PBPS Adventures 2014

PRISE. BLISS. PRIMO. SHARP. An Unforgettable Summer at Harvard.

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PBPS Crushes #10

So by now I think everybody’s seen the abstract books—aren’t they fantastic? I wanted to submit a “crush” just to thank the abstract team for all the work they did, but also specifically Wayne, who was single-handedly responsible for the book’s formatting and spent forever, by himself, getting everything to look beautiful by hand and staying up late multiple times to deal with formatting problems.  I think everyone in PBPS ought to know how much work the team put in.

Thanks for the great job, everybody!

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Tanglewood

Harrison Besser

On July 27th, about 50 PBPS fellows made the trek to the BSO’s iconic summer home, Tanglewood, in Lenox, MA. After a bout of rain on the bus ride there, the fellows were excited to arrive to a perfectly clear and sunny sky at the music center. In true Tanglewood fashion, groups of fellows gathered together on blankets and lawn chairs, sat outside the Koussevitzky Music Shed and listened to some high caliber classical music. The concert opened with Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto with Gabriela Montero. The performance was exciting to say the least; from the dramatic opening all the way to the electric final movement, Montero had fellows and patrons alike at the edge of their seats. After a short intermission, the genre of music changed to scenes and overtures from Verdi’s operas. The contrast and use of choir with orchestra was welcome and definitely gave the fellows a unique BSO experience.

However, the classical music is only half (some fellows may argue less) of an outing to Tanglewood. Lenox, MA is an artist’s town with great, albeit expensive, shops, bakeries and restaurants. Some groups of fellows broke off before the concert and ventured in to see what the historic town had to offer. Other fellows decided to enjoy the natural scenery of Tanglewood. A chance to get outside of the hustle and bustle of Cambridge and into the clean air Berkshires was a treat for all of us. Overall, the fellows took advantage of all that Tanglewood had to offer and made the most of a great day of classical music (or peaceful napping) and quality bonding time with friends.

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Whale Watch

Cindy Zhao

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  (<-- these are waves!! everything here is now under the sea)

Note: If you want to read about just the whale watching, feel free to skip this first section.

TL;DR: AWOO PBPS went whale watching and you either missed out or got to see lots of really cool whales.

For those of you who don't (and also I guess for those of you who do) know Raynor Kuang, I highly recommend you ask him for a story. Because when you give a mouse a cookie, he actually just wants entertainment and I found out a few weeks ago that when one is bored and asks Raynor for a story, he just starts telling you about how a whale walked into a bar and then makes this "AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" noise for a while. I'm not very used to having to write about events somewhere where people might actually read it, so I'm not that great at conveying onamonapias or stories in words (actually who am I kidding, I don't tell great stories in person either)... but I thought it was pretty funny (and, @ the people who do the People of PBPS stuff, if you ever do one for Raynor and need video footage of his whale joke, I have a tidbit of a snapchat video left that I can provide as bonus material).

Anyway! That leads me to the PBPS Whale Watching Adventure! To confess, the story I shared above really isn't perfectly relevant, but since Apu offered for me to write something, I figured I'd share that memory with all of you guys too so we can all note Raynor as the guy who makes amusing whale noises.

Sunday, July 13th: 

**1:30 PM: PBPS hops on a boat (the hopping was made better, as all things are, with Ben and Jerry's). 

**2:00 PM: PBPS waits for an hour. 

**3:00 PM: PBPS sees !!!!! whaleSSSS* !!!!!!!! *because there was more than one!

**4:00 PM: A good chunk of PBPS whale watchers crash, and I play a game of seeing how many marshmallows I can stack on top of sleeping PBPS people before they notice. (I promise I'm kidding. Anyone who knows me well can tell you that I would eat the marshmallows before they got stacked on top of anyone.)

At least an hour later: We get back home!

**Times are rough estimates.

In all seriousness, this was actually a pretty cool trip. As was outlined above, sometime on a hot and sunny Sunday afternoon in July, we stepped off the shore of Boston to head 25 miles or so (I think?) out to sea, where the whales were bountiful and beautiful and big. Wearing a dress on a ridiculously windy ride was probably not the smartest idea--but I usually have bad ideas anyways so it's okay and all is well that ends well, but the ride out to sea was really nice in having time to look out into the never-ending waves and spend time with the other PBPS fellows who know how to spend their time wisely on a Sunday afternoon. Our hairs might have gotten mussed up, but at least ours were mussed up together, which helped to perfectly set up the excitement when we did see the whales!! If you read the anecdote up above, maybe you'll observe that I don't really know too much about whales other than through whale jokes and Finding Nemo, so I was super excited to see them. I was a little skeptical at first of whether or not we would see whales, but we saw so many that we were even able to share the lovely sight with another whale-watching boat that kind of piggy-backed off of our sightings and followed us around for an hour...although I guess I don't blame them, because if I were them I'd want to follow around the boat that saw a lot of whales too.

