Open Thread

[czsz]

That's the kind of lamppost that would result in days of research at a website like Forgotten NY. I wonder if Boston has a similar resource?

[Mike]

lCE_qiy-sOQ

[BostonUrbEx]

Dude bro dude bro dude dude dude bro bro. Get inside, dude bro. Dude dude bro.

[vanshnookenraggen]

Trying too hard to be the "Double Rainbow" guy. Screw bros from Brooklyn.

[czsz]

Who is psyched to see Boston represented as a America's capital of poor, white, ethnic, tribal, noble, heavily-accented folk AGAIN in "The Town"!?

"There are 300 bank robberies every year in Boston"...and they all emanate from Charlestown. Yeah, sounds about right. Do the tourists doing the Bunker Hill portion of the Freedom Trail know they're in the new Ciudad Juarez?

Bonus scenes filmed during a game in Fenway Pahk in case you can't keep your tribal Boston mind off the Sawx even while watching a movie.

Don't worry, Mark Wahlberg is coming out with the same movie, set in Lowell, if you missed this one or haven't had the chance to rent "Gone Baby Gone" or "The Departed" yet.

[blade_bltz]

Hey, at least GBG was set in Dorchester, and featured some people of non-Irish descent. Wasn't Cheese, the Haitian drug lord, actually an Irish dude in the Dennis Lehane novel?

[Ron Newman]

At 10 pm tonight a line stretched halfway around the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square (all the way to the stage door in back). All people waiting to get into a showing of this movie. Usually I see that kind of line only for a live concert.

[BostonUrbEx]

So it snowed last night.... A little past midnight, 46 degrees and snowing.

[Ron Newman]

where?

[BostonUrbEx]

Some shithole suburb north of Boston.

I mean- Saugus.*

[czsz]

46 degrees and snowing.

I'm no scientist, but isn't this temp + weather combo impossible?

[armpitsOFmight]

Check out my new track, "Take A Shit On My Head." (http://soundcloud.com/armpitsofmight/take-a-shit-on-my-head)

[BostonUrbEx]

I'm no scientist, but isn't this temp + weather combo impossible?

It means it's like 32 or below above the surface and it's still in a frozen state when it hits the warm air, then it melts as it hits any surface.

I don't know that it was actually 46, it may have been more like 40, the car thermometer is a bit odd sometimes.

[kz1000ps]

Check out my new track, "Take A Shit On My Head."

Sorry but these kind of tracks are a dime a dozen. Keep trying I guess.

Here's what my band's up to.... our full-length album just went into Sterling Sound TODAY for mastering and should be all done by the end of the month.. finally!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5ppz7XwNqk

[armpitsOFmight]

^^Which douchebag are you?

[FLAindy]

I'm sorry but I don't log in every day. Have we all agreed not to respond to "armpitsofmight" unless he can post without using filthy language? I'm no prude but I can't stand reading those posts. Armpits....do you have turrets?

[armpitsOFmight]

FLAindy, vBulletin was made for prunes like you; if my posts bother you that much then all you need to do is block me and put me on your ignore list. Ask a MOD if you need help. Getting back on topic, did you like my track, "Take A Shit On My Head?"

[kz1000ps]

Which douchebag are you?

If you really want to know, the answer can be found elsewhere on this site.

[BostonUrbEx]

Where/how can I purchase said album.

[kz1000ps]

Dunno yet. Like I said, it's being mastered at this very moment, and we'll have the final tracks by the end of the month, but we're not signed to a label and we don't have any way to distribute it on our own.

So the next step is to get signed/get a distribution deal/get many units pressed, but when exactly that'll happen is anyone's guess.

And maybe you're asking yourself: why aren't they signed yet? Labels don't want to hear "we're working on something"; they get that all the time and they'll be way more open to spending their money if you have a final product to show them. So it's in our best interest to get the album done and THEN start knocking on their doors.

Until then, I'm more than open to sending you (or anyone here) a track or two.

[statler]

This is a photo from MFA's College Night 2010:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs341.ash2/62126_453291277320_28314922320_5812983_6010775_n.j pg

What is your first reaction?

[Ron Newman]

That it's putting a real strain on the climate-control system and generating so much heat that it could damage the paintings.

[palindrome]

anyone else think curbed national sucks so far?

[vanshnookenraggen]

I mean, I used to go to museums high all the time but I never had THAT much fun.

Honestly though that is a pretty shallow attempt to get kids into art. I never understood most of what I was looking at until I took a few art history classes. THEN go see a Van Gogh high.

[vanshnookenraggen]

anyone else think curbed national sucks so far?

Man I read Curbed everyday and that switch totally missed me. Yeah, they seem too Gawkerish now.

[Beton Brut]

What is your first reaction?

Someone needs to tack up a Dark Side of the Moon poster.

[statler]

OK, so it was just Ron and I clutching our pearls about how them damn kids might inadvertently ruin the art work?

I was more worried about someone bumping and grinding or stumbling into some priceless work or art. The heat thing never even occurred to me.

My second thought was, "Damn I'm old."

[BostonUrbEx]

What is your first reaction?

Hipsters, losers, and douchebags.

Then I imagined one of them fist pumping and knocking something over or off a wall.

[BostonUrbEx]

So I just heard about this today, but apparently my town (Saugus) has implemented Spanish as a core class in grades K-3 (I assume with the intent of fully integrating it through the entire K-12 as time progresses) and as an elective in the middle school (it was previously in the middle school, but the last year they had it was my first year there, and eventually it led to the obvious removal of Spanish 5 (I think there was a Spanish 6 before I got there, too) in the high school).

Anyways, from what I hear, this has caused much political tension and has also caused anti-immigration sentiments to flare. People are going nuts about it and are very concerned that their children might spontaneously implode or something. I'm not sure why it's turning political, it seems like a good thing from an educational perspective...

[czsz]

I went to college in NY and there was a "college night" at the Met nearly every year. They played loud music and lots of people dressed up to go, but they didn't, uh, turn it into a rave.

[bostonbred]

IAM thinkin this look to be THE childrens games.TOOMUCH olds PETA bred. Try the BAGELguy instead. OR. So it would seem

[statler]

Check out the second track.

http://soundcloud.com/bleutopia/sets/bleu

:)

[kennedy]

They had Sam Adams perform at the MFA for that. So that could explain part of it.

[FLAindy]

FLAindy, vBulletin was made for prunes like you; if my posts bother you that much then all you need to do is block me and put me on your ignore list. Ask a MOD if you need help. Getting back on topic, did you like my track, "Take A Shit On My Head?" --Armpits.

[FLAindy]

Will do. Loser.

[BostonUrbEx]

Segway Chief Dies in Segway Accident
By JULIA WERDIGIER
Published: September 27, 2010

LONDON ? James W. Heselden, the owner of the company that makes the Segway, died Sunday morning when he drove one of the two-wheeled scooters off a cliff close to his home in West Yorkshire, England.

The West Yorkshire police did not treat his death as suspicious, Neil Wardley, a police spokesman, said, adding that a local coroner had yet to establish the exact cause of death.

Mr. Heselden, 62, fell into the River Wharfe while riding a Segway on his estate. The vehicle was also recovered from the river, the police said.

Mr. Heselden, a British millionaire, bought Segway in January. He had made his fortune with Hesco Bastion, which produces foldable protection containers that were used by the military and to control flood waters.

After working as a miner and after a career in engineering, Mr. Heselden invented the container unit and founded Hesco in 1990. He remained chairman of the company.

?It is with great sadness that we have to confirm that Jimi Heselden has died in a tragic accident near his home in West Yorkshire,? Hesco Bastion said in a statement. ?Our thoughts go out to his family and many friends, who have asked for privacy at this time.?

The Segway, a motorized scooter that changes direction depending on which way its driver tilts, was invented by Dean Kamen in 2001 and first produced in 2002. Sales of the vehicle initially exceeded expectations but demand has slowed since then. The company is private and does not disclose any financial data.

Mr. Heselden leaves behind his wife, Julie, five children and eight grandchildren, a Hesco spokeswoman said.

- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/technology/28segway.html?src=busln


Oh, the irony.

[Lurker]

Where's the love?

[kz1000ps]

They had Sam Adams perform at the MFA for that.

Ugh. Something tells me this was the first time that bro's ever been in a museum.

[Ron Newman]

Are you referring to the beer, or something else?

[Suffolk 83]

There's a terrible white rapper named Sam Adams. He's a joke.

