this just in, rationalist has a new job! Apparently, I must be an excellent interview, because I convinced a firm that wanted someone to work for ten weeks that taking me for five weeks was a better idea.
WonderK, that all sounds delightful. What happens someday if WonderDoggie and WonderKitty don't get along though? That would be very disappointing. But in the meantime, get off archinect and go enjoy your time with WonderMan!!!
Sarah, yes, that sounded very case-of-the-mondays...
I just got done watching a very powerful and thought porvoking movie Sophie Scholl - The Last Days. About one of the activists of the White Rose in Germany during WWII. Kinda restored my faith in humankind.
TK -- are you sure that isn't 12-16 years? That's how long it took me to start liking a lot of things...
I still, however, don't like avocados or (raw) tomatoes, and I'm from California. This causes a lot of consternation and wonderment amongst my family members.
It's 1am and I'm here stuck watching Hidden Potential on HGTv...it is really quite addictive. But I'm convinced the "architect" has a team of minions that churn out those 3d renderings cause he looks far too rested.
And those tv-tects definitely have minions. If I remember right, one of the featured job posts on here a few weeks back was to be one of those minions.
i know the whole boston discussion was a bit up there ^^, but i just want to say that i didn't really have the experience mantaray spoke of...
sure there are alot of students, but they're fairly easy to avoid imo.
that is with a caviat...you must own a car. if you own a car, it's easy to find bars, restaurants, even housing that isn't easy for students to get to. i found housing in 2003 for 1100 a month (split two ways)..about 1000 sq ft, 2beds and it included a garage with an off street parking spot (which is huge)...
of course i also never lived on the boston side of the river...but i'm not sure why someone would want to live on any of the green lines. somerville, cambridge, medford, etc. is more interesting anyway.
so lig..don't dismiss it out of hand...also, take my word for it...boston changed quite a bit in the time i lived there...maybe not as noticeable as nyc...but davis square in somerville (for instance) in the course of a few years was completely transformed from locals to 20-30 somethings looking for cheap rent and housing. inman square too...as well as union square...and stores and such change over quite a bit.
I made it to Davis Square, which actually has changed a bit since my last time there... I briefly stayed near Davis Square for about a week before moving back to Chicago, so I was curious to check out the place. It was beginning to become popular when I stayed there, but now it's really booming... Some old-timers have told me that Davis Square today is like what Harvard Square was like maybe 20 years ago. I haven't been to Inman Square or Union square, though.
If I were to end up at GSD (fingers crossed), I don't think I'd get a car, but I could see myself possibly getting a scooter or at least a decent bicycle. Given that the T shuts down at midnight, I wouldn't want to rely on that as my only option for transportation. Ideally, I'd try to get a place within walking/staggering distance of Gund Hall, but I don't know how realistic that idea is. I guess I'll worry about it if/when the time comes.
I don't mind being around other graduate students, but it's the undergrads who are truly obnoxious. I lived in the Allston-Brighton area before, and that whole neighborhood is like one giant frat house even in the summer. I shudder to think about what it's like during the school year. Combined with the commute from hell on the Green Line, and I'd pretty much avoid that area like the plague.
Good thing I didn't wear my Yankees cap during my visit.
Morning all. You won't believe what Husband did yesterday.
He cut off the cable! Now, for some this is no big deal, but for him, this is HUGE. Husband is one of those people who unwinds,relaxes, ect, by turning on and tuning out via television. As a matter of fact, I'm not yet sure how we will handle the upcoming Smallville season - Maybe I can find a friend to tape it or something, or we could hook up our antenae (how would that look on a plasma?). When he called Verison, the poor lady on the phone was so confused; she just couldn't comprehend that we weren't watching TV, and that he wanted to cut it off. She kept asking if he was switching providers. I know, in the long run, this will be better, but I'm a little nervous of the transition period. Not so much for me - TV controls me, and I don't like to be controlled - but for Husband.
Wish us luck!
Does anybody know of how I can post video clips to the net, without going to youtube? That is, if you guys want to see a video of Abram playing cars.
Abe is driving already - damn kids grow up so fast. SH why did he cut the cable? I hope you've got loads of other things for him to do, otherwise I suspect Abe may have a sibling pop up real soon.
I'm heading to one of our UNESCO sites for lunch this afternoon with my IA (you say tom-mato, I say to-mah-to). I will remember to bring my camera and my sketch book, and a pen. All these things I've forgotten recently.
apologies..didn't think many people made it out to Davis...
although it is pretty trendy or at least popular
totally agree on allston/brighton...there's no reason to live
near BU or BC in my opinion..although there are some exceptional
neighborhoods that i could tell you about.
i'd recommend (if you end up going to the gsd) looking in somerville
i used to live on washington st...which is kirkland (?) i believe that runs
st8 into harvard sq (i used to work there) and in the other direction ends
up in union sq...which was up and coming 5 years ago..and is probably
nicer now. it's also within walking distance of inman. anyway there are
a lot of quiet neighborhoods and one way streets etc that i'm pretty
sure you could find cheapish housing on. some kind of mobile transport
is good though..since there's no public transportation..but i didn't ride
the train for almost all my time in boston anyway.
i rented from a former coworker at the time and lived there for three
years...i could maybe do a little searching and see if he still owns the
place...two nice two bedroom apartments with a grape arbor out back
and two parking spots...and a basement..there's also a studio on the
top floor. it was 675 about six years ago though.
