Photo Journal – Thursday 17 May 2012

Presidents, Picnics, & Pulling yarn…

I’ve been busy.. hence my delayed posting… Final projects, assignments, and reports are pretty much complete now… I have been packing and getting things ready for my trip… I leave the US today (31st May 2012), stay tuned… Here’s my journal for the 17th May…

It is a very beautiful day today… soo sunny! I got in early this morning and started some work.. Today we were having a Celebration Picnic in honor of President Hockfield in Killian Court… My friends encouraged me to go (food).. and so I went… I did not realize/ remember how gorgeous it was outside until I exited the doors onto Killian…

Look at the scene….

Students are so glad for the break from work for a bit…

Tables and stuff out… feels soo garden party…

I joined the line for food… Long line, but its moving quickly…

I always go for the cakes and cookies!! Love em! Red Velvet cake, cookies, brownies…. Mmmmmm…. Don’t worry, I will be sharing this with my girl Mik…

Everyone is really happy out here!

There was food and drinks for all…

Liquid Archive by Nader Tehrani in the background…

Liquid Archive by Nader Tehrani

Cops need to eat too..

Boston backdrop…

Ok.. back to work! I am working on my final project for my new textiles class… I am doing a string sculpture… a removable one…

Pulling yarn…

I would stick my tapestry needle in Antonio’s chair and thread as long a yarn as I could…

It’s going quite nicely…

The previous string sculpture I did.. after hardening with liquid plastic and removal from the structure…

So far so great..

Part one complete… now for part two…

Magenta colored yarn…

Almost done…

Part two (yarn number two) complete…

Part four, application of liquid plastic for hardening…

You can see more here New Textile Final Project >>>

Much love!!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Sunday 13 May 2012

Digitally Fabricated Curved Pavilion… here we come!!!

Today is going to be a long, long, physically demanding day… We will be assembling our curved pavilion… Today is sunny and nice day to be out…

Another lovely day in Cambridge.. Oh, and it’s Mother’s Day…

Before heading to the Woodshop, I head down Mass Ave. to the Economy Hardware Store to pick up some items…

After I got back to the Woodshop, I met Mik, David, Ki, and Chris going to get lunch… I figured I would grab lunch too.. We went to the Mexican place that Tom and I went to yesterday.. This time, I had the above… Lotta pepper! (or spicy as Americans say)…

Mik had the same…

Chris had this…

Mik and I

Our pile of parts…waiting for us… waiting for their moment of glory… (we hope)

Assembly is coming along nicely… We talk about our procedure and how we will assemble and erect this thing…

Labeling of our parts were key… it was assembling a life-sized puzzle…

I had to leave for a bit… My professor (Winston) and I had a meeting today.. He called and said he was in his office… so I rode across quickly to Stata to catch him…

Meeting complete.. back to Woodshop!

We are progressing nicely…

We erect our first section! Man it looks great! We feel a great sense of accomplishment…

Oh  yeah.. we were tired alright! We beat the hell out of those boards..

Taking a 2 minute break…

 Back at it!..

Quick photo! Say cheese!

We were having some problems here… turns out we had two incorrect pieces..

Nice!

Pounding away!

We now have to bring these two parts together…

Bit by bit we get there…

Lovely!

We’ve got them together… well almost…

It’s now almost 8pm… and we still have a way to go…

We pound and try to get our connecting pieces snug and holding our ribs securely together…

Had some floor issues, so we were checking our parts to see what was possibly the problem..

Okay… we’re almost there… main structure up for the most part… Time for interiors…

My partner Linlin and I are assisted by Mik on installing our interiors…

Almost done… Did a little dance of happiness… Mik caught me unawares… we laughed about it!

Tada!! Our ruled surface interior installed…

If given the opportunity to do this again, I would use colored rods for the ruled surface… made of a sturdier material.. wood, or steel, or plastic of some sort.. It looks great! but the main guides could have been better done… learning lesson for sure! Next time…

Almost finished… at this time we are REALLY, REALLY tired… Just wanna go home, shower, eat, and sleep! I have class before we present this at 2pm… The exteriors team still need to install their exterior skin, and we need to place it on its foundations..

I really like it!

After cleaning up….

Voila!!

Bye Bye little one.. see you later…

Stay tuned for the finished project (Monday 14th May 2012)…

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Friday 11 May 2012

Bahut Busy & DUSP: The Movie!!

