The Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFFBoston) is currently in full swing. Films have been screening since last Wednesday at the Somerville Theatre, the Brattle Theatre, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston and the Coolidge Corner Theatre. The Daily had a chance to see a few of these films and give mini-reviews of a select few.
Tufts Burlesque Troupe (TBT) performs its spring show, entitled "7 Deadly Sins," tonight in Cohen Auditorium. The performance will not only feature the TBT dancers, but also comedic emceeing, a drag performance and two guest acts by Envy and Tufts Bellydance. Tickets are $4, and the show begins at 9:07 pm.
Their statements were so outrageous that they begged disbelief. The students told me that Tufts routinely sends alleged rape victims and their attackers into mediation instead of investigating the crime. Students said the university's sexual assault policy is so vague that it doesn't even define sexual assault. One victim told me how the Judicial Affairs Committee drilled her on what she was wearing the night she was attacked.
It is 1:05 a.m. on a depressingly typical, frigid Boston February night. The affects from the $12 shots you have illegally been consuming at the bar across the street from Faneuil Hall for the past three hours are starting to lose their effects. You push out the heavy door at the front of the bar and are ambushed by a chilling winter breeze. You are now faced with the most pressing dilemma of the evening which is possibly more precarious than trying to figure out hot to ask that cute Boston College girl for her number: How the heck do I get back to Tufts? There are two basic options: stomaching the $35 cab ride or rushing to catch the T in its final ten minutes of operation. You know you need to get on the Green Line, but oh crap which way? And even once you've figured out that question, you are faced with the same dilemma after you successfully get off at Park Street: inbound or outbound? Will we be able to keep warm in the Citizen's Bank kiosk while we wait for the Joey or will some putrid homeless man have beaten us to it?
Boloco, a chain of restaurants that prides itself on providing a fresh twist to classic burrito cuisine, is seriously considering closing its Tufts branch located on Boston Avenue, the company announced this month.
The Daily recently sat down with Pete Docter, the charming co-director of Pixar's upcoming film "Up." The film is to be released in digital Disney 3-D on May 29. In addition to the film, Docter spoke about his trip to South America to do research, his childhood obsessions and his experience working for Pixar. Question: "Up," like a lot of Pixar movies, seems very character-driven. How do you know when you've created a compelling character? Pete Docter: Well, I guess we know that it's compelling when we show it to the other guys at work and people are like, "Hey, that's a compelling character!" Q: I guess that's a good sign. PD: Yeah, more often than not, that's kind of the first comments we get. You might know this, but the way we work at Pixar is that we have our team that's making the film and we get together about every four months and show it to the other directors. I grab John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Brad Bird, and they all come in and watch the movie in whatever state it's in. And usually the first comments we get are about the characters ... Carl, [the main character], was fun because he could be a jerk and likeable at the same time. He could slam the door in the kid's face and you're like, "Well, you know, he's earned that." Q: I think "Up" also differs from other Pixar films because of its small cast. Was that ever a concern for the group of you [that] make the creative decisions at Pixar? PD: Well, that was an intentional thing on my standpoint, just because on a lot of films, and some that I've worked on, when you get a big cast, it really complicates the plot. I wanted to create enough room to just enjoy moments and have characters relate to each other and talk to each other, as opposed to always having to go to the next plot point. So we intentionally kept the cast small and I think it paid off in that way. I simplified my job by keeping the film to a small cast. Q: I know that for all of the Pixar movies, the