This morning, coming home from my gym I went down into the Chinatown T-stop ( here). For the past few months, the escalator has been out of service and over that period become increasingly dismantled. In my investigation of this I would find I had become (booming voice) a defender of democracy-ocracy-cracy.

I find most mechanical things neato, especially when large, dirty and taken apart. Due to this, I happily pulled out my camera and began taking a few pictures of the escalator husk because, hey, why not. Little did I know that I could be abetting… a terrorist.

Fortunately for myself and my nation, the T attendant came out of her box and asked, “Are you supposed to be doing that?”

Feeling a bit like Galileo, I hesitatingly replied, “Umm, no.”

“You can’t be taking pictures of that. There are terrorists and we need to protect the station. You will have to delete those pictures”

Rather than point out that terrorists could still just as easily take the elevator if they were unable or unwilling to take the stairs, I dutifully complied-they were dark and blurry anyway-thus cementing my place as a defender of democracy-ocracy-cracy.

Looking back on those times, I feel fortunate that I was dressed as my alter ego, average white guy, or else the my experience could have been, in the name of freedom, drastically different.

Despite my lack of new T photos, as a protector of all things American, I feel it’s my civic duty to post a picture from the archive. She’s proud; and what woman wouldn’t be to date a defender of democracy-ocracy-cracy.

I was down in Back Bay today and snapped this picture of the subway map.

These new maps were put up just a few months ago and as you can see, quite a number of people have placed their finger on the map and said “We’re here…”

Jessica sings in the Coolidge Corner Community Chorus, a non-denominational choir. They were out for First Light, a seasonal celebration where, as far as I can tell, musicians all over Coolidge Corner display their musical wares.

I work in Lowell, MA, an old mill city criss-crossed with canals. In New England, the Fall leaves are at first beautiful on the trees, then gross as they litter the sidewalks, roads, and as I found out, waterways as well. When I first saw this canal I thought there had been a chemical spill. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was just Autumn leaves.

Length: 41 seconds Music: Josh Cook – Fishin’ Blues [Internet Archive]

This is a short video that I shot of my neighbor’s pool. Using my little Casio digicam and a camera mount consisting of a box of Trader Joe’s Green Tea, I taped some of the gusty winds we were getting today as they moved leaves around in the pool.

The original tape was 27 minutes that I then cut frames from (by about a factor of 50) to give a time lapse effect. If you watch the bottom right of the screen you can see the shadows shift as the sun moves overhead. I am not sure, but there is a quick round white reflection that moves across the pool that I think may be the moon.

Enjoy.