The art of “modifying” large signs and billboards can take on many purposes. I used to pass by this billboard every day on the bus to and from work in San Francisco. The Billboard Liberation Front has an entire gallery of modified billboards, and Chicago Critical Mass has done a few big ones too. Not every modification is intended to change the maker’s message though. This man seeks to increase clarity.
Monthly Archives: October 2002
Beacon Hill Tour
The Arts Law Association‘s Historic Architectural Walking Tour of Beacon Hill was today. I’ve been planning this event for a few weeks now and it has turned out to be quite a bit of work. I was worried that the turnout would be low, but everything worked out just fine, despite the fact that it was one of the worst days imaginable for an outdoor walking tour (pouring rain).
The tour itself was put on by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, and they did a great job. I think the actual tour that we got was the “Imagine the City” tour, which includes a little acting performance. Generally, a success.
Game Cube v.1
The original game cube is now emulated online! When I was a kid, we didn’t have astronauts to help us “solve the cube”.
When Autumn Leaves Start to Fall
One of the great things about living in New England at time of year is the colorful array of autumn foliage. Boston has no shortage of urban trees, the leaves of which become yellow, orange, and red with life (er, death rather). Thus, despite the fact that I live in the city and rarely get to travel out of it, I am nevertheless treated to some color. I’m amazed to find so many websites devoted to the colored leaf in New England. Apparently, I’m not the only one who enjoys the season.
First eBay Sale
My first ever sale on eBay is now at the “please send me the money” stage. I was surprised at the questions people emailed me. It wasn’t that they were really strange, but they seemed like slightly unreasonable requests. “I’ll give you $25 right now if you call the auction off” (when the current price was $25 and there was still 5 days to go). I guess I didn’t expect to get any questions since I went into so much detail in the advertisement.
Now that I have a laptop, I have the luxury of studying wherever I want. (I need the computer to take notes because my handwriting is horrible.) Today I spent a couple hours in the one of the most beautiful rooms I have ever seen, the reading room at the Boston Public Library.
Canadian’s Don’t Shoot
Bowling for Columbine, the new Michael Moore film, was pretty funny and really sad. In the end, I’m a little confused about his conclusion. Moore points out that Canada has just as many guns as the United States, but that the US has a great deal more gun related deaths. (He compares the US to other countries as well, but many of them have many fewer guns.) It is thus hard to pinpoint the problem. In any event, the film made me want to give up on the US’s violence problem and move to Canada.
Wasted Civilization
A couple times a year, I make the mistake of starting a round of the greatest computer game of all time: Civilization. I don’t know what it is about this game that makes it so addicting, but it has it all: war, peace, science, diplomacy, production, destruction, etc. The first couple times I played it, I might have argued that it was educational. Indeed I learned some things about the world that were useful later in life. Now, I must admit the game is just a huge waste of time. Entertaining, but a little too much like actual work to truly be a leisure activity.
I’m happy to announce that I have once again conquered the world and can now return to normal life.
I Am Trying to Listen to Wilco
The Coolidger Corner Theatre is one of the great independent movie houses remaining in this country. I think I’ve mentioned it before. The other night they showed, “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco“. The film details the making of Wilco’s latest album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Funny enough, the website details the making of the film. I’m working on a project to detail the making of the website, while my roommates are observing me to write a song about the making of the project.
I never really got into Wilco before, but they’re a pretty good band. They have great mellow songs, but their more “rockin'” songs don’t really do it for me. I have this problem with Spiritualized as well, but I’m not trying to compare bands. The film itself was pretty interesting. Apparently, WEA was unhappy with the delivered album and, after the band refused to change it, dropped the band from the label. This left the band with a completed album to sell. Eventually, they made a deal with Nonesuch, which is actually owned by WEA. They described this as “one of the great scams of music history.” This lack of efficiency is one of the problems of subsidiary labels in the music industry. It’s for the better though, because the subsidiaries get more control over the music, making it less like five companies controlling everything we hear.
Gardner of Art
I finally made it down to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum today. They were having free admission as part of the Fenway Cultural District’s “Opening Our Doors” day. I think it’s pretty cool that my neighborhood has it’s own “alliance”.
This summer I passed the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum every day on my way to work, but I’ve yet to go inside until today. The outside is really plain, and you’d never suspect what lies just inside the rather unremarkable entrance. I think the best part of the museum is the building itself, which was built at the turn of the century (not the recent turn of the century – mind you). Neither the museum pamphlet nor the oral history went into much detail regarding how Ms. Gardner got so wealthy, but at least she was willing to share the wealth and support the arts.
The Case Against Bags
My new computer came with a free backpack which is on sale this week on eBay. There are tons of computer bags available these days, but they all look the same.
Actually, there are some original designs out there. It is annoying though, that no one seems to understand the difference between a case and a bag, I want a hard-shell case for my computer. Not a fabric and foam bag. Shouldn’t the case be stronger than the item which it purports to protect?