Boston
Public Spaces in Macedonia and Boston
Posted April 16, 2014 by Maggie Davidov
When I lived in a country that had a strong socialist history, I spent a lot of time in one of the remaining relics from that equalizing time: the dom na kultura. This translates from Macedonian to the house of culture. It’s a place where people come together for concerts, art exhibits, dance recitals, poetry readings, and other such endeavors. This is a public space that can be used by anyone. You can book the space and it, and all of it’s resources are available to you. I happened to take dance classes there as well as hold a photography exhibit. It was one of my favorite places. I remember walking down the main street on a Wednesday afternoon when the director of the dom na kultura saw me, crossed the street and thrust a postcard into my hand, “COME!” he said with such enthusiasm that I could not refuse. The postcard advertised a band named “Amniotic Fluid” (no joke) that was playing that night. I went. It was the most intense jazz trio I…
Dear Boston at the Boston Public Library
Posted April 13, 2014 by Gemma Doyle
On Saturday I went to see the Dear Boston exhibition at the Boston Public Library, which opened on Monday and will remain there until May 11. The Marathon bombings that happened last year are obviously all over the news in Boston right now, but nothing in all the interviews I saw or stories I read really affected me as much as seeing the items that people left at the bombing memorial in the days and weeks after it happened, including the hundreds and hundreds of pairs of running shoes. The exhibition is at the public library but was coordinated between the Boston City Archives, the Boston Art Commission, the New England Museum Association, and the BPL, which shows how amazing our resources really can be when we pool them between informational institutions. I have worked in a lot of public libraries and one thing I have been somewhat disappointed about when I’ve interned in local archives is the lack of outreach. I don’t just mean the button making “fun” outreach that I mentioned in my…
Sightseeing, Ducky Style
Posted April 10, 2014 by Alec Chunn
My parents were in town last week, so I had the pleasure of doing lots of touristy things. Probably the biggest thing I did was go to a Red Sox game (which for a Seattle Mariners fan like me does, in fact, constitute tourism). I also did many smaller things. The best small thing: going on a Duck Tour. (1) Because I happen to really love ducks, and (2) Because our tour guide wore pajamas and pretended to be friends with Christopher Walken. I don’t remember his name, but I do remember that he was awesome. There’s nothing quite like seeing the city you live in from an outsider’s eyes. Sure, walking around and familiarizing yourself with somewhere new is liberating and can be deeply personal. But there’s also something incredible about being a voyeur. At least in terms of tourism. On a tour, you get to listen to someone explain their love for the city–their favorite parts and favorite stories–while you simply keep quiet and watch, asking questions when queries arise. On the Duck…
Going Home and Coming Back
Posted March 17, 2014 by Jill Silverberg
In the weeks preceding spring break this year, I’ll admit, I was starting to get a bit stir crazy. You see, for the last four years, I had the luxury of being able to journey off my undergraduate campus for weekend hikes all around Massachusetts. These weekend adventures not only provided me with a break from my academic responsibilities, but also helped fend off any possibility of developing recklessness. As an individual who can’t ever seem to stay in one place for too long, you can imagine how much I miss these weekend outings. While I absolutely love living in Boston, sometimes, a person just needs a change every now and then and I hit that wall about a month a half ago. Of course, without access to a car or enough free time to venture off on the commuter rail, I’ve found myself essentially stuck within the confines of the city. Now don’t get me wrong, one can never go wrong with a bit of urban exploring, but sometimes, a person just needs to get out. And so, I decided to do just that and last Wednesday, I said…
Things to do in Boston in Winter
Posted March 2, 2014 by Gemma Doyle
When I moved to Boston from Vancouver, BC, I was a little afraid of the winter. Maybe more than a little, actually. We don’t get a lot of very cold weather in Vancouver, and it rains pretty much every day from October 1 to April 1. (This may be a slight exaggeration, but believe me when I say that it’s very slight.) We don’t get a lot of snow. We don’t get a lot of ice. I was a little terrified at the prospect of having to drive in either, having to walk around in either, and really just having to exist in either. I had this idea of winter in Boston as a dark, cold wasteland, with people spending most of their time gathered around heaters, dressed in five or six sweaters, hats and gloves on, shivering as they heard the wind whistling outside the ice-caked windows. It’s not really like that. Life goes on in Boston in the winter, without people letting the weather ruin their plans. In fact, there are a lot…
Weekend at the Boston Public Library
