New England Running: Harold Parker State Forest (kind of) and Mary French Reservation

So, every month, Runner's World Magazine does a highlight of a running location called the "Rave Run." The places they highlight are all over the world, so when I saw one pop up in Andover, MA in last month's issue, I decided that I needed to check it out. After all, how often are these places in any kind of driving distance? (This month's Rave Run is out in Idaho though, which is an odd coincidence..) In the nasty weather that we've been having this week, my ever-gracious brother agreed to make the trip out to Andover and seek out the place depicted in the article.

To see the full RW write up of the run, click here. Under the heading, the brief description reads as follows: "Roughly 25 miles north of Boston, Harold Parker State Forest in Andover, Mass. has a 1,000-foot boardwalk that cuts through the Mary French Reservation." The description continues with a brief history, a bit about the park, and directions. Now, the problem that we encountered is that the Mary French Reservation (and it's 1,000 foot boardwalk) is NOT a part of the Harold Parker State Forest. It is pretty much right across the street, but is a different system of trails. Consequently, when Dave and I got to the main office and asked the woman at the desk about the location of the boardwalk, she was thoroughly confused. She had just started back with the park for the summer and hadn't heard anything about the article. We got some suggestions on where the boardwalk might be and headed off.


While the magazine told us the run was in Harold Parker, we actually didn't do anything more than drive through the park. Dave and I ran on the trails through the Skug River Reservation, and finding no boardwalk (that really was the focal point for us), crossed the street to the Mary French Reservation. After running a little ways into the woods, WE FOUND IT... but it was across the swamp. Some more navigating and extra jogging, and we made it there, and it was just as fun as we had hoped. The boards are a bit more decayed than the picture in the article shows, and the mosquitoes certainly were not mentioned, but it was pretty neat to run over the swamp.

Overall, the place was great for a trail run. While we didn't actually go through the Harold Parker trails, there is an extensive and well-mapped system that we would have continued onto if we weren't being eaten alive. After reassessing the article, I did find the information for both trail systems, but the directions to the location described were indeed confusing.

I'd like to give a general mention of love for the state parks in Massachusetts, we really have some pretty fantastic places to go explore for little to no dollars. There is this awesome program I discovered a few years ago that is run by the DCR- it's a park passport program designed to motivate kids to get outside and see the parks. Each state park has a box with a combination lock and an individual stamp inside. There are little blue booklets that you can get with spaces for stamps, and the point is to collect them all. It's a really fantastic idea, and I will admit to being twenty-two and being in possession of one of these passports myself. And don't worry, I got my stamp from Harold Parker State Forest today.








Harold Parker State Forest

Andover Trails Committee- Mary French Reservation



Here's to some sunshine tomorrow-
R. 

And so it ends..

Once again, I have become neglectful of my blog, but this time I have a valid excuse. The past few weeks have been packed with ceremonies, packing, goodbyes, time with old friends, and planning for new adventures. The past few years at UMass have been full of experiences, some good and some bad, and now I am moving onto the next chapter.

It would be tedious (for the writer and the reader) if I were to talk about each of the individual events of the last few weeks. I will say that the best of them were the Commencement Ball and the brunch for the Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies department- those big commencements are pretty overrated. The brunch in particular left me with knots in my stomach and a lot on my mind. When I stop and reflect, I realize that I really have gained so much perspective over the past four years, and I don't think that will ever leave me. I think the thing that I will take with me that is most important is learning to surround yourself with the kind of people who support you and support what you find important. I am constantly singing the praises of my department because it has been a major support system for me. Regardless of the fact that some people were mere acquaintances, there was always understanding. The road for the critical mind can be quite a challenge, and it is necessary to have strong souls there beside you.

A quote that kept ringing through my head after leaving that brunch is something that I found on a poster at the National Conference for Media Reform:

So keep fighting for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't forget to have fun doin' it. Be outrageous... rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through celebrating the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.

 Molly Ivins

New England Running: The Great Urban Race

Before the race!

