2 November 2004

Theta Naught’s Something Scientific is a hypnotic album. I really recommend it. I saw these guys play live in a bar in the basement of a Kinko’s in Salt Lake City, and bought their album on the spot. All of us did: they’re really good.

Is anyone else in Boston sick of the sound of helicopters flying overhead? What the fuck is going on around here? Why are there always helicopters over the city now? Can we just hear them better now that it’s colder, or is this some recent development?

In front of my house is this little tree-lined parkway that divides the four lanes of Commonwealth Avenue. I think it’s called The Mall. There are benches, and last year they put up statues of some influential American women: Angela Adams, and two others I can’t remember.

And in among these statues seems to be the most popular place to smoke pot in all of Boston. I live on the fifth floor, and whenever I look down from my porch I see people huddled beside the statues, or on a nearby bench, toking away.

It doesn’t really make sense to me strategically; in the winter, especially, it’s one of the most exposed places in the city, with cars rushing by all the time. But I guess there’s relatively little foot traffic at night.

With my cameras, binoculars and telescopes I can get a pretty good visual lock on the junkies. But my idea is to get one of those parabolic microphones, so that I can listen to what they’re saying.

And then, when they’re good and stoned, pipe their own words back to them over loudspeakers. On a sixty second delay.