After all the excitement, most of us were pretty exhausted, so off, off, and away! we went to sleep. I'm not really sure what most other people did or if anything happened because although the pictures might indicate otherwise, I crashed shortly thereafter too and woke up as a sleepy, salty mess. So hopefully no one had any marshmallows that got stacked on top of me because plenty of terrible pictures and stories already exist of me sleeping.

AWOO, thank you to the PBPS and Greg and the PA's for making this trip possible!

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Stage Fighting Workshop

Ian Dunn

Today things became physical as we learned the fundamentals of stage combat. Lelaina and Ted taught us how to push, slap, punch, hair-pull, choke, ear-yank, curb-stomp, kick, shove, block, and KO; of course it was all just an act! I learned that the most crucial responsibility in stage combat rests not with the aggressor, but rather with the receiver who must make a fake punch to the face look convincing. Above you can see me learning how to "knock the wind out of" Lelaina, Apu smiling ear-to-ear after "getting curb-stomped" and Lelaina acting out an uncomfortably realistic assault scene. Thanks to Lelaina for organizing this!

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Distinguished Speaker Series: Shah Khoshbin -- 07/29/14

On Tuesday, PRISE fellows had the chance to listen to Professor Shah Khoshbin give his acclaimed lecture, "A Neurologist's Portrait of Van Gogh."  After detailing his years as a student where his passion in art and science developed, he shared his fascination with the brain and creativity with us by exploring a topic that combined the two together--epilepsy and art.  

Citing evidence that many religious figures and creative geniuses had symptoms of epilepsy, Professor Khosbin argued that perhaps, it was their neurological condition that led to their incredible religious experiences or their proliferation of artistic works.  Van Gogh, who painted hundreds of works and wrote detailed letters to his companions about every one of them, was his prime example.  Who would have known that a disease often portrayed as physically limiting could unleash such unlimited creative powers in the mind?  

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PBPS Crushes #9

Dear Alien King,

You just take me out of this world, you know that?  I hold on for dear life every time you speak.  The way your voice just slightly changes registers when you explain something makes me shiver.  I want you to explain to me how love works…with a powerpoint presentation of at least twenty slides.  Oh yeah—that sexy white on black font you use just tears me apart.  When you talk about “orders of magnitude”…well, I wish you would show me your orders of magnitude.  Your big baby eyes are like twin white dwarfs shining deep into my soul.  All I can fantasize about is taking off your thick frame glasses and looking you face to face.  Don’t you know how much you (dark) matter to me? Your fashion is absolutely extraordinary—those Banana Republic pants make chills run down my spine.  When I heard you’d met the president face to face (twice), all I could think of was how jealous I was of him.  Will you teach me your theory of panspermia?

PS This is my favorite picture of you <3

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PBPS Crushes #8

Curren Iyer.

Curren. You know, your first name is spelled like curry, which makes complete sense to me because you’re so hot ;) I want - no, need - you to spice up my life. Hurry up big boy. 

I mean, who can resist those dark locks of manly hair? That little dimple when you’re laughing at something you said? That incredibly bouncy walk which shows how much you love life?

I need you, iyernman. I want you to bring that iron with you when you get here - I’ve heard rumors about it, and I’m waiting to see the real deal.

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PBPS Crushes #7

Kevin Ma - dem calves tho

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PBPS Crushes #6

Shirley Mo can I have some “Mo”

—G.

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PBPS Got Talent - 07/25/14

What's more ratchet than a Friday night at PBPS Got Talent hosted by the most ratchet (ratchet-est?) emcee, Jonathan Roberts?! 

The answer is nothing. 

From rock bands to classical duets and everything in between, PBPS proved that we indeed have talent, creativity, and humor. Thanks to the performers, judges, event organizers, and everyone who came! The program was as follows:

Ryan & Andrew - Band

Jen Guidera - Acoustic Jams

The KangaREU's - Band

Lelaina Vogel & Stephen Mackereth - Comedy Routine

Wayne Zhao & Jennifer Tu - Flute Solo with Piano

Lorena Benitez & Lily Zhang - Opera with Piano

Vimal Konduri & Stephen Mackereth - Singing with Piano and Poetry

Ryan Song & Heather desJardins-Park - Singing with Piano & Cello

Kelly Zhang & Jack Huang - Singing with Piano

Avi Saraf & Lily Zhang - Dancing

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People of PBPS: Jenna Zhang

What’d you do this weekend?

