I saw the old Boston band Extreme last night.
It was ok...JUST ok. They played for close to 2.5 hours and didn't finish until 11:30 but I was bored for about a total of an hour. For most of the show, literally every other song was something I didn't want to hear. I would have preferred more "fun" stuff from their first two albums rather than the slow-trudging filler material they had on their lesser popular later albums. And I don't think I was all alone with that feeling.
For example their song "Tragic Comic". I don't think many people wanted to hear that song 14 years ago -- which is around the time when a lot of us stopped buying their albums -- and last night it certainly appeared that the audience wasn't interested it in hearing it too much now because out of the whole crowd, I could count the number of people dancing/grooving/getting into it on my fingers. And quite a few people sat down during such songs. A stark contrast to songs like "Little Girls" from their first album, where everyone was up and dancing and singing along, but yet they only did this song as part of a medley of other stuff from that first album. HUGE mistake in my opinion. They should have done these older more beloved songs in their entirety and pulled the filler songs out of the setlist.
However this medley sort of salvaged the night because they did it towards the end so anyone who was feeling sleepy during those sit-down songs became wide awake and ready to rock.
For the encore, Paul Geary came out from behind the drums to tell us how as a kid he used to look at a poster that he had hanging on his wall, wishing and hoping that some day he'd be as sucessful as that band and that they were his "heroes" at which point Nuno ran up to the mic and said "they were MY heroes, too". This brought out three members of the orginal band Boston -- Brad Delp, Barry Goodreau, and Fran Sheehan. They played Boston's "Rock And Roll Band" and Led Zep's "Rock And Roll". I love Brad Delp -- one of the coolest guys I've ever met -- but he didn't sound so great for the first song; a little rusty and straining to hit those highs at first, but he pulled it out by the end and then he hit every high note in the Zep song, singing in an octave that Robert Plant can't get to anymore.
These songs were the only time that Nuno wasn't playing his ass off -- he relaxed a little to let Barry Goodreau show off. The rest of the night, Nuno kicked ass. He is a solid non-stop rhythm guitar player and a smokin' lead guitar player all at the same time. Not to mention that he is the only member of the band who still looks and acts like a rock star, but not in an egotitistcal way. I mean, he has long 1976-Joe-Perry-blond-patch hair and wears black and silver nail polish. The other guys, well, they look like they just came from their day-jobs and I wouldn't have recognized any of them if they walked past me on the street. I've seen pics of Pat with short hair before but I don't think I have even seen Paul completely clean-shaven...I did't even think it was him at first. And Gary...OMG...WTF happened to him?!?!?!?!?! He had more wrinkles than Mick Jagger and looked like someone gave him a black eye! Seriosuly! Like, maybe he walked into a mic...or maybe he got into a fist-fight with someone before the show...whatever it was, he looked REALLLLLLLLY bad!!
Mike Mangini came out and drummed for two songs. Gary and Pat and Nuno were trying to be funny by saying stuff like "Paul wants to take a break" and "Paul has to take a call from Sully" and "does anyone in the audience know how to play drums?". Kind of lame but when Mike did come out, I would say that he did a better job than Paul. He had more feeling and was more heavy and powerful. But, I can't drum for shit so who am I to talk.
Oh yeah, and Charlie Farren was the opener...wow...if someone offered me a million bucks if I could pick him out of a crowd, there is no way I would be able to...no longer the tall skinny guy I met way back in the day. His voice still sounds good however he was just doing the solo-acoustic thing which didn't seem to interest people too much. I would say there was no more than a few hundred people in the seating area for his set.
It filled up a lot more for Extreme but there were still lots of empty seats. In my row alone, I think there were 13 or 14 seats all together, but there was only seven of us in the entire row.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Sammy Hagar & Michael Anthony -- 6/28/06
Went to the show last night in Gilford, NH. The night had the potential to suck for a lot of various reasons but the show itself was very good.
Especially the set-list. I've been seeing Sammy Hagar for like 20 years and this is the first time I can remember ever seeing him play his song from the movie Footloose. And he played a few songs from his early-80's "Standing Hampton" album that I haven't seen him do in years. He also did the Bob Dylan "everybody must get stoned" song and the song that Toby Keith wrote about the Cabo Wabo Cantina.
That was all the first half of the show with his band "The Waboritas". After a short intermission, the second half started out with Michael Anthony doing a bass solo {yawn} which turned into "Runnin' With The Devil" -- which surprised me a LOT, and then it was alllllll Van Halen from there, until the encore which was the Beastie Boys "fight for your right to parrrrrrty" song. In between, they did a lot of stuff from the Van Halen 5150 album -- stuff I haven't seen or heard live since VH did them on that tour.
I THINK Mikey may have had a drink or two too many during the first half of the show (when it was just Sammy and the Wabos playing). Funny.
So all in all, it was very cool and highly entertaining. Sammy works the crowd like NO ONE else in the biz -- he always autographs literally everything that anyone brings up or throws up to the stage, he high-five's or hugs everyone along the way, and walks through the audience of fans that are on the stage during the whole show.
