Lowell 2010
Archived Posts from this Category
Climate Change: A View from the Golden Gate
Posted by PaulM on 13 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: 2010 Election, Culture, Education, Lowell 2010, Politics, Science, Technology
Here’s a column by Dr. Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute from the San Franciso Chronicle in which he tries to get his head around the statements made by people who deny the reality of climate change and the role humans play in that. Read the essay here.
UMass Lowell Announces NFL’S Roger Goodell as Commencement Speaker
Posted by PaulM on 13 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: Culture, Education, Lowell, Lowell 2010, Politics, Presidency, Science, Technology
FROM THE UMASS LOWELL PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE:
“National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell will address graduates at the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s commencement on Saturday, May 29 at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.
“Goodell also will accept a posthumous Doctor of Humane Letters degree for his father, the late U.S. Sen. Charles Goodell, a Republican who was elected to Congress in 1959 and appointed to the Senate following the assassination of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. He established a solid record on issues such as civil rights, the war on poverty and education.
“’Roger Goodell is an inspirational role model who can share his personal story of working his way up from intern to leader of an organization that today oversees the diverse interests of the most successful sports league in the world,’ said Chancellor Marty Meehan. ‘Our students will benefit from the examples set by Roger and his father, Charles, both of whom have led without compromising their beliefs.’
“’I learned a lot from my father about the importance of acting on your values and doing what’s right, no matter what the pressure and opposition,’ said Roger Goodell. ‘I welcome the opportunity to share with UMass Lowell graduates how the lessons I’ve learned from my father and leading the NFL can be applied to anything they pursue in life.’
“Other Doctor of Humane Letters degree recipients include Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author; Richard N. Goodwin, presidential speechwriter and adviser to John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Robert Kennedy; Gloria Ladson-Billings, pedagogical philosopher, scholar and educational author; and Alan P. Lightman, physicist, novelist and author of international bestseller “Einstein’s Dreams.”
“In addition to appearing at Commencement, Goodell, the honorary degree recipients and Distinguished Alumna Bonnie Comley ’81, award-winning Broadway producer, will speak at a Commencement Eve Celebration. The gala will benefit student scholarships, including new endowments in honor of Charles Goodell and Richard and Doris Kearns Goodwin, on Friday, May 28 at 6 p.m. at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center. The celebration will be preceded by a 4 p.m. special event with the Goodwins – “A Conversation with Doris & Dick.” Both events are open to the public.”
Saturday Morning Post
Posted by PaulM on 13 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: Beacon Hill, Culture, Education, Greater Lowell, History, Lowell, Lowell 2010, Poetry
Author Jay Atkinson last night launched his new book “Paradise Road: Jack Kerouac’s Lost Highway and My Search for America,” about his adventures re-tracing Kerouac’s “On the Road” routes in the US and Mexico in the late 1940s. More than 100 people crowded the second floor party and performance room at the Old Court pub at Middle and Central streets. Legendary musician and composer (79 years old) David Amram played a jazzy “Amazing Grace” on a long tin whistle or recorder of some kind after Rev. Steve Edington (president of the local Kerouac organization) opened the celebration with a reading of Governor Deval Patrick’s proclamation recognizing the annual observance of Jack Kerouac Day in Massachusetts, March 12. The audience as chorus joined in with loud “whereas’s” in what became a spontaneous piece of performance art.
Jay’s book opens with nine pages of praise for Lowellian Roger Brunelle, who has preserved the Kerouac story in the city through his tours and teaching. Roger invented the guided tour of Kerouac places about 25 years ago and has since given hundreds of tours to thousands of people from near and far. The book begins with Jay and Roger among the ghosts of the night in Pawtucketville and goes on in chapters set in New York, New Orleans, California, Mexico, and Colorado, an updated report on the condition of America and the writer’s own condition. With various old friends, he makes the grand tour in segments as an homage to his famous “neighbor” born two towns away from Jay’s own Methuen, his home plate and home row. In true Atkinson form, the writing is vibrant, active, and learned in a casual way—he knows what he needs to know. At the outset of the journey, “Uncle Dave” Amram gives him a wise piece of direction: “Remember, son, you’re not a Civil War reenactor. Just go, and have a funkitissimo time of your own.”
Kerouac Day/Weekend events continue today at 2 pm with open mic readings at Dharma Buns sandwich shop, 26 Market Street. David Amram will accompany the readers on a variety of instruments. Jay will show his “Paradise Road” video at 2.30 pm. Don’t miss the wall display of portraits of writers and musicians by Mary Capriole and Kerouac-inspired photographs by UMass Lowell graduate Joe McFadzen. Later tonight at Cafe Paradiso, 45 Palmer Street, the music and readings begin at 7 pm and carry into the late hours. Seating is limited for this event due to the size of the venue. Check with george@copleymedia.com for seat reservations for 7 pm and 9 pm performances.
The events are presented by Lowell Celebrates Kerouac! Inc. in collaboration with many partners. Visit www.lowellcelebrateskerouac.org for more info.
