Sly Stone, isn’t he dead?
Apparently not. Finally a reason for me to watch the Grammy Awards. But theres always a catch:
Ron Roecker, a spokesman for the Recording Academy, wouldn’t confirm that the reunion is on the Grammy-night schedule, which already includes an all-star tribute to Sly and the Family Stone. The tribute — featuring John Legend, Maroon 5, will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, among others, performing a medley of Sly classics — was announced yesterday by the academy. (All the artists appear on a Sly and the Family Stone tribute album that will be released the day before the Grammys.)
$10 says somehow Sly gets caught up in a performance of ‘My Humps’ with Fergie and humanity succumbs to the cultural vacuum created by the performance, all on live network television.
WoMag ‘Turtle Boy Music Awards’
For all you local music fans, Worcester Magazine has gone live with their ‘2006 Turtle Boy Music Awards’
– a fresh departure from the music element of our “Best Of Worcester” Awards – that will finally give our local musicians the recognition they so richly deserve
So head on over to the poll and may the best band win…
Weekend Movie Round-up
Since last Thursday the three of us who share an address have been dying of dengue fever so there has been little accomplished in our house besides making good use of Netflix. Heres a little recap so you might have something to look forward to next time the CDC puts a bubble tent over your house.
Lord of War might be Nicholas Cage’s best movie yet. Crazy cinematography, tons of style and for a guy with zero first hand knowledge of the international small arms trade enough seemingly accurate historical narrative to make the whole story believable.
I give it 4 used Kleenex
I didn’t know what to expect from Murderball, anything that carries the MTV films tag raises suspicion these days. To keep it simple this might be the most inspiring documentary I’ve ever seen. Its essentially about a bunch of crazy motherfuckers in wheelchairs who play a modified version of Rugby. But the story behind everybody featured is nothing short of amazing.
I give it 4.5 used Kleenex
David Lachapelle has done some cool stuff, RIZE could have added to that list but falls short due to corniness. The dancing is off the wall but the artists featured are playing to the camera just a little too much to be taken seriously. And the clown make up doesn’t help their cause. But if you’re a fan of urban culture, the dancing alone makes it worth seeing, if you’re dying of dengue fever that is.
RIZE gets 3 used Kleenex
Rolling the streets up early
For the last two years residents of Worcester have been hearing the City Administration talk of a transformation to an 18 hour city. For those of us Worcesterites fortunate enough to have spent time in and enjoyed other cities across the country and around the world, this has been music to our ears. Finally our home was going to wake early and stay open late! Thus building commerce, attracting new residents with fresh ideas and outlooks and attracting new commerce as well. We will be showing public support for a burgeoning industry, which will serve as a backbone for future local growth. We are all thinking about music, the arts, and retail operations leaving the malls to come back to street level spaces, long since abandoned. We envision a city that stays alive long after the sun goes down, with a rebirth in locally owned and operated business that are lucrative. We talk about the cultural community moving to the forefront of our cities vision, making room for immigrants, craftspeople, musicians, and artists to gain equal footing in forming public policy, instead of being a novelty most people only hear about and never experience. And now we may see ourselves taking a giant step backwards.
On Thursday January 19th at 10:00 am the City of Worcester License Commission will be meeting in the City Council chambers to discuss potential changes and amendments to Worcester licensing structure. All holders of entertainment licenses in the City of Worcester have received letters informing them of potential changes which could affect their ability to stay in business. This notice stems from issues with business and it is likely that their entertainment licenses will be amended with a Cinderella clause forcing them to end all entertainment, requiring a license, at midnight. This amendment has received a green light from the city legal department and sets the ground work for a lasting precedent. As someone who enjoys and takes advantage of everything my city can offer in terms of nightlife, and as a committed resident of Worcester, I’m asking everyone who reads this to come to that meeting with me. Before you ask why I would like you to attend, think for a minute about all the times you considered our seemingly arcane view of alcohol sales. How many legitimate and interesting venues have had to fight tooth and nail, only to be rejected or put off for long periods of time? Remember is was our commission that thought residents of Worcester were not responsible enough to have a glass of wine while taking in a movie at the now defunct Bijou. Reflect on the last time you were in another city, saw an outdoor concert and then thought ‘but Worcester would never have that’. Try and think of all the things you want Worcester to be, and then think about the reasons why it isn’t any of those things. The answer is simple; we allow our city to be guided by puritans and narrow vision while we continue driving down to Providence to watch a silly river burn. I don’t doubt for a minute that the Worcester License Commission is made up of three very intelligent, well meaning individuals. But, if only the cranks come out to their meetings, write letters, and leverage their representatives’ power, how can we ever expect them to fully understand Worcester’s potential for attracting a well educated, creative population with money to burn?
