I'm moving. Please come with me!

Hello all you readers out there in TV land!

I, Citizen Smith, and my blog Field Report are moving to a new cyber location and I'd like you all to join me at my new home. It was a fun year of blogging in 08 and I've learned a lot about how this thing works. I hope 09 will have even better posts, and maybe less gaps when I get too busy.

So, where will I be? Field Report 09! www.fieldreport09.blogspot.com

I'm thinking of trying out some new features, including the new category: somewhat interesting thing from the cambridge chronicle, and I might try having some guest field reporters from time to time. If you saw something crazy on your walk to work, (I think its okay to open this up to "commute" to work), and you want to report on it, send me an email at:

citizensmith.fieldreport@gmail.com

The only rules are that you must take a picture, and you must fill out all the categories, so keep that in mind.

happy new year!

what's the 4011?

The peel has begun the natural process of decomposing, but the sticker lives on. Probably forever. I know its a banana though because if you have worked at a grocery store, even only for a summer, you will never ever forget the PLU for bananas. 4011.

climate: overcast, mid 40's
shoes: burgundy sneaks
ipod: not today
somewhat interesting thing from the Cambridge Chronicle: city council in 60 seconds. your tax dollars at work.

the day after

This is a HUGE DEAL. Here's an excerpt from Obama's victory speech last night.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.

It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

This is your victory.

It is our victory. I could see it on every single face I passed on Mass Ave this morning.

climate: sunny, low 60's
shoes: snake skin flats
ipod: none.
now what: Exactly. I need a new category! Any thoughts?

fruit roll up

The mailboxes on this house have tiny pineapples on them. Who was making mailboxes and thought "Hmmm, now what should I embellish these with? Mini ferns? No... tiny apples? No, but I like the fruit idea... I know! Pineapples!!"
Whoever it was: good thinking. Way better than ferns.

climate: sunny, mid 60's
shoes: work boots
ipod: bah. at least my mail order hardware came today.
vote Obama and not the GOP because: just go back and re-read all my posts. I think if you read them one after the other they'll have a much more powerful effect. Maybe they'll even make you cry!

obama08: 3 2 1 ...

A sign on the HUCTW office. (Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers).

climate: overcast, high 30's
shoes: silver flats
ipod: a long story involving mail ordering new hardware and 70's music
vote Obama and not the GOP because: Well, the elections are tomorrow, so you probably should have your mind made up by now about which way you're going to go. If you're still not sure, then think about this. McCain's joke on Saturday Night Live about only being able to afford time on QVC was funny because it was true. He's not getting the donations because he doesn't have the support. In that sense, the US has already voted. Obama has a bajillion dollars of campaign funding- enough to buy all those spots on major networks for his Obama Infomercial. That money did not come from his back pocket. That money came in twenty-five dollars at a time, from people that want a change in policy and agenda in the White House.
It is time to make that change. It is time to be that change.

cluck cluck cluck. 4 more days!

Yes, that is a chicken. Or a hen. I'm not sure which. Either way, we were both late for work today.

climate: sunny, high 40's
shoes: snakeskin print flats
ipod: elton john
vote Obama and not the GOP because: small businesses. I work at a small business. I support my local small businesses. Maybe someday I'll own a small business. Shop at the Gap? A small business built that store. Drop some bills in the mail? A small business keeps the post office clean, and the mailboxes painted blue. It takes small businesses to make big businesses. We all interact with small businesses everyday, even if we don't realize it- and that's what keeps our economy going! But small businesses are really suffering in this economy. Rotating credit and loans are hard to get. Health care costs are rising for the employers that want to do the right thing and provide it. Construction has alway been an indicator of the economic and business health, and I can tell you that right now, construction has come to a screeching halt. Obama proposes to provide small businesses with tax breaks and access to low or no interest loans. This will help keep businesses in business until all the King's horses and all the King's men can figure out how to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Oh, McCain has a plan, too. I read it, and its only seems to apply to big corporations. Maybe McCain's definition of "small business" is like his definition of middle class; anyone that makes less than $5 mil.

