The shot heard round the world

Magnet #1152 - Minute Man National Historical Park

Massachusetts is one of those places with history lurking around every corner - our U.S. history. And I love it.

Seriously, I could probably spend months in this state and never run out of things to do, places to see, history to learn. One roadtrip, we managed to find Louisa May Alcott's house, drive near Walden pond, and drop by the Minute Man National Historical Park.

Ya'll know how I feel about walking where history took place, and North Bridge and the surrounding parkland is one of those places.

It was here, on April 19th, 1775, that the conflict between the British government and the colonists came to a head and according to Emerson's account, the first shots were fired and heard around the world.

Wow. I was totally gonna do the whole history lesson, but have I got something better. Someone's actually recorded the National Park Service ranger talk! Annnnd ya'll know I love my park rangers...

Part 1:

Minute Man National Park Battle Road Trail Walk Part 1 from Frank Breen on Vimeo.

Part 2:

Minute Man National Park Battle Road Trail Walk Part 2 from Frank Breen on Vimeo.

Lobby got back...to Capeside

Magnet #1068a & b - Boston Lobster

This two-sided magnet that I picked up at Quincy Market in Boston last year is freakin' awesome.

The lobster's grinning face reminds me of my messageboard friends whom I miss.

But how cute does Lobby look - so happy! You'd think he doesn't realize he's about to get eaten by people of Boston. Poor thing.

Using this magnet today because I finally - finally - finished my Dawson's Creek marathon. Seven seasons over the past three weeks or so, with a DC (Washington) break in between. I mentioned what started my Creekathon a few weeks ago, and it's been so much fun revisiting Capeside and Boston. Fun, and funny, watching a whole series back to back, and from so long ago.

It's slightly dated, with it's constant pop culture references and fashion sense. But mostly the fashion sense. I mean, the shoes alone made me giggle. Still, that cast had some of the most adorable outfits. Even "wrong side of the creek" Joey had some adorable stuff. Though, in later years, that Dawson Leery Scholarship must have paid off buckets, for she was actually wearing a DKNY Jeans winter coat, according to the tag on her sleeve. And good grief, she had a different coat for every occasion! And the scarves! They had the cutest, most adorable scarves!

The music made me crazy. They basically re-scored the show, to save on music rights - which I totally get. But some of the replacement songs were just not right for the seminal moments of the show, and made all the more upsetting when you've got a scene burned in your brain and it's totally not the same song they used in the original.

On top of that, in some of the scenes, some of the music levels overpowered the actual show dialogue. I shouldn't be hearing more of the lyrics than the dialogue, sound dude! And don't even get me started with the use of the international opening for seasons three-six, rather than the Paula Cole track. (Though I was happy they kept it intact for the series finale.)

The show really should have ended at season four - it was a perfect ending to the show. But no, we had to be subjected to the last two seasons...which were made bearable only by adding Busy Phillips. As my sister says, she was like a breath of fresh air to those seasons. It's true.

It was funny because I can recite dialogue from almost every episode from the first four seasons, but I had a hard time remembering some of the episodes from the last two seasons. Like, how in the world did I forget that Joey was Pacey's temp admin assistant for an episode?

It was probably because those last two seasons were very much uneven, and almost a totally different show, riddled with a lot of trial and error in terms of relationships and characters. They did a pretty good job of showing how each of them were leading separate lives, but in doing that, it lost a lot of what the show was about, I thought. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if they had done the One Tree Hill route and skipped college, and jumped right into "real life."

But I suppose the best part of revising Capeside and Boston were the guest stars and cameos. Eddie Cahill, Oliver Hudson, Andy Griffith, Pauley Perrette, Dr. Drew & Adam Corolla, Brenda Strong, Mimi Rogers, Jack Osbourne, Melissa Clare Egan (twice in 2 different roles), Greg Rikaart, and Jensen Ackles. And it just really cracks me up that Seth Rogen, of all people, will forever have Dawson's Creek on his resume.

Overall I have to say, the show held up for me. The same squees at Dawson & Joey and Pacey & Joey and Dawson & Jen 2.0, the same tears at the killer ice cream, all the proms and Jen's good-bye, and of course, the same sighs over Pacey Goo and "I remember everything."

I won't lie. Watching the final montage, there was a big part of me that wanted to run back and grab disc one all over again.

Of course, I'll wait.

But I don't wanna.

