So there are a bunch of politicos and Kennedys in a tizzy because some ethnic group other than their own wants to tacky-up their greenway (we've mentioned it before). The big news this weekend is that Mumbles has come out publicly (no, not like that) against the memorial:

Menino said there could be another suitable place in Boston for a small park that would recall the Armenian Genocide that began in 1915. "If there's an alternate site, I'd be willing to work with the Armenian community to put it there," Menino said.
…
The proposed park was shown publicly for the first time at a meeting of North End and Wharf District residents last month, and Turnpike officials made clear they plan to build it on a piece of land near Christopher Columbus Park.

(emphasis ours)

It's almost like they're starting to get it. They at least put the words "genocide" and "Christopher Columbus" together in one article. How can we argue about the appropriateness of memorials on the greenway when we have a Christopher Columbus Park, complete with concrete statue of the bloodthirsty slave trader (and crap navigator)? What exactly is appropriate about seeing this man immortalized for no good reason — outside of the role he played in initiating a centuries-long policy of genocide — and innappropriate about having a memorial about a culture upon whom genocide was inflicted?

Technorati Tags: boston, genocide, columbus, menino, armenian, greenway

Popularity: 20%

They've been talking about comments and blogs. By "they" I mean local bloggers far more serious than we are, media critics, real, bonafide mainstream media journalists and the like. We try to keep our pretty little noses out of grownup matters such as these ('cause most of the time our style just isn't appropriate), but we can't help but notice a little bit of snark when we see it.

From Dan Kennedy's Media Nation comes this gem:

The late David Brudnoy taught me an unfortunate truth about talk radio: that the callers tend to be dumber than listeners who never call, making it a challenge for the host to keep matters elevated enough not to alienate the audience. Media Nation certainly gets its share of thoughtful, intelligent comments, and I appreciate those. But Brudnoy's observation has obvious applicability to blogs, including this one.

It's like R. Kelly pissing on his audience; we love it!

We're reminded of that scene from The Wall where they play In the Flesh. Brilliant!

And, for the record, we think blogs are conversations — open, transperant conversations. Two-way.

Technorati Tags: boston, blogging, pink floyd, blogs, comments

Popularity: 20%

Back in the day, single-sponsor TV and radio was all the rage, from the Texaco Star Theater to the still-running Hallmark Hall of Fame: a company would allow producers to skip the commercials and promote one product or brand. The idea is coming back, and local radio station WFNX is cashing in with a Snapple deal:

For the next 40 days a station in Boston will be, when it comes to advertising, all Snapple, all the time.
Beginning tomorrow, the Snapple line of teas, juice drinks, waters and other beverages sold by Cadbury Schweppes will be the sole sponsor of all programming and promotions on WFNX, a Boston FM station that also broadcasts through affiliates into Maine and New Hampshire. The sponsorship, which is costing Snapple more than $2 million, will enable the three stations that compose the WFNX Radio Network to eliminate all conventional commercials from the Memorial Day weekend through the Fourth of July.

Technorati Tags: boston, radio, wfnx, snapple

Popularity: 24%

The war on offensive t-shirts has taken another victim. This time, it's the lovable Sesame Street characters, who have apparently taken nationalist liberation into their own hands by arming themselves. Brockton High School has banned t-shirts featuring the children's show puppets:

On some, Oscar the Grouch emerges from his garbage can, wielding a 9 mm handgun. On others, Bert and Ernie are standing in a gang posture, armed with automatic weapons.
"We were amazed," said the school's principal, Susan Szachowicz. "You focus on the Sesame Street character. But the more we looked at it, the more we saw the things in it, the guns, the gang stuff."

Technorati Tags: boston, bert is evil, sesame street

Popularity: 53%

We went to see the Boston engagement of Movin' Out at the Boston Opera House last night. The show is basically ballet set to a Billy Joel cover band. The main singer/pianist guy is pretty good, but the band "re-interprets" several songs and totally butchers them (most notably and frustratingly We Didn't Start the Fire). The choreography is mediocre, but the dancers' technical ability is outstanding — though then again, you can't really expect much less at the professional level. The staging is miminal and stayed away from the whiz-bang chintz that (unfortunately) often wins Tonys on Broadway. The lighting is pretty good, if a bit elementary and pedantic at times. Overall, not the worst thing I've ever seen; definitely not the best, either, though. Solidly pedestrian.

Technorati Tags: Boston, boston opera house, movin out

Popularity: 31%

Somewhere between reading the Anderson Cooper memoirs Dispatches from the Edge (just released yesterday; it's fantastic so far), and seeing Movin' Out last night (we'll share our thoughts on the show in the next post), we went looking for a few alleycat-style bike races to satiate our growing interest in the foolhardy sport of urban cycling (we're the jackass weaving through traffic on the Bianchi Pista), and much to our pleased surprise, we found one in Boston this summer (July 15th, to be exact). The Legend of Zelda Replay Race looks to be a wicked good time:

it is your mission to free princess zelda! collect the 8 pieces of the triforce of wisdom and defeat gannon in his lair atop death mountain to free her from his grasp.

And it also looks like there are going to be some sweet prizes.

Technorati Tags: boston, cycling, alleycat, bike race

Popularity: 17%

Technorati Tags: boston, ben affleck, casey affleck, gone baby gone

Popularity: 18%

Technorati Tags: boston, old north church, photo

Popularity: 14%

We've had this discussion recently, and though we can't remember seeing it on the streets of Boston, we're pretty sure it could happen. Some people seem to think its a bit, ahh, weird, though. In a city, you see lots of people walking dogs, some big ones, but mostly little ones, and often multiple dogs with one human walker. Nobody seems to think twice about this, but for those cat people in the world, the question is raised: Is it acceptable to throw a leash (with a harness, please) on your kitty and take it out for a stroll? Obviously, there are a few things to consider, including the fact that cats are smaller and generally a bit more timid, so very busy streets and sidewalks should be avoided, at least in the begining stages of walking your cat.

But we leave it up to you, dear reader, to solve this conundrum for us:

Technorati Tags: boston, city, cat walking, leash, cat, dog

Popularity: 19%

According to a road rage statistics study recently released by AutoVantage, Boston's road rage ranks among the top five cities with the rudest drivers, and here at Puritan City we're disappointed in our fair city.

I mean, come on, only in the top 5? We couldn't beat out Miami? We have winter fer chrissakes, and our own monkier for bad drivers: do they call themselves Miami-holes down there? That doesn't even make sense. Boston practically invented bad driving, on these used-to-be-cowpath streets of ours, and this time next year we expect to see our contributions to the road rage arts duly recognized.

Technorati Tags: boston, rude driving, massholes

Popularity: 15%