Yearly Archives: 2009

Flashback Friday: Cheers

Posted on May 15, 2009 | Leave a comment

In May of 1993 the popular television show, Cheers, signed off the airwaves. The program was (and remains) one of the most successful television shows in history. The YouTube clip below shows footage from the final party that was held at the bar which inspired the series. Although I was not there, I distinctly remember the event and how drunk the cast was when Jay Leno from the Tonight Show interviewed them later that evening.

I really like this clip from YouTube because it also features Liz Walker and Joyce Kulhawik who have since left the station. I still think that the theme song from the show remains one of the most distinctive and best for any television series.

About Cheers
Starting in 1982 the series lasted 11 seasons, filmed 275 episodes and won countless awards.

Leave a comment

Posted in Flashback Friday

Tagged , , ,

Jerry Springer – The Opera

Posted on May 14, 2009 | 1 comment

Friday, May 15th, I am going to see Jerry Springer-The Opera. This is the latest production from The SpeakEasy Stage. The show which opened May 1 runs though the 30th so if you think you might find this interesting, get your tickets now before the show sells out or ends. The performance is at the Calderwood Pavilion and tickets can be purchased at the box office on Tremont Street or online here.

About Jerry Springer – The Opera
The only work in history to earn “Best Musical” honors from all four major British award groups, Jerry Springer – The Opera, is a fascinating mix of high art and low culture. Witness America’s favorite talk show host as he suffers the worst day of his career in the funniest, most talked-about musical ever.

1 Comment

Tagged , , , ,

Why the Republican Party infuriates me

Posted on May 14, 2009 | Leave a comment

In the past I’ve written about the fact that I am a Democrat. Last summer I took a stab at articulating why I have such strong party affiliation in an age when most people rebuke political parties in, Why I am a Democrat.

In my post I wrote,”I would welcome some parity from the other side… Until the day comes when the Republican Party can look at me as someone who is not mentally ill; not a person who has chosen a life of perversion; and not a threat to their marriages and family values – I will be a Democrat with a capital “D”. No apologies; no exceptions.”

This clip which I saw on WGB is precisely the thing that infuriates me because although there are plenty of Democrats opposed to same sex marriage (like nearly the entire party’s leadership), I feel as if there can be reasonable discourse, and more importantly I have a seat at the proverbial table. By contrast the clip below includes delusional rantings and what I would consider hate mongering from our Friends at Fox News and other conservative commentators who in many cases are leading voices within the Republican Party.

So when I’m asked why I am a Democrat, I answer with a question and inquire, “Why won’t you speak up and change the Republican Party?” Currently, my sexual orientation essentially bars me from any meaningful participation in the small tent party more commonly referred to as the Republican Party.

Leave a comment

Tagged , , ,

Miss Piggy contracts swine flu

Posted on May 13, 2009 | Leave a comment


Entertainment Tonight is reporting that America’s favorite sow, Miss Piggy, is quietly recovering from what is speculated to be an acute case of H1N1 Flu – more commonly referred to as Swine Flu.

At 2:15am on Monday, May 11th, Miss Piggy reportedly arrived at LAX on a privately chartered jet from Puerto Vallarta Mexico. A limousine rushed to pick up the gaunt looking celebrity who walked slowly to the awaiting car just steps from the aircraft. Miss Piggy has been in seclusion since arriving back home and has not returned any calls. Her publicist is also keeping her snout shut. However, yesterday Kermit the Frog broke the silence and issued the following statement, “Miss Piggy has spent the past few weeks in Mexico to relax before her summer tour and is feeling fine. She would appreciate her privacy right now while she prepares for her pending tour.”

Local paparazzi have been staked out at Miss Piggy’s pen in Beverly Hills since her arrival earlier this week hoping to get a photo of the convalescing pig.

Leave a comment

Tagged ,

Lifeguard on duty

Posted on May 13, 2009 | Leave a comment

Last year I mentioned my cousin, Matt Albiani, in my entry Urge to Travel, because he had a covershot on November 2008 issue of OutTraveler.

Matt recently published his first book entitled, Life Guard on Duty. The book will be available on Amazon.com in the coming weeks but you can pre-order a copy by linking here.

You can check out his website which includes more photographs of life guards as well as some of his other work by visiting: MattAbliani.com.