I took a bunch of pics and I'll post them soon.
Especially the set-list. I've been seeing Sammy Hagar for like 20 years and this is the first time I can remember ever seeing him play his song from the movie Footloose. And he played a few songs from his early-80's "Standing Hampton" album that I haven't seen him do in years. He also did the Bob Dylan "everybody must get stoned" song and the song that Toby Keith wrote about the Cabo Wabo Cantina.
That was all the first half of the show with his band "The Waboritas". After a short intermission, the second half started out with Michael Anthony doing a bass solo {yawn} which turned into "Runnin' With The Devil" -- which surprised me a LOT, and then it was alllllll Van Halen from there, until the encore which was the Beastie Boys "fight for your right to parrrrrrty" song. In between, they did a lot of stuff from the Van Halen 5150 album -- stuff I haven't seen or heard live since VH did them on that tour.
I THINK Mikey may have had a drink or two too many during the first half of the show (when it was just Sammy and the Wabos playing). Funny.
So all in all, it was very cool and highly entertaining. Sammy works the crowd like NO ONE else in the biz -- he always autographs literally everything that anyone brings up or throws up to the stage, he high-five's or hugs everyone along the way, and walks through the audience of fans that are on the stage during the whole show.
I took a bunch of pics and I'll post them soon.
The O&A Motorcycle Run to Boston -- 6/21/06
About a hundred or so bikes started from NYC and wound up at Bill's Bar in Boston.
At Bill's Bar, I got to meet a few people who are heard on the show as well as some fellow fans from fullblownaids.com.
Among these people were the infamous "Stalker Patti", the lovely "Cara from MySpace", and Ziggy from myradiostore.com (the BEST place to get XM radios and accessories from).
Ziggy was buying drinks -- I didn't want to drink because I've been dieting and because I had to perform in a play that afternoon (which went VERY well; my best role ever!), but when he asked what I was drinking, I said "Diet Coke", he said "bullshit!" and took it away from me. So I had no choice. :D Thus by 1:30 in the afternoon, I was drunk-dialing my friends who usually get similar calls from me around 1:30 AM instead.
Here are a few of the pics. You can see the rest here and I have a small videoclip of the first batch of bikes arriving here.
"Stalker Patti"
"Cara from MySpace"
Monday, May 29, 2006
Montreal -- May, 2006
Just got back.
Lots of walking, shopping, eating $12 salads and drinking $4 bottles of water because I am trying to be healthy, and there may have been a stripper or two a few nights...
There was a visit to a big church one day, a trip to the Biodome, a trip to the casino, and an unexpected wrong turn onto the Montreal Grand Prix racetrack where we drove around the track a few times in shock and awe.
And of course a Hooters (my 70th!) in Vermont on the way home. :)
Lots of walking, shopping, eating $12 salads and drinking $4 bottles of water because I am trying to be healthy, and there may have been a stripper or two a few nights...
There was a visit to a big church one day, a trip to the Biodome, a trip to the casino, and an unexpected wrong turn onto the Montreal Grand Prix racetrack where we drove around the track a few times in shock and awe.
And of course a Hooters (my 70th!) in Vermont on the way home. :)
- Watch video from the church here and here.
- Watch video of the racetrack here.
- See the pics here.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Eagle-Tribune -- April 4, 2006
There has been a lot of violence in area nighclubs so I wrote this that appears in today's Eagle-Tribune:
Punish clubs that break the rules
I respectfully disagree with The Eagle-Tribune's opinion about closing all Lawrence bars and nightclubs early.
While it is obvious that violence is a problem and I certainly agree that something needs to be done, I do not feel that shutting down everything early is the solution. In fact it is quite unfair to the majority of bars and nightclubs that are consistently trouble-free and it effectively punishes the patrons of such establishments.
In the spirit of everyone being innocent until proven guilty, it makes much more sense to me to go with the preference of the Licensing Board and determine early closing times on a case-by-case basis for the so-called "problem" nightclubs.
If this can't be easily accomplished through their licensing and regulation, then it can be up to the discretion of police officers working inside of the bars and nightclubs — the officers should be able to shut down someplace early if and when they deem it to be unsafe or dangerous. I might even go so far as to say that some of these "problem" nightclubs may still be "problems" whether they close at 11 p.m. or 12 a.m. or 1 a.m., but the police on scene can make that determination as needed.
It may not be the best solution, but I do feel it is more practical than penalizing or punishing everyone in town for the bad actions of a few people at a few places. It is definitely much better than doing nothing at all.
DAVID STRUFFOLINO
Punish clubs that break the rules
I respectfully disagree with The Eagle-Tribune's opinion about closing all Lawrence bars and nightclubs early.
While it is obvious that violence is a problem and I certainly agree that something needs to be done, I do not feel that shutting down everything early is the solution. In fact it is quite unfair to the majority of bars and nightclubs that are consistently trouble-free and it effectively punishes the patrons of such establishments.
In the spirit of everyone being innocent until proven guilty, it makes much more sense to me to go with the preference of the Licensing Board and determine early closing times on a case-by-case basis for the so-called "problem" nightclubs.
