I finally got around to watch Fever Pitch, the Americanized, Bostonized version of the British novel Fever Pitch. It was good, but not great. The Red Sox winning the World Series (holy cow!) screwed up the movie’s ending in ways that the Farrelly brothers couldn’t quite overcome. That’s okay, though. Just the thought of the Sox winning it all makes the movie a pleasant experience.

Jimmy Fallon does a good job as an American Hugh Grant. Drew Barrymore is also good, but that’s not much of a surprise. Terrific supporting cast, too.

Fallon’s been badmouthed as a pretend Sox fan and all of that. Fine, perhaps he is one, but isn’t it a good deal better that he makes a living evangelizing the Gospel of Beantown, rather than shilling for the pin stripes?*

One thing that irritated me a little bit is that the Farrellys just can’t break out of their skit-based story telling. I wish they could simply go with the narrative and not throw in little crazy asides that don’t really have much bearing on the overall story arc. But that really is a minor quibble. Here’s one more: They could have used more film from the victory parade, that sweet, sweet victory parade.

* Besides, I have very, very dark secret of my own as it relates to the Red Sox. Back in 1986, when I just didn’t know any better, I watched the World Series, and, eh, being a naive kid from the Old Country (and back then I was all Old Country) I naturally rooted for the team from New York. My most vivid memory from that series - my only, really - came when that guy from the Mets (Mookie Wilson, as I learned later) plunked a groundball towards the first base, where the Boston player (you know who) just had to bend over and pick up the ball the way I had seen so many other ball players do so effortlessly so many times, but then the ball just went right between his legs. And I…[deep breath]…jumped off the couch screaming with joy.

So I’m all for giving Fallon a break.

I actually didn’t become a real Sox fan until the Grady Little left Pedro out on the mound. By the time Aaron Boone hit that m———— home run I was already in a pseudo-catatonic state, on my knees on the floor, staring slack-jawed at the TV, just waiting for the inevitable disaster to strike. That’s when I became one with that special Red Sox pain.

Mass Backwards applauds some creative police work in New Ipswich in New Hampshire: The local constabulary has arrested an illegal alien from Mexico for trespassing. Will the court uphold the arrest? One can only hope. We’ll find out on Tuesday.

I see that an editorial writer in a Swedish socialist newspaper calls the fall of Saigon 30 years ago “the liberation of Saigon.” That’s a perfect illustration of what passes for liberty in the eyes of socialists.

They’ve been busy getting the old but improved Burberry store ready and open for the summer season on Newbury Street. The Boston Herald reports that the store will open its doors on May 15.

I know it’s not Burberry’s fault that its apparel has become thugwear, and the company did drop its hooligan-must-have checkered hat, but, you know, if you don’t want to be taken for a thug, don’t dress like one (women, and men over 50, are exempted).

Besides, Burberry is a thug cliche, while Stone Island and Aquascutum still retain some freshness, supposedly. Aqua has a store on Boylston Street, but I don’t where you can get your hands on SI.

Me, I prefer team paraphernalia. I am what the Old Country casuals call a “Christmas tree.” Hey, what’s not to like about a Christmas tree?

It’s quite possible that the current soft patch, to use a popular phrase, in the economy is mostly or even entirely due to the high price for crude oil, but the patch is still soft and I’m not particularly optimistic about it firming any time soon.

What is worrying is that there are so many economic stimulants out there, yet the economy is just slugging along.

Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 3.1 percent in the first quarter of 2005, according to advance estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter, real GDP increased 3.8 percent.

…

Real personal consumption expenditures increased 3.5 percent in the first quarter, compared with an increase of 4.2 percent in the fourth. Durable goods purchases were unchanged, in contrast to an increase of 3.9 percent. Nondurable goods purchases increased 4.9 percent, compared with an increase of 5.9 percent. Services expenditures increased 3.6 percent, compared with an increase of 3.4 percent.

Real nonresidential fixed investment increased 4.7 percent in the first quarter, compared with an increase of 14.5 percent in the fourth. Nonresidential structures decreased 2.6 percent, in contrast to an increase of 2.1 percent. Equipment and software increased 6.9 percent, compared with an increase of 18.4 percent. Real residential fixed investment increased 5.7 percent, compared with an increase of 3.4
percent.

Real exports of goods and services increased 7.0 percent in the first quarter, compared with an increase of 3.2 percent in the fourth. Real imports of goods and services increased 14.7 percent, compared with an increase of 11.4 percent.

Am I the only who finds it amusing that a Congressman criticized the National Football League because its steroids policy “is not perfect”?

