One of the people I feel very privileged to be friends with is Katherine Bryant (LJ: saxikath). And this weekend, I have many reasons to wish her good luck. But first, some background.

Katherine Bryant Solves a Sunday Times Puzzle Photo copyright © Michael A. Burstein. All rights reserved.

I first met Katherine in my sophomore year of college, when she was in her first year. We met through the Harvard-Radcliffe GIlbert & Sullivan Players' production of Princess Ida. We were both in the chorus, and as it so happens, the director chose to make us a G&S couple, so that gave us a chance to talk. Even back in college, I was impressed with her quick wit, her love of wordplay, and her ability to solve puzzles. (Embarrassed yet, Katherine? Be glad I didn't mention your appearance on Jeopardy!)

Our own lives caused us to drift apart for a few years until we found ourselves working together at the same company. During that time, Katherine became very well-known in the puzzling community. For one thing, she served as the editor of The Enigma, the monthly magazine of the National Puzzlers' League. And for another...

For the past few years, she's consistently scored in the top ten at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. The ACPT is known as Stamford to many people, since until this year it was held at a hotel in Stamford, Connecticut. This year it's been moved to Brooklyn, where it will probably remain for the foreseeable future.

Katherine was already placing in the top ten at the ACPT even before we started working together in December 2005. But after she returned from the 2006 ACPT, I decided that I wanted to help her out. So since March of 2006 or so, I've taken on the role of being Katherine's personal "puzzle trainer." Essentially, every workday morning I've made a copy of that day's New York Times crossword puzzle, and then timed her on it. Katherine routinely finishes the puzzle in anywhere from two to six minutes. On occasion, it's taken her a little longer, but those occasions are few and far between.

Last year, Katherine went to the 2007 ACPT and returned with triumphant news. Although she had not placed in the top three, she had managed to complete every puzzle of the competition without a single error. (As her trainer, I was busy that weekend too, reciting Psalm 121 over and over. Did that help? Who knows? But in the words of the old joke, it couldn't hurt.)

This weekend, Katherine will once again be competing in the ACPT, and I'll be staying at home, rooting for her in my "Team Bryant" warm-up jacket. I hope she manages to get to the top three, and then win, because then I'll get to check that off my list of life goals: have a friend who wins the ACPT. But even if she doesn't, I'm still delighted that she's allowed me to be a part of it over the past two years.

Good luck, saxikath!

Katherine Bryant Solves Andrew Greene's Puzzle Photo copyright © Michael A. Burstein. All rights reserved.

Tags: conventions, harvard, personal, puzzles

Back in January 2004, the New York Times reported that the Danilov Monastery in Russia wanted Harvard to return the bells which have hung in the Lowell House bell tower for about 80 years. I was one of the bell-ringers in college, and so I wrote a letter to the Times, supporting the notion that Harvard should get to keep the bells. After all, had Harvard not bought them from Charles Crane, they would have been melted down and would no longer exist.

As it stands, though, the agreement made between Harvard and the Russian Orthodox Church was for Harvard to return the bells. However, the monastery agreed to cast a brand new set of bells for Harvard, so Lowell House could still have bells in its bell tower. I saw in today's Boston Globe website the following AP report:

July 25, 2007
MOSCOW -- Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II yesterday consecrated 18 newly cast brass bells destined for Harvard University in a trade that will return the originals to Russia nearly 80 years after they were saved from Stalin's religious purges. The originals have hung for decades in the towers at Lowell House and Harvard Business School's Baker Library in Cambridge. American industrialist Charles R. Crane bought the bells from the Soviet government in 1930, saving them from being melted down in purges that left thousands of monks executed and churches and monasteries destroyed or turned into prisons and orphanages.

So how do I feel about this? Well, the old bells had character and history, but so will the new ones. As long as Lowell House has bells in its bell tower, I'm happy. I just hope I get invited back for whatever celebrations Harvard plans to inaugurate the new bells.

More information can be found at
Patriarch consecrates bells for Harvard (Boston.com)
Lowell Bells Get Russian Farewell (The Harvard Crimson)

Tags: boston, harvard, personal

Yesterday evening, I went to the Harvard Coop to hear one of my college classmates, Austin Grossman, read from his first novel, Soon I Will Be Invincible.

I didn't actually know Grossman in college, but I spent freshman year in the same entry with his twin brother Lev. I did meet Grossman once, at one of our reunions, but it was by accident. I thought he was his brother, and I greeted him as such. He corrected me, and told me that Lev wasn't actually at the reunion. I apologized for the mistake, and moved on.

A few weeks ago, I heard about Grossman's first novel, and from the description it sounded like he had written it specifically for me to enjoy. The novel is set in a world of super-powered beings, and it focuses on the evil and brilliant Doctor Impossible and the good and powerful cyborg Fatale. Doctor Impossible has come up with another scheme to take over the world, and Fatale has to learn how to become a superhero. The book has a fully-realized set of superbeings, and from the description it feels influenced by Kurt Busiek's Astro City and Brad Bird's The Incredibles.

