Economy Triple

Why We Can Never Go To West Village Wollaston's Again:

2008-11-12T05:11:00.000-08:00

It all started with some toilet paper, or rather, lack thereof.

It's early Monday morning, and we in room 510 realize that we've run dry. Kristen and I decide that on the way back from our morning jog that we'll make a little pit stop at our local Wollaston's to pick some up, overpriced though it may be. Kristen grabs a five-dollar bill and puts it in the customary running storage space... her sports bra.

We run.

We stop at Wollaston's.

The proprietor of Wollaston's is a 50-something year old man, gray of hair, sparse of smiles. On this particular Monday morning, as he reflected on the dismal state of his life (as proprietor of frozen foods for college kids) Kristen's damp $5 bill put him right over the edge.

Kristen handed him the bill apologetically, "Sorry, it's a little damp."

He looks at the bill, looks at Kristen's smiling face, a bit red from the run and replies,

"WITH YOUR SWEAT?"

We both laugh a little, a slightly embarrassing comment, sure, but assuming that this will be a humorous interaction for everyone involved. All the other cashiers are laughing, the customers behind us are smiling, and we're all having a good time. That is, until:

"I don't even WANT to take this"

Oh, wait a sec. He's not joking... he's actually repulsed. C'mon now, we're all thinking, it's not like she dug it out of her bra in front of you, coughing and slobbering all the while. She took it out a couple of minutes ago and dried it off a bit. There's no blood or snot marring Lincoln's green little face, its just a slightly damp little piece of paper and wet or not, it's still worth a full five dollars. Also, its the only money we have... and we were buying necessities.

Kristen pushed on, unabashedly.

"I'll put it in the drawer for you if you want,"

He wasn't having that either. He actually huffed, crossed his arms, and stood back from the register, shaking his head.

"I don't even want to take it."

Kristen tries again, "No really, I'll put it in the drawer."

A silence ensues. A standoff. A clash of the titans. We look at him. He huffs and puffs, turning red, blustering. The eyes of cashiers and customers oscillate between his flustered face and our bemused expressions.

Nothing happens. And then:

He snatches the bill from the counter, quickly counts the change, and without ever making eye contact with either of us says,

"Think about what you're doing next time. THINK about it."

We've won. We proudly take our toilet paper and march on out of there. We are the winners, we are General Ulysses S. Grant leaving the Antietam courthouse, and we will have enough toilet paper to last us the week.

Here we are now, going to the southside

2008-11-04T17:40:00.000-08:00

Radio Playlists - Baltimore and Canada

2008-11-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

Here are the playlists from my past two radio shows.

Baltimore - 10/21:

Andy Cush “Road Trip”
Dan Deacon “Wham City” from Spiderman of the Rings
The Death Set “Negative Thinking” from Worldwide
The Death Set “Around The World” from Worldwide
Ocdj “Bid TIme Stuff” from Horray!
Spank Rock “Chilly Will” from yo yo yo
Panda Bear “Comfy in Nautica”
Animal Collective “For Reverend Green” from Strawberry Jam
Frank Zappa “Joe's Garage” from Joe's Garage - Act 1
Andy Cush “Silver Lake”
Andy Cush “Song for Paco”
Beach House “Master of None” from Beach House
Sound Coloring Book “Womb”
Liz King “Til They Do”
The Moldy Peaches “Nothing Came Out” from The Moldy Peaches
Beach House “Wedding Bell” from Beach House
Talking Heads “Once in a Lifetime” from Sand in the Vaseline
M.I.A “The Turn” from Kala
Videohippos “Koolshades” from Unbeast the Leash

Canada - 10/28:

Andy Cush “Road Trip”
Cloud Cult “Moving to Canada” from Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus
Buck 65 “Way Back When” from Situation
Wolf Parade “Shine A Light” from Apologies to Queen Mary
Feist “Mushaboom (K-Os Remix)” from Open Season
Of Montreal “I Was Never Young” from The Sunlandic Twins
MSTRKRFT “Easy Love” from The Looks
The Arcade Fire “Antichrist Television Blues” from Neon Bible
The New Pornographers “The Fake Headlines” from Mass Romantic
Broken Social Scene “Canada vs. America” from EP to be you and me
Islands “Jogging Gorgeous Summer” from Return to the Sea
A Silver Mount Zion “Godspeed You Black Emperor” from A Silver Mount Zion
Stars “Your Ex-Lover is Dead” from Set Yourself on Fire
The Russian Futurists “Let's Get Ready to Crumble”
Metric “Grow Up and Blow Away” from Static Anonymity
Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew “Gang Bang Suicide” from Spirit If..
Final Fantasy “Many Lives” from He Poos Clouds
Joni Mitchell “California” from Hits
Neil Young “Old Man” from Harvest
Barenaked Ladies “One Week” from Stunt
Feist “1 2 3 4” from The Reminder