the countdown: 5

I love love love this print by Shepard Fairey. And guess what?! He was in town this week! So if you're bumming around town this weekend, keep your eye out for his work.

climate: sunny, low 40's
shoes: burgundy sneaks
ipod: I just remembered to plug it in before I left this morning.
vote Obama and not the GOP because: its time to move on. You might think that I hate McCain, but I actually don't. His tax policy is not going to help the few of us out there that make less than $500,000, and his health care plan is going to make prescriptions cost even more, and health care hard to get for anyone that has something worse than the sniffles, but I don't hate the guy. Its hard not to feel a tug at the heartstrings when he talks about being a POW. He's the underdog, and he really is trying hard to separate himself from the current disastrous republican regime. After losing to Bush for the nomination in the last elections he even came this close to switching parties! But its time to move on. Its time to put the Vietnam War behind us. Important things happened in our country then, I know. Civil rights happened. Legendary protests happened. Hippies happened! But that was my parent's fight, not my fight. And while I have respect for that fight, its time for our country to look to the future, not dwell in the past. John McCain has experience, and I'm not denying that. I mean, how can he not, he's old! But Obama has more relevant experience. Obama has experience with inner city Chicago, Iraq, Wall Street, our mortgage crisis, lack of health care, lack of jobs, rising energy costs, our failing environment, our failing economy. He understands the problems our country is facing right now. And not because he's seen them before, or because he's watching them happen. Its because he's young. He's going through them with us. He's experiencing them right now, too. And I just don't think John McCain is. McCain is not trying to raise a family in this mess. McCain is not concerned about his retirement, he's already retired! And McCain is not worried about how his investments will do in 20 years. Because in 20 years McCain will be 91. But Obama will only be 66. So vote for Obama because he is not just fighting for my 25-55 check box, he's also fighting for himself- and I think that will make him fight harder.

dunce!

A car wearing a dunce cap. Perhaps its being punished for not being fuel efficient? Or perhaps just a friendly Halloween prank. I guess not everything has to be analyzed into a social issue.

climate: sunny, mid 40's
shoes: brown flats
ipod: forgot to charge that battery again
vote Obama and not the GOP because: socialism. Lets just get a few things straight. First, click here for the definition of socialism. Second, click here for a more in depth explanation of the same concept. Okay, did you read any of those? Yeah, me neither. But I know what socialism is, basically. And so does Obama. So when Obama made a comment about "spreading the wealth around", that was just an aside about his tax plan, and why he feels its better to give people with smaller incomes larger tax cuts. That's all it was- just that one comment! Never has he claimed to be, or want to become, a socialist. If that was the case, I think he would run on the socialist ticket like Gloria La Riva is doing, but he's not- he's on the democratic ticket. So now that that's cleared up, lets look at who does have a little socialist experience. Hmm, lets see here, how about...oh, WOW!! Its Sarah Palin!! And there's a fantastic article in the New Yorker about it. Here's a recap, because I know clicking all these links is a pain: Alaska doesn't have income tax or sales tax. They pay for their government services by charging oil companies, using the money they need, and giving the rest to the residents of Alaska.

A few weeks before she was nominated for Vice-President, she told a visiting journalist—Philip Gourevitch, of this magazine—that “we’re set up, unlike other states in the union, where it’s collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs.”

Okay, so am I saying this is a bad thing? No, I don't think its a bad thing. Its obviously working out well for the Alaskans! The problem is that SP is getting on her soap box and crooning to the media about how Obama-is-a-socialist-and-its-horrible-and-we're-all-going-to-suffer-now. But really, she's the one with an active socialist type policy. If she really thought it was so evil, she wouldn't be doing it, right? So which is it, SP? Is socialism bad or good? I'm just throwing this out there, but I'm thinking that she doesn't really know. And someone that doesn't know about their own method of creating wealth- is that someone we want in the white house? No. No, its not.
P.S. Hi Norm and Liz!!

just a little off

If I'm interpreting this correctly, and I think I am, someone put the telephone pole in the wrong spot. No problem, except this is in front of a new house, and now its in the middle of the new driveway. Oops.

