Metaboston

Wikipedia REvolution Discussion at Berkman

Andrew Lih has written the first book on the culture and history of Wikipedia: The Wikipedia Revolution.  He'll be discussing the book with the always-interesting David Weinberger at Harvard's Berkman Center so it should be a compelling interview about the issues surrounding the creation and maintenance of Wikipedia.

"The Wikipedia Revolution is the first narrative account of the remarkable success story of the "encyclopedia anyone can edit." Andrew Lih, a Wikipedia editor/administrator, academic and journalist, tells how the Internet's free culture community inspired its creation in 2001, and how legions of volunteers have emerged to create over 10 million articles in over 50 languages. The book recounts colorful behind-the-scenes stories of how obsessive map editors, automated software robots and warring factions have come to shape a complex online community of knowledge gatherers. Learn about the historical underpinnings of Wikipedia, of how a Hawaiian vacation and a fringe piece software from Apple Computer inspired the wiki concept, and realized the original read-and-write capabilities of the Tim Berners-Lee's World Wide Web. "

If you can't get over to the event, it will also be webcast.

Info:
Wednesday, March 25, 6:00 pm
Griswold Hall 110, Harvard Law School

Robert Frost, Chicken Farmer

Iconic New England poet Robert Frost supported himself and his family by raising chickens in New Hampshire for a time and began to write stories about them

[I]n 1900, Frost found in raising chickens an occupation that gave him money, time, and a landscape ripe with metaphors for the poems he had begun to write late at night when his wife and children were sleeping.

It's clear from the eleven lively stories Frost published in the trade journals The Eastern Poultryman and Farm-Poultry, from 1903 to 1905, that he was imaginatively engaged by the tragic things that can happen to a chicken. In "Trap Nests," a couple new to chicken farming employ a device "intended to catch and hold the hen until she was willing to purchase freedom at the price of an egg." The trap nests "savor of vivisection and the Inquisition"; the city-bred farmer finds himself taking "a growing satisfaction in ruthlessness, for such, he felt, was life." In another story, a farmer's "first hatches were so exceptionally fine that the gods fell in love with them, and they died young."

Above:  One of Jim Clark's virtual videos of Frost reading "The Road Not Taken"

Thoreau's Journal Blogged

This Date, From Henry David Thoreau's Journal does exactly what it says it will bringing us a new post or as 19th century folk put it a new "journal entry" for each day. 

Today's, or February 2, 1860's, is a nice one:

The fox seems to get his living by industry and perseverance. He runs smelling for miles along the most favorable routes, especially the edge of rivers and ponds, until he smells the track of a mouse beneath the snow or the fresh track of a partridge, and then follows it till he comes upon his game. After exploring thus a great many quarters, after hours of fruitless search, he succeeds. There may be a dozen partridges resting in the snow within a square mile, and his work is simply to find them with the aid of his nose. Compared with the dog, he affects me as high-bred, unmixed. There is nothing of the mongrel in him. He belongs to a noble family which has seen its best days, - a younger son. Now and then he starts, and turns and doubles on his track, as if he heard or scented danger. (I watch him through my glass.) He does not mind us at the distance of only sixty rods. I have myself seen one place where a mouse came to the surface to-day in the snow. Probably he has smelt out many such galleries. Perhaps he seizes them through the snow.

Revisiting all the fascinating stuff from the past through technology is a great part of this time.

By the way, Thoreau has an interesting bouffant/faux-hawk in this picture along with the classic neckbeard.

Photos of Boston-Area Infinite Jest Locations

Nice developing photo set by Tim Bean of Boston-area locations mentioned in David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest.  Each photo is matched to a passage and page.  Bean's image above of the Mayflower ("Live Poultry Fresh Killed") Poultry Co. in East Cambridge  is described in the novel as "A store in good old English advertising Chickens Fresh Killed Daily" for example.

Interesting expansion from the Infinite Jest memorial map published by boston.com that we posted about.

via Kottke.

Boston Wikipedia January Meetup Tonight

Boston-area Wikipedians are gathering at Wagamama in Harvard Square tonight.

We will also be meeting for dinner on Saturday two weeks from now, for those who can't make Mondays.

