'Reflection of the presence of time'

“Untitled” (various media on panel), by Cambridge, Mass.-based George Shaw, in his current show, “Architecture of Time,’’ at Galatea Fine Art, Boston.

Mr. Shaw says:

“Architecture has always fascinated me because of its presence and how it modifies our experience of place and time. The pieces in this show are a reflection of this and are intended to be a meditation on objects as a reflection of the presence of time. Time is essential to our sense of being, yet it is intangible and only manifests itself in our memories and objects.’’

Cullen Paradis: Are BlueBikes in Boston skirting state safety law?

Biking in the Back Bay

From The Boston Guardian

(New England Diary editor Robert Whitcomb is chairman of The Boston Guardian)

“BlueBikes in Boston may be skirting state regulations meant to ensure bike safety, fulfilling a helmet availability requirement by selling them on their online storefront.

“State law requires all bike rental businesses to make helmets available to customers as well. Yet if you pay for a ride at a BlueBike rack, you won’t see any helmet being offered.

“That’s because the company fulfills its legal obligation by selling branded helmets on its website, ensuring all customers have the option of safety so long as they’re willing to walk the bike home, wait for the helmet to be shipped to them, and only then ride to their destination.

“That’s if customers can even find the storefront. The BlueBikes Website does not include a link in the top banner, tucking the sole mention of a store all the way at the bottom of the page next to the privacy statement and career board….’’

To read the whole article, please hit this link.

Cullen Paradis is a Boston Guardian reporter

BlueBikes are the Ruggles MBTA station in 2019.

Happy days

“Boston Public Garden Serenade,’’ by Sudakshina Bhattacharya, in the show “Clean Slate: A Juried Exhibition Inspired by the Change of Season,’’ at StoveFactory Gallery, in Boston’s Charlestown section.

— Photo of painting courtesy of the artist

The gallery says the show “embraces spring through 68 works made by 48 artists who create across all mediums. ‘‘

Stuck on the seas

“The Flying Dutchman,’’ by James Cole, in his show at Galatea Fine Art, Boston, through March 30.

‘Despise the glare of wealth’

Surely you never will tamely suffer this country to be a den of thieves. Remember, my friends, from whom you sprang. Let not a meanness of spirit, unknown to those whom you boast of as your fathers, excite a thought to the dishonor of your mothers I conjure you, by all that is dear, by all that is honorable, by all that is sacred, not only that ye pray, but that ye act; that, if necessary, ye fight, and even die, for the prosperity of our Jerusalem. Break in sunder, with noble disdain, the bonds with which the Philistines have bound you. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed, by the soft arts of luxury and effeminacy, into the pit digged for your destruction. Despise the glare of wealth. That people who pay greater respect to a wealthy villain than to an honest, upright man in poverty, almost deserve to be enslaved; they plainly show that wealth, however it may be acquired, is, in their esteem, to be preferred to virtue.’’

—- John Hancock ( 1737 -1793), an American Founding Father, rich Boston-based merchant, statesman and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This quote is from his “Boston Massacre Oration,’’ on March 5, 1774.

Indie bookstores in Boston doing well

From The Boston Guardian

(New England Diary’s editor, Robert Whitcomb, is chairman of The Boston Guardian)

Boston’s independent bookstore scene is at its healthiest in decades, and it could continue communities, while three existing stores have expanded their operations, according to The Boston Globe. Boston’s downtown neighborhoods have seen the lion’s share of this growth, growing in 2024.

Since 2020, at least eight claiming four of the openings and bookstores have set up shop one of the expansions.

Paired with bookstores’ slim margins, Boston’s expensive commercial real estate has largely prevented bookstores from opening downtown over the past few decades, said Beth Ineson, executive director of the New England Independent Booksellers Association, a trade association. But that changed after a dip in real estate prices following the pandemic.

“My association has seen an unprecedented amount of growth across the entire region during that time because there was more commercial real estate easily available,” she said. Even after its recent renaissance, downtown’s bookstore scene could still have some room to grow. Ineson said that because of Boston’s highly educated population, the city still has fewer bookstores than one would expect for a city of its size.

“Our demographics in Boston proper really should support far more independent bookstores than have previously been downtown,” she said. “Given the population here, there’s certainly always room for more stores, and I’m delighted that we see stores opening in different neighborhoods in the city.”

Of Boston’s downtown neighborhoods, the Seaport has seen some of the most impressive growth in its bookstore scene. Though it didn’t have a bookstore before the pandemic, the fast-growing and once- industrial neighborhood now has two just blocks apart.

Hit this link to read the full article.

'The soul’ of Boston

Haymarket Square in 1865.

Hear/see/read about Boston’s Haymarket Square, once “the soul of the city’’.