climate: sunny, high 50's
shoes: burgundy sneaks
ipod: dead battery
vote Obama and not the GOP because: Colin Powell. Even the republicans are doing it! Former Secretary of State, and a republican, Colin Powell has decided to endorse Obama becuase he feels that the republican party is running a negative campaign and it has slid too much to the right. So even though I'll admit that my last post was a little rant-y, Colin and I are on the same page about this negative campaigning crap. And he's way more famous than me, so if you don't want to hear it from me, listen to ole' CP.

tubby

There's two things we can learn from this sign:
1. Don't cheat the system. The system being that you should either donate your clothes to a charity, or hold a yard sale- even if you are giving the items away for free. But if you leave them in 'tubs' on the sidewalk you should clearly not be surprised if the tubs disappear, even if you did leave a sign. I mean, c'mon. Really? What did you think was going to happen? Someone who wanted free clothing was going to walk around with their own tub, looking for random vats of clothing on the sidewalk? Did you think about how they would get their new goods home? No. You didn't. You were so obsessed with how great you are for putting free clothes out and not having to schlep to the Salvation Army, that you really didn't think about the receiver of the clothes at all, even though you're trying to pretend like you did. But lets just be honest. You were being selfish. You wanted that crap out of your basement, and you didn't want to take the trouble to drive to donate them. So they took your tubs? Serves you right.
Oh, and the other thing we can learn from this sign? It really is worth the time to pencil that text out to ensure the spacing looks good. If you had done that, you wouldn't have those little mini words on angles, and you wouldn't have the crappy lowercase afterthought in the lower right corner. I didn't take your tubs, but if I did, that sign certainly wouldn't convince me to return them. I'd just leave them on the street with a sign for free tubs.

climate: sunny, low 40's
shoes: burgundy sneaks
ipod: elton john
vote obama and not the gop because: fear.* Look, I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you didn't already know, but Obama is not a terrorist. But for some reason the republican party has members that don't believe that. So Sarah Pukin' Palin is running around in circles yelling at the top of her lungs "who IS Barak Obama?? WHO IS HE?? We've only had the past 21+ months to get to know him! We should know who he associates with!" Well, let me help you out here, SP. But, let me start by asking: Who the fuck are YOU? No one had ever even heard of you until McCain plucked you out of the snow as a mercy measure to beg for women's votes. (And by the way, it didn't work because anyone that would vote for her just because she's a woman, would not have voted for Obama anyway. And anyone that would vote for her because of her experience and background, well, how about you just sit on the couch that Tuesday? We'll all be better off if you do.) But lets get back to the issue. So Obama sat a school board with a guy that has a shady background. Let me say that again. Obama sat on a school board with a guy who has a shady background. Did you get that? No, not the shady background part. The school board part! Obama was on a school board! Hey SP, have you ever been on a school board? No? What? There's only one school where you come from, and they don't have a board? Oh. I'm going to break this down for ya, SP. You see, Obama has done stuff. And when you do stuff, you meet people. All kinds of people, and that's a good thing. Once I took a tour of the Harvard Medical Research Labs and I met Dr. Hubel, a nobel prize winner. Really nice guy, but the point is that you don't know anyone with shady backgrounds (except your own family) because YOU HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING! But now that you're running for VP, you've met a lot of people, and I'm willing to bet that a lot of them have super shady backgrounds. I can tell because they go on national television and accuse an honest citizen of these Unites States, who also happens to be running for president, of being a terrorist! And that is just ridiculous. These are the people you represent? These are your supporters? Well, well, well. Now who has the shady associations?
*I got the idea for this blog from my friend's friend's blog, so I should give her the credit.

presidente!

I liked this sign I saw in a window this morning. Something about that extra "e" just makes it sound so much more exuberant. Presidente!

climate: overcast, high 50's
shoes: silver flats
ipod: Beatles
vote Obama and not the GOP because: words. McCain has something against the use of words, which makes me think he should maybe just learn sign language. There's actually an excellent New Yorker article about this. He's said it before, and he said it again last night:

"Well, you know, I admire so much Sen. Obama's eloquence. And you really have to pay attention to words."

