How gay are you?

Posted on July 5, 2009 | Leave a comment

I was reading IDiosyntocracy’s blog and I noticed he had taken this survey which asks “How stereotypically gay are you?” I thought I’d take it to see what the conclusion was and I’m a bit disapointed in myself for not having a more respectable score. I think I lost major points for not owning anything with a rainbow on it and not knowing some of the people referenced in the survey…. Oh well it was a fun 5-minute distraction.

You Are 35% Stereotypically Gay

You definitely have some stereotypically gay traits. You might set off a person’s gaydar now and then. If you are not actually gay, you could be mistaken for gay from time to time. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

How Stereotypically Gay Are You?
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Tchau Terezinha & Jose Luiz

Posted on July 4, 2009 | 1 comment

Nós vamos sentir saudades.

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Happy Birthday USA

Posted on July 4, 2009 | Leave a comment

Today is the United States birthday and a day to relax and enjoy yourself with friends and family. Boston hosts one of the largest 4th of July celebrations in the nation, which is capped by an extremely intricate 30-minute long fireworks display that is choreographed to music.

This year host Craig Ferguson returns and Neil Diamond will perform with the Boston Pops. No doubt, considering the fact that the Boston Red Sox play “Sweet Caroline” at every home game, Diamond will have nearly everyone singing along with him when he plays that classic tune.

If you would like to find out more about today’s celebrations, link to the official event site. I’ve posted the schedule below for people to follow. Videos of year’s past celebrations are also available by checking out YouTube.

Saturday, July 4th Concert and Fireworks

<font size="1"9:00AM Oval opens

12:00PM Recorded music begins in Boston

4:30PM Recorded music begins in Cambridge

7:00PM WBZ News Radio 1030 simulcast begins

8:00PM WCRB 99.5 FM simulcast begins

8:00PM Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular broadcast begins (Ch.4)

8:30PM Boston Pops concert begins w National Anthem and flyover

9:30PM 1812 Overture is played

10:00PM CBS Network national broadcast begins

10:30PM Fireworks begin

11:00PM Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular ends

*Photo courtesy of Armando Teixeira-Pinto and pbase.com.

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Flashback Friday: Elevated Orange Line

Posted on July 3, 2009 | 1 comment

The South End is currently serviced by the Silver Line but for long-time residents and those who called the South End there home up through the 1980s they will recall this line which stopped running in 1987. The image above is courtesy of the blog, AloneOne. In the image above you can see the cathedral on Washington Street in the background. Much has changed in the nearly 20 years since the elevated Orange Line stopped running and the Silver Line was created to serve this neighborhood. The image to the left (click it to enlarge)offers a glimpse of what Washington Street in the South End looks like now and includes a picture of the Silver Line bus service which residents now rely on to get to and from downtown.

However, if you are nostalgic about the old Orange Line check out Alone One’s tribute on his blog by linking here. He even has a five or six minute video you can watch and listen to.

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Posted on July 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

The most interesting Republican to emerge from November 2008’s election is McCain. Meghan McCain that is. I’ve referenced Meghan in the past, but I first wrote about her when she dissed Ann Coulter back in March and was the subject of some hateful rhetoric from Republican Party commentators.

Meghan reminds more more of a conservative Democrat with her forward thinking social policies and frankness when discussing sex – a taboo subject in the Republican party unless they are gloating over someone’s infidelity. She was openly criticized for lamenting the loss of Sen. Specter in April and is referred to as a RINO (Republican In Name Only) on many conservative blogs where she is regularly trashed.

No doubt Meghan’s vocal stand against California’s hateful ban on gay marriage will serve to further irritate the cantankerous bunch of bigots more commonly referred to as the Republican Party leadership. I love this photo of Meghan although I wonder exactly how much Photoshop was done. Regardless I’m glad to see her making such a public statement and thankful to see at least a few people in the Republican party still have some sense of fairness when it comes to discussing LGBT rights.

If you would like to learn more about the campaign Meghan is participating in you can link to one of these great organizations.

Equality California, based in San Francisco, CA

Equality for All, based in W. Hollywood, CA

Freedom to Marry, based in New York City

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, based in Boston, MA

Lambda Legal, based in New York City

National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, based in Washington, D.C.

