That Weekend Groove

[ase]

Last week was trying and unsettled without breaking into a crisis at any point, so I am glad my weekend's greatest irritants were a misread movie schedule and my wholly elective act of watching Into the Wild on DVD. Today was wacky bus shenanigans day, which was a timely reminder to be infinitely grateful for friends and roommates with cars. I am also very glad I keep an umbrella at work.

Notes toward an understanding of Into the Wild: After reading the book, I had no respect for McCandless. Get a map, man! Stop breaking your parents' and sister's hearts, unless they were physically, verbally or emotionally abusive! And get a map! So the movie's ability to move me to some degree of sympathy makes it worth mentioning. The movie's origin is Jon Krakauer's book of the same title. Krakauer emphasized the exhilaration of man surviving in the backcountry, and compared McCandless' path to his own experiences with nature; the movie uses McCandless's sister as a narrator to emphasize his confusion about his family, and speculates on McCandless's relationships on the road. It's worth noting that the sister talks about everyone's emotional reactions to Chris's absence, but doesn't say what she was doing during all of this. She's pretty exclusively a vessel for Chris's story, and a reflection of his relationship with his parents.

Other weekend highlights: hitting the tiny Bethesda farmer's market and Montgomery Market Farm Woman's Co-Op on Saturday; hitting the Bethesda library on the same trip; inheriting two gigs of memory for Moya from ashcomp's dead desktop (double the RAM, double the fun!); seeing Prince Caspian with LS from WSFA on Sunday. Nailed one of the closing songs as a Regina Spektor number and nearly combusted from shocking spontaneous pop culture recognition. Asking LS to haul me to Micro Center and geeking out over the tons of computer parts; getting a cheap bluetooth adapter (instead of the wireless adapter or bluetooth headset I should have been shopping for). Installing said bluetooth and making my computer talk to my phone, oohhh. Geekout! Also now I can get 1.3 mpix pictures off my incredibly lame cell phone camera. Next up: linux fun and games, European semi-finals, GRE studying, and life in general.

BTW, I will be in Boston from July 3rd to the 6th. If people want to do something while I'm there, drop a line. If people have suggestions for things I should do, hit me: all I've got are three guide books I haven't even peeked at since pulling them off the library shelves and a freewheeling schedule.

Comments

[meril.livejournal.com]

You've been watching the football? I've been falling asleep to the football ^^;

ETA: As for stuff to do in Boston, they do give Fenway Park tours during the season, IIRC even when the Sox are in town (but not if there's a day game scheduled) and it probably actually is more interesting in the summer when the park is not under construction. If you are interested. Wandering around Boston and vicinity taking pictures of random stuff could also be a quality activity. Just don't dislocate anything.

[ase.livejournal.com]

I've been following the scores; I've been absolutely awful at following schedules. I am hopping exasperated I missed the Germany-Turkey match, which was apparently awesome.

Fenway tour? Oh. If the weather's good, I could do that. ("Good": not DC summer. I am seriously not a summer person.)

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

I didn't read the book, but I liked the movie better than I expected to. I think the sympathy we wind up feeling for McCandless in the movie has more to do with the actor who played him than it does with the story. I thought his performance was quite a triumph.

[ase.livejournal.com]

I think the screenplay had a lot to do with it, too. It was a technically good film about a subject for which I have mixed (at best) feelings.

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

I probably have more sympathy for him than most people because I really do understand the not-here, not-there, but I'm-no-one-in-between sort of thing. I've never carried it to the extent that he did in getting rid of his car and dropping off the face of the planet, and I do not understand being stupid enough to get stranded in the Arctic without sustenance, but the whole itinerant lifestyle thing has been something I've -- mostly -- resisted the call of most of my life.

You're definitely right about the screenplay, too, though.

[emily-goddess.livejournal.com]

I dunno if you've been to Boston before, so forgive me if you've done these things already: the Museum of Science is fun - it's aimed at the younger set, but there's a ton of interactive stuff so you can still have fun. The aquarium is also lovely. But then, I'm coming from a part of the country that has no museums or aquaria, so those things are novel to me. There's also a ferry to Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod, which is a fabulously gay town with some nice beaches, great shopping, and drag bars.

If you're into historical stuff, Boston's got a ton of it. You can walk the path of Paul Revere's ride, see the U.S.S. Constitution, stuff like that. If you want really tacky tourist stuff, there's even a nighttime tour of Boston's haunted houses. *spooky music*

[ase.livejournal.com]

My mother's family is up there, so I've done some family travel to (and through) the area. One of my cousins got married to her waiter boyfriend in Provincetown several years ago; it was a fun trip. This time I'm probably going to stay mostly around Boston, since it's such a short trip. Thanks for the advice!

[filkferengi]

Would you be interested in doing stuff with Boston listies? I could mention your availability on-list, if you'd like.

[ase.livejournal.com]

I'm only going to be in town for effectively Thursday afternoon to Saturday night, and I'm already claimed for most of it. Thanks for the offer - maybe next time!

Beantown

[sarahcnnr.livejournal.com]

I second the Science Museum (where I saw my first, and only tobacco-ravaged lung many years ago). Beloved aunt may have a membership card you can use. Check holiday hours before you go, though as a tourist spot, things should be open.
There's always the top of the Hancock Tower, something everyone should do at least once.
There is something called the Freedom Trail, which is a walking tour of various important spots. For history, also, Bunker Hill Monument.
The Fourth itself: Boston Pops in the Hatch Shell with fireworks over the Charles River. Requisite 1812 overture. Park St. on the Red Line and follow the crowds.
If you get invited to Newport: the Mansions, Cliff Walk, fireworks over the harbor. The boats honk their horns for the best ones.
If you let your family know you are coming, you will probably get meal invites of various sorts.

Re: Beantown

[ase.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs!