Early action numbers fall
When asked about the decline in the number of early applications for MIT — down 4.7 percent from last year — Dean of Admissions Stuart Schmill ’86 hypothesized that the decrease was likely caused by the reinstitution of early application programs at several other universities this year.
‘Manic Sages’ steal the show!
On Friday the 13th, hundreds of students, alumni, and puzzle enthusiasts gathered anxiously in Lobby 7. At noon, the members of the 33 teams that came to compete in the 2012 Mystery Hunt were greeted by two familiar characters: the infamous Max and Leo from 1968 Mel Brooks film The Producers. The two introduced the premise of the hunt, which is an MIT annual puzzling event that dates back to 1980.
Embryonic stem cell research challenged, again
James L. Sherley has filed the first brief of his formal appeal in his battle to stop government funding of human embryonic stem cell research.
MIT Institute Professor Emeritus wins Enrico Fermi Award
Last week President Obama named Mildred S. Dresselhaus, emeritus institute professor of physics and electrical engineering and computer science, and Burton Richter ’52, emeritus professor in the physical sciences at Stanford, as this year’s winners of the Enrico Fermi Award. The award is given “to encourage excellence in research in energy science and technology benefiting mankind,” according to its description. Etablished in 1956 to honor the accomplishments of 1938 physics Nobel Laureate Enrico Fermi, the award carries a gold medal and an honorarium of $50,000, shared equally by its recipients.
Are students more stressed these days?
The 2011 Enrolled Student Survey, which was conducted this past spring, polled undergraduates about extracurricular and academic activities, and underscored an apparent increase in student stress. About 65 percent of the undergraduate body responded to the online questionnaire, which is delivered every four years.
European central bankers criticize role of rating agencies
LONDON — Two European central bank chiefs are urging investors to pay less attention to credit rating agencies and to consider other factors in assessing what the region’s debt is worth.
Shorts (right)
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council approved a mandate Tuesday requiring all actors in pornographic films to wear condoms during any filming that takes place within city limits. The law is the first of its kind, advocates said, and could have a significant impact on what some say is a $1 billion industry.
Few cities have regained jobs<br/>they lost, report finds
Less than a tenth of the nation’s metropolitan areas have regained the jobs they lost in the economic downturn, according to a report being released Wednesday by the nation’s mayors as they gather in Washington to express their exasperation that the federal government seems more intent on cutting aid to cities than on sending more.
More ship bodies found, new drama in capt. transcript
GIGLIO, Italy — Rescuers pulled five bodies clad in sodden life vests from the partly sunken cruise ship Costa Concordia on Tuesday, bringing the death toll in the disaster to at least 11, as Italian media published transcripts of a screaming match between the coast guard and the ship’s captain, who fled to a life boat after he smashed the vessel on a reef.
For Southern TV chef Deen, Type 2 diabetes leads to ‘I told you so’
For 10 years, wielding slabs of cream cheese and mounds of mayonnaise, Paula Deen has become television’s self-crowned queen of Southern cuisine and one of the country’s most popular chefs, with an empire built on layers of gooey butter cake, fried chicken and sheer force of personality.
Active Winter Weather Moving to New England
The tranquil weather pattern and above-average temperatures of this winter in the Northeast should slowly change through the rest of January. The cold temperatures last weekend, when Logan Airport reached 6°F (-14°C) Saturday night, serve as a good example of what’s probably coming later this month. The jet stream, or the main storm track, has been split between northern Canada and a path from the desert Southwest toward the northern Plains for most of winter. This pattern has “locked” the cold air within Canada, allowing for warm air to stream in with the relatively weak storms thus far across the lower 48.
Shorts (left)
BEIRUT — Adding to fears of a worsening political crisis in Yemen, a top government official hinted that presidential elections set for February that would mark the formal end of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule could be delayed.
Opponents of Wisconsin governor deliver recall petitions
Critics of Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin submitted to the state on Tuesday more than 1 million signatures, nearly twice as many as required, on recall petitions against Walker to force a new election.
KEEP PRAYING, SANTORUM
I’m glad to see that none of the critics took the recently released movie, Machine-Gun Preacher, seriously. The premise of the movie is, “You may not fear God, but you best fear Sam Childers.” Sam Childers, played by Gerard Butler, is the ex-con turned missionary turned warrior-of-God, finding himself in war-torn Sudan, saving orphans from warlords by gunning them down with AK-47s, Rambo-style. Had the director been Sylvester Stallone, or even Quentin Tarantino, I’d know what to expect: an action-packed movie of odd with crazy wrapped in great. But Machine-Gun Preacher takes itself seriously in its mission to save African children, unfortunately, through the eyes of a Spartan muscleman. The movie’s contexts of somber Sudan, and style of Yosemite Sam-showdown, disagree, making the film a recipe for a wreck.
Romney vs. Obama
The 2012 political horse race hasn’t disappointed so far. We currently have Mitt Romney (the “moderate”), Ron Paul (the “libertarian”), Newt Gingrich (the “Newt”), Rick Santorum (the “true” conservative), and Rick Perry (the “if-elected-President-I-would-reinvade-Iraq”).
