The Unexpected

This praying mantis was hanging out on the side of the Palace Theater at 1pm today. I'm not sure I've ever actually seen one "in the wild" before. I definitely would not have expected to see one downtown. A quick Google shows that this is the State Insect for Connecticut, so I guess there must be more of them in town.

WWII Exhibit

The Mattatuck Museum's exhibit about Waterbury and World War II opens this week with a reception on Thursday, 5:30-7:30. So far (installation is still in progress) it's looking like a good exhibit. Yes, I am biased... but so far the comments I've overheard from museum visitors have been great!

The exhibit, of course, ties in with the Ken Burns documentary. Burns will be in town on September 10th. Full information about the exhibit and related programs at the museum are online at the museum's website.

Getting a Facelift

The Soldiers' Monument on West Main Street at the Green got a makeover today. I don't know if you can tell from the crummy cameraphone photo above, but the bronze has deteriorated over the years, not just turning green but also corroding a bit. But now, just in time for the Ken Burns visit, it's being restored.

Train Travel Time

Update 2/1/2008: This seems to be my most consistently popular blog posts, if only because it's so darn hard to google for the train schedule! For the current train schedule, visit the MTA website.

Here's a little bit of history from the Waterbury American in 1941:



Today the train to NYC takes 2.5 hours, give or take ten minutes depending on which one you catch. In 1941, you still had to transfer in Bridgeport, so why did the trip take half an hour less sixty years ago? Did the trains run faster then? If so, that's certainly not what would have expected.

Also, for whatever reason, I've assumed that the train schedule was better in the past (that mythic era!). But in 1941, there were still only 8 trains a day from Waterbury to New York.

Maybe there were more trains in 1900. Or maybe it's only in this era that people like me want later trains from the city (as I've moaned about before, the last train back to Waterbury leaves Grand Central at 9:07pm -- so if I want to do anything in New York in the evening, I have to stay there overnight or drive part of the way -- and driving defeats the point of taking the train).

Brass City Brew Fest

The Second Annual Brew Fest will be Saturday, September 15, 1-5pm.

This was a great event last year, except for the icy weather. It's being held about a month earlier this time, so we won't all be huddling in the sun for warmth.

Full info on the event website: www.brasscitybrewfest.com

Click here to go to my blog post (with pictures) from last year.