Bitching about Boston

[gotsnowgotslush]

WHDH-TV, which signed on the air on November 26, 1957
It was originally an ABC affiliate, but switched to CBS in 1961
Boston Broadcasters, won a construction permit to build a new station on channel 5 under the callsign of WCVB-TV
WHDH-TV signed off for the last time on March 18, 1972, and was replaced by the new WCVB

(During the 80s and 90s the television stations changed what had stood, for my lifetime. I always knew what to expect from three basic channels. Until they changed everything. We had UHF and VHF.)

WCVB-TV was the first television station in southern New England to run a 24-hour program schedule.

The station ran a programming block from 1:00 to 5:00 a.m., branded as 5 All Night, which featured a library of older black-and-white movies and a few recent syndicated programs.

During station breaks, announcer George Fennel (who never made an on-camera appearance during the block) would make live announcements and read fan mail from the viewing audience, as various 5 All Night logo backdrops were displayed on-screen. (There were trivia games, and guests.)

Lord Byron in Exile, our deceased brother, reminds me of George Fennel.
Byron was here in the GB at late, odd hours, like George Fennel was in MA.
They both always had tidbits to share, music to share and covered
a wide vista of subjects. They had their moods, but they mostly were
a friendly voice in the night.

Only Noor knows, if Byron had a deep, smooth, relaxed voice,
like George Fennel had.

George Fennel brought his acoustic guitar out, once in awhile.


On youtube

FIVE ALL NIGHT WITH GEORGE FENNELL

(The videotape recording has deteriorated. His voice is distorted.)

FIVE ALL NIGHT WITH GEORGE FENNELL

"Uncle" George Fennell, Fireside's fabulous entertainment guru was known to thousands of TV night owls as the mellow-voiced, shadowy star of Chanel Five's "Five All Night." You will love his thoughtful and entertaining reviews.

http://www.firesideradioshow.com/

 

[Noor]

Byron did indeed have a deep, smooth, relaxed voice, this was his main voice.
Like me, he had several voices depending on the situation and context.

I have 6 voicemails of his saved on my phone, and a couple videos, which they have a variety of his voices on them.
I listen to his voicemails in times of stress when I need to calm down like before MRIs.

He offered to record himself reading Euripides for me and I regret telling him no because if he had I would have hours of his voice to listen to before I go to sleep.
As it is I listen to a combination of his music and music we enjoyed when I was falling asleep.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Severe weather alert
large hail
strong winds
dangerous thunderstorm

Pelham
Amherst
New Salem

Now!

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Ware, MA is on the list
Strong and frequent lightning
Downpours
flooding

The National Weather Service in Taunton has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for...
east central Hampshire County in western Massachusetts...
west central Worcester County in central Massachusetts...
southeastern Franklin County in western Massachusetts...

* until 715 PM EDT

* at 643 PM EDT... Doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm
capable of producing quarter size hail and damaging winds in excess
of 60 mph. This storm was located over Pelham... or near Amherst...
and was moving east at 20 mph.

* Some locations impacted include...
Amherst... Belchertown... Ware... Granby... Hardwick... Shutesbury...
Pelham... Petersham... New Braintree and New Salem.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Noor!

Thanks for speaking up.
I imagined a pleasant voice,
when I read his posts.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

SEPT 11TH GEOMAGNETIC STORM:

During the early hours of Sept. 11th, a high-speed solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field.

The impact sparked a strong (Kp=7) geomagnetic storm and Northern Lights in the USA as far south as Wisconsin and Washington State. In Alaska, "the entire sky was moving like sea waves in colors of green and purple," reports aurora tour guide Marketa Murray

Fairbanks?


NOAA forecasters estimate a 55% chance of geomagnetic storms on Sept. 11-12 as the solar wind continues to blow.


http://www.spaceweather.com/

5 Million Degree Tornado Swirls on the Sun

weather.com

Posted: Sep 11 2015 05:30 AM EDT
Updated: Sep 11 2015 08:11 AM EDT

It's a tornado on the Sun! Meteorologist Danielle Banks takes a look at this extraordinary NASA video of a plume of superheated plasma churning on the sun.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

"...no manipulation by any individual..."
"...electrical issue..."
- NFL

Patriots spokesman Stacey James explained to me during the game that both teams were having interference “bleed” into their communications.

