UK gymnast and stuntman, Damien Walters, posted this video on YouTube earlier this month, but I didn’t see it until I stopped by Brenton’s blog, Aussielicious. This video makes me miss the warmer weather. If anyone over at Lawn on D is reading my blog, I’d love to suggest this for next summer.
Source: Washington Village project notification form
DJ Properties LLC has submitted a proposal to develop nearly 5 acres of land that would convert small industrial buildings into eight residential buildings that include more than 650 units, almost 100,000 square feet of retail space, more than 550 parking spaces and approximately 40,000 square feet of new open space near Andrew Square in Dorchester. A grocery store and pharmacy are alluded to in the developer’s plan to “provide everyday services and goods available on-site, minimizing the need for residents to travel elsewhere to meet their basic needs”.
The development, called Washington Village will include both home ownership and rental housing options at market-rate, mid-market, and affordable price points. Located approximately 5 blocks from the Andrew Square T station, Washington Village is easily accessible to the red line.
Source: Washington Village project notification form
While a lot of friends in recent years have moved to Savin Hill in Dorchester, if this development is able to open it would really transform Andrew Square in a meaningful way, opening the doors for more investment. Andrew Square’s proximity to the South End and Downtown makes this an even more desirable location and bridges what is mostly dead space between Southie and Dorchester. Fingers crossed that this is able to get the necessary approvals so building can begin straight away. For more details about the project link here.
The Aquitaine Group’s fifth restaurant in Boston’s South End, La Motta’s, will open to the public on Tuesday, October 27th in the space formerly occupied by Union Bar and Grille at 1357 Washington Street.
La Motta’s is described as a “Bronx-style” Italian-American restaurant, and their menu will focus on classic red sauce staples like baked clams, mozzarella sticks, meatballs, chicken parm, lasagna, shrimp scampi, and thin crust pizza.
The former home of Union is so completely redesigned you would never know it was the same space. The entrance on Washington Street was moved about 15 feet to the right and the restaurant includes a cozy 12-seat bar, 70-seat dining room and eventually a 30-seat outdoor back alley patio, which conjures images for yours truly from the Walt Disney cartoon, Lady and the Tramp.
1357 Washington St
Boston, Ma 02118
617.338.5300
www.lamottaboston.com
Are you in Ogunquit, Maine this weekend? Check out Mainestreet’s lumberjack bear tea dance starting at 5PM; be sure to wear something plaid. More details about the tea dance are on the event page on Facebook, here.
Click on the comic strip to enlarge
ADAM & ANDY is set in the fictional New England town of Woodfield, CT. You can learn more about this strip by visiting, adamandandy.com. To see previous Adam and Andy cartoons link here.
This Saturday is the monthly LGBT party in Allston at Great Scott. This month the theme is “Club Kid Scene of the 1990s”. As the event page says on Facebook, “The club kid scene of the 90’s was a glorious and monstrous thing. It was your most lavish fantasy or your most twisted nightmare. Come dressed to impress for this rave featuring an all female roster of DJs and performers.
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell: Club Kids Rave – Saturday, Oct 24
Gus Kenworthy first appeared on my radar during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia when he took the silver medal in Men’s freestyle skiing. However it was his decision to postpone his return to the US following the Olympic Games to help find homes for more than 1,000 stray dogs in Sochi that captured my heart. 
Today Gus Kenworthy is making news again, but this time because he has come out to the media, confirming he is gay. With every athlete who comes out as gay they help to chip away at stereotypes and challenge assumptions about gay men and their ability to compete in sports. The fact that Gus is handsome and showed a more compassionate side to saving stray dogs is just icing on the cake so to speak.
Kenworthy has a videotaped interview on ESPN where he candidly discusses how he felt the need to hide the fact he was gay, “for the longest time I didn’t think I would tell anybody. I was so scared of what people would think… that way no one would ever have to know this dark side of me.” You can watch the 2-minute video of Gus Kenworthy talking about why he ultimately chose to come out, here.
Tonight is opening night for the Boston Ballet’s Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler: A Ballet by John Neumeier. Hailed as “a work of genius” by Clive Barnes of New York Post, this epic masterpiece, choreographed to Mahler’s longest symphony, expresses a dynamic array of images and emotion; from creation and passion to death and heavenly life.
Boston Ballet tickets and show information here
I’ve said this in previous posts because I think there is a prejudice about ballet by those who have either never attended or only think of the Nutcracker when the ballet is referenced. The Boston Ballet has done an amazing job and you owe it to yourself to come and see a performance. #YouGottaHaveArts
This past weekend I stumbled upon this photo of me (age 22), while Sergio and I were doing some housecleaning. I had all but forgotten this photo of me posing by the Leaning Tower of Pisa, holding my tattered copy of Let’s Go Europe, but once I got over the shock of the difference in my hairline, it made me smile.
Backpacking through Europe after college was only possible because of the generous gift my parents gave me and it changed my life. While I had learned a lot at college, this trip taught me more about myself and others than I learned in college and it awoke in me a desire to travel and see the world. I am still afflicted some 25 years later and have been fortunate to be able to visit twenty countries. I’m not nearly done seeing the world and this photo serves as a reminder that it is time to think about booking another trip abroad.
If you liked the shout out I gave last month to an Instagram account that posts photos of men with beards then I think you’ll like this month’s account too.
This month’s featured Instagram account has a significant number of followers (60k plus) and focuses on bears and cubs mostly. If you like the sound of that and you are on Instagram, check out @bearscubsnbeards and while you are on Instagram check out my own account, @bosguyblog.
Based on actual events, Casa Valentina takes place in 1962 at a Catskills resort where a group of heterosexual men secretly gather to dress and behave like women. But when challenged to publicly reveal their female alter-egos in the pursuit of political acceptance, each must decide whether freedom is worth the risk of ruin.
Written by Harvey Fierstein (Kinky Boots, Hairspray), Casa Valentina is a provocative, hilarious, and touching new play about gender identity, self-acceptance, and the struggle to find the right pumps.
Casa Valentina opens this weekend and runs from October 24th – November 28th. You can read more about the production and purchase tickets from the SpeakEasy Stage Company’s website. Note that The Welcoming Committee is hosting a takeover on Thursday, November 12th and tickets are discounted! Get them while they last here.
BosGuy 