An experimental study of the Holy Cannoli
The hunt for the greatest dessert in Boston
Introduction The Cannoli is a form of dessert, which, in its most basic form, includes a pastry shell wrapped around a sweet ricotta filling. Historians have long debated the origin of the cannoli. Some say the cannoli originated during the carnival seasons in Palermo, a city on the island of Sicily, Italy. Others say it […]
Getting back to reading for pleasure
…or an ode to now dead literary references?
Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t read Harry Potter, Catch-22, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Count of Monte Cristo – there are a few references here that you may want to skip. If I were a troubled friend seeking advice, I might ask you to be the Jeeves to my Wooster, or if grad school […]
Reactivating
Mixing Metaphors with Meaning
As a budding biologist, I am familiar with the way metaphor is employed to effectively communicate scientific concepts. For example, the molecule of the moment is messenger RNA, whose name represents the fact that mRNA is a transient molecule that transports information from the genome to the ribosome (the protein-making machinery), where it is translated […]
The White House is on the phone
And MIT is in my inbox
President Jimmy Carter conceded the 1980 election earlier than expected. Ronald Reagan recounted, “I never dreamed it would be in the late afternoon when I was taking a shower, standing there dripping wet, that Nancy told me the White House was on the phone.” A year ago I received an email from another white-columned place, […]
Tomatoes, parmesan, bread… oh, my!
A No-Knead Focaccia Recipe
Focaccia – Your favorite (or soon to be favorite) dimpled bread that seems to have taken the world by storm recently. For those who haven’t heard of it, focaccia is a type of Italian oven-baked bread famous for its distinctive dimpled crust. It can be served in many ways, but my personal favorite is just […]
