Late-Night Appearance Brings Prominence To 8.02 Instructor Fisher
“It’s like a drug,” said Physics Professor Peter H. Fisher, referring to the 14 minutes of fame he got in a recent appearance on NBC’s Late Show with Conan O’Brien.
Stanford University Expands Its Financial Aid Into Middle Class
Stanford University on Wednesday became the latest prominent university to expand financial aid well into the middle class. It announced that students from families earning less than $100,000 a year would not be charged tuition.
P/D/F Option Proposed For Graduate Students At Feb. Faculty Meeting
Professor of Biology Stephen P. Bell presented a motion at Wednesday afternoon’s faculty meeting that would allow graduate students to take subjects on a Pass/D/Fail basis, similar to the option currently available to junior and senior undergraduates. The motion will be discussed and voted upon at the March 19 faculty meeting.
Legendary Blackjack Analysts Alive But Still Widely Unknown
Blackjack has been on a hot streak lately, glamorized in best-selling books like Ben Mezrich’s “Bringing Down the House” and its upcoming movie adaptation, “21,” both chronicling the exploits of MIT teams that took the casinos for millions in the 1990s. How they beat the odds and made a small fortune in the process has become the stuff of pop-culture legend.
MIT Drafts Response To Senate Inquiry On Endowment, Tuition
MIT is compiling data to respond to the Senate Finance Committee’s request for information about the school’s endowment, financial aid, and tuition rates.
Serbian Protestors Set Fire To Unprotected U.S. Embassy
Demonstrators attacked the U.S. Embassy and set part of it ablaze on Thursday as tens of thousands of angry Serbs took to the streets of Belgrade to protest Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
Arab Leaders Will Press Israel For Response to Peace Initiative
Arab leaders will threaten to rescind their offer of full relations with Israel in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from occupied lands unless Israel gives a positive response to their initiative, indicating the Arab states’ growing disillusionment with the prospects of a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
McCain Disaffirms Aides’ Concern Over Close Ties to Female Lobbyist
Sen. John McCain on Thursday disputed an account in The New York Times that top advisers had confronted him during his first presidential run with concerns about his ties to a woman lobbyist.
Shorts (left)
A group led by a Princeton University computer security researcher has developed a simple method to steal encrypted information stored on computer hard disks.
Snowy End to the Week
A winter storm is fast approaching southern New England to finish the work week. Unlike nearly every storm to hit the area since late December, this one should remain mostly in the form of snow. Light snow should begin by noon and become steadier and heavier toward the evening. Expect a few inches on the ground by nightfall, which should feature a tough commute for anyone working until 5.
Shift in Pakistan Could Curtail Attacks on Terrorist Suspects
American officials reached a quiet understanding with Pakistan’s leader last month to intensify secret strikes against suspected terrorists by unmanned aircraft launched inside Pakistan, senior officials in both governments say. But the prospect of changes in Pakistan’s government has the Bush administration worried that the new operations could be curtailed.
A Defective Satellite is Obliterated, But Numerous Questions Still Linger
Videotape of the Navy mission to shoot down a dying spy satellite made available Thursday shows an interceptor missile ascending atop a bright trail of burning fuel, and then a flash, a fireball, a plume of vapor. A cloud of debris left little doubt that the missile had squarely hit its mark as it spent its final days orbiting more than 130 miles above the Pacific Ocean.
Shorts (right)
In tones freighted with frustration, Britain’s foreign secretary, David Miliband, told the House of Commons on Thursday that, “contrary to earlier explicit assurances,” the Central Intelligence Agency had confirmed using an American-operated airfield on a British island in the Indian Ocean for refueling two “rendition” flights carrying terrorism suspects in 2002.
The Necessity of Hope
On Tuesday, Wisconsin handed Barack Obama his ninth consecutive victory in the race for the Democratic nomination. In state after state, Obama’s speeches have drawn together thousands of people from all backgrounds to stand up and shout “Yes we can.” But, as Obama-mania fades in the coming months, the focus will turn to where each candidate stands on the issues. Political pundits have repeatedly argued that although Obama is inspirational, he doesn’t address the “meat-and-potatoes problems.” David Brooks of the New York Times calls Obama’s message of hope “vaporous.” So what are his policies? This question is being echoed more loudly with Obama’s increasing success in the primaries. While I agree that Obama should provide a more concrete outline of the policies he wants to enact and how, it is my opinion that his message of hope represents a world-view that will have a real impact on questions of policy.
