The Tech - MIT's Student Newspaper http://www-tech.mit.edu Headlines from The Tech, MIT's Student Newspaper en-us Copyright The Tech 1881-2008 EXHIBIT REVIEW A Dark Trip Between TV Setshttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N27/akerman.htmlhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N27/akerman.htmlBy Praveen Rathinavelu
ARTS EDITOR
The first installation in Chantal Akerman’s new exhibition in the List Visual Arts Center presents an imposing blockade of television screens: placed in triptychs throughout the room, one has to weave and sidestep between the televisions to get through.]]>Fri, 6 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400Arts INTERVIEW In the Sandbox: An Interview With Junot Díazhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N27/diaz.htmlhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N27/diaz.htmlBy Rosa Cao
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Junot Díaz is a writing professor at MIT. His new novel, published last year, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is the story of a fat Dominican “ghetto-nerd,” who loves science fiction and fantasy genre more than life, and loves women even more than genre. He’s born and raised in New Jersey, but only finds true fulfillment when he returns home to the Dominican Republic to face the demons of his family’s history.]]>Fri, 6 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400Arts THEATER REVIEW Still Relevant and Consistently ‘Earnest’http://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N27/wilde.htmlhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N27/wilde.htmlBy Sarah SlotznickHas Victorian humor survived the past century?]]>Fri, 6 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400Arts MAIL REVIEW The Best of the Binhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N27/bestofthebin.htmlhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N27/bestofthebin.htmlBy Sarah Dupuis
ARTS EDITOR
You have no idea how much mail we get daily at The Tech. Seriously. If you try to guess, you’ll come up short. ]]>Fri, 6 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400Arts FESTIVAL REVIEW Alternatives to ‘Iron Man’http://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N25/iffboston.htmlhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N25/iffboston.htmlBy Alice Macdonald
STAFF WRITER
The sixth installment of the annual Boston Independent Film Festival took place a couple weeks ago from April 23rd to 28th. Over 90 films were screened over seven days at the Somerville Theatre, the Brattle, and Coolidge Corner. In case you missed the action, here are some highlights and lowlights so you can start getting excited for next year’s festival.]]>Fri, 9 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400Arts ALBUM REVIEW Fripp Flubs Latest Crimson Releasehttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N25/fripp.htmlhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N25/fripp.htmlBy Balaji Mani
STAFF WRITER
It’s that time of year again: Robert Fripp and co. have reached a lull, anticipating their end-of-summer tour, and the only way to put food on the table (and promote the shows) is to release a blindly hand-picked bootleg from the King Crimson archive. And thank goodness they picked a decent show.]]>Fri, 9 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400Arts CONCERT REVIEW Are You That Girl?http://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N23/thirdeyeblind.htmlhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N23/thirdeyeblind.htmlBy Sarah Dupuis
ARTS EDITOR
Dear girl from Boston College who stood in front of me at the Third Eye Blind show,]]>Fri, 2 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400Arts OPERA REVIEW Lyric Opera’s Last Productionhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N23/abduction.htmlhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N23/abduction.htmlBy Balaji Mani
STAFF WRITER
It’s no surprise that in Boston, a city inundated with eager students, free arts events harness high attendance. Last week, hundreds of such students attended a free performance of the Boston Lyric Opera’s last production of the season, The Abduction from the Seraglio. Though this is one of Mozart’s lesser known operas, the theatre filled to near full capacity. The Boston Lyric Opera has been offering free tickets to the public (but specifically targeting students) for the dress rehearsals of all its major productions. Before the beginning of the overture, Janice Mancini Del Sesto, the exuberant General Director of the BLO, arrived in the left box seat to announce this season’s recipient of the Stephen Shrestinian Award for Excellence. She then proudly led the audience in a grand applause for Joseph Valone, a Boston University music program alumnus; the award was a cash prize for a young, up-and-coming performer wishing to further his or her career in professional opera.]]>Fri, 2 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400Arts The Best Concerts of May 2008http://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N23/maylistings.htmlhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N23/maylistings.htmlBy Sarah Dupuis
ARTS EDITOR
April showers bring May flowers, and in this case, the downpour of ex-lead-singer shows last month has led to a hefty crop of diverse acts (okay, Jeremy Enigk snuck in there, somehow). There are so many notable groups playing locally this month that I didn’t even get to list (The Teenagers, Los Campesinos!, The New Deal, Firewater, Eyedea & Abilities and Kevin Devine, to name a few), so I highly recommend scouring venue Web sites to see if I skipped over one of your favorites. But this is my column, after all, and so my picks get top billing. With that I present to you May’s best shows; especially notable ones are marked with stars.]]>Fri, 2 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400Arts INTERVIEW: Oliver’s Twist on These ‘Terrifying Times’http://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N21/johnoliver.htmlhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N21/johnoliver.htmlBy Jillian A. Berry
SENIOR EDITOR
Ever since Briton John Oliver appeared as a correspondent on The Daily Show, I’ve wanted to see more of his work, and have hoped to some day be able to talk to him. Thanks to a Comedy Central special, I got to do both this past week. On Sunday, Mr. Oliver starred in his own one-hour stand-up special, “Terrifying Times,” in which he discussed the scariness that is world politics. Instead of crude humor, Mr. Oliver made intelligent observations about serious situations put in a comedic light. A few days before “Terrifying Times” aired, I was able to talk to Mr. Oliver by phone about his transition into comedy, his work on The Daily Show, and his new comedy special. Below is an excerpt.]]>Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400Arts MOVIE REVIEW ★★ 1/2 ‘Baby Mama’ Delivers Laughs, But Gags Are Far From Newbornhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N21/babymama.htmlhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N21/babymama.htmlBy Alice Macdonald
STAFF WRITER
My new favorite thing when looking up a movie is to read the plot keywords on IMDB. They are usually hilarious and often surprisingly able to sum up a movie. For example, the keywords posted for Baby Mama, the new comedy starring Tina Fey, are “pregnancy,” “toilet,” and “surrogate mother.” These three words are absolutely accurate; the movie is indeed about pregnancy and surrogacy, but it’s also so absurd that the word “toilet” is not out of place.]]>Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400Arts MOVIE REVIEW ★★★ ‘Sarah Marshall’ Formulaic, But Not Forgettablehttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N21/sarahmarshall.htmlhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N21/sarahmarshall.htmlBy Samuel J. ColeComedy movies of the past few years have progressively gravitated towards in-your-face outrageous laughs. Movies like Knocked Up, Superbad, and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story have led the way to this new form of R-rated comedy. These films are a direct result of Judd Apatow’s vision, who directed Knocked Up, produced Superbad, and most recently produced Forgetting Sarah Marsall. This movie serves up the laughs at a fevered pace, but Apatow’s formula is becoming a little predictable.]]>Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400Arts THEATER REVIEW A Rewriting of Shakespearehttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N20/vampire.htmlhttp://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N20/vampire.htmlBy Daniela Cako
STAFF WRITER
Within 24 hours of beginning development, a group of less than twenty MIT Shakespeare Ensemble members had written a script, formed a cast, rehearsed it, made costumes, built a set, and completed everything else that a play needs. It all went down in 34-101, a lecture hall usually used for classes rather than plays. A very odd place to stage a play.]]>Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400Arts