Listen up this Tuesday (election day) from 8 - 10 pm on wrbb radio (104.9 in the back bay area and online at wrbbradio.org) to hear sounds of Barack Obama. Music from Hawaii, Indonesia, Illinois, and more!

All Hallows Eve

2008-11-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

The best weather on All Hallows Eve

That I ever did see

Cribbage in the park,

Bike rides in the dark,

sunshine and friends

too good to comprehend

As close as you can get to

a perfect day, with the election only

two days away...

Also...

2008-10-21T07:38:00.000-07:00

We met in the gutter, we shared a smoke or two...oh Cribbage

2008-10-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Cribbage,
We first met when I was eight, though my appreciation and recognition of your credence amongst card games came much later. It was my Memere who first suggested we convene. "Oh Kris, I'm about to consummate my skills with your Pepere and cribbage in the kitchen, would you like to join?" It sounded bawdy; I opted to watch. Next thing I knew, your bodily board was laid, your cards dealt, and ardent tension ensued after just two cribs. Unaware of the implications, I had boarded your kiddy-coaster peaking only to reveal the macho twister on the distant edge of the amusement park, desiring so to reach its glorious zenith. Pepere lashed out, "Ah HAH!" with his double double run that would peg 16, while Memere maintained tenure of her composed demeanor. With her unrevealed Jack-Jack-Jack-5 hand, she gently closed her eyes and cut the deck, eager to re-clench her lead. Crib-Almighty-Bless-You, a 5 was cut (A stroke which I now know was undoubtedly a gift bestowed by your Cribbage Deity that reward those with skill and composed demeanors- I am working on the latter and will soon gain their favor). The pegging began. I was enthralled in your alien point system. The shouting of fifteens, 2,4,6,8! "Nobs, I'll surely skunk you now, hun!" Oh the insanity! Later that afternoon, after Pepere had finished Memere's perfunctory household duties (a small price to pay for his loss as his temper administered some bellowing of sorts) I decided we must court and I embarked upon my first game: the result of which was the onset of a prolonged record of defeat. Since that day, I've gained recognition for boosting even the most inexperienced and pitiful player's morale. It is not a reputation I had strived for, but it is one that I have come to accept and embrace with honor and pride. I'm trying to stay focused on the positive, you see. I hope you understand that I want this relationship as much as you do, honest! Just cut me some slack, and for Cribs sake, put out more. What do you say?

See you at dinner sweets,
Kristen

DO IT. http://cribbage.org/

FIRST RADIO SHOW!

2008-10-14T20:21:00.001-07:00

I had my first radio show tonight. It started off kinda shaky, with a computer that crashed and wouldn't start and a malfunctioning i-pod dock. But with a few jokes, a PSA about raisins, and some Dosh to hold us over (thanks Tricia) all turned out okay.

Who knew having a radio show was so much fun? Have a dance party, hang out with good friends, talk about shit, and play whatever muzic I want. Man. My mom does this for a living? Another thing she's gotten right.

Here is the info about the show:

The Road Trip

with The Red Bullet

Tuesdays, 8 - 10 pm EST

104.9 in the Back Bay area and

online at WRBBradio.org

Flyers to come designed by Ross Robert Yates. Fuck yeah.

The schtick for my show is that each week I will be playing music from a different location. This week, I played music solely from my hometown of Minneapolis, MN. I had on my good friend Tricia from the land of the lakes and we talked about the MN music scene, hot dish, and sightings of Prince at the supermarket (it happens).

