Museum of Fine Arts

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Museum of Fine Arts, West Wing Entrance, Fenway, Boston, MA

I took this photo this afternoon during our first major winter snow storm for the season. While I do not know the exact snowfall for this storm (which began Friday afternoon and continued pretty much non-stop through this evening), it's safe to assume it was at least 8 inches.

The MFA is currently undergoing an extensive expansion project, including the construction of an entirely new wing (which will serve as the museum's new main entrance). As part of the project, the westward-facing entrance was recently reopened after being shut to visitors and neglected for over 25 years. Would you believe that this is actually the back door to this museum? I am thrilled that this entrance was once again reopened to visitors. I must say that this facade is the most impressive of the museum (I think it's far more grand than even the original domed facade that faces Huntington Avenue). I'm glad that the city and the museum came to their senses to reinvigorate this part of the Fens, as the reopening of this entrance has seemed to spearhead a flurry of activity restoring the parkland in the Fens across the street. Perhaps I'm a bit biased, as this facade faces my apartment building.

2008 Bay Colony Dog Show

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Bay Colony Dog Show at Bayside Expo Center, Dorchester, MA

Here's Bandit, a male English Bulldog that topped all other English Bulldogs during the weekend and made it to the Non-Sporting Group competition.

The Bay Colony Dog Show is held annually in December over a 4-day period. The entire Bayside Expo Center facility is occupied by this massive show, New England's largest. For twelve dollars, I had unlimited access to the judging rings, the main ring, exercise pens, merchandise booths, and grooming areas. While I wasn't free today to return and see the "Best in Show" competition, I managed to catch two group competitions, the "Non-Sporting" and "Terrier" events. Sadly, neither Bandit nor the Scottish Terrier placed in these groups (why can't the Scottie ever win?).

Thanksgiving 2008

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving at my Parents' House, Newport News, VA

I just returned to Boston from my parents' house (the same house where I grew up from infanthood). As can be seen, our meal is very traditional, with turkey, stuffing, and all the traditional sides such as green bean casserole, corn pudding, mashed potatoes and gravy, and sweet potatoes.

I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday and safe travel!

Top of the Hub

Saturday, November 22, 2008

52nd Floor of the Prudential Tower, Looking Towards Hancock Tower

My friends and I celebrated my upcoming 28th birthday by spending an evening out in frigid Boston (it didn't reach 30 degrees yesterday, to my knowledge) for drinks. We began the night at the bar at Top of the Hub, located 750 feet above the ground in the top floor of the Prudential Tower. We moved elsewhere after a few hours.

Luckily, the night was clear (otherwise it would have been truly miserable), so the view from the tower was fantastic. I managed to capture this view with an old point-and-shoot camera before I was told by a manager to leave the dining area...made me feel a tad lower-class, but I understood that those people had waited in line for those views. Anyways, prominent in the center-right of the photo is the 800-foot Hancock Tower, with the much shorter Westin Hotel in front of it. Boylston Street, running through Back Bay, is apparent by the vibrant blur to the left, and the Mass Pike (I-90) curves off to the right of the towers.

Boston Center for the Arts

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Boston Center for the Arts (Cyclorama Building), Tremont Street, Boston

The Boston Cyclorama Building, completed and opened in 1884 to house one of 4 circular murals of the Battle of Gettysburg, is now home to the Boston Center for the Arts. While the building no longer serves its original purpose, it continues to serve as a focal point of the South End's artistic culture as an exhibition space.

The 12th Annual Boston International Fine Arts Show was held inside the building this weekend. A number of galleries from around the world displayed their pieces, most of which were from the 19th and 20th centuries but many also being contemporary pieces.

Arnold Arboretum

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA

Despite the cloudy weather, my walk through the Arboretum on Saturday afternoon was a great experience. Although the peak foliage season has passed, there was still plenty of color on many trees, especially on the maples. Not surprisingly, the fruits of many of these trees lingered on the branches, such as these tiny purple berries.

Boston Public Garden

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Boston Public Garden

This view looks towards the old Art Deco-inspired Hancock Tower in the center (home of the famous weather beacon), the newer Hancock Tower to the right, and the steeple of the Civil War-era Arlington Street Church at the corner of Arlington and Boylston Streets.

It was a dreary day, but plenty of people were out due to the somewhat mild temps.

Mission Hill, Boston

Sunday, October 26, 2008

View of Mission Hill and New England Baptist Hospital, Boston.

What I like about this picture is that it appears to capture a typical New England village setting, complete with colored leaves, quaint housing, and an old, brick institution on the crest of a hill. This turns out to be Mission Hill, which is a neighborhood behind Harvard Medical School that is almost in the center of Boston.

Mission Hill has been gentrified over the past few years (even since I moved into town, 5 years ago) and has become an appealing neighborhood for those who work in the mammoth Harvard/Longwood Medical Area. The New England Baptist Hospital graces the top of the hill...while not one of the main teaching hospitals affiliated with Harvard (those being along Longwood Avenue and Francis Street at the base of the hill), it is one of the leading hospitals specializing in orthopedic care in this country. For instance, Jack Nicklaus had a hip replacement performed there a few years ago.

Paraglider...Franconia Notch, NH

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Cannon Mountain, Franconia Notch, NH

Here I go at trying to reincarnate this blog...this time with a picture about once a week, not necessarily of the same day as the date of post. I found that it was too difficult to lug my camera around every day to keep up with the pic-a-day blog. I never wanted to give it up, though.