Boston women’s shelter gets boost from foundation created by former Red Sox owners

Edited from a New England Council report

“The Pine Street Inn has used some of the $15 million it has received from the Yawkey Foundation to help expand and otherwise improve the women’s shelter, in Boston’s South End. The Yawkey family were long-time owners of the Boston Red Sox.

“The $15 million award represents the largest single donation in the Pine Street Inn’s 55-year history. After getting the donation, Pine Street is getting going on its plan to add 400 to 500 new units of permanent housing over the next five years, which will mark about a 40 percent expansion in its capacity. This increase will arrive at a crucial juncture, as Boston faces the dual challenges of an influx of migrants and escalating housing costs.

“‘Even this isn’t enough, but it’s a beginning,’ said Pine Street Inn President Lyndia Downie. Pine Street and Yawkey Foundation officials recently gathered at the women’s shelter to celebrate the late Jean Yawkey’s 115th birthday through the naming of the ‘Yawkey House.’ More than 1,300 women are supported each year through Pine Street’s outreach. It hopes to help more.’’

GOP mulls ‘Slayveree’; See haunting bas relief in Boston

From the National Park Service:

The Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial, installed in 1884, a haunting bronze bas relief on the Boston Common, and created by famed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, commemorates the first Black regiment from the North in the Civil War. Although African Americans served in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, Northern racist sentiments kept African Americans from taking up arms for the United States in the early part of the Civil War. However, a clause in Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation allowed for the raising of Black regiments. Gov. John Andrew soon created the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry. He chose Robert Gould Shaw, the son of wealthy abolitionists, to serve as its colonel. Notable abolitionists including Frederick Douglass and local leaders such as Lewis Hayden recruited men for the 54th Regiment. African Americans enlisted from every region of the north, and from as far away as Canada and the Caribbean.

Through their heroic, yet tragic, assault on Fort Wagner, S.C., on on July 18, 1863, in which Shaw and many of his men died, the 54th helped erode Northern public opposition to the use of Black soldiers and inspired the enlistment of more than 180,000 Black soldiers into the Union’s forces.

The front of Linden Place, the Bristol, R.I., mansion built in 1810 for infamous slave trader (and other “cargoes”), privateer and ship owner Gen. George DeWolf and designed by architect Russell Warren. The mansion now operates as a historic house museum.

— Photo by Bbucco/ Tiffany Axtmann Photography

A physician’s memoir of a son’s and his own early-onset cancer

Sidney Farber, M.D. (1903-1973), of Children’s Hospital, Boston, with a patient. Dr. Farber, a pediatric pathologist, is regarded as the father of modern chemotherapy. The famed Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in Boston, is named for him and philanthropist Charles Dana. Some of Dr. George H. Beauregard’s book, Reservation for 9, occurs at Dana-Farber.

Numerous cell signaling pathways are disrupted in the development of cancer.

— Graphic by Roadnottaken

Adapted from Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

I’ve been watching a physician/health-care executive friend, George H. Beauregard, prepare a book, yet to be published, titled Reservation for 9, that’s both a memoir and a medical saga, most of it set in Greater Boston.

The book tells how he and his son Patrick developed different advanced-stage  early-onset cancers  (early onset defined as cancers diagnosed in patients under 50), creating seismic changes in their lives, and those of their whole colorful  nuclear family of six, that accompanied their illnesses. It’s a story about a complex family history, fear, grief and hope, along with the science and institutions of medicine, and provides much insight for others battling the disease.

There has been an alarming global increase in the incidence of cancer affecting younger adults. Patrick’s colorectal cancer was diagnosed when he was 29, and it killed him at 32, but not before he became an inspiring  national spokesman for other victims. Dr. Beauregard, for his part, was diagnosed with bladder cancer  at age 49 but is now apparently cured.

Patrick’s story continues to be cited in national news media, including recently in The Wall Street Journal.

Appearing as a guest on the Today Show on March 10, 2020,  he said:

“In a situation like this, your mind can either liberate you or essentially incarcerate you...and you choose what to make of it.’’

“I don’t see the point in being negative in this. Negativity is only going to bring on more negativity. I choose to have a positive outlook and always have hope, and I don’t see why you would ever decide not to.” 

Results from The Reproducibility Project: Cancer biology suggest most studies of the cancer research sector may not be replicable.

Travel, time and place

Left ,“Interior V ‘‘ (photograph on aluminum), by Rebecca Skinner. Right, “W. 42nd St.’’ (oil on panel), by Chris Plunkett, in the group show “Travelling,’’ at Fountain Street Fine Art, Boston.

The gallery says:

“‘Travelling’ suggests a sojourn to a destination in some form or another, and the concept of ‘place’ is examined along multiple vectors by this group of artists. Rebecca Skinner’s interior/exterior photographs of abandoned places contain a textural richness revealing a morphological study not merely of paint, brick, and wood, but also the chronological layers of story. The vibrant cityscapes that fluidly leap from the brush of Chris Plunkett….{T}he intensity of his palette turns recognizable metropolitan scenes into urban spectacles out of fondly remembered dreams.’’