Posted February 17, 2014 by Jill Silverberg
Sitting right outside of the Copley T stop are two connected buildings that couldn’t appear to be more different. The first building is old and scholarly, the type of historic landmark that is almost begging to have its picture taken. Its classic charm makes one feel as if they are about to enter some sort of sacred place, an historic institution where knowledge is both value and shared. The second building seems to lack the romantic charm of its brother although that does not seem to hamper its popularity amongst the general public. Everyday, a wide range of people pass through this modern building’s rotating door, each looking for something different amongst the building’s vast collection and other offerings. Although both buildings might appear to be aesthetically different, they are actually one in the same. Together, these two buildings make up the Boston Public Library. Over this past weekend, I had the pleasure to visit the BPL not once, but TWICE! Starting with Saturday, I took a friend who’s lived in the city for the…
Crowdsourcing the MFA’s New Exhibit
Posted February 16, 2014 by Gemma Doyle
On Friday, the Museum of Fine Arts opened its first crowdsourced exhibit after letting the public vote on what works should be included in the “Boston Loves Impressionism” show. Over 10,000 people voted in three rounds, showing that Bostonians are pretty passionate about their art. Simmons is only a few blocks from the MFA, and one of the great perks of being a student is that we get free admission to a lot of the local museums with our student ID, so I usually end up visiting the MFA at least five or six times a semester. I’ve been paying particularly close attention to news about this exhibit lately, because I think this is a great use of the idea and technology of crowdsourcing. Instead of letting curators have all the power to create the shows they think people want to come to the museum to see, why not let people tell curators exactly what they actually want to see? One of the big topics of discussion at Simmons, one that has come up…
Let’s Beat the Winter Blues: Out of the House and Out of the Cold
Posted January 21, 2014 by Carolyn Lucas
Hello friends! I hope you are all safe and sound after this bipolar weather we are having. I know that the last thing anyone feels like doing at the moment is traveling out, but sometimes you need to brace yourself against the cold, bundle up for sleet/snow/rain/55 degree weather, and go outside. Let’s talk about Making the Most of Winter! I will be sharing with you a few of my favorite spots to both mentally and physically escape the weather. The Museum of Fine Arts http://www.mfa.org/ The MFA is truly a must-see for anyone in Boston, whether you’re a permanent resident or only spending a weekend in Beantown. The MFA is a contender for the best museum in the country, and is certainly one of the top ones in the world – it houses extensive collections of American, European, Meso-American, and Byzantine art, to name a few of their collections. Additionally, there is a featured display that is always worth seeing. One of my past favorites was a collection of Japanese Samurai artifacts, including armor,…
Academic Peace at Last: Finding that Place to Study
Posted January 20, 2014 by Jill Silverberg
For those of you who might not know, I am a commuter student. While I did have the option of living on Simmons campus, I opted to rent an apartment right outside of Boston in the Brookline/Brighton area. I’ve included the slash since my apartment is located in a place that if I take two steps to the left I’ll be in Brookline. Now don’t get me wrong, I deeply love living in an apartment; it allows me to feel like I’m one step closer to entering the world of being a working professional without actually entering the professional working world. However, as much as I love living a few T-stops away from the hip and happening place that is Coolidge Corner, there are quite a few luxuries of living on a college campus that I truly miss. While I could create another list featuring the five things I miss the most about a college campus, I will save that for another time. Rather, I think I am going to talk about the one thing…
World Series Champs!
Posted November 1, 2013 by Emily Boyd
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few days: THE RED SOX WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!!! One of the best things about living in Boston is the sports culture. People here are passionate about sports, and our teams are among the best (the best if you ask me!). Of all the Boston teams the Red Sox are my favorite, in fact, during the 2007 playoffs I camped out overnight outside of Fenway Park in order to get tickets! Needless to say, when the Sox won on Wednesday evening I was beyond thrilled. With everything the city has gone through this year it felt really wonderful to see everyone come together to celebrate a big win. In honor of my favorite sports event of the year here are some fun facts and historical tidbits about the Red Sox and historic Fenway Park: The first World Series took place in 1903 in Boston at a long gone ballpark on Huntington Avenue, today part of (my alma mater) Northeastern University’s campus. Opened in 1912,…