And because my sarcasm detector started beeping frantically, I was aware that McCain was actually making fun of Obama's eloquence. Now this is something that came up in all the Bush elections. Bush was advertising himself as a 'regular guy' just like me. And Palin has tried to convince us that she's a 'regular mom', also just like me. (I'm not a guy or a mom, (or a white trash mom) but anyway...) The point is that for some reason this is appealing and reassuring to the everyday people, but it shouldn't be! Our president needs to be someone above ordinary. Our president needs to be a strong thinker, a strong speaker, and someone that won't embarrass our country when meeting with other leaders. Our president needs to be intelligent and eloquent. McCain making fun of Obama's vocabulary, eloquence, or education is like a kid on a playground making fun of another kid- its a defense mechanism help him feel better about his lack of these qualities. And being defensive about a lack of self confidence is definitely not a presidential quality. I mean, what's he going to do at a dinner with members of the United Nations? Make fun of their accents and clothing? Yes, that will get our country well endeared to do business with foreign countries. Actually, no, no it won't. So unless you're cool with the president sitting at the kids table throwing bread instead of assisting in decisions that affect our global welfare, don't vote for the insecure kid. Don't vote for the everyday guy that you can relate to. Vote for the person that has the intellect to do the job.

being mindful

I thought this was witty.

climate: sunny, low 60's
shoes: blue and grey flips
ipod: rolling stones
vote obama and not the GOP because: energy safety. Lets talk about nuclear (pronounced new-clee-her). During that last debate McCrafty said:

Now, how -- what's -- what's the best way of fixing it? Nuclear power. Sen. Obama says that it has to be safe or disposable or something like that. Look, I -- I was on Navy ships that had nuclear power plants. Nuclear power is safe, and it's clean, and it creates hundreds of thousands of jobs. And -- and I know that we can reprocess the spent nuclear fuel. The Japanese, the British, the French do it. And we can do it, too. Sen. Obama has opposed that.

I would like you to focus your attention on the italicized sentence, "safe or disposable, or something like that." What? Wait- is he making light of Obama's desire to ensure that nuclear power should be safe? I think he is! I sense sarcasm! You know, that's nothing to poo-poo about. He's old enough to remember Three Mile Island, where a nuclear reactor melted and released enough radon into the environment that the soil still to this day has excessively high amounts of radon and is considered a brown-field site by the EPA. And I should hope he can also recall a little thing the Soviet Union went through called Chernobyl, where an entire city had to be evacuated due to the nuclear fallout. And I KNOW Palin knows where that is because she's so close to Russia!
Is nuclear power a bad thing? No! It could actually be a good thing, and both candidates recognize that. But McCain's clear distaste for government regulations could lead to lax safety precautions and next thing you know, we all have cancer. And if you follow this blog, you'll recall that with McCain's health care reform proposal, we can't afford cancer. And a nuclear blow out would surely melt our popsicles.
Oh, and one last thing about nuclear power. Its big. Really really big. A nuclear power plant would need a lot of space to house all the cooling ponds and crap. And you know where they have space? (Cue soundtrack to Oklahoma). The midwest. So to all you republicans out there in the red midwest states, think about it because voting for McCancer could be voting for an unsafe nuclear power plant in your backyard.

pennies on the dollar

Look at these artfully arranged pennies on a window sill on Mass Ave. Coincidentally this is also the current value of my 401k! (Get it? COIN-cidentally!? HA!!) Alright, alright. Lets get down to business.

climate: sunny, low 50's
shoes: gray and blue sneaks
ipod: none, my cabbie kept yapping in a different language on a cell phone.