Last Saturday, my mom and I drove into Boston to check out the Great Urban Race. This was a very interesting event- more of a scavenger hunt than a race. Beginning at City Hall Plaza, the race started at noon when all the teams were given their envelope of clues. Rather than everyone sprinting away, all the participants grabbed a step or piece of ground and started pouring over the sheets and pulling out smartphones to figure out the destinations.

Assignment: honk a stranger's horn.

There were twelve clues, and from those clues, we had to derive addresses, then determine how to make it to those spots. If you were REALLY efficient, you charted out all the addresses at the beginning and had a really good game plan. This is what we tried to do, but due to a transcription error (me writing down Mass Ave for two addresses that should have been Comm Ave), we wound up going a few miles out of the way and missing a few of the challenges, which just afforded us a time penalty.

Assignment: Go to the Garment District, receive false mustache, take a picture wearing it with a stranger with an actual mustache.

All of our stops had to be documented and shown to an official at the end, so I am including some of the gems of the day here. We have quite a collection.

Assignment: Take picture in front of sculpture at MIT. Both participants must be jumping in front of it, all feet must be off the ground. (This is my favorite picture)

Assignment: Find this running store in the South End and take a picture of both teammates in front of the autographed shoe.

This race would have been impossible without having a phone or computer, which is made clear on the website. It was definitely very goofy and a lot of fun, and while it definitely would have been easier if we were more familiar with the city, I think we had a really good time. I did a MapMyRun of our course afterwards, and determined that we covered about eleven miles over the course of the day.

I left the actual clue sheet at home, but I will post the actual clues to the blog when I get back so that y'all can get a feel for what it was like! For now, enjoy the pictures. 

Assignment: Take a picture of both teammates high-fiving someone in uniform.

Sidenote: Before the race, we stopped at Faneuil Hall for some food, and got some amazing mac and cheese from a place called Mmmac and Cheese. This dish is one of my weaknesses, and this is some of the best I've ever had.
Sidenote to the Sidenote: While googling the name of the restaurant, I discovered that there is an entire blog about mac and cheese. Silly, and also amazing.

New Zine!

Making copies today!

Let me know if you would like a copy

of this one or the first one.

New England Running: The Seven Sisters Trail Race

This post is a few weeks belated at this point, but I have been wanting to blog about a few things that are going to be coming down in a storm now as I catch up...

So here goes!

The race was on May 1st, the same day as the Boston Walk for Hunger. I was torn between the two events, since I have done Walk for Hunger for five or six years. I wound up deciding to go with the trail race because it is something new, lacking the 2.5 hours of driving, and sort of a tribute to this being my last year in Amherst.

Dave is always so good about stretching.

Now, this was my first trail race, and it was a completely different experience from most of the other races I have run. A similar feel to the Stew Chase, the race is organized by local clubs and started with a "Ready, set, go!" Dave and I started towards the back of the pack, not wanting to get in the way of everyone racing up the first hill. We had tried to run it a few weeks prior and knew already that the initial climb was going to be a walk for us.

And there was a lot of walking. This was one of those races that we definitely required more hills in the training. I think that due to the nature of the race (12 miles, climbing, etc.), a lot of the runners were really extreme trail runners, so we finished closer to the back of the pack than the front. I discovered that in trail running, you are very limited by the pace of the person in front of you. Particularly since this race was an out-and-back, the passing space was limited throughout most of the race. If the person in front of you starts walking, you are walking too. (And I'm not complaining.)

Other details about the race: The entry fee was only $20, and proceeds go to preservation of the range. (Tee shirts were available for an extra $15.) Water stations were every two miles, and they consisted of piles of gallon jugs that were shared by everyone. If anyone is aware of my aversion to sharing drinks, you understand how appalled I was by this. However, it was a toasty run and the water was necessary. at the 6-mile turnaround point, volunteers had tables set up with water, sports drink, powerbars, cookies, and candy. The was also food at the end, and everyone was really friendly. We didn't finish fast, and we were sore for a few days, but I'd say that overall, I really enjoyed the race!

