The Book of Mormon national tour

book of mormon national tourThe Book of Mormon comes to Boston April 2013

The Book of Mormon, written by South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker with lyrics by Avenue Q songwriter Robert Lopez, is a satirical story of two Mormon missionaries who venture to Uganda to share the scriptures.

The fantastically successful Broadway show took home an amazing 9 Tony awards last year including Best Musical. So news of a national tour was eagerly anticipated and last week the show opened in Denver.  Tour dates run through next summer concluding in Washington D.C.

More about the tour and cities they will visit may be read here.

USS Constitution sails in Boston Harbor

USS Constitution sailingOn Sunday while taking the high speed ferry from Provincetown back to Boston we were treated to watching the USS Constitution (a.k.a. Old Iron Sides) sailing through Boston Harbor. Here is a quick photo I hastily snapped.

The sail was held to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the ship’s victory over HMS Guerriere in the War of 1812 and it drew thousands of spectators on land and sea.

More about the USS Constitution here.

Ripped Bri

This personal trainer who has a bunch of “How To” fitness videos is addicting to watch.  Could it be the fact he’s in amazing shape? Could it be the skin tight lycra shorts and nothing else he’s wearing? Could it be because you are looking for new routines to enhance your work out? I won’t lie – one of those reasons has nothing to do with the appeal.

Check out “Ripped Bri” in his Butt Kick-Ups and Squat Techniques videos.  I think you’ll see how appealing these educational videos can be.

Boston MBTA

Boston public transit Thanks to @kenjimallon on Twitter for sharing this cool image created by StoneBrown Design.  This creative display of how long it takes to get from point A to B using Boston’s public transportation system can be viewed on the firm’s website.  They’ve also created similar maps which you can buy for Washington DC’s Metro and Seattle’s Metro system.

Hurry up or you’ll be late for work…

And I thought I was running behind this morning.  Pun intended.

Do you nap?

sleepMost people I know admit that they do not get enough sleep and the health risks of lack of sleep are fairly well documented so I was intrigued by the BuzzFeed article about napping last week called, Everything you’ll ever need to know about napping

I swiped part of the infographic from the article.  Click on the image above to enlarge so you may more easily read the description of each nap type.  Do you nap?  If so which type of nap do you take most often?

A day in the life of a storm trooper

Stefan Le DuWhen I saw this photograph on TwistedSifter.com I couldn’t help but swipe it. Hope it makes you smile too.

Hotel review: Sea Crest Beach Hotel

The Sea Crest in N. Falmouth on Cape Cod boasts more than 260 rooms on beautiful beach front property, free internet, indoor and outdoor pools, coffee shop and two bars.  No amenity was more appreciated on my recent stay than the two bars.

This property (as do most in the area) caters to families looking to have  some summer fun at the beach.  For families, this would seem like an idyllic (if not somewhat loud) location. By day the property is overrun with children and by night it is so quiet you can hear the ocean outside your room.

While I witnessed some issues with service – specifically at the hotel check-in – my experience was quite the opposite and even a bizarre late night request for vinegar and honey (a home remedy for a sore throat) was accommodated so quickly I couldn’t believe it.

Although I would not return to the Sea Crest, it has more to do with the fact that I prefer less family-friendly lodging and a place with more nightlife options.  As the images below will show, the rooms are spacious and comfortable – although my one gripe with our room was the pillows were roughly half the size of standard queen or king sized pillows and were very uncomfortable. However, I feel like that is an easy fix for the property which otherwise seems to cater quite nicely to families.

Sea Crest Falmouth, MAYou can find more information on the Sea Crest hotel website.

dbar Tea Dance next weekend

dbar tea danceMark the date in your calendars and plan on coming out to dbar where proceeds raised will go to support and help the Boston Living Center.

What if Boston embraced urban farming

urban farmingEarlier this week The BostonInno blog had this interesting infographic in an article regarding the benefits of urban farming based on a recent report conducted by the Conservation Law Foundation (CFL).  That report had his to say about urban agriculture in Boston.

