Boston
mikethemadbiologist | March 17, 2008And a Beannachtai na Feile Padraig too! (I've left out the accents cuz MovableType eats them). Tomorrow, in Boston, we celebrate one of the goofiest holidays EVAH!
No, I don't mean St. Patrick's Day--which is the Irish Purim*, and has perfectly...sensible traditions associated with it. I mean Evacuation Day, which celebrates the retreat of the British from Boston after an eleven month siege. That, and that the British decided not to burn the place down to the ground upon said leaving. Of course, Evacuation Day--a nice secular holiday--just happens to coincide with St. Patrick's Day.
What…
mikethemadbiologist | February 21, 2008According to Boston's The Weekly Dig, Massachusetts is casting about for a new state seal. The current one definitely needs improvement:
It's one of the oldest symbols in the US. That may be part of the problem; many think it's outdated. On Wednesday, the Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development considers a bill to change the Massachusetts seal and motto.
The bill would establish a 13-member committee to determine whether the symbols "accurately reflect and embody the historic and contemporary commitments of the Commonwealth."
It's also offensive to Native Americans. So here's my…
mikethemadbiologist | January 12, 2008Whether or not you like maps, if you're in Boston, you should see this exhibit.
The Boston Public Library's Norman B. Leventhal Map Center has an incredible exhibit of New England maps, "Boston and Beyond: A Bird's Eye View of New England." All of the maps are realistic in that every street and building is actually drawn for a bunch of New England towns (the exhibit focuses on Boston, but most major New England cities are covered). It's remarkable to see the pre-'fill-in' maps of Boston: I figure I live what was once about 200 yards offshore.
It's a nice weekend (for Boston in January).…
mikethemadbiologist | December 11, 2007And I blame the demise of my rocket-propelled toilet for this. As the hackneyed phrase goes, let's start at the beginning.
In my apartment, my toilet used to have a gizmo in the tank that looked like one of those rocket backpacks from the 1930s comic books--there was no water, just this rocket pack looking thing. It was designed to use very little water because it was some sort of high-pressure system: it probably could have flushed a bowling ball (regrettably, it's now too late to try). Unfortunately, the containment vessel sprung a leak and the rocket-propelled toilet was replaced with…
mikethemadbiologist | November 25, 2007A while back, I wrote about the full out assault by demonic flocks of turkeys on the good city of Boston. Now, I have personally witnessed the horror up close.
Last weekend, I was in Kendall Square, Boston, about a block away from the Kendall Square T station around noon. And what did I see, but a rather large turkey wandering around (no doubt it was an advance scout for the rampaging turkey hordes). It was rather skittish around people--although that might be part of the master plan to soften we humans up in preparation for the onslaught.
Seriously, this is an urban area. There are no…
mikethemadbiologist | November 10, 2007If you're in Boston, the Boston Public Library at Copley Square is having a free exhibition of The New Yorker cartoonist William "King of Cartoons" Steig's work. It's worth seeing.
mikethemadbiologist | October 28, 2007A while ago, I wrote about the MBTA's test program of playing crappy commercial radio over the PA system at Boston subway stops. Because what Boston really needs is government-sponsored noise pollution. After many complaints, the MBTA has decided to shelve the program, for now anyway:
...disparate T riders are united in joy and a degree of quiet. The two-week-old experiment in bringing disc jockeys and music to MBTA platforms, "T Radio," has been shelved, at least for now.
"There is a God," said Tom Augello, a multimedia editor from Cambridge.
Augello is still bitter from a trip to South…
mikethemadbiologist | October 13, 2007The MBTA in its infinite wisdom has started a pilot program to commercialize the public announcement system at subway stops:
The roar of subway cars and chords of amateur musicians at the T station will now face competition from Neil Diamond songs, 1970s trivia, and live playoff updates from Fenway Park.
It comes from T-Radio, an experiment that began yesterday at three stations and may someday broadcast on every subway platform in Eastern Massachusetts. Disc jockeys and media personalities will mix in light news, weather, entertainment tips, and the like. If it proves popular enough to go…
mikethemadbiologist | October 4, 2007Salon.com has a really interesting article about the hidden and expensive costs of parking. There's lots of interesting stuff in the article, but this bit really stood out (italics mine):
Americans don't object, because they aren't aware of the myriad costs of parking, which remain hidden. In large part, it's business owners, including commercial and residential landlords, who pay to provide parking places. They then pass on those costs to us in slightly higher prices for rent and every hamburger sold.
"Parking appears free because its cost is widely dispersed in slightly higher prices for…
mikethemadbiologist | August 31, 2007Even though it's nearing the end of the tourist season, I was inspired by a letter to Boston's Weekly Dig, and thought some advice for out-of-town visitors would be helpful. First, the letter:
Dear Slack-jawed Touristas,
While we appreciate the dollars that you pump into our Menino-pillaged coffers, being from East Bumfuck, Iowa, is no excuse for the complete lack of common sense and/or courtesy that you and your fellow bus-cattle exhibit as you continually add yet more obstacles to our ceaseless urban rat race. Here's a few helpful hints.
Step away from the center of the thoroughfare while…