free things

Euro Top 10: #4 – Free museums

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No 4

#4 – Free museums

I am a firm believer that all museums should be free.

I know, I know – sometimes this isn’t possible.  Sometimes funding is short and demand is high and who wouldn’t want to make more money to preserve their paintings and sculptures and such?  But just as with other beautiful and important things in life, preserving greatness doesn’t mean nearly as much if the audience isn’t there to enjoy and learn from it.

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Rainy afternoon at the Tate Britain

 

That’s why I’m such a huge fan of the vast number of free museums in London.  On any given day, a person can walk into the British Museum and see the Rosetta Stone. They can go visit the Magna Carta or Shakespeare’s original manuscripts at the British Library.  They can take a free tour of the Tate Britain and follow a literal timeline of British art.  They can form their own opinions about censorship, ownership (as in the case of the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum), citizenship (as in the Imperial War Museum – NOT free grumble grumble). Whether visitors take a free tour (offered at all free museums here and highly recommended!), stay for five minutes, or visit every day all day for a week, they can do so without barriers, without balancing the cost versus what they hope to get out of the experience.

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Guerrilla Girl costumes in the V & A – this group protests the extreme lack of female artists in art museums around the world, often talking about how there are many MANY more times more naked women in museums than female artists represented. I’m a big fan!

 

Museums have a lot to teach us – about where we came from, how other cultures live, what we can learn from the past as we plan for the future.  I think we’d all be better off if we hung out in free galleries a few hours a week, just reminding ourselves to slow down and enjoy the beauty of the world.

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Period clothing at the V&A. Be still, my Darcy-loving heart!

 

The #4 is brought to you from… somewhere in France!

All photos are my own unless otherwise stated.

Click here to read the other posts in this series.

Starting summer strong

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Summer opens up a million new ways to soak up the sunshine – even as work stays intense, weekends are filled with weddings and traveling, and patios serve up delicious food and drinks.

So I’m keeping moving this summer with some new, some old, and some totally free practices.  Here’s where you can find me this summer:

  • Playing softball with Social Boston Sports – we started the season as a group of free agents, but now we’re “Loose Change,” the friendly, talented, and generally awesome softball players who hit the fields by the Charles every Sunday evening.  After the season ends in two weeks, we’re moving to another field to keep the fun going as a real team!
  • Biking for the first time in years.  I just got my biked tuned up and practiced riding it up and down the street today, without worrying about what my neighbors might think about a 27-year-old going in loops like a kid.  Next up, taking it on the bike path (once my lights come in!).
  • Free boot camp and outdoor exercise at Post Office Square – this is the awesome free one that I want to see YOU at!  Sara and I went today and it was awesome – basically group training, if not personal training.  The downtown location is perfect for me, the 7:15 start time gives me time for breakfast and a shower before work, and the trainers are really nice.  Not near you?  How about one of these other awesome outdoor exercise classes throughout the city?  
  • Running!  Just because our half marathon is over is no excuse to stop running.  I have two 5ks coming up, including Color Me Rad in July.  I also got in a good sunset mile run around my neighborhood last week – when the sun stays out so long, I might as well join it!
  • Dancing the night away.  I think I got about a year’s worth of exercise at Katey and Sal’s wedding, between all the shimmying and shaking and grooving.  So much fun, and dancing just makes me want to dance more… more… more!  Let’s dance!

What are you doing to keep moving this summer?

Whale poop and the meaning of life

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You read that right.  Last week, I took my nerdiness to a whole new level when I willingly joined my friend Jessica for a lecture about whale poop.

Yes, it’s a thing.  It’s orange, it floats, and it stinks to high heaven (when it comes from a right back whale).  And it’s freaking amazing.

I never thought I could sit for an hour to hear someone talk about poop, but the scientist who spoke to us (Dr. Kathleen Hunt) was incredible.  Here’s a strong, smart woman, leading the way in scientific discoveries via POOP.  Can it get any better than that?  Here’s a crash course on why whale poop is so fabulous:

  • Mammal poop carries a ton of hormone information, and can tell scientists all about estrogen, testosterone, an animal’s reproductive status, and their stress levels.
  • Poop is a much better indicator of stress levels than blood samples, because taking blood always stresses animals out (how could it not?) while poop gives you an indicator of how what an animal’s hormone levels were like 1-2 days earlier.  This rocked my world.  Because of this, poop is better than blood.
  • Another earth-shaker – blood tests aren’t even an option for whales, since no great whales live in captivity (and you can’t trap a live whale for tests).  This is obviously true, but still crazy to think about.
  • The whale poop we talked about (from the right back whale) is actually collected by going near where the whale surfaced and scooping it up with a net.  Dogs can help with the search, as they can smell the foul stuff a nautical mile away.
  • Some animals are always a little bit high-strung (just like people!).  More on this later…
  • Not all stress is bad.  Mating is stressful, and being pregnant is stressful on your body, but you can adapt to those and other natural stress.  It’s the unexplained stress that you have to be careful about.

