Around Town
Oh, Sushi.
I am too old for this. Last week I arrived at a house party only to spend the first 20 minutes putting the finishing touches on my gender studies junior tutorial syllabus. Tonight is squishy, slushy, miserable, the kind of night that will leave the streets shiny, lethal disco floors by morning. It’s 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, I’m trudging alone down Mass Ave on the way to Eliot Street, and I have never more deeply regretted the existence of New England.
The Grafton Era
Harvard Square is a place where even the threatened passing of a Dunkin’ Donuts can prompt student outrage; passion for favorite food haunts runs deep. While both students and restaurants in the Square turn over as fast as patties at Tasty Burger, some local favorites persist.
A Bedtime Lamontstory
Though reports vary as to what it’s like to spend a night in Lamont, it’s clear that as the night drags into morning, the library ambience changes drastically. “I think there is a certain hour when the atmosphere becomes one of desperation,” said Ariel R. Walzer ’15.
Closing the Gates and Opening the Conversation
Two years out, many former Occupy Harvard participants challenge the notion that Occupy “failed.”
Chess with Blitzstein & Elkies: The Pawn is Mightier than the Sword
Both Blitzstein and Elkies are known to be terrific chess players. Blitzstein is ranked as an “Expert” by the US Chess Federation, placing him in the 98th percentile of tournament players. Elkies is ranked even one step higher as a “Master,” and specializes in solving and composing chess problems. Both have been playing chess for as long as they can remember, but the serious mathematicians have found it difficult to find time for their favorite game at Harvard. FM asked the two to revive their passion for a quick match of speed chess.
Blitzstein vs. Elkies Chess Game
Harvard professor Joseph K. Blitzstein makes a move in a chess game against fellow Harvard professor Noam Elkies.
Square Personalities: Owen from Chameleon
Owen was the first licensed body piercer in Cambridge of Chameleon Tattoo and Body Piercing in Harvard Square.
Machu Picchu Restaurante Turistico
Machu Picchu in Union Square boasts an authentic Peruvian cuisine and atmosphere.
Creating a Co-op
The tofu sizzles on a frying pan next to a pot of steaming miso soup. On the cutting board, kale leaves are being chopped up in preparation for a salad, and an electric mixer is forging its way through batter for vegan chocolate chip cookies. Amid the sizzling and chopping, students engage in a passionate discussion about the future of solar power.
Get Out: Union Square
A 20-minute bus ride or equally time-consuming trek to Somerville’s Union Square may not seem worth the effort, but this destination is a hidden gem.
Square Personalities: Chameleon's Owen
Long hair, full beard, a hoop in his septum, a flower stud below his lip. Upwards of six feet tall and quite thin, he wears a black t-shirt revealing two arms sleeved in dark blue/black ink tattoos, with open circles exposing each elbow. On the knuckle of his right pinky is the letter “O,” and the rest of his name is spelled out across the next three fingers: O-W-E-N.
