Tom Cruise flick, “Wichita”, continues to film in the neighborhood and the parking lot across the street from my condo is filled with trailers again (although Tom’s super-deluxe black trailer bus is noticably absent). Should I happen to see the movie star or Cameron Diaz – the leading lady – I’ll be sure to comment or post a tweet on my twitter account, twitter.com/BosGuy.
Tagged Art and Film, BosGuy, Boston, South End, SOWA
It has been about a month since I posted my last quiz so I figured I would share my results from this quiz which asks the question, “Do you deserve your high school diploma?” I scored an embarassingly low 68%, although the auto response which tabulated my final grade indicated that I did “pretty good”. Maybe this will be graded on a curve. Give the 2-minute online quiz a shot if you like and let me know how you did.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy
My cousin Ben is marrying his long-time girlfriend (Megan) this weekend at Ocean’s Edge in Brewster, MA on Cape Cod. The location is spectacular and I’m looking forward to the reception later tonight.
The grounds are really beautiful – so it is a shame the weather is not cooperating because I would have loved to walk alongside the ocean. The back (or front of the resort as you drive in) is dominated by the main house (see below).
Today’s Boston Globe has an article entitled, “Painting outside the box”. The article is about a city program that commissions street art. According to the article, two dozen local artists have been brought in by the Boston Arts Commission as part of its PaintBox program, which is being modeled after similar efforts in Cambridge and Somerville. The program started slowly last year with only 13 boxes painted, but it has quickly expanded to more than 40. I’m a huge fan of public art and hope it continues. A utility box has been decorated in my neighborhood on the corner of Dartmouth and Tremont Street. Click on the picture to make it larger and find out more about the artist by visiting their website.
The South End – a long-time enclave for many local artists – has recently seen more public art and sometimes residents get up in arms about such public displays. With very few exceptions, I am generally very excited and like to see such creative expressions. Earlier this year when the Shepard Fairey exhibit opened at the I.C.A., there was a lot of anger directed at Fairey because of some of his public works which the city labelled as ‘vandalism’. I believe that he actually had to appear in court and was formally charged for some of his work, which I think was a shame because I love seeing his murals. There remain at least 3 or 4 murals in my neighborhood and I would love to see more. The image below is in the South End on Shawmut Street.
My immediate and extended family are probably closer than most. I have close relationships with several of my 2nd, 3rd and 4th cousins. On Friday (October 9th), my cousin Bill – whom I fondly referred to as “Uncle” mostly because of the age difference lost his battle with cancer. Bill was an imposing figure who I loved to visit in Silversprings, MD when I was a kid. He and his wife (my mother’s cousin), had 5-children and when they were younger they lived in such far away places as England and Brazil. My heart aches for his children and I wanted to share a photograph to remember Bill by on my blog. His oldest son, Greg sent this photo along just prior to Bill’s passing. He was greatly loved so he will be greatly missed.
Gay activists of all varieties have camped themselves in Washington, D.C. this weekend. For sure, some will attend both the National March for Equality and the HRC Annual National Dinner, but for many this is a divided camp with a common purpose – advancement of GLBT issues and rights. And tensions between these two camps – the first predominantly local and grass roots organizations which run the gamut from the radical Left to Log Cabin Republicans; the second mostly wealthy gay and lesbian supporters of the Democratic National Party – is getting more rancorous.A direct result of this increasing friction can be seen on the web as this debate within the GLBT community spills over into mainstream (albeit liberal) media. Just this week (to name a few) there is the featured article in The Daily Beast, “Can Obama Make Peace with Gays”; the lead story on The Huffington Post, “Gay Rights Speech: What Should Obama Say Tonight”; and Andrew Sullivan’s scathing review in The Atlantic, “The Battered Wife Syndrome of the HRC”. All are causing a lot of chatter on the internet and really only represent the tip of the iceberg of what is currently online.
Like the various groups referenced in the articles above, I have conflicting feelings and vacillate between pleasure to have Obama in office, because I truly believe he wishes me no ill will (I honestly did not feel that way about the former President) and disapointment that more has not been done either through supporting legislation or executive order. However, I do remind myself that although Obama is fairly liberal, he is socially moderate/conservative with regards to GLBT issues. He has never said anything that made me hold out hope that he would dash D.O.M.A. or lead the charge with any significant legislation.