[BostonUrbEx]

Topsfield Faire starts this Friday, October 1st and runs through October 10th. Yeh.

[BarbaricManchurian]

Street View of parts of Brazil just got released, it's seriously awesome!

[blade_bltz]

Boston Street View finally updated! Now featuring pretty pictures of everything in between the intersections.

And apparently Cambridge still gets the shaft (yet Brookline is bright and shiny)

[BostonUrbEx]

Human landscapes in SW Florida

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/09/human_landscapes_in_sw_florida.html#photo15


Interesting photos.

[czsz]

Cool new city maps made completely of words; only Boston and Chicago available now:

http://www.axismaps.com/images/typographic/bos1b.jpg

http://www.axismaps.com/typographic.php

[JohnAKeith]

I watched the first two episodes a month or two ago and only today went back to watch 3,4, and 5 but unfortunately they've been deleted from YouTube.

To learn more, check out the videos put together by Iowa Public Television:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSEDglz8vKY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qyer8LMkY_E

[BostonUrbEx]

Not only are the ones I posted deleted from YouTube, but these two vids were way better and more informational than the crappy 5-part one I posted.

I wonder if this train is the origin of the produce on the Chelsea Market produce train.


I think it's great how successful this is, from 1 train out of Washington to 3, 2 out of a brand new California facility, in 3 years? And they're going to add a 4th? AND increase the lengths of the trains and size of the receiving facility in New York? Sounds like great business to me. All at 1/3 the fuel and emissions of a truck but in the same time. I think it's a good sign for the future of freight rail and it's possibilities.

[kz1000ps]

Heya, tomorrow is Oktoberfest in Harvard Square. All the usual suspects will be there -- tons of food, beer and a bitching parade -- but also my band will be playing on the main stage at noon! Come out and see the spectacle, get a little drunk, then go home and watch some football! (that's what I'll be doing)

[Ron Newman]

I'll look for you. Are you one of the HONK bands that was also in Davis Sq today?

[kz1000ps]

Nope. I'm with Gentlemen Hall ("www.facebook.com/gentlemenhall) and I'm the drummer. I don't know if you remember but we met once before at a 2006 meeting about the Memorial Drive reconstruction at Morse elementary, and I'll keep an eye out for you.

[MonopolyBag]

Cool new city maps made completely of words; only Boston and Chicago available now:

http://www.axismaps.com/images/typographic/bos1b.jpg

http://www.axismaps.com/typographic.php


That is insane. AWESOME!

[palindrome]

There is a rally to restore sanity (http://www.rallytorestoresanity.com/) satellite event on Boston Common Oct 30th at noon to coincide with the DC one if anyone is interested.

[armpitsOFmight]

How would you guys argue with someone who thinks warm weather and strip malls are better than dense and compact cities? Also, how do you argue with somebody that thinks driving a car is part of American culture and you're weird or un-american if you don't?

[gooseberry]

I wouldn't. Wafting in your mobile barcalounger to Walmart or Target and getting everything you need in one place is great. You miss less TV that way.

Well, maybe you go go the health route. People from suburban America can't concieve of walking or biking as a form of transportation. (I'm generalizing, so shoot me) My relatives from Ohio visited recently and marveled at how many not fat people there were in Boston.

[Lurker]

Urbanity would be more popular if the typical politics within urban centers was less corrupt and punitive tax wise. Entrenched political machines, their army of hacks, and legions of loyal dependents on the government plantation are the stuff of nightmares for the small government crowd. Urban centers should have LOWER TAXES due to the efficiency of providing services and have having an overall denser tax paying population, however that is never the case due to corruption and the welfare state.

One also has to remember that people far away from large urban centers are used to being more isolated and on their own. Typically they aren't dealing with as much regulation or interaction with the government and really don't see too many government funded services or infrastructure beyond roads. So the thought of higher taxation for services they don't use or have never seen, regulation as interference in their life, less personal space, and the lower importance placed on roads, is disturbing.

Drop your average city dweller in the boonies and the same reaction will occur. What do you mean there aren't regulations? Where's XYC service? Why's the only transit public roads? This place is huge!

[JohnAKeith]

Shoot me.

http://johnakeithrealestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/IMG00712-20101101-1744.jpg

[vanshnookenraggen]

That's bigger than most.

[tobyjug]

Does the Citgo Sign seem more faint to you?

[GW2500]

One some bad news two rehersal places, joined in one building, closed about a month ago in Allston, the sound meuseam and the other one, which I just called Rugg Rd. Rugg Rd was clutch for musicians just forming bands. I was recently practicing in there. The rooms went for 10 an hour and came furbished w/ shitty gear, but gear non-the-less. It was actually one of the most schitzophrantic buildings I've ever been in, with MK II arcades, stuffed animals, a real live Boa Constrictor, Medevil swords, and all other types of shit. The other facility was a montly rental and had flavor on par w/ all other urban post industrial reherasl facilities. I was wondering if any one knew why they had to close? There must have been plenty of fire code violations, but that didn't seem to stop them before.

[tobyjug]

Sic transit gloria mundi.

In my day there was a machine shop on Rugg Road run by a father son combo (90 and 60 years old) that would build you a very nice Packard engine. I used them to port, polish and deck Alfa engines.

[GW2500]

Cool Beans, that area actually has a lot going on. A sketchy looking boxing club, a sketch looking billards club. And an industrial building turned into a high quality recording studio on the second floor and an unofficial rock venue/ gin joint below. Allston is a gem.

[Shepard]

But why is every other business in Allston some sort of automotive thingee?

[Beton Brut]

History, Shepard. All of the city's automotive dealerships circa 1930 were on Commonwealth Avenue, centered around Packard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard)'s Corner.

Toby's our resident gear-head; perhaps he'll share some additional historical details.

[Shepard]

Yes, over on the BU thread we discussed the history of Packard's Corner as the original automile... but I'm thinking why, in the heart of Allston Village, must there be a million Valvolines, Autozones, and car washes?

[statler]

"I wanna open a new car-related business, I guess it makes sense to do it near other car-related businesses." Lather, rinse, repeat down through the ages.

[GW2500]

I think all cities have a greese pan alley district. On a positive note it creates a cheaper neighborhood that isn't necesarily inner-city-poor-dangerous, its just not as pretty so it then makes it cheaper.

[vanshnookenraggen]

So you want to be an architect? (http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7429337/)

[Lurker]

Modern architecture students are a bunch of whiny wimps. Try drafting everything by hand and meeting deadlines. Think stair sections are brutal? Try doing lettering and dimensioning for a 200+ sheet project for 2 weeks straight without a personal soundtrack to pass the time.

[statler]

While walking uphill both ways!

[statler]

This is probably old news to you transit nerds but it's cool to us normal folk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WA47Y6em8M

[vanshnookenraggen]

God, even 100 years ago the trains went slow.

[statler]

A while ago there was long, off-topic discussion about 'hipsters' and what they were and were not. This is about the best explanation I've seen:

http://imgur.com/Zmprs.jpg

[czsz]

Too close to home:
http://www.theonion.com/video/obama-replaces-costly-highspeed-rail-plan-with-hig,18473/

[vanshnookenraggen]

[QUOTE=statler;112276]A while ago there was long, off-topic discussion about 'hipsters' and what they were and were not. This is about the best explanation I've seen:/QUOTE]

Holy crap, that is totally right. I never even thought about it like that. Word.

[JohnAKeith]

Because I'm an f-ing Boston police officer, THAT'S WHY.

http://johnakeithrealestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/IMG00820-20101119-1553.jpg

[JohnAKeith]

I hope this catches on.

Court Square Press apartment for rent.

http://johnakeithrealestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/IMG00819-20101119-1515.jpg

[Pierce]

Because I'm an f-ing Boston police officer, THAT'S WHY.

http://johnakeithrealestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/IMG00820-20101119-1553.jpg

in a silver line-dedicated lane, no less

[Ron Newman]

I don't understand -- is he not supposed to make a right turn there?

[Suffolk 83]

I think the car's parked

[Pierce]

I don't understand -- is he not supposed to make a right turn there?

he can only turn left at that intersection, its one way.

Also worth noting that the photographer is standing with his back to a Dunkin Donuts

[BostonUrbEx]

A police car parked in a dedicated Silver Line lane in front of a fire hydrant in front of a Dunkins. Anything else? Was there a burning bus full of children nearby, too, while the cop was eating his donuts?