Here is the playlist:

Dosh “Mpls Rock and Roll” from The List Take
Fred Savage and The Unbeatables “Cliff Turk Sucks”
Happy Apple “Paulies Quick Temper Has Gotten Him Into a Few Jams”
Atmosphere “Always Coming Back Home to You” from Seven's Travels (Rhymesayers / Epitaph 2003)
Brother Ali “Forest Whitaker” from Shadows on the Sun (Rhymesayers)
Dessa “Everything Floats” from FalseHopes
Prince “Let's Go Crazy” from Purple Rain
Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapels “When the World Turned Off It's Lights” from Orange Peels and Rattlesnakes
Cloud Cult “Living on the Outside of Your Skin” from Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus
Zibra Zibra “Goodnight Rockstar!”
Brother & Sister “b e s t s i s t e r e v e r”
The Replacements “Beer for Breakfast” from All For Nothing/Nothing for All (1984)
Down and Above “Montana” from Vena Cava
P.O.S. “De la Souls” from Audition (Rhymesayers)
Eyedea & Abilities “Now” from E&A
Bob Dylan “I Want You” from Blonde on Blonde (1966)
Sims “Key Grip (fax)” from Lights Out Paris
Cecil Otter “Lakeshore Drifter” from Fasehopes
Atmosphere “Yesterday” from When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold (2008)
Doomtree “Slow Burn” from FalseHopes
Digitata “What's Cookin?” from sexually transmitted emotions
Bob Dylan “Don't Think Twice, It's Alright” from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

Tune in next week for tunes from the Baltimore, Maryland area with special guest star Andy Cush (incuding music from the Cushmeister himself).

YEAH COLLEGE!

Writing papers about Girl Talk? Fuck Yeah

2008-10-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a paper I wrote for my English class about Girl Talk. Also about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Kelly Clarkson. Intrigued? Read on....

The title of the paper is "Musical Reproduction: Modifications, Mash-Ups, and the Mix CD."

The ability to reproduce artistic works entirely changes the context in which art is interpreted. Historically, the single location in which a specific work of art existed was part of an individual artistic experience. When the ability to reproduce art became easy and effortless, the process of giving meaning to art became much more complex. Textual information and what is seen before or after a piece directly affects viewer’s relationship with that work. More importantly, the reproduction lends itself to the possibility of serving a vast amount of contrasting functions. In Ways of Seeing, John Berger states that, “Reproduction makes it possible, even inevitable, that an image will be used for many different purposes” (148).

Berger’s position on artistic reproduction is relevant to 21st century music. “Maps” is a 2003 rock hit by the band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The song has a catchy melody, simple lyrics, and recognizable guitar riff. When the single was released in 2004, it became an instant hit. The ability to make physical reproductions of this song allowed it to be bought, downloaded, and loved by millions across the country.

The millions that heard this song did so as the musicians intended through the artists’ deliberate recording. However, the song traveled to the listener, rather than the listener to the song. This means that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had no control over the context in which their work was heard. Listeners could choose to listen to the song loudly or quietly, with the bass turned up or down, with friends or all alone. They could choose what to listen to before or after they heard this song and which lyrics are meaningful. The reproduction of the work takes away the artist’s control over the context of the piece. As Berger would say, the meaning “multiplies and fragments into many meanings” (143).

Despite the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ regular play on radio stations nationwide and invitation to the prestigious Grammy Music Awards, the band has managed to maintain an identity as an independent, alternative band. This goes beyond the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s musical sound to the presence and persona of the band itself. Lead singer Karen O embraces a personality far from the typical pop star. The singer is recognized for her outrageous, dynamic, and memorable fashion statements and regularly performs intense dance sequences during live performances.

In addition, the band retains its indie identity by rejecting the conventional craving for stardom and fame. In an interview with The Observer, Karen O claimed to have “ambitions for our music and our art” rather than status and popularity (Hanley 2). When the band’s fan base suddenly grew substantially, Karen O decided to spend a year away from the musical scene getting “plugged back in to the normal life” before recording another album (Hanley 2).

Listeners of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs could conceivably know about the band’s eccentric profile and dismissal of conventional artistic standards before their listening experience. Listeners may appreciate this song more because of the band’s longstanding “indie” credibility, even though the band has become popular enough that they have entered the mainstream. This shows how the context in which a piece of art is understood has an effect on the work’s meaning. A listener’s previous knowledge about the band, exposure or lack of exposure to other types of music, and prior associations with the tune will play a role in the meaning they create during their listening experience.