When I was a young boy in the Old Country - this would have been in the early 1980’s - I heard many a stories told by former exchange students about high-school football players taking steroids. Were the stories true? I have no idea. At the time they seemed plausible since America was the Land of Excess (among a lot of other things) and taking ‘roids in high school certainly qualified as excessive in my book. One can, however, imagine many kids seeing it as not particularly excessive, with chicks and scholarships and perhaps even a pro-career beckoning.

But that was then and the more important question is of course to what extent players at all levels use various banned substances today? What’s the over under on the share of NFL players doing it? 10%? 20%? 85%? Do you care? I do, but how much do I care? At what point, if any, would I stop following following football, stop watching NFL games?

I hope I’ll never know.

Perhaps you don’t like the Boston herald because of its tabloid mentality, or its right-wing (and not particularly interesting) editorial board, or the narrow range of news covered by the newspaper, but you should like the fact that the paper competes with the Boston Globe over city news. The last few weeks have given us several examples of how the two papers have brought exclusives or complemented each other on crime and other urban tensions. Kudos to both the Herald’s and the Globe’s city desks. Tolday, the Herald has a slight edge. It’s that Michele McPhee woman again. Anybody who knows of any reason for why the Globe wouldn’t extend her an offer next time there’s a relevant vacancy at the Broadsheet?

Update: There’s this, I guess.

(Odd headline, though, “Rape fear grips city,” when one of the article’s plot lines is that Competent Kathy’s department is a little stingy with acknowledging sexual assaults. I guess the headline writer didn’t read the article to the end.)

One of New England Patriots allocations to NFL Europe, Cedric James, had an impressive game in a losing effort against Berlin Thunder. James caught three passes for 62 yards for his Rhine Fire, with the longest catch for 48 yards. He also made some solid blocks, and delivered at least one real slobberknocker. He still came out on the losing end as the Thunder managed to wrestle the game away from the Fire with an interception and a game winning field goal late in the fourth quarter.

James was most visible in the first quarter, after which he mainly drew a lot of attention from the Thunder’s secondary, creating space for his teammate Glenn Martinez, who snagged 5 passed for 49 yards and two touchdowns.

The game was way better than last week’s pathetic slopfest between Frankfurt and Cologne.

Losing headquarters is bad, bad, bad for a local or regional economy (or national, for that matter). Boston has become the un-Headquarters of America, or Branch Office USA, but is of course not the only city wrestling with that problem. Here’s an article from North Carolina regarding AllPosters swallowing the smaller, Raleigh-based Art.com.

Art.com became a darling of the local tech industry, proving that a dot-com with the right business plan could be successful. The founders never disclosed sales but said Art.com was profitable.

Signs of bigger ambitions began to appear in February. The company raised $30 million in funding, its first-ever venture financing. Chodniewicz, Marston and other investors received $9.9 million, according to a Securities & Exchange Commission filing.

The money, company officials said at the time, was supposed to help the business grow faster, possibly leading to an initial public offering of stock.

Merging with AllPosters.com could accelerate the process. By joining, the two companies have more scale and revenue. And they could be more attractive to potential investors. Private financial backers include Benchmark Capital, which was an investor in eBay, and Polaris Venture Partners, which has about $2 billion under management.

“This merger positions our combined company to continue and even enhance the rate of growth both companies have experienced ” Chodniewicz said in the statement.

Even so, losing a headquarters is a blow to the region. Headquarters jobs are among the most lucrative. They pay well and attract top talent. And having a headquarters can spark new investment in the community. Corporate leaders are more apt to invest in the areas they live.

Indeed, attracting more headquarters is a top priority of local economic developers — one highlighted by Art.com’s loss.

“It’s disappointing to lose a headquarters, especially with a young company that was growing,” said Harvey Schmitt, president of the Greater Raleigh Area Chamber of Commerce. “But the reality in today’s marketplace is that things are very fluid. Every time you have a merger, you’re going to have one area that probably does better. In this case we were on the wrong side of the merger equation.”

Yesterday morning the ugly old T-station building in Kenmore Square, better suited for an Old Country tätort than the Hub of the Universe, was finally torn down. The missus wondered why they didn’t blow up the one-story shack, Las Vegas style, a move that would have given Back Bay Village, I mean Kenmore Square, some needed publicity, but I suppose the old knock-down works just as well, and you don’t have to deal with all that dust.

Here’s a picture of the old station, complete with Juice Guys advertising and a cohort of Kathy’s finest, taken on the night when Hell Froze Over for the third time in less than three years (I have come to understand that you really can’t have baseball without juice and riot cops).

(I work so hard at showing Boston at its best, yet I never get any fan mail from the Mayor.)

(The picture has been altered for this post. It’s brightness, unlike mine, has been enhanced)