Thanks for the info, Lars... If Toshiko Mori has a momentary lapse of sanity and decides to let me into the GSD, I may need to pick your brain about housing options in the neighborhood.
Regardless of where I end up for grad school, my strong preference would be for a studio or small one-bedroom, as I'm pretty burned-out with the whole roommate thing. Grad school will be stressful enough without having to deal with drama at home.
hello tc! lars, where were you a few months ago when i bumped a thread on boston housing? no matter, i guess i should have advertised in thread central... i was up there about a month ago and ended up getting a one bedroom in central sq. probably not trendy or hip but familiar [to me, i lived there before] and comfortable re. distance to mit, grocery stores, t station, etc.
gin, just remember: everybody wants housing for september 1st. landlords usually ask for 2 months notice. this means the last apartments for sept 1st go out on july 1st. so if you look for housing after july 1st, pickings are increasingly slim... end of june is when everything is coming up.
Wow. I feel like a celebrity, like a rich person, so elite!
I went to the liquor store at lunch - yes, I feel like an alchoholic too - and the clerk asked what I needed, I gave him my list
Vermouth
Tito's (a Texan vodka that is cheap, and smoother than top shelf)
Jonnie Walker Green
Tonic
Soda
The clerk pushed the shopping cart, walked me around to each item, pulled them off the shelf, and then rang me up. Another clerk boxed my items, and then, a tag-along co-worker, after watching me pick up the box, carried the box to my car.
Johnie Walker Green ??? Not blue label, but what is this? I've had Jack Daniels green label and that is 10% less alcohol then regular- is this the same?
I think JW green is suppose to be better than black. They have a bottle of blue-label online for 3grand. Yeah, not springing for that. They did have JW Swing, which husband loves, and hasnt been in the states in years, so I guess I'll have to go back for that later.
And, the green label, if price is an indication, should be decent. It was 57 bucks for a standard size bottle. Is that a fifth? Yeah, I like to buy stuff in bulk, if I can, so I don't buy the standard size often. Yes, we are a drinking family. I like to think of us as social middle class akin to the 50s era, not as white trash alcoholics.
lars, i am sure you are wholly right; I never could afford a car in Boston and therefore was stuck on the train. It is a particularly limited system (including the bus) so if you are looking for housing on an architect's budget and no car (also architect's budget) you are stuck where i was, in brookline or jamaica plain with plenty of roommates. it gets old after awhile. sucks to be nearing 30 and still cleaning up a roommate's kitchen mess every morning. i am sure i would have liked the place better if i had had a car, but then again, while it helps you avoid students, it also helps you avoid everyone else and as i had trouble making friends in new england to begin with, i'm not sure that would have been the right answer for me personally. but i digress.
davis square is awesome and had i stayed in boston i might have moved there. i also like inman square quite a bit -- enough to pay for the occasional cab there -- i LOVE portuguese food and loved going to the b-side for good food, good drinks, and hearable conversation. in general i liked being near MIT more than being near to any of the other schools so that also gave it a plus in my opinion. i would have been ok with living in jamaica plain probably too but without the E train running all the way out there it would have been really aggravating for me to get to and from work.
all in all, i feel like if you have plenty of money (and more of an ability to pick and choose where you want to live) and can take advantage of all that the city has to offer (not free stuff), it would be a fantastic place to live.
ok sorry guys -- boston digression over -- i don't have much else to talk about lately i guess!
we don't watch tv too much either and have never had cable, but we do get about 6 free channels and watch them after kids go to bed. japanese of course.
i dl american tv cuz it isn't to be had here really. maybe hubby can do that, sarah. my laptops are easy to connect to the tv and we watch shows that way every once in awhile.
damn you mac users connecting easily to the television. Sigh
SH, that sounds like a good day at the liquor store, but I believe it has far more that just being a girl - but being pretty as well. But again I'm only assuming - I've never seen a hair on your head. But it does recall that Planters cashew advert that I saw this afternoon, with the lady rubbing the nut against her skin to attract the boys (it wouldn't be me because I'm deathly allergic to Planters cashews)
WK gonna take a picture of the man/dog or you plan to keep us in suspense for the entire summer. I'd actually just be happy with the latter.