The coaches’ communications equipment, including the headsets, is provided by the NFL for both clubs use on game day. Once the power issue was addressed, the equipment functioned properly with no additional problems.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick

“I think it’s just sad commentary and it’s gone to a pretty low level. It’s sunk pretty deep,” Belichick said, breaking his silence on the “Deflategate” scandal and an ESPN report last week citing 90 sources around the league – many of them anonymous, and many of them suspicious of the Patriots’ techniques.

“To take away from what those teams accomplished … it’s just not right,” Belichick said.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Shooting at Portland and Main, not the MIT campus.
A woman in her mid-20s was shot in the leg on Portland Street, off Main Street, according to Cambridge police spokesman Jeremy Warnick.
It happened close to the Carribean carnival.

I would guess that someone wanted to warn the students, but the message became garbled.

Tornado Alley East is expecting floods, torrential rain.
Someone is due for a hit on the dartboard.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Mixed feelings, about the premiere of Black Mass film.
Horrible for the families of the victims.


Johnny Depp and Benedict Cumberbatch sightings! *swoon*

Why they have chosen the sweet, charming, small, retro theatre for the premiere, is a puzzler.

(I really wish that someone else had taken the Bulger roles. They are portraying people that I dislike, on an intense level.)


It will cause snarls, but plenty of bonkers events have done the same, before this.

Tuesday’s premiere at the Coolidge will also mean road closures and parking restrictions in Brookline. The Brookline Police Department is advising people to plan ahead and choose another travel route from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Starting at 5:30 p.m., the following roads will be closed:

Harvard Street northbound, from Green Street to Babcock Street
Harvard Street southbound at William Street
Parking will be restricted at:

Harvard Street between Beacon and Babcock streets (both sides of street)
Green Street from Harvard Street to John Street
Babcock Street from Harvard Street to John Street
Large Centre Street parking lot will be closed all day
The MBTA 66 bus heading toward Allston will not be impacted, but the 66 toward Brookline Village will be rerouted using detours.

Bus 66 toward Brookline Village will be rerouted using detours.

http://m.brookline.wickedlocal.com/article/20150911/NEWS/150918567

http://www.wbur.org/2015/09/15/black-mass-brookline-premiere

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Frost warning ? Bring your sleeping bag, when you go outside, tonight.
Some have hit 30f.

eeeeeeeeeee! Too soon.
Hi, and ho, the wind and the rain.
Coming soon.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

I dislike the new normal, that Global Climate Change is bringing to New England.

Drought all summer. Large scale storm, with 40 knot winds, to bring floods and damage. Total loss of balance.

We do not glide up and down with the seasons, anymore.
(System had hiccups, before this. Hurricane threats did happen.)

All the signposts were there, all along.

The sincere and true warning was given early.


Now, it is as if the very Earth, is ill.
Sick fevers and chills.

October is breathing on us, and the air is sickly warm and sticky wet.

After the deluge, Joaquin...

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Ahhhhh, nuts!


My poor Bruins.

http://stats.nesn.com/nhl/notes.asp

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Entergy closed the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon, VT in December 2014. At that time, the company cited similar reasons to those given for the anticipated Pilgrim closure. Many of the employees at the Yankee plant were transferred to Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth.

Entergy announced today that it will close the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth no later than June 1, 2019

600 people will lose their jobs.


Gas prices are so low, the plant is not showing enough profit to satisfy the owners.

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant was constructed in 1972.


https://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2015/10/13/226571-Pilgrim-Nuclear-Power-Plant-close-June-2019

Arlene Williamson, with the anti-nuclear energy group Cape Downwinders, told WBUR’s Newscast Unit that the closure is good news, but it doesn’t come soon enough. “Another four years is quite frightening to me,” she said. “I just can’t imagine this nuclear reactor operating with the problems that are almost discovered weekly.”


http://www.wbur.org/2015/10/13/pilgrim-nuclear-plant-plymouth-close

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

A sample taste, of the coming season.


Mount Washington, NH


"Very cold air will be over New England tonight with near record lows along with strong winds so wind chills will be dangerous tonight into tomorrow morning. During the day tomorrow, the winds will shift more westerly ushering in warmer air. The temperature will rise to near freezing by Tuesday morning. Winds will also pick up substantially Monday evening and stay near hurricane force through to Tuesday. Clouds will clear some this evening over the summits before some more humid air reaches the region Monday night putting the summit back into the clouds with some mixed precipitation."


