Metaboston

Time Travel, Gondry, & MIT

Michel Gondry, director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and former MIT artist-in-residence, is working on the script for a time-travel movie set at MIT.

Exposing Your Genome Through Harvard's Personal Genome Project

A project at Harvard, the Personal Genome Project, is publishing the complete genomes of 10 volunteers including Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker.  The project is experimenting with the consequences of revealing one's genome.

The goal of the project, which hopes to expand to 100,000 participants, is to speed medical research by dispensing with the elaborate precautions traditionally taken to protect the privacy of human subjects. The more genetic information can be made open and publicly available, nearly everyone agrees, the faster research will progress.

In exchange for the decoding of their DNA, participants agree to make it available to all — along with photographs, their disease histories, allergies, medications, ethnic backgrounds and a trove of other traits, called phenotypes, from food preferences to television viewing habits.

Including phenotypes, which most other public genetic databases have avoided in deference to privacy concerns, should allow researchers to more easily discover how genes and traits are linked. Because the “PGP 10,” as they call themselves, agreed to forfeit their privacy, any researcher will have a chance to mine the data, rather than just a small group with clearance.

The project is as much a social experiment as a scientific one. “We don’t yet know the consequences of having one’s genome out in the open,” said George M. Church, a human geneticist at Harvard who is the project’s leader and one of its subjects. “But it’s worth exploring.”

A new federal law prohibits health insurers and employers from discriminating against individuals on the basis of their genetic profile. But any one of the PGP 10 could be denied life insurance, long-term care insurance or disability insurance, with no legal penalty. And no law can bar colleagues from raising an annoyed eyebrow at a PGP participant who, say, indulges in a brownie after disclosing on the Internet that she is genetically predisposed to diabetes.

"Car Talk" Cartoon

 

Cambridge's own Tom and Ray Magliozzi make the move from radio to TV cartoon but it doesn't seem like this show will last much longer than the George Wendt sitcom based on them from 1995 judging by reviews.

"Despite such a target-rich environment, the show never reaches very far for its laughs, and still falls short of its incredibly low standards. The biggest shortcoming of the show is that it seems unable to capitalize on its two greatest assets: Tom and Ray themselves. Considering that the show was built around the brothers, it's rather odd that they are given so little to do. With precious few exceptions, the entire show could be done by any two sitcom chuckleheads with a get-rich-quick scheme, from Fred and Barney to Joey and Chandler."

Disappearance of Polaroid Film Sparks Dismay and Hyperbole Among Photographers

The extinction of Polaroid film by the once-great Cambridge (now Waltham) company sparked dismay in photographers who loved the film like John Waters "who’s shot a Polaroid of each person who’s come into his apartment since 1992—friends, interviewers, deliverymen, everyone."   

And it also drove at least one photographer to a somewhat extreme comparison:  "It’s the worst disaster since Hiroshima,” shouts Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, who shoots large-format Polaroid Type 809." 

Those photos of Paris Hilton or Katie Couric  just won't be the same.  That is a disaster.  Like Hiroshima.

Tony "Iron Man" Stark: MIT Grad

And he wears the class ring to prove it in the movie.  (Image:  MIT Admissions Blog)

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)

Ricky Gervais Blogging His Movie

Ricky Gervais' blog of his first film as director This Side of the Truth (currently shooting in Lowell) is funny.

"We shot our first outdoor scene today too and a huge crowd filled the streets to watch. Usually I would hate this and get stressed out, but because the people of Lowell were so quiet and polite it was actually quite pleasant.

It was like filming in front of a studio audience. They even laughed when I fucked up.

However, the Lowell sun misbehaved a bit. Not the newspaper, the gigantic ball of burning gas 93 million miles away which was meant to drop behind a building by 3.15.

It didn't.

In fact at one point I'm sure it actually went up a bit.

So in those scenes I will be squinting like a fat little mole type creature"

(via boston.com)

The Vermont Origins of "The Forbidden Kingdom"

The new Jet Li and Jackie Chan movie The Forbidden Kingdom was written by Vermont screenwriter John Fusco who became immersed in the culture of martial arts at the Vermont Kung Fu Academy in Essex Junction:

"When Jackie Chan was reading the script and said, 'Shon dong black tiger? How did you learn about that? How did you know about "praying mantis?" Where did you learn about "flying lohan?"' I said, 'In Vermont,'" Fusco said. "And he said, 'No, no, Vermont's (all about) maple syrup, not kung fu!'" 