Potential topics of discussion:
* Wikipedia and truth (and nonsense)
* Wikipedia editing in Latin America (updates from Chile and Argentina)
* Wikimedia chapters in the western hemisphere; forming US Wikipedia groups
* Organizing Wiki-intros at local universities and libraries
* Winter wiki-day with speakers from around the country
* Other free knowledge projects underway : CK12, Derechos Digitales, resource.org
* The million-book public library and wikibooks
* Offline Wikipedia, OLPC, and implications for taking your wiki with you
* Travel Scholarships to Wikimania 2008 in Buenos Aires

Info:
Wagamama
57 JFK St
Cambridge, MA

Video of HP Lovecraft

A WPA interview with Providence horror writer HP Lovecraft.  (via Artopia)

Travel Writer Rick Steves in Cambridge: Dec. 4th

Travel icon Rick Steves will be speaking in Cambridge on December 4th discussing the subject that made him famous European travel as well as a recent visit to a more unusual locale, Iran.  The Steves approach of seeking less pricey alternatives to mass tourism should be getting renewed interest these days.  Although his image is of a genial average guy, Steves is also a social activist noted for his advocacy of drug policy reform.

Info:
Time:  Thursday, December 4th at 5:00pm
Place: First Parish in Cambridge, Mass. Ave at Church Street, Harvard Square
Accessibility: Wheelchair Access at #1 Church St.
Cost: Free, Ticketed Event, Reservations Recommended.   Reservations: 617-649-5700 x21 or events@gcb.com

Walden: A Revenge Movie

A funny well-done trailer for an imaginary movie where Henry David Thoreau is an angry vigilante.

Audubon's Early Drawings

Harvard has its collection of early drawings by John James Audubon online as he worked toward becoming the artist he is now known to be.  The drawings are also available in the book Audubon: Early Drawings.

Buy:  Audubon: Early Drawings.  (Image:  Crested Mergansers by Audubon from the Harvard collection).

Walden Pond: A Video Game

A trailer for a proposed video game based on Henry David Thoreau's experiences at Walden Pond in Concord.  An interesting idea although it does seem a bit odd for a writer so ambivalent about technology.  And what about such a mediated experience of nature?  Then again Thoreau was suspicious of enterprises that require new clothes and a great thing about video games is you don't have to get dressed up or even dressed.

Carolyn Chute: Maine Novelist and Militia Member

A really interesting profile of Maine novelist Carolyn Chute by Charles McGrath illustrated with an equally great photo by Erik Jacobs (above) that paint a picture of a different kind of writer than usual.

"For most of the time that she has been working on the book, Ms. Chute has also been greatly occupied with an organization called the 2nd Maine Militia, of which she is the founder and, as she says, “secretary of offense, or offensiveness.”

The copier in her living room is used to churn out tracts and fables, mostly written by Ms. Chute and illustrated by her husband, that set out the group’s political philosophy, which is essentially one of cheerful, nonpartisan economic populism.

The 2nd Maine Militia, or Your Wicked Good Militia, as it’s sometimes known, is progun, against corporate lobbying and campaign contributions, and opposed to tax subsidies for big business. The group has been known to meet in a hired hall, but more often it assembles in the woods behind the Chutes’ home, where the members shoot at cans and other targets, talk about what’s wrong with the world and dine on potluck.

In 1996, in an incident recreated in “The School on Heart’s Content Road,” the militia invaded the State Capitol in Augusta, carrying placards that read, “Smash Corporate Tyranny.” Many of the militia children were in costume, and Mr. Chute wore a Revolutionary War uniform. There were some kazoo-playing and a little shouting, and someone duct-taped a piece of cardboard over a portrait of Joshua Chamberlain, the Maine governor and Civil War hero.

Framingham State Fundraisers: Blah, Blah, Blah

Framingham State College's fundraisers offend alumni by acknowledging that no one reads their letters.  It's funny that the letter which read in part, With the recent economic downturn and loan crisis, it has become even more important for Framingham State College to receive your support. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,"  will get more attention than the typical letters that go right to the trash.  So while the school apologizes they are probably quite happy.

John Hodgman 'Celebrates' Massachusetts

John Hodgman reflects on Massachusetts.

I guess that I am from Massachusetts. But I never felt at home there, and, really, no one ever does. There are Texans and there are Minnesotans and even Californians, though that is a state as geographically and culturally motley as the entire eastern seaboard. But no one calls himself a "Massachusettsean," in part because it is impossible to say, and in part because ours is a tradition of exclusion.