I have been a very neglectful blogger lately,

and I promise that I will update for real soon. In the meantime, here are some tidbits from the past few weeks.

making pierogi for Easter

before Seven Sisters Trail Race

 

 

 

 

Vandana Shiva at Amherst College

Song of the Day

Since I can't sleep, and since it's Wednesday night/Thursday morning, there are two:

Regina Spektor- On the Radio

Amos Lee- Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight

Enjoy,

-R.

As if I needed another reason to hate Barstool Sports..

Barstool Sports is my nemesis. I can't even get into it in a post because I will go off on a complete tangent. If you haven't ever heard of it, consider yourself lucky. It is one of the most inherently misogynistic blogs that I have ever seen (though I must admit that I don't browse any similar sites with any regularity). It's basically some guy out of Boston who writes a tiny bit about sports and posts a lot of pictures of boobs and butts. The UMass bros love the Barstool, the guys I work with love the Barstool. It makes me sick. There are regular pages of "Local Smokeshow of the Day,""Guess That Ass," and "Kill, Fuck, or Marry." That is where pictures are posted of three women and followers comment on which activity they would attribute to each woman. Disgusting.

But that aside, I just noticed over the shoulder of one of the guys on shift that this guy made a post about the Boston Marathon. Without my own comments on the matter, here is the post:

The Marathon is coming, the Marathon is coming! It’s tough for anybody to argue that Patriots Day isn’t a great day in this city. After all, we get an early Red Sox game, lots of people get the day off from work and it offers another free reason to drink a few beers during daylight hours. So while there can be no debate that Marathon Day is a great event, there is also a dark side to Marathon Day and that is the actual race.  So without further ado here are my top 8 peeves about Marathon Day.


1. Anybody Can Run the Marathon
It’s true, it’s true, anybody can run the marathon. Therefore it drives me nuts when people act like they have some god given gift that allows them to compete in this event. No you don’t. Now obviously you can’t just wake up on Marathon Monday and decide that you’re going to run the thing, but if you decide six months prior that you are going to run it, then anybody can get ready for it. Sure it takes lots of training and dedication, but no real athletic ability. If we roll back the clock six months to November 2010 and I decided that I wanted to play for the Red Sox on Marathon Monday the odds are that I’d still get a 97 mph fastball jammed down my face, but I sure as hell would be able to run the Marathon with no problem. You want to brag about running?  Beat a Kenyan.  Until then shut up.

2. Speaking of the Kenyans
How excited can a blue blooded Bostonian get about watching a bunch of guys we’ve never heard of run a road race? (And even if we had heard of them, we probably wouldn’t realize it because their names are so complicated.) I honestly have no idea who has won any marathons outside of when Rosie Ruiz took the subway to finish first. (On a side note the Rosie Ruiz incident is similar to when I tried to cut through my Middle School when we had to run the mile in gym class.) This is nothing against the Kenyans, but why in the world would I care about them?

3. The Donation Thing
I’ve gone over this a thousand times.  I’m all for donating money to good causes. However, I don’t like how marathoners tend to act like they are making this huge sacrifice to run the marathon so they can raise money for a cause. I’m sure there are a few runners out there who really dread running the marathon and the only reason they are doing it is because they want to raise awareness, but this is definitely the minority. I mean, if I ran the marathon, then you’d know that I was doing it strictly to raise money because I despise working out, but what about these other clowns who run it every year? They love it.  After Boston they’ll go run the NYC and Chicago Marathons too. They’re running it regardless of donation money. They love the spotlight. They love having everybody congratulate them. However, they make it seem like they are running it for a cause. I don’t buy it. You could just as easily collect donations for a disease walking door to door as running the marathon. “Listen, Susie I don’t want to sponsor you running the marathon for the 7th straight year and I don’t want to see pictures of you crossing the finish line because I don’t care.” I’ll donate money to the Aids foundation because it’s a good cause, not because you’re so noble for doing something you want to do anyway. Do you want to sponsor me in a wiffleball tournament? At my old job I actually had a girl who was collecting donations for a trip to Hawaii where she was running a marathon.  Imagine the balls on this slut.  She actually wanted us to pay for her trip!

4. The TV Coverage
How bad is the TV coverage for the Marathon? They just sit there on that truck and nothing happens. You could tape the first five minutes and then just re-run that footage the entire race and nobody would be the wiser.

