to her fans her flaws only made her more relatable. But the afternoon before her fatal car accident, I remember wondering aloud to my friends as we wandered between the rides at a local amusement park whether Princess Di was really a nice person, in real life, not just on the news.
What would change if you could time travel?
Richard Curtis has written several charming romantic comedies, including Love Actually, Notting Hill, and Bridget Jones’ Diary. With About Time, it’s clear that Curtis hasn’t lost his magic touch; it’s yet another beautiful, funny, sentimental tale about love and life.
Free vegetarian food and a community brought together
You know those old Star Trek episodes where Kirk, Bones, and Spock beam down onto an alien planet, and find themselves in the middle of some big marketplace, where people are selling strange foods, and wearing bright colored clothes? Well, walking into the 18th annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival, held at the Roxbury Community College Athletic Center last Sunday, was quite a bit like that.
“Your future starts with your choices today”
Boston Ballet corps de ballet member Diana Albrecht spoke with The Tech about her career in ballet as well as her favorite moments of La Bayadère. A native of Paraguay, Albrecht has been dancing since she was three years old, and professionally since she was 16 years old. In La Bayadère, her roles include dancing as a bayadère (Hindu temple dancer) in the first act, in the fan waltz in the second act, and as a shade in Solor’s dream in the third act.
The 2014 McDermott Award winner
On Thursday, MIT announced that Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson was awarded the Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT. The award is an annual grant honoring Eugene McDermott, the co-founder of Texas Instruments and a longtime benefactor of MIT, and celebrates individuals with promising talents in artistic disciplines. Eliasson will receive the $100,000 prize at a gala this spring, as well as an artist residency, pop-up exhibitions, and the opportunity to give a public lecture. According to the Council for the Arts at MIT, the $100,000 prize is considered “an investment in the recipient’s future creative work rather than a prize for a particular project or lifetime of achievement.”
Arts Events OCT. 25 – OCT. 31
Arts Events OCT. 25 – OCT. 31 Friday (11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Architecture/HTC Book Talk, Kristel Smentek, “Art and History in the Age of Enlightenment” — 10-401 (3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.) Hack Lore: Cows, Cars, and Cannons Special Lecture — MIT Museum (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Architecture Lecture: Mimi Hoang, “Control” — Room 7-429 (7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Film Screening: FAUST, a 1926 Silent Film by F. W. Murnau with Live Musical Accompaniment — 14W-111 (7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Boston Ballet presents La Bayadère (Oct. 24 – Nov. 3) — Boston Opera House (8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Garden Jargon: Roadkill Buffet Improv Comedy Show — 6-120 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Family Weekend Concert presents: Celebrating Master Composers — Kresge Auditorium Saturday (10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) MIT Press Loading Dock Book Sale — E38, 292 Main Street, Cambridge (12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Family Day at the MIT List Visual Arts Center — E-15, MIT List Visual Arts Center Sunday (10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) MIT Press Loading Dock Book Sale — E38, 292 Main Street, Cambridge Monday (12:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) Architecture Lecture/BT Fiona Cousins, “Two Degrees: Climate Change and Our Built Environment” — Rm 7-429 Tuesday (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Architecture Lecture: RCR Architects, “Recent Work” — 7-429 (8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.) Halloween Contra Dance with live music — W20-491 Wednesday (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) “How Our Brains Learn and Remember” with John Gabrieli, MIT Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience — MIT Museum (8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) Israeli Dancing — W20-491 Thursday (12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.) Organ Concert in the MIT Chapel — W15, MIT Chapel (1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.) Exploring the National Recording Preservation Plan — 14N-132 (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Architecture Lecture: Greg Lynn, “Carbon Dating” — Room 7-429 Send your arts events to arts@tech.mit.edu.
Retrospective of an innovative filmmaker
La Jetée (The Pier), Chis Marker’s best-known film, kicked off the comprehensive retrospective of his films, and the wide variety of other media he produced over 60 years, which is underway at the MIT List Center for the Visual Arts and the Harvard Film Archive. Introductory receptions and talks were held on Thursday, Oct. 17 at both institutions.
Being mindful of your mind
The MIT Museum’s Soap Box lecture series kicked off last Wednesday with MIT Professor Matthew Wilson leading a discussion on “Sleep, Memory, and Animal Dreams.” This was the first in a series of 3 free neuroscience-related discussions being given at the MIT Museum. The way that a Soap Box discussion works is the following: the guest speaker gives a context to the audience, framing the discussion to be had and inspiring questions within the audience. Some time later, the audience breaks off into small groups to discuss the topic and to develop questions to ask the speaker via Twitter. Audience members reconvene after they’ve had ample time to fill the #MITSoapBox Twitter feed with questions and ideas. The speaker then tries to provide insight to as many questions as possible in the time remaining.
