According to email I received from the alumni office this morning, Charles Vest has announced his intention to retire from the presidency of MIT (link to letter).

I didn’t get to see Mr. Vest in action very much in the two years I was in my graduate program, but he certainly presided over a lot of change. It will be interesting to see who follows him in the office; only one other person has served longer as Institute president.

In preparing for this year’s holiday party at the EMP’s Liquid Lounge, we tried to get “Nobody’s Fault” ready but it didn’t quite happen. However, we did find a tune that worked better: Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing.” It’s a gorgeous song, with lyrics that, while trippy, don’t get in the way of the beauty of the melody.

I learned the song from Sting’s version on his ...Nothing Like the Sun album. His approach to the melody is more sympathetic with my vocal chords, so I’ll end up singing that version while George Bullock and my general manager, Tim Sinclair, do the axework. It should be fun.

I also get to sing backup on some Stones, Springsteen, and other tunes. If I have any vocal cords left by the end of the evening it’ll be a miracle.

All this is by partial apology for the light blogging this week. This has been one of two things keeping me busy. The other? You’ll have to wait another couple of days to find that one out.