5. People who get work off the next day
I love people who skip the next day of work to recover.  Huh? No group of people has the world tricked more than the marathoner. They ENJOY doing it. It makes them feel special. It’s an ego trip. Why do we reward them for doing something they enjoy by letting them have the next day of work off for free? I should be given a free vacation day the next time I place an unusually large bet because that takes a lot of courage and balls too. If I lose I won’t sleep a wink and won’t be ready for work either.

6. The Marathon Helpers
Where the hell do these people come from? My guess is that these people are usually the serious joggers of the world who didn’t run the marathon. They are there to give out food, encouragement and to wrap those ridiculous silver space ship things around runners as they cross the finish line. The beauty of the Marathon Helpers is that they like to dress up like they are actually running in the race. They are decked out in cross country shoes, spandex, and the whole ten yards. It’s their day in the sun and they want to make sure everybody knows it.

7. The Limper
In point #5 I said that I don’t like the fact that my old job used to give marathoners a free vacation day on Tuesday. Here is the thing though; the marathoners generally still show up at work even though they don’t have to. Why? Because they are glory hounds. God forbid they miss the opportunity to limp around work and have people ask them why they are limping. I personally refuse to fall into this trap. Whenever I see somebody limping around on the day after the marathon, I just act like I don’t even see it. Oh, I’ll purposely get into a conversation with these people, but I won’t give in and ask them what they did on Marathon day. Instead I’ll blab all day about how I went to the Sox game and then got wrecked at a Marathon party. You can almost see the limping marathoner bursting at the seams just waiting for you to ask what they did.

8. Smelly Subway
I must admit that I respect the people who run the marathon and then just climb aboard the green line with rush hour traffic to go home. These are the rare marathoners who do it for themselves. They aren’t in it for glory, but just the personal satisfaction that comes from setting a goal and achieving that goal. These are the people who were probably good athletes in their day and don’t need to hear from all their friends, family and colleagues how great they are for running the race. So while I respect these runners, I still don’t like it when I’m jammed in with them on the subway trying to get home. It is flat-out disgusting. There should be a fire hose to wash these people down before they are allowed on the subway. Without a doubt marathon day is the worst day of the year to ride the T. It is packed, it is smelly and nobody in a civilized society should be forced to endure it.

So in the end, I love Patriot’s Day. I love going to the early Sox game and then hitting a local drinking establishment or going to a Marathon party. And yes, I respect people who run the marathon for themselves. I don’t think it’s easy and it surely takes a lot of dedication and training. However, I can’t stand the people who do it strictly for the fake glory that comes with running the thing. The bottom line is that anybody who wants to run the thing can. I don’t expect people to ogle over me when I do something by choice that I enjoy doing. I don’t know why runners feel any different.

Normally, I would leave a link to the page for y'all to investigate on your own, but if you want to find it, you can search it for yourself this time.

New England Running: The Boston Marathon!

Disclaimer right at the start: I was spectating, not running.

Patriot's Day parade that we found in our meandering

But gosh, it was great to be there today. Knowing how much the spectators' cheers have pushed me along in the races that I have run, I enjoyed being able to yell for the runners today. My mom and I took the commuter rail into South Station and meandered around for a little bit before we headed down to the finish line. We were there before the wheelchairs passed, and even then, there was not much space on the fence at all. We found a spot on the corner of Commonwealth Ave and Hereford that wasn't too crowded and camped out for a few hours to watch the race.

As far as the elite runners go, the Americans missed it again. But just barely in the women's race! I was getting updates on my phone throughout the morning, and it was exciting to see how closely packed everyone was leading up to the last few miles. It was more exciting to see everyone pound by pushing for the finish.

view from our corner

Now, in all of my years in Massachusetts, this has only been the second time that I have watched the Boston. And the first time hardly counts, because I was in 8th grade and not at all appreciative of what a marathon is. I don't think that it was until I was older that I realized that the Boston Marathon is The Marathon. It was always just the marathon in our good ol' capital city, and I didn't comprehend that this was the race for which people spent years training, traveling from all over the world to compete in the most elite marathon.