The writer proved Jackie Chan wrong about that, and had backup in doing so from another Vermont talent. Essex High School graduate, Morgan Benoit, now works in Los Angeles as an actor. Like Fusco, he also studied at the Vermont Kung Fu Academy, and credits that experience with changing his life.

"When I was a kid, I grew up in Vermont, and was getting in trouble as a teenager," Benoit said. "At 14 and 15, I was just hanging out with the wrong crowd. Martial arts took me away from that in put me on a positive path."

That path now appears to be leading him to success in Hollywood. He has a small roll as a villain in "The Forbidden Kingdom," and shares screen time with Jackie Chan"

MIT Card-Counters Now Teach Blackjack

The real-life MIT card-counters on whose story the movie 21 is "based" now teach students how to play .  The movie must be great marketing and they must be hoping that the public will get as excited by blackjack as they are by Texas Hold'Em.

"Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates Mike Aponte and David Irvine recounted the rise and fall of their careers as world-famous, card-counting blackjack players at their alma mater last night, as a movie based on their experiences is set to premiere.

The upcoming movie, "21," was filmed last year on Boston University's campus. The movie and a future HBO series are based on Ben Mezrich's best-selling book, "Bringing Down the House," whose characters are based on some of the MIT students involved in the team of card counters. Card counting allows players to determine their odds against those of the house depending on the cards that have already been dealt, and to bet big when cards turn in their favor. "

Dropkick Murphys St. Patrick's Day Concerts

Reviews of Dropkick Murphys St. Patrick's Day weekend concerts in Lowell and in Boston.

6 Hollywood Movies Filming in Boston in Upcoming Weeks

A number of famous actors and at least one famous director are filming or will shortly begin filming six movies in the area.  Mark Ruffalo, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ben Kingsley in Martin Scorsese's Ashecliffe (based on the  Dennis Lehane book Shelter Island)

Other movies filming: 
Jennifer Garner and Matthew McConaughey in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Kevin James in Mall Cop
Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal
Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway in Bride Wars
Bruce Willis in The Surrogates

Check out the article for more details on locations.

Inside MIT's screening of upcoming scifi movie Jumper with movie stars and physics professors

Inside MIT's screening of upcoming scifi movie Jumper with physics professors examining the plausibility of the movie's science.

"On one side of a vaunted cultural divide were Doug Liman, director of the coming movie “Jumper,” about a young man who discovers he can transport himself anywhere he wants just by thinking about it, and Hayden Christensen, the film’s star.

On the other were a pair of the institute’s physics professors, Edward Farhi and Max Tegmark, experts on the type of physics the movie was purporting to portray, who had been enlisted to view a few scenes from it and talk about science.

In the middle were hundreds of MIT students who had waited for hours to jam into a giant lecture hall known as Room 26-100 and who proved that future scientists and engineers could be just as rowdy and star-struck as the crowds outside the MTV studios in Times Square.”

Inside the Boston Barack Obama rally

Inside the Boston Barack Obama rally. 

Thousands of people stood in long lines.

"[S]upporters stood in a line that extended nearly a mile, from the World Trade Center entrance to the Fort Point Channel."

And endured the delayed starts typical of candidate rallies. 

"Although the doors opened at 8:00 p.m., the rally did not gear up until 10:20 p.m. Thousands of supporters who could not fit into the convention hall floor watched outside on closed circuit television. Many parents brought their children to witness this historic campaign event."

Sponge Bob Hits Cape Cod

What do quirky cartoon characters have against Massachusetts?

First the Mooninites wreaked havoc in Boston, now Sponge Bob Squarepants is blamed for a Cape Cod blackout. 

More on the teen trashing of the Robert Frost house in Ripton, Vermont

More on the teen trashing of the Robert Frost house in Ripton, Vermont.

"The damage left in their wake reflected some alcohol-induced mischief tinged with certain anger. Broken window, broken screen, broken dishes, broken antiques. Pieces of a broken chair used for wood in the fireplace. Gobs of phlegm spat upon hanging artwork. Vomit, urine, beer everywhere. And a blanket of yellow, pollenlike dust, discharged from fire extinguishers in parting punctuation."