Anyway, I was in New Hampshire for a graduate program retreat last weekend, and a few of us decided to drive up to Cannon Mountain (home of the late Old Man of the Mountain formation, which collapsed back in 2003...look for a depiction on the New Hampshire state quarter) for a ride up the 80-person "aerial tram", or gondola. I must acknowledge Matt and Mel for handing us 4 tickets to the tram, since they didn't have the time to make it up there on their leaf-peeping tour a week prior. At least they were able to enjoy the other nearby attraction in Franconia Notch, the Flume.

A note about the paragliding. First of all, we were at an elevation of 4,200 feet. It was cold (24 degrees) and very windy. We watched a paraglider fall from sky sky and plummet towards the forest below using a reserve parachute. We think he was fine...scary, still. As fun as paragliding looked that afternoon, I wouldn't want to do it from this mountaintop, especially on a day as windy as this one.

Queen Mary

June 2, 2008

Queen Mary, Long Beach, CA

I stayed on this ship overnight on my last leg of my trip to Southern California. The RMS Queen Mary, launched in 1936, served during WWII as a troop ship and afterward as a luxury liner for Cunard, transporting passengers between the UK and the United States. It ended its service in 1967 (when the Queen Elizabeth 2, also recently retired and to become a floating hotel, was launched to replace the Queen Mary's service), at which point it made its permanent home at Long Beach, California, as a museum and hotel. The ship, over 1000 feet long, still remains as one of the largest passenger ships in the world. It once held the Blue Riband for speed crossing the Atlantic (from 1938-1952, both eastbound and westbound, before being outrun by the SS United States).

I stayed in a first class cabin (turned into a hotel room) on portside, M deck (uppermost for cabins) facing the bay. It was quite an experience. Walking around the upper decks at night was a special treat.

Manhattan Beach

June 1, 2008

Manhattan Beach Pier, California

This was taken from the end of the pier at Manhattan Beach, just south of Los Angeles, CA. This is where the wealth of the LA area is concentrated. The Roundhouse Aquarium houses a decent menagerie of sea animals in small tanks, each sponsored by a company or group. It is run on donations and volunteer help...given their tight budget, it was impressive (especially since it was free to the public).

Santa Monica Beach

May 31, 2008

Santa Monica Beach, California

The evening sun sets over the Santa Monica Mountains as beachgoers take in the last few minutes of daylight on the Pacific Ocean.

Somewhere over the Southwest

May 30, 2008

Near landing at LAX, from an American Airlines Boeing 757

Evening sun sets over the horizon as we near Los Angeles International Airport.

QIAGEN=Quality!!!!!

May 18, 2008

BIDMC Research East, Boston

(This is sort of an inside joke post among fellow biomedical researchers, but the affect of the photo is still kinda cool)...

"If it says QIAGEN on the box, it can wait 'til tomorrow." That was an old adage of a former graduate student in my lab. QIAGEN produces a lot of kits that make DNA and RNA purification for many different applications extremely easy and foolproof...a monkey could use these kits if they were trained to do so.

Forgive me of my geekiness.

Farewell to Becca

May 23, 2008

Becca's Farewell Party at the Squealing Pig, Mission Hill, Boston

Becca is a good friend of mine who has worked over the past few years in a lab that I rotated through about 4 years ago. She is about to move away to attend a graduate program in Environmental Science at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, my alma mater. While she's sad to be leaving all of her friends up here in Boston, I am sure she will have a great time in CVille.

Poppy

May 25, 2008

Poppy cat enjoying the weather, St. Botolph District, Boston

While Matt and Mel were hosting a cookout on their rear courtyard yesterday afternoon, I captured Poppy basking in the breeze on a beautiful Sunday afternoon behind her home.

Fenway Park

May 20, 2008

Pavilion Box at Fenway Park, Boston

I went to the Sox game against Kansas City tonight... a last minute decision. The game was great...we won 2-1. My $5 seat (employee discount thanks to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) was in the front row of a Pavilion Box just above third base, which afforded a really nice view of the game.

Mallard Ducklings

May 18, 2008

Mallard Ducklings along the Riverway, Boston

'Sorry for the poor quality of this picture. The focus lock on my camera decided to quit to the point that I stopped by Best Buy on the way home looking into a brand new Canon dSLR-like model. However, my camera (my companion) miraculously recovered last night, just in time for me to put the camera buying guides kindly provided by Best Buy (the only customer service you will expect to find at this store) away for the time being.

In keeping with the spirit of resurrecting this blog after a month-long hiatus, I decided to post the photo, anyway. So, here we see some mallard ducklings in the Muddy River along the Riverway, which serves as the border between the cities of Brookline and Boston at this location. Aren't they cute? These little birds can glide very quickly through the water...surprising since they can't be more than a week or two old.

Squirrel, Cat, and Fish

May 17, 2008

Lily the Siamese Cat

Here is Lily, Amanda's cat, in Matt and Mel's apartment in the St. Botolph District during Amanda's birthday celebration Saturday night. Lily seems quite at ease between a squirrel nutcracker and a fish...needless to say, had these things been moving, the story would have been different.

Massachusetts State Senate

May 15, 2008

Senate Chamber, Massachusetts State House, Beacon Hill, Boston

This was taken in the Senate Chamber of the State House. This is part of Charles Bulfinch's original building, completed around 1795. The Blue "stonework" is actually wood made to look like the masonry quoining pattern popular in Federal architecture during the years of our country's infancy. The State House's "golden dome" is directly above this room, although the current state house's magnificent interior dome space is in a different part of the building and is part of a later addition.