Tag Archives: Boston

Posted on August 30, 2009 | Leave a comment

I have several friends who love waking up early.  They enjoy a morning ritual that I’ll never understand nor want to mimic. By contrast, I never really feel my best until my work day has concluded and even if I don’t go out regularly, I stay up probably later than I should. 

Sadly, Boston is an early to bed – early to rise kind of town. I think it has something to do with their maritime heritage and Yankee sensibilities which give us ridiculous sayings like “the early bird catches the worm”. Yuck, I hate worms… I would rather stay up and hear the voices from friends enjoying a late night conversation over a bottle of wine at a restaurant or from an open window in an apartment. However, as I walked home from Backbay tonight, there was no hushed conversation to be overheard – actually, there was hardly another soul in sight.

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Posted on August 18, 2009 | Leave a comment

Pho Republique is leaving the South End – it is confirmed.

Last night I grabbed a bite to eat at Pho Republique – a south end restaurant which has stood the test of time both in its longevity and its ability to distinguish itself. This southeast Asian restaurant really has no equal in the neighborhood and is one of my absolute favorites. I regularly order take out from them so you can imagine how sad I was to learn that the owner has decided to close at the end of December and relocate.

Although there is an outside possibility that Pho will remain in the South End, the general concensus from the staff was the owner wants to relocate in Cambridge. A larger space that can also provide live music is what they want. Apparently the Bombay Club a cambridge-based restaurant will go into Pho’s space, which I suppose is good news because I would hate to see the location vacant for long, but I’ll definitely be sorry to see Pho go.

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futureMBTA.com

Posted on August 17, 2009 | Leave a comment

The image I’ve included in this entry shows what the MBTA subway and commuter rail system look like today. Click on the image to enlarge if you like. However, John Keith over at Boston Real Estate Blog wrote about a website called futureMBTA.com this past Friday, which I thought was pretty cool.

The website envisions a public transportation system for Boston as it should be, not as it is. If you have some opinions on the matter, the site owner is including reader suggestions on how to expand the system. It is worth checking out. Some of the suggestions are very interesting.

futureMBTA.com

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Boston ranks 3rd in pay-raise survey

Posted on August 4, 2009 | Leave a comment

In an article published today by the Boston Business Journal, the non-profit researcher, World at Work, ranked Boston employers third-highest in a study on expected pay raises within major metro areas. Washington, D.C. took top honors in local business pay raises (no surprise since the government never is short on cash). Boston and Tampa tied in the survey where the average raise is expected to be 2.3%.

On the downside, the 2009 increase is the smallest in the survey’s history and 1.7 percentage points below the 3.9% that had been projected in the previous year’s report. And then there is the depressing fact that the MA unemployment rate is hovering around the 9% mark.

You can read the full article here.

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Posted in Work

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The comedy of errors opens

Posted on August 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

This was the opening weekend for Shakespeare on the Commons, an annual tradition put on by The Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. This year’s play is The Comedy of Errors, a tale of mistaken identity among two sets of twins.

Each year these free performances introduce a new generation to a classic play from William Shakespeare and offer families and friends a fun and affordable evening out in the city. I wish the weather in New England offered more opportunities like this.

Show your support for Boston’s local theater scene and bring a friend or two with you to enjoy this performance. The Commonwealth Shakespeare Co. deserves their accolades, but it is the crowds that come each year, which makes all their toil worthwhile. Performances run through August 16th; Tuesday thru Saturday at 8pm and Sunday’s at 7pm.

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Posted in Free Stuff

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Flashback Friday: Jimmy’s Harborside

Posted on July 31, 2009 | Leave a comment

According to an article in The Boston Globe, Jimmy’s Harborside, one of Boston’s most endurng restaurants, will not be rebuilt and will be replaced by a 3-story, 20,000 square foot Legal Sea Foods restaurant. You can read the Globe’s article here.

The Boston Globe has a cool pictoral history of the restaurant which concludes with an artist rendering of the new building – see photo below (courtesy of The Boston Globe). The dramatic change and investment made by the city and private developers over the past 10 years has turned this desolate parcel of land into a significant opportunity for the city to reclaim and rebuild.

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FlashForward Friday: Boston’s waterfront

Posted on July 24, 2009 | 1 comment

For the past few months I have been writing an entry each Friday called, “Flashback Friday”. You can see / read past entries by linking here. Just to mix things up a bit, I thought I would showcase what the future of Boston might look like by sharing a proposal that has been put forth from the prominent Boston developer Don Chiofaro. His firm has purchased the Harbor Garage on Atlantic Avenue (next to the New England Aquarium) and is proposing a bold mixed-use development that will include parking, office space, residences, hotel and commercial space.

In Don’s own words, this would provide an archway from the harbor to downtown. The buildings are quite beautiful and looks as if it would significantly change the Boston skyline. The Boston Globe says, “The 40-story office building and a 59-story hotel and condominium tower would be built on land between the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway and the New England Aquarium, and also feature a glass corridor at the bottom.”

Of course this would not be Boston if there was not some community activism deploring such a bold initiative and there have been cries from some who have said the project is too large, but given the alternative of two beautiful new buildings or keeping a decrepit concrete parking garage, I’ll vote for Mr. Chiofaro. Hopefully, Mayor Menino will appreciate both the legacy this development could create as well as the tax revenues it will bring to the city.

If you would like to read more about this project you can link to the article in The Boston Globe.

Pictures courtesy of The Boston Globe.

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Flashback Friday: All the Rage

Posted on July 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

This was the first gay-themed movie that I ever saw which was filmed in and written about gay life in Boston. All the Rage is about a pretentious South End gay man obsessed with the pursuit of physical, sexual, and romantic perfection. Sound like someone you might know? The stereotype works even if the movie sometimes let you down.

As is the case with many gay-themed films, the movie is a bit cliché and the writing and acting at times made me wince, but it was an entertaining enough and worth the rental. The entire movie was filmed in Boston during the mid- to late-90s.


Official movie trailer

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Motley has a new website

Posted on July 6, 2009 | Leave a comment


In the past I’ve written about Motley, which is a cool shop located in Boston’s South End. Over the weekend Seth, a long-time employee, informed me that the new store owners (Jason and Joseph) had recently updated the store’s website and had added store merchandise. A quick visit has confirmed this so I thought I would give Motley Boston a shout out. Beware that not everything appears to be on the site just yet, but this is a definite improvement. The website proudly proclaims Motley is “Boston’s best little store” and I have to agree. Now go and buy something from them to support local and independent merchants otherwise we’ll be likely to have another bank or real estate office open on Tremont Street, and I’ll have to scream with frustration.

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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

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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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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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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