If this can't be easily accomplished through their licensing and regulation, then it can be up to the discretion of police officers working inside of the bars and nightclubs — the officers should be able to shut down someplace early if and when they deem it to be unsafe or dangerous. I might even go so far as to say that some of these "problem" nightclubs may still be "problems" whether they close at 11 p.m. or 12 a.m. or 1 a.m., but the police on scene can make that determination as needed.
It may not be the best solution, but I do feel it is more practical than penalizing or punishing everyone in town for the bad actions of a few people at a few places. It is definitely much better than doing nothing at all.
DAVID STRUFFOLINO
Sunday, February 19, 2006
The little play I am in
Several newspapers did a story about the play I'll be in. This is from the Atlantic News...
Scroll down to the bottom page:
http://www.atlanticnews.com/main/AN06/AN06-P16-16-17.pdf
It's continued here (they get my town wrong; oh well): http://www.atlanticnews.com/main/AN06/AN06-P05-28-05.pdf
EDIT:
This is a pic from play-day...all made up and ready for action...and wow, do I look like shit!
Scroll down to the bottom page:
http://www.atlanticnews.com/main/AN06/AN06-P16-16-17.pdf
It's continued here (they get my town wrong; oh well): http://www.atlanticnews.com/main/AN06/AN06-P05-28-05.pdf
EDIT:
This is a pic from play-day...all made up and ready for action...and wow, do I look like shit!
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
I thought I was going to watch myself crash like the people on JetBlue
I went to Orlando a few weeks ago to visit my mom, see the water-ski show at Cypress Gardens, and add a new Hooters to my list (I am up to my 69th different Hooters location now; you can read the background of my Hooters obsession here).
It was on Song Airlines (which will be absorbed by Delta soon) and it was a pretty fun flight because they have more than a thousand MP3s to listen to, games to play with other passengers (I made it to the #3 all-time high-score on a trivia game), and live satellite TV. And before the flight got off the ground, rather than the usual boring "...in the event of a water landing..." and "...this is how you put on the oxygen mask..." stuff, the Flight Attendants entertained us with a Christmas-like version that started out as " 'Twas Eight Days Before Christmas..." and had all of the safety instructions worked into the story. It took a long time but it was an amusing change of pace.
On the flight back home to Boston, I noticed that we seemed to be circling the area more than normal. I happened to look over at the people next to me who were watching CNN and I saw the caption that looked like "BOSTON PLANE TROUBLE" and it looked like an aerial shot of Logan Airport.
I thought, "Hmm...I'm on a plane, and I am going to Boston, and I thought we were circling anyway...uhhh...maybe I should put on the TV and watch the news". It felt like it took an eternity to change the channel. I was trying my best to remain calm but all I could think of were those people on the infamous JetBlue flight where they watched the news on TV for like three hours while their jet burned off fuel in preparation for an emergency landing.
Once I finally got the news on my TV I saw that it wasn't my flight that was in trouble this time (it was a flight from Milwaukee that ended up landing safely). But for those few minutes until I changed the channel, it wasn't a very good feeling.
It was on Song Airlines (which will be absorbed by Delta soon) and it was a pretty fun flight because they have more than a thousand MP3s to listen to, games to play with other passengers (I made it to the #3 all-time high-score on a trivia game), and live satellite TV. And before the flight got off the ground, rather than the usual boring "...in the event of a water landing..." and "...this is how you put on the oxygen mask..." stuff, the Flight Attendants entertained us with a Christmas-like version that started out as " 'Twas Eight Days Before Christmas..." and had all of the safety instructions worked into the story. It took a long time but it was an amusing change of pace.
On the flight back home to Boston, I noticed that we seemed to be circling the area more than normal. I happened to look over at the people next to me who were watching CNN and I saw the caption that looked like "BOSTON PLANE TROUBLE" and it looked like an aerial shot of Logan Airport.
I thought, "Hmm...I'm on a plane, and I am going to Boston, and I thought we were circling anyway...uhhh...maybe I should put on the TV and watch the news". It felt like it took an eternity to change the channel. I was trying my best to remain calm but all I could think of were those people on the infamous JetBlue flight where they watched the news on TV for like three hours while their jet burned off fuel in preparation for an emergency landing.
Once I finally got the news on my TV I saw that it wasn't my flight that was in trouble this time (it was a flight from Milwaukee that ended up landing safely). But for those few minutes until I changed the channel, it wasn't a very good feeling.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
There was only one month that I was not either on a plane or a train somewhere in 1997-1998
I finally got around to writing about this. During the calendar year 1997-1998, there was only one month that I was not either on a plane or a train somewhere. Literally.
I spent almost the entire first six months of 1997 on the road in Philadelphia and in Washington, DC. I was home for Easter and Father's Day but was away the rest of the time.
I spent 65 days at the Holiday Inn in Washington, DC. The bill from that hotel stay stretched more than 25 feet long across the lobby! And thanks to Eli, the CEO of Holiday Inn even sent me a Thank You note later that year (as seen below...you can click on it to blow it up).
