The Personal Genome Project

Check out this 3 minute video of my advisor, George Church, talking about the next revolution in medicine - Personal Genomics. Would you be willing to have your entire genome sequenced?

Click here.

How to get back to growth

Please read this great article written by Fareed Zakaria which argues for long-term planning and compromise in order to address the economy.

"The policy debate in Washington is focused on the wrong question: how to spark a short-term, cyclical recovery. Congress has already passed a fiscal stimulus bill, and the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates. All we can do now is wait for these policies to have their effect, which they will. The real debate should be about how to move the American economy back onto a high-growth trajectory. It can be done, but it would require large-scale and smart government policies across a whole range of issues.

The problems are obvious. The retirement of the baby boomers is going to have a crippling effect on all government budgets—federal, state and local. Unless entitlements are trimmed substantially, America is headed for fiscal bankruptcy. Immigration policy needs reform, most urgently so that the United States can once again attract the world's most talented people. Spending on research, technology and infrastructure needs a big boost. (U.S. spending on infrastructure as a percentage of GDP is the lowest in the industrialized world today.) Energy policy needs to be overhauled. Trade policy needs to be revitalized. Tax and regulatory codes need to be simplified in order to keep America a competitive place to do business. "

Click here to read the entire article

Welcome to Charlottesville

Hello from Charlottesville! I'm going to try and post every so often this summer to share stories and experiences from the Ash Lawn Opera Festival.

My contract started last Monday at 10AM with a full company meeting, so I spent 10.5 hours in the car on Sunday making the drive from Boston to Charlottesville, Virginia. I am so lucky to have been welcomed back with hugs and kisses to the home where I stayed last summer.

The Honda takes a much-needed rest in the driveway.

I have a beautiful room to relax in and it is more than half the size of our entire apartment at home! Here's a peek...


The first week has been incredibly busy. The rehearsal schedule is generally chunked up into three time periods over the course of the day. 10AM - 12noon; 2PM - 5PM; 7PM - 10PM. This past week, I was called for almost every time slot for coachings.

The busy schedule was to help the apprentices prepare for the full sing-thrus of both My Fair Lady and Carmen for the Artistic Director and Resident Conductor. I am in the ensemble for MFL and will be performing the role of Frasquita, as well as covering the role of Micaela in Carmen.

For an excellent explanation of what an opera cover does CLICK HERE.

We also just received our assignments for the Musical Theater Apprentice Showcase on July 4th called "Broadway Bound". I'm thrilled with the music I get to prepare: two excerpts from West Side Story (I'll sing Maria), and a fun solo from Oklahoma! called "Many A New Day" which is sung by the character of Laurey.

After such a busy first week, a high amount of stress from meeting new colleagues and performing for all of the directors - I've managed to catch a nasty head cold. At least it's not strep or tonsillitis, as I initially feared. So, today is a day off and I'm spending it with cough drops, antihistamines and Kleenex. The gorgeous view from the back porch is helpful...

Families of deer and fireflies provide entertainment at twilight.

A month in review

Late May and early June were busy for us with work and play. Here's a quick catch up:

Mike tore his plantar fascia -- perhaps he was playing too hard?! Apparently, he scored 2 goals before the injury took him down. Ah, glory...

A covered bridge at the Grafton Village Cheese Company

The cast kinda cramped our style, so we had to revise our plans for mid-May weekend ideas. We had envisioned ourselves walking down by the Charles and biking about town. Instead, we hopped in the car and went to Vermont! We bought cheddar cheese in Grafton, enjoyed delicious ice cream in the sun while gazing gratefully at the cows who'd made it all possible, and stopped through the funky town of Bennington.

Memorial Day brought beautiful weather and the perfect opportunity to get outside for a picnic and a friendly game of Kubb! The girls won... just for the record...

June rolled around and the weather got warmer. A certain "round" birthday was reached by Megan and celebrated by lots of time with girlfriends and a swanky dinner for two at TW Food in Cambridge. The followed weekend our friends gathered with us in JFK Park alongside the Charles River for a few rounds of Kubb (of course!) and a picnic replete with chocolate cupcakes. It was the best way to welcome a new season and a new year!