vote obama and not the GOP because: health care. Right now insurance policy costs are market driven, which might seem like a good thing, but what I'm paying for at this competitive price is a basic health coverage plan. But when I get cancer, all of the sudden my costs will skyrocket because my basic plan doesn't cover all the additional cancer crap I have to deal with. So just shop around for a plan with better coverage, right? Wrong! No new plan will accept me because we all know I have cancer. I'm screwed! Obama's plan will force insurance companies to accept me regardless of my pre-existing conditions, so when I find out a different provider has a cheaper plan, my insurance provider will actually care that they're about to lose me as a customer. McCain's plan doesn't really talk about this issue. I read it. All it says is that he'll "Work With Governors To Find The Solutions Necessary To Ensure Those With Pre-Existing Conditions Are Able To Easily Access Care." (Did that really need caps on each word, JM? No. No, it didn't.) So anyway, he doesn't say what kind of care, he doesn't say I get to chose my care, he doesn't say much of anything. And when I have cancer, and my plan has a co-pay of $75 per chemo shot, but a different plan offers $25 for the same delicious chemo cocktail, will I be able to switch? Well, I don't know! It doesn't say! And really, is that the time to find out about this crap? When I've got an IV in my arm and all my friends are trying to make me eat popsicles? No. This is the time to enjoy my friends and my popsicles, not think about my co-pay.
McMaverick does say that he'll give me $2500 in tax credits to pick a provider different than what my boss offers. Great! Except when I quit my last job, COBRA was $300/ mo, and that's the cheapo plan. So if the cheapo plan is $3600 a year, $2500 isn't going to get me much. Maybe it will buy me a wig and some popsicles. But I don't even need a wig, because I can't afford that chemo anyway! I will be left with expensive cancer and $2500 worth of popsicles.

indecision

Looks like someone must have changed their minds. But that's okay because it at least means they're thinking about this election.
I've never 'themed' this blog, but I think October will be Obama month. I will be on the look out for Obama everywhere. I will be all Obama, all the time. I will give you a good reason to vote for Obama and a good reason to NOT vote for McCain with every post. Enjoy!

climate: overcast, high 50's
shoes: brown and pink sneaks
ipod: lauryn hill
vote for Obama and not the GOP because: taxes. Obama is proposing tax cuts that will give you a 2.4% decrease if you make $50k. The other white meat is offering a decrease as well, of 0.7%. Also, if you're freakin' loaded and make a lovely 2.7 mil, Obama is going to charge ya an additional 11.4%. No biggie, its only about $300k. Pocket change! BUT if you make the big bucks, you're going to make even more off The Pork. 4.4% more. lucky you. Can I have some? I can barely afford my generic toothpaste as it is now.

danger!

There's a lot to watch out for now that Harvard Square is continuously under construction. There's the complex traffic patterns that most drivers don't adhere to anyway. There's the bikers that know what they're doing and are not afraid to run you over. There's the myriad of tourists wondering how to get to "Harvard". There's the students that don't realize that Harvard Square is not an exclusive extension of their dorm rooms. And now I have to watch out for hippie crossings? Per order of Capt. Commando? This is just too much!

climate: sunny, low 50's
shoes: brown and pink sneaks
ipod: The Band

bee girl

Cut through Central Square this morning, and the Metro lady was dressed like a bee. There you have it.

climate: overcast, mid 60's
shoes: black kitten heels
ipod: Blind Melon (get it? ha!!)

I rule!

Returned a Netflix movie today to the blue USPS box on the corner. This sticker was stuck on the inside of the handle panel (not sure what else to call that part that you pull open to drop your mail in.) There is was, where there's usually information about pick up times, or how many ounces you can mail without having your love letter examined by the USPS-po-po. But here's the thing; someone took the time to make this sticker that is a bizarre historical reminder, and thought "where should I put this lovely sticker I just made? I know! Inside a mailbox! That'll show 'em. That'll be a fantastic act of vandalism and guerrilla culture jamming! I rule!"
But really? Inside a mailbox? Lame. Try again guerrilla dude.

climate: overcast, low 60's
shoes: brown flips. should have gone with the rainboots, though.
ipod: T. Rex

historical

Around here you can't throw a cigarette butt without hitting some historical thing or another. Perfect example, while waiting for a cab at the Holiday Inn in Somerville* I saw this tucked in their lovely gravel-and-bushes landscaping.
"Paul Revere on his famous ride, April 18, 1775, was intercepted near here by British officers and escaped."
Near here?? NEAR here? If its just near here, what's with the monument? How far is "near"? A mile radius? Two miles? Where exactly did this happen? Do we not know? Shouldn't the monument be right where it happened? And if we don't know where that is, do we really need the monument? Is this some kind of stunt for the hotel? Do they call this the "historical Holiday Inn?" Shouldn't there be some kind of oversight committee to monitor these things? People!! I need ANSWERS!!

