The Boston Diaries
- Savin Hill stations MBTA UMass holidays trees MIT Prudential home Boylston St Roxbury Thanksgiving fieldwork Old Harbor Newbury St Emerson jazz T Mihailidis Downtown exhibition museums Washington JFK Government Center noir Hoop Dreams Art in Transit cinema Boston Harbor Pavement Coffee House Back Bay politics Middleborough snow Harvard North End Tremont St coffee Brookline Harvard Square fall Portraits of America food Coolidge Corner Chinatown Friendly Toast EGL Central Square Boston Public Library Rose Kennedy Greenway New England libraries Quincy Bay Village community work Faneuil Hall South End trains Mass Ave Kendall Square South Station Financial District Starbucks Wharf District Wenham Copley Square Boston Common Mayoral election Cambridge Dorchester public art McKenna's community art foliage Newburyport books art collective memory
Category Archives: Boston Diaries
Day 87: Washington Square
Editing, editing, editing. Finally finished and submitted our paper on Obama’s 2012 Facebook campaign. Such a great feeling of completion whenever a paper is sent off for review. (Even better when it’s accepted.)
Day 87: Irving’s Toy and Card Shop
While at Coolidge Corner I came across Irving’s Toy and Card Shop on Harvard Street. It’s been there since 1939 and it’s run by Ethel A. Weiss, a 99-year-old local who leaves “heartfelt messages” and notes on the door for … Continue reading
Day 87: Brookline
A nice walk around Brookline including a quick stop at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site (JFK’s birthplace at 83 Beals Street) and New England Comics.
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Tagged books, Brookline, cinema, Coolidge Corner, fieldwork, JFK
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Day 82: Coffee and curriculum development
Yet another great discovery a stone’s throw away from home – Flour Bakery, on the corner of Rutland Street and Washington Street. Excellent food, surrounded by interesting art. Developing a curriculum design that links student engagement with local community affairs … Continue reading
Day 81: Coffee and notes
Today I discovered Jaho Coffee & Tea – an awesome cafe only a couple of blocks away from home. (They also do excellent fresh orange juice).
Parochialism and gentrification
“One can’t ignore that Boston has been beset by a new class war of late […] It’s a war of gentrification. As the city continues to lose its old-school parochialism and overt immigrant tribalism, it’s also losing a lot of … Continue reading
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Tagged community, gentrification, Hoop Dreams, North End, tribes
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Shovelling snow
There has been heavy snowfall over the last few days all across New England. I was aware that it is mandatory for each resident/landlord to shovel and clean up the sidewalk in front of their property, but hadn’t realised the … Continue reading
Day 77: Lunch at The Friendly Toast
If you can’t avoid it, then enjoy it. Boston has been under a curtain of snow for the last few hours and people are working around the clock just to keep a few footpaths open. Managed to plough my way … Continue reading
Day 77: Kendall Square
Paul Matisse’s Kendall Band MIT Kendall Band Preservation Society
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Tagged art, Art in Transit, fieldwork, MBTA, public art, stations, T
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Day 76: At the Lab
A day at the Lab, writing up the findings of the Obama/Facebook paper and fighting with “lies, damn lies and statistics”. My compensation: a Nutella milkshake from Boloco – highly recommended!
Day 75: Snow, coffee, reading
The morning after the night before. Survived the first snowstorm and headed to Render Coffee for hazelnut latte and Sunday newspapers
Day 73: Downtown, Financial District & Government Center
A walk through downtown Boston, doing part of the Freedom Trail through the Financial District, Government Center and up to the Christmas market at Faneuil Hall, where I found melomakarona and spanakopita at Steve’s! Followed by late lunch at Jacob … Continue reading
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Tagged Downtown, Faneuil Hall, fieldwork, Financial District, food, Freedom Trail, Government Center, work
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Day 72: North End
Walk and lunch at the North End (Little Italy), followed by coffee & work at the Equal Exchange Cafe, whose combination of contemporary urban/industrial ambience, comfort / tables / wifi / plugs, ethical fairtrade products, great music and awesome coffee … Continue reading
Day 71: Colonial Theatre
A day of writing and catching up with projects followed by a visit to the Colonial Theatre for ‘I Love Lucy: Live on Stage‘. Reviews: – The Boston Globe – The Globe & Mail – The Chicago Tribune As a … Continue reading
December readings
The Property by Rutu Modan – Rachel Cooke’s review in The Guardian – James Smart’s review in The Guardian – Glen Weldon’s review for NPR Books
Day 63: Faneuil Hall Marketplace
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Tagged Christmas, Faneuil Hall, Financial District, Government Center
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Day 63: Newbury St
Followed by lunch at the Creperie on Newbury.
Day 60: Lowell
A lovely day at Lowell, MA – the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, and a city with a rich urban and manufacturing history, as well as one of the three biggest Greek communities in America; followed … Continue reading
Day 60: Two months down, two to go
“Making the most” of a place is not only what you get to see or whom you meet, but also how that place or experience – the act of listening and observing – changes you; and to what extent those … Continue reading
Thanksgiving Day
By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation. The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that … Continue reading
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Tagged food, holidays, Middleborough, Portraits of America, Thanksgiving
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Day 56: Dinner
Excellent dinner at The Butcher Shop
Day 56: Diversity, segregation and engagement
Catching up with a backlog of emails, projects and readings, and building up the conceptual framework on the pathways between urban diversity, segregation, engagement and co-existence. “In the face of greater individualisation, privatism, inequality and ethnic and cultural diversity, there … Continue reading