***
Another reason I did not feel at home was because I do not like sports. Boston has much to offer any visitor. There is of course a fine symphony orchestra, world-famous universities, and the Mother Church of Christian Science, which has a truly boss reflecting pool. However, if you do not like sports, Boston does not have much to offer you. The local sports teams - which I am told are the Baseball Red Sox, the Football Patriots, the Basketball Celtics, the Hockey Bears, and of course the famous Boston Lobsters of the World Team Tennis League - are an obsession.

Goodbye to 02138 Magazine

02138 Magazine, the Harvard-centric lifestyle publication, has stopped publishing in the current difficult economy.

New Owner on the Harvard Book Store

In this email, Jeff Mayersohn explains why he thinks the book business still has a future and tries to allay fears about what a change in ownership means to the Harvard Book Store.

So why would a high-tech type like myself enter the book business in the digital age? Simply, because I truly love books. I no more believe that books will be replaced by digital formats than I think that museums will be rendered obsolete by digital renditions of great works of art. And despite rumors to the contrary, bookselling can indeed be profitable. But independent bookselling is more than a business; it's a mission. A great independent bookstore serves as a community center for the exchange of ideas and as a bastion against the homogenization and "dumbing down" of culture. It enhances all our lives.

In the past weeks, the most frequent question asked of me was, "What changes do you plan to make to the store?" My sense is that this question is more often asked out of apprehension than curiosity. The best answer I can give is that I was an enthusiastic customer of the store long before I contemplated buying it. I understand and love what makes Harvard Book Store so special. While we will always look for ways to improve, I firmly believe that the store's dedication to quality literature and customer service must never change.

Robert Pinsky on Inman Square

Former Poet Laureate and BU writing professor Robert Pinsky discusses his Inman Square neighborhood.  It's not all love though.  Here's the poet on the Inman branch of Bukowski's Tavern.

Does he ever grab a beer there?

"It's a children's bar," he says, then dismisses the writer it's named after in the same breath. "He's a children's writer, good for 15-year-old boys."

MIT Book Sale: Oct. 18-19

The MIT book sale is coming up.  Always an good opportunity for some interesting books.

Literally *tons* of books will be on sale at drastically reduced prices--up to 90% off their original retail price. Come enjoy HUGE SAVINGS on:

• MIT Press overstock
• damaged books (minor scratches and dings)
• out-of-print MIT Press books
• journals back-issues
• other publisher's overstock
• plus much more...

In order to make the sale a more pleasant experience for everyone, we're going to try something new this year. Please read on for more details. If you have any concerns, suggestions, or questions please email us at books@mit.edu

Saturday - "no-book-dealers" day
Saturday will be the "no-book-dealers" day that many of you have requested. Student or MIT id will be required for admittance. One additional guest permitted per id. There will be a 40 book per purchaser limit. We reserve the right to refuse admittance to anyone purchasing for resale.

Sunday - "open-to-all" day
Sunday will be the "open-to-all" day. All are welcome, no purchasing limits. The tables will be fully restocked before the start. We reserve the right to eject any person behaving in an uncivil manner.

Info:
When:  October 18 - 19, 2008, 10:00am to 7:00pm
Where:  MIT E38 Loading Dock, 292 Main Street, Cambridge

Watertown's Shakespeare Reading Group

The Watertown Public Library hosts a regular Shakespeare Reading Group.  The October play is The Merchant of Venice.  The discussions will take place on Oct. 21 and 28  with screenings and other discussion taking place on Nov. 20 and 25.

The SRG meets on the third and fourth Tuesdays of the month, 6:30-8:00 p.m., with a full reading of the play, in parts or round-robin style, in two or three sessions. Lively discussion follows each Scene and/or Act.  Followed the next month by a talk on the play by Dr. Charles Berney as well as a screening of a DVD of a famous stage or screen production of the play. No experience or knowledge needed - just curiosity and interest. Please bring your own copy of the play.

More info.

Porter Square Books vs. Amazon's Kindle

Newish local bookstore Porter Square Books is fighting with a New England publisher over the influence of the Amazon Kindle.

At least one independent bookseller is distressed over The Globe Pequot Press’s decision to release biographies of Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama exclusively as Kindle e-books. Jane Jacobs, buyer at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Mass., contacted her rep at GPP, Mark Carbray, yesterday, telling him the news was “most distressing.” GPP president and publisher Scott Watrous told [Publisher's Weekly] yesterday that he did not think other accounts would react negatively to the plan which called for the bios to be sold via the Kindle about two months before the print edition will be released.