While in DC, I did most of the typical touristy things such as the Smithsonian, the National Air and Space Museum, toured the US Capitol Building and got to sit in on a session of Congress, went to Arlington National Cemetery, saw the US Navy Band play at the Navy Memorial, and toured the FBI Headquarters. Went to the Pentagon but did not make it into the tour. Also missed out on the tour of the White House. Over in the Georgetown neighborhood, Old Glory was my favorite place to hang.
In November 1997, I went to Las Vegas and among other things, went on an airplane tour that buzzed the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. I felt like I was almost flying on the Manhattan Express at New York, New York and on the Big Shot at the Stratosphere...a ride that shoots you up 160-feet on a tower that's already over 1000-feet above ground-level, and you do it in only a few seconds at 4-G's! Had a very magical dining experience (literally) at Caesar's Magical Empire.
Went back to Vegas in 1998 for the opening of the Star Trek Experience, which is soooo cool...one second you're standing in a small square room, and the next second you find that you've been beamed into the Transporter Room of the Enterprise...truly amazing! I've been back there several times since then and still cannot figure how the hell they do that!
I spent almost the entire first six months of 1997 on the road in Philadelphia and in Washington, DC. I was home for Easter and Father's Day but was away the rest of the time.
I spent 65 days at the Holiday Inn in Washington, DC. The bill from that hotel stay stretched more than 25 feet long across the lobby! And thanks to Eli, the CEO of Holiday Inn even sent me a Thank You note later that year (as seen below...you can click on it to blow it up).
While in DC, I did most of the typical touristy things such as the Smithsonian, the National Air and Space Museum, toured the US Capitol Building and got to sit in on a session of Congress, went to Arlington National Cemetery, saw the US Navy Band play at the Navy Memorial, and toured the FBI Headquarters. Went to the Pentagon but did not make it into the tour. Also missed out on the tour of the White House. Over in the Georgetown neighborhood, Old Glory was my favorite place to hang.
In November 1997, I went to Las Vegas and among other things, went on an airplane tour that buzzed the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. I felt like I was almost flying on the Manhattan Express at New York, New York and on the Big Shot at the Stratosphere...a ride that shoots you up 160-feet on a tower that's already over 1000-feet above ground-level, and you do it in only a few seconds at 4-G's! Had a very magical dining experience (literally) at Caesar's Magical Empire.
Went back to Vegas in 1998 for the opening of the Star Trek Experience, which is soooo cool...one second you're standing in a small square room, and the next second you find that you've been beamed into the Transporter Room of the Enterprise...truly amazing! I've been back there several times since then and still cannot figure how the hell they do that!
Friday, November 11, 2005
Flying
I dug out my pilot's license and went flying this morning for the first time in like five years (I was supposed to go a few years ago, but then the September 11th stuff happened and all flights were grounded).
A picture perfect day today and we could see the NH mountains from Boston! The straight-and-level flying was easy for me -- almost like riding a bike -- but I think I'll leave the landings up to the pros until I go back up at least a few more times. Hopefully it won't take me another five years to go back again.
A picture perfect day today and we could see the NH mountains from Boston! The straight-and-level flying was easy for me -- almost like riding a bike -- but I think I'll leave the landings up to the pros until I go back up at least a few more times. Hopefully it won't take me another five years to go back again.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Aerosmith at Mohegan Sun
While I wasn't a huge fan of Sunday's show, I wouldn't say it totally sucked, like a lot of other hard-core fans have said.
It was very cool to have classics like "Seasons Of Wither" and "No More No More" in the same show along with "Walkin' The Dog" and "Helter Skelter", and I am probably one of the only ppl who don't object to "Angel" especially since they don't beat it to death like some of their other songs from that era. The rest of the setlist could have been a bit better, though. I thought "Janie's Got A Gun" completely sucked, as I've thought just about every time I've seen them do it -- the beginning just drags on and never feels right to me.
I would have liked a little more interaction between the band members. To me it seemed like in the rehearsals, they worked on the songs, but not really on any of the choreography (for lack of a better word) -- almost like they need to be reminded that Joe and Brad typically do the catwalk stroll during the guitar interlude in "Dream On", for example.
But I am letting a lot slide based on the fact that it was first show of the whole tour and they haven't played out in a while. I am going again tonite so we'll see how that goes.
Lenny Kravitz kind of impressed me. I am not really a fan of his in general -- I don't dislike him at all, but I don't go nuts over him. But his performance was solid and he did a great job.
Pics (from my aging camera phone) are here.
It was very cool to have classics like "Seasons Of Wither" and "No More No More" in the same show along with "Walkin' The Dog" and "Helter Skelter", and I am probably one of the only ppl who don't object to "Angel" especially since they don't beat it to death like some of their other songs from that era. The rest of the setlist could have been a bit better, though. I thought "Janie's Got A Gun" completely sucked, as I've thought just about every time I've seen them do it -- the beginning just drags on and never feels right to me.
I would have liked a little more interaction between the band members. To me it seemed like in the rehearsals, they worked on the songs, but not really on any of the choreography (for lack of a better word) -- almost like they need to be reminded that Joe and Brad typically do the catwalk stroll during the guitar interlude in "Dream On", for example.