My lunch in the historic district was a bust. IA friend was stuck on site for the entire day (she's still there as well). Funny its just a bottled water installation in the new airport but hey. I did get to take out some friends who just got engaged. I downed 3 mojitos which I must say were "simply mahvelous" - best I ever had. the rest was simple tapas from the appetiser menu
Think I could write a letter to CW about getting their programming online like all the other stations? Smalleville is his favourite show, and you can't watch it online, yet. Husband did say today that he would hook up the antena this weekend so we could get local chanels for weather, ect. Wonder how rabbit ear reception will look on our samsung plasma. Hope Husband's mother isnt too bored when she comes calling in the future. All she does is watch Hallmark, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, back and forth, all day long. Ok, so I will admit, I like Halmark movies and such, sometimes, but really, you can only watch so many episodes of Touched by an Angel before the woman's voice gets on your nerves.
Husband and Abe are playing cars in the bedroom, while I'm stuck in the living room. Sounds as if there are some firey crashes. Why is it that when you make the cars 'talk' its always in a high voice - sounds like gumby, or that claymation pizza face from back in the day - and you hold the front end of the car up and move it up and down with every word, like its nodding, or something. Are we the only ones that do that?
Rationalist, congrats on the new gig, sorry I didn't say so earlier.
WK, I'm jealous of your paradise, and I'm sure everyone here is with me when I say "Enjoy yourself, and get off the 'nect. If you're posting, you aren't doing better things!"
Techno, you simply must stop teasing me with the mojitos, unless you're going to come here and make me a couple.
Sarah, I so didn't mean to tease. Despite how much I enjoyed it. I have another lunch date and was trying my hardest to secure a location close to a mojito venue <- as much as this is an island paradise, and so close to our latin american neighbours, mojitos aren't as common place as they should be. At least all the bars have mint though.
Also am I being ridiculous in hoping to find ceramic or glass tiles for less than $5 a square foot? Sigh
Oh and I had loads of fun in the art framing store today. Pictures on flickr. Said store sells more furnishings than art frames though. Alot of them by local designers who just exhibit their works their. Me like - alot!
We were charged this year with doing an 'architecture all-school project" for the entire Governor's School. So a project that involves not only our 20 architecture students, but the 220 other students too: dancers, artists, musicians, singers, etc.
We did a project on the main front lawn of the University in which each student was given a glow stick and the entire class made, directed by us, specific shapes, patterns, spaces, etc. We did a flat roof, a sloped roof, an arch (not so spectacular, Steven), two parallel lines, two crossing but non-intersecting lines, etc. all rendered in light sticks.
it was fun, and I think most of the students felt it was pretty. Kind of like marching band formations, but with light.
I was so wound up during the event, running around with a bullhorn and directing people where to go, and felt such an enormous sense of relief when it was over, that I quickly downed two beers after - one more than I usually have. I'm a bit tipsy.
GSA is fun but SO intense - I'm exhausted!
Can't wait to see you Friday, Steven. vado, sorry to hear you got a ticket!
she's alive....buh hah hah!!!
We've been worried about you LB, thinking that the architects of tomorrow had stolen you away. Glad to see you've returned to us.
Dumb question but will you be able to use those bunny ears once the whole conversion takes place.
Not much to write about here. Been spedning my last three evenings watching German films. I miss hearing it and having been wanting to speak to it, but although there are some that claim they speak it around here, they aren't all that good. Finally is dawned on me to get some DVDs at the library and I've pretty much been in heaven ever since. Alas I watched my last one last night. Now I must go hunting for more.
LB and Steven - glad to see you are back. vado, where have you been? And what's this about a ticket?
So I got an email in my inbox this morning saying something about Figaro in Flip Flops; I got excited. I thought, 'hey, I like Italian operas, Husband has been saying we should do more things that I'm interested in, and flip-flops sounds pretty laid back, so little Abe could come along!'
Man, what a let down. When I clicked on the link, it was all lectures, cooking classes, tastings, and movie screenings. Granted, those are all great things, but Abe isn't really going to enjoy a cooking class yet, and the movie screening was Dracula, and I'm just not into horror films, no matter how seductive and sexy. (Have they made a Dracula porn yet, seems it would be perfect) I was really hoping that maybe they would perform Figaro during the day, in an ampatheatre or something. Oh well.
LBell, in all your scuddling around, did you happen to get video of this living art?
i wasn't exactly rich in beantown either..i had a 1990 honda accord
with 160k miles on it..to eventually 200k.
not sure how many people one can expect to meet on the T.
and we've probably sat across from each other at some point at the
b-side...cause it was my favorite bar there...not sure why at this
point..i still go there whenever i go home, but what is it about boston
bartenders that they can't buy a beer for someone? in new york you're
almost guaranteed that your third or fourth beer is free if you stay in
the same place long enough...anyway...i was there from 96-03...times
of joe, duane, guy with glasses that i can't remember his name..and
a bunch of cute waitresses and tatooed guys.
I'm watching House Hunters on HGTv and there's a guy who's searching for a mid century modern house to move into before his 40th birthday. His current condo had corbusian chairs, an eames lamp. But then the realtor who says he knows him, carries him to a clay roof house - did I miss something?
