A Preview of My Love/Hate Relationship with the MBTA: Links

Deciding to adventure around Boston involves a lot of subway rides (or, "T rides," if you will).  Coming from a state known for its lack of public transportation, I know I shouldn't be complaining; at least I have the option of taking the T.  However, each trip is...an experience to say the least, particularly anything involving the dreaded green line.

I am in the process of making an article all about the horror that is riding the green line, and I still plan on posting that.  In the mean time, BuzzFeed created this list:

Hocus Pocus 20th Anniversary

To the five or so of you out there who are not aware, Hocus Pocus is THE Halloween movie.  It tells the story of three 17th century witches who are resurrected for one Halloween night in 1993, and they must suck the life out of children in order to keep living.  Hocus Pocus is also probably one of the most underrated films of all time.  It flopped when it came out, and it has a measly 33% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (although it does have a respectable 66% approval rating from fans).  The movie seemed destined to be forgotten until ABC Family started showing it in October during its 13 Nights of Halloween marathon.  Since then, it has garnered a respectable cult following and has gotten at least some of the appreciation it deserves.

Learning How to Salem (part I)

Actor/Judge: "I ask you then, Goodwife Bishop, why did you attack a three year old child?"
Random woman in the audience: "Because she met a three year old child?"

The Witch House

This year, my sister and I spent Halloween in the only place you really can spend Halloween in Massachusetts: Salem.  Salem, obviously, is known for the Witch Trials of 1692.  Although most of the actual "witches" were from Salem Village (today known as Danvers), Salem was the site of the trials and the hangings, and they have full-heartedly embraced their heritage.  The city celebrates for the whole of October in what they call Haunted Happenings.  So sit back, relax, and let me take you Halloween in Salem (it was a long day, and it's going to be a long post, but there's a surprise at the end).

HuffPost: What Boston Can Teach the Rest of the Country About Living Well

I plan to post a longer article tonight, but here is a great article about Boston from the Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/06/boston-health-wellness-happiness_n_4214600.html

This article covers everything from the prevalence of outdoor attractions to the early legalization of gay marriage.  It's not overly long, but it's worth a read anyway! 

The New England Aquarium (or, PENGUINS!)

Glow-y Jellyfish

Sorry for the delay in posting, but it's been a crazy busy week.  As I mentioned before, my sister was in town for about 10 days, and we tried to pack as much as we could into her visit.  So, even though I did not post last week, I now have a bunch of posts just waiting to be written.  This one is all about our visit to the New England Aquarium.

One of the first things that we noticed about the Aquarium was that is was actually fairly small.  The exhibits focus on penguins, fish, and jellyfish, and there are two seal tanks.  However, there are no dolphins, which I found very disappointing because I love dolphins.  Even though it was small, the Aquarium has just been renovated, and what they have is very well done.

Recap: Boston Book Festival 2013

As I mentioned before, this weekend was the 5th annual Boston Book Festival, run by the Boston Public Library and hosted in various places around Copley Square.  This was my first year at the BBF, so I scheduled a whole day of events and exploring.  My review for the program?  It was absolutely fantastic, and I would encourage everyone to go next year.

Most of the events were held on Saturday (10/19), but there were some ticketed events on the Thursday and Friday before.  I didn't end up going to those because 1) they costed money (not a lot, but more than I had available to spend) and 2) because they were sold out a long time ago.  So, unfortunately, I don't have much to say about the Salman Rushdie or Writing Terror talks.  My only advice would be to get your tickets early if you want to go to the ticketed events next year.  Anyway, without further ado, here is a review of the three talks I attended and the exhibitor booths that I visited.

Brave New World: If John the Savage Were Alive Today, He Would Be Wearing a Fedora

While waiting for the events of the Boston Book Fest to commence, I thought I'd write a little something about the book I just finished: Brave New World.  I never read it in high school, and I was sick of it being one of the few "classics" I had not read on the Most Banned/Challenged lists.  So, in a belated attempted to celebrate Banned Books Week, I gave it a shot.

I’m sure reams of paper have been used to discuss and analyze the “civilization” in Brave New World, and I doubt that you’ll find many proponents of dousing fetuses in alcohol, so I’m going to skip that part and cut to the chase: I freaking hated John. So much effort is spent looking at the obvious dystopian future of “civilization” that people assume that the opposite (John and his ilk) must be the “right” future. I disagree. There is no “right” future in this world. Also, John sucks.

Boston Book Festival 2013

It's a testament to how unconnected I am with the world: there is a yearly Boston Book Festival, and I had no idea.  It's put on by my favorite place ever (the Boston Public Library) and takes place primarily in the Copley Square area.  I know I'm a little late on the uptake, but the Festival starts on October 17 (tomorrow) and goes until the 19th (Saturday).  The Festival is full of panels, talks, and exhibits and would be the perfect event for anyone with any sort of interest in books (whether reading or writing them, whether fiction or non).

Boston Public Library Museum Passes

After my harangue about getting out and doing stuff, I have to admit that today was more of a preparatory day.  As mentioned before, money is still a little tight, and I am still perfecting my methods of finding cheap/free things to do in Boston.  BUT, I wanted to let everyone know about the museum pass program at the Boston Public Library, which is possibly one of the best things ever.

Come, Learn How to Boston with Me

Hello all,

This is my fourth year in Boston but only my first since I graduated.  This means a variety of things.  First of all, I have much more time on my hands than I used to.  While I still work full time, now my nights and weekends are free, which hasn't been a thing in seven years.  It also means that I had to move from student housing and am no longer walking distance from where I need to be.  So, I now invest in monthly link passes, which means that I am able a travel a lot more (especially since I don't drive).  Oh, also, I'm now getting paid to work, which is a new and frightening change from my university days.