creative team actually goes to the place, like for "Ratatouille" [2007], you went to Paris. Did you actually go to South America? PD: Yes, we did. [For] "Toy Story" [1995], we got to go to the toy store. [For "Monsters, Inc." (2001)], we got to talk to kids and look at animals and stuff, but this one, we got to go to South America. Right where Venezuela meets Brazil and Guyana, there's this place called Triple Point. Right on that point there's this amazing, weird, table-top mountain. It's a mile high from the base up to the top, and it has these weird rock shapes; [it's] windswept; it's like as close as I'll ever get to going to Mars ... It just felt really alien. There's plants up there that are found nowhere else in the world ... We camped up on top, took a lot of pictures and sketches and drawings and paintings and things, and really kind of felt what it was like up there, and we captured a certain amount of that in the film. I don't think we would have had quite as much authenticity had we not done that. That was really crucial. Q: Why do you feel 3-D is needed or necessary in a film like this? Do you worry that the technique will be distracting or remove some of the emotional impact of the movie? PD: I definitely worry about that ... the best movies are those when you sit down and you're swept up and then in two hours you wake up and go, "Wow, I just went on this amazing trip." We didn't want 3-D to break that spell at all. We made some rules early on ... We're not going to have things coming out at you .... We were also going to use depth as a storytelling device. Q: I'm sure you hear about how Pixar's films consistently garner rave reviews among critics. How do you deal with the pressure from all of these compliments? How do you do it? PD: I sort of half-take the compliment and half-don't trust it and just be self-critical. The truth is that every one of our films has been a disaster at one point and we just leave ourselves enough time to fix it ... Films take about five years or so, and probably three and a half to four of that is just story and then production is about a year and a half to two years, somewhere in that ... at the beginning [we] just focus on the story. We don't think about, "Geez, how are we going to do 10,000 balloons?" We'll deal with that later. Q: How fun is your job? PD: In a way, we have all these videos and things of us riding scooters and throwing pies and whatever, and you kind of go, "Well, that is fun," but it's a lot of work. There's a lot of days when I'm coming in at 7 a.m. and not going home until 10 or 11 at night, and everyone at work is like that ... We often have to chase people out — "Go home! Have a life!" — because otherwise, they'll just stay there and try and make everything they touch [be the] best they can, which is a good problem to have. But it is a lot of work. They've done a great job of setting up the studios as just a good, collaborative place, even down to the architecture. There's a big, kind of common space in the middle where all the food and the bathrooms are, so at some time during the day, you're going to have to come out of your office and mingle with people instead of e-mailing them all day. So, it all works out ... We're spoiled rotten, that's for sure. It's a fun place.
Boloco, a chain of restaurants that prides itself on providing a fresh twist to classic burrito cuisine, is seriously considering closing its Tufts branch located on Boston Avenue, the company announced this month.
Sophomore Ian Duncan-Brown earlier this semester sat down with an Office of Financial Aid worker for what he later said was a "three-minute meeting" about his family's financial situation.
The three candidates for Tufts Community Union (TCU) president faced off last night in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room, in the first of two debates, discussing topics that included the nominees' experience, the recent alleged bias incident and the TCU Senate handling of the recovered funds.
