In Sight, Feb. 25

The bridge over the frozen duck pond in the Public Gardens.


Boylston Street.

Can you tell I like the Public Gardens? I should probably move on, now that I finally got good, clean tripod-stablized RAW shots with the DSLR.

Look for a trip down Commonwealth Avenue soon.

A few random things

Travis sits in the window as snow falls outside.

First thing's first: T-Rav is now with me in Boston. I brought her up a couple weeks ago, and she seems to be happy. I know I am. I'd forgotten how nice it is to curl up on the couch with a cat.

* * *

I was slightly disappointed that "There Will be Blood" did not win Best Picture. Although I loved "No Country … " I liked the other film better. Also, why didn't "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" win the cinematography award? Related subquestion: When did they allow the Academy to start smoking crack?

* * *

I wanted to go to New York today, just for the hell of it, but I misjudged the Fung Wah bus' popularity: They were all booked in the morning, and taking an afternoon bus to NYC wouldn't have made any sense. LESSON LEARNED: Buy tickets ahead of time. (Maybe I'll go next week.)

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Winchester, Mass.

I took the train up to Winchester to visit The Griffin Museum of Photography. I wanted to see Stephen Wilkes' "Ghosts of Freedom" exhibit. Wilkes photographed a long-abandoned hospital complex on Ellis Island, and he produced some truly striking images, like the one below.



To see more, go here, or come to Winchester.

* * *

I've been hunting for two-bedroom apartments in the North End and Beacon Hill. The BH apartments I'm interested in all feature roof decks, which is an awesome bonus; the North End apartments are smaller, but, hey, it's the North End, where there are more than 100 eateries in a 1/3-square-mile neighborhood. I hope this apartment we find will be our last, and Jenn and I can buy one next year in the South End. We'll see.

* * *

In this week's New York Times Magazine (which has a terrific cover story on Afghanistan), I noticed this ad. Now, is it just me, or does this guy:



… look kind of like:



… a chubby Kurt Vonnegut?

* * *

More later, possibly.

Where can I get a cup of coffee around here?

I haven't decided if this map of the number of Dunkin' Donuts in a 5-mile radius of downtown Boston is scary or awesome.

Paging Mr. Davis

I finally updated my News Page Designer portfolio. Check out what fun I'm having in Boston!

Hey, I remember you ...

No, this blog isn't dead; it's just been sleeping. Winter hibernation, if you will.

I normally work from 1 to 9 p.m. on Saturday — we have early deadlines so the press room can handle the 630,000-paper run — but my schedule was changed to 3 to 11 p.m. So instead of using these extra two hours to do something productive, like work on wedding-related stuff or buy beer (don't judge me), I've decided to write a blog entry. This poor blog; I seem to write in it sporadically and then, after leaving cab fare on the nightstand and promising to call, depart for several weeks. Whatever. If it didn't like this treatment, it would've left a long time ago.

The Super Bowl is tomorrow, and I admit that I'm quietly rooting for the Patriots to lose. It's only for selfish, personal reasons. (It would actually be really cool if they won because, given the Celtics record and performance, Boston is likely to have champions of all three major sports in one year.) Here's why I want them to lose: They're planning a victory parade on Tuesday, which, if you've been following the news, is the same day 22 states go to the polls for presidential primaries.

So in addition to our Super Tuesday special section, we'll have to do a Pats victory special section. We're calling in 20 copy editors, six slots, four layout people, two designers ... and every top editor. (They're actually worried about having enough computers on the news desk.) And with the contest in California, our reporters will be updating and rewriting all the way through 4th edition (3:30 a.m.) ... so it's going to be a very long, very late night. But if the Pats lose ... no special section. Go Giants! :D (No, seriously, it will be fun. Tough, but fun.)

* * *

Right, so I've taken on a second job: Wedding invitation designer. I've made six so far, but I think Jenn and I have decided on one:



Simple, elegant … it says everything we need it to say.

Although some of the designs borrow heavily from ones I had looked at, most were complete originals. They won't win any awards, but it was fun designing something other than news pages.

Now, to get them printed. Perhaps I'll use Boston-based Crane Paper Co., which supplies the paper for US currency. In that case, I will design the invitations to look like $100 bills — and then use them to fund the wedding! Brilliant!

* * *

Mmm ... tiny new laptop ... is it Christmas yet?







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Right now, my neighbor from across the street is hanging out of his window, toying with the weather insulation around the window. If he falls, that will be my In Sight picture for today.



Computer included in foreground for sense of place.

Because the streets are so narrow in Beacon Hill (this one has to be about 30 feet), we all look in each other's windows. One of my neighbors reads the Sunday Times in a chair by the window every week; another watches the late airing of the Daily Show almost every day. Another, a man, likes to walk around in a sweater and boxers. Me? I'm normal.

Maybe when it warms up, I'll start a game of catch, or maybe a Nerf war, from my fire-escape-that-goes-nowhere, aka the flower escape.

Now, it just needs to warm up.

* * *

I'm heading to Jax Vegas next week, and I'm looking forward to seeing Jenn and my friends and family. And the best news of all: I'm bringing someone home with me. TRAVIS! Yes, my dear, sweet cat has been spending the past seven months with my pre-wife, and I've missed her terribly. But, soon, we'll be reunited. I just need to spread the word that Travis is coming to Boston. The people here will be wicked stoked.