Harvard Square: Be There to Be Square

I have often repeated the thought that my only incentive to attend Harvard was the proximity to Harvard Square. The Square itself and the Harvard Co-op (I've always pronounced "coop," as in chicken coop) harbor many idyllic childhood memories. So today's outing was both a trip down memory lane and a confused stumble down Brattle Street.

Confused because I have a worse sense of direction than a goldfish. After taking the commuter rail in, I dragged the others around as I attempted to look for the Brattle Theatre, a place half hidden and much smaller than I expected. However, free movie passes override all other sentiments.

A lot of time was spent browsing around the Harvard Co-Op book store, especially in the back corner where the film criticism is located. That section is much larger than those in most bookstores, which isn't saying much. And a semi-interesting story about the last time I hung out there: a bearded old man sighed as he flipped through a book, expressing his disappoint that one of his essays did not make it in. Company was slightly more upbeat today.

Fire and Ice was the chosen location for our noon meal, the only non-Chinese restaurant my dad had ever recommended. The concept is cool (big metal grill with food cooked as you watch), but the food was meh. I guess I really shouldn't be complaining though, since I was the one to choose the ingredients. This is an ingenious idea: if you can't make good food, have your customers do it themselves. And to prove that we are inept at paying, Alex managed to figure out the bill in 1/4 of the time it took us at Not Your Average Joe's.

Another cool concept was The Lake House. But horrible execution. About two lovers living two years apart, The Lake House managed to take all excitement out of the warped and usually fascinating idea of time travel, creating an empty romance that was maudlin and middling and slow. Only the frigidly cold AC kept me from drifting off into sleepyland.

Sign # 586 You Are a Movie Nerd: When you go watch a movie in the theatres, you recognize all of the trailers as ones you have already watched online, some of them multiple times.