Lisa Johnson

In Light of Venus in Retrograde ~ @CoherenceMovie

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Sci-fi movies are a guilty pleasure. I love a good dinner party. And with the recent blue moon, Venus in retrograde, and Jupiter getting ready to move into my sign next week, I’m feeling like COHERENCE could be an interesting movie.

So after seeing the library promote it as a new movie title, I just put the DVD on hold.

On the night of an astronomical anomaly, eight friends at a dinner party experience a troubling chain of reality bending events. Part cerebral sci-fi and part relationship drama, COHERENCE is a tightly focused, intimately shot film that quickly ratchets up with tension and mystery.

Will I enjoy it or will it be another two hours of my life that I can’t get back? I’ll report back!

*Updated 8/13/2015* Happy to report that I loved this movie! I definitely recommend it. It’s not what you think it is and I’m not even sure it’s possible to really figure it out, but it’s fun trying and I survived another retrograde!

Afro Flow Yoga: Schoolmaster Hill in Franklin Park

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Afro Flow Yoga ClassThis morning, I finally made my way to a free yoga class in Boston! It was an Afro Flow Yoga® class taught by founder, Leslie Salmon Jones.

The class was wonderful! It was quite a workout and very hot under the bright morning sun. I worked up quite a sweat!

There was live drumming by her husband and co-founder Jeff Jones. Looking over the vast green space, it felt tranquil and what I imagine Frederick Law Olmstead may have hoped for in the future for this space he designed.

Schoolmaster HillIt was nice being in a yoga class where I wasn’t the only diversity. After all, brown people invented yoga, but often when yoga is shown in the media, it is usually very young thin white women who are portrayed. Yoga is far more than that. It is for every body.

In addition to it being a multiracial group, there were people of all ages and several men too.

Stone Walls Schoolmaster HillAs we moved to the beat of the drums, our teacher asked if we could feel the ancestors. I felt warm and happy thinking about those who came before me and thankful for this day and this time.

The drums added a deeper layer of spirituality to the class. While the class made me feel at one with the African Diaspora, the stone walls felt Druid and Stonehenge too. Very ancient. It was fitting that we are still under the influence of a blue moon.

There is a lot of history in this place. Schoolmaster Hill got its name from Olmstead who named it after poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was a schoolmaster in Roxbury. He lived in a cabin here, before there was a park.

While he may not have been happy living there, centuries later, on a very warm Saturday on the first day of August, unlike Emerson, I did indeed find a slice of happiness on that same Schoolmaster Hill.

Boston Public Market: It’s Open!

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cider vinegar bottles at Boston Public MarketYesterday, I went on a food blogger tour and got a preview of Boston Public Market. I had the best time!

Today, Boston Public Market is officially open for business! More than 37 vendors are located at this permanent indoor market at the corner of Hanover Street and Congress Street.

It’s actually in the same building with the Registry of Motor Vehicles and is easy to get to by taking the T to Haymarket.

We are very lucky to have this market in Boston. It’s the only one of its kind in the whole country! Here’s a little more information about the market.

The Boston Public Market is a permanent, year-round, self-sustaining market featuring fresh, locally sourced food brought directly to and from the diverse people that make up Massachusetts and New England. At the Boston Public Market, farmers, fishermen, and food producers from Massachusetts and throughout New England offer the public a year-round source of fresh, local food and an opportunity to taste, buy, and understand what our region has to offer. The market houses over 35 vendors selling locally produced items such as farm-fresh produce, meat and poultry, eggs, milk and cheese, fish and shellfish, bread and baked goods, flowers, and an assortment of specialty and prepared foods.

The Boston Public Market is the only locally sourced market of its kind in the United States. Everything sold at the Market is produced or originates in New England. The Market is a civic resource, educating the public about food sources, nutrition, and preparation.

Getting Your Falafel Fix In Boston: Pita

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Picture of the front door, signage and street of Pita, a restaurant located in the South End area of Boston, that sells falafel.I love falafel far more than it loves me. Hummus is one of my favorite things to spread on a sandwich or use as a dip for a chip.

Chickpeas can do a number on my stomach, but I can’t resist them or foods made with them. So I have to eat them in moderation. Considering the health benefits and my love for them, it’s a shame that I cannot eat chickpeas to my heart’s content. But alas, it cannot be so.

So when I decide to treat myself to some falafel and more, I have found a place that gets it right every time: Pita.

While working in the Financial District, I used to go just around the corner from my building to Pita on Summer Street.

This week, I was meeting someone for lunch and she suggested we go to Pita on Albany Street in the South End. It’s right on the corner of Union Park Street and there is a cute little park across the street.

You can sit and look at the nice plants and flowers, while enjoying eating your meal outdoors in this lovely summer weather.

Colorful close up picture of daisies growing outside, from the park where I ate my falafel.There is metered parking in the area, if you are driving. So bring a few quarters. But be careful. I drove down Albany Street from Mass. Ave. and was not sure of the exact location.

If you are driving in that direction, turn around before you get to the corner of Union Park. If you don’t, you can get swept up in traffic.

I should have taken the left at the light to make the loop around to get back on Albany. Instead I ended up back on the Expressway! Not fun! At least I didn’t end up on the Pike!

Anyway, the food at Pita is delicious and reasonably priced. For lunch, I ordered a small side of tabouli, which is a very generous portion. I added two falafel to that and I was all set for my meal.

The one down side was the Moroccan mint tea, which was just okay. Not sure that I’d order it again. Other places where I have ordered it, you get a vary large portion and it is very minty and sweet. This was neither.

I tried taking a picture of my meal, but it was so sunny and there was such a glare that I couldn’t even see to take it. Anyway, I highly recommend Pita and know that I’ll be going again!