Continue reading →

Lights, camera… Boston!

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My life has been feeling a little more glamorous lately.  It may be my snazzy new haircut or the glow I get from running through the park at my 7:00 (AM!) boot camp, but I think I also owe a little bit of it to Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Bacon.

These boys, and good old Jeff Bridges (sorry dude – you were neither my Footloose hunk nor my 2 Guys, a Girl, and  Pizza Place crush) are getting ready to film a movie right across the street from our little old office in downtown crossing, Boston!  Just beyond the now-barren Borders (wah) they’re doing work on buildings, including the one right under us, and getting ready to film a new movie starting tomorrow– R.I.P.D.

I learned all this from the very helpful workman who gave out waaaay more information than he was supposed to – maybe he was excited about Ryan’s arrival, too.  Though even before we had the specifics, we knew something was fishy when the convenience store across the street suddenly (and I mean in less than 24 hours) looked like this:

Um, hello 2011?  I may have a record player, but I know no one is stupid enough to open a VCR repair shop where a bustling convenience store used to be.  Now this one, on the opposite side of the street is more believable, especially in this economy:

See that white building, to the right of the green awning?  That’s my entry way to the office.  Yep.  I;m practically a part of the set – and now I have a much better incentive to get up and stroll into that part of the office between my bajillion meetings.  Just to show my dorky side, I want to say that I love that they’re consistent with the building numbering – this really is 25 Milk Street.  Now, I’m trying to decide if it would be acceptable to create a Yelp! account for this fictitious (but documented!) locale.

This is the best celebrity dorkiness I’ve enjoyed since I attended that Wheel of Fortune taping.  I’m loving every minute of it, even before the stars show up.  I’m out of town for tomorrow’s taping, but I hope to catch them later.  Have you run into these dudes or any other celebrities in Beantown lately (or elsewhere)?  Spill!

Journey to the center of the earth

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Yeah, that’s right.  I did it, and I came out on the other side (literally).

Nolan and I recently made us of my Mapparium Buy With Me right before it expired, and got to walk inside and hear about this old stained glass dome.  We got there right before the tour started so we didn’t get to explore the entire exhibit, but we did get to walk inside the three story tall stained glass dome at the Mary Baker Eddy Library.  This map is the only place on the world where you can see the north pole and the south pole at the same time. Trippy, right?  Supposedly, it’s the only way to see the distance of countries from each other on the world’s surface, but I find this claim misleading because the countries are backward – from the center of the earth, facing the US, Europe is to the right of North America, but if I was really inside the earth, it should be on my left… right?  The distances might be accurate, but the directions are off.

The maps on this globe haven’t been updated since it was created in 1935.  On the tour, they said that there are 65 new countries that have been formed since this map was made.  However, we were there on the actual day South Sudan became a country (Kat, you ready to learn a new country yet?), so it’s really 66 now.  It includes places like Siam, the USSR, and a bunch of African countries with colonial names.

Overall, definitely worth $6 on a hot afternoon.  A word to the weak and weary though – when they say that sound in this dome projects, they mean it for real.  It felt like every person was whispering right in my ear – and then when the baby on our tour started crying, it rang through my head like there were 10 of her.  We scurried out after that, hence, no pictures.

But here’s me in front of the Christian Science Church, where we saw one of the world’s largest organs (over 13,000 pipes!!), toured the really interesting architecture, and got a cool tour from a church member.   I’d actually recommend the (free) church tour almost more than the Mapparium, though you have to go in with an open mind because while no one will actively try to convert you, they will almost certainly share their stories of how they were healed.   The history and architecture makes it worth it, though.   I had no clue until this that the Christian Scientists have no clergy, but it’s a shame people can’t get married here, because the building is gorgeous (also air conditioned, which is a plus for hot days).  If you go, let me know what you think!

Check and check

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There’s something ultra satisfying about checking things off a list.  Digging in that pen (or mouse) and saying “I OWNED YOU.”  Or just “one more done!” if that’s more your style.

When I started listing out my Five Year Plan, I knew most of the items were a reach, even the ones that seem easy (there is no good way to cook a chicken in our stupid erratic oven.  Allie, help!).  But I also knew it would be fun to accomplish them, to know I could come back here and cross them off, and add new challenges to the list.

