Archive for July, 2006

Magical moments at Fenway Park

Monday, July 31st, 2006

What a night at Fenway Park. Big rally. Walk off homer by Big Papi. Pumped-up crowd chanting M-V-P! M-V-P! Amazing stuff. But that’s not the game I had tickets to. Nope, I had tickets to the game the night before. I saw Curt Schilling get lit up like a pinball machine. Oh well. At least [...]

Baking in Beantown

Monday, July 31st, 2006

Our neighborhood rep emailed us this announcement by the mayor: Mayor Menino Declares Heat Emergency with Temperatures Expected to Reach 100 Degrees With temperatures expected to reach 100 degrees this week, Mayor Thomas M. Menino today declared a heat emergency in the city and will expand services during this dangerous stretch of hot weather. “The [...]

Did the IDF take it on the chin in Bint Jbail?

Saturday, July 29th, 2006

You’d expect a pompous blowhard like Hezbollah’s leader Nasrallah to declare victory in Bint Jbail no matter what, but events over the past few days suggest that Hezbollah at a minimum fought the IDF to a draw in the Shiite militia stronghold. The IDF has mostly pulled out of the village after declaring the mission [...]

Real Men of Genius: Self-Obsessed Immigrant From Sweden

Saturday, July 29th, 2006

Bud Light Presents: Real Men of Genius. Today we salute you, Mr. Self-Obsessed Immigrant From Sweden. Some come to America for its freedoms, some come for its opportunities, but you came here to tell people that Sweden is the greatest country in the world. (It’s really the best!) It’s your mission to make sure that [...]

The joy of football

Saturday, July 29th, 2006

Reactionary pundit and naturalized citizen John Derbyshire finally discovers it, through his son.

In 10 years Bill Kristol will call immigration anti-Semitic

Saturday, July 29th, 2006

Well, maybe five. Or maybe five months. Instead, he could just do the right thing and join the immigration-restrictionist camp now.

And now for something different: The Devil Wears Prada

Wednesday, July 26th, 2006

We saw The Devil Wears Prada at AMC Fenway tonight. It’s a decent movie, definitely a good choice for married men who want earn some football-watching chits for the fall. Some quick thoughts on the movie, with mild spoiler warnings. 1) The movie didn’t do a very good job establishing that Miranda woman as the [...]

Golani Brigade ambushed in Bint Jabil

Wednesday, July 26th, 2006

Israel’s Golani Brigade lost 8 dead and suffered 22 wounded in a several hours long battle in Hezbollah stronghold Bint Jabil in southern Lebanon. Considering the many reports about how Hezbollah has built many intricate bunkers over the last several years, I was surprised when the IDF declared the town conquered and safe yesterday. During [...]

Pre-emptive news alert: Get ready for another spate of articles on Massachusetts shrinking population

Tuesday, July 25th, 2006

The United States Census Bureau will release data from the 2005 American Community Survey (ACS) on August 15. Inevitably it will result in hand-wringing stories about Massachusetts’ population loss. They will probably also hail the increase in non-white residents. I also forecast stories on the high cost of living in Massachusetts, slow job growth, and, [...]

Seriously, you’re not in Massachusetts anymore

Tuesday, July 25th, 2006

Swedish pundit Johan Norberg is lost: While staying in a small motel outside Bennington, Mass., I am reached by the news that the WTO´s Doha Round collapsed yesterday. I think he’s referring to the Massachusetts more commonly known as New Hampshire. Or maybe the Massachusetts more commonly known as Vermont. But probably not the Massachusetts [...]