The 1880

Done. Celebrate. Do something fun.

Sometimes I wish tassels were more fashionable.

We’ve finished. Rather than just getting smashed, take the $20 you were throwing down on your fourth straight night of black-out partying and do something substantial, k?

• Lewis Black will be at the Boston Opera House tonight, May 8th.
• KRS-One at Harper’s Ferry if you would prefer some hip hop.
• The Boston Pops are doing a Bernstein Tribute this weekend.
• You dorks probably want to go to Mac Camp Boston.
• Ozomatli at The Paradise! Badass world fusion stuff.
• Kaiju Big Battel comes to the Roxy.
• Some Blackberry challenge happens at Faneuil Hall Saturday, too.
• Cut Copy, Black Kids and Mobius Band play The Paradise Monday.
• Superman screens as a part of the Coolidge’s Science on Screen series.
• Afrissipi out at Johnny D’s Uptown Tuesday.

Moving Review: Bolt Bus (UPDATED)

The Bolt Bus in all its glory in South Station.

I took the Bolt Bus from Boston to New York City and here is a diary as to what went down. Hopefully I’ll have a full review to be read in the near future.

Boston -> New York

2:30 PM
In South Station. Only one person in line. A little bit of me is afraid that I will have the same driver from last time.

3:00 PM
Well, I just boarded the one-and-only Bolt Bus (I’m using their wi-fi as I write this!). I mentioned it in a previous post, and now I’m on my way to New York City.

The line was short until about 10 minutes before, when a bunch more people joined in the line. I paid $1.00 for my ticket, and I think it’s already been worth it. The bus is brand new (it has that new… bus smell) and the driver, Daniel, is fresh and excited to drive (complete with a playful welcome). I was able to join the (read: free) Wi-Fi right away, and the first thing I did was take a speed test. 317 kbps down, 133kbps up. Better than I was expecting.

4:40 PM
All’s well on the bus. The wireless has been very consistent save for one connection drop for about two minutes. It’s been great to browse craigslist and IM and what not. Sent a couple photos (including the one in this post) over the wireless without worry. Passing through Hartford– traffic seems decent and I’m assuming I’ll get into NYC at the scheduled time (7PM).

I’ve noticed the power plugs, on the back of the aisle seat, are a little awkwardly placed. Luckily there’s nobody sitting next to me, so I can let the power cable dangle as much as I want. Whatever the awkwardness, it’s worth it to have some juice.

7:32 PM
We arrived 32 minutes late due to traffic (not due to BoltBus, of course). As we got into the city, our driver Daniel was honking like a maniac at a bunch of different intersections. Not sure how much I liked that (again… one dollar.). Our drop-off point was outside as I expected, right by Penn Station. As we pulled in, some guy in the seats said “let’s have a round of applause for the driver for the best dollar we’ve ever spent,” and everybody clapped. I felt awkward joining in… I guess this is what separates bus travel from all others. Besides, he’s getting paid a flat hourly rate– he has nothing to do with the dollar fare.

New York -> Boston, 3 days later

The dismal “bus stop” from within the bus

9:10AM
“We treat everyone as first class citizens,” says our driver, Kenny. The bus is about 10 minutes late, and I can see how they save a lot of their overhead– their stop in NYC is on the side of the road. And that’s pretty shitty when it’s rainy and wet outside (i.e. NOW). While I was waiting I met with an older couple who had also already taken the bus and asked what I paid for my ticket. $7 I told her. She paid $10. Right before we get on the bus as it arrives, she lets me know about MegaBus and their $1 service (nevermind their creepy-looking mascot). There are not many people on the early Monday bus– there are a few empty rows. Kenny is just as excited as the last driver. He’s explained that they picked the best drivers from both Peter Pan and Greyhound. “We know that Greyhound has a bad reputation. There’s no yelling,” he says, “unless you’re disrupting others on the bus!” He laughs. Yeah, I’ve had a bad experience on the bus before. The wi-fi works right away (as I write this), and we’re off.

1:40PM
We’ve arrived back in South Station. We’re 40 minutes late, but that’s because of the crappy weather and the quick stop (that I was thankful for) 3/4 of the way through.

