Boston

One of my homes.  Not the one I live in today, but one where I lived for 6+ years, and which still holds a more-than-little piece of my heart.

Where Monday happened.

All my friends are ok, as far as I can tell, none of them were in the vicinity.  Most were at work (while they're proud of Patriots' Day up there, they still don't usually give you the day off unless you managed to score Red Sox tickets), a few were at home.  The physical therapist who helped me in the wake of surgery last year qualified for the Marathon, but opted not to run it this year.

Bostonians in general have been dealing with it amazingly, but not surprisingly.  The news outlets have rightly referred to their heroism, generosity, fearlessness, and humanity.

And I'm not going to dwell on the typical media sensationalizing of tragedy (and I'm certainly not going to dignify crap like this with a response)

What I will spend a little bit of time on are a couple pieces that talk about resilience, toughness, and not giving into the fear that, by definition, feeds terrorism.  Here’s one, from cryptographer and security maven Bruce Schneier in The Atlantic. It’s a good reminder that we get to choose how to react (or overreact) to these horrors, and that giving into our fear is neither necessary nor useful.

We actually have all the power here, and there's one thing we can do to render terrorism ineffective: Refuse to be terrorized.

It's hard to do, because terrorism is designed precisely to scare people -- far out of proportion to its actual danger. A huge amount of research on fear and the brain teaches us that we exaggerate threats that are rare, spectacular, immediate, random -- in this case involving an innocent child -- senseless, horrific and graphic. Terrorism pushes all of our fear buttons, really hard, and we overreact.

But our brains are fooling us. Even though this will be in the news for weeks, we should recognize this for what it is: a rare event. That's the very definition of news: something that is unusual -- in this case, something that almost never happens

And then this one from Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River, Shutter Island, and a bunch of other Boston-centric work.  I like that this piece confronts Boston's blemishes (which is too weak a word; maybe I should say Boston’s glaring flaws) directly, but wraps them in the resiliency we all can be proud of.

Trust me, we won’t be giving up any civil liberties to keep ourselves safe because of this. We won’t cancel next year’s marathon. We won’t drive to New Hampshire and stockpile weapons. When the authorities find the weak and terminally maladjusted culprit or culprits, we’ll roll our eyes at whatever backward ideology they embrace and move on with our lives.

There’s been a lot of Boston love going on in the media, including some standouts in the sphere of late night comedy, and even the Yankees got in on it, much to their credit (and – you know this – I do not like to give the Yankees credit for anything, but damn, they deserve it for that.)





Also published in The Atlantic, with the caption: A sign saying "New York Loves Boston" is projected on the facade of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, in New York, late on April 15, 2013, hours after the bombings of the Boston Marathon. The work was done by the Illuminator, a guerrilla projection van that was a project of Occupy Wall Street, and members of the the OWS Light Brigade. (© Lucky Tran, The Illuminator collective)

Do what you do. Make the things you make. Definitely keep up with any activist work you're doing.  And send a little love and healing mojo to the Hub.

Oh, and my show opens tomorrow night.

Rocktober in Boston

This has been a busy month for me. Mostly in good ways, but it's kept me from this outlet more than I expected.

So - broad strokes of last weekend in Boston:

Went up on Saturday - crap traffic. On a Saturday. Why??

Met with Sue and Steve in Somerville. Splendid, as always.

Went with them to the Cask 'n' Flagon near Fenway Park. Not for a Red Sox event, but because Sue and Steve were meeting friends there before going to a show featuring the Psychedelic Furs and the Happy Mondays. A whole bunch of friends, as it happened. Who knew that indie rock from the 80s would draw such a crowd? One of them had gone to a high school near where I grew up, and knew my school because we were competitors. I was all "I don't remember you guys being in our conference." And she said, "Well, I guess we didn't play football against you, but we'd go to your school for the one-act play competitions." She remembered being impressed by/jealous of our drama program. How funny is that?