Sunday night- Snow showers, on the mountain. New snow!

2 inches accumulation on Saturday
Wind chill 30f below zero



https://www.mountwashington.org/experience-the-weather/mount-washington-weather.aspx


Snow dusting, for NH

 

[trysail]

Entergy announced today that it will close the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth no later than June 1, 2019

600 people will lose their jobs.

Gas prices are so low, the plant is not showing enough profit to satisfy the owners.

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant was constructed in 1972.

That's a 43-year old plant that is operating well past its expected life.

It makes money hand over foot. Believe me, they'd be delighted to keep it open if there was any possible way to do so.

​

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Schadenfreude, enjoyed by Canadians and the Northern part of America.
Boston residents are shivering and texting. You can see the commuter's breath, as they wait for transport.

At the freezing point, this morning. Colder, tomorrow morning.

At the least, it is not snowing, yet, in Boston.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Jesus Christ!

Boston is so bad that it requires 46 pages of bitching?



Nuke it.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

I would enjoy my Schadenfreude, about the strange Colt's fiasco, but something is worrying me.

Why did Brady hand off the football and the helmet, before he left ?


“You’re not surprised with anything with how they play. They tried to onsides kick, they did (fake punt) and, umm . . . Colts.”

- Julian Edelman


http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/another-brain-dead-move-by-the-indianapolis-colts



October 19, 2015

Everything is said but the nagging detail that is bothering me.


http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/gallery-best-and-worst-patriots-vs-colts#slide-15

In entirely unsurprising development, Tom Brady was not given a hero’s welcome Sunday night in Indianapolis. A cacaphony of boos rained down on the New England Patriots quarterback as he took the field for the first time, and homemade signs taunting Brady & Co. were prevalent around Lucas Oil Stadium. Perhaps the least subtle of those signs was a massive banner bearing the words “Cheaters Exit Here” that a group of fans displayed as the Patriots exited the field at halftime. The banner also bestowed upon Brady the nickname “Mr. Pinnochio,” misspelling the name of the beloved Disney character in the process.


"In addition to being a waste of a perfectly good bed sheet, the oversized signage also might have gotten a few Colts fans ejected from the stadium.


Tweet from USA Today’s Tom Pelissero:


Colts fans hung "Cheaters exit HERE," (banner ) over the railing next to Patriots tunnel. Little old lady took banner and hid it.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Just in time for Halloween.

Two costumes were found in a niche by constructions workers, that are helping to renovate the Government Center T stop.


The two masks are now grey. Look like stone, or old corpse ?
One orange costume, one blue costume.

May have been a red costume that is faded. Older than 60 years ?
Full length costumes, with hooded cloaks that are covered with stars.



Ever since they closed the Government Center transportation hub, surprising items have been uncovered.

Mosaics, that are a hundred years old. Scollay Square may be gone, but the mosaics say it is not forgotten.

The T stop was closed Spring 2014. Blue and white tiled sections have been found.


http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/...rnment-center-scollay-under-mosaics-pictures/

News report

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/10/27/mbta-ghoulish-costumes-government-center/

Deep inside the $82 million renovation of the Government Center MBTA stop, hidden inside a hollow concrete section, rolled in a ball, is a piece of Boston’s past.

Two very creepy, very ragged, beat up costumes. They are cloaks with scary masks attached. One is red with stars, the other blue with stars.

A bricklayer made the find in a hollow section of concrete that they know was poured 60 years ago, making this a mystery from as far back as the 50’s.


A different time and place



Legendary Scollay Square, demolished in 1961 to clear the way for the Government Center urban renewal project, is still fondly remembered today as the home of vaudeville and burlesque theaters, tattoo parlors, hot dog stands, barrooms, bookstores, shooting galleries, and other entertainment attractions. Located in the heart of downtown Boston, Scollay Square was a place where people of all ages and walks of life, from Harvard College students to transient sailors on shore leave, went to forget their troubles and have a good time.


From-

Always Something Doing: A History of Boston's Infamous Scollay Square
David Kruh

What happened to the plaque that honored Elihu Yale, founder of Yale ?
(born 1648)

Boston's first taprooms were located in the area.


http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1951/9/12/saturday-night-in-scollay-square-burlies/

A theatre district loses it's charm and becomes disreputable.