Conclusion
All in all, I feel like the experience I’ve had with Bolt Bus has been a positive one. They have brand new buses, excited drivers, free wifi & outlets, and very competitive pricing. However, it should be noted that having an actual spot in Port Authority in New York City instead of outside on a street corner would be nice, but this I’m sure would increase the ticket price.

What also sucks is that if you go to their website to buy tickets, you can find that almost every weekend (Fri-Mon) ticket through August is at least $7, and usually $10. Looks like it’s going to be hard to pick up that elusive $1 after all; it would be nice if they didn’t sell their tickets so far in advance so that people could actually have a chance of getting them. I wouldn’t be surprised if one person just went through and grabbed every Fri-Mon $1 ticket through August. After all, it would only cost them 24 dollars.

Would I ride on it again? Sure. Is it better than the train? It’s not as on-time or comfortable, but they do have onboard wi-fi, and that’s a BIG plus. Will they eventually lose exciting and friendly service and get worn down just like the other bus lines? Probably, but $1 is inexpensive enough to double check down the road.

NYC and back for (sometimes) the price of a subway fare. Thanks, BoltBus.

Go Go BoltBus!

I go down to New York City quite a lot. To get there, I used to use Amtrak. However, due to their exorbitant rates (~$100 roundtrip), I decided to give the bus a try. However, if you follow the Boston Globe, you’ll know that it didn’t go so well for me (nevermind the disgusting emo picture). After that incident, I was back on the tracks again with Amtrak, paying a good Benjamin to get down to the Big Apple and back.

Then, along came BoltBus. A subsidiary of Greyhound (which happens to be “in an alliance” with Peter Pan– watch out for hostage situations!), BoltBus started service between only NYC & Washington, D.C.. However, on their site, they’ve been hinting at the idea of a Boston & New York connection, and sure enough, it’s launched. I’m going to NYC again in three weeks, so I thought I’d check what the fares were like.

How much did I pay? Eight dollars. And that’s on the expensive side– if you get it early, it can cost as little as $1 each way. To make things even better, they have free wi-fi on board for the ride.

First, I must point out that not everybody gets that $1 fare. BoltBus offers at least one seat on each bus for that rockbottom price. Then as seats start to fill up, the price goes up.

If you are, say, the fourth person to book a seat, it might cost $7. Wait a little longer, maybe $10 or $15. The top price is $20 if booked online, $25 if you buy your ticket last-minute from the driver. (There is also a 50-cent surcharge for booking online.)
–Scott Mayerowitz, ABC NEWS

How the hell can BoltBus sustain such low fares? The answer is simple: the interwebs. Instead of having to pay for facilities in bus stations or hire people to answer phones and sell tickets, BoltBus keeps all their business online– who needs a person to help you when you have a website?

In three weeks, I’ll be boarding this bus, and I’ll be sure to update then how the trip was. Will it be better than Amtrak? Probably not, but it’s 7% the price of the train. I’m assuming it’ll be a bit more than 7% the quality. Or at least, I can hope.

Spring Fever

Patience, friends. Spring will be here soon.

April 1st. It’s 62 degrees outside. I’m wearing bermuda shorts in the most fantastic plaid, filps flops, and my size-of-a-small-window sunglasses. I am ecstatic with the weather. Guess where I am?

You’re right. I’m in class. As I write this. I’ve been in class since two this afternoon–I had just long enough to stroll down Boylston after lunch between morning and afternoon class, and I’m headed straight to tech rehearsals after this until 11 p.m.

So do me a favor and get outside! Take advantage of what I can’t and get some fresh air. Coming up soon I’ll be highlighting some of the best things about the outdoor Boston scene, but until then, help me out! Do some adventuring on your own, and tell me about it. Find a great park, rooftop, cafe patio, or clever street corner locale, and up your endorphins with some sunshine. If you have any great suggestions or particular places you’d love to share, drop me a line or a comment and I’ll investigate. Any and all of the surrounding area is welcome. So if you’re feeling cabin feverish and claustrophobic between buildings, keep an eye out for some awesome places to get away from the asphalt and exhaust. And if you’ve already got the inside info on some sunny places, be sure to let me know!

The New England Patriots Have Propelled Me Into a Nosedive of Depression

No one's perfect, Tom! Kill me.