Leave a comment

Posted in Family

Tagged , ,

Lieberman refutes Cheyney’s accusations

Posted on May 12, 2009 | 1 comment

I will be the first to admit that I’m not a fan of Sen. Lieberman, but he is a Senator who marches to the beat of his own drum much like his friends, McCain (AZ) and Specter (PA). My dislike really stems from his support of President Bush’s “war on terrorism” and very critical tone to anyone who questioned those policy decisions.

For that reason, I found it suprising to hear Senator Lieberman criticizing Dick Cheyney. Over the weekend the former VP had gone on CBS’s program “Face the Nation” and accused Obama of making the nation less safe. Politico has a nice (brief) write-up but I thought I would include a part of Lieberman’s quote since he is so well regarded as someone who is ‘tough’ on terror and clearly not an Obama supporter.

You can watch the interview by linking to the Politico article here.

Lieberman said on Monday, “Our guard is up. In fact, I’d say that when it came to Afghanistan, obviously, this Obama administration has put more resources into the fight against terrorism than had previously been the case,” Lieberman added in an interview on MSNBC. “On balance, we remain as safe as we can possibly be in a world in which there is Islamist extremists who want to attack us.”

1 Comment

Tagged , ,

Hitting the gym

Posted on May 9, 2009 | Leave a comment

I’ve not stepped on a scale since my last weigh-in for the medical research project, which concluded in January. However, I was not pleased with the weight gain from participating in the study so starting the second week of February I started working out with Stu, my trainer at the BSC South End. After today’s work out I weighed in at 195 lbs with 19% body fat. After a quick check on Active.com where I had to enter my weight as well as several body measurments it calcluated the same body fat percentage as the trainers scale so even though I’m skeptical of both readings, I’m still pleased with the results.

I have to tip my hand to my trainer because after feeling like I had hit a plateau in my work outs, recently I’ve noticed new gains. This week I set a new personal best benching 215 lbs and doing overhand pull-ups with out any help. These are not milestones that really have any meaning for other people but it does make me feel good because when I started I was benching approximately 150 – 160 lbs, and I needed assistance with machines to subtract some of my body weight to do the overhand pull-ups. We’ll see where the next few months get me as I continue to work out with Stu.

Leave a comment

Posted in Medical Research Project

Tagged , ,

Rollins Square

Posted on May 9, 2009 | Leave a comment

Rollins Square is located between Washington Street and Harrison Ave in the heart of SoWa (South of Washington). This area of the South End more than any other has flourished in recent years as previously vacant buildings and empty parking lots have been transformed by developers in partnership with the city of Boston.

Rollins Square was the first apartment complex in the neighborhood built with public access to green space. The open courtyard is meticulously maintained and since opening in 2003 the trees have flourished. In a few more weeks flowers will also be added to the courtyard adding more color and fragarance. I thought I would share these pictures to show off how beautiful this space is right now.

Facing 2 Rollins building



Facing 519 Harrison building



Facing Town Houses



Facing Washington Street



Facing Harrison Avenue

Leave a comment

Tagged , , , ,

The Company of Men returns to South End

Posted on May 8, 2009 | Leave a comment


The Loaded Gun is reporting that shooting for Ben Affleck’s movie, “The Company of Men” has returned to the South End for more filming that will last through May 15th. The film stars Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones among others.

Back in April much of Union Park was closed off for filming at 5 Union Park. If you are into star gazing it might be fun to spend some time sipping a latte or two from The SouthEnd Buttery on Shawmut Avenue.

Thanks for the tip from Loaded Gun. Fortunately, I no longer have to fight to find street parking so I won’t be cursing at all the trailers taking up valuable street parking real estate.

Leave a comment

Tagged , , , , ,

Flashback Friday: Kiss 108

Posted on May 8, 2009 | 2 comments

This week’s flashback is a nod to a Boston radio powerhouse that shaped my musical tastes and fed my obsession for Pop and Dance Music. If you grew up in the Boston area during the 1980s chances are you too listened to WXKS FM better known as Kiss 108 and you are familiar with names like, Lady D, Dale Dorman, J.J. Wright and of course the late “Sunny” Joe White.