My day starts earlier than usual this morning as I have an early meeting with one of my favorite professors, Patrick Winston…

Outside looks so lovely! Early morning light and evening light are really perfect for photography..

Everything looks and smells so fresh and clean…

Comforting shadows…

I am meeting prof in Stata, but I have to go to my office first…

STATA! She is really a beauty!

She glistens in the early morning sun…

Racing by.. hence the blur..

I have yet to take proper photos of all of Stata… I will try to soon.

My it’s a gorgeous day!! I arrive at my office, drop some stuff off and head back to Stata.

Going to park my bike…

Inside Stata..

There were vendors selling craft on this day/ morning…

Someone did a hanging sculpture of cups I notice as I pass by…

The natural light in this building is A+. Public spaces, circulation spaces and offices get a wealth of natural light… Most users of Stata really like how the space and the building works…

Lobby off of Main St. & Vassar…

Skylight above.. just one of many…

Light!

After my meeting I head back to my office.. I have class in a couple minutes…

As I get to the lobby of my building I see my friend NJ. He is heading back to Korea for a bit, but will be back. He is a very nice and helpful person.. Looking forward to hanging with him when he returns…

After my class I meet my main man Tom.. yet another brother from another mother.. Tom is probably 6′-6″.. I am not exactly sure.. but he is TALL! He is one of my best friends here at MIT because he has my back, as I have his…He’s just great to talk and laugh with… he has the coolest tattoos too… We are walking to get lunch along Mass Ave… In this photo I am looking back toward MIT…

We have lunch at a new Mexican place Tom’s friend recommends… We both have burritos..

TOM!!!!!! Love ya man!

So after lunch I go to the library to do some intense work on papers and finals… I focus better in the library… At 5:30 pm, DUSP (Dept of Urban Studies) would be showing a movie they made.. I am here early and can’t wait to see it.. A lot of my friends are in it and were involved in making it.. Some of the people I have come to know and love in the DUSP class 2012 are some of the best people I have met here at MIT… They are “human”, funny, conscious, and aware of the things that matter (to me at least).

People slowly coming in after classes, presentations, etc for the movie premiere..

My friend and fellow “How to Make” buddy, Albert. Another awesome person… Many persons think I am in DUSP.. LOL.. Albert and others sometimes have to break the news that I am not .. LOL.. I am a DUSPer in my heart though…

Settling in…

Ok.. let’s begin! We’re all excited!

Go!

Laughter galore throughout the movie. Professor Ezra Glenn was one of my favorite characters! He was a whoot! Everyone was great!! Everyone!

…and the crowd goes wild!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do I do when you guys leave? Wish you all the best as you journey on to great beginnings! After the movie I head back to my room.. gonna be a long night!

Click here for DUSP: The Movie>>>

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Thursday 10 May 2012

It’s a rainy day today… but the temperature should be alright my weather channel app tells me.. Today I have lunch plans with my friend Ang… another DUSPer… I also have a lot to do as it’s all about final projects and assignments now.. Yikes!

Yup! It’s rainy!

After getting to school I got started on my work, then left to meet Ang. We would be having lunch at MIT Sloan (School of Management) today.. I have never had lunch there as I usually bring my lunch. I am looking forward to it!

Riding along Memorial Drive… See how cloudy it is? Ominous…

Along Memorial Drive…

Arrived at MIT Sloan for lunch… People are outside because the temperature has risen, sun is peeking through the clouds… Deep breath.. Ahhhhh.. just beautiful!

Some shots of the building…

Noice!

I sit and take it all in while I wait for Ang to arrive…

She’s here so I head in to the building…

The lunch options in Sloan are unbelieveable! You guys know I love food.. the food is really good here! So many options! Ang and I got different things to eat and shared it all… This is an Italian panini I think.. The potato chips I could have done without.. They weren’t too good..

Ang had a kinda of stir-fried, medley of color, deliciousness and everything! Because that’s how she rolls.. LOL.. The mango salsa was really good… everything was! By the time we talked and laughed.. we had leftovers and dessert for later..

I have found in life that sometimes you (or me) meet someone who you know, but you know you don’t really know them.. then there are others I don’t know but I feel like I have known forever. Ang is the latter, I feel like I have known her forever! We had a good laugh about animals and our surprising shared love of something strange. I cannot remember how the discussion got there, but turns out we have a shared loved of Super Grover.. and a desire to be him if we were super-heroes! LMAO!!! How strange?!!! I think we like that he was just a normal person, trying to help where he could.. I must say though he irritated me at times.. but I loved him. My very first doggie was named Grover.