Howard Athenæum (1845-1953)

The Old Howard”. Originally the site of a Millerite temple whose followers awaited Armageddon, the building was rebuilt as a playhouse in 1845.

From its fashionable grand opera days in the mid-nineteenth century the Old Howard had become a tawdry establishment especially beloved by Harvard undergraduates for its strip-tease acts.


http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/libr...s/boston-athenaeum-theater-collection/history

"Before the city knocked it down, Scollay Square had served as Boston’s red-light district. But when it was demolished to make way for Government Center, Bostonians began worrying that the displaced adult businesses would just skitter out into the neighborhoods, ruining both children and property values. "

"So, in an eminently pragmatic stroke, it was decided that a policy of containment was in order. The city would be dezoned for adult establishments, save in one “Entertainment Area subdistrict.”


(Everything was moved to Boston's Chinatown)

The notorious Combat Zone born in 1974



http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2008/10/no-sin-zone/


What has happened to the Combat Zone ?


http://m.boston.curbed.com/archives...make-one-of-americas-oldest-neighborhoods.php

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma.../lCBC5nIbRq0vaq4KOSunsM/pictures.html#slide-1

November 6, 2014

Rather than follow Barney Frank and other Massachusetts lawmakers who have urged legalization and regulation of the sex-for-hire industry, Boston is joining the burgeoning international abolitionist agenda. With the city having effectively gentrified the Combat Zone, officials hope to reduce demand for prostitution...


https://digboston.com/bostons-stran...tution-and-addressing-violence-against-women/

"It took us a long time to clean up the Combat Zone and I want to make sure no one neighborhood is overrun with recreational marijuana outlets,” he said. “That question is expected to be on the ballot in 2016. The time is now to prepare for that fall out. My hope is the mayor and the Zoning Commission will support my proposed text amendment so we can protect the quality of life and diversity of our business districts.”

"We're witnessing the Manhattan-ization of Boston,” he said. “It’s a City of the rich and the poor."

Councilor Michael Flaherty

http://www.eastietimes.com/2015/10/...-schools-development-as-key-issues-in-boston/

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

*confused* Have I slept through the winter ? *Spring Fever!*

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

The Boston Globe took much abuse for cracking open the egg of rotten Vatican scandal.

Soon, a whole nest of Vatican eggs were scrambled.

"We need to hold our powerful institutions accountable,” he said. “We need to hold our powerful individuals accountable. This was a local story, it started with a local case and it became national and then international, and there are these big national and international stories in our own backyards and we need to pursue them.”


Spotlight, the film

Boston on Friday, Nov. 6, 2015


Many churches were punished in MA.

There was no reason to close these churches.
They had money to cover expenses.
They had a priest to administrate.
The churches themselves were in great shape.
They had a healthy number of community members.


Vatican attacks the St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church in the seaside town of Scituate, Mass.


Parishioners from nine of the churches targeted by the archdiocese protested by going into vigil; St. Frances is the last one still going.

http://www.npr.org/2015/05/06/40473...olic-parishioners-battle-over-church-eviction

October 14, 2015

The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed a judge’s ruling Wednesday that parishioners at St. Frances X. Cabrini Church in Scituate are trespassing on property owned by the Archdiocese of Boston.

After 11 years of the faithful keeping the church open, the Vatican gets its way.


The Vatican closed the church in 2004, despite the facts.
The Vatican wanted money from selling the seaside property.


https://www.wbur.org/2015/10/14/frances-x-cabrini-church-in-scituate-vigil-must-end

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Wal-Mart is selling Real Ham Bone in MA


November 2015

Pet owner blaming dog bone for puppy's near death experience

"A local dog owner is warning others about her puppy's near death experience after eating a dog bone that has seen its share of complaints."


The bone splintered when the puppy bit into it.

"He was vomiting, diarrhea, shaking. He could barely walk. It splintered as he ate it and pieces as small as the tip of my finger got stuck in his small intestines."

http://m.wcvb.com/news/pet-owner-blaming-dog-bone-for-puppys-near-death-experience/36245918


Thousands of dollars of emergency surgery later and Jake was saved, but Pasquariello said she can't believe any retailer would still stock the bone especially after she researched it on the Internet.

"You Google this bone, and there are so many stories of pets dying or needing emergency surgery like Jake," Pasquariello said.

