Friday, August 25th 2006


A Note to Fellow Ragers
posted by Mike Mennonno @ 8:34 am in [ MBTA ]

I discovered a couple days ago that while there are comments that get posted to my site immediately without moderation, there are some that go into a queue that I have to approve before they appear on the site. I don’t know why some go into the queue and others don’t, frankly, but most of the “comments” that end up in the queue are spams. To be honest, I figured they were all spams and instead of going through them, I periodically deleted the whole bunch without having a closer look.

Well, the other day I had a closer look. The ratio of legitimate comments to spams was something like 1:100, but there were legitimate, thoughtful, even insightful comments in there that would have been deleted had I not taken that closer look. (I still delete the ones that call me names, by the way.)

I wanted to mention this oversight on my part, and to apologize to anyone who may have attempted to post a comment in the past, whose comment never appeared. If you didn’t call me names, it was because I threw it out with the junk mail. I will be more careful from now on. I wouldn’t want to miss any stray compliments, would I?

Ok. That’s it. Carry on.




Friday, August 25th 2006


found vistas #1
posted by Mike Mennonno @ 7:48 am in [ MBTA - Boston - found vistas ]


These two shots were taken from Kingston St., between Bedford and Summer (scroll down for detailed directions–the red “x” marks the spot). The first is looking due west, the second looking southeast. I was right across the street from The Good Life, which is The Place for martinis, apparently, in case you didn’t know. I’m not gonna get into the whole “what is a martini?” debate right now, though. It’s too early in the morning, and I’ve only had three martinis so far. (I need at least five-and-a-half to get philosophical.)

The building in which The Good Life finds itself is utterly charming, by the way:

The closest T station is Downtown Crossing (Red Line), which is .17 miles away. To get here from there, walk approximately 1 block SE on Summer St., turn right on Kingston St., walk a short distance SW on Kingston St., and look up.

Just so you’re clear on this, I consider a “found vista” in the city that open space framed by the structures. One thing I like about Boston–that you can really see in the second shot above, is how unexpectedly, and from just one certain angle on the ground, lines converge.

In that picture–looking SE–what is pleasing, mysterious, titillating even, is the vanishing point between the buildings. Their parallel lines seem to converge in that sliver of open space. There is freedom there, beyond—but it opens up only for a moment. Take two steps in any direction, and it’s gone. Like the shadow of a thought, or the hint of a possibility.

If you’ve discovered a secret vista, send it to me HERE.