Clark Cinema 320- Man On Wire

Crystal and I made it out to Cinema 320 at Clark University for the first time tonight. Ever since hearing about this film series last year we have wanted to pop our heads in at some point and the crap weather this evening provided a perfect opportunity.

I checked all the movie listings and Man On Wire which was being shown at Clark had stellar reviews, we could go for $5.50 a ticket and the drive would take under a minute to get there. So we decided that is what we would do. I was always curious as to what the setup would be for these movies and what the crowd would be. The crowd was bigger than I would have anticipated, I counted about 90 or so people there. At one point Crystal and I were the youngest people there, but right before showtime there was a small influx of students, so the crowd was not just gray hairs and Crystal and I.

The seating could be a bit more comfortable and the sound could be a bit louder, but for being two blocks away from our house it can certainly be a different atmosphere to catch a movie in.

Now on to the movie itself.... Man On Wire is a documentary that traces the planning and execution of Philippe Petit's wirewalk between the World Trade Center Towers in 1974. The movie was an interesting blend of first person interviews with those involved, actual footage and reenactments of the events leading up to the wirewalk. The ultimate demise of the WTC is in the back of your mind the entire time, from the scenes showing actual footage of the towers being built, to the not so elaborate plan that was used to infiltrate and pull off this stunt back in 1974.

Quite in a peek into the mind of the man who conqured the Twin Towers and astounded the city and the world with an etheral walk on a wire.

Men 18+, Support Your Local Collegians

Due to my proximity to Clark I browse the Clark University LiveJournal page a couple times a week to see if I might stumble upon a random event, piece of furniture or neighborhood news.

This week I came across a request that was soliciting men 18+ for a thesis project relating to the well-being of men. The survey you are required to take required less than 10 minutes of my time, and consisted of just choosing answers relating to "agree" "disagree" "somewhat agree" type of thing. No typing required!

Not only are you helping a local student grow their sample size, but you can also be entered for a $50.00 Best Buy or Amazon gift card. I won't complain if I take 10 minutes to complete a survey and possibly score myself a Wii game out of the deal.

  Take The Survey

Kimya Dawson at Clark University Monday 4/7/08

I'll openly admit I'm a newcomer to the sounds of Kimya Dawson, and only became aware of her music after seeing Juno. But it is certainly a sound that I like. Stripped down, intelligent, quirky, cute, and thoughtful all at the same time.

Well on Monday April 7th Kimya Dawson touches down at Clark University for a show smack dab between dates in New York and Somerville. She then crisscrosses the US for a good portion of the summer before winding down with shows in Europe and Australia. I'll certainly make the trek a few blocks up the road to Clark University for all the Antsy Pants and Moldy Peaches goodness. Also featuring her husband Angelo Spencer and L'Orchidee D'Hawai.


Kimya Dawson Myspace
Kimya Dawson on Hype Machine

Obey Giant Obama Progress Posters @ Clark Clinton Rally

Talk about timing!

An Express Mail package from ObeyGiant arrived at my door at 11:30am today and Hillary Clinton was due to speak at Clark University just 4 or so blocks away at 12:30.

When I took the day off today a couple weeks back the idea behind it was the fact that I would be nursing a Super Sized hangover after a Patriots victory, but instead I had crow for breakfast and did what I could to make something positive out of the day. Heck, I moved to Worcester for reasons such as this... If a presidential candidate is going to be stumping just a brisk walk away from my doorway I would be ignorant not to go and show my face.

The liveblogging by the Worcester Magazine crew let me know that Hillary was running late and I had plenty of time when I headed out the door at noon. Upon arrival the line for admittance went from Kneller Aud. all the way down Downing St. to Main St. and the down Main St. to the main gates to Clark Campus. Since the line was so long at this point I took up a post at the Church on the corner of Gates St. and Main. Once they herded most of the people inside I went down Downing St. right in front of Kneller Auditorium and met up with the folks you see holding the signs. At this point a couple other Obama supporters came over our way as well as a reporter from the Fitchburg Sentinel who we chatted with for a while.

All of the crowd was inside by this point and I headed home as I had some errands to run. A trip to the Post Office later and the Daily Worcesteria blog tells me that Hillary is still running late and that she is on 290. i figured I would be doing more good going back to Clark and holding a sign outside the venue than sitting at home. So I marched back to Clark and arrived at the front doors just before Hillary began speaking.

I took up a nice spot on the top of a berm near a tree right at the main entrance to the auditorium. In my time holding the sign there I can certainly say that the under 25 vote was very vocal for their support for Obama and the sign was getting all kinds of shout outs from the crowd. A group of local school kids came over and started mugging for the camera while there friends took camera phone pics, a boyfriend and girlfriend couple came over and asked if they could take their picture with the poster. This went on for quite some time, the sign generating "whoops" from the crowd as well as some "Obama" chants. The college aged kids in the crowd were quite vocal in their support.

But I will also say there was a small but sizable contingent of older status quo Dem's, stately looking men in ties and sportcoats, who would give me a wry smile or a hidden thumbs up as they walked past me. It seems they felt that they had to be subdued in their support, but it makes me think that when they get behind the curtain tomorrow and are ready to make their vote that the can certainly be voting Obama as well.

Only two people really "yelled" at me. One older gentleman yelled, "You had your day, it's time for you to go home...." Another lady repeatedly yelled, "All hat, no cattle." Upon a bit of googling I have come to find out that the phrase applies to pretend cowboys that dress and talk the part, pretending to be what they are not.

I thought that is what we were dealing with in the White House now. Oh but that's right, he does like to clear brush.

All in all this was a very cool way for me to spend a scheduled day off. Much more interesting than being at work and really made me excited for tomorrow's election results in Mass and beyond.


Daily Worcesteria

University Park Campus School Worcester MA

The University Park Campus School in conjunction with Clark University is located 4 short blocks from my house. Since moving to this neighborhood I knew that the school was founded and developed with Clark University immersing kids from this supremely rough and tumble neighborhood into some serious high school coursework where beginning in their junior year they can begin taking courses at Clark for college credit.

I know that Clark was active in the Main South neighborhood and knew that the school was a great idea for the neighborhood, but I had no idea what a success the school and the program actually are.

I came across the article below in The Boston Globe earlier this week and was amazed by the numbers. The University Park Campus School has a dropout rate of virtually 0% and 89% score proficient or advanced on the MCAS test as compared with 31% in Worcester Public Schools and 54% statewide.

I thought this article and this awesome numbers were worthy of a tip of the cap from myself. Any seeds of knowledge and wisdom that can be sewn in this neighborhood and city are certainly welcome in my book.


Boston Globe Article
University Park Campus School