WWD

Thanks to Charliegrrrl for making this happen. I had a great time (though there was more smoking than I'm used to in Cambridge; I'd kinda forgotten people do that inside.), and was glad to see so many friends there; I hadn't expected to know that many people there. Also amazed at how many people came in partway through - SRO by the end, even with people sitting on the floor near the "stage." Cool venue, with lots of Persian carpets on the floor, low lights with Xmas lights accenting the stage area.

Comedy on race and gender politics by Alana Devitch (with a pornographic haiku in there for fun); a short story about teens doing drugs in the suburbs by Sara Seinberg; a SF/western story by Connie Wilkins/Sacchi Green; Pagan Kennedy read an article on... well, Boston marriages, thought that seems an inadequate description for such a thoughtful piece about building intentional homes based on relationships not necessarily grounded in sex; Charlie reading a cool story about an afternoon in the aftermath of a relationship, rounded out by readings from her book; and Rich Mackin read some letters and responses. I'd read his book already (thanks, Queue), a while back, and they were funny, but he reads them very well.

I look forward to future WWD; I'm curious what kind of group I'll get to hear next....

Puppet Slam

Last night I went to a puppet slam at the Puppet Showplace, in Brookline. (Two cool events in two nights; I feel so cultured (not like a pearl).)

I'd not been to this theater before. The space is interesting. The lobby has lots of puppet-related posters from around the world, also big puppets here and there on the brick walls, and by the octagonal window to the ticket booth, plus a tiny slip of a shop where you can buy all sorts of (smaller) puppets. I resisted the urge to look at everything for sale. Perhaps if I convince myself someone on my list needs a puppet, I'll end up with an excuse to go back...

Open seating when we were allowed in, on (lightly) padded benches that are not incredibly comfortable for sitting on for hours. More puppet-themed pieces on the walls, so interesting to look at when the lights were up. Also a ceiling fan that worked well to keep the space from overheating.
( the performances )

Upcoming event: The Bobs

Saturday March 29, 8 pm at the Somerville Theater.
Tix are $28 or $22.

More info (also to buy tix online) here.

Anyone interested in going?
Last year's show at MIT was great.

Pedestrian crossings

Looking at the official ways to designate pedestrian crossings, not the jay-walking everyone does.

There's the crossing itself, which requires motorists to stop. One step up is the crossing with one of those orange barrels in the center with the sign reminding motorists that this is their legal obligation. Up another level is the crosswalk coordinated with a traffic light, giving the clear signal (white walking person/ red hand) when it is appropriate to cross. More safety (presumably, though there are idiots out there always (wave to ZZBottom)), but theoretically more restriction on the pedestrian, too, since only some of the time is it appropriate to cross. A more recent enhancement is having the lights show how many seconds are left (Can I make it across in time?). The other recent wrinkle is the crosswalks that beep when it's legal to cross, presumably to help the sight-impaired among us. There's at least one intersection that has different beeps for the different pairs of opposite sides. What I find more bizarre is how some intersections indicate pedestrian crossing by having the red and yellow lights on at once. I think this might be a MA-specific thing; I've heard people originally from out of state become confused by this. I thought I'd seen it all, though, until my bus commute. In Watertown Square, there's at least one crosswalk that indicates to motorists that they don't have the right of way by having the red lights have a blue flash come out of the middle of the red. I kept turning, looking for a cop car, the first time I saw this. It's distracting, especially since it's not a standard thing. I wonder who came up with that...