Purple Blurb Digital Writing at MIT

The Purple Blurb digital writing series has an interesting series of speakers lined up including Steve Meretzky of Blue Fang Games in Waltham and local film maker Jason Scott.  All events take place at MIT.  The first event with Steve Meretzky is tonight!

Steve Meretzky on writing and computer games (32-141)
October 6, 2008 (Monday) 6pm.
Meretzky, an alumnus of MIT, was the most prolific author at the most successful interactive fiction company, Infocom. The work he did there included writing Planetfall, A Mind Forever Voyaging, and Leather Goddesses of Phobos as well as collaborating with Douglas Adams to develop The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Meretzky has worked at Legend Entertainment, Boffo Games, and WorldWinner. He is currently at Blue Fang Games. Note that this event is in the Stata Center, not the Trope Tank.

Jesper Juul on developing video games to develop video game theory (14N-233)
October 27, 2008 (Monday) 6pm.
Juul is a video game theorist and author of Half Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds (MIT Press, 2006). He is also a video game developer, and will discuss using lessons from developing online and casual games to inform work with video game theory (and vice versa). Juul is currently a lecturer in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies; he works at the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab.

Jason Scott on the blog ASCII and textfiles.com (14N-233)
November 17, 2008 (Monday) 6pm.
Scott is a documentary filmmaker whose work includes BBS: The Documentary and a film about interactive fiction, Get Lamp, which is now in post-production. In addition to making films, Scott maintains the main archive of textfiles (plain-text documents) as they appeared on computer bulletin board systems in the 1980s and early 1990s. He also blogs about digital media topics on ASCII.

Kelly Link at the Harvard Book Store

More Harvard Book Store posting!

Kelly Link, a writer with a unique approach to fantasy, science fiction, and horror and the founder of her own publishing company and zine, will be reading from her new story collection at the Harvard Book Store tonight.

Harvard Book Store is jubilant to welcome Northampton-livin', Magic for Beginners-conjurin' KELLY LINK for a reading from her her first Young Adult story collection.

Through the lens of Link’s vivid imagination, nothing is what it seems, and everything deserves a second look. From the multiple award-winning “The Faery Handbag,” in which a teenager’s grandmother carries an entire village (or is it a man-eating dog?) in her handbag, to the near-future of “The Surfer,” whose narrator (a soccer-playing skeptic) waits with a planeload of refugees for the aliens to arrive, Link’s stories are funny and full of unexpected insights and skewed perspectives on the world. Her fans range from Michael Chabon to Peter Buck of R.E.M. to Holly Black of Spiderwick Chronicles fame.

Info:
When:  Friday, Oct. 3 at 7:00pm
Where:  Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass. Ave, Cambridge, MA
How Much:  Free

Plays Inspired by the T

A new series of plays use the T as both inspiration and constraint.

At 11:15 a.m. last Saturday, Ginger Lazarus boarded an Orange Line train at Oak Grove. While her fellow passengers were eager to reach their destinations - many of them appeared to be headed to the Red Sox game - Lazarus was hoping for a long ride. The clock was ticking: she had to write a short play, to be performed the following Wednesday, by the time she arrived at the end of the line at Forest Hills.

Across town, playwright Forrest Walter was getting on the Green Line at Lechmere with the same goal. Later in the day, three more playwrights would be boarding the T to participate in Mill 6 Collaborative’s theatrical experiment, The T Plays. Over the next week, a total of ten local writers will take on the challenge of writing a short play, set on the MBTA, in the time it takes to get from end of the T to the other.

The whole event is sponsored by the Mill 6 Collaborative. 

Harvard Book Store's New Owner

 

Frank Kramer reveals he has found the purchaser of the Harvard Book Store in Jeff Mayersohn (scroll down).

Many of our customers may already know Jeff Mayersohn. A graduate of Harvard, a loyal Harvard Book Store customer for over thirty years, and a recently retiree from the tech world, Jeff Mayersohn is the ideal new owner for Harvard Book Store.

I look forward to remaining a prominent member of the Cambridge business community, steering the Cambridge Local First campaign, and working as an industry consultant. I also plan to travel and, when time permits, learn Italian.

In the store, you won't see any major changes. Carole Horne, with whom I have worked for thirty-five years, remains our steadfast General Manager, overseeing the store's stellar management team and bookselling staff. And in order to ensure a smooth transition, I'll continue to act as an advisor to the store.

