Culture

I’m not the only self-professed neophyte soccer fan following the World Cup. Regular blog contributor Louise Peloquin joins me in doing that this weekend, only she’s doing it from Paris. Louise sent the following observations as the city prepares for tomorrow’s championship match between France and Argentina. —RH Waiting for…

Much has been written about the US ouster from the World Cup last Saturday with opinions ranging from “this was a great result considering all the circumstances” to “this was a squandered opportunity.” As a novice soccer fan, I hesitate to state an opinion, but it seemed that the US,…

Earlier this week, radio station WBUR presented an audio essay on the fuzzy origins of Chinese pie. The story included interviews with several notable French-Canadian historians and cultural observers from around New England including our own Paul Marion. A link to the audio of the piece plus a full transcript…

The United States team lost to the Netherlands yesterday at the start of the “knockout” round. At least the Americans made it into that group. They did so by defeating a tough team from Iran on Tuesday afternoon by a score of 1 to 0. The Americans dominated the start…

One of my hobbies is following pop culture. Note that I said “following” instead of “consuming” because when it comes to things like video games, I’d rather read about them than play them. Previously, the World Cup soccer tournament, held every four years, fell into the “read about” category but…

What bugs me By Jack McDonough Years ago, a Boston morning radio personality by the name of Jess Kane had a segment called “What bugs you?” Kane didn’t actually take calls from listeners but if he returned today and made that a call-in part of the show, I’d probably contribute…

Mike McCormick of Alaska by way of Haverhill, Massachusetts, is a fan of the Seatle Mariners baseball club. The Mariners’ trip to the playoffs this year brought to mind for Mike his youthful experience as a fan of the Boston Red Sox. Remembering the Red Sox During the Mariners’ 2022…

Sunday I wrote about the new indoor TV antenna I’ve started using (“Cutting the Cord, Step One”). That has caused me to think about the place television has had in my life.   My first clear memory of seeing something on TV was Sunday, November 24, 1963. My (paternal) grandmother and…

I bought a TV antenna last week. I haven’t taken the cord cutting plunge completely, at least not yet. This is more of an experiment. We have two TVs in the house. The main TV in the family room is big but modest in terms of what’s out there now.…

Review of “All About Me: My Remarkable Life in Show Business” Book by Mel Brooks Review by Richard Howe Midway through my freshman year in college, I was bumped up into the school’s honors program. It was a small group and most of our classes intensely focused on literature, philosophy,…