*Don't ask why I was at the Somerville Holiday Inn this morning. Its not nearly as exciting of an explanation as I'm sure you're thinking, so its probably better if you just go on thinking whatever it is you're thinking.

climate: sunny, low 60's
shoes: black flips
ipod: black eyed peas

amazing

This thing was out for the trash. It looks like a shipping carton for I have no idea what. A maze to train mice? Or possibly its a mold for a make-it-yourself mini labyrinth?

climate: sunny, low 60's
shoes: brown flips
ipod: shuffle including 'Nsync and Tom Petty

No bubblegum, no bus stops, no babysitting. Spikes okay.

Glad to see the classic Four Square game is still in play- although this court could use some reconditioning- I've seen better playgrounds in 3rd world countries. Who's got the red rubber ball?

climate: overcast, low 60's
shoes: gray flips. first day of fall be damned
ipod: highrise

free crap

Oh yes! Crappy cardboard boxes left out in the rain! For FREE!! I can't believe my luck because I was just thinking... I wish I had a crappy damp cardboard bo.... no, wait, I wasn't thinking that at all.
What is wrong with these people??

climate: sunny, mid 60's
shoes: snake skin flats (bet you didn't see that one coming!)
ipod: supertramp

true love

Someone heart's DD so much they had to write it on a traffic barrel. And around here, there's only one thing DD can mean...

climate: sunny, low 70's
shoes: gray flips
ipod: grateful dead

I voted

I voted on my walk to work today. I asked the poll workers how the turn out was (this was around 10 am) they had only had about 10 people come in. 10 people! 10 people!?!?
People.
Its not too late.
Go. Vote! NOW!!

climate: overcast, high 60's
shoes: gray flips
ipod: shuffle

vote tomorrow

State primaries are tomorrow. Don't forget to vote. You can find some general information here:
Who's running for what?

And information about a write in campaign to oust a scandalous rep here:
Cambridge Chronicle politics blog

climate: sunny, mid 80's
shoes: black flips
ipod: none- lots of flying and too much headphone action over the weekend

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks...

Today's walk to work was uneventful, but yesterday's was more exciting. I had a tour of Fenway Park. Here's a picture from the comfortable seats of the green monster.

climate: sunny, high 60's
shoes: brown flats
ipod: none, but we did hear the saxophone player recording the national anthem for yesterday evening's game.

what a croc

One lone pink Croc, sitting on a brick pier. Very museum-esque, but be careful... I've heard these innocent looking plastic shoe abominations can actually kill. Then again, what can't these days?


climate: sunny, mid 70's
shoes: black flips
ipod: Outkast

sweet!

Now here's a sure way to get mobbed by children- just park this thing outside an elementary school and prepare to get trampled (by sneakers that light up and have hidden wheels).

climate: sunny, mid 80's
shoes: no lights or hidden wheels
ipod: more wilco, I'm on a bender

leave the tree alone

Well I didn't know that dogs or trash could hurt a young tree. I can think of lots of things that would hurt a young tree; kids climbing on it, gypsy moths, deer, getting hit by a car, getting slimed a la You Can't Do That On Television. All these things could be potentially damaging to the influential health, safety, welfare, and developing sense of ethics of a young tree. But playing with a puppy, getting peed on, or hanging out with the wrong crowd of litterbugs? Not so bad, they'll grow out of it. Certainly not worth the sign. At least they said "please".

