Microsoft Research offers 3-D
Imagine you wanted to buy a gift for your aunt. You might ask her for a wish list, bring the paper into a store and spend a dull afternoon browsing.
Duke sex joke goes public
DURHAM, N.C. — For nearly two weeks, many here on the Duke University campus had been aware of a certain senior “thesis” that a recent graduate wrote, intended as a joke, about her sexual exploits with 13 student-athletes.
Nightline hiatus to last at least a year
Nightline, MIT’s student-run hotline for counseling, information, and support, is ceasing operations for at least two semesters while it decides on several major structural changes. Its coordinators hope that Nightline will be able to return in the fall of 2011 at least in some reduced capacity.
Changes at Walker?
Preliminary assessments on Walker Memorial have identified the ninety-four year old building as a potential new home for MIT’s Music and Theater program.
Pleasant Weather Ahead
After a couple of gray, rainy days in the early part of this week, more pleasant weather will be in store for us this weekend. Today will be mostly sunny with warm temperatures, but could be quite breezy ahead of an approaching cold front. There is not much moisture associated with this front, so there are no showers expected as it passes on Friday night, but it will bring cooler temperatures and increasing clouds. High pressure will then take over for the rest of the weekend, with temperatures in the low to mid 60°Fs and sunny skies expected. With the dry airmass and mostly clear conditions on Saturday night, the temperatures could be cold enough to have the first frost of the season. As the high pressure moves offshore on Monday, southwest winds will bring milder temperatures, making for a pleasant Columbus Day.
On the border, a fishing paradise gains a deadly reputation
HOUSTON — For decades, Falcon Lake was known primarily as an anglers’ paradise, a tranquil reservoir straddling the border with Mexico where a clever fisherman could catch enormous largemouth bass. These days, however, the lake is developing a reputation for something else: piracy.
Afghans linked to the Taliban guard U.S. bases
WASHINGTON — Afghan private security forces with ties to the Taliban, criminal networks and Iranian intelligence have been hired to guard U.S. military bases in Afghanistan, exposing U.S. soldiers to surprise attack and confounding the fight against insurgents, according to a Senate investigation.
With the electric Nissan Leaf, the perks just keep coming
Tax credits, rebate checks, personalized home visits, government giveaways — even customer service calls from top corporate executives.
Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa wins Nobel Prize for Literature
Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, whose deeply political work vividly examines the perils of power and corruption in Latin America, won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday.
New and diminished chapter for children’s picture books
Picture books are so unpopular these days at the Children’s Book Shop in Brookline, Mass., that employees there are used to placing new copies on the shelves, watching them languish and then returning them to the publisher.
Shorts (right)
CHICAGO — President Barack Obama used twin campaign appearances Thursday to lash out at the private money that has filtered into Republican coffers for the November election campaign, suggesting that some of it came from abroad. He urged the Democratic Party faithful to symbolically drown out the cash with their “millions of voices.”
Shorts (left)
WASHINGTON — With wounds still raw from the chaotic U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, last December, negotiators are making final preparations for next month’s meeting in Cancun, Mexico, in a surly mood.
Another gay scandal in the clergy?
When I first heard about the Eddie Long scandal, my immediate reaction was something along the lines of: “Sheesh, another one?” Although the case has not yet been settled, it certainly looks like what we have on our hands is the same tired story. What does it say about our cultural and religious climate that this narrative, in which the closeted minister of excellent repute outs himself in scandal, has reached the status of cliché?
Being a freshman
I’ve wanted to write for <i>The Tech</i> for some time. I’ve wanted to find something to say or something to share. Something about being here, something about the experience of keeping our heads above water. This swim, which for whatever reason we willfully throw ourselves into, sometimes even letting the salty droplets get down into our lungs, because that pain can often be less than the pain of continuing to tread water.
‘You guys made the cyber world look like the north German plain’
The pundits have called it a superweapon, a guided missile, and the herald of a new age in warfare. It’s a computer worm called Stuxnet... and they’re right.
The market for questions
In 1997 the Kyoto Protocol became the first major international treaty, (although not quite completely international) to feature a cap and trade scheme. Yet the idea to extend cap and trade schemes to individuals has not been taken up widely. Ed Miliband, Britain’s new leader of the opposition, proposed a radical idea to introduce individual credits to pollute when he was head of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, but his idea has largely been ignored. Now, more than ever, MIT needs to set an example of radical policy by introducing a permit to ask questions.
