Writer
Mark R. Jahnke
Latest Content
Cutlery on Porcelain
As it has for most of this summer, Tajikistan continues to challenge my preconceptions of it as the day passes. My stomach growls and my mouth grows dry, but most restaurants remain open, and Rudaki avenue remains a vibrant cross-section of Tajik society.
An Evening in Tajikistan
The sun is hot but the air dry, a light breeze floating through the fountains outside many of the buildings. Horns sound, tires squeal, but among it all I can still hear the trickle of the water through the jubes that line the roads like open storm drains. A few days ago, I accidentally fell into one, which was quite an entertaining sight for the fifty or so Tajiks who were sitting nearby, watching me with amusement.
Reflections on the Boston Bombings and Manhunt
When I first learned that the suspects of the Boston Marathon bombings were young, white men, I was secretly happy. With images of bearded, dark-skinned Arab men often associated with terrorism, the captured paler faces were a breath of fresh air amid a very tense week.
Spring Break Postcard: Tea in Doha
When choosing a restaurant overseas, the fewer English words on the menu, the better. I don't know what it was that I had for lunch that first day in Doha, Qatar, but it was delicious, a mixture of herbs and stewed chicken over rice with fresh flatbread, accompanied by traditional tea.
Thirty-Three Arches
There is something both timeless and eerily beautiful about arches in Safavid architecture. The elegant ogees appear in both two ...
Bad Trend Alert: Email Signatures
The inspirational quote? Yes, Gandhi is amazing. Yes, there is some providence in the fall of a sparrow. And yes, it is, in fact, tomorrow in Australia.
New Shuttle!
The inaugural 1636'er of the 2012-2013 school year offered a pleasant surprise to those traveling to the Quad last night ...
Eight Questions With: Jujubee
FM: We’ve read that you’re quite the LGBT historian. Are there any highlights of that history in the Boston area?
Imagining Future Trends
Tired of waiting around to see if windbreakers will come back in style? FM’s team of sartorial savants took a look into their crystal ball to bring you the future of culture. This is what they saw:
Cabot Confederates with Quad in Currier Conflict
A fifth House has joined the Adams-Currier Conflict: in a signed statement, Cabot House announced its alliance with Currier. In the statement, Cabot asserted that "We, the people of Cabot, will not stand for such injustices and must act to impede this infringement upon our Faust given and unalienable Rights, among these being Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Mather Declares War On Adams
At 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, following Adams House's failure to rescind its Declaration against Currier House, Mather House's mysterious leader, know only by the alias "General Mistie," released a formal Declaration of War against Adams House.
Mather Joins the Adams-Currier-Pfoho Melée
In a conflict which has expanded in the course of a single day to involve an unprecedented three Houses, a fourth House has now joined the alliance against Adams House. Led by a mysterious individual known only by the alias "General Mistie," Mather House Committee issued a "Decree to Save the Tree" to declare war against Adams if they continue hostilities against Currier House.