I deliberately didn’t write a post about Friday for days so you’d all think something of unspeakable horror happened to me bwhahahahahahaha! Actually, I was just lazy.  Friday was a very easy day and with a little nicer weather. Despite starting later than normal, I finished earlier than normal. Part of it was organizing the [...]

Today was supposed to pour for like 30 hours or something, it drizzled for 8 at most. The Enterprise Farms CSA got so big that I have to do it in 2 routes now because all the boxes won’t fit in the bike at the same time. I did the first route pretty quickly, it [...]

Tuesday, I tried a little experiment… I did my 2nd route the North End first, and did Chinatown/Fanniuel Hall/Seaport last. The result? Took 30 minutes less time, used 50% instead of 100% of the battery power, and best of all I was full of energy instead of exhausted. I am so going to do this [...]

Saw this Andre the Giant sticker in Union Square in Somerville on my way back to the shop today. I’ve sat at this light so many times and, for whatever reason, never noticed the sticker before. Or maybe I didn’t know what it was.
Shepard Fairey, the creator of Andre image, is the artist of the moment, especially coming off of his arrest on vandalism charges on the opening night of his exhibit at the Institute for Contemporary Art and the controversy surrounding his use of an AP photo in creating his ubiquitous Obama Hope image.
I’m on Fairey’s side when it comes to the question of his art vs. commercial advertising. By suggesting nothing, his art makes you think, question the world around you. It shakes up the status quo. If you believe his claim that he only displays his art in public spaces or buildings that are clearly vacant, what’s the harm?
Billboard advertising, on the other hand, is coercive and mind-numbing. According to James Joyce’s definition, it’s “pornographic.” (See Condolicious) Companies spend millions placing ads on private property, and hapless folks just passing by are forced to ingest their manipulative messages. It’s the visual equivalent of second-hand smoke.
In an apparent rebuttal to Fairey, two huge new billboard-bearing pillars have been erected overlooking I-93, Rte. 1 and the Gilmore Bridge between Cambridge and Charlestown. Let’s see what thought-provoking messages they provide in the coming weeks.
Your comments on this and any topic are welcome and, I’m happy to say, now possible! I discovered the problem with the “Add a Comment” link. The solution: Simple! Just change the “mac” part of the URL to “me”. So for example, this page would be http://web.me.com/joe.myers/metroped/Blog/Entries/2009/3/11_Obey_Giant.html
As always, thanks for reading…

Look at Dan holding up traffic on Congress Street. C’mon Dan, stop mugging for the camera and pedal, man!
If you’ve ever been stuck behind one of us on a narrow, uphill one-way street, you know… these trikes, even with the electric assist, can be sssllllowwwwww! The glamour of being a messenger dissolves when we’re lumbering up the road at 8 or 9 miles an hour, line of traffic in tow, helmet bobbing with each stroke. We can’t squeeze by cars at stoplights and we’re not quick enough to zip through intersections. None of us smoke… that I’m aware of anyway. (We do drink PBR, though.) Most of us wear glasses. Some of us (Dan, you know who I’m talking about) are into Dungeons & Dragons. We’re also [insert stereotypical un-hip characteristic here.]
Say what you want. Snicker as we ride by. Honk at us. Throw up your hands in disgust. Roll down your window and yell at us from the far lane of the Gilmore Bridge to “get off the effing road.” — I think that’s what you said. I couldn’t really hear you. We are just doing our job and trying to stay out of your way. Give us a slight downhill or a flat with the wind at our back, and we will leave you in our dust… especially if you are walking. What we lack in speed, we make up for in agility, grit and ingenuity. And you gotta admit… you couldn’t do what we do. Couldja? Don’t mess with us! We are MetroPed!

Today was an interesting day, from when I left home until I finished my route and started walking home, the skies looked like they were going to drop 10000s of gallons on the earth.  As the day went on it got colder and darker; yet it was sunny and warm after I was done. Just [...]

Every now and then I over-worry myself about how difficult my day will be. I watch the new forecasts religiously needing to know the updates every hour. If I know the weather will be foul, I lose sleep over it the night before. And why? I don’t know.  I have ridden my bike for work [...]

O loading dock!
Your grey walls,
Your thick, dank air,
Your concrete angles —
Why do you torture me so?
With excruciatingly slow Freight
Elevators
And robotic security guards.
Am I not worthy to ride the same shafts as those
Lawyers and Accountants?
What happened to that guy who used
To feed the pigeons?
Was he another victim of The Economic Collapse?
Who will check for bombs on the undercarriages of trucks?
Don’t worry, I will park my bike outside.

I enjoyed last week’s warmth a little too much, and today the blasting cold (high of 24) reminded me it’s still winter. I can feel all the salt soaked into my beard and eyebrows,  I can taste it in my lips, and smell it in my clothes… I know that sounds like the lyrics to [...]

Today was the easier day ever doing deliveries. I remember back to the first time I did Charlestown alone: 15 deliveries in 3 1/ 2 hours. Today… 37 in just 20 minutes longer.  Mind you, now that our offices have moved to Somerville, I spend 40-60 min extra a day to make up for it…
Today [...]