January is National Get Organized Month (as if I care)

Reading articles like this one make me feel not so bad about my disorganized, pig-sty manner of living. Thanks, New York Times!

Decent television

Now that I have cable, I've been watching TV a little bit more. There's a lot of crap on, but occassionally there's something cool enough that warrants mentioning - like History Detectives, which I saw last night one of PBS's cable stations (217 on Comcast). In the episode I saw last night, the detectives determined:

• that a Gilbert Stuart portrait drawing of George Washington was a forgery, and reunited the abandoned son of the forger with said forgery, along with the collected files of the forger's criminal history
• that a cannon being kept at the Charlestown Navy Yard was stolen from the British by the American rebels, an action which brought the British to Concord to retrieve it, which, of course led to the beginning of the Revolutionary War
• that a letter found under a bunch of old books in a box in Oregon was written by a Revolutionary War privateer while he was a POW at the Old Mill Prison in England

The lengths they went to to figure out this things were pretty extensive, and the hosts of the show are cool, except for one of them, Elyse Luray, who's either playing dumb or really is dumb, it's hard to tell. But aside from that, this is a really cool investigative show that often takes you down surprising historical roads. And it's theme song is "Watching the Detectives," not very surprising, but a fun tune, nonetheless.

For the free jazz lover

Two albums that you should listen to if you're into free jazz, or if you'd like to hear what it's about:

Where Is Brooklyn? - Don Cherry

Streams (live in Montreux) - Sam Rivers

Streams isn't available on CD, but I've seen it in the record bins. It screams. I listened to them both last night (Streams for the first time, WIB? for the 2nd), and it was an awesome refresher.

The Menino Legacy

With nothing much to crow about under his belt for his mayoral tenure, Hizzoner Tom Menino has sandwiched his year with two pronouncements no one was prepared for - the first being a solicitation to build a 1,000 ft. skyscraper just outside the Financial District, and the second a radical idea that will undoubtedly change the landscape of the city of Boston: selling Boston City Hall and the Plaza, and relocating the central government of the city to Drydock Four, near Southie (I used to call this area Southie, but I've been advised otherwise by J.O.). Whether this change is for good or bad remains to be seen. Boston City Hall and the Plaza have been the butt of jokes and the target of critics' wrath since it was built in 1969. Certainly it's a product of the era and has not withstood the test of time very well, but I've come to enjoy the building. A piece in the Globe this morning says it well:

"Those who admire the building sometimes argue that architecture doesn't have to be beautiful to be great. For them, City Hall is an ugly, wonderful, powerful, unforgettable building."

I agree with pchippy when he says that mostly what needs to be added to the plaza to make it more hospitable is an abundance of trees and benches, and that City Hall would look much better and more alive if its exterior walls were crawling with ivy. The original plans for a basement (or even ground floor) beerhall could be brought back to life and people would have a reason for being on the plaza that didn't have to do with paying their parking tickets or changing their place of residence with the Elections Office.

Aside from the fact that Menino has staked a lot of political capital on making the land south of Fort Point Channel into a bustling metropolis, it doesn't make much practical or aesthetic sense to move City Hall over to that neighborhood. Being centrally located is what makes City Hall so accessible to the public, and that's what a city hall should be about. It's easier for people to get their business done in the city, and it gives the impression that the mayor would like to hear from his constituents. His idea to move to a spot on the fringe of the city tells me on of two things:

1. Menino doesn't want to hear from his constituents.
2. Menino doesn't have any idea how ill-equipped the Silver Line is to take the heralded hordes to Drydock Four, and how long that trip will be for most people in our fair city (or if he does know this, please see #1).

Before I go on, I need to say that I'm going to create what I think is a new abbreviation...in the spirit of SoWa and NoHa, I'll be calling this new, bustling part of town...SoFoPo (for South of Fort Point). Not that I like these abbreviations (I don't), but it makes it easier to type. And it's not Southie, after all. Please, let the flames fly for my transgression!

Now that the new ICA has opened (and it's fantastic, you should all go see it, experience it, see the water views, etc. - totally phenomenal), the doorways have publicly opened for more rapid development of SoFoPo. And Menino claims that the city workers and constituents drawn to City Hall will be a huge boon to the activity in the area, and a whole new world in Boston will be open to everyone. I disagree. Maybe the Mayor has never heard of the Financial District? It's a beautiful part of town, with some gorgeous skyscrapers and undoubtedly majestic residences, but it's dead after 6 pm or so. I don't think it's far-fetched to say that the same thing could occur in SoFoPo, only it would be much less reachable by your average T passenger. Which I guess is what it all comes down to: it's insane to move City Hall to such a remote place in the city that, unless you have a car, bike, or enjoy walking a lot, would only be directly reachable by a bus. The only conclusion I can come to from Menino's Radical Plan is that he wants to be secluded from your average Bostonian, have a water view, and take a look at the ICA during his lunch breaks. Ultimately, it would be shameful for the city to undertake this project, and I hope it meets a timely death.

Mayor Says He'll Build Waterfront City Hall (Boston Globe, 12/13/06)

Opportunity In Two Prime Urban Centers (Boston Globe, 12/13/06)

Sadness!

It was horrible to read this on the MBTA website today:

"Mattapan Trolley Suspended for One Year; Replaced with Shuttle Buses
Temporary shuttle bus service has replaced the Mattapan Trolley due to the reconstruction of Ashmont Station."

I was just telling someone last night how cool the high-speed trolley is! One can only hope that this will only be temporary, and that they will return the trolley to its former glory. The website doesn't say when the year begins, or give a date for this news item. But when it returns, I encourage everyone to use it, it's a real trip!

Dead Presidents

Last night I was in the basement of the United First Parish Church in Quincy doing some work for the Prison Book Program, and discovered something really cool. We'd been working mere feet away from the bodies of two dead Presidents! Yes, John Adams and his son John Q. Adams are entombed in granite in the basement of the UFPC, alongside their wives, Abigail and Louisa, respectively. Who knew? The PBP lady, also named Chris, surprised us with this bit of information, and was nice enough to give us a short but sweet tour of the Adams Family catacomb. An awesome and interesting evening!

What will they do at Maverick?

The T has sold its last token. Congratulations to Ms. Velez! East Boston gets put on the map again!

But that leaves me wondering, what about the turnstiles at Maverick? Of course the new Charlie Card gates will be put in eventually, but it's really very amazing how slow they've been doing that at Maverick considering that now it's the last Blue Line station to get those gates. I'm going to miss the big dude with the headphone in his ear waving people through. Maybe he'll stick around and be be a wandering customer representative.

In other news, be on the lookout for C-Dubs, Voice of the People, in an upcoming issue of the Globe. I got a voicemail message today saying that they're considering printing my letter to the editor. I'll give you only one guess as to its topic.

UPDATE! According to pchippy, the Charlie Card gates are set up, but are obscured by the white dividers at Maverick. When the time is right, I guess they're going to unveil them.

2nd UPDATE! My letter to the editor made it into the Globe today! (12/7/06) It's riveting reading.

3rd UPDATE! Here's where you'll find my letter. Oh, I'll just cut and paste it here:

"THE ONLY thing that creating Silver Line service between South Station and Logan Airport accomplished was to allow airline passengers to avoid riding on the Blue Line with its diverse clientele. The MBTA is kidding itself if it thinks that this bus service does anything for the people of East Boston, Revere, Winthrop, and Lynn. I'm glad to hear that the T is now bound to at least design a connector between the Blue and Red lines; I'll be ecstatic if the agency follows through with construction."