imagined-community

Of course, I don’t really hate Scotland. Right now, I am in North Carolina helping my friends Mindy and Paul, who are moving to Scotland, with a rummage sale. Much to my horror, I discovered that the two of them, gung ho to begin their new life, have taken on the mantle of Scottish nationalism. And Paul is English! The following is just a taste of the nonsense I spent my Friday night listening to whilst watching “Whistle Stop Edinburgh” — what one amazon reviewer called, “the worst travel DVD it’s been my misfortune to see.”

Paul: “You know what they say, ‘the Scot is always right.”
Paul: “Scotland is the best small country in the world.”
Mindy: “Scotland is McAwesome.”
Paul: “Most of Edinburgh is great.”
Mindy: “Scotland is the cradle of civilization “ David Hume, Adam Smith, and what’s his face with the steam engine — Fulton.”
Paul:”I hate to see a Scot suffer (during a segment about the demise of Sir Walter Scott).”

Thankfully, we have the Simpsons to set the record right! As Willy said, “Damn Scots! They ruined Scotland!”

Comments(4)

Isn’t this a great shot of Evan, the volunteer coordinator for the Charles River Conservancy, being interviewed here for a Public Service Announcement on Saturday, May 12 (Park Serve Day)? Ever wondered who keeps the Charles River looking so great — planting those daylilies, pruning the trees, cutting back invasive plant species? Well, CRC volunteers do a lot of that work.

On Park Serve Day, CRC and 2 groups of volunteers were at Artesani / Herter Park.

The day was absolutely gorgeous. We planted lilies, annoyed a Canadian goose nesting on the riverbank, snacked on frozen cherry yoghurt, lopped off a substantial amount of Asiatic bittersweet, and snacked, again, in the Publick Theater.

Now for some reason many Bostonians don’t know about the Publick Theatre, an outdoor theater located in Herter Park. This intimate open-air venue, surrounded by a moat (which thanks to Saturday’s volunteers has now been planted with flowers) is the perfect place to spend a beautiful summer evening. You can read about last year’s season here.

(By the way, if you are interested in outdoor drama in the United States you might like to check out this comprehensive list of outdoor Shakespeare festivals for 2007 posted by the UNC-Chapel Hill Institute of Outdoor Drama.)

Comments(0)

(This blog entry is dedicated to Chrissy, who, after 7 years enjoying Davis Square coffee and ice cream, is leaving Cambridge for L.A.)

Davis vs. L.A.

• In L.A. they have lots of skateboarders. But in Davis we got handmade (at least they look handmade) motorized skateboards.
• Sure, L.A. has that Art Deco Wiltern Theater where you can see Lenny Kravitz and Moby. But at the historic Somerville Theater you can pay $7 to see a film that has been out on DVD for 2 or 3 months…you rock Davis!
• And what is so special about that Hollywood Four Ladies Statue? I mean, compared to the peeps of Davis statues? Come on…!
  FYI: According to the City of Somerville, “the statues, which are actually based on real people who lived around Davis Square, were all placed in the brick plaza in front of J.P. Licks and Store 24…have you ever noticed how the faces of the statues are darker than the rest of their bodies, as if they’re wearing some kind of Halloween masks? As stated by Steven Post, “the statues were meant to be ‘temporary’ in that they were not made of bronze. Vandals destroyed some of the faces of the statues over the years, so the artist and the city decided to replace the faces with the bronze ‘mask’ that the statues all now ‘wear’.”

• And yeah, L.A. has Fosselman’s, Scoops, Mashti Malone’s, blah blah blah, ice cream. But do they have J.P. Licks noodle kugel ice cream? Didn’t think so.

Comments(2)