But I am letting a lot slide based on the fact that it was first show of the whole tour and they haven't played out in a while. I am going again tonite so we'll see how that goes.
Lenny Kravitz kind of impressed me. I am not really a fan of his in general -- I don't dislike him at all, but I don't go nuts over him. But his performance was solid and he did a great job.
Pics (from my aging camera phone) are here.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Factory Of Terror & Witch's Woods
Just in time for the holidays, the Factory Of Terror is baaaaaack. I went there last year and it was definitely worth the drive, so Shannon and I went there last night. I liked it for the most part. There were a few spots that totally scared the shit outta me! And there were also a few spots that were just so-so. But the place is big -- lots of rooms, with lots of dark spots where "creatures" jump out at you. Some of them will walk alongside of you trying to spook you and freak you out.
Shannon thought the "creatures" were better at the Witch's Woods -- we went there Sunday. Two of their haunted-house things were about average, but they have one that has all 3D effects...you wear 3D glasses and you see stuff coming out of the walls at you. REALLY cool! Their Haunted Hayride was also fun and they have a nice display of carved pumpkins.
Shannon thought the "creatures" were better at the Witch's Woods -- we went there Sunday. Two of their haunted-house things were about average, but they have one that has all 3D effects...you wear 3D glasses and you see stuff coming out of the walls at you. REALLY cool! Their Haunted Hayride was also fun and they have a nice display of carved pumpkins.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
New Orleans
I first went to New Orleans while on a cruise in 1995 or '96 (it was long ago so I don't remember exactly when). It was the first time I had ever been to a Hooters and I had no idea that would become such a hobby for me.
I went back to New Orleans in 2001. My family drove from Florida to meet me there. Of course I went to two more Hooters restaurants, one of which is currently listed as "Closed indefinitely" on their website after the hurricane. I kinda figured something like that would happen because I saw that neighborhood in the news coverage and it looked bad. The other Hooters location I went to on this trip (currently listed as being re-built) was one of the worst times I've ever had at a Hooters. They were downright rude and refused to pose for pictures with me until I spoke with the manager and told him that I was so disappointed that I was going to call Corporate. I wound up settling for a picture with a waitress wearing a long-sleeve shirt over her "uniform". I only needed the photographic proof that I was actually there so that was good enough, but it was a huge hassle to get at all.
Anyway, you can read more about that trip here and see the photos here.
Speaking of the hurricane, I found that the Google Map page has satellite pictures of New Orleans after it hit. You can zoom in on the Superdome, for example, and see the damage to the roof. You can see highways that seem to just disappear into the flooding. And you can also look at the older satellite pictures and see what it all looked like before anything ever happened -- just click around the "Satellite" and "Katrina" buttons to see what I mean (since there is no way to know how long they'll keep those buttons up there, you should check it out soon).
I went back to New Orleans in 2001. My family drove from Florida to meet me there. Of course I went to two more Hooters restaurants, one of which is currently listed as "Closed indefinitely" on their website after the hurricane. I kinda figured something like that would happen because I saw that neighborhood in the news coverage and it looked bad. The other Hooters location I went to on this trip (currently listed as being re-built) was one of the worst times I've ever had at a Hooters. They were downright rude and refused to pose for pictures with me until I spoke with the manager and told him that I was so disappointed that I was going to call Corporate. I wound up settling for a picture with a waitress wearing a long-sleeve shirt over her "uniform". I only needed the photographic proof that I was actually there so that was good enough, but it was a huge hassle to get at all.
Anyway, you can read more about that trip here and see the photos here.
Speaking of the hurricane, I found that the Google Map page has satellite pictures of New Orleans after it hit. You can zoom in on the Superdome, for example, and see the damage to the roof. You can see highways that seem to just disappear into the flooding. And you can also look at the older satellite pictures and see what it all looked like before anything ever happened -- just click around the "Satellite" and "Katrina" buttons to see what I mean (since there is no way to know how long they'll keep those buttons up there, you should check it out soon).
Monday, August 15, 2005
Deep-fried Oreos
Had some at Old Orchard Beach yesterday...who woulda thunk that there would be such a thing. For some reason they seem especially good when chased by a Dr. Pepper.
I've always liked O.O.B. because there is much to do, especially if you enjoy drinking. ;-)
The epicenter is around the pier and everything else sort of spreads out from there.
I've always liked O.O.B. because there is much to do, especially if you enjoy drinking. ;-)
The epicenter is around the pier and everything else sort of spreads out from there.
The Aristocrats
Go see it before it's too late. It is one of the rudest, sickest, grossest movies -- I love it! Check out the South Park version of the story.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Eagle-Tribune -- June 29, 2005
I wrote this that appeared in today's Eagle-Tribune newspaper:
There are ways to ease gridlock
I have been commuting to and from Boston and Cambridge for 18 years. I have been fortunate that most of those years have been outside of a typical 9-to-5 schedule because my 32-mile trip would easily take more than an hour using Interstates 495 and 93 (and that doesn't count the extra 15 to 30 minutes it takes for the 2.5 miles between my office and the highway).