Thinking about this on the train today, I found myself wondering why I haven't made more of an effort over the past few years to be present at the Boston Marathon. Why doesn't anyone? If you live in Massachusetts, you have a fantastic world event right in your backyard, available for your viewing pleasure at absolutely no cost. You can stand alongside the road, mere feet away from some of the fastest runners in the world. (The winner of the men's race was averaging about a 4:42 mile- I couldn't run that fast if I was running from my death.) Being in Massachusetts and having the ability to go into Boston for this race is something really special, and I'm so glad I did it this year before moving away.

It was also some inspiration to try a little harder, push myself a little more, and take my running a little more seriously. I would love to run the Boston someday, just once. If I find it too hard to qualify, I fully intend to run for charity. But it'd be sweet to get a qualifier. I'd have to shave quuuuite some time off my runs, but perhaps if I actually stuck to a training schedule, it could be possible.

Oh, it's good to have dreams.

-R.

Watch Me.

I just got an iPhone

So this is entirely experimental. Blogging from my phone? Hmmmm..

New England Running: The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail

So, yesterday Dave and I decided to go check out the portion of the Metacomet-Monadnock trail that traverses the peaks of the Seven Sisters. If you park at the Notch Visitor's Center, the trail begins across the street with a sharp incline, and extends across ridge line towards the Mt. Holyoke Summit House (which happens to be one of my favorite places ever). I had done some hiking in the area, but never with the intention of running. However, I recently heard of the Seven Sisters Trail Race that will be held on May 1st, and I wanted to scope out the terrain.

Photo from Wikipedia (And yes, the views are this good.)

We were out on the trail for about an hour, which we figure was probably somewhere between 3-4 miles. The running was.. interesting. There was just as much climbing as there was flat terrain that was runnable, possibly more climbing. There are lots of roots and rocks and steep uphills, but we found that it made for a pretty enjoyable experience. Normally in a long run or a race, the running becomes the most exhausting part, but on this trail, it seemed that we were best able to relax and catch our breath when we were running. It meant that we weren't trying to navigate steep downhills or climb straight up.

The trail race in May will run the entire out-and-back course of the Seven Sisters Trail, a total of twelve miles. Judging by how hard we worked in running only four, we decided that the race itself will be pretty treacherous. There will probably be quite a few falls, some serious scrapes, and some sooooore muscles by the end. However, I am not at all discouraged. It'll be hard, but I'm pretty excited for the race, and I encourage my Western Mass running friends to check out the race page! (Also, it benefits the Friends of Mt. Holyoke Range, which works on preservation to keep the area free of development!)

Whenever I'm having a rough day

I watch this video. And I get chills every time.

New Developments

Alright, so I know that I haven't posted more about my time in Boston. If you are antsy for more deets/pics, I shall pass you on to Risa's blog post about it until I make it back there. For now, I want to talk about the workshops I attended at Ladyfest Easthampton.


Though I didn't get the chance to stay for the music, I was there for the workshops on getting published, making zines, and screen printing. (Check out my sweet new hand screened shirt!)
It was really cool, and reminded me how much I enjoy pretending to be five for arts and crafts time.

In one of my classes (Sustainable Thinking- UMass students, check it out through the STPEC department) we have been considering making a zine to promote the class and promote sustainability on campus. This was my initial interest in the zine workshop- gaining something that I can take back to that project. Howeverrrr, I enjoyed it quite a bit, and decided that I will try to bring it to the blog. Or rather, bring the blog to zine?

So here's what I'm going to do, I think. I am not going to post the zine to the blog, but if you want a copy of them as they are created, email me your address and I will send a copy to you in the MAIL! They might just be silly little things about nothing important, but it is always always always fun to get stuff in the mail.

I have created a new email just for the occasion:
fishandbikesblog@gmail.com

Want some mail? Get at it!

Much love, R.

Today was great.

