ICA and MIT and Stuff

The two coolest things I did today involved the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts) and the MIT Museum (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

The first is right on the ocean and can only be explained by this cool picture:


My feet are numb and sore, especially where the right flip-flop rubbed all day. For only having two main destinations, I did way too much walking, but I wanted Laura (the second Laura from England) to see some neat places before she left to return to New York (and hopefully not lose her passport again).

I discovered as I checked out of the first hostel today that there was a piano there. Sure, it was old and warped, out of tune, and half the keys didn't work, but my fingers wanted to tickle the keys a little. This guy saw me fingering the keys and said, "Well, let's hear something." I played a little bit, but I wish I had brought a copy of The Minute Waltz, because the YWCA also has a piano, and it's a lot nicer. I can play most of it by memory, but not when I'm feeling pressured by surrounding strangers.

The second main destination today seemed to be way out of the way, and we hurried to get there before it closed at 5. At 4:35, we rushed in to have the man at the desk tell us we could just go in for the last 25 minutes.


The display that Laura really wanted to see was Arthur Ganson's works. He is a mechanical engineer slash artist. He builds mechanisms that move and look cool. Here are some of his things (looks like I'm stuck with photos in the hamburger direction unless someone can help me out here):


We also saw Harold Edgerton's work in photographing things in motion. Look him up and make sure you see his photo of the golf swing and the liquid dropping.

There was a display of holograms. My favorite was one where a lady starts out giving you a mischievous look, and as you walk to the right, she blows you a kiss and winks. I said to Laura, "What is a hologram anyway?" Then we turned around and saw a sign that said, "What is a hologram?" Yeah, the explanation didn't help me. Here's a video:



I ended up going to Cambridge's Mr. Bartley's Famous Burgers (or something like that) for dinner after Laura left. They have burgers named after politicians and celebrities who have been there. The waiters and waitresses yell the orders over the counter, "I need anotha Nancy Pelosi and a Dick Cheney." Ha ha ha. I didn't notice until after I ordered the Ken Reeves turkey sandwich that the place was voted one of the best burger places in the U.S. by U.S. News or something. Whoops. I had way too much left over, so I should have gone somewhere cheaper anyway. I gave my fries to a guy begging for change. I thought about it before I left, and when he asked I was ready for it. He had me just put the fries in his hands. Too bad I didn't have a napkin. I don't think he cared, though.

Yay for Boston's public transpo. It is so easy and wonderful. I told Alana about the lameness of Salt Lake City's public transpo--how everyone just wants their own car, leaving no option for those who can't afford them or who are advocates of mass transit.

So somehow I ended up with a sample-sized tube of toothpaste in Salt Lake, so I decided to bring just that so airport security wouldn't take it away. I'm a Crest toothpaste snob. I can't stand Colgate as it makes my tongue go numb. Anyway, I thought it would be fine, seeing as how it was Crest. But I didn't realize it was CINNAMON! BLECH! Don't you think if you were Crest and you made cinnamon-flavored toothpaste that you would at least change the tube to red instead of blue? I hate cinnamon to begin with, even to the point of not enjoying cinnamon rolls as much as other people. I refuse to chew cinnamon gum. Who decided that they'd make gum a flavor that makes your breath smell bad? Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose? So, brushing my teeth has not been a pleasure like it has been for the last 22 years. I've looked for mint-flavored Crest sample-size toothpaste, but I haven't seen any yet.