RANDOM STUFF

• In order to see "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" last week, I had to go to this theater in Cambridge, the directions to which included "Go through the lobby of the Marriot Hotel to Broadway" then "walk down Broadway until you pass over the train tracks." Clearly, it wasn't the easiest place to find.

• This coffee creamer I've lately been using comes in two varieties: fat free or sugar free. Why can't they tinker with the formula and produce creamer that is both fat free and sugar free? Why do they make me have to choose?

• Cat Power's new covers album "Jukebox" is terrific. It's an extension of the soulful sound she achieved on "The Greatest," which was one of my favorite albums of 2006. Funny, the first time I heard Cat Power on "Moon Pix," I didn't really like her; many of the songs were so sparse and slow. The newer stuff has so much more feeling and many more layers. You should buy this album.

Speaking of Cat Power, I have to add her to the list of Concerts Robert Would Be Able to Attend If He Had a Daytime Job:

Cat Power *NEW!*
The National
Voxtrot
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!
The New Pornographers
Spoon

Let's just hope The Magnetic Fields and Radiohead don't make it on to that list.

TRAVEL PLANS

Jacksonville, Fla., as it's seen today.

• I'm returning to Jax Vegas in early February, to see my wife-elect and get my fix of friends and family. There might even be some Pearlage thrown in for good measure. Plus, it will be nice to escape the chill.


A bustling street in New York City, 2008.

• I feel like getting out of Boston this weekend, so I think I'll go to New York to see Chris and hang out in the (even bigger) city. That reminds me: New Yorkers who refer to Manhattan as "The City" regardless of where they are in the country annoy the hell out of me. Like "Are you going to go into The City or stay in Boston for New Year's Eve?" Um ... I kinda thought Boston was a city ... but ... oh, right ... it isn't The City. New York, I love you. Just not your snobby residents.


A modern-day Periodickal of Current Eventf in Bofton-Town.

See? British soldiers don't massacre* people in just any old town. Take that, New York!

* Only seven people died, but, hey, we needed a reason to get pissed off!

In Sight, Jan. 14

Ch-ch-ch-changes.

*sigh* Snow is still magical to me.

It's expected to snow about 10 inches today, with more on the way during the next week. So this is what winter is like?



In the Common. Traffic, vehicular and pedestrian, was light today because school and work were canceled for many people.



In the Common. Boston is a beautiful city to begin with, but I think it looks gorgeous under a coat of fresh snow.



In the Public Gardens.



In the Public Gardens.



Louisburg Square In Beacon Hill.



Mt. Vernon Street in Beacon Hill.

Astonishing story; beautiful photography

I highly recommend this film, even though I was bawling like a baby bitch at one point.

(By the way, I will write something of substance in this blog. One day.)

In Sight, Jan. 7

Boylston Street, seen across the frozen pond in the Public Gardens.

Brilliant.

Amateurs.

In Portland, Ore.

The last few days

I had planned on doing several errands this morning, but it's too damn cold outside. The temperature was 9 this morning, and the wind chill made it feel like -10. My windows are all opaque with frost, despite the clear, sunny day.

Because the outside world is closed for awhile, I might as well use this time to put up pictures and such.



Fitting in with the locals at the ducklings statues.

Jenn's visit was great, but, as always, too short. This time especially. Apart from the overall excitement surrounding our engagement, we had a blast in the city doing all sorts of fun things that I've been wanting to do, but had no one to do them with.



The Spot where it all went down.

We walked the South End, looking at different streets on which we might search for apartments in a few months, and we celebrated our engagement with dinner in the North End and champagne and fondue at a jazz club in the Leather District.

The next day we spent baking cookies my grandmother sent us and watching movies, and we went out for Thai and, later, a trip into a pharaoh's tomb in this cool, interactive adventure game in Fenway.



That door/woman is so short/tall.

Later in the week, we walked The Freedom Trail and had a St. Louis-style dinner with Imo's Pizza, toasted ravioli and a salad with Provel cheese. We waited for snow that dinner come until morning, and I turned Jenn on to something that might test the foundation of our relationship: Dr. Mario. Jenn is now hopelessly addicted, and I might need to rally my friends for a SNES intervention.

Then came Dec. 31. We decided to experience First Night which is an outdoor artistic and cultural celebration on New Year's Eve. It started in Boston in 1976 and it has spread to other cities in the U.S. and across the world, and it features music, dance, comedy, art, ice sculptures and fireworks.

It was awesome, which is probably why it typically draws 1 million people to downtown Boston. I could definitely see us doing it again, and next year we would have a good idea of how to best spend our time and where to go, because the options are almost overwhelming.



Copley Square.



Ice sculptures in Copley Square.



Boston Common.



Ice sculptures in the Common.



Happy New Year!

We counted down to midnight, went home and drank champagne and talked about what an exciting year 2008 will be. It will be busy — we have to find a job for Jenn, find a two-bedroom apartment in the city, move Jenn and her stuff up here AND plan a wedding — but we're both looking forward to it.