That being said, I can also understand why many have been frustrated by what is perceived as reticence or lack of initiative. The GLBT voting block has grown in significance in the Democratic Party. Numbers in several politically important states are up and more importantly money donated has increased notably. If this voting bloc feels that they are not being heard by a Democratic candidate, that man/woman will see a drop in donations, volunteers and votes. Whatever the rift, I hope this mends because the option of having another Christian Conservative in office honestly sends shivers down my spine. 
The 30th Annual Oktoberfest festival is tomorrow (10/11) in Harvard Square. This year’s festivities will include six stages of live entertainment, 50+ food vendors, and 200+ vendors at the outdoor market. Be sure not to miss the annual ceremonial keg tapping & toast at Grendel’s Den. For more information about the one-day festival which shuts down nearly all the streets in and around Harvard Square link here.For Harvard Square enthusiasts, I also found this online calendar, which lists all the official activities and events that will happen in the square. If you will be around next weekend (10/17-18) keep in mind the world’s largest regatta – The Head of the Charles – will occur. This year, more than 7,500 athletes and 300,000 spectators are expected to crowd the river banks and Harvard Square. For more information about The Regatta, link here.
Recently I posted one of my favorite poems from Frost entitled “Nothing gold can stay” and I was pleasantly surprised to receive a comment from Todd X who lives in San Francisco. I follow Todd’s blog Iced Tea & Sarcasm but I did not realize he maintained an additional blog called Just 17 Syllables.
Todd’s insightful comments about “Nothing gold can stay” leads me to believe that he is quite an enthusiast for this particular form of expression too. His second blog is a nod to a form of poetry originally from Japan, called a haiku. This form of poetry is distinguished by the fact that it consists of 17 syllables written in three lines: 5 syllables; 7 syllables; 5 syllables.
Back in August I first mentioned what a haiku is in my entry, Bathroom poet, because I noticed a particularly humorous (if not often recited) haiku above a urinal at the Beehive (a local restaurant and lounge). Todd X has some slightly more creative expressions check them out if you too enjoy a good haiku. The poems range from political statements like, “Proposition 8” & “Hillary” to the more humorous, “Spam squared” and he even has a few about San Francisco like, “Foggy morning”. However, I think my personal favorite is the untitled haiku, which I’ve included below.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Poetry
I just caught the end of the gay romantic comedy, Trick. I really loved this movie when it came out in the late 90s. Tori Spelling did a bang-up job as a horrible actress (or was that type-casting?) And the two leads were both handsome and adorable. I had forgotten about the film and the catchy showtune “Into You” until I stumbled upon it on Logo tonight. My favorite scene remains the pep-talk that Ms Coco Peru gives in the bathroom – I still stifle a laugh when I think about her diatribe.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Gay
The Commonwealth Fund State Scorecard ranks the states which provide the best healthcare to their residents. The non-partisan study analyzes access, quality, costs and health outcomes and is a a follow up to the well respected 2007 report. The best state overall was Vermont. 
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Health
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Poetry
In little more than 6-weeks I will be hopping on a plane to visit Australia for the first time in my life. I’m extremely excited but also nervous that the long trip will put a significant dent in my savings. So I had to laugh in spite of myself when I read this article which points out that in today’s trading the Australian dollar has surged and is now trading nearly even with the U.S. dollar. This is the highest it has traded against the dollar since August 2008. Oy-vey… Let’s hope the dollar shows some cojones and can rally a bit too – it would be a shame to travel all the way to Australia only to stay in out of the way hostels.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Travel
I last saw AvenueQ in Boston at the Opera House in March of 2008. Sadly, I won’t be able to see the show this time around since I’ll be out of town, but I would strongly encourage you to consider purchasing tickets to see this Tony Award winning musical, which I can only describe as Seasame Street meets NYC.
The story line is very entertaining, the music catchy (i.e. “The internet is for porn”) and the storyline compelling. Earlier this year AvenueQ ended its amazing run on Broadway so this is the first time the show is coming to Boston since the lights have dimmed in NYC. Here is a clip from one of the songs, “If you were gay”, which is more entertaining to watch in person, but still worth watching.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston, Boston Guy, Theater
Tagged Art and Film, BosGuy, Boston, Boston Guy, Pop Culture, South End
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