Putting the horse in front of the cart
A front page for The Onion dated November 22, 1963 reads: “Kennedy Slain By CIA, Mafia, Castro, LBJ, Freemasons.” I’d bet you a nickel that many people find that headline funny. I know it made me laugh. Although the assassination of John F. Kennedy is one of the most traumatic events in American history, the joke works because the reader is familiar with the barrage of wildly speculative and imaginative conspiracy theories that followed the tragedy, regarding the identity and motives of the killer. Yet most, if not all, of the parties mentioned above in jest have been proposed in all seriousness at some point as conspirators in Kennedy’s assassination in hundreds of books and documentaries. Such is the level of ridicule to which assassination theories have sunk in their efforts to seek closure to what is obviously still an unanswered question, and an open wound.
In the Family is delicate and slow-brewing
An admirable debut from writer-director-actor Patrick Wang ’98, In the Family examines the timeless story of a father’s love with a topical twist. The gay, Southern-born, Asian-American Joey Williams (Wang) lives in Tennessee with his partner, the schoolteacher Cody Hines (Trevor St. John), and Cody’s 6-year-old biological son, Chip (the talented Sebastian Brodziak). Joey’s an average guy with a big heart; he comes from a foster family background and changed his Asian birth name in memory of his foster parents. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn how Joey met Cody: A contractor by trade, Joey met the then-married Cody as a client; the two formed a close bond after Cody’s wife passed away, and both of them were surprised when it turned into a romance.
“Just don’t be so silly”
Victor Stenger has written a wickedly powerful book, so sharp and heretical that had it been published four centuries ago, the author would have been extra-crispy by the time the nearest bishop was done reading the preface. God and the Folly of Faith, with its straightforward argumentation and encyclopedic scope, is a veritable handbook on the fundamental incompatibility of modern science and religion. In the context of the new atheism movement, Stenger’s book serves as the prosecutor’s closing argument in their collective case against religion. The book’s ambitious agenda, with the simultaneous grinding of many axes (from near death experiences and quantum consciousness to intelligent design and cosmic fine-tuning), takes a toll on the reader. The dissection of the multiple arguments and counterarguments that are currently used to support and refute faith makes this no light reading for a lazy spring afternoon. Albeit peppered with zingers, the work as a whole comes across as what it is: a thick and serious discourse on one of the most important intellectual conflicts in history, very much alive to this day.
Catching up with the universe
I grew up in the Panamanian countryside, under pristine skies bursting with stars. Defenseless against the nightly spectacle, I had no choice but to become a backyard astronomer. A Spanish translation of Isaac Asimov’s The Universe (1966) transformed a romantic interest in constellations into a healthy scientific understanding of the cosmos. Asimov’s tome, although dated, satisfied my thirst for cosmological knowledge long enough for me to shift my attention to more mundane things. Two decades went by until I discovered — with a mix of delight and trepidation — that while I was not looking, a third revolution in cosmology, by no means smaller than those triggered by Copernicus and Hubble, was taking place right under my nose, during my lifetime.
Fine dining by the sea
When was the last time you ate at a restaurant alone? For that matter, when was the last time you went out alone, took a walk alone, or amused yourself alone? It seems to me that when people have fun, they go in duos, trios, quartets, a whole crowd. Those that dine solo are branded “forever alone” by society and self. However, recent failures in my love life have made the thought of dining company intolerable, so I recently decided to eat lunch alone at Strega Waterfront.
Film brings book action to life
The Hunger Games, like its prior fantasy predecessors, Twilight and Harry Potter, is a behemoth. It has the hopes and dreams of millions of tween fangirls and fanboys on the line. When I discovered that they were making the bestselling book series into movies, I could not say I was surprised — what I did not anticipate was being impressed by the first movie. Even for those who have not read the series, the movie is a solid standalone film. It has all the necessary elements: beautiful cinematography, breadth of colorful characters, and the right moments to pull the audience’s heartstrings. What makes premise of The Hunger Games so unique though is that the most monstrous creatures the protagonist faces are other humans.
Have kids, not a relationship
With a mini-reunion of the cast of Bridesmaids, Friends with Kids had some high standards to live up to. Friends with Kids did succeed in telling the same old love story in a new way, but it did not compare in the comedy department. Still, the movie offers a cute and unique story, and the low budget makes the end result all the more charming.
The incredible shrinking argument
Back in November 2009, I reviewed a book by Earl Doherty, Jesus: Neither God nor Man, which discusses at length his theory about the origins of early Christianity without invoking a historical Jesus. After calling Doherty’s theory marginally superior to the predominant view, the atheist philosopher Richard Carrier stated in his review of Doherty’s work that “the tables have turned.” A refutation to Doherty’s theory, Carrier said, would require developing a single, coherent theory in favor of Jesus’ historicity that can explain all the evidence at least as well as Doherty’s. With funding from both atheists and believers, Carrier himself has taken on the question formally, and his work will soon be published in two volumes.
A symphony fit for the goddesses
Last Wednesday, over a thousand Zelda fans descended on San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall in the heart of the city. The event? The 25th anniversary celebration of one of Nintendo’s most beloved franchise: The Legend of Zelda. “Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses,” is a musical tribute to the history of Zelda and the great scores composed by Koji Kondo. The concert, directed by Irish conductor Eímear Noone, works with local musicians in each town to put together an entire orchestra to play the show.
