Garment District Gravity

As the BoMa Bloggers transition into a new world of cultural oddities and artistic mayhem, one of our lesser discussed genres, the fashion world, became the priority of today's adventure. The hearty bloggers traveled to the mystifying hamlet of Cambridge, where The Garment District and wonderfully convenient on-street parking awaited us.

The Garment District provided the bloggers with more shock and laughter then practical shopping, but nonetheless, the visit proved to be valuable, though the store is more thrift than department. Highlighting the trip was the dollar-a-pound section, which essentially is a giant pile of old, crappy and often body-fluid-stained clothes. Still, like any good nose-pick, there's treasure if you're willing to dig deep enough. After sifting through mounds and mounds of pounds and pounds of everything from sleeping bags to thongs (both in beach and undergarment form) to youth league soccer shirts, one particularly frugal blogger came away with several shirts for just $2. The store also included a fabulous costume section, where gladiator and Harry Potter costumes were fruitful, as well as a vintage section, featuring clothing from the '50s and other classic decades that seemed to have come just moments after the dinosaurs. While none of the offerings spoke to the bloggers (except one $35 suit that was later deemed unworthy due to the dirty tissue found in the pocket), the store is certain to tickle the fancy of some adventurous and economically conscious shoppers.

The day also included a stop at Whole Foods, where the bloggers enjoyed an outstanding meal from the salad and sushi bars. Though the food is often quite expensive and the security is excessive, it was just the pick-me-up the bloggers needed to examine the rest of Legacy Place, a hip, happening outdoor mall that offers everything from classy shopping to a movie theater and bowling alley.

To conclude the day, the Bloggers ventured to Chestnut Hill Cinema, where they were entranced by Iron Man 2. The film, though inevitably less riveting than the first, was the perfect cap to a brain-stretching day:


With less than 3 weeks remaining before the BoMa Blast-Off, the bloggers are beginning the final stages of their project. As they mentally prepare for all that awaits them, your courtesy and love, dear readers, is not only encouraged but rather is absolutely vital to their wellbeing. Remember to be kind and rewind. Be well, stay well, farewell.†

Sculpting Genius

With smiles and a new sense of veracity, the BoMa Bloggers headed towards the ever-elusive Lincon, Mass. to visit the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park. However, much to our chagrin, when we finally arrived at the distant pasture, we were confronted with the news that the museum section was closed. While this may appear to have been a crushing blow, the BoMa Bloggers, renowned for their mental toughness and infallibility, were undeterred, as the entry free dropped to only $4 and the sun shined upon each of their glowing faces. They had also prepared a lovely picnic, and the fact that the museum was closed allowed them to more deeply analyze both the sculptures and their own picnicking abilities.

The sculptures themselves provided a large and at times odd spectrum of artistic insight on the world. We were entranced by a spray painted Rolls-Royce (though some BoMa Bloggers thought the vehicle would have looked better on the road) and a giant upper-half of a man painted red sinking into the ground. Others, such as gigantic black hearts and a picture frame capable of fitting three Bloggers within its grasp were more terrifying than stimulating.

After deeply scrutinizing, evaluating and critiquing the sculptures, the Bloggers settled down for a classic picnic, featuring a bevy of sandwiches and fudge cookies. Rabid debate ensued over the magnificent meal, as the Bloggers brainstormed and argued over names they could give some of their favorite pieces of art. While the conversation reflected the high intellectual standards of basic discourse between the Bloggers, it also showed more, something far greater. These BoMa Bloggers are on the path toward becoming one with the art, and in turn, one with humanity. Until next time, be well, stay well and farewell. 

Mayfair Madness

Just as a general rule, we, the BoMa bloggers, well, more like all of humanity, but especially we the BoMa bloggers, love free things. We love free samples of Mountain Dew, we love free cups of iced coffee and Nantucket Nectar on blistering hot days, and we especially love free bottles of Poland Spring during a Massachusetts water crisis. All of this and more were available to us at the Mayfair celebration in Harvard Square on Sunday afternoon.

Upon exiting the T, we found ourselves smack in the middle of many different booth. Booths wafting out tantalizing smells, booths displaying glistening jewelry, and still more booths spreading valuable information, such as the “Nothing but Nets” booth that awarded two of the BoMa bloggers free sweatbands. Our biggest regret is not taking part in the face-painting table that promised to turn the BoMa bloggers from the beautiful art-lovers that we dress as every day into colorful butterflies or frightening tigers.  

But the day would not have been complete without the very entertaining live dance performances we were treated to and the day would certainly not have been as humorous had we not wandered past a stepping lesson taught to an odd group of crumpers in the history of the world—one had a turban, another an old man, still others looking uncomfortable.