I welcome members of our community to meet Jeff at a special October Winedown event on Tuesday, October 21st. I hope you'll take this opportunity to meet the newest member of the Harvard Book Store team, and I look forward to seeing many of you around the Square.

Some good business news for a change.

'Tethered,' a Brockton Mystery

Tethered is a new mystery set in a funeral home in Brockton by Amy MacKinnon. 

Amy MacKinnon comes close to ruining her hypnotic debut novel, TETHERED (Shaye Areheart, $24), with an ending that substitutes fuzzy abstractions for clear and tangible answers to the mysterious events she has used to entice us into her narrative. Told in hushed whispers by Clara Marsh, an emotionally fragile young woman who works in a funeral home in Brockton, Mass., the story is revealed obliquely, through Clara’s tender ministrations to the bodies she prepares and the private thoughts accompanying these rituals. There’s a quiet, almost stealthy quality to the writing, so we become distinctly uneasy when Clara befriends a neglected, possibly abused child who has made the funeral home her sanctuary. Clara is an astonishing character, and with language as blunt as the death she sees every day, she expresses herself with devastating simplicity. When asked what she believes, her response is unnervingly direct: “I believe it’s important to breathe."

MacKinnon, who lives in Marshfield, is part of an unusually successful writing group.  Of the four women in the group, all have sold novels.

Mapping 'Infinite Jest' Across Boston and Cambridge

In a memorial to David Foster Wallace and his novel, the Ideas publishes a map of Infinite Jest's locations around the Boston area.

Paul Revere: Werewolf Hunter

Revere:  Revolution in Silver is a graphic novel set in colonial Boston where Paul Revere isn't just a silversmith and a hero of the American Revolution but must battle monsters like werewolves as well.  Werewolves are vulnerable to silver so that could work.

 Listen, my children, and you shall hear… Whoa, hold it right there. This is one Paul Revere story that is not fit for children’s ears or eyes. Revere: Revolution in Silver is scary, gory, and sort of sick, actually. That’s not meant as criticism, just a warning to anyone who might confuse this dark graphic novel with a nice, patriotic comic book for kids.

Lavallee’s concept is wickedly clever: Revere, the legendary midnight rider, is recast as a caped crusader who patrols the highways and byways of colonial Massachusetts to protect every Middlesex village and farm from–werewolves."

Listen to Junot Diaz's New Story

An mp3 file of Junot Diaz, author of the great Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and MIT creative writing professor, reading his new story in progress Flaka at the Brattle Theatre

Loren Coleman, Cryptozoologist, at Museum of Science

The Museum of Science ventures into the misty regions of cryptozoology with a lecture by Loren Coleman, the most famous researcher into bigfoot and other great folkloric creatures.

"Could hair samples be used to verify the existence of Bigfoot? Are unexplained animal droppings evidence of a new species? Do footprints hold the key to unlocking the mystery of the yeti? World-renowned cryptozoologist Loren Coleman has spent decades researching the existence of fantastical creatures and interviewing witnesses who have sighted sea serpents, lake monsters, Sasquatch, thunderbirds, and yet-to-be-verified animals.  Join us to explore the science behind these mythic beings.

Time:  Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008,  7:00 pm
Location:  Museum of Science, Boston/Cahners Theater
Cost:  Free  "Seating passes are available to the general public in the Museum lobby beginning at 5:45 pm the evening of the program.  First come, first served."

Big Screen Boston

 

Paul Sherman has written (and self-published) what seems to be an encyclopedic guide to Boston's cinematic identity with Big Screen Boston and he also puts up excerpts from the book on his website.

Interesting interview with Sherman on what makes a Boston film:

"JMG: You give a lot of credit to films like Jan Egleson’s Billy in the Lowlands and The Dark End of the Street for legitimizing production in Boston.  Has the American film landscape changed as a result of Boston films? 

Sherman: I don’t think I could pinpoint any changes that Boston movies are single-handedly responsible for, but films like Billy in the Lowlands and The Dark End of the Street have certainly helped to create independent film as we know it today.  As Hollywood has become more hit-oriented, it makes it all the more important for there to be a thriving grassroots film industry.  I give films like The Dozens credit for being part of the independent movement and for helping to inspire the resurgence of indie films that continues to this day.

