😮 A room that feels like infinity

It’s Thursday, Boston.

🏈 Masshole celebs are gonna be on the big screen this weekend. The commercial lineup for this year’s Super Bowl just dropped, and it’s pretty stacked. Some of our favorite Mass.-adjacent celebs will be making cameos, like Tom Brady, John Cena, and Meghan Trainor. Check out the previews here.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Some judicial tea

• Netflix loves the Sox

• A million dollar shoe closet

Up first…

ARTS & CULTURE

A trip to the trippy museum

What if touching art at a museum was highly encouraged? Enter: WNDR, an interactive museum that sits at the intersection of art and technology. With homes in Chicago and San Diego, WNDR officially opened its third locale in Downtown Crossing last Friday.

Here’s what to know:

🎨 WNDR engages more than just your sense of sight. You won’t see ornate paintings or ancient sculptures; rather, you’ll find over 20 installations from local and globally-renowned artists that change color with your footsteps, make noise when you hold your ear up to a tin can, replicate the sensation of a thunderstorm rolling through (sans rain), and more. But you’ll also find more controversial sections, including an installation where you can use AI to create new art (generative AI uses existing art to create new art). 

🖌️ It aims to redefine what “art” even is, and who’s allowed to make it. WNDR’s chief creative officer David Allen admits there can be a lot of gatekeeping in the fine art world. But one way WDNR challenges that is by including descriptions of the technology and processes used to create each installation, in case someone wants to recreate it at home. “We think everyone’s an artist,” Allen said. “Even as an accountant, you can be creative.” 

♾️ The museum’s pièce de résistance is a room that feels like infinity. Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is often referred to as the “princess of polka dots,” and that essence is on full display in her “Let’s Survive Forever” installation, where visitors can immerse themselves in a  room filled with mirrors and stainless steel balls that reflect and warp every movement. Just don’t get too comfortable: Guests must wear shoe coverings to enter and only get 60 seconds in the room. Plus, this is one installation where touching is very much off limits. 

🤸 Our take? It gets you out of your head and into your body. Something we can’t say about other museums. Whether you’re playing hopscotch on the light-up floor, or dancing in front of the light wall to make it move, your inner child will certainly make an appearance. But unlike the MFA, most visitors only spend anywhere from 40 to 90 minutes in WNDR, so in our opinion, one trip is likely enough. 

📝 Note: WNDR’s plans to host yoga classes, food pop-ups, and more are also in the works. 

👀 Interested in visiting? Tickets start at $32 and must be purchased in advance online. 

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

⚾  The Sox have a good reason to go from worst to first. Netflix got the green light to create its first MLB docu-series following the Red Sox’s 2024 season, meaning that a film crew will be tagging along from spring training next week throughout their 162-games (and hopefully postseason?), giving viewers a peek into the “grind” that goes into an MLB season. TBD on most of the details, including whether or not it’ll be … good, but the series is expected to air in 2025. Bonus: Netflix will also be putting out a doc on the 2004 World Series Sox team later this year.

☕ Gov. Maura Healey’s latest judicial nomination is raising eyebrows. On Wednesday, Gov. Healey nominated Gabrielle R. Wolohojian, a current state appellate judge, to the state’s highest court, the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court. On its face, the news isn’t that interesting, but what is is that along with being an experienced judge, Wolohojian is also Healey’s ex long-term partner, a fact which has brought criticism of the decision from, largely, Mass.’ GOP. However, other legal sources don’t seem to be as concerned about the situation’s ethics.

❄️ Snow Gods, are you there? It’s us, New Englanders. The Globe’s Dave Epstein made his best guess as to how the rest of the winter is shaping up. And although this time of winter is typically when we see the most snow in New England, there are a lot of factors at play this season, including some that seem to be working in our wintery favor (El Niño, the polar vortex), and others that don’t (the jet stream, oscillation). TL;DR, although it’s not certain, there’s still a chance that we’ll see some more snow. Stay tuned.

⛴️ Planning a summer getaway to Nantucket? If so, read on! Summer reservations for the Steamship Authority ferries’ Nantucket route are opening at 8 a.m. today for trips from the Cape to Nantucket between May 15 to Oct. 20. The original opening was pushed back due to technical issues and high traffic, so be quick this time! Plus: Bookings for the Martha’s Vineyard ferry will soon follow, with reservations opening up Feb. 14. Book your ride here.

QUICK QUESTION

☃️ Do you think we’re going to have much more snow this winter?

GIVEAWAY ALERT

B-Side's Super Bowl charcuterie class ($150 value!)

🧀 We’re giving away five pairs of tickets to our Super Bowl Charcuterie Class at Castle Island Brewery this Saturday (12/10). To be eligible, refer a friend and have them accept your invite by end of day (Thursday, 2/8). If you have already referred a friend to B-Side (and they’ve accepted), you're eligible! Full details below.
_{21+. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Limit one entry per person. See Official Rules & an additional entry option here.}

ONE LAST THING

A million dollar shoe closet

Imagine what price you’d be willing to pay for a 400 square foot apartment. Was the figure somewhere around one million dollars? Well, we hate to tell you this, but that listing now exists in Boston.

Granted, these million dollar shoe closets are in One Dalton, a.k.a., the Four Seasons building, with accommodations up the wazoo (think: tiny, paw printed towels in the lobby for your dog’s paws when it rains) and the opportunity to social climb as high as your heart desires. But on the other hand, you can barely fit a full-sized bed in there.

Originally these teeny apartments were only available as, essentially, guest rooms for the building’s other wealthy residents, but they’re now available to the public, so, go at it, millionaires!

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🤑 Thanks for reading! On the other other hand, it’s not like a million dollars is going to get you those amenities anywhere else in Greater Boston. 

💸  The results are in: B-Siders are listening to the finance bros. Most readers don't have all their savings sitting in a savings account, and we love to hear it! One reader said: “My Ally Bank HYSA and Ellevest investing accounts are my valentines <3.”

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].