Huge kettle

i posted a picture of this kettle before (here), its outside a starbucks on government center. 2 commenters (jack and ali) then told me that this wasnt a starbucks originally, and i was referred to an interesting article about the kettle by ali. this kettle belonged to the oriental tea company and was hung outside the shop in 1873 (!!!). in 1875, a contest was held to guess the capacity of the kettle, which drew huge crowds. i have seen this kettle so often now, but only when i read this article, did i realize it is a really, really big kettle! apparently on the day of the event, 8 boys and one tall man hid inside the kettle, and appeared when the event started. so... this weekend we went back to have another good look at this kettle, and hanging up there, its still hard for me to imagine that 8 boys and 1 tall man can fit in there!! during the event, the contents of the kettle were carefully measure and as you can see, they are engraved... something i also had never seen before. so cool!!! now i just want to get up there and try for myself.... would i really fit in there?!

Today's afternoon

we passed the city hall this afternoon (which i showed before, here its to the left), and this is city hall plaza. a huge empty space, sometimes occupied by the circus, or other events (then it looks less weird, i have to say. its really so huge, and often empty!). today somehow there were a lot of cars (i wonder why?!), and in the very back you see the entrance to the subway. 

we went to haymarket (just behind the city hall), to get some very cheap fruit and vegetables. i know that previous time i showed you a picture of haymarket i mentioned we never go there, but nowadays we sometimes do! it is actually really, really cheap and if you look carefully, you can get good stuff! you just need a big bag to carry it all back home. ah, and cash, plus a good memory in order to remember at which stand the fruit or vegetables looked the best for the lowest price (every time it does happen that at the next stand those oranges were even a bit cheaper than where we just bought them).

Irish culture

today its st patricks day. according to wikipedia, it is a cultural and religious holiday, celebrated on march 17, commemorating saint patrick (AD 387-461; he died on march 17). in the early 17th century, it became an official feast day, and gradually became a celebration of irish culture in general. on this day, you goto church, you wear something green, and the lenten restrictions on eating and alcohol are lifted.

now... if you just look around in boston during st patricks day..... you see more of the above. im so frustrated this pic not sharp, but well... you get the idea. im not sure those 2 went to church, or were celebrating irish culture that much.... it seems to me its just a day spent in the pub (or waiting in a long line to get into one), and getting drunk in a weird (or weirder) green outfit...

Graffiti busters

saw this truck at government center in boston, a few weeks back. just looked it up; you can call the "mayor's hotline" (!!) if you see some graffiti, and they will come and remove it. since they started, they have removed graffiti from more than 1000 locations (but i cant find when they started). indeed, there is not that much graffiti in boston, especially when compared to other cities we recently visited.

the mayor of boston is thomas m.menino, and he likes to put his name on everything, as you see, his name is on this truck. his name is also on 600 (!!) bikes that were recently placed throughout the city, for the bike sharing program allowing you to rent a bike at one place in the city and return it somewhere else if you like (my question; did he personally label them all?) his name is even on all the trash cans around boston! on one side they say "big belly" (i guess because of the way they are shaped.. i should find the pic i once took of that), and on the other side... "mayor thomas m. menino" (and he does have a big belly!). these are just a few of the public things that carry his name... i saw many more.... why?! i think its weird... yes, hes the mayor. but... not the dictator! (putting your name on everything public somehow is more suiting for a dictator, i would think..) besides... for how long is he the mayor? if the next mayor comes on, will his/her name have to be exchanged for the current one? what a waste of time is that?!

Too sleepy

to write anything of interest or to pick a nice picture.. i didnt take any interesting ones today... not many people around where we went... :) oh yes, we climbed a mountain, or.. we went "hiking"; i always find that a very funny word, and it sounds very active; indeed, it was a bit tiring for someone who comes from a country thats entirely flat.... and yes, the view on top was nice and all, but im not good at capturing such beauty (but it really was pretty!).
im best off sleeping now, i guess, and its about time! tomorrow another day of work.. (and for those who might think otherwise; this is not a selfportrait!!)