Shrewsbury St
When I think of my friends and acquaintances in Worcester many of them are in some way contributing to our cultural development, be it through the production of music, as artists, journalists, promoters and consumers of these local offerings. I’m talking to all of you now. The city of Worcester is exploring a potential change in your way life; many in the administration have no idea you exist and many of you are doing nothing but squawking it up on bar stools and on the Internet about how you wish things were and how they could be. Here’s a rare opportunity to flex that collective muscle and let the city know you exist, what it is that you love about Worcester and how you want to build on what we have now, not start dismantling our collective progress. Your city isn’t going to change itself but it may very well change without you.
Richard M. Stallman @ WPI today
The founder of the Free Software Foundation and GNU, the operating system that makes Linux possible. Will be speaking today in the WPI Campus Center, Odeum A, between 11:00 and 12:30. One of technologys great philisophical idealists talking to you, for free. Can’t beat that with a stick.
Doug Chapel @ CC Lowell
My buddy Doug Chapel, a local cartoonist who can be found weekly in the pages of Worcester Magazine, was featured this weekend by local video blogger Carl Weaver during Doug’s opening at CC Lowell in Worcester. The exhibit runs until Jan. 25th and the video featuring Doug runs until Carl’s bandwidth is cut.
link (via Pete Caputa)
The end of an era.
It’s been almost a week since Larry Abramoff abruptly closed the doors of his Tatnuck Bookseller and in that time I have yet to have a conversation within the 508 area code that has not begun with the same question.
‘So what do you think about the Bookseller?’
Honestly? I’m surprised they stayed open this long.
I spent a good percentage of my childhood in the original Tatnuck Sq location, my mother used to take me there weekly as I recall. At the time I don’t think I had any idea just how amazing the place was, it being just a stop that a stay at home mom made with her son. But it ended up being a errand that changed my life, I’m addicted to words because of that little store. I have a horrendous habit of reading every thing my eyes catch no matter where I am or what I’m doing; I’ve stopped writing this twice to read the Surgeon Generals warning on the bottle of cerveza mas fina next to me and were only a half dozen sentences in (never mind there not being a single piece of heavy machinery in sight). I don’t question for a second my life would be very different if not for the Tatnuck Bookseller and I thank them for that.
But my love affair with Worcesters favorite small business ended about seven years ago and unfortunately it started around the same time I started using Amazon heavily, although in the beginning one had nothing to do with the other. For awhile I lived in a three decker on May St, my apartment was just a short walk down the street from the Bookseller and you could find me there two or three nights a week having dinner with either my roommate or my girlfriend at the time. The move to their most current location, in the former Sleeper & Hartley building on Chandler St., included what started out as an excellent restaurant which for me became a great excuse to buy a few books and magazines, then hide with them so i could read without being bothered. The food was great, the service was great and I could read until my eyes bled. I remember having a conversation in the middle of a meal down there around that time predicting the stores downfall; there were all these subtle changes taking place which seemed to be slowly moving towards making the bookstore and restaurant as mainstream as possible. The local history books were moved off to the side while NYT’s bestsellers came to the front of the store, the restaurant was putting less care into what had been a great presentation and the menu seemed to stagnate. In the course of a few bites of an oversize hamburger I came up with my theory that they were attempting to market the business to a wider audience, one less open to a quirky little business and more used to the likes of Barnes & Noble and Borders. I made the point during this conversation that this change would start the downfall of our Bookseller. That by attracting a larger, less focused audience the company would alienate its more loyal customers and at the same time learn the harsh reality of the wider retail market; customers who don’t have a relationship with you, don’t care about you and will only follow the dollar.
I stopped going to the bookseller as often to eat not too long after, I had some great friends who worked at places like the Sole Proprietor where the lack of books was made up for by consistently good food, consistently perfect service and a plethora of middle aged women. That didn’t mean I was in any less need of words but Jeff Bezos found a way to get those to me in just a few days for less money than I was spending locally. Amazon has been a painful experience for me, only because I love them so, so much and that runs contrary to the way I feel about supporting local business. But Amazon also treats me like a local, small business is supposed to. When I log onto their site I’m presented with a list of books I’ve never heard of, but I’ll probably enjoy, just like a small business owner who pays attention to his customers would. It’s hard to argue with that kind of service at the prices they offer.
