Culture

‘For Boston’

My wife and I enjoyed a sunny day in Boston this week and left the city convinced that it is looking as good as it ever has. Our destination was the waterfront, Fan Pier, where we expected to go to the Institute for Contemporary Art—but the weather was simply too…

Read More »

‘The Worker’ by Brian Herrmann

“The Worker” by Brian Herrmann At the forefront of Lowell’s historical gateway downtown resides a sculpture titled “The Worker.” This work, constructed in 1985 by Elliot and Ivan Schwartz, depicts an Irish canal worker widening the canal ways of Lowell.  This work, along with several others, was placed into the…

Read More »

‘There You Go Again,’ Uncle Dave; Skip the Column, See the Readers’ Comments

NYTimes opinion writer David Brooks keeps me reading his column because I appreciate his thoughtfulness if not his core analysis. Today’s column deals with inequalities among American children as described in recent scholarly research. After painting a picture that should worry everyone, he winds up with a cliche ending that blames President…

Read More »

Ernest Borgnine, RIP

[youtube]UhhsVZozmF0[/youtube] Actor Ernest Borgnine died on Sunday at age 95. His obituary in the New York Times thoroughly reviews his career and the many movie roles he played. To me, however, he will always be Lt Cdr Quinton McHale, the skipper of PT-73. What was it about the early 1960s…

Read More »

Bread & Roses Centennial (1912-2012) on Facebook and Web

Congratulations to the Bread & Roses Centennial committee in Lawrence for a massive success in the use of social media. On Facebook, the organization’s page has 1,081 followers (LIKES), which is an extraordinary number for a local history initiative. This is not Ashton Kutcher in Hollywood, but all the folks working…

Read More »