For all of you who have wondered why the MBTA refuses to stay open past 12:30...it's a maintenance issue and this newly released documentary gives a sneak peek into the inner workings of the crews that work through the night to keep the system from completely falling apart. If you can't watch the whole video -- about 40 min or so -- the Metro did a full write up last week you can read here.

Enjoy!

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Another perspective on our national highway system. Clearly demonstrates the difference between a Diagram & a Map.

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via wired.com

What an incredible sight this would be...the L.L. Bean Bootmobile. Apparently they will be cruising NYC in this delightfully tacky vehicle. And just like that, suddenly my Bean Boots feel that much cooler.

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This year marked the 6th time my brother has gifted the entire family a self-produced Christmas Album. This year, however, as he is currently calling Indonesia home, the theme is one of celebrating the holiday while far removed from chilly New England in the paradise that is Bali. Pretty incredible what you can do with a bunch of instruments & a macbook these days...

I've embedded one track below, and you can listen to the full album here: http://iancoss.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-in-paradise & read his travel blog here: www.iancoss.com

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It's just amazing how critical this type of thinking has become in just the last few years. Seems like so long ago when the only kids on the block were thefacebook.com or myspace.com with their simple profile pages. Now it's become a much more complicated affair...

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While wandering the Internet this weekend I happened to stumble upon this documentary about the old elevated Orange line in Boston that was torn down in 1987. Interesting story, if perhaps a bit awkward of a film.

I'm not old enough to remember the line, yet in watching & my subsequent reading I can't help but wonder how it could contribute to the fabric of the Washington Street community today. At the time of its demolition the "El" had clearly fallen out of favor, and there is no doubt that the yuppies who call that part of town home today would ever allow heavy rail equipment to be clanking by their 2nd story windows, but given the recent success of the High Line in NYC I think the MBTA was short sited in carrying out a full scale destruction.

Today there are hardly any remnants. The Dudley Square station is still in use -- as a bus terminal -- and the Northampton Street station [pictured below] was transported intact to Maine where it is part of the collection at the Kennebunkport Trolley Museum's collection. That said, if you stand at the New England Medical center Orange line stop at the end of the outbound platform you can still see the tunnel veering off to the left that would have gently sloped upward to rise over Washington Street. Would've been neat to see.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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All & all this is a pretty weird clip, but I can't help but be excited that my home town has now been featured on SNL...

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Excellent video on the amazingness that is Movember. Hails from the long line of excellent Google Chrome ads.

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Given that I just posted the other day on my recent trip Detroit and the possibilities I saw there, I thought this video was a fitting follow-on. The brainchild of Eric Proulx, this short profiles those in Detroit who make lemonade when life deals them lemons. And he is still working on it -- head over to www.lemonadedetroit.com to learn how you can get involved in this amazing project for as little as $1.

Enjoy!

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Found myself in Detroit last week for a couple of days -- was my first time in the Motor City -- and given the current media blanketing by Chrysler with their "Imported from Detroit" campaign I was excited to see the place for myself. 

Overall I found myself impressed by the architecture, surprised by the number of large casinos [3] recently opened, and struck by the strong parallels to numerous post-Industrial New England cities [Springfield, MA and Pittsfield, MA immediately jump to mind] with hollowed out urban cores & glimpses of a former grandeur. Detroit is of course on a much larger scale, and unfortunately I didn't have much time to get out and explore, but you can be sure I will be back to visit. There is a poignant lesson to be learned there on the ebbs & flows of capital, population, and wealth. And I think this will drive interesting things and some seriously creative solutions emerging from Detroit in the coming years.

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What a great video to start my morning with! If you like what you see, head here for more details: http://holstee.com/manifesto

And be sure to pass this along...

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Incredible !ndia is a tagline that will be forever seared into my brain.

It was part of a tourism campaign that played on every single commercial break in 2009 on CNN International. At the time I was living in Germany and CNN International was an easy way to zone out and just relax in English. So suffice to say I saw the ad a lot. If you'd like to see it for yourself -- really a pretty good spot overall -- then head over to YouTube.

Which brings me to my recent trip to India -- a dream finally realized. I was lucky enough to tour the beautiful state of Kerala -- "God's Own Country" as their own ad campaign states -- from nearly tip to tip this September. Included here on this post are a few of my favorite pictures, but if you head to my Flickr you will be able to find the rest. And yes, I did try to act out more than a few moments from that Incredible !ndia spot...

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You can bet I will be watching the developments of this announcement very closely. A subject that is very near & dear to me. Then again, isn't it for nearly every person my age these days?

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This has been floating around on the Internet for a little while now, but when I re-stumbled across it this morning I was immediately struck by how recent events may spur some revisions. Will be curious to see how Tim Cook's Apple org chart will look....

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