And Sarah, that is the cutest thing I've seen in a long ass time.
abram's soo cute! (but my acorn is cutier-wink wink) are you the camera woman?
we don't have a winnie the poo yet, but have from our childhoods a curious george and the pair of raggity anne/andy. And MIL gave us a snuggles fabric softener bear -hmmmmm. so as a parent who will attempt to teach the acorn about advertising and marketing attempts to manipulate him, what am I supposed to do? I'm trying to avoid all branded goods as much as possible - hopefully will be able to avoid elmo or teletubbies too. sigh. maybe I should just surrender to the dark side.
I was camera woman on the cars vid, and husband was on the pooh one. We only bought the bear because Abe slobbered on it when we were at Target; figured it was the right thing to do. And I wouldn't worry about the snuggles bear, I mean, its not like he can make the connection.
And maybe, since we no longer hae cable, we wont have to worry about Elmo, the Wiggles, Dora, ect. My fingers are crossed.
john prine's song "paradise" is a good song about kentucky, with a labor/environmental message to boot!
When I was a child my family would travel
Down to Western Kentucky where my parents were born
And there's a backwards old town that's often remembered
So many times that my memories are worn.
Chorus:
And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away
Well, sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River
To the abandoned old prison down by Adrie Hill
Where the air smelled like snakes and we'd shoot with our pistols
But empty pop bottles was all we would kill.
Repeat Chorus:
Then the coal company came with the world's largest shovel
And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land
Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken
Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man.
Repeat Chorus:
When I die let my ashes float down the Green River
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin'
Just five miles away from wherever I am.
i agree, atechno...i'm a really big prine fan, and townes van zandt even more so well...i tell myself they're country-folk to avoid stigmatizing myself as a country music fan, because i am certainly not. well, except maybe for johnny cash.
The day is winding down and the evening is looking up.....This evening is the soft opening for the Restuarant we have been working on for the past couple of months. Mrs B she designed all the signage as well as all the menus along with logos. It is an Italian Resturant
with brick oven pizza....New York Style....So were looking to eat well and toss back some wine and beer. It is always an interesting road
with clients, some you click with and others well you want to get them out the door by the end of the project. We clicked with these guys,
and they appreciate all the work we have done for them and will be great public relations for us during the coming six months or so.
Hey all,
I was sick most of the day. GI issues and so i did not go in to work. Lay in bed mostly.
SH, i probably would wear it now that i can see what it looks like. and you have a cute child...
I too love Van Zandt and lot's of other "country/folk" singers. I gave up my i hate country stigma a couple of years ago. I just don't like contemporary "pop" country much.
Also, LB. I second SH's question. Do you or someone else have video? Sounds like it would look wicked cool.
country is great. even the pop stuff can be good as long as it isn't over-produced. but that goes for anything. i mean look what happened to johnny cash when he was invited to defjam records. the "american" recordings are brilliant. some of the most haunting stuff out there. and before that he was totally edging into kenny rogers territory....
great videos sarah!
the pooh-bear thing is interesting. that whole resistance thing i mean...we let our kids play with almost any toy or cultural icon, high or low brow. somewhere along the line we decided it was better to not prejudice our kids against mickey mouse consumerism cuz it probably would backfire and is ultimately harmless...and i must say disneyland (which is an hour from our house) is awesome awesome awesome, and i don't mind at all if someone is making money out of our enjoyment. of course part of all that is probably because we couldn't afford things like that when i was a kid.
TK -- weren't Curious George and Raggedy Ann brands, too?
The guy who voices Elmo was on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me in today's episode -- it's FASCINATING! The whole episode (a compilation) is great, I recommend streaming it. I'll just say that Elmo's voicer is a big surprise.
I don't think I'd have a problem with my kid getting into Elmo. The show is great (although I will definitely be showing him the old, CLASSIC episodes on dvd before we make it to anything new) (so I guess he may never make it all the way up to Elmo) but anyway -- it doesn't mean I have to buy him the 'tickle-me' doll. In a weird way though, I know the profits on that doll go to public radio, which is always hurtin' for cash, so I'm hoping that means it's not such a bad thing.
Dora seems cute too. I don't have a problem with most of these shows (other than annoyance of course) -- my parents were very good at shutting me down when I wanted toys as a kid and I'm just hoping I'll be the same way.
Thread Central
this just in, rationalist has a new job! Apparently, I must be an excellent interview, because I convinced a firm that wanted someone to work for ten weeks that taking me for five weeks was a better idea.
WonderK, that all sounds delightful. What happens someday if WonderDoggie and WonderKitty don't get along though? That would be very disappointing. But in the meantime, get off archinect and go enjoy your time with WonderMan!!!
Sarah, yes, that sounded very case-of-the-mondays...
Congrats!
Rationalist - Many congrats on the job
I just got done watching a very powerful and thought porvoking movie Sophie Scholl - The Last Days. About one of the activists of the White Rose in Germany during WWII. Kinda restored my faith in humankind.
TK -- are you sure that isn't 12-16 years? That's how long it took me to start liking a lot of things...
I still, however, don't like avocados or (raw) tomatoes, and I'm from California. This causes a lot of consternation and wonderment amongst my family members.
congrats rationalist | when do you start??