After about an hour of surveying the booths, people watching, and enjoying the chalk-drawings along the road, our enthusiasm was beginning to fade. That is when the Brazilian Boost of Energy/plate of goodness came into play. A combination of sorbet, fruit, coconut, honey, and granola, this sample of food really did the trick, perked us back up, and put us back in the game! We were then able to critique the chalk interpretations of Monet, Van Gogh, and Alice in Wonderland. We frolicked, we drooled over Korean barbeque, we happily bopped to live music, we laughed, we cried. It was better than “Cats the Musical.” And finally, after being verbally abused by the scariest balloon man in the world and drawing our names on the sidewalk, the BoMa bloggers enjoyed a lot of Mongolian Barbeque and headed home to dream of art in Boston. 

A Rare Book Here, China Town There

China Town is like the curious Buddhist store you see every other Tuesday on your way to Karate: You know its there, you’re intrigued by it, yet you can never manage to find the time to venture into it. The BoMa bloggers, however, decided to finally take the plunge into China Town Boston.

We were initially overwhelmed by the Chinese writing on every storefront. Were we exploring a simple mom and pop convenient store or an upscale restaurant that just so happened to be the secret meeting location for the Chinese mafia? We decided to brave it, and upon entering exhaled a sigh of relief when we realized we had arrived at a friendly neighborhood dollar store, where one can purchase live turtles (just 18 dollars!) if they so wish.  

After we finished our successful business excursion, we exited into the unpleasant weather that is Hashem’s way of dishing out His leftover winter weather. In order to escape the harsh wind and rain, we dashed toward the closest building for shelter. Upon reaching the entrance, we realized the mysterious building was a rare bookstore. Against our better judgment, we decided to enter the shadowy store. What we thought would appear like the forbidden books section at Hogwarts, turned out to be an exciting bookstore that contained anything from a 1922 history text book to literature about the apocalypse to the original copy of The Cat in the Hat. While we did not purchase any books, the starting cost of many being 12,500 dollars, we learned that books tores are more than just an escape from the cold and can lead to an exciting adventure.

We Got Some Competition from The New York Times...

Check out this article...Having been to Spain this summer, this article was wicked cool to read. Enjoy!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/arts/design/30biblical.html?ref=global-home

More posts about the last few days to come soon. We had some great meetings today with a manager from Club Passim and a Marketing Exec. from ArtsBoston. Stay posted!

Chocolate Madness

Oh, the chocolate. The madness. The resulting stomachache and sugar coma.

We saw. We ate. We conquered. All while supporting pregnant teenagers all over the world. (Your welcome Quinn). This was the event of the year. Nay, the century, and the BoMa Bloggers were there.

Yes, indeed. Last night yours truly attended NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts’ “Chocolate Madness” event in the Cyclorama in the South End. As we strode up the velvet staircase at 7:30 exactly, our eyes fell upon thousands of chocolate creations from Boston area’s finest restaurants and bakeries. In our quest for ultimate chocolate domination, we leaped from stand to stand, tasting, munching, and basking in the sweet chocolate symphony—whispering inappropriate abortion jokes as we went. The smooth chocolate cheesecakes and the towering cocoa waffles broke under our assault until, satisfied with our chocolate eating, we settled down at a table, succumbing to the enveloping sugar coma.

Moral of the Story:

A mix between a feminist rally and the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory is shockingly enjoyable. 

Apropos of Something, We Think We Hope

As our quest to conquer all that is towering above us, to obliterate the uncertain, to dominate those who shake in their boots at the mere mention of our name, our targets have been marked. In the coming week, we will tackle the glorious (MFA, Gardner), the beautiful (Arboretum, Larz Anderson) and the fantastical (DeCordova and the Newberger Homestead). 

Beyond our superb artistic endeavors and analysis, we would also like to officially announce that the BoMa Bloggers, Inc. will formally become a "green," eco-friendly organization. We took our first steps toward this mission by driving in Toyota Prii (though we did drive in two when we only needed to take one) as we ate a lunch at West Roxbury's esteemed and supreme establishment, The Real Deal. Where is the art included in this feast of environmental concern, one ignorant marsupial might wonder? Well, at The Real Deal, vivid imagery of live animals between pieces of bread adorn the walls. Disturbing, sure, but also wildly appetizing, in an odd, Darwinian way. (The BoMa bloggers are in an odd mood right now, if you can't tell)

On a different note, the BoMa bloggers are urging all readers to support Joel Newberger's efforts to create grade sweatshirts. These witty garments are both artistically wondrous and stylish. Rock those sweats, rock the art, and we at BoMa will keep rockin' the suburbs.