More to come on that later. I have to do some personal journaling to sort out my thoughts in order to prevent myself from rambling. However, here are some highlights:

• Had to be sneaky sneaky about getting in. AKA, become Risa and lose my badge.
• Met Jean Kilbourne. Dorked Out. Picture to follow.
• Overall better attitude about the possibility of social change.
• I'll have a bunch of links later, but for now I'm checking out freespeech.org. Loads of FREE and INDEPENDENT documentaries, series programs, etc. I think this will keep me occupied for a while.
• Risa brought me back delicious tea from The Tea Farm on South King Street in Honolulu, and I based on the cup that I'm drinking right now, I am strongly recommending it to all of my Oahu friends.

Bought a few postcards for decorative purposes, here is one of my favorites (sorry for the quality):

 

So quit being afraid of it, and call yourself a stinkin' feminist!

Conference Crashing

So, I am in Boston right now at the Seaport Hotel, where the National Conference for Media Reform is being held. My primary reason for being here is that my lovely friend Risa has been shipped here by the University of Hawaii to attend the conference, which I was very excited to hear when I learned of it a few weeks ago. It's very strange to think that almost a year has passed since we saw each other, and it's a funny thing to see someone out of the context from which you know them. It's been really nice to see each other and catch up. We treated ourselves to a fancy dinner last night (mostly because we didn't want to venture out of the hotel) and popped into the dance party that a lot of people from the conference were attending.

I was planning on bumming around Boston during the day while Risa goes to sessions, but she mentioned to me yesterday that I can probably just go with her. I may be a super-dork, but this makes me super excited- there are some panels that sound really interesting about women in media that she had scoped out to attend: Media Policy is a Women's Issue, Keeping it Unreal: Decoding Gender, Race and Reality TV- A Media Literacy Workshop, and Taking Sexy Back: Why and How to End the Media's Sexualization of Girls. Jean Kilbourne is at this conference, and is screening Killing Us Softly 4 and taking part in the last panel that we will go to today. That also makes me dork out a little after watching those films for the past four years. Mmmmmm, Women's Studies.

More to come later on adventures with Risa! I just have to buy some stupid batteries for my stupid camera that keeps eating the stupid batteries every two days.

This is my urinal.

So, Dan Savage has a urinal of the day feature on Slog, and my picture of the weird UMass urinals in the women's rooms totally made it on the site. Go me? Alright, it might be a little lame/gross/weird, but I'm excited about it.

Urinal of the Day: The Mysterious Case of the University of Massachusetts and the Gender-Nonconforming Mystery Urinal Mystery 

 

I love scones.

Especially with my tea. :) Delicious cranberry orange white chocolate scone from Rao's Coffee in Thornes Market. Yummmm.

"If my wife incorporated her uterus, you'd say 'hands off.'"

Okay. What the fuck.

This story is aggravating on a few different levels.

In order to not botch it with my own rambling interpretation, here is the article published by the St. Petersburg Times:

During last week's discussion about a bill that would prohibit governments from deducting union dues from a worker's paycheck, state Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando, used his time during floor debate to argue that Republicans are against regulations -- except when it comes to the little guys, or serves their specific interests.

At one point Randolph suggested that his wife "incorporate her uterus" to stop Republicans from pushing measures that would restrict abortions. Republicans, after all, wouldn't want to further regulate a Florida business.
 
Apparently the GOP leadership of the House didn't like the one-liner.

They told Democrats that Randolph is not to discuss body parts on the House floor.

"The point was that Republicans are always talking about deregulation and big government," Randolph said Thursday. "And I always say their philosophy is small government for the big guy and big government for the little guy. And so, if my wife's uterus was incorporated or my friend's bedroom was incorporated, maybe they (Republicans) would be talking about deregulating.

"It's not like I used slang," said Randolph, who actually got the line from his wife. He said Republicans voiced concern about young pages hearing the word uterus.

"I think it's a sad commentary about what we think about sex education in the state," he said.
House GOP spokeswoman Katie Betta: "The Speaker has been clear about his expectations for conduct on the House for during debate. At one point during the debate, he mentioned to the entire House that members of both parties needed to be mindful of decorum during debate.

"Additionally, the Speaker believes it is important for all Members to be mindful of and respectful to visitors and guests, particularly the young pages and messengers who are seated in the chamber during debates. In the past, if the debate is going to contain language that would be considered inappropriate for children and other guests, the Speaker will make an announcement in advance, asking children and others who may be uncomfortable with the subject matter to leave the floor and gallery."