I loved everything about Kiss 108 in the 1980s. I loved that they played “Wishing on a Star” by Rose Royce every Saturday at 12:00pm. I can still recall the first time I heard the song when I lived in Atlanta in the early 90s and the DJ played it on my evening commute home. I was totally caught off guard and had to laugh at myself when I realized why.

Those names I mentioned along with a handful of other DJs have been off the air for a more than a few years now and Kiss 108 has not played “Wishing on a Star” at noon on Saturday’s for a while. So today at lunchtime I’ll hum a few bars from the Rose Royce classic and think of “Sunny” Joe White and his cast of characters who played such a big part of my teen age years.

2 Comments

Posted in Flashback Friday

Tagged , ,

Hitting the gym

Posted on May 7, 2009 | Leave a comment

It has been about three weeks since my last entry about my work outs. I’m proud to admit that with few exceptions I’ve been mostly faithful about going to the gym. My torso could never be confused with the image above, which I’ve added as both inspiration and incentive, but on the whole I feel better about how I look. I still have no idea how much I weigh (nor do I care), but I would really like to drop one more waist size. However, I simply can’t bring myself to give up all the cheese, ice cream and french fries I consume.

I re-signed with my trainer, Stu, last week and bought a 20-pack of personal training sessions at the BSC South End, which was nearly equivelant to the cost of my airfare to Brasil last autumn. I briefly flirted with the idea of letting my sessions with Stu expire, but I realized last week as I was slogging through a workout on my own that I never seem to match the intensity nor the variety of work outs he throws at me. A good example was our nearly 90-minute session last night. He had me gasping for breathe within 5 minutes and although I never feel the pain following our workouts like I described in one of my earlier entries, My aching muscles, I can definitely notice a difference the next day. For now, I’ll try to be more disciplined and maximize my time with Stu. I’ve come to the conclusion that vanity is expensive.

Leave a comment

Tagged , ,

Thank you Maine

Posted on May 6, 2009 | Leave a comment

The Boston Globe is reporting that earlier today Governor John Baldacci signed a bill making Maine the fifth state to allow gay marriage. Similar to Vermont, the state of Maine has legalized same sex marriage through legislation rather than litigation. This bodes well for LBGT couple’s around the nation.

Now NH and RI remain as the only two New England states yet to legalize same sex marriage.

Leave a comment

Tagged , , ,

Parking can be tough in Boston…

Posted on May 3, 2009 | Leave a comment

When I was walking to the BSC South End gym today, I noticed that someone left this driver a note on their windshield.

I feel compelled to make a few comments. First, I’ve seen far worse parking in the city so this seems a bit harsh. Second, I doubt this helps Boston’s image as an unfriendly city. Third, that is damn funny… In case you can not read the fine print, the person has checked off “two spots for one car” as the reason why the person parks like an asshole. Other options on the flyer include, “ummm…a little too close”; “over the painted lines”; “that’s a compact?” among others.

You can go to YouParkLikeanAsshole if you would like to ticket someone in the near future.

Leave a comment

Tagged , ,

Texts from last night

Posted on May 3, 2009 | Leave a comment

My brother forward me a link to this site, TFLN (for short). If you have a few minutes and want a good laugh, check it out textsfromlastnight.

Here is a sampling of what you will find:

(563): i puked out the bus window last night on the way home. i remember it, but i don’t remember everyone else screaming to put their windows up.

(732): So…we accidentally left a bag of puke in your sister’s room. Heads up.

(301): She got kicked off the plane and spent the last four hours in a holding cell with the feds.
(301): but she’s really nice

Leave a comment

Tagged ,

Posted on May 1, 2009 | Leave a comment

Aunt Sadie’s is downsizing a bit. On a stroll down Union Park this afternoon I noticed a sign indicating that retail / commercial space was available so I popped my head in to inquire if the South End’s favorite Aunt was considering a move. At times, I can be very nosey like that inquisitive.

I was told that Aunt Sadie was going to occupy their original space rather than both store fronts on Union Park so the store will downsize – no doubt in part due to the economic battering all retailers have felt lately. Fortunately though – the store will remain which is good news because I would be broken hearted if the store were to leave the neighborhood or close all together.

Feel free to wish Aunt Sadie well by buying something (preferably not from their ever growing baby selection)… The Souh End store is at 18 Union Park (between Shawmut and Washington) and can be found online at http://www.auntsadiesinc.com.

Leave a comment

Tagged , ,