Highway delays can be attributed to many factors, not the least of which are accidents and the sheer volume during peak periods. For example, many people may be surprised at how a modestly-sized hill can help to choke rush-hour traffic. While there isn't anything that can be done to flatten hills, drivers can help each other by maintaining constant speeds on the inclines. If everyone used cruise control and kept an even steady speed, you wouldn't see other people jamming on their brakes because someone ahead of them is losing speed while going uphill (and let's not forget the better gas mileage you get when you maintain steady speeds).
Drivers can also help each other by staying out of each other's way. If you want to go 40 mph on a major highway, do not stay in the left lanes. Just as excessive speed kills, so can excessive slowness. I can't begin to tell you how many accidents and near-misses I have seen when someone was going too slowly in the left lane, causing everyone else to suddenly swerve right to avoid hitting them. I am not saying that everyone needs to go fast, I am simply saying that we all need to respect each other and use a lane that suits our speeds.
Unfortunately, even if everyone were to cooperate with each other in a perfect world, there are still many more factors that are beyond our own control. Roads designed with lane drops tend to create bottlenecks — and if the lane drop occurs in conjunction with a hill, such as the Leverett Connector/Storrow Drive exit off of I-93 southbound in Boston, you're basically doomed to be delayed. You're also doomed at many of the major interchanges where there is a lack of accelerate/decelerate and merge lanes like there are in other parts of the country.
I've traveled to almost every major city in our country and have spent considerable amounts of time in many of them (often up to several months at a time in some cities). I've seen solutions used elsewhere that could help our traffic troubles here. I've seen the median strips between highway lanes used for express rail service (with only a limited number of stops along the way so they would be quicker than standard commuter rail service). I have also seen median strips used for reversible express/toll travel lanes (again with only a limited number of entrance/exit points), similar to the reversible lane known as "the zipper lane" between Boston and Braintree. Since the governments of Massachusetts and New Hampshire already own or control the median strips and the land between the lanes, perhaps they can look into using them for similar solutions. Yes, they would require money to be spent for construction, but they can pay for themselves over time. I know I would not mind dropping a buck into a basket if it is going to get me in or out of Boston more quickly.
DAVID S. STRUFFOLINO
There are ways to ease gridlock
I have been commuting to and from Boston and Cambridge for 18 years. I have been fortunate that most of those years have been outside of a typical 9-to-5 schedule because my 32-mile trip would easily take more than an hour using Interstates 495 and 93 (and that doesn't count the extra 15 to 30 minutes it takes for the 2.5 miles between my office and the highway).
Highway delays can be attributed to many factors, not the least of which are accidents and the sheer volume during peak periods. For example, many people may be surprised at how a modestly-sized hill can help to choke rush-hour traffic. While there isn't anything that can be done to flatten hills, drivers can help each other by maintaining constant speeds on the inclines. If everyone used cruise control and kept an even steady speed, you wouldn't see other people jamming on their brakes because someone ahead of them is losing speed while going uphill (and let's not forget the better gas mileage you get when you maintain steady speeds).
Drivers can also help each other by staying out of each other's way. If you want to go 40 mph on a major highway, do not stay in the left lanes. Just as excessive speed kills, so can excessive slowness. I can't begin to tell you how many accidents and near-misses I have seen when someone was going too slowly in the left lane, causing everyone else to suddenly swerve right to avoid hitting them. I am not saying that everyone needs to go fast, I am simply saying that we all need to respect each other and use a lane that suits our speeds.
Unfortunately, even if everyone were to cooperate with each other in a perfect world, there are still many more factors that are beyond our own control. Roads designed with lane drops tend to create bottlenecks — and if the lane drop occurs in conjunction with a hill, such as the Leverett Connector/Storrow Drive exit off of I-93 southbound in Boston, you're basically doomed to be delayed. You're also doomed at many of the major interchanges where there is a lack of accelerate/decelerate and merge lanes like there are in other parts of the country.
I've traveled to almost every major city in our country and have spent considerable amounts of time in many of them (often up to several months at a time in some cities). I've seen solutions used elsewhere that could help our traffic troubles here. I've seen the median strips between highway lanes used for express rail service (with only a limited number of stops along the way so they would be quicker than standard commuter rail service). I have also seen median strips used for reversible express/toll travel lanes (again with only a limited number of entrance/exit points), similar to the reversible lane known as "the zipper lane" between Boston and Braintree. Since the governments of Massachusetts and New Hampshire already own or control the median strips and the land between the lanes, perhaps they can look into using them for similar solutions. Yes, they would require money to be spent for construction, but they can pay for themselves over time. I know I would not mind dropping a buck into a basket if it is going to get me in or out of Boston more quickly.
DAVID S. STRUFFOLINO
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Orlando, 2005
Went to Orlando two weekends ago with some friends. It rained every day and it was hot as hell. I mean DISGUSTINGLY hot! REALLY nasty ugly weather! But I didn't let that spoil my fun riding the rides...