The ‘meaning of weight’

From Massachusetts-based arist Kledia Spiro’s show “Drawing in Air,’’ at Kingston Gallery, Boston, through Jan. 28.

The gallery says:

“Kledia Spiro’s solo exhibition ‘Drawing in Air’ delves into the fascinating interplay of weight, legacy, and the human experience. 

”Over the last decade, {Albanian-born} Spiro has embarked on a quest to understand the meaning of ‘weight’ in people's lives. Spiro's project blurs the lines between information design and art, using drawings to create data for music production. In the gallery, Spiro will physically paint signature light drawings in mid-air. Spiro has collaborated with two diverse musicians, Lianna Sylvan and Kevin Baldwin, to translate her light drawings into a captivating music composition. Using sensors placed throughout the exhibition, each drawing triggers a unique sound experience for the visitor.’’

‘Poetry of their corpses’

“Hark,” (pastel), by Fu’una, in the show “Måhålang (Longing)”, at Bromfield Gallery, Boston, through Jan. 28.

The artist says:

“There are few things more consistent in my life than a sense of longing. To be Pacific Islander on the East Coast is to feel like a part of you is always missing. In my trips to Guåhan (Guam) I’ve learned to make the most of my time. I gather images and ideas that feed my creative practice. This practice has helped me connect to wherever I am living.

“In an era where we spend 90 percent of our lives in artificial environments, I find joy in the flora and fauna that indicate where you are. But biodiversity continues to shrink as land is eaten up by condos and shopping centers. For years I would draw dead animals not just for the poetry of their corpses but for the simple fact that we are an invasive species that has disrupted once thriving habitats. I seek out what I can find and compose them in my paintings into bouquets of animals, florals, and text.

“The antidote to måhålang is presence and connection. My large-scale paintings hint at memories of immersion and claim physical space where my subjects can live in perpetuity.’’

'And paying for the sins of their parents'

“When I grew up, there really was the sense of ’Why would you want to live anywhere else?’ {than the Boston area} .There’s a proudly parochial aspect to Boston. That strong tug of place was one of the themes I wanted to work with, the way environment influences what somebody becomes, that and children paying for the sins of their parents.”

— Ben Affleck (born 1972), American movie actor, director and producer. Born in Berkeley, Calif., he grew up in Cambridge, Mass.

‘Winteractive’ whale in Boston

Boston behemoth

From The Boston Guardian:

“A massive whale sculpture has received final approval for installation in {Boston’s} Downtown Crossing, promising to interact with visitors through responsive light and sounds….

“Hailing from Quebec, the 60-foot sculpture is the first component of the ‘Winteractive’ public art series sponsored by the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID)….

“The completed art series will form a linear path through the Downtown with a focus on lights, interactive exhibitions and play features that can occupy younger audiences. In addition to Downtown Crossing, the BID also hopes to bring visitors to Chinatown, the financial district, Government Center and the theater district.’’

To read the whole article, please hit this link.

Loveable or finished?

Boston’s Scollay Square in the late 19th Century. The square, now modernist/Brutalist Government Center, became famous in the 20th Century as Boston’s sin (or fun?) center — hookers, strip shows, etc. “Hey, sailor!”

“There is no section in America half so good to live in as splendid old New England — and there is no city on this continent as loveable as Boston.’’

— Mark Twain (real name Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910), in a letter to his sister-in -law Mollie Clemens, in January 1971.

xxx

“There broods over the real Boston an immense effect of finality. One feels in Boston, as one feels in no other part of the States, that the intellectual movement has ceased.’’

— H.G. Wells (1866-1946), prolific English author, in The Future in America (1906)

Sam Pizzigati: UAW victory’s global significance; next stop Tesla?

On Sept. 20, 1893, Charles and Frank Duryea of Springfield, Mass., built and then road-tested, in that city, the first American gasoline-powered car. During the early years of automobiles, several independent manufacturers built cars in the state. In 1900, Springfield gained Skene American Automobile Co. (based in Springfield but with its factory in Lewiston, Maine) and Knox Automobile. In 1905, Knox produced America's first motorized fire engines, for the Springfield Fire Department. Stevens-Duryea built cars in East Springfield from 1901 to 1915, and again from 1919 to 1927.

Via OtherWords.org

BOSTON

‘Working people the world over have celebrated the first of May as “International Labor Day” since 1886, when workers in the United States struggling for an eight-hour day staged a May 1 national protest.

Thanks to the new deal America’s auto workers have signed with Detroit’s Big Three — Ford, GM and Stellantis — that day could have new global significance. Their watershed new contracts all set April 30, 2028 as their expiration date.