Glass flowers

Magnet #978 - Harvard Museum of Natural History

Eeeep, I missed a magnet yesterday! It's because I totally spaced on going to Boston with my parents...luckily, they called me from the road in Delaware, so I had time to run some errands.

All of which meant no sleep, and a quick pitstop at Mohegan Sun (to lose a load of dollars, quarters, nickels and pennies) to spend about an hour in Hingham, MA, for my dad's eye appointment and to come all the way back down 95 home. And straight to bed, where I didn't get up til this morning. Heh.

Anyway. We went to Harvard Museum of Natural History on one of our Boston roadtrips earlier this year. My aunt brought us, so that we could visit their Glass Flowers permanent exhibit.

It's a collection of about 4,000 glass flowers, of all shapes, forms and countries. It's totally cool, because it's not just the blooms, but the leaves and even cross-sections of the stems and roots, etc. All from glass!

A Harvard botany prof wanted to have them made for his classes, so from about 1887 to 1936, they produced them out of Germany. Apparently, they didn't have anything but crude papier mache and illustrations, and he wanted something better.

And better he got, because when you walk through room, seeing case after case after case of these things, you just cannot believe they're all made from glass.

Definitely worth a trip for a different type of leaf-peeping!

Wicked pissah

Magnet #975 - Harvard

Today's pitstop was Harvard.

When I was in junior high or so, my parents took me to Harvard and Yale. I remember lying down in the back of the van, looking up out of the windows, not seeing much, just the occasional tree and building and thinking, nope, I don't really want to go here.

Not that it was a possibility, really - once that first algebra grade showed up those parental dreams of Harvard or Yale disappeared into the ether. Really, they should have known the first, second and third time they had to pick me up from school, fresh from my after-school chalkboard sessions on 6th grade long division with Mrs. Misenheimer. But, it didn't stop them from having us visit.

But, my cousin and I figured since the T stopped there on the way in to Boston that we owed it a visit. The funny thing was seeing it from a standing vantage point, versus the floor of the blue van. Even funnier? How familiar it felt, walking through the Yard.

That's when I realized (like MIT the day before), I was familiar with the campus only through the movies. The first thing I thought of when I saw Widener Library was With Honors with cuteboy Brendan Fraser. Fabulous movie.

Which lead to the running question for the weekend "Did you see the movie _____? That's where this was!!!!"

Which lead to the running answer for the weekend, "No," with an implied, damn, do you only know movies from the 80s and 90s?

So, yeah, the cousin hadn't seen Good Will Hunting, or With Honors which were the two that I thought for sure she'd have seen!

(She hadn't seen The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, either, which had nothing to do with Boston, I don't think, but yeah, we got to talking about Kurt Russell, too. Silly, I know. But don't you think she's better now for knowing that Kurt Russell was the last thing Walt Disney was thinking about before he passed away?)

We spent the next hour or so walking around, joining random tours and taking pictures with random statues (of which we should have thought twice about the posing with John Harvard, it brings added meaning to our pitstop). Contrary to the smart/not smart MIT trip yesterday, I found myself way more intrigued by this campus...of course, it helped that we joined a tour right when it was talking about the the history of Massachusetts Hall, where John Adams, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and James Otis lived back in the day.

Seeing their old dorm fit right in with the rest of the morning's Freedom Trailing.

Sigh. I love Boston, it truly is the most historic town in America...and way better when seen from foot, than the floor of the blue van.

In the neighborhood

Magnet #971 - Montreal

How is it remotely possible that I haven't magnetblogged our five hours in Montreal?

This Saturday, I'm taking my cousin for a daytrip up to Boston to look at colleges. She should be careful because my last daytrip to Boston with a roadtripper friend of mine, we ended up in Montreal - mostly because "we were in the neighborhood."

Actually, that's how I end up in most places on this Earth, because if there's one thing my parents taught us, it's to make sure to see what's in the neighborhood. Especially since you're already there. Sounds reasonable, right?

Um, yeah. My dad's definition of "in the neighborhood" is generally anything within a five-hour drive.

Mind you, Montreal was totally not in the neighborhood of a daytrip between Boston and New York, but hey, when you have a car, you better use it. So, about halfway home from Boston, I gave a heads up to my dad - from a payphone at a Connecticut rest area, natch (it was 1998 or 2001 - the weekend that either From the Earth to the Moon or Band of Brothers debuted. What?) - and told him we were Montreal-bound. He said laughed his ass off, but said, Sure! You have the car anyway.

