World Pillow Fight Day in Boston last Saturday was not only a lot of spring fever fun, it also resulted in a marriage proposal. Banditos Misteriosos estimates there were over 1,100 pillow fighters, apparently making it one of the largest fights that day. View the above panorama large to see the crowd.

Detroit police shut down the fight there, confiscating pillows and demanding permits, though the Calgary fight went without incident, despite concerns about permits.

At the end of it all, Will wondered aloud about the fate of so many pillow feathers and the pain of those less fortunate than us:

Though that didn’t mean he didn’t have plenty of fight left in him:

Music for the above is Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip.

More of my photos and video are on Flickr; there’s more from the group in the Banditos Misteriosos group.

Hey, PodCamp Boston is this weekend. I can’t go, but Sean M. Brown will be and he’s looking for librarians to join him.

Most people may recognize Zhang Huan from his “My New York” work that had him dressed in a beefy muscle suit. Above is “My Boston,” but I have a feeling it might get repurposed elsewhere during finals this spring to represent the agony of study.

Ups to Ryan for the pointer.

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I found Germaine across from the Prudential Center Friday. His sound was good and I especially liked his snare drum.

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I found myself wandering about Boston Public Library for longer than I expected Friday. Part of it was the map exhibit and part of it was the architecture (and simply a place to relax for a bit). Amusingly, stairs and stairways seem filled with drama at BPL, and if the guard hadn’t just warned me about taking flash photos, I might have tried to sneak a peak behind that door.

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Hey, doesn’t the IKEA near Boston open today? Sure does. The company has 226 stores worldwide.

According to a story in the Pheonix:

Oddly enough, IKEA flopped when it opened its first US store in 1986. But by making concessions to American expectations (softer couches, American bed sizes, good thread counts) it gradually won over low-budget consumers attracted to its upmarket design, with its subtle implications of class mobility. That they were willing to bruise their toes lifting those deceptively heavy boxes speaks to the brand’s participatory appeal [...]. It’s all part and parcel of IKEA’s goal “to create a better everyday life for the many people.”

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I do a lot of flying in and out of Boston’s Logan Airport, so I’ve been following the controversy about WiFi there with some interest.

The story is that Massport, the government agency that runs the airport, is trying to tell tennents — like the airlines — that they can’t operate their own WiFi networks. But the FCC previously ruled that landowners had no authority can control use of the WiFi spectrum on their premises.

Glenn Fleishman pointed out a November 25 editorial about the matter. The editorial calls Massports action a “frequency grab” and suggests a likely reason for Massports unusual interest in the matter:

[T]he airport has granted a monopoly to one provider that charges $7.95 a day, part of which comes back to the airport.

Massport’s complaint is about potential interference or use by terrorists, but Fleishman notes that

If Wi-Fi interferes with airport purposes than the airport is not operating itself correctly, and the TSA, FAA, and FCC should assert control over their use of spectrum until it’s sorted out.

The editorial remarks that the airport’s complaints don’t pass the “common sense test”

The airwaves in and around airports are used for hundreds of purposes, including cellphones, taxicab radios and local law enforcement. Yet Massport would have us believe that only Wi-Fi poses a problem.

Meanwhile, Atlanta has gone wireless, and Fleishman can’t help buy point out:

[N]ote that Atlanta is not whining, like Boston, about several existing Wi-Fi networks operated by airlines and others interfering with critical systems and emergency response.

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BostonNoise.org says “Jacques’ Cabaret is Boston’s oldest gay bar. The upstairs features live female impersonator shows five nights per week, including weekends. The downstairs basement is open only on Friday and Saturday, and hosts local bands.”

Jacque’s official website shows Norell Gardner & his cast of miss-leading ladies playing every Friday and Saturday upstairs. The Raw Bar, “a return to the old style of cabaret where artists entertain each other, for the pure art and enjoyment of it, creating a space for talented people who don’t have the opportunity to perform because their music or performance is more artistic than commercial,” was featured in the Globe and plays downstairs at Jacque’s Underground on the second Friday of every month.

Directions are easy:
Jacques is located between the Theatre District and Bay Village, at the intersection of Piedmont and Broadway and behind the Raddison Hotel. Closest T stops are: Boylston Street (Green Line) and New England Medical Center (Orange Line).

Notes:
Door is $8, bar is cash only, closes at midnight.

Googling Jacques Cabaret brings up a few interesting sites. One result leads to some very tall heeled boots with this description:

In our home city of Boston, a quiet Tuesday night spent on the town involves champagne and cocktails at seven, dinner of french provincal by nine and after the last napkin is thrown onto the table, perhaps a jaunt down to the quiet neighborhood where Jacques Cabaret & Lounge lies, to take in an eyeful of amazingly talented Drag Queens with bossoms as supple as that of a women’s (and legs that appear seemingly endless). Named after those long,scantily hosed legs, our black seven-inch spike heel can help aspire a woman to greater heights, or if she doesn’t need the help- the dagger like silhouette of these boots will weaken any one who’s eye follows the lines from the curve of the arch to the inside of the soft thigh. Available in two materials- either matte stretch black lycra, or shiny stretch patent leather. Sizes 5-14

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