We also laugh about my plan and desire (not yet realized) to fight a monkey… Before moving to India in 2008, that was my plan… but it never worked out.. Why do I want to fight a monkey? Because I think they’re cute, and though I may get the worst beating of my life, I think a monkey is the only animal that would have as much fun as I would in this fight.. Strange but true… One of them entered my apartment in Ahmedabad… went into the pantry and stole some nuts and channa (garbanzo beans).. but I wasn’t at home to plan for that duel.. LOL… He missed out! LOL..

After our lunch we head back to Main Campus… Ang is working on her thesis, me on several final projects simultaneously…

Getting cloudy and dark again…

MIT Sloan School of Management

Back in our SMArchS room.. working on my ruled surface experiment for my New Textiles class…

Ruled surface…

Today was a great day!Three cheers for Super Grover and monkeys!

Much Love friends!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Thursday 03 May 2012

Today…MIT Ideas Global Challenge Award Ceremony

It’s another rainy and gloomy day… but it’s not too cold.. so that’s alright..

It was the first time I noticed my entire street empty (sans cars).. so I started looking at signs and noticed it was street cleaning day.. Never noticed before..

Stata on Vassar

Mc Govern Institute

It’s been a very busy day… and I spent a lot of time reading and writing for an assignment. I am struggling to frame or find a research question to my topic, but I am having a lot of difficulty… I keep getting questions that seem too broad, wide, and probably too much to solve at this time… But I got really good reading done, so that makes me happy… Focus is really a great thing!

I attend this panel discussion later in the evening entitled “Designer as Researcher.” The panel included Beth Hennessey, John Fernandez, Gediminas Urbonas, and Mark Jarzombek. It was a very good discussion. I thought Beth and John did a great job. John defined research as “a novel and original answer/ approach to an important question for/in a community.” He thinks design is VERY different from research. To him, design is not about research, but about obsession. Providing a new, original answer to a community that is for a set of questions that are really important, that he agrees is research..

After the discussion, on my way back to my office I stopped by my DUSP friends who are preparing their thesis to just check in and give some encouragement… A few of them were going to the MIT Ideas Global Challenge Award, so I thought I would join them… I totally forgot it was today.. too much stuff to take note of and remember..

Here is visionary, and Head of the MIT Media Lab Joi Ito …

Time for the awards…. It’s like the Oscars in here! Everyone is amped up and excited!

First winners of the night Indian Raga: Democratizing Indian music through technology. Click here>>>

The audience…

The BETH Project. This project was good (as all the winners are). They were providing prosthetic socket that offers a custom fit without custom fabrication. Here is a link to their project >>>

Ken Smith presenting another award..

Wi-Care. They presented a pump that aids in cleaning wounds.. Click here >>>

Alison was one of my favorite presenters… She was excited and not just in her words, but her expressions and smile. She was really excited and happy for all those receiving awards.. especially for projects she came to be closely involved with.. Great work Alison!

My friend Arlene and her team won an award for their project OpenIR, a web application offering geo-located infrared (IR) data as on-demand map layers, and translating the data so that anyone can read it easily. OpenIR will save lives when disaster strikes by making this data easily accessible. .. Click here for their project >>>

This team Leonie Badger, fellow architecture student and Aminata Kane won for their project, Fula & Style. Summary: Manufacture and sell business apparel in West Africa by adapting and improving speed, quality and design issues with the current dominant consumer-tailor model. We will employ skilled local tailors and use fabric and accessories from African industries. Click here >>>

“An IKEA approach to business/ designer clothing” is what it was called… Brilliant!

Essmart – Giving Indian rural retail shops access to technologies that improve their customers’ lives. Click here>>>

Recovers.org – creating tech tools for disaster relief..

Takachar: Urban waste management and the security of cooking fuel supply are two seemingly intractable problems amongst the Kenyan poor. We aim to address both (and generate local income at the same time) by turning household organic waste into charcoal. Click here >>>

Wecyclers: We will harness the power of urban communities to reclaim their environment from unmanaged waste. Click here >>

Congrats to ALL the winners, thanks to all the sponsors, and keep up the great work!!!

What’s your Global Challenge?

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Tuesday 01 May 2012

Rain, Ruled Surfaces, and Teachers who Rock..