I was just looking at another blog I used, back in the day, and found this list of things I wanted to do in Boston.  I haven’t seen it since I posted it in the summer of 2009, so I’m pretty happy with the progress I’ve made!  It’s nice to see that I really am living the life I set out for myself.  There are even a few things on there – the Mapparium, a tour of the statehouse, and the swan boats, for two – that I didn’t list there, but did care a lot about and recently checked off my internal list (more on that later).

Which of these things have you done?

Boston To-Do List (circa 2009)

  1. Take a tour of Fenway Park
  2. Have drinks at the Top of the Hub (done! went with the NH gang)
  3. Visit Bunker Hill (done! and climbed all 294 steps – phew!)
  4. Go on the USS Constitution (done! Hit my head coming up from below deck, swung in a hammock, had a grand old time.)
  5. See the Boston Pops (July 4, 2010 – double whammy!)
  6. Watch the fireworks over the Charles (see above!)
  7. Volunteer for the Boston Marathon (done! cheered on runners as part the Dana-Farber team in 2010)
  8. Go out to the Boston Harbor Islands (done! gone three times now)
  9. Skate at the Frog Pond
  10. Walk the Freedom Trail
  11. Cheer on MoHos at the Head of the Charles (done! – and even better, I got to cheer alongside my former teammates, some of whom are the best people I met at college)
  12. Host an awesome Oscar party (done! the red carpet stayed down for more than a month.  I think that says it all.)
  13. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity (not as easy as it sounded)
  14. Take a dance class (does a salsa lesson count?)

And now, on to the next challenge – just as soon as I decide what it is.

Speaking of cheesy pictures…

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And by cheesy, I mean Mac and Cheesy…

Sara and me, Faneuil Hall

I didn’t think anyone needed proof of just how much I love corny photo opportunities, but I thought I’d take this chance to share some of the “biggest” ways I’ve found to raise the cheese factor.  Sometimes in comes in the form of a giant nut, sometimes it looks like Katie’s favorite dinner.  And sometimes, it looks a heck of a lot more comfortable than my desk at the office.

On the greenway

I love running across random stuff like this in my everyday life.  Only the world’s largest hammock (true story) was intentional, the others just happened to be there.  This is what I love about living in a city like Boston.*  You never know when you’re going to run into something awesome that makes your day.

With Phoebe, City Hall

*The beer selection ain’t bad either.

Bonus: check out me and a huge native american statue on my November road trip.  How cool?

Also, ask sometime to see the pictures we took with giant Amish statues on our roadtrip to Hershey one summer.  They were BC (before this computer) but they really are a treasure.  Or something.

Summer fun for penny-pinchers

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It’s going to hit 90-degrees today.  I ate ice cream for lunch yesterday.  Yep, summer has definitely arrived.

My summer plans involve sun (and sunscreen!), good food and drinks, and as much free fun (and air conditioning) I can manage.  Here are my top recommendations for free fun in Beantown:

  • Scooper Bowl – Happening right now at Boston’s City Hall, the Scooper Bowl is a chance to support the Jimmy Fund and cancer patients while trying a bajillion kinds of ice cream, just $8 for all you can eat.  If you go, try the key lime sorbet – it’s ridiculously good.  (Ends tomorrow, don’t miss it!)
  • Free Fun Fridays – all around the state, museums, gardens, and zoos are opening their doors for free admission on Fridays.  Check out the full schedule here – highlights for me include the Museum of Science and the JFK Library and Museum.
  • Author readings at Porter Square books – cool authors, a neat local bookstore, and free A/C.  The Fonz was there this past weekend – proof that the owners have good taste.
  • Classic movies at the Somerville Theater – this is two inches from my house, and I am excited about all these films (though I probably need someone to hold my hand during “JAWS”).  If you go for a daytime matinée to beat the heat, it’s only set you back $7.
  • Shakespeare on the Common – This year’s play is “All’s Well that Ends Well” and if last year is any indication, it should be spectacular.  (My Yelp! review of last year’s production was just highlighted in the latest Yelp! newsletter – check it out!)
  • Book sales at the Boston Public Library – I love these things, and haven’t missed one yet this year.  More on this month’s treasures soon…
  • Concerts at the Hatch Shell – the Landmark Orchestra, KC and the Sunshine Band, and more, all for free and within walking distance of the T. (Thanks, Jess, for telling me about this!)
  • Free evenings at the ICA – Check out the latest contemporary art exhibits for free from 5-9 every Thursday night.
Did I leave off any Boston summer treasures?  What awesome things are you doing this summer?