I love Catherine Tate the English comedian and actress. She is on nearly every show broadcast on BBC.
However, I really love her comedy shows where she plays various characters ranging from the Ulster Mother with a gay son to the Manchester Teenager who is not “bothered”.
Here is a video courtesy of Youtube which is a personal favorite.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Pop Culture
Just a quick follow up to the news that Ms. Coulter was banned from NBC, which the Drudge Report was first to post yesterday. This morning the hate-spewing siren was on Fox and Friends show. The interview mostly consisted of Ann bemoaning how unfairly she has been treated and how Liberals are to blame for all of the U.S. ills. Co-anchors, Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade, spent most of their time drooling and praising the conservative pin-up.
On a side note, the Fox “News” show was commenting through out the morning on how to be more tolerant of teasing in schools to teach child how to deal with adversity. Co-anchor, Gretchen Carlson, has shared earlier in the program how she was taunted by children when she was young and called “Goal-Post Gretchen” due to a large gap in her teeth. So as the interview with Ms. Coulter was nearinng its end, co-anchor, Steve Doocy, inquired if she had any nicknames growing up that had caused her distress. The question caught Ms. Coulter off-guard but the best part of the question was Gretchen’s quick response, “She’s had plenty of names as an adult.” Ain’t that the truth.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Politics, Pop Culture
Here is a brief clip of the next Senator from Minnesota, Al Franken, sparring with Hannibal Lector (a.k.a. Ann Coulter) at a forum in CT in 2007.
Many thanks to Towleroad for this classic.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Politics, Pop Culture
I have just returned from a relaxing few nights in Provincetown where I spent the New Year’s holiday with my other half and another couple. I plan on sharing a few pictures from our trip but in lieu of writing what we did I took a stab at expressing myself through poetry. There is no disputing the the final result may indeed embarass me in time when I look back at this entry but I thought I would share this attempt at creative expression.
Provincetown Winter Night
The laughter and sounds of summer are gone
Just an echoing memory ’til next year.
The howling winter winds now own the night
Their screams buffet our house and all you can hear.
Winter’s full fury keeps Commercial Street quiet
But in a few months the sun and warmth will return.
And then the crowds will too as they always do
But only after winter has had its turn.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Gay, Poetry, Provincetown, Travel
It is 11:30pm, and I am watching Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin on CNN to ring in the new year in Provincetown, MA. The weather has been horrible – it took us more than 7 hours to drive from Boston to Provincetown today. Because it took us so long, no sooner did we arrive at our condo then we had to dash off to Ciro and Sals to make our reservation for our last dinner of the year.
Now that we have settled back into our temporary home, I feel much better and relaxed. The weather outside is incredible. The wind is howling and the snow limits visibility but we have an amazing view of the Provincetown monument which is beautifully lit in Christmas lights. I am sure that tomorrow when we wake outside will look like a winter wonderland. For tonight it is quite romantic.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Provincetown, Travel
One of the reasons I started my blog was to record my thoughts and so as 2008 draws to a close, I wanted to revisit some of the high and low points from the year.
THEATER
Although there were no visits to Broadway shows in NYC this year, I was able to get out and see the following shows: Spamalot, Avenue Q, Whizzin, The Light in the Piazza, Varla Jean Loves a Foreign Tongue, and All About Eve. Additionally, I went to see both Margaret Cho and Kathy Griffin when they visited Boston. I also had excellent seats to see George Michael who put on a fantastic show.
TRAVEL
As with most Americans the majority of my travel this year was close to home, but I was able to get away a few times. I started 2008 in sunny, warm Fort Lauderdale. In the spring, I spent a cozy weekend with my entire family on the coast of Maine and later in the summer I spent long weekends in both Newport, RI and Provincetown, MA. I also made a mad dash to NYC to see the US Open in August with my former co-worker and friend Stephanie. This past November / December I visited Brasil and spent time in Belo Horizonte, Buzios, and Sao Paolo. Lastly, I will be leaving tomorrow to say good bye to 2008 from chilly Provincetown. All, told I visited 8 cities / towns and packed my bags for vacation a total of 7 times – not shabby.
CHANGES IN 2008
In February, I accepted a job to work for a well respected professional services firm and left my job at The Bostonian Group after nearly 4 years of service to the firm. The chance to join the Healthcare practice at this firm was a no brainer and something I have no regrets about but it was difficult leaving an organization where I had made so many wonderful friends.
The most upsetting change in 2008 happened on May 21st when my grandmother “Nana” passed away. Her passing was a forgone conclusion and had been expected for several months but it was still very upsetting and she is dearly missed. I can see how much she is missed in the eyes of her children who have spent the past 6 months learning to cope without their mother.
In June candidate Obama clinched the Democratic nomination making him the first man of color from either party to accomplish such a feat. Five months later he would go on to be the first African American elected to be President of the United States. Finally, after eight years, I felt like reason and intelligence won the day over fear and a desire to elect a President you would want to share a beer with – jeesh!
Other Great Moments in 2008
– Gov. Deval Patrick is one of the first (if not the first) sitting governor to walk in a Pride Parade. He does it to show his love and support for his daughter as well as to show his support for GLBT equality.
– The Red Sox and Patriots season may not have ended in victory but the Celtics accomplish an amazing turn around thanks to the addition of Kevin Garnett and others. Helping the Green Machine crush the LA Lakers (how sweet) and win their league leading 17th NBA Championship title.