So when I discovered that Grossman's book tour was taking him back to Cambridge, I decided to attend. The bookseller who organized the reading gave Grossman a flattering introduction, and then Grossman began to read.

Austin Grossman Reads From His Book Grossman reads from his novel (June 26, 2007). Photo copyright ©2007 by Michael A. Burstein.

Grossman is a very funny reader. He doesn't read from his book like an author, but he doesn't do it like an actor, either. The book is written in first-person, and Grossman takes on the persona of Doctor Impossible as he reads, all the while still managing to keep an ironic detachment, as if to reassure the audience that he really is a nice guy. (And, no, I don't understand what I mean by this either.) I laughed quite a few times, as did others in the audience.

After his reading, Grossman called for questions. I asked about his comic book influences, and I wasn't surprised to hear that Grossman has been a comic book reader from way back. If I recall correctly, he said that he started reading comics with the Claremont run on X-Men. He also named some of the usual current writers as people whose work he enjoys. (Oddly, even though Grossman and Busiek went to the same high school, I had to prompt Grossman to mention Astro City.)

Only one other person asked a question, so Grossman began signing books quite early on. Since I had sat in the front row, I was the first person to get my copy signed. I thanked him for writing a book that appeals to me perfectly, which I think amused him. At the very least, he was willing to pose for a picture, even after I told him it would be going up on my blog:

Austin Grossman and His First Novel Grossman poses with his novel (June 26, 2007). Photo copyright ©2007 by Michael A. Burstein.

Obviously, I haven't read the book yet, but if you're a fan of comic book superheroes, you ought to check it out. And the website for the book is a hoot.

Copyright © Michael A. Burstein

Tags: books, boston, comics, harvard, science-fiction

The New York Times is reporting at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/09/business/08cnd-harvard.html that Harvard will name historian and Bryn Mawr graduate Drew Gilpin Faust as the new president of the university.

If true, this is a major step, and not just because Faust is a woman. Faust has been active at Harvard for the past six or so years as dean of the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study. When the university chose Summers as president a few years ago, many of us felt that although he was a good administrator, the university would have been better off promoting someone from within the rank and file, who knew the place much more closely.

Dr. Faust would definitely fit that profile. Best of luck to her.

Tags: harvard

One of the things I like about living in the Boston area is the opportunity to attend so many cultural events and lectures. Now, while it's true that I grew up in New York City and there's no shortage of such things there either, somehow these events are more exciting when they're in Boston. Perhaps it's because Boston and its environs are such a college town, that when people come to talk here they're much more excited about it. Or maybe its because when I first came to Boston, I was finally old enough to appreciate such things.

I still recall that in the first month of my freshman year at Harvard, I got to hear a talk from Nobel-laureate Emilio Segre shortly before he died. Since then, I've managed to meet astronauts, authors, politicians, musicians, actors, and others, and I've found my life enriched enormously by the experience.

All of the above, of course, is prelude to mention the most recent events we're attended.

( Scott McCloud )

( Brad Meltzer )

And tonight, we're going to hear Owen Gingerich, the astronomer who headed the IAU Planetary Definition Committee and did his best to keep Pluto as a planet. I'm hoping to get a book autographed, and I'm planning to present him with an SP3 mug in appreciation of his efforts.

Copyright © Michael Burstein; photo copyright © Nomi Burstein

Tags: books, boston, comics, harvard, nyc, personal, science

Last week, Harvard University announced that it was eliminating its Early Action application program. I took a more than passing interest in this announcement, because years ago I myself applied for and was accepted under Harvard's Early Action program. And although I was glad to have that decision out of the way so early, I still recall wondering how fair the early application process was in general. Because I remember being told that applying early increased your chances of acceptance, and it seemed unfair for students who needed more time to make their final decision on colleges.

A little background. Back in the 1980s, there were two different early application programs in existence: Early Action and Early Decision. Under Early Action, students could get their application materials in by the beginning of November and have a decision from the college, usually an acceptance or a deferral, by mid-December. (In rare cases, a student might be rejected outright.) Early Decision worked almost exactly the same way, except that a student applying via Early Decision had to agree to a firm commitment to attend that school in the fall. Under Early Action, a student could send applications to other institutions, but under Early Decision, a student was expected to end the application process. In either case, though, a student could only apply to one institution via their early application program.

(Of course, any sort of early acceptance was usually predicated on the student maintaining a reasonable record throughout the rest of senior year. But most people tended not to notice that fine print in the acceptance package.)

Each college that offered an early admission program decided for itself which kind to offer. In my case, the two colleges I was most interested in were Harvard and Columbia. And Columbia only offered Early Decision, not Early Action. Had they offered Early Action, I might have applied early there instead, and perhaps my life might have taken a different turn. But that's a subject for another time.

For now, I have to say that I'm glad that Harvard has chosen to eliminate its Early Action program, and I have a feeling that this will lead to many other institutions revising their own application procedures. Because the fact is that for better or worse, Harvard University carries a tremendous amount of influence in the world of high school admissions. Let me give an example.