Today it’s rainy… I am not a big fan of being outside when it’s rainy… Where I come from (Caribbean), the sound of raindrops on your roof is like a lullaby….

No matter the weather.. an MIT-er (as I like to call myself) has to do what’s necessary!

I am spray painting the pieces that I cut last night.. had a meeting after for lunch.. then off the my New Textiles class..

This is the structure that I cut last night… I am going to do and experiment with string sculptures/ ruled surfaces..

In my new textiles class, my professor Leah Buechley (a great teacher – I’ll tell you why in a bit).. I am experimenting using different ways in which to harden, stiffen fabric so that it is almost self-supporting… here we are boiling corn starch, testing how much to put and other variables.. She made me laugh when she said “I’m just winging it here..”.. LMAO!

She’s enjoying this I can tell…

These are some reasons why Leah Buechley is a great teacher… For example… while conducting these experiments and tests, some mess was being made… I was concerned about the mess, apologizing at times and she said, “Oh, it’s no problem! I don’t care about the mess.. I just wanna see what happens.” That’s an admirable principle to have I thought… not only a a teacher, but as a researcher…

Continuing with my exploration of ruled surfaces ( surface that can be generated by the motion of a straight line) while my other stiffening experiments are resting…

Beautiful? Yes!

Stimulating? Yes!

My other hardening experiment.. using a clear, liquid plastic..

After leaving the Media Lab, I am now assembling the artifact I cut and spray painted earlier.. I planned to use this in a ruled surface experiment.. I’m not so sure anymore…

Ok.. after this.. been a long day.. time to head home!

On my way home I see fire trucks ahead…

Have you all seen this ad below? I definitely want to do something like this soon… Maybe during the summer months..

Encourage someone today!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Monday 30th April 2012

Leadership, Loyalty, Papers & Projects

I have been inundated with work the past few days… so I’ve been unable to post.. It’s down to crunch time with final papers, and projects.. It’s a great week though… my renewed approach is working out nicely.. I need to keep reminding myself..

It’s sunny today… I love the patterns light on the ground as it passes through the trees…

It’s been a busy morning thus far… In my HIE class this morning we discussed a paper by György Gergely – “What should a robot learn from an infant? Mechanisms of action interpretation and observational learning in infancy.”
Apart from the papers, for me it’s the other discussions that make Patrick Winston’s class priceless.. We spoke of some of the things at MIT to reduce the stress on students.. such as the fact that there are no degrees with Honors here.. very egalitarian… Being here is all the Honors you need.. I agree.. Churchill wasn’t even given one…

We also discussed the qualities that makes one a good leader.. and an organization a good one.. Patrick told us about his tour of a Marine base some time ago.. The bus driver (I think) knew so much about what was happening there, that Winston asked.. “Are you an ex-Marine?” The driver replied, “Sir, there are live marines and dead marines, there are no ex-marines.” This loyalty to the organization intrigued Winston and so he asked one of the Corporals I guess, how they make their people so loyal?! His answer was “because we never leave our wounded behind.” This principle and philosophy was the same from the very top to the very bottom.. Their people are well fed, well rested, career development, etc.. they take care of their people.. This trickles down to and through the organization..

He mentioned that everyone in an organization has to feel the following for it to be a good one:

1. They have to feel that their work is valued

2. That their work makes a difference, and

3. That THEY are valued..

If you don’t have and practice the above.. you will have pissed off people around you.. So how do you convey the above? TELL THEM in unambiguous terms…

After class, and lunch we were heading to the Woodshop for our guest critics, Tim Elliassen and Jeff Anderson of TriPyramid. They will be visiting to provide feedback on our section mockup before we move on the laser cut model of the entire thing.

On my way to the shop I see the board for this project up on the now empty site along Mass Ave.. Novartis Cambridge Campus… Architects are Maya Lin Studio, Toshiko Mori, Single Speed Design, and Cannon Design

We are using a few clamps to aid in securing our mockup for its erection…

Tim Elliasen and Jeff Anderson of TriPyramid

Dr. Larry Sass (left)…

It’s up! The feeling I have is quite a surprising one of absolute pride.. This is a great feeling! Larry was right about this… Definitely seeing the physical result of digital work is quite rewarding.. such a feeling of accomplishment! Everyone high-fives! Chris the shop manager is also happy!