Brains and brawn team up to form an unlikely (and hilarious) duo
In this loose adaptation of the 1980s TV show 21 Jump Street, high school enemies turned best buds, Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) are a motley pair of rookie cops who find themselves transferred to the Jump Street unit, a revived undercover police program from the ’80s. In an attempt to find a drug supplier at Sagan High, Jenko and Schmidt pose as students and find themselves awkwardly navigating the social waters of high school once again. Fortified by his glory days as ruthless bully and super-star jock, Jenko confidently approaches the high-school scene while Schmidt anxiously anticipates a repeat of his teenage misery. This time around, however, Schmidt fits in with the new-age popular crowd, while Jenko’s antiquated notion of “cool” quickly undercuts his chances of moving up Sagan High’s social ladder.
The sounds behind Final Fantasy
The Tech had the chance to speak with Grammy award-winning conductor, composer, and music director Arnold Roth about his performance of Final Fantasy soundtracks at Boston’s Symphony Hall last Saturday as part of his Distant Worlds concert series. He reveals his connection to video game and film music, talks about the relationship to his close friend Nobuo Uematsu, the original composer of the Final Fantasy soundtracks, and explains what makes video game fans a great audience for classical music in our exclusive interview!
Symphony Hall resonates with the sounds of Final Fantasy
The Boston Symphony Hall hosted a very special event last Saturday. It featured not Dvorak, nor Bach, nor Mendelssohn, but instead video game pieces from almost 25 years of Final Fantasy scores. Even though this event did not attract Symphony Hall’s regular audience, the place was sold out. Symphony Hall was overflowing with Final Fantasy fans, many of them dressed as original characters from the game. A number of fans brought their copies of Final Fantasy soundtracks or games so they could get an autograph after the show.
More shooter than story
Mass Effect 3 has been one of the most eagerly-awaited games of 2012 by a long shot. The first two games are among the most beloved sci-fi action-RPGs of all time, and expectations for the third installment were running high. Luckily for fans, the finale to this epic trilogy manages to meet most of the expectations.
Dysfunction, beautifully crafted
Based on American poet Nick Flynn’s memoir Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, Being Flynn is everything a literary film should be, and director Paul Weitz executes it in a way that makes what is seen on-screen as fluid as reading a book. The movie follows the lives of a father and his son who are both struggling writers. The father, Jonathan Flynn (Robert De Niro), had left his family early in his son’s life, and they don’t meet again until Jonathan loses control of his life and becomes homeless. The sudden presence of his father in his life makes Nick (Paul Dano) question everything he has become, and we are shown how his relationship with his father molds every aspect of his life. Although the film is essentially a coming-of-age story, it unfolds so that we can profoundly understand the process. At first glance, the plot seems banal and sophomoric, but this is pleasantly not the case.
Explorations in modern dance
A giant lamp with a crown of bulbs turns its head into position. Like an alien saucer it beams down onto the stage, illuminating a single motionless dancer. The dancer moves in a rapid jerking motion. Is it a man or a woman? Suddenly, the sound of Bach’s Goldberg Variations breaks the silence.
Educating ourselves about Lauryn Hill (and her thesis)
In the non-Prince music section of the Purple One’s fan site Prince.Org last week, a contributor asked quite a pertinent question about The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album and its world-renowned female rapper-author:
A study of scarlet
In her stage adaptation of Jung Chang’s Wild Swans, Alexandra Wood has crafted a vivid portrait of the political turmoil and uncertainty surrounding Mao Zedong’s rule in China. Chang’s memoir, which spans a century of history and covers the lives of three generations of women — her grandmother, her mother, and herself — is a lengthy one, but on the stage, the epic plays out in five acts and less than two hours.
Mystery at the Institute
One-hundred forty years ago in Lawrence, Massachusetts, John Ripley Freeman found someone’s lost dog. For reuniting pet and owner, the high-schooler collected a generous bounty of $5. Freeman spent that fortune on the latest textbook in Inorganic Chemistry. With the change, he “procured a small supply of glass tubes, flasks, and a Bunsen burner, and set up a small laboratory at home, without setting fire either to the house or woodshed,” he later wrote.
The other side of the world
1Q84 marks Japanese author Haruki Murakami’s 12th novel, and is considered by many to be his magnum opus. First published in Japan as a collection of three volumes, 1Q84 was just released in the United States in October under one cover. The book, which is over 900 pages, is quite different from his previous works, but as a long-time Murakami fan, I was not disappointed.
Dear Uncle, there’s madness afoot
Last week, The Tech sat down with Anna Kohler, Senior Lecturer in MIT’s Musical and Theater Arts Department, who is directing MIT Dramashop’s most recent production, My Uncle, a reimagination of Anton Chekhov’s classic 1897 play Uncle Vanya, which explores the ideas of wasted life, frustrated desire, and alienation in the setting of a Russian country estate. But My Uncle transports us into the frame of a mental asylum: The MIT student actors are mental patients who, as part of a “Drama Therapy” session, put on a stunning version of Uncle Vanya where Chekhov’s characters are played by two actors each and where the dramatic illusion is periodically interrupted by reminders of the hospital.