I went home this weekend, to Acton, MA.  It’s 40 min west of here, but it’s not Western Mass (i.e. the middle of nowhere). Fun fact: Greg and I are from the same school district!

Since you’re from nearby, do you have a favorite restaurant in the square?

Felipe’s is always a classic. For a more formal occasion, Spice I guess. Though if I were to go on a date I’d go to Felipe’s.

If you could go to dinner Felipe’s with anybody, who would it be?

Maya Angelou. I’ve never been a humanities person, always lotsa science, but her poetry is on point.

Why does her poetry speak to you, as opposed to, say, Shakespeare?

Shakespeare does NOT speak to me, that’s a whole different language. Her poetry manage to achieve meaning without coming off as pretentious, patronizing, or contrived.

Special talent?

I play ukelele. I can do a cartwheel too!

Favorite woodland creature?

Bunny, because my sister is year of the rabbit.  While I’m year of the pig. That’s why when my mom texts me she includes little pig emojis.  (“Shoutout to PBPS mothers part 2” - Apu)

Most embarrassing moment?

So this is almost too long, should I do like top 5 or top 3? Here I got 2 (“I’m surprised, I thought it would be more than 2” - Kevin Yang).

When I was in 1st grade, this kid in my class convinced me I had a hole in my cheek (it was a dimple), and that I was dying. I literally cried for like hours. First I decked him, so I got sent to the principal’s office. Then he had to call in the nurse (“for you, or for Ben?” - Apu, “ME!” - JZ) to convince me that I was not dying. But I was young though, so it’s okay!

On my 16th birthday my sister had to go to the ER because she needed stitches. So I’m sitting with her in the ER, trying to be there for her, y’know? They pull out the anesthetic needle and I just pass out, topple off the ER table, and fracture my elbow. I wake up in the NMRI.  (“Who ended off worse?” - Apu) Probably me, flesh wound vs. bone wound. I had to wear a brace for a month and a half. When I walk past counters I still experience ghost pain.

Since you and Kevin Yang are both from relatively close by, did you two know each other before coming to Harvard?

We knew of each other. Kevin played in the Boston Youth Symphony, and he was good friends with two guys named Eliot and David, who went to my school. When we got into Harvard, Eliot placed a large sum of money betting that we would get married. I told David this, and he was like, your children would be perfect together. And then we got placed into the same entryway, what are the odds. But we wouldn’t get married because I hate math and Kevin is allergic to peanuts.

Advice to a large group of people?

My advice would be don’t listen to my advice. You get a lot of advice, but it’s hard to sift through it. Sometimes you have to live life and make mistakes for yourself.

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Religion, Faith and Philosophy

Radhika Rastogi

‘Religion, Faith, and Philosophy’ is a weekly discussion series about ways in which we, as students, scientists, and young adults, think about religion. Our topics have been issues concering faith and reason, science, and authority. Additionally, we recently hosted an interfaith panel, in which fellows from different religious backgrounds shared their perspectives, answering questions about traditions, beliefs, and their personal experiences. These conversations allow us to challenge our beliefs and better understand why we think the way we do.

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PBPS CRUSHES: Update

We try to post crush submissions within a day.  However, there was a recent glitch in which some of the submissions unfortunately got deleted.  If your submission hast been put up yet, then it most likely got deleted.  But fear not! Resubmit your post again, and share your love with us all!  Sorry for the inconvenience!

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Pie Eating Contest - 07/19/2014

Who doesn't love pie?  No, I'm not talking about 3.1415926...you get the picture, although that's also a mouthful.  I'm talking about delicious all-American (sorry Cambridge Fellows) apple pie!  Today a group of PBPS fellows put their love of pie - as well as their stomachs - to the test by entering the inaugural PBPS Pie Eating Contest!  Even Greg Llacer wanted a "piece" of the action!

The competition was fierce, and it was soon evident that some had bitten off more than they could chew.  Nicholas Larus-Stone and Jenny Walsh presided over the contest as referees, carefully watching over the contestants.  Tactics varied greatly, ranging from Leslie submerging himself too deeply in pie that he blinded himself with frosting, to Greg's attempt to break through the pie crust with his nose.  In the end, it all came down to the ingenuity of Daniel Windham, who cunningly flipped the pie crust over, removing the tin, to make it easier to take down the pie, as well as first place.  Kudos to Daniel, as well as to Greg, who won fan favorite!

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Scott Kominers' Math Rap! - 07/22/14

Here's a video of the math rap that Scott did at the conclusion of his lecture - apologies for the poor sound quality!

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PBPS Crushes #5

DARWIN

What happened to Darwin’s facebook? I need Darwin pictures to drool over before I sleep. 

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PBPS Crushes #4

John Gee can I have the Gee