Bitching about Boston

Boston Tree Lighting on Boston Common

Be there for the oohs and ahs when the light switch is flipped for Boston's official holiday tree, a 45-foot white spruce from Nova Scotia.

The tree won't be the only source of light at the annual festivities. After a show featuring "The Voice" contestant James Massone,
Nova Scotia band The Squid, the Boston Arts Academy, and a visit from the Grinch.

Pyrospectaculars Inc. will make things bright with a special pyrotechnic display.

Nov. 29, 6-8 p.m. Free. Boston Common

http://www.boston.com/thingstodo/gotoit/2012/11/boston_common_t.html

Holiday Lights is on WCVB The Boston Channel
No pre-corded for Boston, this year. The lights will be on!
(But, not Cambridge ?) Hang in there!

Dancing Bear!

Too kinky for Harvard University ? Club for everything, and everybody ?

Hijacked plane lands in Boston
Delta Air Lines Flight 841
DC-8
July 31, 1972

"The plane flew to Miami where the 86 hostage-held passengers (i.e. 94 minus 8) were released in exchange for $1 million in ransom.
The plane was then flown on to Boston where it refueled before flying to Algeria."

September 26, 2012
George Wright was arrested, but set free. He has new citizenship. Will not be extradited.
(December 1, 2012- CBS TV reports George Wright is on the move. Too much attention ?)

"Ann Patterson, Walter's daughter, is certainly not willing to pardon Wright. Her father's funeral was three days before her 15th birthday.
"I just wanted him to sit up and tell us everything was going to be all right," she remembers thinking. Her mother, shattered by the crime,
died a year later, leaving Ann and her younger sister orphans.

Until Wright's arrest, she never told her own children how their grandfather died.

She cannot go to a gas station- The event comes back to her too vividly.

July 31, 1973, a Delta Airlines DC-9 crashed into the seawall at Logan Airport while attempting to land, and fell short
of the runway. 89 people tragically lost their lives.

March 17, 1970, the first death caused by air piracy in U.S. history took place in Massachusetts air space.
James Hartley lost his life in an effort to protect the passengers and crew aboard Flight 1320

There were so many jets that were hijacked, when I was younger.

Comcast is putting the bite on cable TV customers. You must have a box to de-scramble the signal.
Basic customer, or higher tier, it does not matter. The days of connecting the cable directly to your
TV, is over. One box for a year, free. You must go to your local Comcast building and pick one up.

Welcome to the digital age.

Dec 06, 2012

Dr. Timothy Johnson retires after 40 years with WCVB TV Boston

Johnson held joint positions in medicine at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
He joined WCVB-TV at its inception in 1972 as the host of "House Call", a half-hour, Emmy Award-winning
series on health.

Johnson’s early work at WCVB-TV captured the attention of ABC News, where he served as the network’s long-time medical editor,
providing on-air analysis and reporting for "World News Tonight", "Nightline", "20/20" and "Good Morning America".

http://www.wcvb.com/health/Dr-Timot...17676804/-/l63o1lz/-/index.html?absolute=true

I'm just going to go ahead and assume this thread is about the shitty band Boston.


They suck. The end.

December 7, 2012

"....once again, Jacobs can't seem to get out of his own way."

"Indeed, according to some reports, Jacobs was prepared to get up and leave the negotiating table on Wednesday night,
at which point other voices intervened and cooler heads prevailed. At least for a succession of hours. Ultimately, of course,
NHL owners and players pushed apart on Thursday night, unable to agree even on what they had agreed upon in an
avalanche of words and finger pointing."

"In the process, they unknowingly joined forces."

"And they spit directly in your face."

http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/massarotti/2012/12/bettman_fehr_piloting_sinking.html

gsgs comment- *sigh*

PS- Is Boston the only city, where they say friggin' ?

Mistrial....
GOP caught doing naughty things. tsk tsk

"The Curse of the Bambino"

In a controversial deal with the New York Yankees, Ruth was sold for $100,000.00

Ruth wanted an increase in his salary following the 1919 season, but Frazee refused to pay him
and decided to trade his star player. Finding a team to make a deal was a problem as Frazee had
only two options in the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees. The White Sox offered the
Red Sox "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and $60,000 for Ruth. The Yankees offered the Red Sox $100,000
in cash.

Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees on Dec. 26, 1919. Frazee
received $25,000 up front along with three promissory notes of $25,000 each at six percent interest.
Frazee also received a loan for $300,000 against the mortgage of Fenway Park as collateral.

The deal was eventually known as the "Curse of the Bambino," as the Red Sox wouldn't win another
World Series title until 2004. It was claimed that Ruth was sold to the Yankees in order for Frazee to
finance "No, No, Nanette" on Broadway. According to author Leigh Montville, who wrote "The Big Bam:
The Life and Times of Babe Ruth," he discovered that "No, No, Nannette" was indeed financed by the
sale of Ruth to the Yankees.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/bio/_/id/27035/babe-ruth

More to this story-

First, it must be said that virtually every assumption that underlies "the Curse" is factually incorrect. Frazee
was neither a failure in the theater nor ever broke. Neither did he use the proceeds of the sale to finance his
play "No, No, Nanette" or any other. In fact, Frazee was actually one of Broadway's grand success stories.

Harry Frazee bought the Red Sox from Joseph Lannin in November of 1916, American League president
Ban Johnson wanted him out.

In the summer of 1919 everything came to a head when Red Sox star pitcher Carl Mays jumped the club.
Johnson wanted Frazee to suspend Mays. Instead, Frazee sold him to Yankees owners Jacob Ruppert
and Cap Huston, who were angry with Johnson for not living up to a promise to help them get some
players for their moribund franchise.

Everybody went to court as Johnson tried to block the deal and prevent the Yankees from playing Mays.

Lannin and Frazee argued over who was responsible for Boston's $30,000 share of the legal settlement
with the Federal League -- in protest, Frazee had stopped making his payments on the team. Lannin
threatened to take Frazee to court and slap a lien on him. To protect his largest asset, the Red Sox,
Frazee began a series of maneuvers to ensure that no matter what Johnson or Lannin did, they wouldn't
be able to force him to dispose of his ballclub.

In the spring of 1920 the war with Johnson turned increasingly bitter. The New York courts had backed Frazee
and the Yankees at every turn, but now Lannin decided to take advantage of the situation. Lannin slapped a lien
on Frazee's Massachusetts holdings, legally preventing Frazee from "disposing of any more of the playing assets,"
and threatening to sell his shares of the Fenway Realty Trust.

The Deal

Lannin had Frazee over a barrel -- he couldn't make trades or buy Fenway without Lannin's OK. So Frazee settled.
Both parties agreed to a stipulation that in essence meant that Frazee would complete his payments to Lannin for the
Red Sox if Lannin would agree to pay the Federal League bill and allow Frazee to go ahead with his purchase of Fenway.

....Frazee wasn't finished. Within weeks he "flipped" the property, secretly securing a loan of $350,000 from Jacob Ruppert
and the Yankees, using a second mortgage on Fenway Park as collateral. In effect, the Yankees now owned Fenway Park.

Blocked from getting Frazee, Johnson now turned his ire toward the Yankees. He was nearly as eager to be rid of Ruppert
and Huston as he was of Frazee, for the Yankees had been Boston's partner in the Mays deal and had taken Boston's side
in the resulting legal battle.

The Yankees, without a ballpark of their own, leased the Polo Grounds from the Giants. In 1920 they were outdrawing
their landlords for the first time. Johnson sensed an opportunity.

In mid-May of 1920, Johnson approached Giants owner Charles Stoneham and urged him to throw the Yankees out on their ear.
That would leave Ruppert's Yankees homeless in 1921 and Johnson could force a sale. Johnson even promised Stoneham he could
handpick the new owner.

But neither Johnson nor Stoneham yet knew that the Yankees would soon have a place to play -- Fenway Park.

Without explanation at the time, Stoneham suddenly got cold feet. He knew that if the Yankees left New York, he would be
stuck without a tenant and made to look like the bad guy, the guy who'd forced the greatest player in the game out of town.
Stoneham tossed Johnson aside and agreed to renew the Yankees' lease.