Berger pointedly states that meaning associated with art is easily modified or changed (143). Individuals can choose to draw different meaning from the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s song based on their personal background. According to Berger, “the way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe,” (134).

The relationship between reproduction and the meaning of a work of art goes beyond the changing context in which a piece is interpreted. The reproduction of art enables it to be altered to serve entirely unrelated purposes. “Since U Been Gone” is a 2004 pop hit by singer Kelly Clarkson. A listener does not have to examine the song too closely to detect its similarities to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps.” Even to the untrained ear, the guitar break from Clarkson’s song is nearly identical to a quickened version of the break in “Maps.” While the chord progression is nearly identical, Clarkson’s song attracts a much different audience. With a polished production value, clean pop vocals, and romantic lyrics, the song has a greater mainstream appeal.

An interesting question to ask is why Kelly Clarkson has swiped this distinct guitar riff from this particular band. It is possible that Clarkson accidentally imitated this sequence of notes without any knowledge of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs previous recoding of it. While this coincidence is conceivable, the uniqueness of the riff and exactness of Clarkson’s emulation make it seem highly unlikely.

Another possibility is that Clarkson was trying to gain success by mimicking the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s in her own style. It is notable that both “Maps” and “Since U Been Gone” are songs about lost love. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs primary lyric is, “They don’t love you like I love you” and Clarkson sings, “You’re dedicated, you took the time / It wasn’t long till I called you mine.” Clarkson could have included the riff and lyrics into her song to try to appeal to the large “indie” crowd that provided the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s with their success. Contrastingly, Clarkson could have been inspired by the riff in “Maps” to write “Since U Been Gone,” assuming that audiences would not take note of the similarities between the two songs.

The undeniable likeness of the two pieces reflects the changing authority of art that comes from reproduction. In an interview with The Rolling Stone, Karen O stated, “If it wasn’t [Kelly Clarkson] it just would’ve been Ashlee Simspon,” (Sheffield 2). This attitude reflects Berger’s sentiments about the inevitability of reproduction to destroy the authority of art. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs do not hold the rights over the arrangement of a few notes of melody. It is possible that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs also copied this riff, intentionally or otherwise, from a previous artists work. The lines of possession of artistic works are hazy. Reproduction has permitted all art to become recycled, and no single artist holds complete authority over all parts of an original artistic work.

Girl Talk is a musician that reproduces art in a much different way. Girl Talk borrows entire samples from other musicians, mashes them together into mixes, and creates his own unique piece of music. He offers very little original instrumentation, instead relying almost entirely on the pre-recorded words, melody, and harmony of other musicians to serve as his source of artistic expression.

In one of Girl Talk’s mash-ups, he crosses Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” with an array of vastly different musicians, including Nine Inch Nails, Nelly Furtado, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

This is an entirely different form of reproduction. There is no pretense with Girl Talk that the music he creates is original. If every combination of musical notes has already been produced in one way or another, as I established earlier, than the only way to create “new” music is to recycle those notes that have already been played. Rather than directly copying a series of notes as Kelly Clarkson has done, Girl Talk reorganizes recognizable artistic works in a fresh order.

The authority of the piece is more preserved in this method of reproduction than those previously mentioned. Girl Talk listeners easily identify the songs they are familiar with. It could be argued that Girl Talk acts as an advertiser for other artists, increasing general interest and awareness of their original work. In an interview with Pitchfork Magazine, Girl Talk said, “I don’t think I’m creating competition for the artists; it’s just further spreading the message” (Richardson 5). Listening to Girl Talk often makes me want to hear the entire song he samples. Yet this form of obvious reproduction is illegal while the less overtly reproduced piece Clarkson produced is not.

The illegality of musical mash-ups pushes one to question the legality of other forms of artistic duplication. Girl Talk rearranges previously recorded works of art, changing what comes directly before and after the original pieces. Is this any different than burning a mix CD of assorted artists? What about published collections of various musicians? Movie soundtracks? Should songs be played at all during movies, when they cannot be properly identified and claimed?

Girl Talk generally samples recognizable popular and mainstream tunes. While some of his choices are less known, the majority, including The Cure, The Beastie Boys, and Michael Jackson, are assumed to be familiar to the average listener. It is possible that this is one of the primary reasons for Girl Talk’s musical success. Listeners identify with Girl Talk’s music and easily place it in the context in which they know it. As I previously mentioned, the context in which a piece of art is understood is crucial to its relationship with the listener. Because the music Girl Talk samples has already been contextualized by the majority of listeners, they already have memories, experiences, and personal stories associated with the tunes.

