The ladies of Meravelha present two concerts in March in honor of Hildegard von Bingen. Come and check them out!
The Fourth Doctor: a Celebration of Hildegard von Bingen
Tag: MIT
Celebrating the Community
Geoff and I may not live in Cambridge anymore, but we still work there and it is my heart-home. That’s why when a giant fire blew up in the middle of the city at the end of 2016 it felt not only like a giant slap in the face, we anxiously watched as people we knew, first responders primarily, fought to save the community we love. Some of the people displaced by the fire turned out to be from MIT. Nobody we knew personally, but the MIT and Cambridge communities rallied around them.
Collective memories are short, especially for tragedy. That fire was at the beginning of December. Other things have happened since then, and this next week is going to be a busy one in the US. Happily, there are still benefits happening in and around Cambridge for the 125 people displaced by those fires. Displaced is a really clean, clinical term for, “lost everything in a raging inferno from HELL.” I know, I had to deal with the aftermath of the fire that killed my grandmother. Once you’ve been through a fire you never, ever forget.
This weekend, if you’re around Cambridge and you can, help these folks out. I can pretty much promise you they had the worst holiday of their lives, and they’re going to be rebuilding for years. Here’s a really enjoyable way to lend a hand.
There’s even going to be time to go, enjoy yourself, and get home in time for the Sherlock S4 finale.
See you there.
~Kelly
May the Fourth be With You and other things unrelated to Game of Thrones
We’ve been writing a lot about A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones lately, and that’s fabulous. You have been a super audience and excellent with the comments, reading, and sharing. But as today is May the Fourth and there are other cool things going on I’m going to pop in to add a post that, while awesome and geeky, has nothing to do with Game of Thrones. Not even a little.
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MIT Music: Concerts and a Job
Regular readers and anyone who’s perused my resume probably know that Geoff and I are happily employed at MIT. I am also involved in the arts here as a member of the Artists Beyond the Desk committee. It’s a great group and is regularly responsible for concerts of staff who are also musicians, writers, actors, etc. It allows us to showcase our artistic skills that are in addition to those we wield behind the desk.
There is an ABD concert coming up this week, an MIT Women’s Chorale concert on the horizon, as well as a music job opening you should know about. Read on for more details.
The science and history of rogue waves, part one
In what could prove to be a huge step forward in predicting how rogue waves are formed, and thus a tool for saving lives at sea, researchers at MIT have found a way to give 2 to 3 minutes warning of an incoming rogue wave.
I know it probably sounds stupid, but it’s hard for me to explain how excited I am about this research. So much so that I am tempted to go speak with the researchers sometime (living in Cambridge does have its advantages). But to understand why I am geeking out about this, it might help for me to go into some detail about what we know about rogue waves, and how they have affected ships at sea, as well as oil rigs, lighthouses, and coastlines. This is one of those times that my love of history (especially maritime history) and my love of science come together.
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AIR, Empty Shoes, and Coming Out
I’ve been thinking for a very, very long time about writing this post. Years, actually. Part of it has been the courage of Jenny Lawson, The Bloggess, that’s allowed me to even think about doing it, part of it has been the necessity of living a life that is so controlled by this somewhat hidden part of myself, and part of it is that I feel more and more like I’m lying by not being open.
Truthfully, there’s still a huge stigma. I have lost at least one job because of it. I have family who flatly refused to believe me when I told them. Interestingly, it was an email I received from a friend at Harvard yesterday that made me realize that not only did I want to spread the word about the contents of her email, it was the perfect venue through which I could finally open up and come out of the mental illness closet.
My name is Kelly Hopkins and I am mentally ill. I have Major Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and PTSD.
Um, apparently this is actually happening
I’m still not entirely clear on how this happened. But apparently it did. OK, technically it hasn’t happened yet, but it’s going to happen because it’s in calendars and there’s advertising. And I’m going to be rehearsing. Perhaps I should explain.
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October and November concerts for you!
There has been a lot going on in the last few weeks. I’m still sorting through the luggage, photos, and general wreckage of running around like a decapitated chicken. But! I have concert news for you that involves me, friends, coworkers, and perfect strangers that I feel the need to bring you. So, I’m setting aside the work that needs to be done to share the details with you. Please make sure to see at least some of these, they’re going to be great!
“Sir Ernie of Fall River”, or how a Portuguese MIT professor helped bring about the Iran deal
There are so few Americans of Portuguese descent that are seen on the national stage, much less the international stage, and Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz has managed to do both. He is one of the few people in politics and policy circles that I would totally go all fanboy over if I ever had the chance to meet him.
Why? you might ask. After all, this guy is probably more famous for his hair in American culture than for anything else about him.
Well, let me tell you a bit about him.
#WheresRory goes to @HarvardMuseum- The Glass Flowers
Rory has made his way through much of HMNH at this point. In my previous posts, he’s seen much of what the museum has to offer and even got a “backstage entrance”. Thus far we haven’t seen Rory’s visit to the crown jewel of the HMNH collection, the Glass Flowers.
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The Books are Taking Over... 