**

"In conveying his disgust over this communal breach, the police sergeant employed the Frostian technique of repetition.

“'They should have known,' he said. 'They should have known.'”

(Image:  Friends of Robert Frost)

JK Rowling to speak at Harvard graduation

JK Rowling to speak at Harvard graduation.  Guess they'll have to roll out Hogwarts Square again. 

Luis Guzman likes Vermont's Cabot Cheese

MIT Sneak Preview of Jumper with Hayden Christiansen

Sneak Preview at MIT of upcoming science fiction movie Jumper with Hayden Christiansen.  Time and date:  Wednesday, January 16,  at 8:00pm in MIT building 26, Room 100,

There will be geekery and there will be science:

"The screening will be followed by a discussion panel about the film and the physics of teleportation featuring lead actor Hayden Christiansen, director Doug Liman, and MIT Physics Professors Max Tegmark and Edward Farhi."

One problem, if you're not at MIT or don't know anyone who is this might be a tough ticket to get:

"This is a FREE Sneak Preview, with preferred admission for members of the MIT Community with an MIT ID or brass rat. Tickets will be distributed in Lobby 16 at 6pm on January 16."

Cambridge's snack expert Jeremy Selwyn, founder of taquitos.net and host of The Snacking Hour on Cambridge Community Television checks out the snack offerings in the Porter Square Shaw's supermarket

Cambridge's snack expert Jeremy Selwyn, a "37-year-old Linnaean Street resident" and founder of taquitos.net and host of The Snacking Hour on Cambridge Community Television checks out the snack offerings in the Porter Square Shaw's supermarket.

"He generally prefers more gourmet products, such as the Cape Cod brand, made in Hyannis, or crispy Kettle potato chips. He also knows where to go: Porter Exchange's Japanese markets for more exotic fare; Whole Foods for a full selection of his favorite Kettle chips; and Shaw's in Porter for basics."

Be Kind Rewind director Michel Gondry on his experiences as artist-in-residence at MIT

Be Kind Rewind director Michel Gondry on his experiences as artist-in-residence at MIT:

"Gondry spent 2005 as an artist-in-residence at Nerdland. That's the name his 16-year-old son bestowed on MIT, which invited Gondry there to pursue his interest in neuroscience. "They understand the connection between science and the arts," Gondry says of the school. "It's very blurry. It was brainstorming all the time." At MIT, Gondry tried out some unusual notions about special effects. His idea was to combine digital technology and chemistry. "People are always thinking to make everything digital," Gondry says. "The key would be to do an interface between the digital, for the control, and the chemical, for the reaction. If you can get the two worlds together, you can make the best effects ever." In one experiment, for instance, Gondry mixed up a paste of cornstarch and water. He placed the paste on a plate and wired it to a speaker, then added a strobe light. By changing the speaker's frequency, he created reverb on the plate, and the concoction bubbled and spewed into strange and beautiful shapes."

Anyone who can solve (above) a Rubik's Cube with his feet ;) would have to love MIT.

Walter Lewin's Physics Lectures: He became a professor at MIT but it took the Internet to make him a star

He became a professor at MIT but it took the Internet to make him a star:  Walter H. G. Lewin's physics lectures and videos of his demonstrations have attracted substantial interest in a subject many prefer to forget.

"Professor Lewin’s videotaped physics lectures, free online on the OpenCourseWare of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have won him devotees across the country and beyond who stuff his e-mail in-box with praise."

It is more likely that YouTube videos of highlights of the lectures (example above) plus easy downloading of full lectures through iTunes are the real sources of his viral fame.

Reminder: Writers' Strike Rally with Joss Whedon in Harvard Square today

Reminder:  Writers' Strike Rally with Joss Whedon in Harvard Square today.  From the fans4writers website:

"We are planning the event for Friday, December 14th from 12 noon - 3 pm. There will be an assembly of writers, fans (and potentially celebrity guests!) at the distinguished public affairs program Cambridge Forum in the Meeting House of the historic First Parish (Unitarian Universalist) Church, 3 Church St., Cambridge, MA 02138. There, guest speakers (which so far include Joss Whedon, Rob Kutner with a few of his Daily Show crew, and myself) will say a few words of thanks to our fans and talk about the cause they're supporting. Once we are sufficiently pumped up, everyone will march with picket signs and pamphlets throu gh Harvard Square to a rally outside of the famed Harvard Lampoon building, where so many great television comedy writers cut their teeth. It will offer a chance for Boston fans and writers to walk side by side, show the media and AMPTP that we're galvanized in our cause, and we're growing."