[GW2500]

A while ago there was long, off-topic discussion about 'hipsters' and what they were and were not. This is about the best explanation I've seen:

http://imgur.com/Zmprs.jpg

Cool hipster poster. To me a hipster is someone who thinks they are above society's ills. B/c they don't shop in malls and own a car. But in truth the metal used to make their bike, was rapped from the earth. It was also probably mass produced using cheap labor. Their food was transported in by gas guzzling trucks. They all have cell phones which are run by companies on the stock market. And if they ever get hurt they will use all of technologies advancements, which involve chemicals, radioactive material, pharmaceutical companies (and the lobbyists who rep them), and rich doctors (who have country club memberships). So while I think they are less detrimental in general they still reap the benefits as well.



And on a musical note they think their music is truelly original, when infact its probably just a rip off of some 60's flower power band.

[Pierce]

wow, that's a black & white worldview you have there. You should find a hipster to borrow some crayons from

[czsz]

Yeah, hipster does not necessarily equal hypersmug liberal. There's a lot of overlap, true, but it's also a well-documented hipster trait to be too ironic or apathetic to ram such do-gooder self-satisfaction down others' throats, even if it seems implied by said hipster's lifestyle. Not that such ironic detachment isn't annoying in and of itself...

That said, there are a lot of hypersmug liberals living in Cambridge / Somerville / Jamaica Plain who dress a lot like hipsters, but if you see them stopping to fill their biodegradeable hemp bag with granola from "Life Alive: Urban Oasis and Organic Cafe" (actual name of a new place in Central) on the way to a protest or community garden harvest, I probably wouldn't put classify them as "hipster", plaid shirt and beard or otherwise.

[GW2500]

I've been playing music long enought to tell you most hippsters think they're better than you. Sure some are just dudes that keep it scruffy, and I can like them. The others act like their shit don't stink and go out of their way to look scruffy. I'm also convinced that they only wear nut-huggingly tight pants to get girls that like guys that wear tight pants. There ain't no way that they wear them b/c its comfortable.

But on the flipside I will give them they're due credit, they are less consuming. But like I said earlier they arn't off the grid either much to their dismay.

[czsz]

Boston's infrastructure costs would be way lower if it could get itself a road printer:

http://pre.cloudfront.goodinc.com/posts/full_1289852502pavestones,brickroad,greenroads,har dscapes,greeninfrastructure,.jpg

[vanshnookenraggen]

If it just uses brick perhaps we can get a building printer as well.

[Lurker]

Boston's infrastructure costs would be way lower if it could get itself a road printer:

http://pre.cloudfront.goodinc.com/posts/full_1289852502pavestones,brickroad,greenroads,har dscapes,greeninfrastructure,.jpg

The unions would murder everyone involved in the implementation of that device and destroy any evidence it ever existed.

Can you imagine paving our streets with granite setts using that machine? It would be glorious......

[czsz]

Haha, maybe they would. Then again, they don't seem to complain about the other machines they get to use. In Mexico, I've seen vast teams of laborers chiseling kerbs by hand. Of course, everyone's brother can get this job...but the job must realllly suck.

[BostonUrbEx]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqEeP1acj4Y

[BostonUrbEx]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/5207682259_0b73915189.jpg <-- Hipster Astronaut Turkey

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4131/5207686107_883a5f8a06.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5170/5207686469_34685084ec_b.jpg

Happy Thanksgiving, ArchBostonians! I hope you all had a good holiday. I'm thankful for the city of Boston, the MBTA despite it's many shortfalls, the people on this forum (minus one or two trolls), and various people important to my personal life.

Special thanks to those who serve[d] in the military and emergency services. :)

[GW2500]

Didn't feel like starting a new thread or trying to find an appropriate one.

My town section Globe
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/south_end/2010/11/comment_period_on_zoning_chang.html?p1=HP_Well_You rTown_links

Proposed zoning code changes could alter the allowable height of the South End's Harrison Albany corridor to reach 175 feet.

Friday marks the end of the comment period on the proposal which city planners hope will draw development, including possibly a hotel, to vacant parcels on Albany Street near the Massachusetts Turnpike.

The plan targets six lots that connect the South End to neighboring districts to the north and south. Lower Roxbury and the northern-most portion of the South End, abutting Chinatown, would see increases in the allowable height for some parcels increase by as much as 105 feet. The South Washington area sandwiched between them, a destination for galleries, restaurants and boutiques, remains zoned at 70 feet, according to the plan.

"There's certainly a historical significance being preserved on Washington Street with the tight restrictions," says Nicholas Fedor, executive director for Washington Gateway Main Street, a business development organization representing Washington Street from Herald Street to Melnea Cass Boulevard. Fedor says his organization supports the development of a hotel along Albany Street.

Comments can be submitted to Carlos Montanez at (617)-918-4442 and carlos.montanez.bra@cityofboston.gov or Marie Mercurio at (617)-918-4352 and Marie.mercurio.BRA@cityofboston.gov. The comment period on the proposed changes will be accepted by the Boston Redevelopment Authority through the end of today. The city plans to finalize the changes by the spring of 2011.

[Lrfox]

Thought this was interesting. Great gift ideas for the urbanist: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/8278/celebrate-black-friday-urbanist-style/

[armpitsOFmight]

Boston ComiCon is moving back to the Backbay next year! I don't blame them since they made all their fans wait in line outside for 1-1.5 hours in the cold. Backbay > South Boston Waterfront

[statler]

Who will be there this year?

[palindrome]

Zukerman: NIMBYs ruin national economy


As terrible as the Great Depression of the 30s was, it had one big advantage over our current depression: the lack of NIMBYism (Not In MY Back Yard). What?s happening in the city of Newton reflects the national trend. Every significant project that can create revenue for the city to fix its infrastructure and public buildings and retain its middle class is met with ferocious resistance from local groups of special interest.


...

http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/news/x1316690708/Zukerman-NIMBYs-ruin-national-economy


lol

[vanshnookenraggen]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: We are a nation of spoiled children who will get what we deserve.

[TikiNYC]

Nimbys are objecting to everything. Tower Verre is being held up (again) (http://sleepny.lefora.com/2009/10/07/verre-tower-midtown/) after having a 200 foot haircut, all because of the local opposition. I don't think it's the worlds greatest skyscraper, but the fact that they are building these in the city means that we are doing well. It's the same furore that erupted when Trump World Tower went up on the east side ten years ago. Now we think of it as a welcome addition and part of the furniture, even though it gets in the way of a lot of folk's view of the Chrysler Building.

[czsz]

Increase in the population density of college degree holders by US county over the last decade:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5090/5234678734_b0631ae6ac_o.png

Also this:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5205/5234086251_64d0e132a7_b.jpg

[KentXie]

Just wondering, is this based off students' hometown or where they study.

[blade_bltz]

^ It's not tracking students, it's tracking graduates.

The Manhattan number is ridiculous. Was Manhattan really that undesirable in 2000? I thought the crime problems had been more or less solved by the mid 90s?

[czsz]

I don't think it was "undesirable", but it's certainly a surprisingly different place even compared to the Manhattan I moved to in 2003. The rate of gentrification/homogenization has been out of control.

I'm surprised at the comparatively low Brooklyn figure, though, and the (encouragingly?) high Bronx one.

[TikiNYC]

That's a large increase in people with (probably) useless degrees. This always makes me laugh when I watch it. (http://twitter.com/collegeisascam/status/8832377807699968)

Celente, from the Bronx says something about MBAs (http://mba-underground.686460.n3.nabble.com/CELENTE-YOUR-CHILD-WITH-AN-MBA-WILL-BE-LUCKY-TO-WORK-AT-SPORTS-AUTHORITY-td926313.html#a2031819)that every student or parent should probably know (he talks about it 16 minutes into the vid) I guess we have a lot of people with worthless bachelor's degree qualified people working at Starbucks here in the city, that's all.

[TikiNYC]

The Manhattan number is ridiculous. Was Manhattan really that undesirable in 2000? I thought the crime problems had been more or less solved by the mid 90s?

In 2000 the murder rate (http://sleepny.lefora.com/2009/03/24/new-york-crime-watch/47/) (in all five boros of New York City) was twice the rate of what it is currently. There was also some other funny stuff (http://sleepny.lefora.com/2009/03/24/new-york-crime-watch/48/) still going on at that time, (11 cab drivers murdered/mass shootings at fast food restaurants) but as you say, the early-mid 90s was worse.

