Ghetto blasters

Neighbors are having a battle of the stereos this Memorial Day weekend. One is blasting (so loud that the neighbors two building over think it's too loud) reggaetone (which is fine in a club, not so fine in a home). Another is dueling with him, blaring merengue.
And they're in the same building, which is the one I happen to live in. Asking these guys to turn it down just results in ruffling their macho tailfeathers and seems to provoke some sort of pride ('my stereo is loudest' = 'I have the biggest penis').

I also feel compelled to say that, in all four years of college, I never had neighbors play such loud music.

Tags: music, volume, city life, Boston, JP, ghetto, annoying

How practical is practicality?

There are a bunch of things in my life right now that are merely practical. But they're not cutting it. I guess you might say that, in a way, I'm having 'quality of life' issues.

In fact, I'm really quite unhappy with the current state of things*.
Like the most unhappy I've been in a long time. I can't help but feel rootless, alone, and perturbed by how little I seem to have going for me. I imagine that on the surface it all looks OK, because I work to make it seem so. But it's not.

I'm not sure how or what to change.

Something's gotta give.



*I recognize that everyone has daily annoyances that can pile up- commute, paper cuts, telemarketers, etc... but that's not what I'm getting at here.

Tags: stress, life, feelings, emotions, everyday

What nice feet you have

Has the Rhode Island toe licker moved south?

Tags: fetish, desperation, feet, toes, crime

The power of HDTV

I now have a new appreciation (or fear) of the life-like quality that the zillion pixels in an HDTV set bring you. While surfing, I landed on a bodybuilding competition on one of the HD channels. I thought watching dog shows* or hockey games in HD was crazy.

Even the commentators (how do you get that job- piss off one of the big bosses at ESPN?) are referring to some of the competitors as "genetic freaks." Every last fake & baked, orange, tanorexic pec, lat, glut, bicep, trapezius, and deltoid right there in your face. Just imagine this dude coming at you in HD. I could even see that one guy's sparkly banana hammock was offset by a few inches, revealing more of his right butt check than he probably planned on, at least on national TV. When one guy poses, I can see the muscles in his face flex. I can see his nipples- they seem hard enough to crack my TV screen. And I can only tell that they're nipples because they are so pointy. These men have no areolae thanks to the fake tanning solution that I can see dripping off their oversized bodies. I can now see how much their penii have shrunk from the 'roids. How else would they fit in the banana hammocks? I had Ken dolls that were more well endowed than some of these guys.

While I took a break to watch Law & Order, there was some sort of tie for the Mr. Olympia championship. SO the five guys involved had a challeneg round, which concluded with a 'pose down.' I cannot stop watching. This is heavily-oiled, greasy train wreck TV.



* I am not a dog show person. However, I have become oddly fascinated by them in HD. I just can't turn away. Someone help me.

Tags: bodybuilding, HDTV, tan, muscles

Life lessons from BPD News

Didn't your parents teach you not to get in a car with a stranger? (Mine did).

Woman Robbed After Accepting Ride from Stranger

Officers responded to Blue Hill Avenue and Stratton Street last night at 3am for a report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, the officer spoke to the victim, a 39-year-old Roxbury woman, who stated that an unknown black man offered her a ride while she was waiting for a cab. She accepted the ride and as they were commuting, the suspect pulled out a gun and robbed the victim of 10 dollars. He then made her exit his white Chevrolet Caprice and fled the scene. The victim refused medical attention.

Tags: crime, Boston, city life, stupidity

Living a 'Jetsons' life, sort of

Roommate got a Roomba. I've nicknames it Rosie, after the robot maid on The Jetsons. Not if only it could do dishes....

Tags: robots, the future, cleaning, home

Grey's Anatomy

If you were Meredith Grey, who would you choose- McDreamy (chemistry, intensity, connection) or McVet (safe, adorable, accessible)?

(Who'd have thought that the actor who plays Alex Karev has 5 kids!)

Tags: TV, media, season finale

The sound of sirens

There was a firehouse at the edge of the condo complex where I grew up. My childhood home was also down the street from a hospital. The police department was another two minutes down the road. I used to follow the firemen around on my bike, watching them run drills (there was very rarely a real fire to attend to, other than the random, errant BBQ grill). Sirens are nothing new to me. Car alarms blaring in the night bug me, but an fire truck screaming by doesn't phase me too much (in fact, I can usually tell if a truck is a fire truck or not by the way it sounds while idling). They become background noise. Unless they begin to multiply.

I've been noticing sirens lately. More than usual.

They tend to be mainly police sirens, with occasional ambulances and fire trucks thrown into the mix. All this (mainly) citizen information gathering is making me more aware of just what those sirens might've been for. And how close they might be to home.

Such a contrast to the suburban town where I spend my days as a wage slave. The police spend noontime making sure that no one obstructs the crosswalks in the center of town.

Tags: Boston, life, crime, city, police, noise

Boston Eats: BarLola

Finally, a restaurant that lived up to its hype. I went to BarLola last night. The setting was wonderful- they have the nicest drop ceiling that I've ever seen. As I learned from the nice man who showed us to our table the restaurant is located in the old Hotel Vendome- scene of a terrible fire many years ago that left several firefighters dead.
The waiter was knowledgeable, prompt, and polite (but not overly polite). And the drinks were amazing! There are many times that you pay for a fancy drink in a martini glass and feel that you've been overcharged and are just paying for ambiance or something, but that was not the case here. I highly recommend the Lolita.
And the food was wonderful and creative. I'd tried another tapas place a week or two ago, where the food was good and filling but didn't leave me craving another visit there. Not like the food here. I can't wait until the next time I can have the Gambas Rebozadas and the Palmeritos.