Joss Whedon to attend writers' strike rally in Harvard Square

Joss Whedon of Buffy and Firefly fame is to attend a writers' strike rally in Harvard Square on December 14th according to plans for the rally organized by fans4writers.  The plans so far:

"We are planning the event for Friday, December 14th from 12 noon - 3 pm. There will be an assembly of writers, fans (and potentially celebrity guests!) at the distinguished public affairs program Cambridge Forum in the Meeting House of the historic First Parish (Unitarian Universalist) Church, 3 Church St., Cambridge, MA 02138. There, guest speakers (which so far include Joss Whedon, Rob Kutner with a few of his Daily Show crew, and [Jaime (Eureka) Paglia]) will say a few words of thanks to our fans and talk about the cause they’re supporting. Once we are sufficiently pumped up, everyone will march with picket signs and pamphlets through Harvard Square to a rally outside of the famed Harvard Lampoon building, where so many great television comedy writers cut their teeth."

(via HubArts)

Emerson Reference on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"

Emerson Reference on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" Season Finale:

"In the opening scene, [Rob] McElhenny wears an Emerson College t-shirt that reads "Emerson Football - Undefeated Since 1880."  McElhenny, executive producer and series creator, wore the shirt as a shout out to the Emerson students in a TV Writing class.  Through a teleconferencing hook-up, he spoke to the students on March 27.  Afterwards, students chipped in and bought McElhenny the t-shirt which he wore in the episode"

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" was particularly debased and funny this season so it's too bad the  finale came so soon.

The Emerson professor and former ABC news anchor who controversially endorsed Hillary

Carole Simpson is an Emerson professor and former ABC news anchor who somewhat controversially endorsed Hillary during a class trip to a Clinton rally.  "Simpson said she immediately regretted her actions and offered her resignation the day after the rally last month in Salem, N.H., but Emerson officials refused to accept it."  Perhaps  a bit of a faux pas if she's teaching students lessons in objectivity but not that big a deal.

She seems a bit starstruck for a Leader-in-Residence.  "Simpson tried several times to get her attention in the crowded room. When she finally caught Clinton’s eye, she gave an impromptu endorsement. 'I want to tell you tonight, because I happen to be here with my students, that I endorse you for President of the United States,' she said. 'It’s very freeing now that I’m not a journalist and I can speak my mind, and I wanted you to know I think you are the woman, and I think this is the time.'"   (via Drudge)

Kung-Fu Chicken Noodle, Mass. Ave. Bridge

Kung-Fu Chicken Noodle on the Mass. Ave. Bridge.

Another South Boston Crime Movie: New Film Planned with Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke

Another South Boston crime movie:  Real Men Cry is a new film planned with Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke (with a terrible title).  As South Boston gentrifies and Boston Harbor becomes a corporate/cultural/tourism area it seems that film-makers are committed to seeing it as a crime capital.  Maybe because New York is too fancy for Mean Streets now too.

" Hawke and Ruffalo will play childhood friends Paulie and Brian, respectively, who are forced to survive on the tough streets of South Boston through a life of petty thievery. They join a local gang of criminals, but Brian finds it hard to reconcile his work and friendship with Paulie and his relationship with his wife ([Amanad] Peet) and son."

Why the Boston Accent Ruins Boston Movies

Patrick Radden Keefe lays the blame for so many bad Boston movies at the feet of the Boston accent and finds Ben Affleck's quest for linguistic and visual authenticity in Gone Baby Gone worthy if perhaps too diligent:  "In an effort to cast aside the Hollywood airbrush, Affleck has zoomed in on the freakish underbelly of Boston and somewhat overstated the case. The result is not so much what Mean Streets did for New York as what Deliverance did for Appalachia."

Another funny line:  "Consider, if you will, the embarrassing hilarity that tends to ensue when my dear father, unapologetic owner of a medium-thick Boston brogue, returns an off bottle of wine at a restaurant because "I know the taste of cork. And this tastes like cork.""