And for the second time, Boston lost Babe Ruth.

http://static.espn.go.com/mlb/s/2002/0718/1407265.html

1975

The last time, that the Boston Bruins had any fun ?

"Bruins fans can show their disapproval of the Jacobs-led NHL lockout by canceling season tickets, switching to the AHL
or college hockey instead of the local NHL product, or simply changing the channel when the games come back.
For business mavens like Jacobs, that is the only language they understand."

"Jacobs owns the TD Garden so they could skip the circus, swear off concerts at the Garden, and even victimize the Celtics
as innocent bystanders in the House that Jacobs Built."

December 14, 2012

The NHL immediately responded by filing a Class Action lawsuit against the NHLPA in New York Federal Court seeking a
Declaration confirming the ongoing legality of the lockout. With the filing of the complaint the NHL also filed an Unfair
Labor Practice Charge with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that by threatening to “disclaim interest” the
NHLPA has engaged in unlawful subversion of the collective bargaining process and conduct that constitutes bad faith
bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act.

December 15, 2012

NEW YORK -- The NHL Players' Association moved one step closer to disbanding the union with a preliminary vote
toward disclaiming interest, and the NHL responded with a pre-emptive strike of its own as the two sides appear
to be headed for what could be a nasty court battle.

Upon learning the NHLPA's executive board voted Thursday night potentially to dissolve the union, the NHL filed a class-action
complaint in federal court as well as a Unfair Labor Practice Charge with the National Labor Relations Board.

Dec 15th, 2012

Antitrust lawsuit ?

A tiny fraction of football fans gained attention, by using words that showed them to be jerks.
They attention whored on twitter. The definition of being macho (for jerks) means that they
have a football where their hearts should be, and a beer can replaces the brains in their skulls.

The Sunday Night Football broadcast on NBC was moved to CNBC and the NBC Sports Network.
The game returned to its regular channel after the president’s vigil speech from Newtown.

Moments of silence around NFL for shooting victims
December 17, 2012

The Patriots, the closest team to Newtown that played at home on Sunday, wore a helmet sticker
with the city seal and a black ribbon on it; the cheerleaders and mascot wore black armbands.

"....the Patriots scored in the 41-31 loss to San Francisco,

"the [1776 End Zone Militia ] soldiers in the End Zone Militia clapped their empty hands like the rest of the crowd."

‘‘Out of respect for those that were killed, we were asked yesterday not to fire the muskets, which we all agreed with.’’

The memory of the Connecticut school shooting was still too fresh for the sight of firearms and the smell of gunpowder.

Before the game, the public address announcer asked for silence while 26 flares were sent into the air.

Teams and fans all across the nation showed respect, concern, sympathy and acknowledgement for the victims and survivors,
parents, relatives, and townspeople of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

http://www.boston.com/sports/footba...ing-victims/o9068g0FgSuUpCY2avcXNP/story.html

It is official. Just saw this on TV, minutes ago-

Obama made the announcement.

Nominating Sen. John Kerry as next Sec. of State

http://www.wcvb.com/news/politics/O...ate/-/9848766/17864398/-/wn5gigz/-/index.html

is all about NEW YORK here.

LiFeNdEaTh said:

is all about NEW YORK here.

Click to expand...

I was a big fan of "Boston Legal"...

This is Massachusetts. The decorations would look incomplete without snow.
This Christmas was decorated a tasteful minimum amount of snow.
Powdered sugar sprinkled on everything. Just a light dusting.
New tech toys ? All the pics sent, let their locations be known.
Is there an app for that ? Does it look like fake snow ?
(Boston does not have little lizards, or bugs the size of your foot!)

The Zakim Bridge is lit up in red and green. There is a light show at Fenway. Faneuil Hall's trees look pretty.

December 14, 2012

Relighting of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge-

The $150,000 investment allows MassDOT to light the Bridge towers in a more dramatic blue, but the technology
also lets MassDOT create custom colors remotely, with the push of a button.

The LED lighting solution from Burlington-based Philips Color Kinetics uses high-bandwidth, bi-directional,
Ethernet speed data transmission to enable the full range of dynamic, color-changing effects.