CONCERT REVIEW Electrifying performance of contempo-music
Artistically, October is often a busy month at MIT, and this year is no exception. Vicky Chow’s recital, as part of the Bang on a Can Residency (sponsored by MIT Music and Theatre Arts department) was the first notable musical event of October. This concert was highly anticipated, given the artist’s strong ties with Bang on a Can All-Stars, a chamber ensemble renowned for its free and experimental approaches aimed at blurring the distinction between all forms of music. Chow’s recital was a vivid demonstration of piano contemporary music, showcasing the possibilities of the instrument extended with the aid of computer generated effects. While this contemporary music might initially sound inaccessible and strange, the showmanship of Chow and her feisty technique kept the audience engaged and thoroughly entertained. In many ways, this recital was a veritable eye-opener, offering a glimpse of the distant future of classical music (and music in general), and highlighting the enormous range of the expressive possibilities of the piano, most of them still untapped today.
CONCERT REVIEW How do you play a Ratatat song?
My unfortunate tautological infatuation with tautology peaked around the same time as the Ratatat show Thursday night. This was fortunate because it allowed me to answer such questions like, “how do you play a Ratatat song?” Answer: you play a Ratatat song.
FILM REVIEW Claustrophia in a coffin
Let’s get this out of the way first — <i>Buried</i> is a disturbing, deeply uncomfortable film, and claustrophobic moviegoers would do well to avoid it. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as Paul Conroy, an American truck-driver working for a company in Iraq. After an attack on his unarmed convoy by insurgents, he awakens to find himself trapped in a coffin; armed with a phone, a Zippo lighter, and a knife, he frantically searches for a way to escape before it becomes his tomb.
ON CLASSIC CINEMA Here’s looking at you
Certain films are guaranteed to be at or near the top of every “greatest movies of all time” list you’ll ever read: <i>Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Vertigo</i> and of course <i>Casablanca</i>. Perhaps you can name it as one of the most well-known love stories in cinema, or you recognize actors Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, or you’ve heard one of its many famous lines (“We’ll always have Paris”); <i>Casablanca</i> is one of those films that has so permeated cinematic culture that nearly everyone has some level of awareness of it.
The Tech’s preseason predictions
Rare is the day when I see more students wearing hometown baseball merchandise than the ubiquitous “E/c^2sqrt(-1)PV/nR” shirts, “EngiNERD” sweatshirts, and “God said ...[Maxwell’s equations here]..., and there was light” apparel. Wednesday, the first day of the 2010 MLB playoffs, was one of those days. Picking up breakfast, I chatted with a Braves fan wearing a Brian McCann jersey and the guy behind the sandwich counter at LaVerde’s about the Phillies’ dominant rotation and just how well veteran ace Roy Halladay will adjust to the pressure of the postseason. (After my predictions were documented, this question was closed; Halladay no-hit the Reds on Wednesday night in his first postseason start.) Walking down the Infinite, I came across a Rays fan decked out in a navy blue jersey and a Giants fan with the classic, black-and-orange, interlocking “SF” logo. Even to a fan whose team missed out on the postseason, it was heartening to see signs of baseball passion at MIT. Let’s take a look at the prospects of each of the postseason contestants.
Field hockey in high spirits after win over Smith
This past Saturday, the MIT field hockey team routed Smith College 6-1, earning its tenth win of the season and securing its third win in a row in conference play. The team, now 10-1, has just five games left in the regular season, including three at home.
MIT splits match vs. Wentworth
The MIT rifle team had its first match of the season this past weekend, taking on friendly area rival Wentworth Institute of Technology.
Upcoming Home Events
Saturday, October 9 Sailing: Brass Rat/Sir Ian MacFarlane 8 a.m, Charles River Women’s soccer vs. Wheaton College 11 a.m, Steinbrenner Stadium Men’s tennis vs. Williams College 1 p.m., duPont Courts Football vs. Plymouth State University 2 p.m., Steinbrenner Stadium Sunday, October 10 Sailing : Brass Rat/Sir Ian MacFarlane 8 a.m, Charles River
