Film: Boston Palestine Film Festival, Oct 16-Nov 1

Third Annual Film Festival

October 16, 2009 - November 1, 2009

:: Festival Program ::

:: Buy a Festival Pass ::

:: Opening Night Party ::

Please note: Harvard University film screenings have just been confirmed for  Harvard Law School - Langdell North, room 225 click here for a map

:: Schedule Change Alert ::

Due to a scheduling error on the part of the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), there have been some schedule changes:

Saturday October 17 
Opening night film Pomegranates and Myrrh will now play at 8:30 pm (not 7:00 pm)
Program featuring Terrace of the Sea will now play on Sunday Oct. 25 at 5:30 pm
(not Saturday Oct. 17 at 4:30 pm)

Saturday October 24 
Remembering Mahmoud Darwish program will now play on Thursday Oct. 29 at 7:00 pm with Checkpoint Rock at Kendall Square Cinema (not Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7:00 pm at the MFA)
Gaza In Focus Program (Young Freud in Gaza; To My Father; Daggit Gaza) will now play at 3:45 pm (not 4:30 pm)

Thursday October 29

Due to the above, Pomegranates and Myrrh will no longer have another screening on Thursday Oct. 29 at 7:00 pm
Arafat and I will now play on Saturday Oct. 31 at 3:00 pm (not Thursday Oct. 29 at 7:00 pm) with Ticket to Jerusalem.

For up-to-date scheduling and to verify final programming, please always check our online  Festival Program. Thank you and we apologize for any inconvenience.

For more information, visit: http://www.bostonpalestinefilmfest.org/

Talk: Covering Obama at the JFK Library, November 2

Kennedy Library Forum: Covering Obama

Monday, November 2, 2009 5:30-7:00 PM

Journalists Ryan Lizza of The New Yorker and Richard Wolffe of Newsweek and author of Renegade: The Making of a President, analyze the media's coverage of President Obama's first year in office.  Commentator Callie Crossley of WGBH's Beat the Press moderates.

All forums are free and open to the public. Reservations are recommended. Reservations guarantee a seat in the building, but not the main hall. Doors to the main hall open one hour before the program begins. You may make resevations for upcoming forums by using the online registration offered by this website. You may also make reservations or check if speakers' schedules have changed by calling 617.514.1643.

Talk: William Kamkwamba at MIT, October 21

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind:
Elegant Design Out of Junk and Spare Parts

William Kamkwamba
Read about William on CNN's World
See William on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart-October 7th!
Wednesday, October 21
7:00pm
MIT: Room 6-120 — click here for map
Introduced by Amy Smith, founder of D-Lab, MIT

William Kamkwamba, is a senior at the African Leadership Academy, a pan-African high school in Johannesburg, South Africa. A 2007 and 2009 TEDGlobal Fellow, Kamkwamba has been profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal and his inventions have been displayed at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. He's often invited to tell his story at such venues as the World Economic Forum in Africa, CES, Aspen Ideas Festival, Maker Faire Africa and the African Economic Forum.

William Kamkwamba will share his story of how he achieved his dream of bringing electricity, light, and the promise of a better life to his family and his village. It started with a bicycle dynamo—simply a pedal-powered wheel that generated light. This taste of electricity (a luxury enjoyed by just two percent of Malawians) filled William with a desire to create. Before long, his scientific curiosity sent him on a quest to build a windmill. Besides dealing with financial obstacles and technical difficulties, William became a self-taught physicist, overcame local superstitions, and withstood being mocked for his “crazy” ideas.

For a full biography of William, please click here.
This program is co-sponsored with the Edgerton Center.

Event: Boston Monster March, October 24

City Hall Plaza / Government Center
Saturday, October 24, 2009
4:00 - 10:00 p.m.

It's a costume charity walk. It's a carnival. It's the largest Boston festival in October. See and be seen and help prevent suicide. Last year, the Samaritans took 100,000 local calls on their crisis hotline.

We'll have vendors, food, live music, costume competitions, and prizes. Although the event starts with a daytime kids parade, when the sun sets it switches into an adult charity walk and roaring party. Over 10,000 will come.

Join a fundraising team and get a free professional photo and video clip, and free access to the carnival, with 2 mechanical bulls, facepainting, temp tattoos, a giant slide, triple bungee run, "human bowling alley", 3 inflatable obstacle courses, a velcro wall, and much more. Or just show up and give to the Samaritans (FREE to walkers, or $20 child/$20 student/$30 adult donation).

Please help. Show off your costume by creating a fundraising team page and sending it to friends. We especially need volunteers to poster and flyer right now, too.

Check it out at http://MonsterMarch.org and see you there!

Press contact:
Johnny Monsarrat
617-899-7794
johnny@wheelquestions.org

Event: Last Turnpike Board Meeting, October 15

LAST TURNPIKE BOARD MEETING

Thursday, 9:30 a.m. State
Transportation Building, 10 Park Plaza, Suite 4160, Boston 

The board of the 57-year-old Turnpike Authority
meets for the last time before it and the agency it oversees are formally
dissolved as a result of the new transportation reform law. The authority
controls the Turnpike, a 138-mile long roadway with 260 bridges that bisects
32 cities and towns. 

Board members say they expect a light agenda. "It's
kind of historic, if you ask me," said Mary Connaughton, one of the board's
five members and its longest serving member. "I'm sure a lot of people are
jumping for joy that the Turnpike's going away." Appointed by Gov. Mitt
Romney and referred to as a "gadfly" by outgoing Transportation Secretary
Jim Aloisi, Connaughton was a frequent critic of the agency during her
tenure. "I don't think the toll payers are out of the woods," she said,
referring to potential toll hikes down the road. She said she is in the
process packing up documents, news clippings and various other Turnpike
Authority "memorabilia" strewn across her home office. She is weighing a run
for state auditor and will make a decision by January. Michael Angelini, who
was appointed to the turnpike board by Gov. Deval Patrick in August 2007,
called the authority an "anachronism." "It seems longer than it was,"
Angelini said of his tenure. "It's been a bit of a ride." A Worcester
attorney, Angelini added: "My overriding memory is the Turnpike Authority,
while it has some terrible history, and while the Turnpike has been
victimized by political considerations historically, it consists of people
trying to do a good job." The other board members include John Jenkins,
president of the Comzer Insurance Agency and a Patrick appointee, and Judy
Pagliuca, a Romney appointee and vice president at Fidelity Management and
Investments. Her husband Steve is running for U.S. Senate. 

Under the transportation reform law enacted in June, the authority will be
consolidated into a super-agency known as the Massachusetts Department of
Transportation (MassDOT) and overseen by a five-member board. Jeffrey
Mullan, a longtime transportation official and current Turnpike Authority
executive director, will head MassDOT. Created in 1952 by the Legislature,
the Turnpike Authority's first chairman was William Callahan, the head of
the state Department of Public Works. 

Event: MoveOn.org Heathcare Reform Rally, Wednesday, Oct. 14

Wednesday, 14 Oct 2009, 4:30 PM
"We're Counting on You!" Rally
Government Center MTBA Stop
Boston, MA 02114
Directions: At the Government Center MBTA Stop
Description This event is out of respect for the 45,000 Americans who die each year from No Health Insurance
--- As this events occurs, the senate is scheduled to vote on their Healthcare reform bill
--- If you want to send Senator Kerry, Senator Kirk, and all the others a message, you need to ACT NOW!!!!
This Rally will have speakers, they will be announced
--- The event will also include:
- giving out Armbands
- distributing fliers
- Personal stories
We will start setting up at 4:30PM, start the event at 5:00PM, and run to 6:30PM