The Movie Critic, the Black Dahlia Murder Victim and Harvard Square

Strange intersections: the story of how New York movie and theatre critic and then-Harvard student John Simon was stood up in Harvard Square by Elizabeth Short, later tragically notorious as the victim of the unsolved Black Dahlia murder in Los Angeles.

Christoph Büchel v. MASS MoCA

Working on the exhibit (image MASS MoCA)

Is Christoph Büchel's feud with MASS MoCA itself an elaborate prank/meta-commentary at the expense of the "art establishment" that the museum represents? 

That's the intriguing idea raised at the end of this article on MASS MoCa's fraught exhibition of a new work by Büchel called "Training Ground for Democracy."  The conceptual installation required the museum to build a two-story house and bring in an oil tanker, movie theatre, and mobile home before the requests became really elaborate with what became the final straw for MASS MoCA:  the "fuselage from a large jetliner, like a 767, that Mr. Büchel wanted to be burned and bomb-damaged and then hung from the ceiling."  Needless to say the budget spun out of control doubling the initial estimate to over $300,000.  Büchel now refuses to have the work exhibited unfinished and the museum plans to show it covered in tarps. 

A couple interesting points:  the museum's lawyers seem to have done a really bad job with no clear agreement governing the terms of the work and expenses and in this situation the museum seems to have become the employee of Büchel  or, more positively, the artist itself in assembling all the materials through its workers with little direct involvement by the Büchel.

Fifteen Beacon Hires Buddy Cianci

Buddy Cianci, the former Providence mayor due to be released from federal prison at the end of May, will get his first job "outside" at the expensive Beacon Hill hotel XV Beacon.  Cianci who led the renaissance of Providence before a RICO conviction will work in the hotel's sales and marketing department while living in a Boston halfway house.

Diana Nyad on Kathrine Switzer

It's been a few weeks since the Marathon but this short radio piece by marathon swimmer Diana Nyad on the significance of Kathrine Switzer's 1967 run of the Boston Marathon as the first woman entrant (under her initials K.V.) is worth a listen.

John Edwards' Daughter's Life at Harvard Law

Nice snapshot of Cate Edwards' life as law student, daughter of a presidential candidate, and proprietor of NY shopping website Urbanista Online.

Cape Wind Book Skeptical of Project Opponents

Mashpee resident Wendy Williams's new book (with Robert Whitcomb) takes a look at what lies behind the controversy over the Cape Wind project to build a wind farm  in Nantucket Sound off the Cape.  She claims that a prime reason for  the project's uncertain status despite the increasing need for clean energy is the adamant opposition of rich summer residents like Ted Kennedy, Bunny Mellon, Bill Koch, Walter Cronkite and David McCullough to the disruption of their views.  An interesting article about what looks to be a fascinating book.  In some ways not surprising as NIMBY is often a key motivation in opposition to all kinds of necessary projects and contemporary windmills have a bit of a cold science-fiction appearance that contrasts sharply with the old-fashioned Cape and Islands aesthetic.

Manny Would Like to Work at Home

"Claiming that a relaxed atmosphere and a chance to create his own schedule would greatly benefit his productivity, Red Sox left-fielder Manny Ramirez has asked team officials if he can play the remainder of the season from the comfort of his own home. 'My client just can't seem to focus in his current place of work,' said Ramirez's agent Greg Genske, noting that Fenway Park's loud, boisterous atmosphere and high-stress, pressure-packed environment are 'not ideal working conditions for anyone' ..." continued at the Onion.

Celtics' Legal Problems

Interesting review (on blog and pod of recent Celtics-related (unfortunate) interactions with the law including Sebastian Telfair's arrest:

Point guard Sebastian Telfair, who had a disappointing season after the Celtics traded the #7 pick in the 2006 NBA draft to obtain him, was arrested by the NYPD last week after officers, who had pulled Telfair over for speeding, found a loaded .45-caliber Colt semiautomatic handgun in his car. The gun, which was not registered in Telfair's name and does appear to be his, was under the passenger seat. A victim of a robbery last fall, Telfair has been charged with felony second-degree possession of a weapon since under New York law, "when drugs or weapons are found in a car, everybody in the vehicle is charged with the related offense, unless a single person admits it belongs to him."

