Months ago, or so it seems now, we were told that as of February 17, 2009, our ability to receive the television signal that has come into this house since I have no idea when, would end. In the attic of the garage of this house, there is an antenna that has been there ever […]
Last week, in reporting on the Boston Art Awards, I noted that “When the market is bad and the money is gone, the pressure is off and artists can make art for all the right reasons – to discover what’s meaningful to them, to express what it means to be human.” I can think of […]
When I first came here to Mary’s farm, I named the place “Stillpoint” because it was so quiet here and because it was the still point in my turning world. It still is that, even as the world turns ever faster. The stillness in the early spring is especially profound, with the fields still deep […]
For nearly two decades, Cheryl Richardson has helped her clients boost their personal achievements and quality of life. She’s brought her brand of lifestyle coaching to television on The Oprah Winfrey Show and to radio as the host of her own call-in program. Her fifth book, The Art of Extreme Self-Care (Hay House; $15.95), was […]
Once upon a time, “take me out to the ball game” seemed like such an innocent request. The song’s refrain asked for nothing but a carefree afternoon at the park, eating Cracker Jack and delighting in the sheer joy of a baseball game. I don’t recall any verse about luxury seats, or paying $25 to […]
$450,000 cost to build Fenway Park in 1912 (team worth in 2008: $816 million) $5 price for a 1912 World Series box seat at brand-new Fenway Park 10,454 fans who came to Fenway Park September 28, 1960, to witness Ted Williams’ final at-bat (a home run) 31,458 days between Boston’s fifth (1918) and sixth (2004) […]
A lot of letters come to me, all kinds of letters. I often read that the handwritten letter is dead. Everything happens now on e-mail. Probably that is our future but in the meantime, there are reasons why all people don’t use e-mail. Not so long ago, I received a letter. The back of the […]
Although it may be true that every musician is a dreamer, only the good ones can convince you to join in on their fantasies. Armed with a rhythm guitar, a songbook full of down-on-your-luck lyrics, and a seemingly endless supply of fancy hats, Miss Tess is reimagining the golden age of jazz in 21st-century Boston […]
The eccentric but loving family has long been a staple of American literature, movies, and television, and the Lovelaces of Hamilton, Massachusetts, seemed an exemplar of the species: the father, a minister who collected reptiles and showed Rosemary’s Baby to his stunned congregation; the artistic mother who dreamed of illustrating children’s books; three bright children […]
Amid the rolling fields of the Litchfield Hills, you’ll find the unlikely merger of dairy cows and high-end shoes. Arethusa Farm is where George Malkemus and Tony Yurgaitis, co-owners of Manolo Blahnik USA (of Sex and the City fame), have brought their philosophy of superior quality to the world of livestock breeding. In 1999, when […]
SLIDE SHOW: New England stone walls by William Hubbell, from Good Fences: A Pictorial History of New England’s Stone Walls (Down East Books, 2006; $29.95) When geologist Robert Thorson came to work at the University of Connecticut in 1984, he was smitten by stone walls. In all his travels–from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest to […]
Almost one year ago, in my March 6, 2008 posting, I called your attention to Greg Cook and his indispensable website, New England Journal of Aesthetic Research. NEJAR is probably the best regional art site in the country, so I was flattered when Cook invited me to submit nominations and to vote on the just-released […]