Early 90s had something like 2000 murders a year, more than 4 times current rates and by 95 it had almost halved to around 1100.

[statler]

((?J?))

[Beton Brut]

^ Nice one statler.

Another musical genius turns 145 today (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Sibelius). Pouring a drink to toast them both...

[BostonUrbEx]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51U7H7Q4PQL._SL500_.jpg

This is the byproduct when the atoms of a diamond are split.

[JohnAKeith]

Because I'm an effing Boston police officer, that's why!

http://johnakeithrealestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/IMG00899-20101209-12051.jpg

Yes, I'm going to keep posting these!

[Lurker]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DDuRraJbOg&feature=player_embedded
NSFW reminds me of Angola.

[BostonUrbEx]

Hmmm. Today was probably the slowest day I've ever seen. Other than this forum (the General forum), we haven't had a post in 24 hours...

[Shepard]

Everyone must have been outside enjoying the beautiful weather...

[KentXie]

When there's not much going on in the city, you're going to get one these dog days. How about them Pats though?

[JohnAKeith]

I was disappointed not to get feedback on my posts. It's all about timing, I guess.

Maybe this will generate some interest.

Google Maps, South End edition:

http://johnakeithrealestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/finger.png

[BostonUrbEx]

^ Ahahaha, that's awesome! I've been waiting to hopefully see the Google Car someday to do something, not sure what though.

[KentXie]

^ Ahahaha, that's awesome! I've been waiting to hopefully see the Google Car someday to do something, not sure what though.

When you see the Google Car coming, stand at the edge of the road. Then as it passes you, pose in a way that it looks like you got sideswiped by it. Then lay on the side of the sidewalk as continuation.

[armpitsOFmight]

I just got my first smartphone (android os) and I'm having trouble posting embedding pics from picassa on this board. Copying and pasting the url isn't working. What else do you guys use?

[Shepard]

Try imageshack...

[JohnAKeith]

http://johnakeithrealestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/crooked-e1292385764116.jpg

[Beton Brut]

Dear Santa,

I would like one of these to put my pencils in.

I've been a very good boy this year.

Sincerely,

Tom Menino

[kz1000ps]

Amusing little story out of Troy, NY (near Albany)

City of Beans, Not of Collars

Troy has more than its share of beautiful buildings, gracious streets and memorable urban landscapes.

But the image that graces the city's official website, letterhead and business cards?

That's a photo of Boston.

The photograph has been used by Troy since its current website design was developed in 2003. The image stretches across the top of the page and shows a street of tightly squeezed houses, with undulating bay windows and a flowering magnolia tree.

The city began using the photo more broadly in 2004, when Mayor Harry Tutunjian took office. Tutunjian on Wednesday said he liked the photo, so decided to have it placed on city letterhead and elsewhere.

..

"We never questioned where it was from," Tutunjian said.

Full Article (http://www.timesunion.com/business/article/City-of-beans-not-of-collars-902584.php)

[BostonUrbEx]

Ha, that's odd!

Which one is it? This?:

http://troyny.gov/images/postcard.gif

?

[JohnAKeith]

Nopee.

http://johnakeithrealestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/troy_boston.jpg

[BostonUrbEx]

Ah, cool. Lol

Hmm, I don't see that banner when I go to the site...

[JohnAKeith]

You have to go to the Internet way-back machine. The "Boston" header has been traded out with a "holiday" banner, currently.

[vanshnookenraggen]

Hahahahahahahahahaha

[statler]

I know what I'm getting Van for Christmas. (http://gizmodo.com/5714797/for-150-you-can-pretend-to-be-an-nyc-subway-engineer)

[Suffolk 83]

Total Lunar Eclipse happening early early tuesday morning http://www.mreclipse.com/LEdata/TLE2010Dec21/TLE2010Dec21.html

Any of you photo nerds (in a good way) wanna make me a new backround with some nice time lapse over the skyline? (hopefully we can see it, could be cloudy)

[bostonbred]

IAM seein THIS thing so maybe you Aree two. Making THIS replicases on Grnewald Kenedys:

://www.youtube.com/httpwatch?v=decZP5PfrVM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=decZP5PfrVM

[vanshnookenraggen]

/\ Dude, that is an awesome find. /\

[Lurker]

http://whiteperil.com/2010/12/19/the-butters-spread-too-thick/



The Butters Spread Too Thick


If you read Instapundit, surely you saw this post (http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/111512/), with Glenn Reynolds?s comment, ?Communists are as bad as Nazis, and their defenders and apologists are as bad as Nazis? defenders, but far more common. When you meet them, show them no respect. They?re evil, stupid, and dishonest. They should not enjoy the consequences of their behavior.?
This is not a popular position, and he quickly received a response that went, in part, like this:
As someone who works in academia, I run into my fair share of Marxists. While I disagree with their politics, many of them are decent non-evil people most certainly deserving of respect. There is, to my mind, a big difference between communism and Nazism: it is possible to be a communist with the ?good will,? i.e. to sincerely wish the best most prosperous future for everyone. I think it?s pretty obvious that communism is not the way towards that goal, but intelligent people can disagree. Nazism, on the other hand, is fundamentally impossible to commit one?s self to with a good will. It is inherently racist, hateful, and concerned with elevating particular groups of people on the basis of the subjugation and dehumanization of others.
These people?s whole job as scholars is the unflinching pursuit of truth no matter where it may lead, and we?re supposed to credit them for their ?good will? when they trumpet an abstract ideology while discreetly skating over what happens every time it?s implemented? I find myself unwilling to concede that. It?s like crediting the walrus with more compassion than the carpenter because he made a histrionic show of concern for the oysters before yum-yumming them down.
Of course, it might be said that Reynolds?s correspondent?s colleagues are, assuming they?ve been presented accurately, at least willing to argue Marxism on the merits. The people I find most appalling, and who in my experience are equally numerous, are those who counter any discussion of communist regimes with the statement that first-world Westerners have no grounds for criticizing them at all.
Two weeks ago, there was an Asia Society screening of a UN documentary about the trial of Comrade Duch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaing_Guek_Eav), who ran one of the Khmer Rouge?s most infamous political prisons. Two women became upset during the Q&A session (http://asiasociety.org/video/policy-politics/cambodia-quest-justice-complete) (about 37:00 into the linked video) that all this talk about torture and killing fields and retribution and memories of the dead had not been presented ?in context.? You can guess what they meant, can?t you? That?s right: Big, Bad America had been an enabler for Pol Pot and his fellow-travelers, and apparently that was what we should have been getting worked up about. After all, Indochinese peoples are peaceable, guileless, grudge-free aspiring-Buddha types, so all that unpleasant torturing and executing isn?t the real story, and even if it were, we?d be in no moral position to criticize the Khmer Rouge. Yes, I?m caricaturing the view presented, but not by much. The response from the panel?pointing out that, among other things, the United States and Canada were among only five countries to condemn Cambodia?s human-rights abuses while they were happening?follows.
I wasn?t present at the Asia Society event for this discussion (http://asiasociety.org/video/policy-politics/nothing-envy-complete) of Barbara Demick?s book Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Envy-Ordinary-Lives-North/dp/0385523912/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292720939&sr=8-1), but I looked it up after my beau left his book-club copy lying around. It follows the lives of six people who defected from an industrial city in the northeastern DPRK and ended up in Seoul. They were all teenagers or adults in the late ?90s and thus lived through and vividly remember the famine.
Demick is not a conspicuously talented prose writer, but she has a great ear for an involving story; and yet, after finishing the book, I was most struck by how depressingly familiar it all was. Demick?s informants spoke of tight controls on travel and information. They spoke of indoctrination sessions. They spoke of a shrewd blending of communist ideology with national traditions to tighten the grip of the power elite?Kim Il-sung was presented as the nation?s patriarch, to which it owed absolute filial obedience according to Korean Confucianism. They spoke of the persecution or denigration of out-of-favor ethnic or clan groups, in this case Chinese and South Korean. They spoke of a rigid system of class privilege determined by membership in (or closeness to) the ruling party, from which flowed access to better housing, food, education, jobs, and purchasing power. They spoke of patent lies about industrial and agricultural productivity, with the black and grey markets flourishing as the government ceased to be able to provide for citizens? basic needs.
All of which is to say that, if you hadn?t been paying attention to the names and dates, you could have found yourself forgetting exactly which communist hellhole you were reading about. North Korea?s an extreme example, certainly, but somehow they all seem to end up with shortages for the masses and relative plenty for the shrinking elite.
But of course, we must not characterize such regimes as evil. About 47:00 into the Asia Society video, a questioner complains that everything she?s heard this evening adheres to the ?dominant narrative? about the famine and has not taken into account yucky weather, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the sanctions of baddies such as the United States. All this finger-pointing is a threat to national sovereignty, you see.
Naturally, Demick couldn?t say, ?Listen, sugarpie?that narrative?s dominant because it?s true!? Instead, she gently reminded her interlocutor of the US?s offers of food aid, before falling all over herself to assure everyone that she?d been at pains to make her book ?apolitical.? Would a journalist who?d written about Chileans who suffered under Pinochet have been so fastidiously non-polemical? I couldn?t help wondering.
Glenn Reynolds was talking about avowed Marxists, and it?s important to note here that none of the three questioners at these events defended the Khmer Rouge or the KWP. But then, they didn?t have to. The effect of arguing that communist regimes wouldn?t get into the trouble they do without the machinations of the West (especially America), and that therefore we have no grounds for condemning them, is to place them above reproach.
But they?re not above reproach. No one denies that all human systems are flawed, and that no one has yet devised a political system under which innocents never suffer. The question is which systems do best for the largest proportion of the population in a way that is self-correcting and (to appropriate a term) sustainable. The empirical answer is those with the rule of law and capitalism, and everyone knows it. You don?t hear about anyone?s, including Terry Eagleton?s, desperately floating on an innertube to Cuba or wading through the icy Tumen River to escape to North Korea. As Eric says (http://www.classicalvalues.com/archives/2010/12/defending_evil.html), academic Marxists often play the ?McCarthyism!? card to make themselves sound like brave dissenters, when they?re actually just peddling a fantasy whose real-world repercussions they?ll never have to live through. What?s respect-worthy about that?