CONCERT REVIEW Liars With No Age
I don’t think anyone will ever understand Liars. I was fairly certain that I had a decent grasp on them for a while, but all that was blown to pieces this past summer when they released their self-titled fourth album. To call that album a disappointment would be generous; to call it a disaster might be more appropriate. Their 2006 album <i>Drum’s Not Dead </i>was by far my favorite record of the year, combining droning guitar anti-melodies, terrifying lyrics, and — most importantly — unrelenting, pounding drums layered upon more and more drums to yield one of the heaviest records I had ever heard. Most of the tracks eschew traditional rock song structures in favor of a more stream-of-consciousness approach that is just as unsettling as the music. And so when<i> Liars</i> came at me with a bunch of mediocre three-chord pop songs, I almost had to cry.
MOVIE REVIEW ★★★ 1/2 High School With a Side of Prozac
If you’ve seen the trailers for “Charlie Bartlett,” you’re probably expecting the movie to be a comedy in the style of “Juno,” as I expected when I went to a screening a few weeks ago. Instead, I found a rather serious drama with a few comedic elements. When I asked first time director Jon Poll about this, he explained that this is how the studio chose to market it. In fact, the original script was even darker and was made “warm and funnier with Gustin [Nash].”
MOVIE REVIEW Makeshift Movies With Heart and Soul
When all the tapes in the video store get erased, an employee and his friend decide to replace them by re-shooting the movies on a shoestring budget. These two geniuses, played by Mos Def and Jack Black, crappily recreate a slew of classic movies including “Driving Miss Daisy” and “Ghost Busters.” Their hilariously lo-fi remakes, replete with cardboard special effects and overacted catchphrases, become an unexpected hit with the locals. Soon the whole town is onboard with their movie reinterpretation scheme, acting and producing remade hit after hit.
Game of the Week: Women’s Ice Hockey Nets First Win of Year
The women’s ice hockey team registered its first win of the season last Friday with a 3-1 victory over Plymouth State University and then notched a 2-2 overtime tie with Castleton State College on Saturday. Defensewoman Stephanie V. Brenman ’09 and forward Lauren A. Kazmierski ’11 each tallied three points during the road trip as the team improved its record to 1-15-2 overall and 1-14-2 within the Eastern College Athletic Conference East division. Plymouth State fell to 0-17-1 (0-15-1) and Castleton State moved to 5-13-4 (4-9-4).
Kopylov Earns Sabre Title as Fencing Wins New England Champ
The men’s and women’s fencing teams won the New England Championship last weekend, the seventh time ever that both teams have won the title during the same year. The men’s squad earned its 24th title while the women tallied their 14th crown.
Life Lemmas
A few years ago when I was 18 and moving out to university, my mom gave me an iron. Don’t get me wrong, practical gifts are great and by no means am I ungrateful. I’m sure you can imagine every 18 year old male, bags packed, shipping out to the big city, dreams of receiving an iron to go with that kiss from his mother. The truth is I don’t remember using an iron in the first 18 years of my life. Why not just keep it that way for another 18? It’s not like one needs an iron to navigate the tribulations of frosh days. Rather, one could dream up half a dozen more vital items: a coffee machine, a hockey stick or a gross of Mr. Noodles. I contained my thoughts, graciously accepting the iron wondering if I would ever actually use the thing. So it sat in my dorm, unopened for months, as a bookend holding up our friend Michael Spivak’s <i>Calculus</i>.
Figuring out Fashion
As spring semester kicks off, long hours in freezing classrooms and psets galore are bringing us back to earth after the good times of IAP. We all would love to show off the fruits of our holiday bargain shopping, but the cold is forcing us to cover up with the usual MIT sweatshirts and baggy sweatpants. Isn’t it frustrating that cute, affordable clothes in the winter seem to come only in short sleeves?
Quotes from the Facebook Group: Overheard At MIT
Quotes from the Facebook Group: Overheard At MIT
Top 5 Jazz Ballads to Put on While Engaging in Sweet Baby-Making Love
Top 5 Jazz Ballads to Put on While Engaging in Sweet Baby-Making Love
