As we all now know, April is being celebrated in some parts of the country as Confederate History Month. Luckily for those of us who enjoy four-week-long observances but prefer not to glorify the losers of the Civil War, April is also host to a number of other holidays. A quick Google search revealed that April is: National Volunteer Month, Jazz Appreciation Month, Facial Protection Month (what? yes. “Facial Protection Month can target anyone from construction workers to families to professional athletes.”), and the ever-important National Car Care Month. However, my favorite April occasion, aside from my...
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Things I Drink And So Should You: The Manhattan
As this is posted, yours truly will be about to board the world’s greatest conveyance: the train. When you ride in a car, especially if you’re driving — and I always am, since I’m a control freak* — you’re worried about the car in the lane next to you, or the one oncoming, or the deer/pedestrian/deer-pedestrian about to veer into your path. In a plane, you never have the feeling of traveling, but rather of being transported from one location to another, without ever having had any interaction with the miles between. I hate that. I love...
Continue reading...Things I Drink And So Should You: The Charles River Highball
It is Easter weekend, which is about the busiest my calendar gets every year. I have hardly had time to breathe this week, let alone read this blog, never mind contribute. The craziness of my schedule has even prevented me from doing that which I love most: watch sports and drink. And that all ends Sunday afternoon. Every Easter, I throw a Resurrection Barbecue, where we throw some ham on the grill, dressed in our Sunday best, drinking beer and, more importantly, breaking out the greatest summer drink you\’ve never had: The Charles River Highball. The Charles...
Continue reading...Things I Drink, And So Should You: The Negroni
Because this place needs another regular feature, I’m here, every Friday afternoon, to tell you that what you drink sucks. Being married to an Italian can be fantastic. The food is amazing. The scenery, when in Italy rather than on Mott St. or in the North End, can be breathtaking. The language, the art … seriously, it’s a good deal, even without considering the individual Italian with whom I chose to spend the time before she decides to divorce me. The drinking, however. If you’re not careful, you can find yourself beyond sauced before the bruschetta shows...
Continue reading...Best. Week. Ever.
With the awesomeness surrounding the passage of healthcare reform, new DOT policy should not be overlooked. Increased commitment to and investment in bicycle facilities and walking networks can help meet goals for cleaner, healthier air; less congested roadways; and more livable, safe, cost-efficient communities. Walking and bicycling provide low-cost mobility options that place fewer demands on local roads and highways. DOT recognizes that safe and convenient walking and bicycling facilities may look different depending on the context — appropriate facilities in a rural community may be different from a dense, urban area. However, regardless of regional, climate,...
Continue reading...Forget About the Money, I Want My Hour Back
A quick question for a rainy (oh so rainy) Sunday afternoon With all the glibertarian bloggerati* out there, blathering on about the government stealing their prodigious assets and other sundries, and encroaching further and further into our daily affairs, how is it that none of them ever voiced any concern about the fact that the Washington fat cats think they can control time itself? I mean this, mostly, as a joke, but if I were truly concerned about government intervening in things with which it has no rightful business, surely the machinations of the sun and earth...
Continue reading...Pay for sex?
So, I discovered today that the NPR iPod app gives me access to recordings of many recent Intelligence Squared debates, so I spent a good chunk of the day listening to a few of them. Quite a few of them were really interesting and entertaining, and if you haven’t already, I would definitely recommend them. One in particular drew my attention, though not because it was particularly good, but because I felt like the debaters dropped the ball on a key point. The question was “Is it wrong to pay for sex?” The debate broke down along...
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