New England's Cornucopia of Lit Journals

New England's treasure trove of magazines you aren't reading . . . but probably should. 

Magazines like literary stalwarts Ploughshares and AGNI as well as new blood like Redivider and Quick Fiction.

Winedown at Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store will be hosting the latest of its Winedown events on Friday Sept. 12.  They'll be serving free food and wine.  In the era of Amazon, this seems like a great way for a real-world store to distinguish itself - by positioning itself as a place where people can participate in a community.

"In support of fellow locally owned, independent businesses, Harvard Book Store is delighted to welcome representatives from a number of area shops, restaurants, and venues--along with a sampling of their wares--for the first Winedown of the fall. 

***
And, as always, wine will be served.  
Appetizers will be served courtesy of the fantastic Grafton Street Pub and Grill.

Info:
Time:  Friday, September 12th, 7:00pm
Location:  Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA
Cost:  Free

Boston Zine Fair: Sept. 20 - 21

 

The Boston Zine Fair is being held at the Art Institute of Boston on September 20-21.  Zines, self-published journals, are another of the ancestors of community and social media, that are so prominent now.

“The Boston Zine Fair is a weekend-long event with the aim of bringing together zinesters, artists, small presses and other producers of independent media. The conference includes two full days of tabling, an opening night show with live bands and readers, as well as potluck meals throughout the weekend. There are also numerous hands-on workshops and discussion panels which give us the opportunity to learn new skills to use in our own creative enterprises, as well as to explore the importance of independent media in a corporate-owned world.

While zines have lost some luster with the rise of blogging and internet publishing in general it should be interesting to check out what local people are doing with this medium and the whole culture that surrounds it.

Info:
Time: Sept. 20 - 21
Location:  Art Institute of Boston, 601 Newbury Street, Boston, MA
Cost:  Free

Literary Map of Maine

The Maine Sunday Telegram and Maine libraries have put together a Literary Map of Maine (unfortunately not embeddable) that link the location of notable Maine books with the towns associated with them.  Good idea for drawing attention to another aspect of a state's heritage.  They limited it initially to 50 authors with plans to add later although they should have been as inclusive as possible and include as many writers and books as they could find.

Neal Stephenson in Cambridge: September 20

Neal Stephenson, author of a long string of geek icon titles like Zodiac, Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon and the trilogy the Baroque Cycle, will be presenting his highly anticipated new book Anathem in Cambridge on September 20th but tickets go on sale at the Harvard Book Store today, Friday, August 29th.  Run, don't walk! 

Date:  September 20 at 7:00 PM
Location: First Parish Church Meetinghouse
Cost:  $5

Boston Comics Roundtable and Their First Anthology

Boston comics creators meet weekly in Harvard Square as the Boston Comics Roundtable.  They have their first anthology "Inbound" available now.  Looking forward to checking it out.

"The Boston Comics Roundtable was created in 2006 to unite Boston-based comics creators in the spirit of camaraderie and professional development. This year commences the start of a new publishing initiative to spread the word – Boston is the hot new town for comics!

Ahead of the Curve: Inside Harvard Business School with Philip Broughton

Philip Delves Broughton, a journalist, took his experience at Harvard Business School and turned it into a book when his MBA didn't get him a job.  He seems to have some funny anecdotes.

“Many of his peers, he says, hailed from one of the “three M” backgrounds: Mormons, former military officers, and former McKinsey & Company consultants.

As might be expected students are able to turn financial aid programs to their advantage.

“Mr. Broughton also details a scheme for acquiring “financial aid BMWs”: Upon being accepted at the business school, some students deliberately emptied their bank accounts to buy BMWs for themselves. Since they were not required to list vehicles among assets on their financial aid applications, they often qualified for extra financial aid. “So basically, Harvard buys you a BMW” a classmate informed Mr. Broughton.

You can see him at Harvard Book Store on September 4th.

Don't Photograph H.P. Lovecraft's Tomb!

While Providence's North Burial Ground has opened up to an art exhibit, as we wrote about recently, Providence's Swan Point Cemetery is not a friendly spot for visitors coming to see horror writer and Providence native H. P. Lovecraft's monument and perhaps photograph it.

“Matt sez, "One of my favorite writers, Caitlin R. Kiernan, was the subject of verbal abuse, profanity and homophobic remarks from some sort of security guard when she and her companion went to visit H.P. Lovecraft's grave. The guard attempted to make them delete all of the photographs they had taken, despite the absence of any policy forbidding it. Are cameras like catnip for abusive, power-mad rent-a-cops now?"