If May 1, 2028 arrives without signed contracts for America’s unionized auto workers, UAW president Shawn Fain has made plain, these workers don’t plan on walking out alone.

“We invite unions around the country to align your contract expirations with our own so that together we can begin to flex our collective muscles,” says Fain. “If we’re going to truly take on the billionaire class and rebuild the economy so that it starts to work for the benefit of the many and not the few, then it’s important that we not only strike but that we strike together.”

But that May 1 day is clearly inviting coordination beyond the national level.

The May Day that workers worldwide have so long honored, Fain notes, has always been “more than just a day of commemoration, it’s a call to action.” And the labor movement worldwide is showing real signs of acting more in strategic concert.

Within the global auto industry, no corporation more embodies the inequality of our corporate world than the non-union Tesla. Under CEO Elon Musk, the world’s richest individual, Tesla pays wages that run substantially below those of Detroit’s Big Three, and that gap will only widen after the new UAW contracts go into effect.

The new UAW contracts, predicts German Bender of the Swedish think-tank Arena, could well “boost union interest among Tesla workers.”

That interest already seems to be growing. On the final Friday of the UAW walkout in the United States, workers at Tesla-owned servicing shops in Sweden went out on strike — after five years of fruitless attempts to get Tesla’s Swedish subsidiary to reach a bargaining agreement. That strike has now spread to all auto shops in Sweden that do work on Tesla cars.

This Swedish walkout represents the first formal strike against Tesla anywhere in the world. And the challenge to Tesla may be spreading. Germany’s largest union, Bloomberg reports, is hoping to organize a 12,000-worker Tesla plant near Berlin.

Tesla’s over 120,000 workers worldwide will see plenty to like in the new UAW contracts in the United States. At Ford, workers who started as temps making $16.67 an hour will automatically move to permanent status and an hourly wage rate of at least $24.91. That rate will hit $40.82 by the contract’s end, and any inflation between now and then will kick that rate higher.

Workers in major American industries haven’t seen gains that stunning since the middle of the 20th century, a time when the chief executives of America’s largest corporations averaged only just over 20 times the compensation of their workers. That gap today, the Economic Policy Institute calculates, is now running nearly 350 times.

But the greatest significance of the new UAW auto industry contracts may be the impact these bargaining triumphs will have on the future. These agreements could become the single most important step to a more equal world that any of us have ever seen.

The giants of American auto manufacturing, as Fain puts it, “underestimated” their own workers’ capacity to unite and fight together.

“We have shown the companies, the American public, and the whole world that the working class is not done fighting,” he adds. “In fact, we’re just getting started.”

Sam Pizzigati, based in Boston, co-edits Inequality.org at the Institute for Policy Studies. His books include The Case for a Maximum Wage and The Rich Don’t Always Win.

The woods are ready

“Forest Floor,’’ by Dan Hoftstadter, in his show “From Life: Drawings by Dan Hofstadter, ‘‘ at Atlantic Works Gallery, Boston, through Nov. 25.

The gallery says:

This is a show of “direct, perceptual drawings, unmediated by tools. The artist always keeps his sketchbook by his side, a constant companion to his work as an abstract painter and arts writer. Shown at the gallery are freehand landscapes – responses to wherever he was living at the time - along with portraits and figure studies.’’

‘First they came….’

This is the "First they came..." poem attributed to German theologiian and Lutheran minister Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984) at the Holocaust memorial in Boston.

Homeless surge into the affluent Back Bay

- Photo by Ed Yourdon

The Boston Public Library, on Copley Square. The peculiar lighting is from sunlight reflected off a high rise nearby. Homeless people have been congregating in increasing numbers on the square.

— Photo by Daniel Schwen

Excerpted from The Boston Guardian

“Back Bay landmarks were experiencing a surge in homeless occupancy even before the city cracked down this week on the South End encampment known as Mass & Cass, making stakeholders anxious about potential displacement.

“A range of factors have increased disruptions from unhoused Bostonians around heavily trafficked landmarks like the Boston Public Library (BPL), Prudential Center and Copley Square.

“With the city pledging to enforce anti-tent ordinances once and for all on the city’s largest encampment, civic and business groups in the Back Bay worry they’ll bear the brunt of the fallout.

“Meg Mainzer-Cohen, president of the Back Bay Association, says recent months have already seen a dramatic rise in homeless displacement to the Back Bay, a timeline that coincides with the spike in South End violence and the city’s warnings that it would soon disperse the encampment.

“‘In August things were very quiet, especially given the warm weather. By September, the situation had changed dramatically and we saw a major increase in people in need of services in the neighborhood,’ she said. ‘There’s a large presence in front of the library with a massive influx of people and what feels like an encampment.”’

To read the whole article, please hit this link.