So in the end, the Tatnuck Bookseller and I shared our first thirty years together. I’m sorry if I never make it out to Westboro to see the new store Mr Abramoff, it’s hard for me to find a reason to head out that way. I also hope you realize the impact your business made on at least one nobody here in the Big Woo. It was an education in literature that Borders, Barnes and Noble and yes even Amazon could never provide. And now apparently, neither can you.
Hello…is this thing on?
This past Friday there was an article in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette which discussed the issues three city councilors ( Petty, Rosen and Toomey) charged with the City Council Public Service and Transportation Committee would like to tackle over the next year. It was interesting for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is their plan to introduce the idea of hiring a full time transportation planner to the city administration; which should be a no brainer for any community larger than an Amish township. But what really struck me was this statement from Councilor Petty:
Among the responsibilities of the transportation planner would be to help bring about more commuter rail and intercity bus service to Worcester, as well as working with the Worcester Regional Transit Authority and the local cab industry on addressing issues associated with the services they provide.
Those of you who actually pay attention to this drivel I write may remember reading something similar here, or in Worcester Magazine where that post was republished as an op-ed a week or so later. Now I would never be so bold as to assume someone is actually paying attention to me, but if you are, right on Joe! I received a lot of negative feedback from folks after WoMag ran that piece, from cab drivers and would be customers alike for a variety of reasons I felt comfortable ignoring. But its great to see the Council is concerned with staying ahead of the curve instead of waiting for the curve to keep curving and eventually kick them in the ass. However, there is a slight problem with the Committees stated goals, freshman councilor Toomey is quoted in the article as saying…
If we can find a way to make it easier for college students to get downtown, it could impact the types of businesses we are able to attract there,”
Uh, yea. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. Maybe you’ve heard the old saying ‘…putting the cart before the horse’? Loading up every college student onto mass transit and shuttling them downtown is the easy part. But when they get down there and find absolutely zero to do, they won’t be going back. We have some spectacular commercial real estate that has been sitting vacant for years. Property perfectly suited for cafes, bookstores, music stores and nightlife. You know, the stuff college kids are actually into. Providing buses and cabs downtown so college students can stand around on the common waiting for something, ANYTHING to happen is silly. What we need to do, is partner up with property owners in the area and work with them to attract meaningful business and then start bringing people down there; which would have the horse placed appropriately in FRONT of the cart.
A little aside to help tie this together.
This past weekend I was out with three couples for a birthday. We started off for dinner at TiNovo, which was quite possibly the most amazing thing I have experienced in Worcester since the first time I got drunk at Logan field back in ‘91. After dinner we headed down to Irish Times on North Main for a drink and then shot over to Club Blue on lower Pleasant St for a few more, sealing the night down at the Dive bar on Green St. If you’re familiar with the venues I just listed, you know they are all within a half mile of one another. A few city blocks at most. Six people, in two cars, driving around like fools to cover a distance that would be an easy walk if not for the stiletto heels (I wasn’t in heals). Why did we drive? Because it’s what we’re trained to do in Worcester and there were no cabs to hail. But here’s the thing, there were people in my party that had we taken a cab, would’ve been noticed taking a cab. When people notice new behaviors they start to get deprogrammed and as new behaviors become more regular, more people start to pick up those behaviors themselves.
What does that little rant have to do with anything? Councilors Petty, Toomey and Rosen don’t need to tell college students to start taking cabs and buses, they need to start using them themselves, everywhere they go, no exceptions. And when they do, people will notice and they will start considering the option for themselves. Especially Petty, the guys like 18 feet tall, everyone within three blocks will notice. Once a momentum starts to build and demand increases, then we can start addressing any service issues which may come into play.
TiNovo’s location on Pearl St is very significant in that it helps bring together the rather fractioned night spots throughout the city. From north Main to Green Island to Shrewsbury St we’re only talking a short distance which seems like miles due to the vacuum in between. The Pearl St location helps build up the existing lower Pleasant St destinations and makes things seem just a bit closer. It also serves as a great platform to show would be business owners the potential that exists in the Downtown area for well run establishments. If we can keep that kind of redevelopment going at the same time we ramp up the need for more transportation options then we can truly be comfortable inviting our students into the heart of the city to show them a good time. Bring on the cabs, hell bring back the rickshaws (said by some to have been invented in The Big Woo), but time it all appropriately, it could take years, but one misstep and city transportation will be worse off than when we started.
Dear Mr. O’Brien, please consider the above as my application for the position of Transportation Planner for the City of Worcester (I work cheaper than a Thai hooker).