My team partner (Linlin) and I are responsible for the interiors… Our final concept for the interiors is a ruled surface..

Bru taking photos too..

Moi…

Foundations team presenting their molds and design concepts and approach.. Foundation team did a real good job on the foundation I thought… Well done George and My!!

Beautiful…

Tim.. pensive as he analyzes…

After class was finished it was time to head to a Fabrication meeting.. My friend Amit Zoran and Sean Follmer will be presenting their work and research this evening… I really like Amit’s work and his continued sensitivity to craft and its place in digital fabrication. His focus is on hybrid object design, merging traditional crafted element with digital technologies Great job Amit! There was a lot of great snacks in the meeting..

After that meeting I went to collect my 3d print for my Textiles class… 3D print wasn’t successful.. I was exploring Erwin Hauer‘s work of continuous surfaces… I have to do this again… not enough time to reprint for tomorrow morning though..

Later on that night I began laser cutting my structure for my Final project for New Textiles..

It took me a total of 4 hrs to cut my stuff.. 😐

I ended the night here.. I will spray paint and assemble tomorrow… Tired!

Time to head home and recoup..

Saw this vid that had me cracking up! Animals are too wonderful at times to be called animals..

Today – Plan and Execute!!!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Sunday 29th April 2012

Friends, Food, Family, & Fervor!

So after going to bed late as usual (4am), I had a lunch date with another friend of mine… We were going to a Brazilian Barbeque restaurant which I saw as I passed along Cambridge many times… and thought to enter.. but never did… Today was going to be the day I guess…

We met up at Central Square and rode to the restaurant…

Prospect Street…

Inside the restaurant… We were there early, because it was empty when we arrived, and filled with patrons by the time we left.. It was a buffet service… you take what you want, and the waiter would eventually come to your table with an assortment of meats for your choosing… I was anxious to get started… my stomach was anxious!

This was my friend’s plate… neat, organized.. seems like thought went into her choices… My plate on the other hand….

A dog show!! like my friend would say…LOL… Yikes! I took everything I saw to taste.. It was like a bad Benetton ad on my plate! Chicken, fish, fries, rice, plantains, beans, okra, I took a little bit of everything! I was disappointed with myself as time went on and decided that the next time I will choose wisely.. come with  a plan.. because my eyes and stomach surely misled me on this one.. I was all over the place!

Buffet..

I love fruit juices and had a passion fruit and pineapple mix.. it was very tasty. My friend had ginger ale.. We had dessert after (red velvet cake) but I forgot to take pics of that… It was really good too!

After such a scrumptious but personally disappointing lunch for me (as I had no plan).. Oh I forgot to mention, it was all you can eat. I never win at all you can eat, because I never eat a lot.. just often.. So I went back home, fell asleep, woke up, did some work.. then got ready to go meet my cousin. He is coming into Boston this evening for his firm’s retreat for a few days.. I was really looking forward to seeing him and “hablarizing” (talking) as my cousins and I would say when we were younger…

Heading on my bicycle to the T Stop to catch the train…

See my shadow?

Bicycle parked, secured… time for the train..

I come out at Government Center to go to the Langham Hotel where he was staying.. I am trying to get my bearings now..

Apparently the circus is in town..

Still trying to get my bearings…

Pay and ride bicycles..

I’m walking…. I’m walking….

Ok, I see a street name I recognize…

Journeying along my route as provided by Google maps..

It looks nice yeh? Did I forget to mention it is still very cold here today?! Steups! When will Boston get warm, and stay warm.. I eh know!

This very narrow street caught my attention..

I love how the sun shone on this building..

Langham Hotel restaurant entrance..

Nice backdrop to the park these buildings…

Heading to my cousin’s room..

Old photos in the hallway…

When my cousin and I meet.. big hugs, big grins, “What going on?!!!” Too happy to think of taking photos… After all that.. time to head out and eat… my cousin was hungry… I wasn’t too too hungry, but I could always eat.. 😉

He was a little unprepared for the weather… “Don’t joke with Boston”.. He’s going to the Red Sox game on Tuesday.. plan to  layer up buddy! All teeth!

We’re walking taking in the sights and figuring out where to have dinner..

As we walk by I show him the location where a bank scene in the movie The Town was shot.. A lovely guy came up and offered to take our pic..

We decide to have dinner here at Ristorante Fiore.. I’ve never been..but it’s nice.. Waiters very helpful and informed about their menu..

