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I never sausage a thing

Dramatic shot of the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile outside the Community College T stop.

Quick, which will take over your entire brain faster? The jingle for Oscar Meyer or the one for Fluff?


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Readin' in the Rain: Reporting on the Boston Book Festival

Inclement weather notwithstanding, I'd say the inaugural Boston Book Festival is a success that must become an annual event. I think there has been an unquenched thirst for something like this in Boston, so let's hope that this year's launch is only the beginning.

Although the outdoor foot traffic around the stalls set up on Copley Square has been impacted by the weather, it appears that the book talks are well attended. The panel I attended late in the morning jam packed the lovely sanctuary of the Old South Church off Copley Square, despite several other panels with well-known authors running concurrently.

Thanks to the Festival, I finally got to hear my friend Michael Thomas discuss his work and his acclaimed novel, Man Gone Down. I've come to know Michael through cousins in New York, but in everyday social situations he's not one to talk about his own writing. Ever since his book was published in 2007, I've wanted to attend one of his book talks.

Today Michael was on a panel titled Ties That Bind (i.e., family influences in writing fiction), sharing the stage with fellow authors Elinor Lipman and Richard Russo, and it was well worth the wait. I'm awfully biased, but Michael stood out in the way that he shared aspects of his life, family, and emotions to provide insights into an author's motivations and about ourselves. He talked about the ties that bind us and that push us away, and it was a thought provoking set of remarks. I think I embarrassed Michael a bit when I went up to him afterward and said a little too loudly that he was the best of the panelists, but I couldn't help it! It was true.

There's still time to head over there, and here's the site:
http://www.bostonbookfest.org/index.php


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Panic in the streets, well, OK, some people lined up for flu shots

Look for Channel 7 to highlight the line that stretched around the corner extended a few feet outside the door of the Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center this morning, as frenzied calm people waited in line for a flu shot.


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Green Line Idol

The kids at Teen TV Somerville frame the planned Green Line expansion in a novel way - and feature the stylings of the immortal Wig Zamore and US Rep. Mike Capuano. Even better: Judges pick the best song about the Green Line (the first from a kid who thinks the whole thing is a big mistake: "It's not too late ... to give this train away" - sing it!):

Latest Green Line Extension documents from the state.
State to study three locations for trolley repair facility.

Tip o' the beret to Erin Sunderland.


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Horns are bad, CitiStat's just a fancy-shmancy name and other campaign notes

The Jamaica Plain Gazette highlights this week's debate among at-large council candidates on park and open-space issues in the city. Somebody asked Felix Arroyo what "Asian Longhorned Beetles" meant to him; he replied he had no idea, but figured anything with horns was probably bad. The tree-felling beetles have yet to hit Boston, although people are starting to look for them, just in case.

At a get-together this morning for the Neighbors for Neighbors networking site, Tom Menino pooh-poohed Floontalk about fancy-shmancy systems like CitiStats and 311, because the Mayor's Hotline already does all that, what with the hotline number (quick, what is it?) and a tracking system in place so residents can follow the progress of their complaints, both by phone and online. He says the hotline has handled more than 200,000 citizen complaints and requests.

"Some cities come up with fancy names for [these things]. We don't have fancy names for them. We just have services," he said. Take that, Somerville!

The Dorchester Reporter's Lit Drop reports three former at-large candidates - Ego Ezedi, Hiep Nguyen and Jean-Claude Sanon - are backing incumbent at-large Councilor John Connolly.

Michael Pahre reports the Ward 21 Democratic Committee this week endorsed incumbent Allston/Brighton district Councilor Mark Ciommo and at-large candidates John Connolly, Ayanna Pressley and Tito Jackson.

If you missed this week's debate between Ciommo and second-time opponent Alex Selvig, BNN has a report.


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Neighborhood social networking gets city imprimatur

Mayor Menino, Police Commissioner Ed Davis and other city officials gathered at the Milky Way this morning to announce a partnership with Neighbors for Neighbors, a social-networking effort setting up online gathering spots for 18 Boston neighborhoods.

Porcelli
Porcelli

Under the partnership, community liaisons at all of the city's police districts have been trained in using the system, according to Joseph Porcelli, the site's founder and himself a former community service officer in District 13. The city is not providing any financial support for the effort, which has a volunteer development director and is applying for a $225,000 Knight News Challenge grant.

Menino said the city will also share other information with the network, such as events information. He said the network is another example of the city providing the information residents need, pointing to recent efforts as police tweets, H1N1 YouTube videos and a system for letting iPhone users upload pothole photos to the city.

Davis said the network will help police reach a community with whom police have traditionally had little contact: Young urban professionals.

"Quite frankly, they have better things to do than hanging out with a bunch of cops, and I understand this," he said, adding, "My kids were absolutely devastated when I got a Facebook account. They would not friend me."

Steve Garfield posted some photos on Flickr as the event was going on, including this panorama of attendees.


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Heh-heh-heh-HEH-heh: Back Bay has a woodpecker

Penny Cherubino snaps his/her photo.


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Negative Roxbury

Iseut proclaims herself tired of all the negativity from other Roxbury residents:

... It's an I hurt, I'm gonna make you hurt too way of being. And it's most destructive coming from the folks in the area who have done well for themselves and are working (allegedly) to restore the area to its rightful place as a gem in Boston. ...


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BRA has records it's not coughing up

Harry Mattison, who posted copies of BRA correspondence about the Charlesview project he got under a public-records request, notes today's Globe story about those records, and reads an interesting sentence in that story:

Elsbree said BRA staff had reviewed the project's finances to ensure that it can be completed.

See, in his public-records request, Mattison specifically requested "all financial documents" related to Charlesview, and yet the CD he got from City Hall had no financial documents in it. What do you say, Brighton resident and Secretary of State Bill Galvin?

Mattison also explains how Mayor Menino, who controls the BRA, has mishandled the Charlesview process.

Ed. note: Naturally, the Globe doesn't link to Mattison's collection of e-mails. Click on the first link in this post for them. UPDATE: They added a link.


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Toddlers found wandering around South Boston

Boston Police tweet a girl, about 2, and a boy, about 3, were found wandering Crowley Rogers Way in South Boston this morning.


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