– I attended my very first Tennis major by going to the US Open in NYC and was able to see first week matches played by Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams. Sweet!
– The Beijing Olympics and Michael Phelps combined for a one-two knock out punch that made the 2008 Summer Olympics probably the most amazing I will ever see in my lifetime.
Thank you for the memories 2008… I look forward to 2009.
Tagged Art and Film, BosGuy, Boston, Boston Guy, Gay, Politics, Sports, Theater, Travel
The morning of Christmas Eve, I had my third of four visits to Mass General Hospital for the medical research project I am participating. My final visit will occur in mid-January and at that point I can find out which group I had been placed for the study. I’ve found the entire process very interesting despite some of the side affects. I would hate to think that the side affects I just alluded to have all been psychologically induced, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility that I was receiving the placebo. I will have to wait another 3 weeks to find out for certain.
Boston.com has an interesting pictoral history of Mass General Hospital which initially opened its doors in 1821. The photograph I’ve included is the first image in a series that is shared on the Boston.com site. There are some great black and white photos of patients and nurses as well as some interesting facts about the hospital. For example, MGH held the very first demonstration of the use of anesthesia back in 1846. You can check out the photographs and read more about the storied history of Mass General Hospital by linking here.
Posted in Medical Research Project
Tagged BosGuy, Boston, Boston Guy, Health, The Boston Globe
Today is my father’s birthday. In addition to being one of the best father’s any kid could ever hope to be blessed to have, he is a wonderful person and loving grandfather. The older I become, the more I use my father as a measure of the man I want to become.
Happy birthday Dad – I love you more than I can adequately express in words.
Yesterday, December 26th was Boxing Day, and a close friend originally from Manchester, U.K. who now calls Boston her home, hosted an intimate dinner party in honor of the holiday. Boxing Day is a ‘bank holiday’ in the U.K. and is widely celebrated in many Commonwealth Nations (e.g. Canada, Australia, etc…)
I’m not sure when Boxing Day became an official banking holiday but my friend told me that it was traditionally observed by the wealthy in England to provide gifts to the less fortunate.
However, now most people celebrate with friends or shop for post-holiday sales. My friend used the occassion this year to host a fun dinner party complete with a competitive game of Twister. The fact that our bellies were full and more empty bottles of wine than I’m willing to admit were strewn through out her apartment meant the game only lasted two or three spins before someone would fall and knock everyone over. I vaguely remember falling but have a very sore spot on my knee to remind me should I forget that part of the evening. I’m hoping that this dinner party becomes a holiday tradition my friend wants to repeat. It was a wonderful introduction to the holiday and a great way to celebrate Boxing Day.
Wishing all a happy and peaceful Christmas holiday filled with pleasant surprises and laughs to share with someone special.
The Christmas holiday is fast approaching and today is really the last day of work I have until the new year. I am so excited that I will have the next 12 days off it makes me forget how freezing cold it is here in Boston right now and want to dance.
However, since it is well documented that I have no rhythym, I’ll let the guys from Brasil in this video do all the dancing for me. We both seem to share a sense of excitement and contentment at the moment – they are just more expressive and better at showing this through dance.
You can see scores of Brasilians doing this and variations of this dance on YouTube if you type in the search feature, “Cueca Funk”. This particular video which was posted on YouTube more than a year ago has had more than 800,000 hits. I can see why… eat your heart out Dancing with the Stars.
This video was also recently posted on a blog I enjoy reading, Wicked Gay Blog, entitled “Parar relembrar porque amamos o Brasil” which translates to “to remember why we love Brasil”… enough said.
The Boston Globe has posted Dan Wasserman’s best OpEd cartoons from 2008. Many of these are quite funny. I’ve included one of my favorites. If you would like to link to Boston.com to see all of Dan’s cartoons link here.
Posted in Barack Obama, George Bush
Tagged Art and Film, BosGuy, Boston Guy, Politics, The Boston Globe
I recently returned from a two week visit to Brazil and had a great time so I added my comments about the place we stayed (Casas Brancas) to Trip Advisor. I use the website to help me plan my travels by reading recent comments left by travellers and to validate information I read on the web.
After I left my comments Trip Advisor asked me to rank some of my favorite places. I don’t know that I would really rank any of the destinations below as better than another. Each destination has a special place in my heart and provide me with some wonderful memories. Actually, the list is too short to really encompass all the places I’ve been which I would happily return to, but I thought I’d include it here on my blog since Trip Advisor makes it so easy to share. Perhaps in the future I’ll look back and feel compelled to add new destinations I’ve yet to visit.
Boston remains relatively quiet and very pretty this afternoon. Temporarily, everything is still pristine – transforming the city into a winter wonderland.
Unfortunately for the retailers, the snowfall seems to have deterred many people from outside the city from coming into Boston today. Fortunately, this made it fairly easy to get around by car so we drove to Jamaica Plain for some hot chocolate at J.P. Lick’s.
Getting out and spending the afternoon has helped to avoid any feeling of cabin fever. On the drive home, I snapped the following pictures of Fenway Park and the Cask n Flagon. Check out how long the icicles are which hang from Fenway’s Game On.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston, Boston Guy, South End