The usual bread and olive oil introduction… while we talk, talk, talk, and laugh until our meal comes..

I had something with chicken, mushrooms, and pasta.. It was good.. had a sweet undertone because of the way they cook it… I switched with my cousin because he only eats seafood.. I had a stoli doli with my dinner… As the waiter described it to me.. it’s made with pineapple that has been infused with vodka.. I assumed I was going to get a pineapple drink with a kick… Well the drink had more stoli than doli.. Was vodka with a wonderful hint of pineapple.. Great though!

His dish had lobster, shrimp, and was delish!

After dinner we went to Mike’s pastry for desert (forgot to take photos).. I had a red velvet cupcake… My palate remembered it and wanted more.. so I indulged it.. It was good too.. Mmmm!!! We talk some more, and I got some much needed words of inspiration and encouragement… I needed it! Family is the best thing ever! Positive vibes! We say our goodbyes, and I board my train to head back home…

On my bicycle riding back home… Sunday nights are sure quiet in Cambridge… everyone dreading the Monday blues.. lol..

My Sunday was absolutely wonderful. Food, friends, and family.. THE BEST THING EVER!

I love animals, especially dogs, and I got this photo today from my daily Loldogs subscription… Doggie nosies are another one of the beautiful things in life.. Thought I would share it with you… Mwah!

Much Love!!!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Thursday 25th April 2012

Friends, Food & Fabrication

My first task today was to collect a package at USPS…

This is a view along Cambridge St., MA… heading to the Post Office..

Heading back in the direction of home and MIT on Cambridge St.

On campus now… this is Parsons’ Laboratory, opposite the Stata Center on Vassar St.

I have no clue what’s going on here today…

no clue..

My friend Jenine and I have a lunch date today… been a while since we hung out together… We went to Flour… This is their berry bread-pudding… it was really moist! Very delicious!

Jenine had coffee with her bread pudding (because most people at MIT need coffee.. LOL)… Doesn’t that look delectable?!!

I tried a Spindrift with mine.. My first time having that drink… pretty good I will say..

I can’t remember the name of my sandwich, but it had grilled chicken, avocado, and jicama.. the bread was great too… Mmmmm how I love food…

Hi Jenine! This is my awesome friend Jenine! Full of laughs, very artistic… and socially conscious too.. my kinda people!

We both had the same sandwich..

The bakery Flour on Massachusetts Ave. that we went to..

I never eat everything I get… so I had half of a sandwich and my berry bread pudding left… to eat later on… Happy!

I am in the FabLab cutting parts for my continued experiment… it seems like it will work… thus far.. been good..

Spray painting my pieces…

Painting the other side after drying…

The hall of the 3rd Floor in Building 3 (next to the FabLab) at MIT..

DCG (Design & Computation Group) alumni, Marcel Botha PhD (SMArchS ’06) talks about his experiences after DCG to my Forum class. He has done some really awesome projects and worked on life saving products. MIT was an opportunity to change his profession.. drawing on his architecture skills, training, and way of thinking.. I was glad to hear that, as I view it the same way too… an opportunity for a new, layered direction in life, and career…

Marcel Botha: “I am an Architect, Engineer, Product Manager and Technologist. I make physical things. I started with buildings. My last “traditional” building was a Catholic church. My first digitally printed/cut building was an emergency shelter. I dabbled in advertising, and won a scholarship for an ad campaign for Durex condoms, but decided to rather go to MIT using architecture as my Trojan Horse. I specialized in Digital manufacturing, Assembly Engineering and Media Arts. I designed soft cars for GM. Buses and Bus Stops (buildings again 😦 ) for Paris. Helped build a mesh networking company, SNIFLABS (Now General Sensing) with a first product for Social Networking of Pets (think a mashup of Nike+, Foursquare, and FB for your dog). Developed The Betacup with with fellow overlapper Toby Daniels, Starbucks and Jovoto. I convinced the Nordics that Mono-skiing was a resurgent trend on behalf of Mc Donalds during Christmas 2009. I needed more. In 2010 I started devoting my time exclusively to projects that were relevant, scalable, complex and ideally medical in nature. Since, I have developed a low cost electronic stethoscope, helped to reinvent the colposcope and launched Timesulin.

My pieces… all dried, and ready for assembly..

Assembly went well, but I learned a lesson… spray paint quality and thickness.. IMPORTANT! The green paint was much better than the white…

Looks good I find… learned a lot from this experiment..