Dear Asher Roth, "If you have a drink, would you please put it in the air?" I'm not gonna lie — I dig your song. Yeah, you're the focus of quite a bit of criticism, ‘cause you rap but you're a pot-smoking white boy from suburbia, yet I don't care. I'm psyched for you to open for The Decemberists and Ludacris this weekend for SPRING FLING AT TUFTS! The beat is irresistible; it's blaring out of every freshman's MacBook, and after weeks of not really listening to "I Love College," I finally gave the words a listen in Club Tisch on Saturday night. I agree: "pizza a dollar a slice" is pretty awesome. And "my good friends is," really, "all I need." But I got to the following...: "I can't tell you what I learned from school but I could tell you a story or two, um Yeah, of course I learned some rules Like don't pass out with your shoes on (Get the Sharpie!) And don't leave the house ‘til the booze gone (No, we're not leaving) And don't have sex if she's too gone When it comes to condoms put two on (Trust me) Then tomorrow night find a new jawn" I'm a volunteer health teacher for Boston Public Schools through Tufts Peer Health Exchange (PHE). PHE-ers talk to ninth-graders about everything from sex to abuse to alcohol to nutrition to physical activity. So I appreciate your line "Don't have sex if she's too gone." That's considerate. Pop culture does some awesome things for kids! After Chris Brown "allegedly" hit Rihanna, while it was horrible, the situation became a great example for talking to kids about getting out of abusive relationships and how the victim is never at fault. So, thanks. But there was another line that made me cringe. Two condoms is a common misconception. This will sound obvious after you hear it, but "double-bagging" is actually a really bad idea, and, sadly, it usually befalls people who are trying to be doubly safe. During the ...um... momentum… of sex, the two layers of latex rub together, and the friction can break BOTH of them REALLY FAST. Obviously, this is counterproductive... Well, actually, I guess it's "productive." If all you learned in college was to wear two condoms, do you know how many Asher juniors there could be out there? From a public health standpoint, you can view pop culture as a HUGE weapon/position of power. Example: fans of Michael Phelps picking up a piece of their own or fans of Cal Ripken reaching for the milk instead of the Red Bull. The fear, in this case, is that two drunken teenagers will aim to be safe, and one will grab the other's shoulder, look deep into their puffy, 4/20 eyes, and say "Baby, WWAD?" "Wear two condoms — that's what Asher would do!" This is not the first time an error in iTunes Top 20 has created tension on a mass scale. In 2003, "Hey-Ya!" by André 3000 and recorded by OutKast on their double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was known by the breakdown "Shhhhhhhake it like a Polaroid picture!!!" In their outrage, Kodak filed a suit against OutKast, because "shaking it?" actually damages the image, however, they later dropped the charges and took advantage of the incredible marketing possibilities. Quoth Wikipedia: "Because current Polaroid film is sealed behind a clear plastic window, casually waving the picture has no effect on the film's development. Vigorously shaking the film may actually distort the image by causing the film to separate prematurely and creating blobs in the final image. Nevertheless, Polaroid sought to market off of the allusion... Polaroid sponsored parties for OutKast, where Euro RSCG distributed Polaroid cameras. OutKast made a deal to hold Polaroid cameras during some of its performances. Polaroid does not release sales figures, but its public image, previously in decline with the growing popularity of digital cameras, was bolstered by the song." A good friend of mine, upon discussing this last bit, suggested that maybe Trojan should cave and endorse you. If people are using two condoms at once, it'll double their sales!!! Thus, we'll have lots pregnant teenagers with damaged instant snapshots. Is that really what you want, Asher? Think of the kids. The inebriated, horny, kids. Thanks for listening, and see you this weekend with LUDAAAAA! Laura P.S. What the hell is a jawn?
Numerous studies have examined the hazards of living in areas with high levels of pollution. Whether one is residing near a factory, a condensed metropolis or a bustling roadway, living amid exhaust can be a risk factor for numerous health problems. But a new Tufts study examining life near crowded highways will go one step further by looking at specific links between pollutants emitted by cars and heart disease.