It's 1am and I'm here stuck watching Hidden Potential on HGTv...it is really quite addictive. But I'm convinced the "architect" has a team of minions that churn out those 3d renderings cause he looks far too rested.
Thanks all! I start on thursday.
And those tv-tects definitely have minions. If I remember right, one of the featured job posts on here a few weeks back was to be one of those minions.
i know the whole boston discussion was a bit up there ^^, but i just want to say that i didn't really have the experience mantaray spoke of...
sure there are alot of students, but they're fairly easy to avoid imo.
that is with a caviat...you must own a car. if you own a car, it's easy to find bars, restaurants, even housing that isn't easy for students to get to. i found housing in 2003 for 1100 a month (split two ways)..about 1000 sq ft, 2beds and it included a garage with an off street parking spot (which is huge)...
of course i also never lived on the boston side of the river...but i'm not sure why someone would want to live on any of the green lines. somerville, cambridge, medford, etc. is more interesting anyway.
so lig..don't dismiss it out of hand...also, take my word for it...boston changed quite a bit in the time i lived there...maybe not as noticeable as nyc...but davis square in somerville (for instance) in the course of a few years was completely transformed from locals to 20-30 somethings looking for cheap rent and housing. inman square too...as well as union square...and stores and such change over quite a bit.
but these are all areas you wouldn't have seen.
I made it to Davis Square, which actually has changed a bit since my last time there... I briefly stayed near Davis Square for about a week before moving back to Chicago, so I was curious to check out the place. It was beginning to become popular when I stayed there, but now it's really booming... Some old-timers have told me that Davis Square today is like what Harvard Square was like maybe 20 years ago. I haven't been to Inman Square or Union square, though.
If I were to end up at GSD (fingers crossed), I don't think I'd get a car, but I could see myself possibly getting a scooter or at least a decent bicycle. Given that the T shuts down at midnight, I wouldn't want to rely on that as my only option for transportation. Ideally, I'd try to get a place within walking/staggering distance of Gund Hall, but I don't know how realistic that idea is. I guess I'll worry about it if/when the time comes.
I don't mind being around other graduate students, but it's the undergrads who are truly obnoxious. I lived in the Allston-Brighton area before, and that whole neighborhood is like one giant frat house even in the summer. I shudder to think about what it's like during the school year. Combined with the commute from hell on the Green Line, and I'd pretty much avoid that area like the plague.
Good thing I didn't wear my Yankees cap during my visit.
Morning all. You won't believe what Husband did yesterday.
He cut off the cable! Now, for some this is no big deal, but for him, this is HUGE. Husband is one of those people who unwinds,relaxes, ect, by turning on and tuning out via television. As a matter of fact, I'm not yet sure how we will handle the upcoming Smallville season - Maybe I can find a friend to tape it or something, or we could hook up our antenae (how would that look on a plasma?). When he called Verison, the poor lady on the phone was so confused; she just couldn't comprehend that we weren't watching TV, and that he wanted to cut it off. She kept asking if he was switching providers. I know, in the long run, this will be better, but I'm a little nervous of the transition period. Not so much for me - TV controls me, and I don't like to be controlled - but for Husband.
Wish us luck!
Does anybody know of how I can post video clips to the net, without going to youtube? That is, if you guys want to see a video of Abram playing cars.
you can now load up to 90secs on flickr.
I thought you had to pay for that, Steven.
Abe is driving already - damn kids grow up so fast. SH why did he cut the cable? I hope you've got loads of other things for him to do, otherwise I suspect Abe may have a sibling pop up real soon.
I'm heading to one of our UNESCO sites for lunch this afternoon with my IA (you say tom-mato, I say to-mah-to). I will remember to bring my camera and my sketch book, and a pen. All these things I've forgotten recently.
Morning all,
and yea to upload video on flickr you have to be a pro member.
welllll LIG
apologies..didn't think many people made it out to Davis...
although it is pretty trendy or at least popular
totally agree on allston/brighton...there's no reason to live
near BU or BC in my opinion..although there are some exceptional
neighborhoods that i could tell you about.
i'd recommend (if you end up going to the gsd) looking in somerville
i used to live on washington st...which is kirkland (?) i believe that runs
st8 into harvard sq (i used to work there) and in the other direction ends
up in union sq...which was up and coming 5 years ago..and is probably
nicer now. it's also within walking distance of inman. anyway there are
a lot of quiet neighborhoods and one way streets etc that i'm pretty
sure you could find cheapish housing on. some kind of mobile transport
is good though..since there's no public transportation..but i didn't ride
the train for almost all my time in boston anyway.
i rented from a former coworker at the time and lived there for three
years...i could maybe do a little searching and see if he still owns the
place...two nice two bedroom apartments with a grape arbor out back
and two parking spots...and a basement..there's also a studio on the
top floor. it was 675 about six years ago though.
