A View from the Back Bay

Depending on how you look at things… Movie poster for At...

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:23:39 -0400

Depending on how you look at things…

Movie poster for At Death’s Door.

Good morning Afghanistan! 101st Airborne.

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:24:59 -0400

Good morning Afghanistan!

101st Airborne.

“One if by land…” Only in Boston: On the...

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:55:06 -0400

“One if by land…”

Only in Boston: On the Orange Line between State and Downtown Crossing this afternoon.

pile: 3GS photo test

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:17:09 -0400

pile:

3GS photo test

Bunker tours, $30

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 18:25:11 -0400

Bunker tours, $30: pile: “In the late 1950s, the U.S. government approached The Greenbrier for...

The New York Daily News: working hard to build New England...

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:41:04 -0400

The New York Daily News: working hard to build New England readership.

Just like Barry. I’m thinking about getting a pair of...

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:33:47 -0400

Just like Barry.

I’m thinking about getting a pair of rose-colored glasses.

Cheap Eats. This morning we walked over to the venerable...

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:10:00 -0400

Cheap Eats.

This morning we walked over to the venerable Steve’s on Newbury Street for breakfast. Behind the potted plants on a side wall where we sat was this framed Cheap Eats review Mary Jane wrote as part of an on-going series—-a sideline assignment as she worked for the Boston Globe marketing and public affairs department early in her career there.

This happens all the time, in little restaurants far and wide. Even though these reviews are more than 25 years old, it and others like it are framed and hung in some out-of -the way corner of places in the remotest corners of Jamaica Plain, South Boston, strip mall delis on the North Shore and Portugese joints in East Cambridge.

Of course when this happens (and I’m along), MJ will never identify herself as the writer to the owner. Decades later she prefers the anonymity of a young, unknown (kinder and gentler) restaurant reviewer.

Occasionally I break the rules and re-introduce her

Love it.

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:47:18 -0400

Love it.

Idiots. Breaking news 9:27 PM Globe’s largest union...

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:14:08 -0400

Idiots.

Breaking news 9:27 PM

Globe’s largest union rejects cuts
The Boston Newspaper Guild, the Globe’s largest union, narrowly rejected a package of major concessions that included $10 million in wage and benefit cuts. The vote was 277 “no” to 265 “yes.” The paper’s owner, the New York Times Co., has said it will impose a 23 percent pay cut on Globe employees to gain the savings it needs to keep operating the paper.

65 years ago. Tomorrow morning. The First Wave Goes...

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:42:33 -0400

65 years ago. Tomorrow morning.

The First Wave Goes In
American troops race in to meet the enemy on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. Many of the most iconic and riveting photos of D-Day were taken by Robert Capa. considered one of finest war photojournalists who ever lived. “If your picture isn’t good enough, you’re not close enough,” he said.
Photo: ROBERT CAPA © 2001 By Cornell Capa/Magnum

“Bye, bye those big upfront buys…tech has taken us...

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:07:53 -0400

“Bye, bye those big upfront buys…tech has taken us for a ride…”

-MadAve Blues

Compare Google vs Bing I’m not exactly sure what to think...

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:13:43 -0400

Compare Google vs Bing

I’m not exactly sure what to think (yet).

Sign of the times. Probably chose the wrong week to attempt to...

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:28:34 -0400

Sign of the times.

Probably chose the wrong week to attempt to sell my GMC Sierra Denali. Anyone interested in the nicest pickup truck the (now bankrupt) company ever made? Only 10,000 miles in six years of looping around the (now bankrupt) Island of Nantucket.

for Yankee fans only

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:30:44 -0400

jpheff3: Tie game, 5th inning, Indians have runners on 1st and 2nd, nobody out. Batter bunts and...

pile: Kingston Trio - Charlie on the MTA Written 1949, still...

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:26:48 -0400

pile:

Kingston Trio - Charlie on the MTA

Written 1949, still applicable today.

kateheffernan: Andrew is relaxing.

Sat, 30 May 2009 19:07:25 -0400

kateheffernan:

Andrew is relaxing.

Tumblarity

Tue, 19 May 2009 17:58:17 -0400

“Tumblarity” has me feeling like George Bush. The more I have to say (post), the lower...

John Lackey was tossed just two pitches into his 2009 debut for...

Sat, 16 May 2009 18:58:24 -0400

John Lackey was tossed just two pitches into his 2009 debut for plunking Ian Kinsler. (AP)

Very classy. Idiot.

ARLINGTON — Two pitches into his season debut, Angels right-hander John Lackey was ejected by home-plate umpire Bob Davidson on Saturday afternoon.

Lackey’s first pitch to Ian Kinsler was behind the Texas leadoff man, who homered twice in Friday night’s series opener taken by the Rangers, 10-8. The second delivery by the 6-foot-6 right-hander caught Kinsler in the left side.

Davidson immediately gave Lackey the heave-ho, bringing Angels manager Mike Scioscia racing out of the dugout.

Lackey, who missed the season’s first six weeks with a strained right forearm, had pitched in two Minor League rehab games for Triple-A Salt Lake.

Kinsler had robbed Maicer Izturis of a hit in the top of the first inning as the Angels were taking a 1-0 lead against Vicente Padilla. Kinsler has 11 homers and 31 RBIs, leading his team in both power departments, and is batting .318.

After being awarded first base, Kinsler stole second and came around to score, tying the game, on Josh Hamilton’s sacrifice fly.

Shane Loux, who pitched on Friday night in relief, came on to replace Lackey.

Lackey’s start is the shortest since Colorado’s Zach Day also threw two pitches on Sept. 16, 2005.

Is nothing sacred? 2 Yellowstone Workers Fired For Peeing In...

Thu, 14 May 2009 22:05:07 -0400

Is nothing sacred?

2 Yellowstone Workers Fired For Peeing In Geyser

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Two seasonal Yellowstone National Park concession workers have been fired after a live webcam caught them urinating into the Old Faithful geyser.

Park spokesman Al Nash says a 23-year-old man on Tuesday was fined $750 and placed on three years of unsupervised probation for urinating, being off trail in a restricted area and taking items from the area. The man also was banned from Yellowstone for two years.

The second employee’s case is pending.

The park’s dispatch center was called after someone watching a webcam on the geyser saw six employees leaving the trail and walking on Old Faithful on May 4.

The geyser was not erupting at the time.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts general manager Jim McCaleb says the former concession workers were hired at the Old Faithful Inn and that such incidents were rare.