Brown College Alumnae Hall

Dancing the night away 

The big band on stage 

Taiko drumming exhibition at the Wang 

Spring Yet?

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the spring season at WMBR college radio. This means you can now tune into International Anthem one hour earlier, beginning at 2AM. The show is also an hour longer which means more music, more questionably insightful commentary, and more not going to bed before sunrise. Listen live online at WMBR.mit.edu or later at clearlyno.com.

I took a trip this weekend to Brown with Kiira for Zoot Suit Ball, where all the rude boys and girls in the Providence area came together for swing and the jitterbug. Kiira’s uncle plays trombone for the 21 piece big band based in the New England area. I took the commuter rail out of South Station in time to dance the night away with a bunch of well dressed folks from a variety of age groups.

The next day was Yuki Matsuri, the snow festival, at Wellesley College presented by the Japanese club. Having experienced the real festival last year I’d say everyone did a rather authentic job of exporting Japanese culture to the Wang center. Taiko drumming, tons of sushi, and girls wearing kimono were impressive.

As a side note, if you ever get a chance to see Double Indemnity, the 1944 classic starring Billy Wilder, make sure not to miss it.

In other news I passed the level 3 Japanese Proficiency Test I took in December. This qualifies me to hold a number of jobs in Japan including tour guide, secretary, and undertaker. I also receive a sharp looking certificate; the real fruit of my labor.

Trying to finish homework by morning, the sombrero is helping 

Back To Prepschool Pubnite 

Tea party at the house of Jonathan Richmond 

Bill and a robot 

Quite a potato cannon 

Inside TEAL Physics 

Weee 

One of the Village People? 

Moving a couch down the stairs during workweek 

The McGovern Institute at MIT 

Phew!

Boy. Where to begin? Who knew a few weeks could move in such a daze? Mercury creeps slowly up the thermometers of Boston and then plummets as a cold snap moves through the area. Mostly a picture update this time -- a bit of spring cleaning so I can get back to regular posts. Neil ran in the Hadaka Matsuri (naked man festival) this weekend, reminding me of how far away Japan seems now.

Tea parties, potato cannons, homework, and pubnites have been the recent faire. The sun comes out after my Thursday lab classes before setting behind skyscrapers. I’m ready for a little warmth.

Snowy Silence

I realize I have been a bit quiet recently. Nevertheless, life goes on here in snowy Boston, where a couple of feet of the white stuff has already fallen. Until I have time for a larger update, here's a video of Theta Chi singing at Alpha Chi Omega on the night girls pledged sororities (I'm near the bottom of the stairs, somewhere).