The Better Business Bureau issued a warning about the ham bone five years ago because so many pet owners came forward.


FDA issued a blanket statement.

Bones are bad for your dog.

http://www.bbb.org/stlouis/news-eve...alert-on-dynamic-pet-products-real-ham-bones/


The people who sell this bone blame the dog owner for their dog's death.


The bone is not meant to be eaten and swallowed.

There are clear warnings on the package.

gsgs comment-

Whoever has heard of a dog, that licks a treat to death ?
They have carnivore's teeth. They gnaw. They chew.

The reason that the warning tells you to supervise your dog when they enjoy the treat, is that they expect you to watch the dog closely, and take the bone away from the dog when a piece breaks off. If the pieces that create a blockage are as small as your fingernail, how would you see ?


The tactic used by Real Ham Bone is to blame your dog.

These bones are not meant for "aggressive biters."

Bones are meant to be harmlessly chewed and scraped lightly.
Not bitten so hard that the bone breaks apart.

Real Ham Bone covered their legal asses.

Your dog could die in pain, and they have no legal responsibility.


Class action suit filed

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...ne-dog-deaths-lawsuit-met-20150813-story.html


Killing and harming dogs, since 2001 ?


Aaron Jackson, surgical department head at the Chicago Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center.

"You have to be careful in general with bones. They can cause problems in dogs and cats, whether they're cooked, not cooked, precooked," he said. Chicken and pork bones especially, like the Real Ham Bone, tend to splinter more than beef ones do. "But all three types can cause problems."


gsgs comment-

If it is something that you would not want the dog to swallow, do not give it to your dog.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

The sun is lower in the sky, at this time of year.
Driving straight into the glaring sun, is hard to avoid.
Sunglasses, and an extension for your sun visor, would help.
A hat with a brim, or a ball cap is a quick fix.
Keep your wind shield clean!


More car accidents, and more pedestrians are getting hurt, due to sun glare.

Two women were in a crosswalk when they were hit, and police are investigating whether sun glare may have played a role in the incident.

One of the women died.

"That's what the lady (who was driving) kept saying," witness Francisco Gonzalez said. "She was like, 'I couldn't see anything. The sun was in my face.'"


http://m.wcvb.com/news/elderly-women-hit-by-car-in-bostons-south-end/36260460

Comment from a passerby-

"I do not try to cross the road. They can't see me."

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Boston Tea Party Museum

Where over a million dollars worth of Brit tea was sent overboard.

(1.5 million dollars ?)

"...it took nearly three hours to dump 340 chests of tea into Boston Harbor."


We’re an entirely new kind of museum, where you’ll not only view artifacts of historical importance, you’ll also have an all-encompassing, multi-sensory experience. At the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, our museum experience will transport you on an incredible journey back in time as you take part in the famous event that forever changed the course of American History!


Located on the Congress Street Bridge in Boston, Massachusetts, this floating Boston Museum is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. Live actors, high-tech, interactive exhibits, authentically restored tea ships and the stirring, multi-sensory documentary “Let it Begin Here,” are just a taste of what you’ll see, hear and feel.


Meet the colonists, explore the ships and dump tea overboard just as the Sons of Liberty did on that fateful night of December 16, 1773. Stop in at Abigail’s Tea Room for teatime and visit the Gift Shop for special souvenirs. It’s educational, entertaining and enlightening — an experience not to be missed by adults and children of all ages



Dire Consequences: Old South Meeting House becomes a riding school for the British


Old South’s reputation as a patriot meeting place had dire consequences for the building during the American Revolution. When war broke out in April of 1775 with the battles of Lexington and Concord, the British retreated to Boston and occupied the town. The Continental Army besieged Boston for nearly a year.


While patriots fled the city, British troops destroyed and vandalized visible symbols of the patriotic cause. The “Redcoats” gutted the vast interior of the Old South Meeting House. They tore down the pews, the pulpit, and the galleries and burned them for fuel. Hundreds of loads of dirt and gravel were spread on the floor, and a bar was erected so the men could practice jumping their horses. In the east galleries, the officers enjoyed drinks while they watched the feats of horsemanship below.

The British left the building unfit for occupancy. It took nearly 8 years for the congregation to restore the building.


http://www.oldsouthmeetinghouse.org/history/boston-tea-party/how-boston-tea-party-began


http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/

 

[loquere]

Too many Dunkin Donuts in Boston.