((Image: H.P. Lovecraft's grave:  Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike photo: StrangeInterlude, Flickr).

Haruki Marukami on Running and Cambridge

Heather from the Harvard Book Store on Haruki Marukami's new book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, which refers to the year he spent in residence at Harvard.

"Although I'm only a few chapters into this slim volume, I'm intrigued by Murakami's descriptions of his time here in Cambridge. He discusses familiar aspects of New England living (the pressing humidity, Sam Summer Ale, and the prominence of Dunkin' Donuts, for example), and his descriptions of running alongside the Charles mirror his fiction: simply stated, yet tinged with the surreal. What's more strange, really, than learning that Murakami loves to run to the beats of the Lovin' Spoonful?"

"No Directions to Solzhenitsyn" in Cavendish, Vermont

After being forced to leave the USSR, Alexander Solzehnitsyn, author of the Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch and winner of the Nobel Prize, lived in Cavendish, Vermont for 17 years.  He moved back to Russia in 1994.

Now, residents of Cavendish, who protected the privacy of the reclusive writer, remember him.

Ipswich Lace and the Novel It Inspired

 The story of Ipswich's lace industry in another of the consistently fascinating stories by Wendy Moonan.

"“Lace making in Ipswich is probably the first women’s industry in America,” said Bonnie Hurd Smith, a former curator of the Ipswich Historical Society, which displays Ipswich lace. “The women were doing it while the men were at war, and many men were killed, so their widows needed to make money to support their families.” Ipswich women “used lace making as a way to endure,” Ms. Raffel writes in “The Laces of Ipswich.” A yard of lace “was approximately equal in value to a cord of wood or 16 pounds of sheep’s wool.”

Wearing lace was a status symbol for both men and women. George Washington’s 1789 visit to Ipswich made its lace even more fashionable after he picked up some of the black silk variety for his wife, Martha.

“Creating and owning Ipswich lace was a source of national pride,” Ms. Smith said. “By 1791” in Ipswich, “this seemingly unassuming craft involved 600 lace makers out of 4,500 people in 602 households. Probably the only one who was not making lace was the minister’s wife. Between August 1789 and August 1790 these women and girls produced more than 40,000 yards of lace.”"

Ipswich lace has inspired the new historical novel The Lace Reader, in which women have the ability to read the future in lace patterns, by entrepreneurial Brunonia Barry who self-published the book before getting it picked up by a major publisher.

Frank Kramer on the Sale of Harvard Bookstore

"To our many friends, customers, and supporters, Yes. It's hard for even me to believe, but it's true. Harvard Book Store is for sale.

Now that the news is out in the media, I want to say a few words to you. I know many of you personally and I can honestly say that building our customer relationships has been the best part of running Harvard Book Store.

Two Bits: The People of Free Software

Chris Kelty will discuss his new book Two Bits, an examination of the people and cultures of the free software and free culture, at MIT on June 24.  The book is available as a free download too!

"In "Two Bits", Kelty investigates the history and cultural significance of Free Software, revealing the people and practices that have revolutionized not just the way software is created, but the way knowledge is produced and shared in fields including education, science, film, and music.

"I know of no other book that mixes so beautifully a deep theoretical understanding of social theory with a rich historical and contemporary ethnography of the Free Software and free culture movements. Christopher M. Kelty's book speaks to many audiences; his message should be understood by many more."--Lawrence Lessig, Stanford Law School

Christopher M. Kelty is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Rice University and Visiting Assistant Professor in the History of Science at Harvard University ."

Info:
Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 5:30pm
MIT 32-144, Ray and Maria Stata Center, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Odd image of philosopher, pioneering psychologist and theorist of religion and prolific writer William James from the Wall St. Journal:

'William . . . appears as the original dilly-dallying graduate student, hanging around Harvard Square to teach, marrying at 36 and not publishing his breakthrough work, "The Fundamentals of Psychology," until age 48."

It seems hard to argue with his approach considering what he accomplished.

Kate's Mystery Books Wins Raven

The Mystery Writers of America have given Kate Mattes of Kate's Mystery Books a Raven award for her work in advancing mystery fiction.

