↑Harpoon Five Miler (June 6). Finally, a race for a cause I can support—two free pints of beer!
↑The 100th Anniversary of the MIT Radio Society (June 7). I was once the president of this organization. A very unusual crowd! Seated to my right was Gordon from the class of 1948, who was drafted in his sophomore year and sent to Austria to perform SIGINT on Nazi communications. On my left, Clayton, a Harvard grad student studying the role of the Interstate Highway System on the spread of conservativism in rural American neighborhoods. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
↑The Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl (June 10). I’m getting my PhD in all-you-can-eat ice cream studies.
↑Buzz Aldrin and the Boston Pops (June 11). The legendary fighter pilot, orbital mechanics expert, astronaut, and moonwalker, looking sprightly and athletic at 79 years, narrated a Pops performance of Holst’s The Planets synchronized to a stunning large-screen display of scientific imagery from outer space. An unforgettable, staggeringly cool experience. “One small step for man?” This guy was standing right there! On the fucking moon! 239,000 miles away! The Pops really ran with the motif, also playing Also Sprach Zarathustra , themes from Close Encounters of the Third Kind , Star Trek and Star Wars , and a hilarious Moon Medley Sing-Along (featuring everything from “Fly Me to the Moon” to “Moondance” and “Bad Moon Rising”).
↑Taking pictures while my bicycle gets built.
↑Sailing in Boston Harbor. Give me a few more weeks and I’ll stop it with the accidental jibes.
↓Jellyfish. On a recent outing the harbor was full of these critters, including a small swarm that appeared to be chasing a styrofoam coffee cup. (Mommy?)
↑Chris Piascik at theChorus Gallery (June 13). An art gallery attached to an urban bike shop? You bet. Too bad this place has a serious hipster infestation.
↓Narragansett Beer. The new PBR. This is not a good development.
−Darkrooms. Years from now, in a time when children will ask their parents what film is, I will appeal to retro artiste sensibilities by unveiling a cologne scented like ammonium thiosulphate. Mmm, darkroom!
↑The 6th Annual Printing Arts Fair (June 21). Fantastic live demonstrations of all types of printing. For a small fee one could typeset custom stationery on the Linotype and walk home with paper (and souvenir metal slug) just 20 minutes later. A group of artists printed large-format woodcuts with a steamroller in the parking lot. Papermaking and bookbinding crafts were on display. Dozens of art-house printers from around New England were hawking their wares. Wet ink looks delicious. Type is a beautiful thing.