As they went to the concert, I drove out to Allston for Chris and Tamiko's annual "Fat and Happy" pasta party. They make 4 giant pots of sauce from veggies and herbs they grow in their garden, they make appetizers, Tamiko even made fresh mozzarella for the occassion. Holy moly it was fun and yummy. Or, should I say, Fat and Happy.

Next morning I went to brunch with the Somervillains then met Molly at the Huntington to see my friend Brandon in Fences there. Holy shit what a good show! Really really well done - brilliant script, of course, and a solid production expertly acted. Kudos to those guys. And it was their closing performance, so we got to hang out backstage with them afterwards. Wine, cheese, noshes and rum. Fun.

The following day, Columbus Day, Brandon, Molly, Chris and I had brunch at Deep Ellum, a cool place in Allston that wasn't there when I lived there. Very good food and bloody marys.

Then Brandon and I drove back to NYC - first time we've had that much time to talk in a LONG time, which was cool. Talked shop, strategized, and just caught up. I took him to his place in Brooklyn, saw his place and said hi to Crystal, then headed back to Hoboken, where I have taken up residence once again (though to tell the truth I was only there for a little while before I came back in to the city to welcome Cory back from her Convergence in North Carolina.

I left the camera at home, so no photos. Just take my word - it was another good October weekend.

Somerville Eats

UPDATE - Steve set me straight on the name of the restaurant we went to in Union Square, Somerville. It was the Highland Kitchen, and it was a fine meal indeed. Bitchen mussels, a curried goat stew that was delicious, if a little oily. The waiter was a little clueless (he went a little over the top warning me about the spiciness of the stew, and when I asked him if the goat was grass-fed and humanely raised, he was all "Uhh... sure! yeah!"), but not bad. The bartender was fab: I had a stellar cocktail that was similar to a Manhattan, but was made with rye and cynar. Really good beers on tap too. Didn't take much of a look at the wine list, but I think it'd be safe wager that there's some good vino on there.

Anyway, if you're thinking about a Boston trip, the Highland would be a worthy stop for dinner.

Somerville

My friends Sue & Steve had just moved in to their new apartment in Somerville the week before I visited them. It was super-exciting, as it's a great place, lots of space and light, beautiful woodwork typical of those robust Boston houses.

If you're thinking of moving to Boston (you know who you are) you could do a lot worse than Somerville - it's on the T Red Line, and they'll be extending the Green Line there too before long. Great neighborhoods: lots of life but not too crowded, some really good restaurants and plenty of good pubs and bars. Don't know anything about the school system, but I dare say that's easily found out. I'm just sayin'.

At any rate, I drove to Somerville on Sunday, the morning after the Bang on a Can Marathon, and after getting the lay of the land with Sue and Steve, we picked up Laura for brunch. Afterward, I lent Laura my car Lola so she could get back to work without taking a cab, and join us for a nitecap at the end of the evening. Then we watched the end of the Red Sox game and took a walk around a couple neighborhoods before meeting Robin for a drink and some dinner. Robin is a great old friend that I've seen far too little of in recent years: he's now a nurse with three (count 'em, three) kids, and doing better than ever. He has begun a tradition for himself of having his children write their names in magic marker on their 5th birthday, and having the signatures tattooed on his arm. He's got one so far - the other two will come as they learn how to write and turn 5. Pretty cool.

We had a great dinner at a place whose name I can't remember. Then we went back to the new House to wrap up the night. As it happened, rather than showing up for an end-of-evening revel, Laura called to say that Lola wouldn't start. I have the habit of turning the lights on when I drive, even in the daytime, because it makes the car more visible. And Laura isn't in the habit of driving at all, and didn't take note of the lights when she parked on a sun-soaked road. Soooooooo, Sue and Steve and I piled into one of their cars and drove over to Bay State Road to give Lola a jump. Fortunately, she started up right away, so we didn't have to deal with buying a new battery first thing Monday morning or anything like that.

That little wrench in the evening out of the way, we said good night to Laura (who wasn't up for coming back to Somerville at that point) and drove back, found parking (not a small task at that time of night) and let our very small party tick away on the pegs of a cribbage board. We finished up with Sue and Steve singing some of the new songs they've written for My Own Worst Enemy - see them at the Cantab if you're around.