Went on Mission: Space at Epcot (where a four year old died earlier this week). That was AWESOME! They make you feel like you're really on a rocket blasting off into space. A VERY intense ride. I was a lil lightheaded when it was done and I was white as a ghost, but it was well worth the experience!
Over at Disney-MGM, the Aerosmith Rock 'n' Roller Coaster kept breaking down so we never got a chance to go on that on this trip, which really pissed me off because I love that ride and it's one of two things I look forward to at that park. But at least the Tower Of Terror was working perfectly.
Up at Universal and Islands Of Adventure, the sign outside of the Hulk rollercoaster said it was a 30 minute wait. More than an hour later while we were still waiting in line, they finally made an announcement that the ride was broken, so that turned out to be a huge waste of time. We tried a few unfamiliar attractions -- things with short wait-times because of all the time we wasted at the Hulk, and they turned out to be great fun. There was a Poseidon thing in which we walked thru a cool refreshing tunnel of spinning water and there were a lot of special effects, a Shrek 3D movie that has added effects like blowing wind and water droplets and hydraulic chairs to enhance the realism, and a new ride based on the Mummy movie that is kind of like a rollercoaster except that it stops and drops and goes backwards and twists and turns. Some of the old Universal standards like Twister are still cool -- they do a great job of making you feel like you're standing in front of a real live tornado, and the Back To The Future ride is still fun but it's starting to show its age a little. The Earthquake ride is still a great idea, but I think they need to update it a bit.
I went to two new Hooters which bring my total up to 68 now (you can read more about Hooters here). There were two more that I wanted to go to in the area but I couldn't use the rental car that three of us split (and the ones with the car were avoiding the other two of us all weekend, so the car became kind of a waste for me) and I spent way too much money on taxis just getting around the amusement parks.
I wasn't a fan of the Disney resort bus system because buses were almost always late and a few times we were given misinformation by bus drivers that resulted in us going places we did not want to go. There was one exceptional bus driver, however, who told me about a huge pool party at a hotel down the street from ours one day, although I didn't enjoy it as much I would have if I didn't have blisters from walking around in the rain all weekend, LOL!
I didn't take a lot of pics but I do have some and I will add them soon.
Went on Mission: Space at Epcot (where a four year old died earlier this week). That was AWESOME! They make you feel like you're really on a rocket blasting off into space. A VERY intense ride. I was a lil lightheaded when it was done and I was white as a ghost, but it was well worth the experience!
Over at Disney-MGM, the Aerosmith Rock 'n' Roller Coaster kept breaking down so we never got a chance to go on that on this trip, which really pissed me off because I love that ride and it's one of two things I look forward to at that park. But at least the Tower Of Terror was working perfectly.
Up at Universal and Islands Of Adventure, the sign outside of the Hulk rollercoaster said it was a 30 minute wait. More than an hour later while we were still waiting in line, they finally made an announcement that the ride was broken, so that turned out to be a huge waste of time. We tried a few unfamiliar attractions -- things with short wait-times because of all the time we wasted at the Hulk, and they turned out to be great fun. There was a Poseidon thing in which we walked thru a cool refreshing tunnel of spinning water and there were a lot of special effects, a Shrek 3D movie that has added effects like blowing wind and water droplets and hydraulic chairs to enhance the realism, and a new ride based on the Mummy movie that is kind of like a rollercoaster except that it stops and drops and goes backwards and twists and turns. Some of the old Universal standards like Twister are still cool -- they do a great job of making you feel like you're standing in front of a real live tornado, and the Back To The Future ride is still fun but it's starting to show its age a little. The Earthquake ride is still a great idea, but I think they need to update it a bit.
I went to two new Hooters which bring my total up to 68 now (you can read more about Hooters here). There were two more that I wanted to go to in the area but I couldn't use the rental car that three of us split (and the ones with the car were avoiding the other two of us all weekend, so the car became kind of a waste for me) and I spent way too much money on taxis just getting around the amusement parks.
I wasn't a fan of the Disney resort bus system because buses were almost always late and a few times we were given misinformation by bus drivers that resulted in us going places we did not want to go. There was one exceptional bus driver, however, who told me about a huge pool party at a hotel down the street from ours one day, although I didn't enjoy it as much I would have if I didn't have blisters from walking around in the rain all weekend, LOL!
I didn't take a lot of pics but I do have some and I will add them soon.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
New York Times
Several weeks ago I responded to something I saw somewhere and wound up getting in touch with a reporter from the New York Times. We exchanged a bunch of emails and a few phone calls and they even sent a photographer to take pics of me (the photographer has done portraits of celebrities and politicians and has had many magazine covers).
Yesterday the reporter said that they liked my pic but then I got this from her this morning:
------------------------------------
Hi, the story about people making fake cell phone calls is in the paper today, you can find it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/14/fashion/thursdaystyles/14cell.html?
I'm so sorry that it looks like your quote was cut at the last minute. I really don't know why that happened, last version I saw it was still in there. But thanks so much for participating, and I hope you still like the story...
best
Amy
------------------------------------
Oh well.