Back in the mid-1990s, when I was starting to work full-time as a high-school teacher, Harvard published a booklet about their admissions process. Being a science teacher, I was particularly interested in what Harvard had to say about science courses. I was gratified to see that Harvard's admissions office felt very strongly about science -- so strongly, in fact, that they expected all applicants to have at least three years of science, and those three years had to include Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.

Now, I attended an exam school, Hunter College High School in New York City, and I still remember that the only high school science course that was required was Biology in 9th grade. Chemistry was offered in 10th grade as an elective, as was Physics in 11th grade. Now, it is true that the school strongly recommended that all 10th graders take Chemistry and that most 11th graders take Physics. But not everyone did; if you could explain to your college counselor why those courses weren't necessary for what you wanted to accomplish, you could enroll in any of the other electives being offered. I knew students who chose instead to study another foreign language or to take creative writing, and none of them had difficulty getting into college with their transcript.

But in the 1990s, as soon as Harvard announced that it expected three years of science, many high schools took this as a cue to require a full course of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics for all their students. Never mind the fact that most students weren't planning on applying to Harvard College, let alone attending it; if Harvard said that three years of science were required for its applicants, then all students would be required to take three years of science, no matter what.

I had, and still have, mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, being a science booster, I feel very strongly that all students should have an excellent science education. Citizens need to understand the importance of science and technology to function productively in our modern world. But on the other hand, not everyone is interested in science, and, to be frank, not everyone can handle a Physics course. I remember one student I taught who had essentially found herself required to take Physics under "bait and switch"; the school hadn't required the course when she entered in 9th grade, and she was distraught when the rules changed on her by 11th grade and she found herself forced to study Physics. She hated the course, did badly in it, and would have been far better served by a survey course on Science and Society than on trying to solve momentum equations.

But instead, a decision by the admissions office at Harvard College -- an institution to which she never would have applied -- ended up with her being required to study Physics.

Based on this history, I reiterate my belief that Harvard's decision will lead to other institutions abandoning their Early Admission or Early Decision programs. And I think that in the end, high school seniors will be much better off for it.

Copyright © Michael Burstein

Tags: harvard, personal, science, teaching

gnomi and I returned from my college reunion today, and it'll take me some time to catch up with everything. I'm hoping to write about my reunion experiences soon.

Tags: harvard, personal

This weekend, I'll be attending my 15th anniversary college reunion, so my mind is on reunions and history. I plan to write a few posts about the reunion, and what people are up to.

But for the moment, I'm looking not at my class, but an earlier one. Today is Harvard's Commencement, and as usual, the Harvard Crimson has put together an issue that looks at the current group of graduates and the milestone reunion classes. The Class of 1981 is celebrating their 25th reunion this weekend, and at The Harvard Crimson :: Special Packages :: Class of 1981 you can find the whole section devoted to the class.

The section is divided into two general sections. The first section is devoted to news stories that were taking place at Harvard 25 years ago. In some ways, the more things change, the more they remain the same.

The second section is devoted to a few members of the Class of 1981 that they chose to feature. The members of the class they profile include journalist Susan Faludi, Lost co-executive producer (and creator of The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. ) A. Carlton Cuse...and science-fiction writer Melissa Scott, which I suspect might be of more than passing interest to some of you.

Tags: harvard, personal, science-fiction, television

Not that I expect this to reach anyone relevant, but I figured I'd cast as wide a net as possible.

Even though there is no official Thursday night social for the Class of 1991's 15th anniversary reunion, a few of us are planning to get together anyway.

Where: John Harvard's Brew House, 33 Dunster Street, Cambridge

When: Thursday, June 8, at 7:30 PM

We'll have either a sign or a visible copy of the Fifteenth Anniversary Report (the red book), but if you decide in advance to come, by all means let me know.

Tags: harvard, personal

Folks who are reading my blog for discussions of writing probably noticed that I finally started up again with the Robert's Rules of Writing commentary. Things have become a little more relaxed now on the writing front, so I'm able to get back to those essays. This is not to say that I still don't have a deadline or two out there, plus some ongoing "on spec" projects, as always. But I'm feeling a little more able to tackle those writing essays yet again. So what's been going on in my life besides the usual?

Well, some of it I've already noted. Last month Nomi and I celebrated Passover with her family, and then we went to Ravencon and caught up with some of my family. Last week I was re-elected to Brookline Town Meeting, and I'm looking forward to our May session, which starts on Tuesday May 23rd. On Saturday, Analog announced that "Sanctuary" had won the AnLab in Novella.

But in other news: Next month I have a college reunion, and over the weekend I received the Class Anniversary Report, about which I'll have more to say later. By the end of summer, the book Boarding the Enterprise will be published, including my essay "We Find the One Quite Adequate: Religious Attitudes in Star Trek." Finally, thanks to the kindness of friends, Nomi and I are now plowing through the second season of Stargate SG-1. At this rate, we'll be caught up with current episodes in a few months. (I doubt we'll keep watching at this rate, though.)

Tags: harvard, jewish, personal, politics, writing