St. Patrick's Day

Finnegan's Wake with puppets at Hogan's Run in Brighton.

An impatient citizen couldn't even wait for the end of the St. Patrick's Day parade to complain about horse droppings. The city has, however, marked the complaint "resolved."

The day started with loud, happy crowds; as Connie Chan shows, it ended with a man alone with his dreams, on the floor of a hurtling Orange Line car.

As of 6:45 p.m. yesterday, Boston Police say, officers had issued 336 citations for drinking in public along the St. Patrick's Day parade route - and made 26 arrests, mainly for disorderly conduct.

Arturo Gossage took lots of photos at the St. Patrick's Day parade today, including this fancy ride.

Copyright Arturo Gossage. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

Mayor advises residents: Don't be a knucklehead - and if you have a house along the parade route, watch those guests near the deck railings.

Turlach MacDonagh wonders: Why were happy green people carrying a big log down Beacon Street in Brookline this morning?

UPDATE: Looks like it's this thing where people undergo a simulated special-forces training run. H/t Matt D.

Copyright Turlach MacDonagh. Tagged as universalhub on Flickr.

H Boston photographs the latest opus at Sav-Mor Liquors in Medford.

Copyright H Boston. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

Apparently, some group in Chicago thinks the Irish parliament has nothing better to do than consider a petition to make it the Official Headquarters for St. Patrick's Day.

Just skip to 1:40, unless you want to see a tourist entering and leaving Cheers.

Via DotRat, who declares the firefighter his new hero.

Greg Cook photographed the St. Patrick's Day and Peace parades in South Boston.

Paul Keleher also took photos.

AmberPaw photographed the peace parade.

Temple Street in West Roxbury today once again hosted the annual Shamrock Shootout, which has grown from a small neighborhood block party to an event large enough to feature a sitting US senator dropping the ceremonial first puck (well, yellow plastic ball, actually).

Rob Stanhope captured an early St. Patrick's Day celebration in the Public Garden.

Irish for the day.

According to the Herald, Southie had one parade yesterday ("Revelers in Southie have parade down pat!"). But the Globe, which had three reporters manning the parade beat, reports Southie had two parades ("Two parades play to different crowds").

UPDATE: The Herald did post a couple of photos from the second parade in a photo gallery. And it had a detailed look at the issue of the two parades the day before.

Photo copyright Paul Keleher. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

ChinatownKicks took in a harp performance at the Downtown Crossing stop on the Red Line tonight.

Copyright ChinatownKicks. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

Temple Street in West Roxbury was closed off today for the annual street-hockey tournament - the street was divided into rinks for teams from kindergarten through sixth grade.

At-large Councilor Felix Arroyo tells Bay Windows he deliberately scheduled an LGBT fundraiser on Sunday:

As an At-Large City Councilor, I represent all of Boston and all of Boston's residents. I take that responsibility very seriously. An entire community that I represent is excluded from marching in the parade. While the Supreme Court said it is legally permissible to exclude LGBT groups, I cannot in good conscience march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade until everyone else can.

The mayor's office alerts us:

To encourage people to get home safely on Sunday after all-day parade celebrations, the City has ordered package stores and bars in South Boston to close early on Sunday, March 20, 2011. Package Stores will close at 4 PM and bars must close by 7:30 PM on Sunday.

J.L. Bell fills us in.

Temple Street in West Roxbury was closed off today for the block's annual St. Patrick's Day street-hockey festival. Kids of all ages competed in the ten mini-rinks set up along the street, under the watchful eyes of parents and refs:

Megan Johnson photographs an appropriately attired trash guy on her street today.

Paul Keleher braved the rain for the St. Patrick's Day parade in South Boston today.

Copyright Paul Keleher and tagged as universalhub on Flickr.

Scott captured the scene on McGrath Highway in Somerville the other night.

Copyright Scott. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

Bill would only affect public workers in Suffolk County (question: And Somerville?).

Via David Guarino.

After watching these excerpts from the Senate battle over getting rid of Evacuation Day and Bunker Hill Day, I can't tell who's worse: Some senator from Godknowswhere, MA, who briefly affects an Irish brogue to condemn our holidays and who defends Christmas as being "for the children," or our own Jack Hart, who says that unlike the rest of the state, "we have real history here in the city," nay, we have "a historic history" and if you strip that from our bosoms, what's next, gutting Thanksgiving?

Via Bostonist.

Kevin McCrea acknowledges that Tom Menino has done a good job supporting Boston's GLBT community, but says MassEquality never even talked to him before endorsing Menino and that there's still more a mayor could do:

... For example, the Mayor still pays for the police and fire overtime for the South Boston Parade which he refuses to do for the Tall Ships. As Mayor, I would use that leverage of hundreds of thousands of dollars to breaking down that last vestige of discrimination. ...