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Posted on July 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

I promise I’ll stop bitching, but I figured since The Boston Globe offered advice on how to build an ark on Boston.com this afternoon, I would share this with everyone purely from a public safety perspective. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

For all you handymen out there I’ve included The Boston Globe’s instructions on how to build an ark.

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1,000 Views

Posted on July 1, 2009 | Leave a comment

I’m not sure if these statistics are really all that accurate, but I love milestones so I thought I would make a mention of this.

I initially started this blog in October 2007 (haltingly at first), but I have really grown attached to it. Over time, I’ve gradually become aware that other people either intentionally or by accident have found my blog and read it, and what was initially started for an intended audience of 1 has grown.

Web traffic to BosGuy is still quite low, but that is okay because I’ve never intended this to be a public venture. Having said that, I’m always flattered when someone sends me an e-mail or leaves me a comment. So for those with whom I correspond regularly and for everyone else who happens to read this, thank you.

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July weather not looking much better

Posted on July 1, 2009 | 1 comment

The weather forecast today closely resembles what one would expect to see in April in Boston. That month is fairly schizophrenic – filled with days that see the mercury rise and fall. Snow gives way in March for a fair amount of rain and mist in April. However, late June and July in Boston are more known for hot, hazy and humid weather… none of which happened in June and I’m sorry to say on the first day of July seems unlikely if I’m to believe the extended forecast for the city which calls for precipitation every day. I think this could possibly go down as the worst summer I can recall.

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Posted in GetMeTheHellOutOfHere Syndrome

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My rant for the day: print news has nothing to do with investigative reporting

Posted on June 30, 2009 | 2 comments

Back in March, 24/7WallSt.com made a lot of news when it published an article describing the financial woes of the print news industry. The article said, “the newspaper industry has entered a new period of decline.” This news caught many Boomers by surprise and in the weeks / months that followed there were discussions if city dailies should be provided non-profit status to save these institutions. In Boston this article proved to be fairly prophetic. Over the past several months local news has been obsessed by the trials and tribulations of the Boston Globe, and despite a temporary stay of execution due to some significant cost-cutting measures, one must realize that print dailies are not likely to be with us much longer. For the record, after watching what passes for local and national news on the televisions major networks, I can honestly say that I hope it is not long before ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC all recognize that they no longer provide news to the public either and re-name their nightly “news” broadcasts into paparazzi news… yet I digress.

For my grandparents the thought that major cities might be without a daily newspaper would seem unbelievable, but in the last 20+ years technology (and the internet in particular) have become part of nearly everyone’s life in the United States. The concern that investigative journalism will cease if city newspapers close is a ridiculous conclusion. To paraphrase Alicia Silverstone in the 90s movie, Clueless, “As if!” Investigative journalism can flourish without the need to purchase ink by the gallon. As I just ranted above, newspapers and network news broadcasts hardly reserve any space at all in their papers or minutes on the air to share “news”. Rather, both are filled with feel-good local stories, traffic accidents, sports updates, weather and other inane stories that you would be hard pressed to categorize as thoughtful reporting. This morning I stumbled upon a Boston-based online reporting organization called, GlobalPost.com.

According to GlobalPost.com’s website, their mission is “to redefine international news for the digital age.” I’ve taken a quick look at the website and it is impressive. I’m sure there are hundreds of other competent sites that offer similar services (perhaps with slightly different focuses – i.e. domestic news, policy-specific biases, regional focus, etc…) So the next time you hear people bemoaning the closing of a newspaper tell them to get their news sources from online. It is more affordable, more environmentally friendly and provides you with more options. It is true that if you read your news online you can not spread open the paper, and annoying inserts won’t drop from the screen, nor will you be forced to wash your hands because they are dark with ink smudges, and discarded newspapers will not be carelessly thrown on the street, but somehow I think that investigative reporting will still survive – so let’s not pretend it will some how go away. If one wants to make an argument for propping up city dailies let’s get real about the reasoning. However, I’m not one for preserving institutions that were unable to change and keep up with the times (yes that philosophy also extends to other industries as well i.e. automotive, banking, etc). If the Boston Globe, NY Times and other print newspapers can not adapt – then it is time to say “Good bye”.

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Wimbledon 2009

Posted on June 28, 2009 | Leave a comment

Its proof of how busy I’ve been with my work that I’ve yet to mention the Wimbledon Tournament on my blog, but I can assure you that I’m obsessing over the fact that I’ve missed all of Wimbledon thus far… I was bummed to hear that Nadal had to pull out of this year’s tournament and would not be able to defend his title.