Now, aside from the fact that the point of discussion was originally about unions, there are just so many more things at play. The article pretty much sums it up: the taboo around the use of the word uterus, issues of regulation when it comes to things such as abortion, and the state of sex ed. (And really, I thought we were reclaiming words like "cunt"- but are we really digressing to "uterus"?) Yikes.

Now, on a happier note, the ACLU is adopting this story along with the domain name incorporatemyuterus.com. What would happen if our bodies were as regulation-free as big business? Craziness. Hop onto the site and sign up for updates. (I'm also really hopin' for bumper stickers.)

Good Morning

Some lovely artwork on one of the stalls in the bathroom of Marcus Hall. Happy spring!

AH! Boobs!

Time Magazine:

Art Attack: Woman Freaks Out Over Gauguin Painting at Washington's National Gallery

Something about Paul Gauguin's Two Tahitian Women really rubbed one National Gallery goer the wrong way.


Last week, a woman attacked the painting, screaming, "this is evil." She also reportedly tried to pull the 37 x 28.5-inch painting from the wall and banged on its plastic covering with her fists. The 1899 painting is a portrait of two women, both with exposed breasts. As far as art goes, this painting is pretty un-provocative.

Reportedly the woman — whose name hasn't been released — was tackled to the ground by another museum patron and restrained. She's now being charged with destruction of property and attempted theft.
Outbursts, one-woman protests and a heroic take-down?

Who says museums are boring.

Pics Up!

From the Great Stew Chase:

Look at that stride!

The wind blew my hat off in the last mile.. but my shoes look fantastic.

 

I'm allowing for some narcissism and only posting pictures of the brother and myself, but if anyone is interested in seeing more, go here.

Life at UMass: Humans Vs. Zombies

Well, folks, it's that time of year again. The time when it is no longer safe to walk around campus with any kind of bandanna, scarf, headband, etc. lest you be mistaken for participating in Humans vs. Zombies. If you DO make that mistake, do not be surprised to be ambushed, chased, or shot with a foam bullet by a player assuming that you are their opposition.

For those of you who are very confused and don't know what I'm talking about (aka, not a UMass student), here is the overview provided on the UMass Humans Vs. Zombies webpage:

Humans vs. Zombies is a game of tag played between two teams: human and zombie.
The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world, in which the winning team conquers and
outlives the other.

The goal of the human team is to survive the zombie onslaught from day one until the
final day, but stunning zombies with unmodified NERF weaponry (Buzzbee blasters are
also permitted), tossing clean balled up socks, and tossing fresh marshmallows. Once
stunned, zombies are ineligible to bite (tag) a human for a pre-set period of time.

Survival may be made easier for the human team depending on their success or failure
during a series of OPTIONAL side-missions and random encounters. In these
OPTIONAL side-missions and random encounters, the humans must satisfy a series of
objectives set by game administrators, while also fending off the zombie horde.

The sole goal of the zombie team is to devour all humans, by safely tagging human
players and recording their bite codes (each player carries a unique ID) and recording the
bites online.

Zombies are HIGHLY encouraged to feast on human flesh during the OPTIONAL side
missions and random encounters by any means possible. 


The website also describes the color codings for bandannas, indicating whether you are a human, self-bitten zombie, immortal zombie, self-bitten AND immortal, etc. There are some serious rules about safe zones and times. For instance, there is a concert at the Mullins Center tonight, for which the players are allowed a half-hour grace period before and after the show if they are attending. It is very serious business. The zombies in the photos above (red indicates a regular zombie) convened as I was walking by them, and I laughed to myself as I heard one say "I've only seen two humans all day!"

I have to say, that my first few years at UMass, I absolutely despised this game. I had no tolerance for the kids charging around campus with their Nerf guns, yelling to each other about where the zombies had gone to that they were trying to attack. At times it's still kind of annoying. However, I think I've grown more sympathetic since freshman year, and now I find the whole thing pretty amusing, and almost endearing. Everybody laughs at how weird these kids are and how obnoxious it is that they take over the campus. But really, we're all a little weird. And these kids are having way more fun than us anyway.

