British filmmaker Peter Yates, who sent Steve McQueen screeching through the streets of San Francisco in a Ford Mustang in "Bullitt," has died at the age of 81.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/01/10/international/i070131S96.DTL#ixzz1AgI2ltnX
Peter Yates filmed what many believe to be the greatest movie ever filmed in Boston - THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE.
Yates used early 1970's Boston which was a much grittier city than today. The bar that was a centerpiece in the movie was the old Kentucky Tavern on Massachusetts Avenue in the Back Bay which today is a Best Buy.
My favorite scene was filmed at the Boston Garden during a game with arch-rival Chicago. Yates did something unheard of at the time where he had Robert Mitchum and peter Boyle in the stands during the game. he used hand hand cameras and wireless mics and the fans you see behind them were not extras, they were real Bruins fans watching the game and oblivious to the fact a movie was being filmed.
The movie was finally released for home video just a couple of years ago and it is worth watching. Here are some clips and the trailer.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
FEBRUARY 8th could be more than just TRUCK DAY :)
As all Red Sox fans know TRUCK DAY is scheduled to be February 8th, 2011
February 8th is a Tuesday and there is a chance there might be some other activity in the Back Bay on that day......
So would the Red Sox truck lead the parade?
GO PATRIOTS!!!!!!!!!
THE SONS OF BILLY SULLIVAN
February 8th is a Tuesday and there is a chance there might be some other activity in the Back Bay on that day......
So would the Red Sox truck lead the parade?
GO PATRIOTS!!!!!!!!!
THE SONS OF BILLY SULLIVAN
Beacon Hill 'leadership' just throws finger at us
I seldom agree with Howie Carr but he certainly nailed it with his column today in the Sunday Herald.
Current speaker Bob DeLeo invited all the living past House Speakers to see the latest version of the lower house of the Great and General Court be sworn in. Given what has come out in recent weeks with the probation department one would think the last thing he would want to do is remind the voters and media of the recent past of House leadership.
Wednesday’s State House swearing-in ceremony united three former House speakers — Thomas Finneran (left), Sal DiMasi (back row) and David Bartley (right). Boston Herald photo by Ted Fitzgerald
Obviously the Massachusetts House of Representatives is a political body in need of a serious overhaul. But how on earth to we fix it?
Massachusetts politics is a joke but sadly the joke is on us.
Let's take a look at the men who have been speaker since 1958 and what happened to them.
Current speaker Bob DeLeo invited all the living past House Speakers to see the latest version of the lower house of the Great and General Court be sworn in. Given what has come out in recent weeks with the probation department one would think the last thing he would want to do is remind the voters and media of the recent past of House leadership.
Obviously the Massachusetts House of Representatives is a political body in need of a serious overhaul. But how on earth to we fix it?
Massachusetts politics is a joke but sadly the joke is on us.
Let's take a look at the men who have been speaker since 1958 and what happened to them.
- John Forbes "Iron Duke" Thompson - Thompson resigned as speaker in 1964 following a bribery indictment. He died before the case was resolved.Thompson Hall, a center for social and behavioral science classrooms and offices at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is named after him.
- John Francis Xavier "Jack" Davoren - resigned from the House to run for Secretary of the Commonwealth and was elected replacing Kevin White who would become Mayor of Boston.
- Robert H. Quinn - he wasn't speaker long as he was appointed Attorney General to replace Elliott Richardson who went to Washington to serve in the Nixon administration.
- David Michael Bartley - who served 3 terms than resigned to become the President of Holyoke Community College where he served for 29 years before cashing out in 2004.
- Thomas William McGee - speaker for 5 terms and was ousted as Speaker in a rare leadership fight.
- George Keverian - he was an advocate for greater openness in leadership, free speech and government reform. He left the post, and state politics, in 1991, after losing the Democratic party primary for Massachusetts State Treasurer. He died in 2009.
- Charles F. Flaherty - In 1996, Flaherty agreed to plead guilty to felony tax evasion for submitting false receipts regarding his business expenses. In addition, he also admitted to civil violations of state conflict of interest law for receiving free vacation housing from lobbyists.