Finally, a restaurant that lived up to its hype. The setting was wonderful- they have the nicest drop ceiling that I've ever seen. As I learned from the nice man who showed us to our table the restaurant is located in the old Hotel Vendome- scene of a terrible fire many years ago that left several firefighters dead.
The waiter was knowledgeable, prompt, and polite (but not overly polite). And the drinks were amazing! There are many times that you pay for a fancy drink in a martini glass and feel that you've been overcharged and are just paying for ambiance or something, but that was not the case here. I highly recommend the Lolita.
And the food was wonderful and creative. I'd tried another tapas place a week or two ago, where the food was good and filling but didn't leave me craving another visit there. Not like the food here. I can't wait until the next time I can have the Gambas Rebozadas and the Palmeritos.

Followup- I had my birthday celebration here in April. They were very accomodating, espcially when the group before us overstayed their welcome in the lounge that I'd reserved. The staff did what they could to politely shoo the group out and offered us some sangria for our 20 minutes of trouble.

Tags: food, Boston, city

Congressmen Who Go Bump in the Night

Patrick Kennedy crashes his car in Washington DC.

"Congressmen Who Go Bump in the Night"

The headline just writes itself, doesn't it?

Tags: politics, cars, sleeping pills, addiction, confusion, Rhode Island

The Rock

Just got an email- another friend of mine from the college days is engaged. Is this like an epidemic or something?

Tags: weddings, rings, rocks, marriage

A trip down Mass. Ave

Stop #1- Boston

Good drinks. Accommodating hostess.

Got there at around 8pm on a Friday and it was kind of busy. The hostess was pleasant and our wait in the bar only lasted about 7 minutes. Our first drinks were good- I had the Bubbletini and K had the Pink Panther. Our water was always filled. The waiter, who looked like Carson from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, was rather accommodating. But he had an odd habit on standing behind either K or I, hovering quietly, until the point where we would sort get that feeling like someone is watching you over your shoulder. The flavor of the food was very intense. My mini cheeseburger had a strong peppery taste, like the chef had accidentally spilled the entire pepper shaker into the meat. It also came complete with ketchup AND mustard on it, which the menu said nothing about. I HATE mustard on burgers- I don’t understand it, or think it tastes good. And this was not McDonalds, but a nice restaurant. I feel like the menu should warn that it comes with both. If I’m paying that much for a small burger, I want to know what goes on it.

K’s tuna burger was good (better than the last time she was there). She also had a veggie burger, which tasted way better than anything Morningstar Farms puts out. Our Gingery Chicken Satay did not arrive with the burgers. We had to remind the staff that we’d ordered it. And it was Gingery! The flavor of Gingery Chicken Satay was hijacked by the intensity of the ginger. It needed to be dunked into lots of peanut sauce to mask that overpowering root flavor present in the dish.

Our waiter was very accommodating when I didn’t like my second drink, the Toasted Coconut (waaaay too sweet). We would’ve preferred that our old glasses be removed from the table, as they left us little room for much else.

I don't think I'll be returning there for food anytime soon.

As for teh bar area- a suggestion- put coat hooks underneath the bar so patrons have someplace to rest their jackets and bags.



Stop #2- Cambridge

After dinner at Match, K and I ventured over to Tavern in the Square in Cambridge, where yummy drinks and friendly bartenders awaited us.

Even though there was a basketball game going on (which seemed to be a somewhat important one), we did not feel like we were in a sports bar. These sports fans were quite civilized, much to our enjoyment. I’m not opposed to getting excited over a big game, but some people take it to a scary level.

I do not totally understand what the owners are trying to do with the Wish/Tavern setup. Wish seemed more like just another room in the place than a separate entity. However, I liked the drinks and can’t wait to go back and try the food at Tavern in the Square.

Tags: food, eating, drinking, Boston, Cambridge, restaurant, bar

I wouldn't be here if not for immigration

Immigration took center stage today as people all over the country, including here in Boston, took to the streets to protest immigration-related issues. I am a first/second generation American (a 1.5?). I put it that way because my dad was born here, while my mom was born right after the war in what is now the Czech Republic (her parents were from present-day Slovakia). Her parents and sister survived the Holocaust and then moved to the U.S. with their two young daughters. My grandfather often spoke proudly of being up on deck, holding my mom (who was maybe a year old), watching the State of Liberty come into view as the boat pulled into NY Harbor. My grandparents knew several languages-Czech, German, Hungarian, Yiddish and a little bit of Russian. They moved to southern NJ, in a community made up mostly of Eastern European refugees like themselves, where my grandfather's sister (his only relative not killed in the war) lived. They became citizens, learned English, sent their two daughters to college, and after many years of hard work, retired to the NY suburbs (about a mile or two from where I grew up). They assimilated, without giving up their Judaism, their Eastern European foods, or their beloved language of Yiddish. My dad's family came through Ellis Island at the turn of the 20th century, also hailing from Eastern Europe. If it weren't for immigration (and the brave soldiers who fought in WWII), I wouldn't be here.


Roommate (who teaches at an inner-city school north of Boston) was telling me about how his students who are immigrants have filed the appropriate papers to become full and legal citizens. They have taken ESL classes and, in some cases, speak better English than some of the students who are 'native' speakers. I admire people like that. I have no problem with immigration, but I get frustrated when I hear about immigrants to this country, legal or otherwise, who don't make that effort to learn English. It's frustrating for all involved, no matter what their native tongue might be. If I went on a vacation to another country, say France, I'd make the effort to learn some key phrases in that language spoken there.

Tags: immigration, English, politics, America