CORRECTIONS
An inshort that ran on January 11th stated incorrectly that La Verdes is open until midnight during IAP. They close at 11 p.m.
VIDEO GAME REVIEW Adventurers, look out
As a conservative, I’m always a little bit wary when it comes to video game storytelling. Game development studios, if you ask me, have a decidedly liberal bias. Whether the game is BioShock, with its aggressive assault on the ideology of Ayn Rand, or Grand Theft Auto IV, with its skeptical look at the American dream, I worry that somewhere out there, sneaky left-wingers are using my recreational time to brainwash me in their ways.
CONCERT REVIEW BSO unveils Harbison’s newest symphony, his sixth
Two years ago, the Boston community eagerly welcomed James Levine’s vision to survey the symphonic music of the world-renowned local composer and MIT faculty John H. Harbison. Indeed, over the last season and a half, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, directed by Levine, performed in chronological order all of Harbison’s five symphonies to date. Last week, this symphonic cycle reached its zenith, as BSO premiered Harbison’s newest Symphony, his Sixth, specifically commissioned by (and dedicated to) Levine. While precarious health kept Levine away from the podium for the premiere, David Zinman, a long time friend and champion of Harbison’s music filled in. He enthusiastically conducted the concert series, which in addition to the new symphony, featured music by Weber, Beethoven and R. Strauss. Given the eclectic blend of music featured, this program was sure to be a crowd-pleaser; indeed, the Saturday performance that I attended was top-notch throughout and enthusiastically received.
MIT beats Babson, Coast Guard Men’s basketball maintains their undefeated record
Last week, MIT picked up two more wins against Babson and Coast Guard to increase its record to 16-0 (4-0 in conference). In the national rankings, MIT moved up to the third spot, as Augustana College fell from third to sixth; the Engineers also remain as only one of six teams in the top 25 with a perfect record.
Patriots, Ravens, 49ers, Giants vie for spots in Super Bowl
The second weekend of the NFL Playoffs mostly went as expected, resulting in three home victories and one road victory. The San Francisco 49ers put together a drive, capped by a sharp touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Smith to tight-end Vernon Davis, with under two minutes to go to escape with a victory over the New Orleans Saints (36-32). The New England Patriots made a statement as quarterback Tom Brady went 26/34 for 363 yards to put an end to Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos (45-10). The Baltimore Ravens, involved in a defensive showdown throughout the game, scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and maintained the lead to defeat the Houston Texans (20-13). The New York Giants and Eli Manning put on an offensive display to come up with an unexpected upset over the team with the best regular season record this year, the Green Bay Packers (37-20). This makes for two anticipated matchups this coming Sunday.
Engineers fall short to Springfield, 60-43
On Saturday, the MIT Engineers fought hard but fell to Springfield, changing MIT’s record to 7-7 (4-2 at home) and improving Springfield’s record to 9-6 (5-1 away).
MIND AND HEALTH Relax your mind and focus
Meditation is a captivating but elusive practice, made famous for its benefits but frustrating for its intangibleness. Some describe it as not thinking about anything, but, then, what happens if you do think about something? If you admonished yourself every time a-triple-chocolate-chip-cookie craving came to mind, you’d soon grow exhausted. Others say a meditative frame of mind bids you to take the opposite approach, by making absolutely no effort to control the mind’s thoughts. For still others, meditation is intent focus on the present moment, for example, feeling the coolness of the air, and the dry crush of fallen leaves underneath one’s feet.
NERDY WITH A CHANCE OF RANDOM Letting the stream of life flow unimpeded
This past year, I turned twenty.
ASK CHACHA Does your recruiter “like” your status?
Hello students of MIT! Let me introduce The Tech’s new advice column, written by yours truly, Chacha. In the future, I’d love to respond to your requests, so go ahead and email your questions (about anything!) to askchacha@the-tech.mit.edu. As for now, here is my advice on how clean your social network should be for potential employers.
Events Jan 18 - Jan 24
Events Jan. 18 – Jan. 24 wednesday (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Bang Your Head! - Heavy Metal 101 — 14N-217 (7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Investigating Sherlock Holmes — 32-141 Thursday (12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.) The Annual Hummus Taste-Off — 10-105 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Public Art at MIT — Bartos Theatre friday (11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.) Dear Diary – Before There Were Blogs presented by MIT Archives — 14N-118 (6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Hacker Movies: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Cowboy Bebop’s “Jamming with Edward”— E15-344 saturday (2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Association of Taiwanese Students Cooking Workshop — McCormick Dining (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Showing of De battre mon cœur s’est arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) — 6-120 sunday (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) 16th MIT European Career Fair — Johnson Athletics Center monday (1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.) The Great Recession in Historical Perspective — E51-335 (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) The Internet Shouldn’t Work: Networking 101 — 4-237 tuesday (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Dark Energy: The Greatest Mystery in the Universe — 37-252 (7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Screening of Shouting in the Dark — 56-114 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