Dewey, Cheatham and Howe, Harvard Square

DonBoy looks up and notices Car Talk operating right above his head in Harvard Square from their Dewey Cheatham and Howe offices (with a nice picture for you to spot it in the future).

Green Monster Games: Curt Schilling's Video Game Company

Curt Schilling is turning out to be something of a modern-day renaissance man.  In addition to learning Japanese in order to better get along with Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima, the pitcher is also the founder of a video game company with the not very original name of Green Monster Games.  The company's first game will use artwork from comic book artist Todd McFarlane and fantasy writer R.A. Salvatore.  Interestingly, the studio is focusing on the very challenging massively multiplayer online game field which has caused problems for game veterans like Wil Wright's Sims and games based on well-known brands like The Matrix.  This seems like such a challenge that the folks over at Terra Nova assume it must be passion rather than profit-seeking driving Schilling's investment.

Scarlett Johanson, Hasty Pudding

Scarlett Johanson made a brief appearance in a frigid and frozen Harvard Square, along with a few Bentleys and a parade in connection with her Hasty Pudding award.  The most interesting thing is that the Hasty Pudding Club can actually get famous people to show up to get the "award" from this group whose emphasis on their drag performances seems like such a dated relic of Harvard's all-male past.

Unusual Subway Assault and Battery Case

In this unusual case, prosecutors accused Josiah Spaulding III, son of the president of the Wang Center for the Performing Arts in Boston and grandson of the founder of the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, of assault and battery in a racially motivated confrontation at a T stop.  Spaulding was acquitted of the charges connected with racial motivation but convicted of assault and battery.

Weezer Singer Cuomo Back at Harvard

Weezer singer-songwriter Rivers Cuomo takes a break from the geek-rock life to return to Harvard on the long path to a diploma that took him from a 1994 freshman year at a California community college to a 1995 transfer to Harvard and various breaks due to health, band life and other issues.  Cuomo lives in a dorm room that the New York Times calls "almost comically austere" and its location in Sarah Whitman Hall on the Radcliffe Quadrangle away from the main Harvard campus probably also lends an off-center feeling. Only a few months to go!

From Harvard to 'House'

TV show House, a med drama from Fox,  gets some of its knowledge from writer and consultant Dr. David Foster, formerly of Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Hospital.

The article tells how Foster made the difficult decision to abandon cold New England winters for Southern California and show business.

David Lynch, October 1 at Emerson College

David Lynch, director of movies like Blue Velvet and the great Mulholland Drive will be speaking at Emerson College on Saturday, October 1st about another interest of his Transcendental Meditation.  Should be interesting and weird.  Tickets are free but you have to know someone at Emerson or be a student at a local college.

If you can't find a way to get in there's always his website.  Although he charges for access to some parts, others are free, like his weather report.

Muggings in Cambridge: November 2004

A recent spate of muggings has raised concerns in Cambridge.

Minnie Driver Sings, Paradise Rock Club, Boston, November 23

Actress Minnie Driver, best known from movies like Good Will Hunting and Circle of Friends , is launching a singing career.  She'll be at the Paradise Rock Club,  969 Commonwealth Ave.,  Boston (617-562-8800) at 7pm on November 23rd.  According to this piece she is actually relaunching her original entertainment career (she'd been singing since 15) that she had dropped when movie parts came along.  Her new album is called Everything I've Got in My Pocket and you can listen to clips here.  Her record is released by Zoe Records, the rock label at Cambridge-based Rounder Records.

Eddie Izzard in Boston, November 18th

British comedian Eddie Izzard will be at the Borders bookstore at 10 School Street in Downtown Crossing in Boston at 7:00pm November 18th in support of the release of his live performance DVDs  Unrepeatable, Definite Article and Glorious.  If you don't know him you can see him on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on November 9, and Conan O'Brien on November 16.

Robin Quivers in Bad Bird-Plane Incident

Robin Quivers of the Howard Stern show survived an unfortunate encounter between the plane that she was taking from Boston back to New York and a suicidal bird. You can read about the incident (she survived) on Howard Stern's website. (The story is safe for work but the rest of site isn't).  Robin was visiting her nephew at MIT.

Boston's Celebrities (Not Counting Matt Damon and Conan O'Brien)

Somewhat enigmatic roundup of Boston-based celebs (not the ones born here who've left or the ones who spent a year here during junior high who usually grace local magazine covers.)