In these dark economic times, constrained budgets may lead one to consider what services and expenses really matter. Art and entertainment tend to take the backseat to necessities like rent and food. Martin McDonagh's dark comedy, "The Pillowman," seeks to prove that art is more important than people might think. "The Pillowman," Tufts' department of drama and dance's spring production, is a black comedy centered on a young writer, Katurian (played by senior Benjamin Samuels), whose gruesome short stories about child killings have been mysteriously acted out in several instances near his home. He is subsequently called in by the police for interrogation. The action played out onstage is a crisp, violent and sometimes disturbing mystery, punctuated by fantasy sequences of the writer's stories themselves. "The way I have been explaining the show," said director Luke Jorgensen, director of Tufts' drama and dance department, "is that it's like the best episode of ‘[Law and Order:] Special Victims Unit' you have ever seen, with dream sequences." The set, designed by junior Alexandra Cheser, is comprised of a raised, bare, square platform, supported by stacks of papers. All of the police interrogation, or "real life" sequences, take place on this platform, while Katurian's fantasies inhabit the paper-covered lower ground. When set pieces are called on in the fantasy world, they emerge from the paper strewn ground, like a pop-up children's book. The juvenile aesthetic of the set against the gruesome content of the stories is chilling. Though "The Pillowman" can be directed as an extremely gory show — six gallons of fake blood were spilled every night of its Broadway run — this production has taken the emphasis off the carnage and placed it instead on the suspense. "For me, if it was all about the blood, the message would be lost," Jorgensen said. "I don't think horror is possible any more on stage because of movies, but in a way, I think suspense is better in theater. Especially in an intimate space like this, you can really creep somebody out." The violence of the interrogation sequences is kept realistic and minimalist, serving as a contrast to the representative violence of the fantasy sequences. "In a way, when you leave a lot to the audience's imagination, it's more violent," Jorgensen said. This dark show is not all about the brutality and suspense, though. Throughout all of the happenings on stage, the audience is always aware of Katurian's intense struggle to leave behind a legacy in the form of his stories. "I'd like the audience to examine to what degree our own lives are these very carefully crafted narratives," Jorgensen said. "How much of us is our own creation, and how do difficult situations in our lives cause us to hone and re-create that narrative, and how much of a crutch is that for us? The main character lets himself be defined as a ‘writer,' and so the importance of his legacy is his writing." The profound effect one man's stories have had not only on the characters on stage, but also many people only alluded to in dialogue also pervade the entire story. "Art has a lot of power," said sophomore Kyle Sircus, who plays Katurian's mentally retarded brother, Michal, who is also detained by the police. "It has different effects on different kinds of people. Michal is very affected by his brother's art, and that definitely plays out in the show." The play examines themes of human interaction and involvement in one another's lives. The audience is taken on a roller coaster ride through moments of alternate compassion and cruelty by every character on stage. The officer interrogating Katurian assures him that they would never harm his brother, saying, "Do you think we're animals? No. We deal sometimes with animals, but we're not animals. I give you my word." Unfortunately, after hearing screams from a neighboring room, Katurian confronts the officer about his compassionate promise and is only given the response: "What are you doing taking my word on anything?" "The Pillowman" is a production that leaves a strong impression on audiences thoughit raises more questions about legacy and human power than it answers. One thing is certain, though: The audience will not leave the theater muttering about the frivolousness of art. "The Pillowman" opens tonight and runs through Saturday at the Balch Arena Theater. Tickets are $7, with a special $1 ticket night on Thursday. All performances are at 8 p.m.
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) last month identified buildings that could come down to make way for extension of the T's Green Line through Medford.
At the sixth annual Tufts Presidential Symposium on Friday, faculty, students and community members reflected on the shared burdens they face during the economic downturn.
There are few topics in the modern world that cause more intense debate than the presence of nuclear weapons and their use in military policy. Fear of attack from weapons of mass destruction has led to ongoing tension among world leaders since their advent.
With a romance set in Naples, Italy, one might expect poetic language, elaborate costumes and heartbreakingly beautiful heroes and heroines. There might be some obstacles in the way of the lovers, but they will only turn these moments into opportunities to recite impassioned meditations on love. In David Grimm's "The Miracle at Naples," however, these tortured soliloquies are along the lines of "Who do you have to f--k to find some love in this world?!"
They dream, they struggle and they invent. "Children of Invention" takes its audience into the lives of a family that dreams of a better life, struggles with the hardships of a city and proves that hope always exists. Any viewer is likely to fall in love with the little girl, Tina (played by Crystal Chiu), whose face lights up at seeing Barbie dolls in a mall and her brother, Raymond (Michael Chen), whose mind is constantly at work inventing peculiar but ingenious gadgets with the hope of selling them to support his family and buy back their old house.
Souvenirs enrich the everyday lives of voyagers and remind them of their wonderful journeys long after they have returned home. Even if they are small, these mementos can become treasured objects that retain their meaning for a lifetime. One avid traveler who was particularly skilled at selecting souvenirs was Isabella Stewart Gardner, the founder of one of Boston's most well-known museums.