climate: sunny, high 70's
shoes: gray flips
ipod: wilco

...and we're back

Or rather, they're back. The students. I love to hate the students. They're always driving the wrong way on the one ways around here, and they're just... amusing. Case in point: True story of two entirely different student conversations I overheard on Mass Ave at lunch yesterday:
1.) "...so German beer does have alcohol in it, right?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that it does."
2.) "...so if you have a tracheotomy, can you drink through that hole?"
"Yes! You could drink 2 beers at once!"
The only redeeming part about this time of year is that inevitably, one of them gets stuck under a bridge in their huge U Haul because, for whatever reason, they think that huge NO TRUCKS sign on Storrow or Memorial must not apply to them. After that, I'm counting the days until they vacate the premises again.

climate: sunny, low 70's
shoes: gray flips
ipod: Arrested Development

smokin'

I saw a dude (that's right. a dude.) locking this up and I waited until the coast was clear before I snapped the picture. I think the skull's eyes blink in the dark. All I can say is; dude needs to brush that skulls teeth! And skull needs to quit smoking because who wants a skull with smokers teeth?

climate: low 70's
shoes: black flips
ipod: led zeppelin

hipsters suck

I have to think the only person hip enough to perform the work above would be a hipster. Think about it. This person would have to a) know the areas of town that hipsters populate, b) be able to locate them on a T map, c) be in Harvard Square waiting for the #1 , and finally d) carry a fatty permanent marker. Who carries these markers? Hipsters, of course. Everyone else carries ballpoint pens. Or perhaps a Pilot Razer Point, which is my preference. But a fatty Sharpie?
Obviously a hipster.
Nice try hipsters, but I'm on to you.

climate: sunny, mid 70's
shoes: blue flips
ipod: shuffle including Macy Gray

black and blue

I always like a good show of graffiti. Here's one on a Mass Ave side street. Its got the makings of a good piece of art- a mean message in a lovely blue script. It could be some sort of warning to "Bigsum The Doom Bringer"!

climate: sunny, mid 70's
shoes: brown and pink sneaks
ipod: car radio- NPR

martha? is that you?

Something about this lady totally reminds me of Martha Stewart. And its not the fact that she's at a sewing machine. Its something about the expression on her face. That and the trusty button down shirt that Martha is always rocking.

climate: sunny, high 70's
shoes: blue and black flips
ipod: none, left it at home

all gone to pot

Sometimes you just don't need a whole pot for your flowers. Thank goodness for those occasions, there is this product available: the half pot. If you really want to blow people's minds, you should get two half pots and put one on either side of the fence so it looks like the fence runs through the pot! That would be insane!!

climate: sunny, mid 70's
shoes: orange flips
ipod: George Michael

eat me

Where was I when I photographed these crazy fungi growths at a tree trunk? I must have been meandering through a forest, in search of rabbits and little cakes that have instructions on them, right? Wrong! I was on Putnam! These poisonous looking mushrooms were right in the heart of the city! Near a school! And you know what that means? That means that these mushrooms were violating the drug-free school zone laws. You are looking at CRIMINAL mushrooms! (Not to be confused with Cremini mushrooms. HA!)

climate: low 70's
shoes: brown and pink sneaks
ipod: dr. dre

limited time offer

Now this looks like a good deal if I've ever seen one. Unlimited tanning sessions for only $99 should help crisp up your translucent white Cambridge complexion. How long is this good for? What's that? 2005?? Shocking that this store is on its way out of business. They're obviously a company that keeps up with the current trends in tanning.



climate: sunny, mid 80's
shoes: orange flips
ipod: REM

cap: 1, bottle: 0

The free form composition of this milk cap-fence-grass arrangement caught my eye and I was compelled to take a picture. I've been trying to come up with something witty to remark about it, but after 10 minutes, I still got nothing. So here ya go. I call it Still Life with Cap.

climate: overcast, high 70's
shoes: blue and gray flips
ipod: pavement

No means no.

Seriously. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times. DO NOT park your freakin' furniture here! I am SO tired of walking by and seeing all your couches and chairs in this parking spot. If you must park your dining room table, do it in the garage across the street. Do it on Mass Ave in the metered spots. I don't even care where, just not here!

climate: sunny, high 70's
shoes: blue and gray flips
ipod: gorillaz

what is that thing?