Today was a good one… time spent with friends, food, great conversation, and fabrication/ research.. is always a plus!

Live with a purpose today!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Wednesday 24th April 2012

FELA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The day starts at 1am Wednesday morning (late Tuesday night) for this post… There are trains that pass by late at night.

I was heading home earlier than usual and heard the horns of the train, so I waited… It’s kind of strange how scary the slow moving headlights of a large monster of a train in the dark, quiet of the night can be.. Eerie..

A “train dude” mounted off the train, and placed these flares along the tracks and stopped any oncoming vehicles…

I found this so cool..

The horns continue to blare as the train passes by… real noise!

Heading to MIT in the light of the morning…

In my HIE class today Patrick Winston spoke to us about the correct way to conduct a panel discussion.. From the seating arrangement (panel geometry) to the way to engage your panel and encourage dialogue.. We talked about Joshua Tenenbaum‘s paper on Bayesian models and probability.  I also found out that every Drop date (last day to drop classes), which would be tomorrow.. a piano is dropped from Baker House at MIT. I hope to see it..

On my way back from class I took this photo because I love this view. I have yet to draw it… maybe when the semester ends I will get the chance to..

It’s lunch time and I am feeling for some food from the food truck. I was late and unable to put my lunch together today. Food trucks lines along the street close to the Media Lab..

I’ll have lunch from here… Asian Bistro..

Long  line.. plenty people, but the line moves very quickly..

Heading back to my office to have lunch..

I bought a pork baguette and Korean Pad Thai I think… I wasn’t sure which one to try so I bought them both..

I am surprised by the look of the pad thai.. it doesn’t look appetizing.. (I am a foodie!).. I taste it, and it’s not any better.. so I decide I will eat the pork baguette.. now that was delicious!!

After lunch I did some work then went to the FabLab to cut some stuff, but again didn’t have much luck… I needed a break and was ready to head to the Pièce de résistance of my day… FELA! I was meeting my friend Mel at the theater.. Time to get going! I jump on my bicycle and head to the station.

Some hurried shots of the Boston Commons as I walk hurriedly to the Theater….

Ok.. I know where I can come take in a movie or two when I want to.. I haven’t been here since November 2010… As it gets warmer.. I will see more of Cambridge and Boston..

There it is ahead!

Inside of the Majestic Theater…

Now inside the auditorium, playbill in hand…

Fela! is a musical with a book by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, with additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan Mclean and additional lyrics by Jim Lewis. It is based on events in the life of groundbreaking Nigerian composer and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti. It portrays Kuti in the days when he was the target of 1,000 government soldiers assigned to end his public performances at the legendary Lagos nightclub The Shrine. (Wikipedia)

This show was soooooooooooooooooooo fantastic, I can’t put it in words… The main character was engaging, funny, athletic, had a great voice, and was a great dancer… a mover… His supporting dancers… OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! The men strong, athletic, singers, dancers… the women… hmmm! athletic, sensual, dance, dance, and more dance!! You have to see this show!!

The costuming was also A+…

Fela’s mother in the show (Melanie Marshall) had the voice of an angel! I love singing, but it doesn’t love me.. She had a voice of pure honey… How do you lower your voice and volume as though it’s the end of a song, then in the same breath pick up again and end on a long, loud note..?!!!! I do not know! but she did it! she did it!! It was amazing! She was amazing!

Costumes… GREAT!!!

Do your thing Fela!

The end of the show.. All performers deserving of standing ovations!!! Thanks for making my night, my week, my time here in Boston.. Awesome band too!!

Close of the show (Fela’s mother in the spotlight).. Those from the cast who I saw and remember seeing were:

Sahr Ngaujah – (Fela Kuti) – A theater director and actor of Sierra Leonean descent, US born, living in Amsterdam

Melanie Marshall – Funmilayo (Fela’s mother) – best voice of the night… British born, of Barbadian (Bajan) descent

Paulette Ivory (Sandra) – has a sweet voice.. LA-based, British born

Rasaan-Elijah Green (Djembe) – great drummer and dancer

Gelan Lambert – (JK) – The tap dancing machine and Fela’s buddy – of Haitian descent, graduate of The Juilliard School

Thanks all for a great night again! After such a visual, musical, artistic, and cultural high, I returned to my office.. did some more work, and headed home… no train will be seeing me tonight..

FELA ROCKS!!!!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.