- Thomas M. Finneran - After serving the Boston neighborhoods of Dorchester, Mattapan and Hyde Park, as well as the town of Milton as state representative for 26 years, he resigned his seat and accepted the position of President of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, which he subsequently resigned from in 2007 after a guilty plea to criminal obstruction of justice, in a court case about his testimony about his influence and participation in the redistricting process following the 2000 census. In February 2007, he joined WRKO, a talk radio station in Boston, where he co-hosts the morning drive slot. He continues to reside in Mattapan in his former district.
- Salvatore F. "Sal" DiMasi - He eventually resigned from this post in January of 2009, just six months prior to being indicted on several Federal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the federal government, extortion, mail fraud and wire fraud. DiMasi is the third consecutive Massachusetts house speaker to be federally indicted. His trial is scheduled for later this year.
- Robert A. DeLeo - current speaker but under attack.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Tax Break To Widen BULLPEN???? Fenway Park snafu smells more rotten than Boston Harbor
On Thursday the Boston Herald ran a story saying that the Red Sox have for now postponed a proposal to widen the bullpens in right field and thus move in the fences.
The story explains why
I was over at Fenway last week and the park is a beehive of activity as major work is being done to the grandstand in right field and the videoboard above the bleachers is being replaced with a new larger HD model.
BUT...
In the scheme of things I would thing simplay widening the bullpen would not be that expensive as it would be not much more than moving in the fences. The Red Sox need a tax break for that?
The old video board is now history and they are starting to install the new framework for the new HD boards.
The structure for the previous board was built after the 1975 World Series and the board was updated twice - it became color in 1988 and then replaced with a new model in 2001.
Notice the Ford and Dunkin' Donuts signs are gone for now as is the John Hancock sign which will return.
Seriously - A tax break for a new bullpen????
Anyhow - TRUCK DAY is one month away (February 8th)
Of course looking ahead - that is the Tuesday after the final NFL Game of the season will be played in Arlington, Texas - so could Truck Day meet a Duck Boat Parade?
The story explains why
But the Red Sox struck out with the Massachusetts Historical Commission , which determined the project would not score a special tax break.
Historical Commission director Brona Simon said in a letter to the Red Sox that widening the bullpen fails to meet the eligibility criteria for federal historic rehabilitation standards. As a result, she wrote, the Sox would not win tax credits.
I was over at Fenway last week and the park is a beehive of activity as major work is being done to the grandstand in right field and the videoboard above the bleachers is being replaced with a new larger HD model.
BUT...
In the scheme of things I would thing simplay widening the bullpen would not be that expensive as it would be not much more than moving in the fences. The Red Sox need a tax break for that?
The old video board is now history and they are starting to install the new framework for the new HD boards.
The structure for the previous board was built after the 1975 World Series and the board was updated twice - it became color in 1988 and then replaced with a new model in 2001.
Notice the Ford and Dunkin' Donuts signs are gone for now as is the John Hancock sign which will return.
Seriously - A tax break for a new bullpen????
Anyhow - TRUCK DAY is one month away (February 8th)
Of course looking ahead - that is the Tuesday after the final NFL Game of the season will be played in Arlington, Texas - so could Truck Day meet a Duck Boat Parade?
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Memo to MBTA GM Rich Davey - Please re-open Bowdoin Station FULL TIME
Bowdoin Station overview - Wikipedia
Bowdoin Station is the forgotten orphan of the Boston subway system. It is the downtown terminus of the Blue Line and some 30 years ago the station became a Monday-Friday station and closes at 6:30 PM. The reason given at the time was the T said it could no longer afford a token seller there at night due to budget cutbacks but it would reopen the station in a few months.
They also said the A Line (Watertown) would only be temporarly suspended in 1969.
About 5 years ago the T said Bowdoin would close forever when Government Center was remodeled and that would occur in 2009. Well as we all know not much has changed at Government Center and given how long the State Street remodel on the Orange and Blue line has taken we can assume it may be awhile. I am willing to wager we will see Green Line service to Somerville and Medford before Government Center is renovated. My hunch is the T is waiting to see what may or may not happen to Boston City Hall before breaking ground.
I am asking in the meantime reopen the station for fulltime service. With the Charlie Card/Ticket system it would be pretty much like Symphony and Prudential on the Green Line. The trains have to go through the station anyways to turn around.
Since the station was shuttered, nearby Massachusetts General Hospital has expanded, and there is more foot traffic on Cambridge Street itself.
All I am asking is try it for six months and see if there is a demand now that wasn't there 30 years ago.
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