[tobyjug]

Communist= Nazi. The motive force is the same: "I know better than you what is best for you". The chief difference: the identity of the intended victim groups. The means of victimization is the same: brute force. What a tally sheet between the two.

(In my youthful days working abroad, I used to love it when a patronizing European would lecture me about American naivete and lack of political sophistication. That conversation would usually end when I would thank said Eurotool for the sophisticated political contributions of Lenin, Trotsky, "our Feliks", Beria, Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Goering, Himmler, Franco, Laval, Petain...)

Academics. Got to love 'em. Defense of communism is a fetish that they ought to have left behind in the 20th century. Or at least they ought to come up with a new "ism" for our times! (No shoe videos, please.)

[Beton Brut]

Toby, you forgot L'il Nic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Ceau%C5%9Fescu).

(No shoe videos, please.)

It's all about bare feet (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/551355-rex-ryan-foot-video-see-michelle-ryans-feet#page/1) these days.

(ummmm, wtf?)

[blade_bltz]

^ Sorry, but there's no way paternalism is sufficient to make you a Nazi, let alone a communist.

Oh wait, I forgot, someone on the Boston Herald comments section told me the French are all Nazis...so maybe you're right after all!

[Lurker]

I apologize for the preachy mood. A useful Cuban idiot really offended me today with the most utterly intellectually and morally bankrupt view of some horrific things which I know first hand to be false.

The article was an indictment of the prevalence of proponents and apologists of Marxism & Communism in academia; whom have no qualms with murderous ideologies as long as they can disassociate from the REPEATEDLY proven historical outcomes.

This is why the enablers in academia are forever rewriting history in order to obfuscate the truth; that their favored ideology ultimate leads to totalitarian sates where mass murder is tolerated in the pursuit of some always increasingly disingenuous utopia.

It's a religion to these people. Blind faith in a system they know by all logical means doesn't work. That's why most of the time these people are either atheists or apostates, they've traded one belief system for another.

[Beton Brut]

This is why the enablers in academia (http://www.planetizen.com/node/29959) are forever rewriting (http://www.crpboston.com/) history (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/WestEnd_Boston_byJohnBHeywood_19thc.png) in order to obfuscate the truth...

...in the pursuit of some always increasingly disingenuous utopia (http://www.agresourceinc.com/img/Kennedy_Greenway.gif).

It's a religion to these people (http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=2722). Blind faith in a system (http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/Home.aspx) they know by all logical means doesn't work (http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/).

:rolleyes:

[tobyjug]

It's all about bare feet (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/551355-rex-ryan-foot-video-see-michelle-ryans-feet#page/1) these days.

Andy Warhol had his first commercial success courtesy of foot ware. Must be a NY thing.

[Beton Brut]

Here's hoping Rex is in his 14th minute...

From Hard Knocks to...Hard Socks. I wonder if Perez Hilton will turn up in the broadcast booth for the next Jets game.

[Lurker]

:rolleyes:

Well done.

[Beton Brut]

^ Thanks.

I'll be here all week. Make sure to tip your waitress.

[statler]

Commenter from another website:

I hope Rex comes out in front of this and doesn't try to run from it. Just say, "Yes, we're a couple of swinging foot fetishists. We love it. There's nothing to be ashamed of. I bust a nut on her feet every night. What are you squares doing?"

[tobyjug]

The video has a sense of humor. Rex could be the new John Candy. (Mmmm... candy corn, tootsie rolls...Never mind.)

[BostonUrbEx]

Merry Christmas, everyone.

[datadyne007]

Merry Christmas! Heading to my parents' house soon to hopefully unwrap some more architecture books! =)

[JohnAKeith]

I got two books about Robert Moses - Power Broker and Robert Moses and the Modern City.

[statler]

I got Variations on a Theme Park - The New American City and the End of Public Space (http://www.amazon.com/Variations-Theme-Park-American-Public/dp/0374523142/)

[tobyjug]

I got 440 rounds of 7.62x54r in a green spam can.

[statler]

You'll shoot yer eye out, kid!

[armpitsOFmight]

City Center Las Vegas. Urban or not?

[KentXie]

^^Not. While it has a lot of activity, it lacks the...I don't know how to describe it, but it lacks like the important stuff. Yeah that's terrible way of describing it.

[palindrome]

^^Not. While it has a lot of activity, it lacks the...I don't know how to describe it, but it lacks like the important stuff. Yeah that's terrible way of describing it.

No streetwall. No ground floor retail. Designed to keep you there.

[TikiNYC]

Happy New Year My Boston Bros...

Check out our 2011 New Year (http://www.sleepnewyork.tk) logo.

[JohnAKeith]

There's been talk recently of having a "student village" in Boston, similar to what's being proposed for Fitchburg.

The concept makes sense but I don't know if it would work in reality, basically because I can't think of any place you could find 200 acres of empty land. Yes, the Seaport District is the logical space but is it the best and highest use of that land to hand it over to residential development to a certain sub-group of people? I think not, it's too close to downtown so its use should be financial w/ some high-end residential.

Other options would of course include Allston-Brighton where I think I remember something being prop... oh, never mind.

Barry Bluestone at Northeastern mentions the village being further out, the idea being that grad students (potentially the target market) aren't as eager to be right next to their schools (the data backs him up on this).

The housing couldn't be specific to students, only, I don't think (even though the reverse, banning students, is legal). So, if you have it in too "popular" an area, young professionals, etc., would move in, defeating its purpose.

FSU president backs student housing district
Sentinel and Enterprise
By Kevin Doherty, kdoherty@sentinelandenterprise.com

FITCHBURG -- Fitchburg State University President Robert Antonucci is on board with a proposal to create a student housing district downtown.

"It's a very good concept," Antonucci said Tuesday.

The plan would provide more off-campus student housing that is "safe and up to code," Antonucci said.

City officials are moving forward with plans to create a 224-acre Student Housing Overlay District in the urban renewal district, which stretches from Kimball Place to Sawyer Passway, aimed at cracking down on illegal student lodging in the university neighborhood and boosting Main Street businesses by steering more students downtown.

A public hearing on the student housing district will be held during Thursday's City Council meeting at 7:30 p.m.

With a yearly average of 150 to 200 students on a waiting list at FSU for on-campus living in a dormitory, the proposed student housing developments would allow "private, regulated, student housing that protects the students and residents," said Ryan McNutt, chief of staff for Mayor Lisa Wong during a recent interview.

There is some misconception that the student housing district will create additional student housing specifically for the university, Antonucci noted.

