08.25.09
Posted in Jiffywoob's Palace at 10:17 am by Nick
…but I loves it. We went up to Singing Beach in Manchester, and I’ve gotta say, it’s one of the nicest T-accessible beach I’ve been to in a long time. It’s just a five-minute walk from the Manchester-by-the-Sea-but-still-on-the-Land commuter rail stop, and was actually not that crowded for a hot summer day (pre-Bill).
They say the sand “sings” when you step on it…I was expecting something along the lines of my favorite inanimate crooner:
But alas, we had to settle for the soothing sounds of the crashing surf instead. I much prefer that anyway.
Also, is it normal to have to pay five bucks to walk onto a beach? I mean, it ain’t much, but sheesh.
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01.12.09
Posted in Jiffywoob's Palace at 6:49 pm by Nick
I’ve walked by Cambridge’s Squirrel Brand Park hundreds of times, often with out-of-town guests who, unaware of the eponymous history of the lot, chuckle at the name.
“That’s like changing the name of Logan to ‘Airplane International Airport,’” one friend noted. Another asked, “where are all the squirrels?”
Of course, as many people know, this small (and relatively unusable, IMHO) plot of land is named after the adjacent and now-defunct (I think?) Squirrel Brand candy company/factory. Kinda neat that those tasty little Nut Zippers were once made in my home digs.
But what really gets me chuckling is the “playground” within the park:
What exactly are those apparati? The park’s designers, in their plan, call them “sculptural play elements.” I’m struggling to figure out how one is to play on this equipment, even with a boatload of imagination. Is the blue ball on the semi-circular piece supposed to aid in enjoyment? What, pray tell, is little Timmy to do with a metal ball that’s fixed on a pole six inches off the ground?
Moreover, the fact that I’ve rarely, if ever, seen humans actually use this park leads me to believe that the playground was indeed designed for the little furry rodents rather than for kids.
But at least the presence of soft foam turf around the base of these playthings will ensure the safety of our fuzzy friends should they loose footing (pawing?) and encounter the perilous two-foot drop to the ground.
Hey, the park is pretty, the name is fun, but a note to future park designers: if you’re going to make a playground for kids to enjoy, throw some real equipment on there, huh?
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09.03.08
Posted in Jiffywoob's Palace at 1:34 am by Nick
Today, a few of us tested a little experiment where we rigged some devices with hanging markers attached to strings, that would swing around and draw on pieces of suspended paper on the subway with all the sudden starts and stops.
We started at Davis, got off at Park, then took the Green line to Kenmore (the Boylston curve made for some great artwork). It was pretty cool. The T is a good artist.
And here’s what the subway “drew” with simple dangling magic markers:
Move over, Jackson Pollock. You’d need a third rail to make this kind of art.
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