Off we went, traipsing through the Adirondacks in the dead of night - all alone on the dark highways. We got to some hotel just at the Canadian border at like 3 or 4, got up at like 6 or 7 and drove into Montreal. Honestly, I don't even know why we bothered to get a hotel, but I guess with two girls in their early 20s, safety's key. (Though, don't tell that to my old college roomie who got us kicked out of her boyfriend's UNC-Wilmington dorm room in the middle of the night, forcing us to sleep in the car at the beach.)

Anyway, Montreal. Dudes. On a Sunday morning? Nothing's open. And, of course, we hadn't done our homework, so we had to rely on the information center to give us ideas. Of course, we had to wait til it opened...which meant we had a couple of hours to kill til about 9. Oops.

We drove around and read all the signs - aloud, in French, allowing me to practice my three years of HS French. We visited Old Montreal, and some mall, and then went up to the observation point at Mont Royal Park (that I just learned was landscaped by Frederick Law Olmstead) to get the views of town, which was gorgeous. I suppose in four hours, there's really only so much you can do, but we had to leave by early afternoon, so that we could get home at a decent hour for work the next day.

Sigh. We should have ditched work the next day in favor of a Quebec sidetrip to the Montreal sidetrip to Boston, n'est pas?

Active imaginations

Magnet #912 - ICA, Boston

So you know how beauty is in the eye of the beholder? That adage is never more true than when you visit a modern/contemporary art museum.

That's what I kept repeating to myself, walking around ICA's exhibition galleries today - while I really liked Charles Ledray's workworkworkworkwork exhibition, I wasn't so keen on Dr. Lakra's. The ICA permanent collection was also neat, composed of several different artists and mediums, with some really great pieces that make you think. Hard.

So, that's where that beholder thing comes into play. I heard others ooohing and aaahing over the Lakra, and I agree, his body of work is was quite amazing. I can't even imagine the level of details he goes into to research tattoos and local lore for his art. But, I can admit, it's not my taste.

On the other hand, the miniature work of Ledray was quite something else. It took me several pieces to get into his work, but after I got the concepts, it was all about the details.

The exhibition included about 50 pieces ranging from 3,000 black porcelain, 2-inch vessels to a Cooper Union Square street installation to tiny little overcoats and bears and human bone carvings. No kidding! There were a few of the pieces that I really dug - the U.S. military uniforms, the street installation, a really cool toy chest, the towers of superduper cool mulitcolored tiny vessels.

But, what I love is discussing the pieces, and hearing what the artists intended. ICA has a cell phone audio tour, so I could hear the background on select works. My mother didn't use the tour, so it was interesting to see what her imagination led her to.

With all that...the reason I was there, was to see the awesome building here on this magnet, designed by the same architects as New York's High Line and Alice Tully Hall. So supercool.

Openness is the essence*

Magnet #553 - John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

Last night, Save the World Sister asked me why I'm not blogging on Ted Kennedy.

My response is two-fold. First and foremost, because it's a magnetblog, and I always feel weird blogging on someone's death. Second, I'm trying to keep from the trending topics on Twitscoop. It's weird, I know, but that's what I'm trying to do.

In the end, I can't deny a birthday request, especially for one who so very much would like to play football with the boys at A Kennedy Thanksgiving. So happy birthday, STWsis, with a birthday compromise.

This magnet is what it says - the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, where Senator Edward M. Kennedy is lying in repose through Saturday. I'm sure he's in that grand, nine-story atrium overlooking the water. And with stormy weather on the horizon, I bet it's simply awe-inspiring.

That's actually what I thought of I.M. Pei's building when I saw it. A little imposing, a little boxy, but still a little awesome. Oddly, it feels like it's marooned out in the middle of nowhere - when you drive up, you see the big black glass box popping up. And then when you're inside, it's even cooler.

I should have known Jackie Kennedy was part of the design process - of course, she'd lean toward Pei's sophisticated, somehow modern yet somehow classic work! I love that when they spoke early on in the process, the man tried to manage her expectations, saying that he'd not done a huge monumental work yet. I love even more that she took a chance on him. And what a result!

You really must visit this museum when you're in Boston. With your ticket, you get JFK campaign stickers! I mean, really, if that's not reason enough, I dunno what is.

Your first stop is a small exhibition space for people to get their Kennedy feet wet - really, it's a crowd-holding space before the Kennedy short film that will probably make you teary. Or, sleep, if you're a tired sister. Heh.