River Hawks Down UMaine, 2-1, in Hockey Playoff Game 1
Posted by PaulM on 13 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: Culture, Education, History, Lowell, Lowell 2010
FROM THE UMASS LOWELL ATHLETICS OFFICE:
“The 2010 River Hawks did something no other team has done in UMass Lowell history, beat Maine in the playoffs. #20 UMass Lowell (19-14-4, 12-11-4 HE) defeated the Black Bears (16-16-3, 13-12-2 HE) in the first game of the Hockey East Tournament quarterfinals at the Alfond Arena on Friday night. The win marked the first time in the conference’s 26-year history that the River Hawks have beat Maine in the playoffs, snapping a 12-game losing streak.
“The two teams will lace the skates again tomorrow night as the River Hawks can clinch the quarterfinal series and a trip to the TD Garden with another win on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:07 p.m.”
Some citywide housekeeping notes
Posted by DickH on 12 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: Lowell 2010
Given the forecast for torrential rain through much of this weekend, I don’t think much raking will get done, but last week was a different story. Many folks were out picking up debris and commencing the vigorous spring raking that’s needed to get one’s yard in shape. I filled all of my spare barrels with twigs, leaves and dead grass, but I stopped short of filling any paper composting bags because I knew that yard waste pickup doesn’t commence until - - - well, I really wasn’t sure, so I jumped on the city’s Recycling Webpage, answered that question, and several others related to recycling, waste disposal and cleanups. Here goes:
Curbside yard waste pickup will begin on April 6. Your stuff gets picked up on your regular trash day:
Old or unwanted medicine disposal: Clean out your medicine cabinet of all outdated or unneeded medications (prescription and over-the-counter), place them in a ziploc plastic bag, and bring it to the Lowell Health Department at 341 Pine Street on Wednesday, March 31 from 2 pm to 7 pm.
There will be a Household Hazardous Waste drop-off day in May although the exact date has yet to be selected.
Do you have more books than you know what to do with? Consider donating them to the Friends of the Pollard Memorial Library for their annual book sale fund raiser which will be held on Saturday May 22 from 9 am to 3 pm at the Lowell Senior Center. You can drop-off donated books at the Senior Center (276 Broadway) on Saturdays April 3 and May 1 from 9 am to noon.
Finally, before you go to bed this Saturday night, move your clocks ahead one hour. You lose an hour of sleep and when you head for work on Monday morning it will be dark once again, but you’ll now have an hour or two of daylight after you get home from work.
Jack Kerouac Reading with Steve Allen on TV
Posted by PaulM on 12 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: Culture, Education, History, Lowell, Lowell 2010, Poetry
To add to the “content” for Jack Kerouac’s birthday, here’s a clip of Jack reading on Steve Allen’s TV show in the late 1950s. Stay with the clip to the end for the impressive ending.
St Patrick’s Day - 1989
Posted by DickH on 12 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: Culture, Lowell 2010
With St Patrick’s Day less than a week away, here’s a preview of some of the jokes you will hear at the various breakfasts that will be held in the coming days. These are clips from the 1989 Lowell St Patrick’s Day Breakfast, with Ken Harkins as the Master of Ceremonies:
Brooks on Barack, Krugman on Obamacare
Posted by PaulM on 12 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: 2010 Election, Culture, Education, Federal, History, Lowell, Lowell 2010, Politics, Presidency
NYTimes columnist David Brooks tries to set the record straight on what President Obama is doing and why he is doing it. I’m not in Brooks’ camp on most issues, but on the President he is usually a fair and reasonable commentator. I appreciate his thoughtful tone as he writes about complex political and social issues. He doesn’t go nuclear and accuse Democrats, progressives, liberals, or others of being unpatriotic, bad Americans if they hold a view different than his. Read his column here and consider subscribing to the NYT if you appreciate it.
Brooks’ colleague the economist Paul Krugman today walks us through the realities of the health care reform bill in its current version. Where have the voices of the people who really need this bill been for the past year? My sense is that most if not all of the opposition has come from people who are fighting it while on the “health-care plan clock,” so to speak… they’re covered. Read Krugman’s column here.
‘The Red Sox Tree’ by Tom Sexton
Posted by PaulM on 11 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: Culture, History, Lowell, Lowell 2010, Poetry
Here’s another poem from Tom Sexton’s book of Lowell poems, A Clock With No Hands (Adastra Press, 2007). With Nomar back in the news and in the fold, this seemed like a good day for this poem.—PM
.
The Red Sox Tree
.
It seemed to take all morning to go around
the massive trunk of that ancient beech.
Almost eight, I kept one eye on the ground
as I climbed as high as I could reach.
A vet who’d fought on Iwo Jima carved
their line-up where the branches thinned,
far above the last initials in their heart,
where the air was always cold on the skin.
Climbing to it was my goal that summer,
and on the Fourth I was almost there
when I was forced back down by thunder
and lightning close enough to singe my hair.
Safe at home behind my bedroom door,
I chanted Williams, Pesky, and Bobby Doerr.
.
—Tom Sexton (c) 2007
Why so many pine cones?
Posted by PaulM on 11 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: Culture, Education, Greater Lowell, History, Lowell, Lowell 2010, Science
The Boston Globe yesterday reported on the unusually large amount of pine cones everywhere this year. I noticed this phenomemon in my family’s back yard and across the street at the South Common. The explanation has to do with regular cycles of production, this one being the culmination of the most recent three-year cycle. Read the article here and consider subscribing to the Globe if you appreciate it.