Boston is ideally positioned to play a lead role in coordinating with the Massachusetts Food Policy Council, other New England states, and cities around the region to build a vision for a New England regional food system and make it happen. Boston is emerging as a national leader in urban agriculture innovation, and can be a voice for the benefits of urban agriculture and as one of the region’s largest consumers, help to build the market for regionally grown food.

Seems like an interesting conversation to have.  Are you familiar with other urban agriculture projects here in the US or abroad?  I love the idea of supporting locally grown fruit and vegetables.

The full article is here.

Does Romney’s selection of Ryan signal a change

My dislike for Governor Mitt Romney is more than obvious to anyone who visits my blog. Having said that, Romney’s selection for his Vice Presidential candidate, Paul Ryan, is a logical choice and a decision he made which I can respect; unlike McCain’s selection four years ago.

I fundamentally disagree with Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan for reasons pertaining to economics and social issues, and I will be using my blog as a platform to express my disagreements in the months to come.

However, when I was younger my mother made us point out positives in any situation and while I loathed this as a kid, I appreciate the lessons it taught me. In honor of Mom, here are a few positives I have gleaned.

– For the first time in a very long time neither of the two candidates appear to be either from the South nor do they appear to be loved by Christian Conservatives. Could this be a sign that the conservative South and right wing religious wackos are losing their influence in the party – I hope so.

– Both are articulate and intelligent men well educated and not prone to saying things like nucular (or however that was suppose to be spelled).

– Romney and Ryan will (hopefully) give voice to the ever quiet conservatives who see politics outside the lens of religion; meaning issues like birth control need not be a leading topic in the campaign.

I would like to see more political choice in this country – not less. To do that the Republican Party needs to build a bigger tent (to borrow a common political metaphor here in the US). The Republican Party needs to have a strong wing that is socially progressive; similar to many of the former Republicans from the Northeast like Chafee & Snowe. It makes no sense to me that the Republican Party is so beholden to religion and legislating “their” morality.

As a gay adult I am infuriated by the way the Republican party speaks to me or in the case of my current US Senator (Scott Brown) — won’t speak to me. I have no interest in seeing the current Republican Party succeed, but I do hope that this frightening party can untie itself from the religious zealots and conspiracy quacks who currently rule the roost.

Is this the ticket that will signify a change so one need not be a Baptist from the South who questions evolution to get atop the ticket? I hope so.

BosGuy says…

BosGuyDon’t stay in tonight.  Go out and meet people.

REI CEO endorses marriage equality in letter to employees

2012 appears to be the year US businesses decided to weigh in on the issue of same sex marriage.  There have been a few organizations (notably Chick-Fil-A) that have indicated their opposition to same-sex marriage, but most that have spoken on this issue have come out in favor of same-sex marriage.

The ever growing list of marquee companies putting their reputation on the line and risking the ire of those who disagree with supporting LGBT rights is a testament to how far this conversation has come and how accepting the American public is becoming.

Earlier this week Towleroad reported that REI has joined the list of companies publicly backing same sex marriage.  Washington United for Marriage said CEO and President Sally Jewell strongly endorsed marriage equality in a letter to employees earlier this month. Read Jewell’s heartfelt blog post to REI employees here.

Thank you Sally Jewell for your support

Furry Friday

BosGuy Furry FridayHope you enjoy this weekly dose of “Furry Friday”.

Past Furry Friday Posts

BosGuy brain teaser

cherubsEach Friday morning I post a riddle or brain teaser.  The idea is to get you to think outside the box and test your knowledge.  If you cannot figure this out, share it with friends or co-workers and collectively you may get the right answer.

I do not publish correct answers in the comments section until lunch time here on the East coast to give people a chance to guess and write their answers.

This week’s riddle / brainteaser:  The man whose academy survived for 900 years appears in what painting by Raphael?  To be clear, to give the correct answer I need the name of the individual and the painting.

Hint: This giant fresco is on display in the Vatican museum.

Previous brain teaser posts