After that, the doors open, and you begin the journey through Kennedy history. It's fabulous. I love museums that create mini-experiences for the visitors. And here, it's section after section, with each major era or decision or crisis or aspect of Jack and Jackie, and a lot of the rest of the family on display for the world to learn.

It's weird just how much you're swept away by the terrific story, even when you know there's a tragic ending. By the time you finish at the very somber end, you're a little down and sad, just in time to exit the double-doors into openness and light...

...to walk into a quiet expanse surrounded by glass, allowing an open vista across the water to JFK's Boston. The room is empty, save for a few artifacts here and there. Pei intended the space as an area of hope, a place for quiet reflection - upon the man, his accomplishments, and what we still have left to do.

Quite powerful, really. Befitting of the man. And his brothers.

*- I.M. Pei, dedication program

Fruity displays of affection, or not, as the case may be

Magnet #499 - Caillebotte's Fruit Displayed on a Stand, 1881-82

Nice little still-life from Gustave Caillebotte, a wealthy Frenchmen who was friends with The Impressionists, but not necessarily a part of it, according to his bio.

So this painting's up in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, which I've been to, but honestly, I can't remember if I've seen this particular piece. I just remember going to the MFA to see their Monet show, and that's it. And yet, here's me with a magnet of it.

I just like it because I discovered something odd yesterday: I like strawberry ice cream better than actual strawberries.

Then I got to thinking about it...

• I don't like blueberries, except in muffins.
• I can't stand raspberries, but don't mind them in raspberry walnut salad dressing.
• I don't like cooked cherries or apples, but don't mind them as raw fruit.
• I can't stand pears, but don't mind it in candy form.
• I'm not a huge fan of peaches (cuz of the fuzz), but love them straight out of a cold can.
• I don't like cranberries, except as juice in my Tom Collinses.

See? I told you it was odd. And people wonder why I zip through the fresh market in Union Square every week. Heh.

Great. And now I'm craving fruit salad. Nooo, not that sad little mixed fruit in a cup that people consider "fruit salad." The real stuff, with a ton of fruit and a decadent cream cheese dressing, straight out of the fridge.

Mmmmmm. That's the stuff of real summer, right there.

Happy birthday, Mr. President!

Magnet #462 - Kennedy for President

John F. Kennedy was born today in 1917. 1917!!! He would have been 93 today. Sigh. Still hot. Even now. I'da voted for him, too. I'm just sayin'.

Seriously. Also. Is it bad of me to post this Marilyn Happy Birthday vid, which (if you notice on the vid) she sang it 10 days earlier at his 45th birthday celebration.

Incidentally, even though I just bought that 50-president magnet set (yes, there were extras iconic picture magnets in the pack, in case you were wondering why I can't count, even though I really can't), this is the magnet I made out of the Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum entry sticker.

Don't worry, I bought two other museum magnets - one featuring the building, the other featuring his campaigns. Good grief. That makes four Kennedy magnets.

In one visit.

Indeed.

eta:
By the way, I've noticed there's a return visitor who has been spending inordinate amounts of time - seriously, hours, just this week - on joy magnetism. I welcome the visits, but am starting to worry that you're not human and it kinda freaks me out. If you wouldn't mind posting just a comment to let me know you're human, that would be fantastic. My interactive boys say that I should be reporting and/or blocking you, but if you're a magnet person, I don't want to do that. So please help a gal out? Please and thank you.

On the road again

Magnet #449 - Santa Monica

Annnnnd we're back on the road in a few hours, all of us on the way up to Boston to watch the youngest sister get her Masters of Saving the World.

Though we didn't have one of these Woodies, and we're certainly not blue dolphins, this magnet is totally us.

We spent most of our lives riding around in the back of a big blue/gray, blue or white van - asleep, singing at the top of our lungs, playing stupid car games, reading, fighing, pouting, yelling, changing clothes, noshing, etc.

Fun times.

One if by land

Magnet #207 - Old North Church, Boston

Supposedly today's the day that Shawmut village or penninsula renamed itself Boston. I've found only one reference to a date, so let's just go with it.

I picked the Old North Church because it's Boston, and because tomorrow marks the beginning of National Constitution Week, and I thought it might be a pretty good connection.

Oh, I won't go into it, because even if you don't know this particular church, you certainly know the story, or the Longfellow poem about Paul Revere's midnight ride. This is the infamous church, the highest point in Boston, where the guy had to climb up to the steeple and hold up two lanterns to let people know that the British were coming by sea.

Goodness, how different would our world have been had it been a foggy night?