tblade's blog

Yes: any substance that has harmful effects on a players’ health should be banned. And Harrison should be punished for breaking the rules. And I’d love to see harmful steroids and supplements eliminated.

First, many of us break the rules every day - stealing from work, lying on taxes, speeding, intentionally running red lights, watching or listening to copyrighted material online, bloging at work thus stealing company time, etc, and no one calls us "liars, cheaters, and thieves" - yet we are.

As of 2:20 pm, the Virginia Tech shooting death toll stands at 32, according to MSNBC TV.

I typically don’t jump into the second guessing fray until I have immersed myself in facts and commentary from opinion makers whom I respect. But I am too damned bothered by one thing about this shooting: the first shooting occurred just after 7:00 am – the second shooting occurred after 9:00 am in a building where classes were being held. Why the hell was the campus conducting business as usual two hours after the initial shooting?

"It's a grubby, violent, dangerous world. But it's the only world they know. And they're the only friends Eddie has."

1973's The Friends of Eddie Coyle starring Robert Mitchum and a young Peter Boyle is the lost gem of Boston movies. Based on Rockland native and Boston-based federal prosecutor George V. Higgins's novel, this contemporary of Scorsese's Mean Streets features solid performances and a calculated plot involving Irish criminals and betrayal, making Eddie Coyle a fine precursor to 2006's Best Picture, The Departed.

Of all the branches in all the trees in all of Dorchester, this hawk (red tail?) landed on the branch next to my window, prey in tow, for a lunch break.

It was a fascinating sight for which I am thankful to have witnessed. But if any Dorchester-area hawks read Universal Hub, a small request: I am happy to host you for lunch, just please clear your place. Staring at a red clump of leftover bird ruins my view (I’ll take graffiti any day!)

From Wikipedia:

"Mandela was a proposed city that would be formed as a result of some districts seceding from Boston...including parts of Roxbury, Dorchester, and the South End....The name was inspired by Nelson and Winnie Mandela, popular South African anti-Apartheid activists. The proposal was defeated in 1986."

Currently, civil rights are a Massachusetts hot button, with gay marriage and Jimmy Kelly penatrating the headlines and blog fodder.

Today being Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day of reflection on civil rights, I present two brief snapshots from Boston's voluminous civil rights history:

First, many people don't know that Dr. King first met Coretta Scott, a New England Conservatory student, during his time pursing a doctorate at BU. While here, he rented a room at 397 Mass Ave, where a small plaque still stands to commemorate his time in the Hub.

At the Coolidge Corner Theater today, Eve Ensler of “The Vagina Monologues” fame read from her new book “Insecure at Last: Losing it in our Security Obsessed World”.

What does UMass do with its $524 M in annual state funding? Why, it generates $3.5 billion in additional economic activity, of course:

"The University of Massachusetts is one of the state’s largest economic engines, generating $4 billion in economic activity each year, with every $1 of state support helping the university generate more than $8 in positive economic activity….If UMass were a private or commercial company, it would not only be a globally competitive firm but one of the state’s largest drivers of economic growth. UMass is a $2 billion enterprise, with 15,000 employees – making it one of the top 10 employers in Massachusetts – $377 million in research and development investments and the site of three recently awarded, highly competitive national research centers."

Kerry Healey, WTF? It is outrageous that our Lt. Governor makes a mere 400 students a campaign issue while refusing to acknowledge the existence of the commonwealth’s 30,000 students currently attending state higher education institutions. That’s 400 students that would pay $40,000 for a degree at the University of Massachusetts Boston - anything but a free ride.

Hey, K. Heal! Talk about people like me! I attend state university. And in state tuition is no gift, take Ryan’s word for it . How does punishing these 400 students help me? 91 classes at UMB were canceled this fall because not enough students were enrolled; clearly, there is plenty of room.

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I am taking MBTA GM Dan Grabauskas’s advice to heart. I am using blogspace to vent about the T’s inefficiency.

I can state unequivocally that I have never seen any service improvement due to my participation in the T’s “immensely popular” (with Mr. Grabauskas) Write to the Top program. I write to the top and get the same form letter each time.