Quality reading for someone's walk to work, just left out in the rain to dissolve! First of all, is that really the author's name? It has to be just a bad, bad pen name. It has to be, right? Second of all, that is some scary cover art. What is that thing? It looks like an alien chick with alopecia. I suppose its not the artist's fault because there are enough bad sci-fi artists running around Cambridge in capes, playing magical land games with pewter wizards and hanging out at that store near the 7-11 on Mass Ave. But the person that approved that as the cover art? What's their excuse? Its probably their significant other. That's the only reasonable explanation. They probably get a framed color pencil drawing of wizards and glass bubbles every year for their birthday.

climate: raining and inappropriately cold
shoes: brown flats
ipod: beatles

she sells seashells

Last week's walk to work was very difficult. As you can see, I had to navigate treacherous terrain and was constantly on the defense against the vicious wildlife. Thank goodness I'm back in the city now, where's its safe.

climate: sunny, mid 80's
shoes: none
ipod: dusty springfield

for reals

For reals, people. For reals. I mean, if its on a homemade bumper sticker slapped on a lamp post, it must be true.

climate: sunny, mid 80's
shoes: brown flips
ipod: destiny's child

oh happy day!

Its a miracle! Little Jimmy can walk! He doesn't need the ol' crutches anymore! Now if we could just teach him to pick up after himself and stop leaving his things laying around on the curb, we'd be all set.

climate: sunny, high 70's
shoes: blue and gray flips
ipod: gym class heroes

hot or not?

I think this is some kind of failed experiment; this morning it was clearly not hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. Maybe they're hoping it will be ready by the time they get home from work?

climate: sunny, low 80's
shoes: brown flats
ipod: Saturday Morning Cartoons album

grilled peace

I had to practically jump a fence to get a good picture of this, but here's a peace sign sticker on a charcoal grill. What happened here? Dude has a bunch of peace sign stickers laying around and he pops one on the BBQ? Maybe everything in his house has peace sign stickers on it! Maybe its all Haight-Ashbury meets Bobby Flay up in there.

climate: sunny, raining (yes, at the same time!) mid 80's
shoes: blue and gray argyle flips
ipod: jim james and calexico

!!!

On the sidewalk in front of a house that's being painted. The likeness to an exclamation mark is remarkable, yet clearly unintentional. Somebody sign these guys, I think we have another Pollock on our hands.

climate: overcast, low 80's
shoes: brown flips. yes, again.
ipod: paul simon

yeah!

Oh, man. I can't believe this kind of language is posted on a school bus! Further yet, I can't believe this is what a school bus looks like these days! What happened to the golden yellow embarrassment with the sticky green vinyl seats all torn up with springs sticking out? Kids get to ride in a van these days? A van with swear words on it?? Damn. Kids these days have it so good. When I was their age...

climate: overcast, low 80's
shoes: brown flips
ipod: can't get that stupid mamma mia song out of my head.

zen-ish

Yesterday was some crazy biblical weather around here. There wasn't any hail, but enough rain to drown a turkey. I think the idea behind this meandering stone path is that it elegantly diverts rain water run-off to the street- and I would have liked to see it in action yesterday because I'm sure it was one of the first residential white water rapids around.

climate: sticky.
shoes: brown flops
ipod: beatles

shoe tree

Sometimes your green space just needs a little something extra. Like size 9 sling backs in medium brown with a embossed burl texture.

climate: sunny, high 80's
shoes: see above. no, really, brown flips
ipod: abba

good porch/ bad porch

Here's the bad neighbor situation every good neighbor dreads- if you live in a duplex, that is. The picture doesn't do this justice, but the house on the left is well groomed and the house on the right looks like it got dressed in the dark. (Goofus and Gallant, anyone?) So Gallant wants to upgrade the porch but can't do so without undermining Goofus's structural system. I'm guessing Goofus wanted to spend money on popcorn and movies, not schoolbooks and new steps. The solution? Shore that sucker up with a 2x4 and a cinder block and build a fence for spite. Helloooooo Neighbor!

climate: sunny, high 80's
shoes: brown flips
ipod: bah.