Next morning was my trip to the Vineyard... good material for the next post.

Boston Trip

Just a quick (and somewhat outdated) entry documenting the trip Lola and I made to Boston a couple weekends ago. Actually, I didn't even make it to Boston Proper, as my Sunday plans got squashed by a big-ish snow storm that happened up there.

The main event of the weekend was a late birthday celebration for Steve. His birthday (kind of a big round one) was last month, but it got a little lost in the Holidays, so Sue decided to take advantage of the fact that I was going up there (I didn't get a trip up there over in December, for the first time in a long time) to throw a Better-Late-Than-Never Bash for the birthday boy. They also kept up their holiday decorations a little later than usual to keep the festive spirit going.

Most of the shots I took ended up really blurry, but I think a couple of them are plenty bitchin anyway.

Like that one - the fact that it's out of focus can't change the fact that Steve is semi-hiding behind a Chococat Pillow. (No, I don't know what a Chococat is, but there you have it.)

And then there's the Cresch that they left up until after I'd visited. Yes, that is a stuffed Max (of Grinch fame) with antler tied to his head off to the left there, and yes, I do believe that those are spent glow sticks nestled behind baby Jesus.

Finally, here's a shot that's actually in focus. Sue was in the act of digging out from the snowfall (as we all were at that point). Took this one right before I hit the road to come home. I actually really like it. Sue may not have been in the mood to be photographed (she is seldom in the mood to be photographed) but she can't help looking great even when she's dusting snow off her car.

T-Day: The Next Generation

Ok, life has been crazy busy. Dayjob stuff is just nutty. Personal stuff keeps happening. Acting stuff in the works as well (of course, once I got cast in a show and my dayjob explodes, that's when about five different theaters want to see me all at once).

However, I made time for a trip to New England in the midst of it all. Had plans to visit the Cathedral on Lansdowne that could not be put off.


And then, a trip to the Berkshires to see Sue & Kevin and the newest addition to the T-Day contingent. Ladies and Gentlemen: Max Killam.

He has a superhero name; he has a superhuman smile. Moi, I'm happy he's around.

So, here are a couple photos of the proud parents, including one particular guy's first-ever Father's Day.


I don't know. I'm no expert, but I gotta think that's better than a necktie.

New England New Year

Very quick, as I'm in the midst of one of those whirlwind trips through Massachusetts. I'm in Waltham now with Sue and Steve, fighting off a cold and getting ready to go visit Beckett, then into Boston/Cambridge for some grub, the Patriots game (S & S are fans, and it's the big final game of what has potential to be the first undefeated season since '72) and a show by Buffalo Tom at TT the Bear's Place. All of which should be fantastic.

Tomorrow I get to see Seattle Amy, whom I almost never get to see. And either tomorrow or Monday it's off to Williamstown for a New Year's party courtesy Sue and Kevin (all these Sues - it gets confusing, I know).

Happy New Year's Weekend, everybody.

images

The Edward Hopper exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston was really stunning - it's stayed with me far more than I would have imagined before I went there. Part of that was mere ignorance of the breadth of his work - the incorporation of abstract values in hyper-realistic paintings; the sensitivity to light, line and form; the juxtaposition of structures with the landscape; the utter brilliance of his characterizations with a minimum of commentary - such a dramatic artist, especially given that so many of his paintings have no people in them at all. And part of it was something Wim Wenders alludes to in his commentary on Nighthawks (and I'll be paraphrasing my ass off here) "The painting you are about to look at is dangerous. You have seen it many times, it is familiar, you think you know it. But close your eyes: how many people are seated at the counter? What is written above the awning? Is there a streetlamp? Another visible source of light? Are any of the windows across the street open? Is there a gun in one of them?" And he went on to discuss how cinematic Hopper was - how much he owes the movies and how much more the movies owe him (points echoed by the detail that Steve Martin - a big collector - loaned a number of pieces to this exhibition, and narrated a documentary about Hopper).

And it's all true, of course. Almost worth the trip to Boston just to see this work.