Tag Archive for 'beacon-hill'
A squall erupted yesterday as I was taking pictures on Beacon Hill. This is one of the few shots I managed to snap before frostbite started to set in.
Buy/Download Visit Flickr Page
I said in my last post that the photo I was posting would be the last one from Boston for a few days. That’s before I stepped outside and realized that Boston just had its first snowfall. Such a thing necessitates at least one photograph, so here it is… and I’m off to work.
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I was so incapacitated from food that I neglected to post any photos over the past few days. But I’m back now with some seasonal photos to share. This one was taken right outside my door on Beacon Hill in Boston. I think it is one of the last fall shots you’ll see from me as the trees have become extremely bare. You wouldn’t think so from this shot, but it’s one of the few trees still left with leaves… beautiful ones at that.
iPods are everywhere these days: The gym, the streets, the mall, the supermarket, at work, in line, the car, in bed (no, not like that), the shower (or like that), and now announcing… the roof! Billboards are familiar company to those living on Boston’s Beacon Hill, and far too familiar for those seeking refuge upon its roofs. The fortunate few who frequent these roofs to enjoy the sunset are assailed by glowing rectangular abominations in the guise of this season’s hottest items. And as if that wasn’t bad enough the latest advertisements now mimic the roof goers in hopes that they will succumb to the power of consumerism. Witness our beloved iPod. Once our friend, it has now invaded every aspect of our life, including the roof. While we once took pleasure in reclining peacefully on our favorite rooftop chair to watch the sunset, we are now joined by the iPod. But maybe what we’re seeing isn’t an iPod… maybe it’s the new iRecline from Apple. Not only will the iRecline allow us to listen to the latest music, but it will actually morph into a reclining chair so that we can fall back into a splash of colorful magic and light to match our music. Brilliant! I will be first in line, will you?
Fall betrayed me this past weekend by raising temperatures into the 80s with around 100% humidity. My friends called me crazy for wishing for cooler weather, but I’m a firm believer that fall should be fall. Interestingly enough, they’re not the only ones still wishing for warmer weather. Some of the flower patches around Boston, once white, pink and red, have been replaced with new flowers of the fall variety. I have nothing against flowers and I definitely think they look nice, but flowers should not look this spectacular this time of year. So for today’s post I’ve written a little something about letting go… I extrapolated the subject matter quite a bit, so don’t think that it’s all about flowers 
Patchwork
Why do people hold on so dearly to things meant to pass? Is it fear? Is it love? Or is it some jigsaw puzzle of both that we arrange piece by piece so that we may bring order into our lives? Does this order even buy us happiness, or does it preoccupy us with its quest as we incessantly mash our puzzle pieces together until they are dull and frayed? We hold on to so many things in life - habits, people, objects, seasons, emotions, thoughts, behaviors, pleasures, desires… and the list goes on. Some of these things are indeed conducive to happiness, but holding on to any one of them leads to pain and suffering. Is it any surprise, then, that when we try to put them all together the resultant product is a hodgepodge of ill-formed logic and emotional distress? Most of us today would agree that knowledge is power, yet with the advent of knowledge and technology, depression and unhappiness have run rife.
Where, then, should we look for the answers? Should we turn to God? No, for by now we are all well aware of the dangers of preaching the validity of one man’s God over another. Should we abandon knowledge and technology altogether in a grand revival of the dark ages? Should we let go of everything to the detriment of ourselves and our neighbors? Surely we have evolved out of such practices for a reason, but we have also evolved into other practices which were never meant to be. When we are not holding on, trying desperately to construct our life, we worry that we may lose it completely. We compare and cross-reference everything to ensure we have the best car, house, spouse, etc. But in doing so many of us have lost track of who we are.
I propose a different solution. Letting go - not of responsibility and accountability, but of self. Our egos have grown with our knowledge and pushed us further away from each other. While we were once dependent on our neighbors for survival, today we put up fences to keep them out. Why? Do we love our privacy, or fear our neighbors? Too much energy is focused on the “right” thing to do and the attainment of the “perfect” life. But perfection is an illusion that has grown with the ego of man. Let it go, let it all go. Be spontaneous, be unpredictable, be the moment, and for God’s sake, throw your puzzle pieces on the floor so you can play twister… it’s way more fun.
Fall Roots
Most people who have been to other countries tend to say that the US has no history comparatively speaking, but I see it when I walk out my door every day. While the US is certainly younger than most countries, it definitely has some jewels to be found… here are just two examples.
Acorn Street
Acorn Street is probably the most photographed street in Boston, but I have yet to take a shot of it despite living a few blocks away for the past year and a half. I figured it was about time. Cars are not allowed to drive down this street, but I don’t think any “car” would really fit if it tried.
Vine 49
This is just a random door covered by random vines. There are countless others like it, but they all have different things that make them intriguing. I almost feel like I’m walking through a hobbit village when I walk through the streets of Beacon Hill. Everything is just so old and piled on top of each other that there are some very interesting “configurations” to be seen.
I took this shot a few days ago from the Longfellow bridge in Boston. I wasn’t going to post it because of some posterization in the sky, but it’s been my desktop wallpaper for a while now so I must at least like something about it.
Recent Comments