Thanks for the info, Lars... If Toshiko Mori has a momentary lapse of sanity and decides to let me into the GSD, I may need to pick your brain about housing options in the neighborhood.
Regardless of where I end up for grad school, my strong preference would be for a studio or small one-bedroom, as I'm pretty burned-out with the whole roommate thing. Grad school will be stressful enough without having to deal with drama at home.
hello tc! lars, where were you a few months ago when i bumped a thread on boston housing? no matter, i guess i should have advertised in thread central... i was up there about a month ago and ended up getting a one bedroom in central sq. probably not trendy or hip but familiar [to me, i lived there before] and comfortable re. distance to mit, grocery stores, t station, etc.
gin, just remember: everybody wants housing for september 1st. landlords usually ask for 2 months notice. this means the last apartments for sept 1st go out on july 1st. so if you look for housing after july 1st, pickings are increasingly slim... end of june is when everything is coming up.
Man,
It feels like we hav ebeen on 223 forever.....
Wow. I feel like a celebrity, like a rich person, so elite!
I went to the liquor store at lunch - yes, I feel like an alchoholic too - and the clerk asked what I needed, I gave him my list
Vermouth
Tito's (a Texan vodka that is cheap, and smoother than top shelf)
Jonnie Walker Green
Tonic
Soda
The clerk pushed the shopping cart, walked me around to each item, pulled them off the shelf, and then rang me up. Another clerk boxed my items, and then, a tag-along co-worker, after watching me pick up the box, carried the box to my car.
I just love being a girl sometimes.
morning all! forgive my lack of caps, doggie is sitting on my left arm. time to take him out then go take pictures of buildings. see you later!
Johnie Walker Green ??? Not blue label, but what is this? I've had Jack Daniels green label and that is 10% less alcohol then regular- is this the same?
I think JW green is suppose to be better than black. They have a bottle of blue-label online for 3grand. Yeah, not springing for that. They did have JW Swing, which husband loves, and hasnt been in the states in years, so I guess I'll have to go back for that later.
And, the green label, if price is an indication, should be decent. It was 57 bucks for a standard size bottle. Is that a fifth? Yeah, I like to buy stuff in bulk, if I can, so I don't buy the standard size often. Yes, we are a drinking family. I like to think of us as social middle class akin to the 50s era, not as white trash alcoholics.
And I don't like Whiskey, or Scotch. Sorry.
lars, i am sure you are wholly right; I never could afford a car in Boston and therefore was stuck on the train. It is a particularly limited system (including the bus) so if you are looking for housing on an architect's budget and no car (also architect's budget) you are stuck where i was, in brookline or jamaica plain with plenty of roommates. it gets old after awhile. sucks to be nearing 30 and still cleaning up a roommate's kitchen mess every morning. i am sure i would have liked the place better if i had had a car, but then again, while it helps you avoid students, it also helps you avoid everyone else and as i had trouble making friends in new england to begin with, i'm not sure that would have been the right answer for me personally. but i digress.
davis square is awesome and had i stayed in boston i might have moved there. i also like inman square quite a bit -- enough to pay for the occasional cab there -- i LOVE portuguese food and loved going to the b-side for good food, good drinks, and hearable conversation. in general i liked being near MIT more than being near to any of the other schools so that also gave it a plus in my opinion. i would have been ok with living in jamaica plain probably too but without the E train running all the way out there it would have been really aggravating for me to get to and from work.
all in all, i feel like if you have plenty of money (and more of an ability to pick and choose where you want to live) and can take advantage of all that the city has to offer (not free stuff), it would be a fantastic place to live.
ok sorry guys -- boston digression over -- i don't have much else to talk about lately i guess!
SH, your family sounds like my kind of family.
what's life without a little indulgence here and there
and no tv? wow.
we don't watch tv too much either and have never had cable, but we do get about 6 free channels and watch them after kids go to bed. japanese of course.
i dl american tv cuz it isn't to be had here really. maybe hubby can do that, sarah. my laptops are easy to connect to the tv and we watch shows that way every once in awhile.
damn you mac users connecting easily to the television. Sigh
SH, that sounds like a good day at the liquor store, but I believe it has far more that just being a girl - but being pretty as well. But again I'm only assuming - I've never seen a hair on your head. But it does recall that Planters cashew advert that I saw this afternoon, with the lady rubbing the nut against her skin to attract the boys (it wouldn't be me because I'm deathly allergic to Planters cashews)
WK gonna take a picture of the man/dog or you plan to keep us in suspense for the entire summer. I'd actually just be happy with the latter.
My lunch in the historic district was a bust. IA friend was stuck on site for the entire day (she's still there as well). Funny its just a bottled water installation in the new airport but hey. I did get to take out some friends who just got engaged. I downed 3 mojitos which I must say were "simply mahvelous" - best I ever had. the rest was simple tapas from the appetiser menu
Think I could write a letter to CW about getting their programming online like all the other stations? Smalleville is his favourite show, and you can't watch it online, yet. Husband did say today that he would hook up the antena this weekend so we could get local chanels for weather, ect. Wonder how rabbit ear reception will look on our samsung plasma. Hope Husband's mother isnt too bored when she comes calling in the future. All she does is watch Hallmark, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, back and forth, all day long. Ok, so I will admit, I like Halmark movies and such, sometimes, but really, you can only watch so many episodes of Touched by an Angel before the woman's voice gets on your nerves.