Yesterday the reporter said that they liked my pic but then I got this from her this morning:
------------------------------------
Hi, the story about people making fake cell phone calls is in the paper today, you can find it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/14/fashion/thursdaystyles/14cell.html?
I'm so sorry that it looks like your quote was cut at the last minute. I really don't know why that happened, last version I saw it was still in there. But thanks so much for participating, and I hope you still like the story...
best
Amy
------------------------------------
Oh well.
New York Times
Several weeks ago I responded to something I saw somewhere and wound up getting in touch with a reporter from the New York Times. We exchanged a bunch of emails and a few phone calls and they even sent a photographer to take pics of me (the photographer has done portraits of celebrities and politicians and has had many magazine covers).
Yesterday the reporter said that they liked my pic but then I got this from her this morning:
------------------------------------
Hi, the story about people making fake cell phone calls is in the paper today, you can find it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/14/fashion/thursdaystyles/14cell.html?
I'm so sorry that it looks like your quote was cut at the last minute. I really don't know why that happened, last version I saw it was still in there. But thanks so much for participating, and I hope you still like the story...
best
Amy
------------------------------------
Oh well.
Yesterday the reporter said that they liked my pic but then I got this from her this morning:
------------------------------------
Hi, the story about people making fake cell phone calls is in the paper today, you can find it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/14/fashion/thursdaystyles/14cell.html?
I'm so sorry that it looks like your quote was cut at the last minute. I really don't know why that happened, last version I saw it was still in there. But thanks so much for participating, and I hope you still like the story...
best
Amy
------------------------------------
Oh well.
Friday, March 04, 2005
Be Cool
Chris and I went to see the movie Be Cool, the sequel to Get Shorty this morning. We knew from the start not to expect the greatest movie ever, but it had its moments.
We had to see it no matter what because we are IN in the movie. We were at the Aerosmith concert that they showed in the movie (you can read more about that concert and see pics I took from the concert here). Despite what they tell us in the movie, the concert was not at the Staples Center in L.A. -- it was at the Tweeter Center last year, so it was kinda stupid of them to show such wide-angle shots because you can easily see that it's an outdoor amphitheater rather than the indoor arena as they were telling us. But anyway, there were at least 16-18 times when Chris and I were on the silver screen in crowd-shots somewhere -- we were right next to a part of the stage so we were in a prime location -- however all the crowd scenes went by too fast to see us without using a Pause button or a Slo-mo button.
But enough about us. There were some other good parts elsewhere in the movie. I especially liked the performances by the guy from OutKast and the wrestler known as "The Rock" -- and this opinion is coming from someone who completely dislikes wrestling and hates "The Rock" in particular! But I think he did a really good acting job because his character was nothing like how you'd expect a wrestler to be...verrrrry gay. It was amusing to me that big-headed maniacs like Fred Durst (from Limp Bizkit) and Gene Simmons (from Kiss) were both extras who had no lines and less than like 10 seconds of screen time combined.
One thing that seems kind of weird to me is that a character in the movie who was beaten up with a baseball bat died in real life almost exactly a year before the movie was released -- the movie came out literally four days away from the one-year anniversary of the day he died. If I were part of his family, I think I'd be kinda pissed at watching him get beaten up on screen while that anniversary date was fresh on my mind.
All in all, I'd give it about a C grade. Or maybe a C+ because Chris and I were in it with our favorite rock band. :) Chris may not be so generous with his grade because he read the book and found lots of flaws between the book and the movie.
We had to see it no matter what because we are IN in the movie. We were at the Aerosmith concert that they showed in the movie (you can read more about that concert and see pics I took from the concert here). Despite what they tell us in the movie, the concert was not at the Staples Center in L.A. -- it was at the Tweeter Center last year, so it was kinda stupid of them to show such wide-angle shots because you can easily see that it's an outdoor amphitheater rather than the indoor arena as they were telling us. But anyway, there were at least 16-18 times when Chris and I were on the silver screen in crowd-shots somewhere -- we were right next to a part of the stage so we were in a prime location -- however all the crowd scenes went by too fast to see us without using a Pause button or a Slo-mo button.
But enough about us. There were some other good parts elsewhere in the movie. I especially liked the performances by the guy from OutKast and the wrestler known as "The Rock" -- and this opinion is coming from someone who completely dislikes wrestling and hates "The Rock" in particular! But I think he did a really good acting job because his character was nothing like how you'd expect a wrestler to be...verrrrry gay. It was amusing to me that big-headed maniacs like Fred Durst (from Limp Bizkit) and Gene Simmons (from Kiss) were both extras who had no lines and less than like 10 seconds of screen time combined.
One thing that seems kind of weird to me is that a character in the movie who was beaten up with a baseball bat died in real life almost exactly a year before the movie was released -- the movie came out literally four days away from the one-year anniversary of the day he died. If I were part of his family, I think I'd be kinda pissed at watching him get beaten up on screen while that anniversary date was fresh on my mind.
All in all, I'd give it about a C grade. Or maybe a C+ because Chris and I were in it with our favorite rock band. :) Chris may not be so generous with his grade because he read the book and found lots of flaws between the book and the movie.
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