"We can't guarantee that our students will go there, but if developers provide good, safe housing, we can recommend the housing to our students and sort of them guide," Antonucci said. "It's been our experience that if the apartments are in close proximity to the campus, such as apartments on Highland and Myrtle avenues, it will attract students."

An overlay district allows an additional zoning use to be added to a designated area without changing the original zoning.

The district, supported by the city's Planning Board, would allow developers to build more dense student apartment buildings in select areas if they agree to incorporate stricter regulations, such as fire extinguishers in the halls and overnight maintenance.

Read more: http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_17014924#ixzz1AIsvncQq

[czsz]

Oh no, I've seen and stayed in "student villages" in Europe, and they're miserable places. Think vertical housing projects meet frat house. They're always on the cheapest land at the absolute edges of cities, too - not the most fun places to be when you're in college, and not conducive to students doing anything but throwing wild house parties to have fun.

We're much better off having a sprinking of student housing throughout the city, not only enlivening its streets and allowing the student population to assimilate into day to day city life before they graduate. Of course, it would help if we built enough of it to keep down rents...

[kmp1284]

Some good news from the less talked about side of Boston sports ... The Country Club in Brookline has been awarded the 2013 US Amateur Championship. Obviously an elite club both in terms of its membership and facilities, it's hosted several other major events including five previous US Amateurs, three US Opens and the 1999 Ryder Cup. Perhaps as it was in the 80's this can be a trial run for a future US Open.

[kennedy]

We're much better off having a sprinking of student housing throughout the city, not only enlivening its streets and allowing the student population to assimilate into day to day city life before they graduate. Of course, it would help if we built enough of it to keep down rents...

Yup.

[GW2500]

That would be cool if the US open came around here. Wasn't the 99 Ryder cup and epic come from behind victory for the US?

[statler]

Truly, the end days are upon us. (http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/01/06/tlc-extreme-couponing-series/)

[Ron Newman]

that's a truly odd thing to run on a science-oriented station (Learning Channel)

[statler]

The basic premise isn't that bad. A show actually dedicated to showing people how to be better consumers (or more so, how to better manage their personal finances) could a great, educational show.

I just don't think this is that show.

[Beton Brut]

Look at all we can learn (http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/tv-shows.html) on The Learning Channel.

[Lurker]

They no longer have programing on drawves farming? How will we ever learn about that now?!

It's sad to watch this network devolve into nothing but 'reality' TV.

[BarbaricManchurian]

FYI, Google Street View now covers Romania. Bucharest is a very dense and interesting city, you should all virtually explore it!

[BostonUrbEx]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i6kWbdTvjk

[Suffolk 83]

lulz

[tobyjug]

This film has a time machine quality to it, and, apart from showcasing a lost Berlin, gives hints of a barbarity that always lies beneath the glittering but thin veneer of civilization. Watch your back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwO30VlJscY&feature=player_embedded

[statler]

The Model T went into production in 1908 so by my calculations this is approximately the 103rd year the Globe has run it's "OMG! People in South Boston Use the Craziest Things to Save Parking Spaces After a Snow Storm" story.

[JohnAKeith]

Any chance anyone of here knows anything about the UMASS graduate program in Regional Planning (and/or Landscape Architecture)?

http://www.umass.edu/larp/mrp/index.html

[Lurker]

Michael Bay is now directing political ads?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfkNEq1XioE&feature=player_embedded

[BostonUrbEx]

http://www.sullivanjonesstudio.com/images/north_station/06-nstacross.jpg

From pre-Green Line submergence.

Wonder what happened to the busway with air rights? I think it's a better idea than Haymarket.

[crash575]

JohnAKeith Re: Open Thread
Any chance anyone of here knows anything about the UMASS graduate program in Regional Planning (and/or Landscape Architecture)?

http://www.umass.edu/larp/mrp/index.htmlMy college roommate was in the Landscape Arch program out at Amherst. He really enjoyed it. His master's thesis was redesigning a Guatemalan village. Which he proceeded to do upon graduating.

[Suffolk 83]

Hey Crash do you happen to know anything about Oakley CC? How does it compare to other golf courses locally?

[datadyne007]

http://www.sullivanjonesstudio.com/images/north_station/06-nstacross.jpg

From pre-Green Line submergence.

Wonder what happened to the busway with air rights? I think it's a better idea than Haymarket.

It looks like it was supposed to be some sort of Greenway office tower with bus transport on ground level. I would much prefer this over the scatted head houses of North Sta.

Quite interesting how the rest of the section remained identical to the North Station we got eventually. It truly is a wonderful layout.

[palindrome]

Any chance anyone of here knows anything about the UMASS graduate program in Regional Planning (and/or Landscape Architecture)?

http://www.umass.edu/larp/mrp/index.html


I am also interested in this. What type of career path does this lead to, and what does the current job market look like for said career path?

[kmp1284]

Hey Crash do you happen to know anything about Oakley CC? How does it compare to other golf courses locally?

I'm not Crash, but I'll give my opinion anyways. It's a great little course. I don't think it's even 6,000 yards from the tips but what it lacks in length is made up for in other ways. It's tight, well-bunkered and the greens are quick. It's very well manicured and the second cut of rough can be treacherous. For the most part, the people who belong there are good players and thus it maintains a fast pace of play. The clubhouse itself is fairly standard (formal-ish members' dining room, bar/grill room, locker rooms) although a bit on the small side by Boston standards. It's a great club with a lot of history and for the price I doubt you could do much better without venturing into 495 territory.

[JohnAKeith]

From the "If I were mayor" column in this week's Back Bay Sun (http://backbaysun.com):

One Back Bay resident is tired of noise. "A commercial district abuts a residential district," said she. "We should have quiet zones, where loud trucks would be aloud to idle and leaf and snow blowers couldn't be used."

She said she would up signs up on the corner of Exeter and Newbury that read, "You are in a quiet zone. Please don't shout and make a ruckus."

[kmp1284]

Crabby old b**** needs a one-way ticket to Boca. Plenty of peace and quiet there.

[vanshnookenraggen]

A sign, that'll show'em!

[Lurker]

Any 'quiet' signs would be quickly stolen or defaced by hipsters. Every hipster or punk group in the city worth its salt would have one on display during concerts.

[Pierce]

Any 'quiet' signs would be quickly stolen or defaced by hipsters. Every hipster or punk group in the city worth its salt would have one on display during concerts.

Wait, are you that crabby old lady?

[BostonUrbEx]

Any 'quiet' signs would be quickly stolen or defaced by hipsters. Every hipster or punk group in the city worth its salt would have one on display during concerts.

Better put up some damned "No Hipsters/Punks" signs too! GET OFF MY STOOP, INGRATES!

[crash575]

Suffolk 83 Re: Open Thread
Hey Crash do you happen to know anything about Oakley CC? How does it compare to other golf courses locally?

I don't golf so I can't help you out. However, I used to sled there as kid. Nice hills.

[Lurker]

It was so much easier when I could just put up "Hippies use back door - NO EXCEPTIONS!" and call it a day. Then all those damn kids had to break up into subcultures to make matters more difficult. Now how the heck am I supposed to keep the off my lawn?

[statler]

http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/012711/im-not-a-hipster.gif

[Lurker]

And now for something completely different:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yysbbPStfWw&feature=player_embedded

[palindrome]

Lol, literally just watched that on another forum. ^

[MonopolyBag]

And now for something completely different:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yysbbPStfWw&feature=player_embedded

OMG, WTF! That was awesome yet horrible!

[datadyne007]

So I just did a full-store inventory at AE (Marketplace Center) and the T wasn't running (obviously) when I got out, so I took a cab... Well the cabbie took me to Cleveland Circle instead of Brigham Circle. At first I really didn't care that we were going a completely asinine route because AE was paying for it, but then I got suspicious when we were heading down Beacon St past Coolidge Corner...

He was nice though and shut off the meter and asked me to pay him what I normally pay ($14) after we arrived 30 minutes later...

[Ron Newman]

what's AE?

[BostonUrbEx]

what's AE?

ArchEverett?

[Suffolk 83]

American Executioners?

[datadyne007]

American Eagle (Outfitters). I work at the Faneuil Hall one.

[BostonUrbEx]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBjLW5_dGAM

[datadyne007]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBjLW5_dGAM

Great find.

[statler]

I don't need any of this stuff, but I want all of it.