Zombie on,
R.

New England Running: The Great Stew Chase!

This weekend, my mom, my brother, and I drove out to Lynn, MA so that Dave and I could run The Great Stew Chase, a 15K road race that is held every year. Usually, it takes place in February, but due to the amount of snow that we got this year, it had to be rescheduled to March. The field was very small, and it was not the most beautiful course, but overall the experience was great! Especially after running the Hyannis Marathon last month (which was organized horribly), I really appreciated how much support there was for the runners.

For an entry fee of only $12 (or $25 if you wanted a sweatshirt), runners gathered at the starting line and waited for the signal to start- the blare of someone's car horn. Lynn police officers were stationed along the way to ensure that traffic was stopped, and there were volunteers along the way to point corners. At the end of the race, stew, rolls, and cookies were provided for all of the runners as part of the entry fee, courtesy of the Lynn Athletic Club. Especially with small events like this (I think there were only around 150 runners), it is often difficult to find vegetarian options, and if they are available there often is only a small amount. There was no such problem with this race- and the stew was goooood. Especially after nine miles in the cold.

I've never really run a race this small before, but the feel of it was really nice. People don't take it so seriously, everyone is friendly, and it was much more laid back. One woman ran with her dog, which is something that is usually prohibited. Of course, I instantly fell in love with her and was covered in dog hair by the time she and her owner left. (Ah, I can't wait to get my own dog.. someday.) Running with Dave for his first road race was nice as well. He runs quite a bit, but hasn't entered a race since high school track. I have to say that it was a little frustrating trying to keep with his fast-slow-fast-slow pace, but I wanted to stay with him. Towards the last few miles, we were both really pushing, and he eventually pulled ahead of me. I was pretty annoyed when we got to the finish and didn't bring it in together, the way that we ran the race. It wasn't until after I went through and got my water at the car that I looked at him and realized that it was stupid of me to feel that way; this was his first race, and if he could have pushed it for a better time and left me in the dust, then it was silly of me to be irritated by that. I don't know how he feels about running more races, but if we do another one, I'd bet that we don't stay together for the duration.

So congrats to the little brother on his first race, kudos to the Lynn Athletic Club for putting on such an enjoyable run, and as always, a thanks to my mom, who so patiently drives us out to sit and wait at the finish line.

Already Tuesday. Countdown to graduation: 45.

We're gettin' there.

R.

Let's All Forget About Sarah Palin

and remember Geraldine Ferraro.

La Primera

Hello, World of the Blog-o-sphere.

Today is Saturday, the 26th of March, 2011- the first post of Fish and Bikes! In the midst of some soul-searching, the consideration of my upcoming graduation, and my decision to move West over the next few months, I have made the decision to deactivate my Facebook and try to keep up with writing a blog instead. I anticipate that the Facebook will be back in action over the next few months, but it was time for a break.

It is interesting to think about what Facebook has done for our real relationships with people. As I was discussing with my lovely friend Risa the other day (find her blog here), it seems to create a lovely index of every person that you have ever met while sort of creating a false sense of connection. You no longer need to call/email/write/text someone to see what they are up to; instead, you can find out everything that is going on in their life by going to their page. Before you know it, months have gone by without contact, but Facebook has already informed you that they broke up with their boyfriend, got back together, completed finals successfully, and are out for dinner to celebrate their mom's birthday.

There is probably some hypocrisy in making that conclusion as I'm starting a blog. And really, the Facebook will be back eventually. This is more of a test for myself to try to be more thoughtful and genuine in my own relationships. We'll see how it goes.

In other news, spring break is over and there are only a few weeks of classes left. I spent my break in Naples, FL with my grandparents, overlapping for a few days with one of my cousins. It was a nice relaxing break, much needed in the busy schedule that I have been negotiating this year. It was sad to fly into Boston with snow falling, but spring is just about here, and with it my move from the East Coast.

I believe that's enough for Day One. Hope you stick around and enjoy the ride.


Sincerely,
R.