With Nadal out, this is Federer’s tournament to win. Last month, when Federer won the French Open he was able to secure a career grand slam and tied Pete Sampras record of 14 majors. A win at this year’s Wimbledon would give him 15 career major titles.

On the women’s side, I’ll definitely be cheering for my favorite Williams sister, Venus. I love her game and her game loves grass courts. A win this year would give her 5 Wimbledon titles.

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An evening at Fenway Park

Posted on June 26, 2009 | Leave a comment

On Saturday, June 20th I was invited to the Red Sox – Braves game at Fenway Park. As you can see from the picture above, I had great seats just 6 rows back from the field. Josh Becket was on fire serving up 7 strike outs. He proved to be too much for the former Red Sox pitcher (now an Atlanta Brave) Derek Lowe. The Sox triumphed 3-0.

The forecast had been rain (big surprise), but it turned out to be a beautiful night to be at Fenway Park. I hope to be able to get such great tickets again before long. Special thanks to my friend Martha for inviting me to the game and for taking these great pictures.

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Flashback Friday: Letters to Cleo

Posted on June 26, 2009 | Leave a comment

The following clip dates back to 1993 just prior to the band’s successful debut album, Aurora Gory Alice, was released. Letters to Cleo was a local Boston band that I first got turned on to by my close friend, Tom. Most people remember their smash hit “Here and Now”, which was featured as the theme song for Melrose Place.

Kay and her husband lived in the Fenway and I often saw her working out at the Gold’s Gym on Lansdowne Street. I was so bummed when I heard they broke up. Listen to this acoustic version of their song, Wasted. Kay has a beautiful voice.

If you would like to know what Kay is up to these days, she maintains a blog which you can read here.

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Australia or bust…

Posted on June 25, 2009 | 1 comment

My workload these past few weeks has prevented me from writing in my blog, but the lack of entries in no way represents a lack of activity. Now that more time is starting to become available, I’ll have more opportunity to write my thoughts and share what I’ve been up to.

Earlier this month Sergio and I booked a three week trip to Australia. This will be my first trip to Oz and Sergio’s second. We decided to cash in all our frequent flyer miles and were able to score two business class seats. We don’t really have any plans as yet. All I know for certain is in mid-November we leave through Los Angeles for Sydney and we return to chilly Boston in early December.

As a self-proclaimed travel nut, this is a trip I’ve thought of many times before but been unable to do. In 2004, we tried to go to Sydney but ultimately ended up in Phuket, Thailand (that is another long story not worth getting into now). The trip to Thailand was amazing and one I’m glad I took, but I’m more excited about this pending trip to Australia and will no doubt write more about it as we figure out the details.

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June’s weather sucks

Posted on June 25, 2009 | 1 comment

Summer in Boston this year (so far) has really been a bust. At last count there have only been 3-days that did not rain in the city in the month of June and temperatures have hovered 10+ degrees below normal making the month absolutely horrible. Sadly summer seems to be the briefest of the four seasons and with the month of June literally a wash, I can only hope for a long, long dry and warm spell in the weeks that follow.

With June nearly over and tomorrow the only day in the forecast showing sunny skies all I can say is buh-bye to this dreary month. Fortunately, I’ve been absorbed with work so the weather has not proven to be much of a distraction, but here is to hoping all that changes in July.

I never thought I would be suffering from GetMeTheHellOutOfHere Syndrome in the month of June.

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Flashback Friday: Before the Big Dig

Posted on June 19, 2009 | Leave a comment

Before the Ted Williams and Tip O’Neill Tunnels and before the beautiful Zakim bridge there was a green monster more commonly referred to as Boston’s Central Artery or elevated expressway that sprawled 1.5 miles and dissected the city cutting off entire neighborhoods from each other.

The pictures above are courtesy of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority website. They show the central artery when it first opened in the mid 1950s and handled 75,000 vehicles per day and then again what the overly congested expresssway looked like 30 years later in the mid-1980s when more than 190,000 cars travelled this stretch every day.

I’ve included a second set of photographs (courtesy of Tufts University’s Urban and Environmental Planning Policy website) that show how the city made a strategic (and I think excellent) decision to replace the elevated expressway with a beautiful garden now known as the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The park is still coming into its own but is a huge improvement and a welcome addition.

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