A dramatic and intense classical performance
There was no doubt the entire room was awaiting the legendary Yo-Yo Ma to take the stage at Boston Symphony Hall as the sold-out room stood with thunderous applause as he walked onto stage. Yo-Yo Ma’s presence was undeniably that of a prodigious musician as his first bow strokes of the cello resonated powerfully in the hall. French conductor Stéphane Denève engaged animatedly with Yo-Yo Ma in the intense Cell Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat, Opus 107 by Shostakovich.
Finding Haven in Jamaica Plain
As a student at MIT, it is often hard to find reasons to branch out from the standard food options surrounding campus. However, staying in the “MIT bubble” deprives students of the chance to eat out at many of the great restaurants a little farther away from this part of the city.
Janelle Monáe: electrifying and astonishing
Upon entering Boston’s House of Blues on October 16th, the attendees were given a short pamphlet entitled “The Ten Droid Commandments”. Besides instructing the audience on how to get the most out of Janelle Monáe’s conceptual concert, the pamphlet also contained Monáe’s special request for the audience — to never reveal the show’s secrets to their friends. Before the Electric Lady appeared on the stage to actually share the mysterious secrets, Roman GianArthur (one of the key figures in the production and arrangement of Monáe’s albums) opened the show with a stellar musical and vocal performance. In addition to performing some of his own songs, he also delivered several fantastic covers, including MGMT’s “Electric Feel” and Erykah Badu’s “Bag Lady”. Similarly to Monáe, his continuous communication with the audience and the ability to instill the “jam” factor into each of his songs made his appearance nothing less than mesmerizing.
A prison escape artist’s nightmare
When you go to see a movie starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and 50 Cent, you know you are in for an action-packed, blood, bombs, and guns style movie. This movie did not disappoint, but did add an unexpected and thoughtful plot.
An evening of Bach and bluegrass
Greeting the crowd with good wishes for the 20th day of Oktoberfest, mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile took the stage at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre, playing a set of Bach compositions intermixed with bluegrass, jazz, and gospel jams of his own and by others. Setting out on the evening’s program, he described the set list as “Bach, ill-advisedly broken up and played with bits of stuff in between.”
Igniting the Steinway
Yuja Wang, moving vigorously to music in a bright red dress and silver stilettos, was a ball of life in stark contrast against the still black Steinway; her rapidly movwing fingers pulling powerful strings of melodies from the grand piano. Her fervent movements threw her hair dancing and accented the notes she drew from an instrument that she had clearly mastered. In her musical interpretation, it was clear her Tweet quoting Mahler, “Tradition is tending the flame, it’s not worshiping the ashes,” was deeply embedded into her modern, energetic style.
Delicious, elephantine dishes
The Elephant Walk has locations in both Cambridge and Boston, and its most unique aspect is that it serves from an extensive menu of both French and Cambodian dishes. At the Cambridge location for a casual dinner, it took me a while just to read through the menu and choose dishes that would allow me to taste a variety of the restaurant’s offerings.
From MIT to Ice Rink
The Tech: When did you start ice dancing, and how did you keep up with it at MIT?
Breathing life into a long-gone European empress
Whether it is just another attempt by feminist revisionist historians to rehabilitate female historical figures by distinguishing their personal views and deeds from that of their husbands or fathers, or merely an expression of the personal and professional views of Evelyne Lever, a leading contemporary French historian and author, Marie-Antoinette in Her Own Words at the very least invokes sympathy for her gruesome fate, if not also empathy for her long suffering through a passionless marriage and the backstabbing of cruel panjandrums in the 18th century French imperial court.
Ice Theatre of New York graces Boston, starring an MIT alumna
The audience filled bleachers around the ice rink, wrapped in their coats in the chilled warehouse-like building, eagerly anticipating the show’s start. The Ice Theatre of New York (ITNY) didn’t disappoint. After sneaker-clad Artistic Director Douglas Webster explained the company’s aim to “elevate dance on ice as a performance art,” ten dancers glided onto the ice to the familiar “Awake My Soul” by Mumford & Sons, mesmerizing spectators with their athleticism and grace.
Synth-pop beats of Scotland
Lauren Mayberry, Ian Cook and Martin Doherty, otherwise known as the Glasgow-based synth-pop band CHVRCHES, have entered the music scene with quite a fanfare. After the relatively unrecognized premiere release of their singles “Lies” and “The Mother We Share” in 2012, the band suddenly took over headlines in early 2013. BBC ranked them fifth in their poll “Sound of 2013,” after which the band released their EP Recover to positive critic reviews, and within a few months CHVRCHES were already touring around the world.
Overcoming failure to succeed, Pixar-style
Last Friday, I had the opportunity to interview Kori Rae, a producer from Pixar, about the upcoming DVD and Blu-ray release of Monsters University. Rae has been working at Pixar since 1993, and has contributed to films such as A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Up, The Incredibles and Monsters University.