Globe:
Putting a price on antique printing (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/01/31/contents_of_old_north_end_printing_plant_up_for_au ction/?p1=Local_Links)
Presses, lead letters, and other contents of old North End plant going up for auction

[...]Row after row of creaky oak drawers hold thousands of letters, both metal type and wooden blocks, from fine print to 72-point Tudor. A cigar box brims with square block stamps of the city seal. And there are metal etchings of a few of the city?s forefathers, presumably used years ago to print their faces on official documents.

One picture bears the label ?Clem Norton,?? the Hyde Park political legend whose 1979 obituary led with an anecdote about him meeting a ?bright-eyed lad named John Fitzgerald Kennedy?? at a birthday party for his grandfather, John (Honey Fitz) Fitzgerald, former mayor of Boston. Another 1-inch by 1 1/2-inch etching captured the unmistakable mug of Lawrence S. DiCara, a former City Council president.

[...]

The etchings, city seals, and alphabet after alphabet of dusty type will be sold as a single lot along with oak cabinets and other accoutrements of old-fashioned printing. That means a bidder cannot buy just a single object, such as the curving block of Old English type that says ?The City of Boston.?? If someone really wants, for instance, that etching of Norton or DiCara, it will come with enough equipment to fill an antique print shop.

[...]

The sale will include about 200 lots, from a row of oak file cabinets from the 1930s or 1940s to an Art Deco-style grandfather clock made by IBM. The auction will comprise plenty of modern printing equipment, including paper cutters, collators, saddle stitch staplers, and even a massive Heidelberg four-color press.

[...]

Some may be looking for an old-fashioned platen press with a hand lever and foot pedal. Or one of the gangly Linotype machines that stand 6 1/2 feet tall and still have silver-colored mounds of shaved lead where operators once placed their feet.

?I don?t know the age of them, but they come from the days of Ben Franklin, in terms of the process,?? said Paul R. Dennehy, who was superintendent of the graphic arts department when it closed. ?I used to run them in the ?60s, and they weren?t new then.??

[...]

[kz1000ps]

ANOTHER foot of snow tomorrow?! FUCK YOU MOTHER NATURE

/sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays

[JohnAKeith]

We watched "Man on Wire" over the weekend "On Demand". It is a really well-done documentary about the guy who walked on a tight-rope between the two Twin Towers.

The people are interesting and the way they went about planning and executing the feat is amazing. It includes loads of video of the planning; apparently they were cognizant that people would want to see how they did it.

They interview most, if not all, those who were involved in the scheme, current day.

It's only about an hour and ten minutes long so easy to watch.

http://www.manonwire.com/

The movie trailer:

http://www.manonwire.com/trailer.swf

[BostonUrbEx]

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/hs253.snc6/180173_1569807205423_1242750179_31260232_1051862_n .jpg

WHERE WILL WE PUT 16 INCHES? MY DRIVEWAY IS THE GRAND FUCKING CANYON. GODDAMN SUBURBAN LIVING!

[czsz]

Welcome to every day in Buffalo.

[kz1000ps]

You know, I was just thinking how this is the first winter since I lived in Buffalo that I'm actually feeling fatigued by the weather. But I should add that where Buffalo left me feeling glum, this is has me more annoyed than anything else.

Also, even though Buffalo gets tons of snow, it was the constant 30 mph winds that really got to me. And I suppose the skies...that ugly, ugly Buffagrey.

[blade_bltz]

Greetings from ever-temperate Northern California...LOL

I'm sure you guys have seen this. In 2nd Grade - during the '95-'96 winter - we measured the snow in Larry Birds-on-the-wall.

http://www.boston.com/news/weather/graphics/2011_snowfall/

[czsz]

^ kz - I'm feeling fatigued with it, too. But I don't remember that being the case in Buffalo. Maybe it was just because I completely expected winter to = 2-3 feet of snow on the ground at all times; maybe it was just because when I lived there I was a kid and didn't have to do all that much shoveling / car maintenance.

More than anything, though, I think I'm more annoyed with snow as a pedestrian. Much harder to jaywalk when there are giant snowdrifts between the street and the narrowly shoveled path on the sidewalk, harder to get around people coming the other direction, especially if they have bags and dogs. I'm in NYC right now and the past few days' slush oceans at corners have been disgusting and treacherous (you'd think a city with such high pedestrian volumes would figure out how to eliminate the need to tiptoe over snowbanks to avoid these). It's hard to say whether these issues stem from even a city like New York prioritizing snow removal from roadways vs. sidewalks or whether cars really do just have an inherent advantage during weather like this (you know, except during the most intense moments of storms when their windshields are whited out and they have a change of spinning all over the ice).

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

Another awful New Yorker checking in (Mohawk Valley)


Originally from the Central Region and I went to school above the snow belt (Adirondacks), and in higher elevations, vapor water, combined with cold arctic, caused the snow to be heavier. Which is strange, since we were a good two and a half hours east of the lake.

Anyways, czsz, it's a matter of getting older. When you're younger, you can handle cold, snow, any type of weather. Not so much when you get to be an old fart like me (Old fart meaning I'm pushing thirty). I too dream of Costa Rica.

I was reading the Boson Globe, and the article about where all the snow in Boston is going to go. The solution is to go take the snow and dump it in the Harbor. Well, the issue there is that that snow has been exposed to salt, dirt, asphalt. It would cause an environmental disaster. Sooooooooooooooooo, where are we going to put these snow mountains? It really comes down to safety or the environment. On the other hand, if we took care of the planet better, we wouldn't be having this much snow.

[datadyne007]

Paul Levy (former BIDMC CEO and former MWRA Exec Director) is actually advocating for the city to dump the snow in the Harbor now.


*Edited

[czsz]

Can't they do something to melt it rapidly and then filter it at Deer Island?

[Ron Newman]

Levy advocates dumping snow in the harbor (which is salt water) -- not in the rivers (which are fresh water)

[datadyne007]

Levy advocates dumping snow in the harbor (which is salt water) -- not in the rivers (which are fresh water)

Thanks for the clarification.

[Justin7]

MTA.ME (http://mta.me)

Make sure your sound is on.

[kz1000ps]

I'm feeling fatigued with it, too. But I don't remember that being the case in Buffalo.

I should add that I only experienced Buffalo for two school years, which by comparison to my hometown--beautiful, sunny Albany (yeah right)--was quite the eye-opener. Being holed up on UB's North Campus didn't help perceptions either.

But when I said the snow in Buffalo didn't bother me, that's skewed by the fact that UB had maybe the best snow-clearing system on earth (never did we have a snow day while I was there), something Boston couldn't ever compete with. So while Buffalo was really, really dreary, this right now is more annoying than anything I ever had to deal with out there. Plus, I walk a mile and a half to work, and speaking of which, I'll be doing exactly that in about five minutes.....

[statler]

NYC '77/'79 (http://viewoftheblue.com/photography/ny79.html)

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

Fake TV Lesbian Sex Tape

Her right nipple is very crooked

http://egotastic.com/entertainment/celebrities/tila-tequila/tila-tequila-lesbian-sex-tape-controversy-finger-banging-lady-nests-and-lawsuits-video-viewer-warning-007093

[Lurker]

That really is inappropriate for this forum.

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

That really is inappropriate for this forum.
really?

could you tell me the appropriate forum to post this?

[JohnAKeith]

I'd say the ratio of women to men eating prepared food at Starbucks is approximately 100 to 1.

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

I'd say the ratio of women to men eating prepared food at Starbucks is approximately 100 to 1.
yeah...this^

I also like turtles

[briv]

really?

could you tell me the appropriate forum to post this?

How about not posting it at all. What's your rationale for posting this here?

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

^Wow...I'm sorry, I guess having fun something unrelated to arcitecture in an open, random forum is frowned upon.

Forgive me for not wasting your bandwith and starting a new thread in general. I'll do that from now on if that makes things better.

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

You know what?

I'm done. Peace.

Best of luck to you guys.

[JohnAKeith]

Oh, let's all relax. I don't have any interest in reading "Sanford, Maine" entries but I don't get my skirt all up in a bunch when other people do. We're all adults here.

So most people don't like having links to porn on this site. Now we know.

You're welcomed back, MMC, in my opinion. And I know you're reading this b/c no one who says, "Good-bye World" ever says good-bye for ever. (Which is why I have at least three accounts on this board ...)

[Suffolk 83]

I enjoyed it but I can see why it wouldn't be welcome here.

