Menu
I wrote this poem in the mid-’70s, when I was trying to find my way down the writing path. I published it in my first pamphlet (chapbook) of poems. It’s raining tonight, but we’ve had some fine summer days and sundowns this season. This is typical early-stage writing that comes…
Read More »In the aftermath of last week’s archaeological dig, St Patrick’s official historian, Dave McKean, has launched a new blog to collect digital information – text, photos, scanned documents, anything – about the parish and the Irish in Lowell. Hence the name – Lowell Irish. Here’s how Dave explains it in…
Read More »Pundits are speculating that President Obama really meant it when he said he’d rather be a good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president. How unusual for a politician to stay focused on “now.” The Telegraph online in the U.K. yesterday published an opinion piece by Toby Harnden in which he questions…
Read More »Shooting has begun for the long-awaited film version of Jack Kerouac’s classic novel “On the Road.” The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) posted this report from a city in Quebec that is doubling for Denver. Actors Viggo Mortenson of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Amy Adams, Kristen Stewart, and Kirsten…
Read More »Our local blogging colleague “Kad Barma” at choosing a soundtrack has a big benefit event for the Merrimack Valley Food Bank coming up on Aug 29. Instead of a hyperlink, I copied his latest posting (excerpted here) to be sure readers didn’t miss the details. Get on the train, and be part…
Read More »In today’s NYTimes, heavy-hitter columnist Frank Rich takes on the “mosque” controversy that has spread from Manhattan across the nation. Read his essay here, and consider subscribing to the NYT if you appreciate the writing and thinking. In a related national commentary, Maureen Dowd of the NYT worries that the U.S.…
Read More »Today is Southeast Asian Water Festival day in Lowell. This is the 14th year for the popular event. Last night, I attended the opening ceremony at Middlesex Community College, where the evening activities culminated in a candlelight ceremony and small boats floated on the canal with accompanying blessings and wishes. Master…
Read More »At 7 this morning, our eager-for-her-walk dog, dragged me out of the house. As we stepped onto Westview Road, a police car with lights flashing was just pulling to a stop a few houses away. An ambulance, the ladder truck from Branch Street, EMTs and more police all arrived at…
Read More »You don’t have to say a lot more than “the B-52s played Boarding House Park last night.” They raised high the steel roof beams of the trademark pavilion set against a wall of brick and tall windows at the Boott Mills. The moon floated over downtown at about 7/8ths round and…
Read More »Work continues at the Middlesex Superior Courthouse on Gorham Street in Lowell, where an elevator is being constructed to bring the building into full compliance with contemporary rules of accessibility. For the past several decades, as series of chair lifts and ramps have served as an inadequate substitute for an…
Read More »