"Ever since opening Kate's Mystery Books in the red Victorian house at 2211 Mass. Ave. in North Cambridge (easily recognizable by the tombstone in the front yard) on Friday the Thirteenth 1983, Mattes has been spreading her enthusiasm for the crime-writing genre. She is a founding member of the National Chapter of Sisters in Crime and the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
 
Her bookstore has been honored with numerous awards including Entertainment Weekly's Hot Spot in 1991. Kate's Mystery Books has also won three Best of Boston awards and was named "A Hidden Treasure" by Yankee Magazine.  The Women's National Association of Booksellers' awarded Mattes "A Woman Who Made a Difference" award in 1987. Mattes previously hosted the monthly meetings of the MWA New England chapter for over ten years. She was also the first to promote nearly every crime writer in the Boston area by hand-selling their books to devoted customers and fans."

Harvard Book Store For Sale

Although the price is confidential if you're interested in running a local institution the Harvard Book Store is for sale. 

Frank Kramer, the long-time owner and son of the founders, is looking forward to a change when he finds a buyer to take the store into the future. "'I think it’s a good time [for me] to do other things,' said Kramer, who pledged not to sell the store until he found the right person. 'I think it’s great to have someone come along with fresh ideas for the place.''

The Harvard Book Store is definitely a landmark in Harvard Square but the book business seems fraught with challenges.  It would be interesting to know the price!

Harvard Book Store Recovers Stolen Books

Interesting video (no embedding) that shows how Harvard Book Store gained a customer from Amazon after the local shop recovered a grad student's mail-ordered books that were stolen from his lobby.  Harvard Book Store was informed of the thefts by the student and sure enough a man tried to sell the books to the store's used book buyers.  They bought the books, unable to arrest the man, returned the books to the student and informed the police.

New England Horror Writers at Pandemonium Books

A group of member-authors of the New England Horror Writers will descend on Pandemonium Books in Central Square to sign and discuss their books.  Festivities begin at 2 PM on Saturday, May 3rd.

"There'll be a broad spectrum of writers in attendance this time around -- participants include Inanna Arthen (Mortal Touch), Scott Goudsward (Trailer Trash, Shadows Over New England), Nate Kenyon (Bloodstone), Alisa M. Libby (The Blood Confession), L.L. Soares (published in Cemetery Dance, Horror Garage, Lullaby Hearse, and others), and Morven Westfield (Darksome Thirst, The Old Power Returns)"

Neil Gaiman at MIT

Neil Gaiman, author of the Sandman series and Neverwhere and other books, will be speaking at MIT next month and anyone can attend:

"New York Times bestselling author, screenwriter and comics luminary Neil Gaiman (The Sandman, Beowulf, Stardust) is scheduled to present the first Julius Schwartz Lecture in Kresge Auditorium at 7PM on May 23rd, 2008. Doors will open at 6PM.

Tickets are $8, no limit.  Cash only, general admission, no reservations. Tickets will also be available at the door the evening of the event."

You can buy tickets at Pandemonium Books (Central Square); Comicopia (Kenmore Square); New England Comics (Harvard Square, Coolidge Corner, Allston); Hub Comics (Union Square); Million Year Picnic (Harvard Square); and Comikase (Davis Square)

Revisiting the Seven Wonders of Boston

A list that includes natural environments and a person as well as man-made creations didn't appeal to purists but it's an interesting idea that didn't get enough attention. 

Here's the list again:

The Great Salt Marsh
Jordan Hall
MIT
The Big Dig
Mary Oliver
The Massachusetts Constitution
The Citgo Sign

(Image:  Citgo)

Nicholson Baker at Porter Square Books

Nicholson Baker is a novelist best known for close examinations of life books like The Mezzanine which takes place on an escalator ride and for outrage about libraries' discarding of materials.  Now he's written one of the most controversial non-fiction books of the year, Human Smoke, a re-examination of newspaper accounts in the years leading up to World War II, that argues that WWII was not a "good war."

He'll be speaking tonight at Porter Square Books at 7:00pm.

"Human Smoke" delivers a closely textured, deeply moving indictment of the treasured myths that have romanticized much of the 1930s and '40s. Incorporating meticulous research and well-documented sources -- including newspaper and magazine articles, radio speeches, memoirs, and diaries -- the book juxtaposes hundreds of interrelated moments of decision, brutality, suffering, and mercy. Vivid glimpses of political leaders and their dissenters illuminate and examine the gradual, horrifying advance toward overt global war and Holocaust."