By mashing together many popular tunes in a short period of time, Girl Talk is able to appeal to the audience’s preconceived contextualization at a heightened rate than traditional musicians. Each listener will have a unique reaction to his work based on their previous experience or lack of experience with the tunes he samples. Even if the listeners don’t have a positive reaction to Top 40 hits like “Since U Been Gone,” they are most likely familiar with the tune and have some association with it. They may find the song humorous, annoying, or nostalgic to a certain period of their life. The actual reaction of the listener is insignificant, because the point is that it already exists and it is fleeting. The listener need only to wait a few seconds for the mash-up to progress into a Peter, Bjorn, and John song that they may have a positive emotional reaction to.

Girl Talk plays to listener’s emotions based on their preconceived musical connections. Musican’s like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Kelly Clarkson must independently develop a sense of musical intimacy with their listeners. This is not always easy to do, which may be one reason why artists like Kelly Clarkson are tempted to “borrow” segments from previously familiarized musicians. Girl Talk does the same thing as Kelly Clarkson in a less conventional way.
When a piece of music is recontextualized, the meaning associated with the original piece is also recontextualized. The next time a listener hears “Since U Been Gone” after they hear Girl Talk sample it, they may recall Girl Talk’s rendition and react to it differently. It is possible that they have never heard the tune before. In this case, the authority of the song entirely belongs to Girl Talk.

Regardless, the listener’s relationship to the piece of music has changed. This is another possible reason for Girl Talk’s popularity. Because Girl Talk samples over 300 songs in a 60-minute period, he recontextualizes listeners preconceived musical associations at an increased rate. Listeners could potentially identify 300 previously separate artistic experiences with one musician: Girl Talk.

The relationship between the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kelly Clarkson, and Girl Talk amplify the important role context plays in artistic experience. The context in which a listener experiences a piece of music undoubtedly affects their relationship with that song. The reproduction of musical work allows the context in which the song is understood to be endlessly changed and modified. This changes not only how it is received by its audience, but also how it can be manipulated to serve contrasting functions.

Works Cited

Berger, John. “Ways of Seeing.” Ways of Reading. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
2005.
Clarkson, Kelly. “Since U Been Gone.” Breakaway. RCA Records, 2004.
Hanley, Lynsey. “Affirmative Action.” The Observer. 26 Feb 2006.
Sheffield, Rob. “Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Goth, Nerd, Slut.” The Rolling Stone. 7 April 2006.
Richardson, Mark. “Interview: Girl Talk.” Pitchfork Magazine. 6 October 2008.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs. “Maps.” Fever to Tell. Interscope Records, 2003.

OUR LIVES ARE TOO GOOD. NO, SERIOUSLY.

2008-10-06T07:54:00.000-07:00

Chances are you've seen all these before, but the sweaty pictures commemorating this week needed to be present in this blog.

Wednesday= Girl Talk

Thursday= The Dodos (no pictures unfortunately)

Friday= Dan Deacon Round Robin Tour

Okay, I'm still getting a rush from this weekend, and I know you guys are too. Whenever Girl Talk shuffles up on the Room 510 speakers there is a ridiculous amount of excitement. This also happens when walking to class, in the shower, while jogging, during class, at ABP, during cribbage games, when you get water in the middle of the night, at work, riding the T, food shopping, and while cooking dinner.

I'm speaking for the three of us when I say:

FUCK YEAH WE LOVE THIS

At Long Last: Apple Picking!

2008-10-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, we planned to go apple picking.

It rained all weekend, but we said: Fuck it, we're going (god damn it).

We came back with 40 pounds of apples, 2 pumpkins, and 3 pairs of wet feet.

It was worth it.

Apple crisp, apple butter, pumpkin pudding, and roasted pumkin seeds are in the process of creation.

APPLES.

PUMPKINS.

GOATS.

St. Vincent > The Office

2008-10-03T11:06:00.001-07:00

Looking for any easy way to loose friends? Simply utter the following 2 statements:

1. I have only ever seen half an episode of "The Office."

2. I didn't think it was funny.

Last Thursday, during the season premiere, I was not sitting in front of a television. I was standing in a courtyard of an art museum, far away from any staplers or fax machines, breathing in the cool autumn air and enjoying some free live music.

