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In today’s NYTimes, opinion writer David Brooks rails against what he sees as the utter failure of the two big conventional political parties. It’s fun to read, but I don’t like his insistence on charging both with equivalent incompetence. For once, I’d like him to run down the GOP without having to…
Read More »For almost twenty years I’ve lived on Highland Street, not far from McDonough Funeral Home, which, like the nearby courthouse, churches, school building, green common, old mill and small businesses, train station, and other houses, represents a piece of the architecture of daily life. If we had a hospital, an art…
Read More »We have a park on Middlesex Street that is one of the most actively used parks in the city: Clemente Park—Roberto Clemente Park, named for the Hall of Fame outfielder of the Pittsburgh Pirates, one of the most revered Latino sports figures. In today’s NYTimes, Clemente is remembered in contrast…
Read More »“The findings are significant as we will have to change our view on how the Sun interacts with particles, fields and gases from other stars, and this has consequences that reach down to Earth,” commented Arik Posner, Nasa’s Voyager programme scientist. Bbc.com reports that NASA’s Voyager spacecrafts launched in 1977 are…
Read More »Familar talking news-head and longtime political columnist Howard Fineman now is a big shot at AOL/Huffington Post—editorial director. On 6/9, he wrote about the value of local news and how AOL/HuffPo’s “Patch” affilliates are making a huge contribution to local news gathering. Read his column here.
Read More »I’m doing research for an essay about hyperlocal blogs like richardhowe.com, and I’d like to hear from people who know of similar blogs that focus deeply on a single place’s culture, politics, and history (the traditional past and moving-target history as it happens). Examples can be single-author blogs or multi-author and be…
Read More »Thoughts about a milestone from one of our Lowell-linked contributors flung not so far out into the Atlantic, namely, on the Vineyard–PM . My personal odometer spins to a big, bottom-heavy number on Monday, and it has got my attention, prompting me to write and share a few random notes.…
Read More »Political analyst Ron Brownstein has a new essay in National Journal about the “upside down” employment situation in the US, with more older people staying in their jobs out of necessity or choice and fewer younger people able to get started on the job ladder. I picked this up from…
Read More »Yesterday’s NYTimes included an article by Elisabetta Povoletto about a painting made by Jack Kerouac and Italian artist Franco Angeli in 1966 when Kerouac was visiting Italy. Titled “The Deposition,” the subject of the artwork is the removal of Jesus from the cross upon which he was crucified. Kerouac was…
Read More »The tropical air and jungle rain this morning reminded me of mornings on the island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean, when the sky would open and drench the warm air and lush countryside. These prose poems were first published in “The Offering,” a literary magazine at UMass Lowell.—PM . Hibiscus…
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