Husband and Abe are playing cars in the bedroom, while I'm stuck in the living room. Sounds as if there are some firey crashes. Why is it that when you make the cars 'talk' its always in a high voice - sounds like gumby, or that claymation pizza face from back in the day - and you hold the front end of the car up and move it up and down with every word, like its nodding, or something. Are we the only ones that do that?
Rationalist, congrats on the new gig, sorry I didn't say so earlier.
WK, I'm jealous of your paradise, and I'm sure everyone here is with me when I say "Enjoy yourself, and get off the 'nect. If you're posting, you aren't doing better things!"
Techno, you simply must stop teasing me with the mojitos, unless you're going to come here and make me a couple.
Where has LB been lately?
lb's still teaching governor's school and they're in the home stretch. she's BUSY! (thinkin' 'bout you, lb.....)
lb for governor!!!
Sarah, I so didn't mean to tease. Despite how much I enjoyed it. I have another lunch date and was trying my hardest to secure a location close to a mojito venue <- as much as this is an island paradise, and so close to our latin american neighbours, mojitos aren't as common place as they should be. At least all the bars have mint though.
Also am I being ridiculous in hoping to find ceramic or glass tiles for less than $5 a square foot? Sigh
Oh and I had loads of fun in the art framing store today. Pictures on flickr. Said store sells more furnishings than art frames though. Alot of them by local designers who just exhibit their works their. Me like - alot!
Hi Sarah, thanks for thinking of me.
We were charged this year with doing an 'architecture all-school project" for the entire Governor's School. So a project that involves not only our 20 architecture students, but the 220 other students too: dancers, artists, musicians, singers, etc.
We did a project on the main front lawn of the University in which each student was given a glow stick and the entire class made, directed by us, specific shapes, patterns, spaces, etc. We did a flat roof, a sloped roof, an arch (not so spectacular, Steven), two parallel lines, two crossing but non-intersecting lines, etc. all rendered in light sticks.
it was fun, and I think most of the students felt it was pretty. Kind of like marching band formations, but with light.
I was so wound up during the event, running around with a bullhorn and directing people where to go, and felt such an enormous sense of relief when it was over, that I quickly downed two beers after - one more than I usually have. I'm a bit tipsy.
GSA is fun but SO intense - I'm exhausted!
Can't wait to see you Friday, Steven. vado, sorry to hear you got a ticket!
she's alive....buh hah hah!!!
We've been worried about you LB, thinking that the architects of tomorrow had stolen you away. Glad to see you've returned to us.
Dumb question but will you be able to use those bunny ears once the whole conversion takes place.
Not much to write about here. Been spedning my last three evenings watching German films. I miss hearing it and having been wanting to speak to it, but although there are some that claim they speak it around here, they aren't all that good. Finally is dawned on me to get some DVDs at the library and I've pretty much been in heaven ever since. Alas I watched my last one last night. Now I must go hunting for more.
LB and Steven - glad to see you are back. vado, where have you been? And what's this about a ticket?
So I got an email in my inbox this morning saying something about Figaro in Flip Flops; I got excited. I thought, 'hey, I like Italian operas, Husband has been saying we should do more things that I'm interested in, and flip-flops sounds pretty laid back, so little Abe could come along!'
Man, what a let down. When I clicked on the link, it was all lectures, cooking classes, tastings, and movie screenings. Granted, those are all great things, but Abe isn't really going to enjoy a cooking class yet, and the movie screening was Dracula, and I'm just not into horror films, no matter how seductive and sexy. (Have they made a Dracula porn yet, seems it would be perfect) I was really hoping that maybe they would perform Figaro during the day, in an ampatheatre or something. Oh well.
LBell, in all your scuddling around, did you happen to get video of this living art?
mantaray
i wasn't exactly rich in beantown either..i had a 1990 honda accord
with 160k miles on it..to eventually 200k.
not sure how many people one can expect to meet on the T.
and we've probably sat across from each other at some point at the
b-side...cause it was my favorite bar there...not sure why at this
point..i still go there whenever i go home, but what is it about boston
bartenders that they can't buy a beer for someone? in new york you're
almost guaranteed that your third or fourth beer is free if you stay in
the same place long enough...anyway...i was there from 96-03...times
of joe, duane, guy with glasses that i can't remember his name..and
a bunch of cute waitresses and tatooed guys.
Guess what! Photobucket allows you to upload videos, and it seems more secure than youtube.
So, if you are actually interested, here is Abram playing cars and ABram with Winnie the Pooh.
Its ok, you don't have to be interested. I really don't want to be 'that' parent.