So MMC FTBPed? Gotta be a first here. I like it, way to be.

[czsz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rUDiz5poLo

[datadyne007]

I'd say the ratio of women to men eating prepared food at Starbucks is approximately 100 to 1.

I get bfast sandwiches, yogurt parfaits, warmed apple fritters, coffee cake, etc all the time at SBux. More stars on my Gold Card towards a free drink. =P

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

Sorry guys, I lost my temper last night.


Not as an excuse, but I have alot of BS in my personal life. I shouldn't have taken my passive-aggressive behavior out on you guys.

Also, snow hurting local businesses doesn't help either.

[datadyne007]

Sorry guys, I lost my temper last night.


Not as an excuse, but I have alot of BS in my personal life. I shouldn't have taken my passive-aggressive behavior out on you guys.

Also, snow hurting local businesses doesn't help either.

It happens... life goes on.

[Mayor Menino's Crohn's]

It happens... life goes on.
Nope, you're right...today's a new day!

[Lurker]

?????????????????????????????????????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk1ZUN6rNOU&feature=player_embedded

[tobyjug]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u070bIYPXXA&feature=player_embedded

[BostonUrbEx]

http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/earthday_04_23/e16_21755895.jpg

[palindrome]

wow cool pic^.

[Ron Newman]

where's this?

[blade_bltz]

Tehachapi Pass, or else somewhere in SoCal?

[BarbaricManchurian]

looks like texas. slight chance it might be China, though

[BostonUrbEx]

"A Union Pacific freight train passes between windmills on January 17, 2010 near of Palm Springs, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)"

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/earth_day_2010.html

[Lurker]

And the circle is complete:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBUoLYOWR8I

[kz1000ps]

^ So lame.

Is it me or have super bowl commercials been lacking in recent years? And why was Eminem hawking for a soft drink and a middling car?

[vanshnookenraggen]

^ So lame.

Is it me or have super bowl commercials been lacking in recent years? And why was Eminem hawking for a soft drink and a middling car?

No, they have been getting lazier and lazier over the years. The ads used to be part of the fun, now they don't even try.

[statler]

I... I liked the Darth Vader kid one...

and also the beaver one kinda...

[datadyne007]

I... I liked the Darth Vader kid one...

and also the beaver one kinda...

He (and his parents) was on the Today Show this morning. They had him take off his mask.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41455377/ns/today-today_people

[GW2500]

I liked the Crystler Eminem one. It was saying hey America remember us (Det). The city that was once the 4th largest, outsold London for records in the 1960's, created the auto industry/ middle class, have been neglected and shit on by the entire country for decades? Yea were still here and maybe just maybe you could support your fellow Americans. (Granted complacent auto execs of the 70's and 80's decided to make shity cars)

[statler]

Yeah, the Chrysler thing wasn't too bad. I liked the "Imported from Detroit" tag line. Eminem pimping for his hometown would have been a lot more effective if hadn't just sold himself out for some stupid drink.

[kz1000ps]

Eminem pimping for his hometown would have been a lot more effective if hadn't just sold himself out for some stupid drink.

Yeah, I wouldnt've minded the Chrysler commercial as much if I hadn't just seen Eminem half an hour beforehand. And although I thought the mesage of "Detroit: we're not dead!" was a good one, I just can't get that enthusiastic over it when the car they're pushing is the Chrysler 200, which is a refreshed Sebring, which was one of the worst cars to hit the market in the last half decade.

The Darth Vader kid one was pretty cute, and I also liked the Chevy Camaro one with the voiceovers discussing what should happen (me likey that redhead).

But on the whole, I'm all for the commercials getting suckier because then it puts the focus back on the football being played on the field and not on the overblown hype and spectacle of it all.

[kz1000ps]

Oh, and what this guy said:

Now, I start rooting for team ?Stop Posturing and Get A Deal Done?. They?re heavy underdogs to the ?Greedy Sumbitches? in the 2011 Lockout Bowl.

[statler]

^^Agreed!
Edit: To both.

[GW2500]

Yea, he should have been pushing the Charger.

In regards to Superbowl and lock-out. Boomer Esiason (what kind of last name is that?) was on the radio, he said, from an event orginazational stand point, that Superbowl was the biggest shit show he's ever seen for a SB. He then said he felt there was some local politics involved in regards to the fire dept saying there were too many people in the stadium.

And in regard to lock out. He painted this picture. Less wealthy owners are having a tough time competing w/ wealthier owners. So they either want wealthier owners to give them some money or reduce salaries of players. Now I'm not the biggest sympathizer of millionaires squabiling w/ billionairs. But I think the players are right on this one. If you arnt rich enought to compete sell your team, get a partner, or be the shitty team. Only one team can win the Superbowl anywase. Although a fair cap isn't unreasonable either.

[Lurker]

I liked the Crystler Eminem one. It was saying hey America remember us (Det). The city that was once the 4th largest, outsold London for records in the 1960's, created the auto industry/ middle class, have been neglected and shit on by the entire country for decades? Yea were still here and maybe just maybe you could support your fellow Americans. (Granted complacent auto execs of the 70's and 80's decided to make shity cars)

The UAW and corrupt identity politics centric politicians ran Detroit into the ground. The city is a cautionary tale how a thriving modern metropolis, even with a rich history, architecture, music, and overall culture, can be destroyed in a decade or two. The Detroit of 1950 would be aghast and not believe the Detroit of 1970+ to be possible. It's like a micro version of the Byzantine Empire played out in a city state over 50 years.

[BarbaricManchurian]

I basically completely ignored the Super Bowl for the first time, it was a complete disgrace this year. UFC 126 was awesome by comparison, was basically buzzed from it until now

[GW2500]

Sure I agree, but Auto execs who refused to increase quality when foreign companies were, also really screwed over the common folk of Detroit. And there were other factors like automation, destruction of public transportation (again from Auto execs), and finally racism. Detroit's is 85% black, New Orleans 70%, Atlanta 60%, NYC + Boston 25%, just to give comparison. It really never was Detroit Rock City, it was/is Mo'town. And in the context of America during the 70's and 80's that worked against you. Detroit's white neighboring suburbs refused to do regional planing and business w/ Detroit as much as possilbe. Many of the white people who left Detroit wanted to see it be reduced to a pile of rubble and they got there wish.

To give you an idea of the strenght of racism in this Northern City. When my parent were going to high school on the East Side (68 -72) they went to the half white half black high school. And what happened was each year the all black high school (which by early 80's they all became) and the all white high school met at my folks high school and had an all out brawl. My parents would hide in the school rooms (w/ people of both colors) while the folks out there kicked the shit out of eachother. My dad said the black dudes would eventually start kicking some ass until the white cops showed up. They then clubbed any black person they saw. Apparently the walk home from school those days was quite daunting, a lot of residuel brawls flarring up.

On a complete side note, my dad ended up going to local comuter college, moved to Boston and made a nice carreer for himself. And these days parents view places like Waltham High the death of hope for your child. And yet a lot of these older generations did just fine under worse conditions. Hmm oversensitive are we.

[Beton Brut]

where's this?

Somewhere around here (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=INTERSTATE+10+PALM+SPRINGS&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Interstate+10,+Palm+Springs,+Riverside,+Cali fornia&gl=us&ll=33.896611,-116.545415&spn=0.000824,0.001742&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=33.896611,-116.545415&panoid=s2w5dCxW_pjdBchCrX1qTA&cbp=12,257.9,,0,13.24). One of the trippiest bits of driving I've ever done.

[czsz]

The contradiction of Detroit - it was a city built around manufacturing and selling a mode of transportation antithetical to cities - was never going to resolve itself well.

The Eminem ad demonstrates how Detroit is still trying to revive itself via the auto industry. It's just not going to happen.

[kz1000ps]

What else do they have to pin their hopes on?

It'll be interesting to see if Detroit gets any lift from the Big Three now that they're seeing consistent quarterly profits.

[czsz]

Not when "consistent quarterly profits" = short term benefit of government bailouts and writing off pension schemes.

The liberal hope was to retool Detroit's economy for more sustainable transportation needs - building railcars for HSR and streetcars for urbanizing cities, for example - but for a variety of reasons, that doesn't seem to be materializing. First, there needs to be more demand for that kind of infrastructure, stemming from more such projects actually happening, and, second, there needs to be government support for retraining and refitting Detroit's workforce and facilities to make it happen. Shoring up the existing auto industry was a step in the opposite direction.