Like a lot of people, I belong to a number of neighborhood-centric Facebook groups. While the general Jamaica Plain group is broadly fine, there's also a private, invite-only group for complaining about the general day-to-day absurdity of living in newly desirable neighborhood of any increasingly-expensive city.

And that's where I discovered this glorious work of art (which, as far as I can tell after a Tin Eye search, originated from the fittingly-named Humans of Late Capitalism Facebook page):

According to these standards, my beloved home in JP is actually in pretty good shape. Though we are the home of the original Sam Adams Brewery, we only have one other brewpub (so far). We're also (so far) safe from the axe-throwing bar trend, and at least Boston Logan is a pretty good airport. In lieu of cows, we have an albino squirrel and those god damn Brookline turkeys. But otherwise…well, shit. I'm pretty sure I am "Guy with stories about band/artist who made it."

Image via Matt Brown/Flickr Read the rest

In Eugene, Oregon yesterday, the Buck Buck Food Cart exploded in a spectacular fireball due to a malfunctioning gas line. Fortunately, nobody was injured. From the Register-Guard:

A battalion chief said three additional buildings suffered damage from the blast, including (the nearby Oakshire Brewing Public House).

Buck Buck owner Mikey Lawrence, who also owns the Black Wolf Supper Club on Willamette Street, said he woke up to a number of calls and texts informing him that the food cart had exploded. Buck Buck sells fried chicken and other southern specialties.

“I live close by so I rode over, waited for the train to pass and then saw it,” Lawrence said at the scene. “And I said, ‘Holy moly.’ Well, it wasn’t as nice as ‘Holy moly,’ but it was quite a shock.”

A style piece in the New York Times about a trans-Atlantic trend: "Artisanal food trucks have been making inroads in Paris, adding a new twist in culinary culture to a city where diners rarely eat on the go, much less with their hands." Read the rest