I'm watching House Hunters on HGTv and there's a guy who's searching for a mid century modern house to move into before his 40th birthday. His current condo had corbusian chairs, an eames lamp. But then the realtor who says he knows him, carries him to a clay roof house - did I miss something?
And Sarah, that is the cutest thing I've seen in a long ass time.
abram's soo cute! (but my acorn is cutier-wink wink) are you the camera woman?
we don't have a winnie the poo yet, but have from our childhoods a curious george and the pair of raggity anne/andy. And MIL gave us a snuggles fabric softener bear -hmmmmm. so as a parent who will attempt to teach the acorn about advertising and marketing attempts to manipulate him, what am I supposed to do? I'm trying to avoid all branded goods as much as possible - hopefully will be able to avoid elmo or teletubbies too. sigh. maybe I should just surrender to the dark side.
I was camera woman on the cars vid, and husband was on the pooh one. We only bought the bear because Abe slobbered on it when we were at Target; figured it was the right thing to do. And I wouldn't worry about the snuggles bear, I mean, its not like he can make the connection.
And maybe, since we no longer hae cable, we wont have to worry about Elmo, the Wiggles, Dora, ect. My fingers are crossed.
Hey Steven, have you ever heard a song that goes something like..
"Give me a K and an E and an N and a T and a U and a C K Y, that spells Kentucky, but it means Paradise"
An Old guy sang it to me once, he sounded like one of those cartoon hound dog singers, but he was cool. So, ever heard it?
john prine's song "paradise" is a good song about kentucky, with a labor/environmental message to boot!
When I was a child my family would travel
Down to Western Kentucky where my parents were born
And there's a backwards old town that's often remembered
So many times that my memories are worn.
Chorus:
And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away
Well, sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River
To the abandoned old prison down by Adrie Hill
Where the air smelled like snakes and we'd shoot with our pistols
But empty pop bottles was all we would kill.
Repeat Chorus:
Then the coal company came with the world's largest shovel
And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land
Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken
Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man.
Repeat Chorus:
When I die let my ashes float down the Green River
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin'
Just five miles away from wherever I am.
I don't like country music, but John Prine is funny.
i agree, atechno...i'm a really big prine fan, and townes van zandt even more so well...i tell myself they're country-folk to avoid stigmatizing myself as a country music fan, because i am certainly not. well, except maybe for johnny cash.
favorite john prine song: "Dear Abbey"
The day is winding down and the evening is looking up.....This evening is the soft opening for the Restuarant we have been working on for the past couple of months. Mrs B she designed all the signage as well as all the menus along with logos. It is an Italian Resturant
with brick oven pizza....New York Style....So were looking to eat well and toss back some wine and beer. It is always an interesting road
with clients, some you click with and others well you want to get them out the door by the end of the project. We clicked with these guys,
and they appreciate all the work we have done for them and will be great public relations for us during the coming six months or so.
is The Necklace
Would you wear it? Keep in mind, that I am buying metal clasps for the ends.
Hey all,
I was sick most of the day. GI issues and so i did not go in to work. Lay in bed mostly.
SH, i probably would wear it now that i can see what it looks like. and you have a cute child...
I too love Van Zandt and lot's of other "country/folk" singers. I gave up my i hate country stigma a couple of years ago. I just don't like contemporary "pop" country much.
Also, LB. I second SH's question. Do you or someone else have video? Sounds like it would look wicked cool.
right on, nam -- country v. contemporary country-pop is an important distinction to make.
country is great. even the pop stuff can be good as long as it isn't over-produced. but that goes for anything. i mean look what happened to johnny cash when he was invited to defjam records. the "american" recordings are brilliant. some of the most haunting stuff out there. and before that he was totally edging into kenny rogers territory....
great videos sarah!
the pooh-bear thing is interesting. that whole resistance thing i mean...we let our kids play with almost any toy or cultural icon, high or low brow. somewhere along the line we decided it was better to not prejudice our kids against mickey mouse consumerism cuz it probably would backfire and is ultimately harmless...and i must say disneyland (which is an hour from our house) is awesome awesome awesome, and i don't mind at all if someone is making money out of our enjoyment. of course part of all that is probably because we couldn't afford things like that when i was a kid.
TK -- weren't Curious George and Raggedy Ann brands, too?
The guy who voices Elmo was on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me in today's episode -- it's FASCINATING! The whole episode (a compilation) is great, I recommend streaming it. I'll just say that Elmo's voicer is a big surprise.
I don't think I'd have a problem with my kid getting into Elmo. The show is great (although I will definitely be showing him the old, CLASSIC episodes on dvd before we make it to anything new) (so I guess he may never make it all the way up to Elmo) but anyway -- it doesn't mean I have to buy him the 'tickle-me' doll. In a weird way though, I know the profits on that doll go to public radio, which is always hurtin' for cash, so I'm hoping that means it's not such a bad thing.
Dora seems cute too. I don't have a problem with most of these shows (other than annoyance of course) -- my parents were very good at shutting me down when I wanted toys as a kid and I'm just hoping I'll be the same way.
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