There are certain things that I regard as “holy” in life. The Vagina, for instance. Jesus. The microwave. Breasts. Grain Alcohol—I could go on. But one thing that I could pray to every night was the New England Patriots football franchise, and I blew 18 weeks-worth of my life (and hundreds of thousands of dollars) betting that God wouldn’t bring down the hammer on Belichick, Brady and myself—but it seems Eli Manning serves a dark and a vengeful God. To top it off, I was COMPLETELY and CRUELLY SOBER when it happened—the lone loss that sent me careening into the depths of a personal hell darker than any hell I’ve experienced, and I’ve seen Dark Hells: the day after the Yankees toppled Boston in the 2003 ALCS comes to mind, naturally; as does the night my mom caught me masturbating. But as I and my companion walked aimlessly around Fenway, which just a few short months ago rang loudly with riotous and alcohol-aided joy, we found it now host to tearful and confused zombies and a handful of the worst Giants fans I have ever seen (one that was beating his chest was wearing an oversized leather jacket and had a soul patch). It was Sunday night, and all of the liquor stores were closed. God truly hates me.

Read the rest »

The MIT Chapel

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The MIT Chapel. Photo by darajan.

A recent StumbleUpon adventure has lead me to discovering the MIT Chapel. Designed by architect Eero Saarinen, the non-denominational chapel was constructed in 1955. Viewed from the outside, the windowless brick cylinder is extremely uninviting and for the most part, looks pretty mundane other than this shit on top that looks like a rocket ship. Approaching the building, I was reminded of an abandoned silo where I would go to light off fireworks in high school, except that it isn’t covered in penises spray painted by eighth graders.

Luckily, the interior is much more cozy than the inside of a silo and the odds are pretty low that you’ll be shot in the chest with a roman candle. Inside, there is a spectacular use of natural lighting, created by a larger circular skylight. A tall sculpture created by Harry Bertoia dangles metal shards from the skylight and further emphasizes the light from above, creating an eerie effect. Despite the lack of fireworks, the MIT chapel is still a beautiful building that is definitely worth a visit.

The MIT Chapel is located at 48 Massachusetts Ave. near the corner of Massachusetts Ave. and Amherst St and is open to the public throughout the week.

An Open Letter to the MBTA

MBTA riders: We're in this together.

Dear MBTA,

We have always had a volatile relationship. You rarely give me my space, you’re messy (your Metros are everywhere) and sometimes you smell a little. You’re always saying you’re going to change, but things never seem to get any better, and you’re not a cheap date either. Quite frankly, I don’t know if I can take it anymore, so I will confront our issues point-by-point.

1. Riders: Sometimes, you just really irritate me. How many times does the driver have to say, “move into the train,” for you to release your death grip on the pole next to the door? And do me a favor: don’t sit on the outside seat when the T is full and the window seat is empty. What an obnoxious thing to do. Also, turn your iPod down, because “Crank Dat Soldier Boy” does not settle well with me at 8:30 am.

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Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride

To the cutie walking across the street ;)

I started reading missed connections on craigslist out of curiosity after a friend greeted me with their ecstatic screaming of “I WAS MISS CONNECTED.” After said friend explained to me that missed connections is a section on craigslist.org that allows people to post a description of the pretty girl they saw walking down the street who they were too shy to talk to. They then cross their fingers hoping that this person will see it and reply. Love will then ideally blossom. Before this I only knew that craigslist was home to the junk that people are trying to give away and the apartments people need to sublet. So later that day I found myself browsing missed connections.

Since my first time at the site I have found myself addicted to reading the listings on a fairly regular basis, mostly for entertainment value. It’s usually the subject lines that draw me to click on the listing, “we danced, we drank, we kissed, you puked, I love you…” or, “Your Hair…awesome reminds me of a hotrod I had.” But as I frequent the site more I find myself seeing the subject line such as, “Tall brunette on green line at 11:00” and clicking on it because I am tall, have brown hair, and was on the green line at approximately 11:00. I come to find out that the tall brunette was wearing a green jacket, has long luscious locks, and it was the B line, not the D. Nothing is applicable. The disappointment of another day of being sans a missed connection passes relatively quickly.

I wonder how many missed connections are responded to and how many are correctly responded to. I for one probably wouldn’t respond. So, despite the creepy factor of missed connections, if for nothing better, it is a good way to let the hottie on the T know that you noticed them. A little self-esteem boost always does a person good.