“This dynamic, eye-catching bridge, with its dynamic LED lights, once again serves as a beacon of light for Boston
residents, neighbors and visitors,” said Jeff Cassis, general manager of Philips Color Kinetics.

Fenway Park Winter Light Show
Monday, Dec 24, 2012 4:00p

Fenway Park Boston, MA

For a limited engagement, the fabled Green Monster comes alive to music and lights.
Experience this spectacular display of illumination at “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark”.

Through February 28,2013. Available daily on the 4p.m., 5p.m. and 6p.m. tours.

http://calendar.boston.com/boston_m...fenway-park-winter-light-show#dates_and_times

It was gift card day, in Boston. I have not received a gift card, since 10 years ago.

The Great Storm of December 2012 visits Boston

This morning I was greeted with a the landscape, that is decorated with a dusting of sugar.
It is cold. The cardinal is all fluffed up, and sunbathing.

New England felt just like Olde England, on Thursday. Cold wind, that changed direction after each
strong, hard gust. Heavy downpour, that lasted for hours. Floods- high enough to float cars.

It seems strange to me, that Britain suffered the same stormy weather conditions, a week ago.
Our "villages" had the same kind of dangerous gales and terrible rains.

http://www.bostonstandard.co.uk/news/national-news/heavy-rain-forecast-to-continue-1-4603868

I thought it was another test. But no, it was a snow announcement.

This is an example of why my local television stations were forced to accept and
install FCC-certified EAS decoders and encoders at their control points ?

I miss the Emergency Broadcast System. Emergency Alert System ? pbbttt!

Logan Airport breaks passenger record
12/26/2012

For the second straight year, Logan International Airport has posted a new passenger record
with 29 million travelers passing through the Boston airport.

The airport will mark the occasion Wednesday afternoon by welcoming the 29th million traveler,
who is expected to depart on a United Airlines flight.
The airport’s previous passenger record was set in 2011 when 28.9 million travelers flew in and
out of Logan.

This year’s record follows expanded service and new routes from the airlines that fly at Logan, such as
nonstop service to Tokyo via Japan Airlines.

But as passenger numbers at Logan climb, other New England airports are losing travelers. T.F. Green Airport
in Rhode Island recorded 3.3 million travelers, through November, down 6.4 percent from the previous year.

About 2.2 million passengers have traveled through Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire
as of November, down 9.4 percent from the previous year.

http://www.boston.com/businessupdat...nger-record/HBlDj3x8EISfVJANZuuQ2N/story.html

Softly murmuring wind. The moon is gently shining, behind a nearly sheer wisp of cloud.
Postcard perfect New England snowy woodland. The branches look delicate in their
soft snow coats.

Would not trade its worth, for a hundred rock and roll songs.

My drive way is the one with the big white heart outlined in black, beside it.
Inside the heart is the word L O V E. And a little white heart,
outlined in black.

Now the cute little heart outline, within a larger heart outline, has what appears to be blood splatters, on it. (fake blood)

We are in a quiet but cold weather pattern with some bitter mornings on the way.

It is frick'n cold out there, this morning.

Today is mostly to partly sunny with highs in the mid 30's. Winds will be a bit gusty from the west.
With increasing clouds, and a little bit of wind, it will not be as cold tonight. Temperatures will be
in the upper 20's around midnight. Overnight lows hold in the mid 20's.

The first day of 2013 is mostly sunny with a gusty west wind. Temperatures will reach the mid 30's during the day.

Colder air moves in late Tuesday, allowing temperatures to fall into the teens overnight.

http://www.wcvb.com/weather/Storm-T...Blog/-/9850416/12864632/-/fvd206/-/index.html

37th Boston’s First Night ( wow I am an old wench!)

Boston was readied for an estimated one million people taking part in Boston’s First Night celebration.

It will be cold enough for the ice sculptures to stay frozen. But, this year reminds of the year that My Ogre Husband
and I had a sleeping bag, a thermous full of hot drink, snacks, and a stone wall to shield us from the wind, and
we still shivered at midnight. Was worth it, though. Spectacular fireworks. There are hotel rooms on the water,
so you can watch in comfort.

Party at Boston Public Library- DJ music Doing the countdown soon! yay WBZ- TV Local coverage