St. Vincent performed a free show for Student Night at the MFA. I didn't have quite as spiritual an experience as this individual (below), but it was enjoyable none the less.

Recently Discovered

2008-10-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

Its so simple really. I cannot believe I've never bothered to make one before.

Mix milk, yogurt, ice, and some frozen fruit together in a blender.

WHY then, is this the first time I have ever made a smoothie?

And now, I JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH.

This one is a mango-banana I made in the spare 20 minutes between class yesterday.

Was it worth the rush?

OH YES.

Fall is here. Apples, Pumpkins, Crisps and Cider.

2008-09-30T06:37:00.000-07:00

I just picked up Bill McKibben's Deep Economy (off Marie's Desk) and already I’m skipping geology textbook reading and annoying my roommates with "did you know"s. Did you know that beyond $10,000 (basic needs per person), money does not affect happiness? Also, eating only local food is the equivalent of cutting household energy use by 20%. Oh, and the first American CSA was founded in Massachusetts (1985) and if you are not involved in ANYTHING, joining some club or society halves your chance of death in the next year! McKibben brings every day principles like more is not always better (obesity!) and wealth does not equal happiness--to illuminate clearly why growth in the United States is “producing more insecurity than progress…requires more energy than we can sustain” and most importantly, is “no longer making us happy.” As far as I can tell, this book will at the very least urge people like my mother to vote with her dollar, buy local produce, and possess another handy excuse to avoid WalMart.

Okay, enough of that. Today is Becky’s “No Media Day” which means she can’t come in contact with any media transmitting device (cell phones, computers, radio..etc). This consequently means we are dancing around and synchronizing songs on our ipods to torment her. We’ll have her post a reflection on it later, though we already know she’ll say it was surprisingly easy and serene and that she wishes she could do it more often for the freedom and extra time. LIES LIES LIES! What is life without compulsive facebooking (new verb 2008) and NYtimes.com? We are going to Roxbury’s Dudley Market this afternoon and a Slow Food’s “Workshop in Urban Foraging” presentation at BU later on. She’ll survive. That’s all for now. Apple and pumpkin picking photos soon!

Workshop in Urban Foraging: http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/calendar/event.php?id=80308&cid=17&oid=0

also- Brown Paper Tickets is a fair trade ticket company that we ordered our Dan Deacon tickets from and urge everyone (yeah, all five of you) to check out. It donates a percentage of its profits to communities and has miniscule service fees. Not to mention it posts Buy Local and other sustainability articles daily. Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/

Finally, Listen: Fleet Foxes, Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles, Magnetic Fields, Girl Talk!

cancerous tasmanian devils

2008-09-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

Classes have begun. We shall seek entertainment through procrastination. Or vice versa?

http://yearbookyourself.com/

http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2008/09/11

Mix the following for a good time:

2008-09-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

One part sunshine, two parts margarita mix, a bunch of bicycles, three bubble teas, a belligerent cribbage game, and eggplant parmesan. Stir ingredients in Porter's square, add a dash of the Christian Science park, break out the Monkey's ice cream and homemade brownies, and finally enjoy in our kitchen!

Revere Beach

2008-09-07T21:57:00.000-07:00

Our first outing proved a major success! We packed up a picnic complete with spinach-feta-tomato-hummus wraps and ample liquid refreshments and boarded the blue line to Revere Beach. Expecting to find used syringes and cigarette topped sandcastles, we were ecstatic to find a soft sand beach inviting us to run, dance and spread our feast upon. Apparently it is only four miles north of downtown Boston and though the airport was within earshot, we had plenty of airspace to fly our kites. Definitely worth a second trip.

Just the Beginning

2008-09-07T06:35:00.000-07:00

DAY 1 - WELCOME TO THE GOOD LIFE

A little vino to break in the new place.

There is no B.

DAY 2 - THE RUGGLES BEACH

We were going to go for a picnic on the beach, but first took a quick break on the one of Northeastern University's many grassy knolls.

Flame of Hope 2008-2009 edition.

New foliage cannot stop us.

WELCOME HOME

2008-09-06T16:08:00.000-07:00