Movies at the Oscars

So the wife and I saw both the 'Fighter' and 'The Town' yesterday. Both movies were excellent and both did a great job capturing the essence of the cities that the movies took place in (Lowell and Boston/Charlestown). As for my favorite, I would have to say the Fighter was mine as the ending was so charged with the Micky Warde character winning the boxing championship. At the end I wanted to jump up and cheer Warde on during the match. The Town while an excellent movie, was quite dark and I was never certain how it was going to end for the main character played by Ben Afleck, and the ending was probably a bit unrealistic. The only downside to The Town, was that it will continue to reinforce the stereotype of Charlestown. The characterization as Charlestown as a white racist community stuck in the past, like Southie, is not fair these days. There has been a significant transformation of all the surrounding Boston communities over the past 10-15 years and the current images of the past are not fair or accurate. I would highly recommend both movies but The Town left me completely drained and was glad I watched it on pay per view as opposed to a theater.

Pirates...Fail.

So the worst possible outcome to the situation with the four kidnapped Americans happened today. Apparently while the Navy was negotiating with the pirates, they decided that it would be a good idea to execute the four hostages. Very sad outcome but now we are faced with the pirates that were taken captive by the Navy. No doubt they wil be returned to the US for prosecution and certainly face life in prison here in the US. I still think the solution to this problem is to execute the pirates once taken. On the spot. Todays outcome will only embolden them to continue. The pirates taken will now be given life sentences courtesy of the US taxpayer. This is not the optimal outcome. We need a solution that does not give them incentive to continue this behavior.

Brunch at Canary Square

The wife and I had brunch this morning at Canary Square here in Jamaica Plain. We have had dinner there on several occasions and brunch was just as good as any dinner we have enjoyed there. The wife had a bowl of fresh fruit with fresh wiped cream and it was excellent. I went for the Huevo rancheros, which while not cooked in the traditional style that you might find in an authentic Mexican restaurant, were quite good. The dish consisted of the expected 2 fried eggs, sunny side up on top of a bed of fresh pico de gallo, seasoned rice and red beans. This was complimented by a thick slice of bacon that had the rind attached, the back edge being similar to a chewy pork rind. It was quite good. I had also ordered a side of thick sliced bacon which was quite flavorful and if you love bacon, I would highly recommend ordering it. They have a great menu of different Bloody Marys. I ordered a traditional virgin Mary as I was still shaking off the Guinness from the previous evenings foray. I highly recommend Canary Square, after 5-6 visits it has yet to disappoint.

Matt Murphys Pub

The wife and I had dinner last night at Matt Murphy's Pub in Brookline Village. Excellent experience and we will definitely visit again. The name will throw you off as this is not your average Irish pub. The only thing that I would consider to be traditional about it would be the selection of Irish Wiskeys and of course the Guinness. The food is more on the upscale bistro side of things. They served traditional Irish soda bread with butter to start the meal and this was excellent. For an appetizer we had the Scottish Egg which was quite good. It was served in a bed of hot grits garnished with real, thin and crunchy onion rings, which sounds odd but it really worked well. We both had the fish and chips which were served wrapped in newspaper with a side of pickled onions which was delicious. The fish was not heavily battered so you were able to taste the fish unlike some places were the batter can overwhelm. For desert, my wife had the bread pudding which she said was one of the best she has had. We accompanied the meal with a few Guinness and Speckled Hen ales which were all perfectly poured with a nice frothy head. The only caveat I would add is that they don't take credit cards so bring cash. It is a small place, maybe a dozen tables, we sat at the bar which seats maybe 12 as well so if your going for dinner, you might want to get there early. The bill was $77 for the appetizer, two meals, desert and 5 beers, we will be returning.

Pirates...Deux

So they are at it again. Apparently Somali pirates have taken 2 Americans hostage that were in the process of sailing around the world in their yacht. I have 2 issues here. One, the Americans were apparently sailing the world to spread the word of god and giving out bibles to the uneducated masses of the world. Nothing personal but you had this coming. What kind of an idiot sails up the east coast of Africa in this day and age in a yacht? And to top it off, to spread your religion. Perhaps you can save the souls of these modern day pirates with a couple of amens and a hail mary. It is probably going to be a long time if ever for you two to see the light of day in a free country. C'mon man. What the hell were you thinking?

The second issue, which is the bigger one for me is what, if anything, the US is going to do about this? I say nothing. Why should the US taxpayer have to foot the bill for a negotiation or a rescue effort for these two idiots. This should not be my cost to bear. If the military wants to step in and solve the overall problem by bombing these assholes in Somalia back to the stoneage then I am all for that but there is no way US personell should be put in harms way to save these two. I would be pissed if my child was serving and lost his or her life because a couple of religious zealots decided it was a good idea to sail to Africa like a couple of 17th century mercenaries. Either blast these assholes and end this pirate bullshit once and for all or let these two suffer the consequences of their actions as a lesson to anyone else who is stupid enough to sail the world to spread the word of their god.

Whole Foods is coming, run!

So the heat is rising here in Jamaica Plain. The shit hole that was called Hi Lo has finally closed and the transition to Whole Foods has begun. A very vocal minority group in town wants to keep Whole Foods out as their presence will only raise property values and continue the 'gentrification' of Jamaica Plain. The argument is that the Hispanic community can't afford to shop at Whole Foods and will be forced out. They don't want the potential improvements to the community as they claim they can't afford it. I used to work in this community 30 years ago and it was so bad and crime ridden that no one in their right mind would be caught outside at night so please don't tell me about how bad 'gentrification' will be. I now live here and this seems to me to be racist position to take to keep me and my family out because I am not Hispanic. Currently I drive out of town to either Dedham to the Whole Foods at Legacy Place or to the Star in Chestnut Hill for my groceries and will now be able to walk to the new Wole Foods. They are a welcome change to the neighborhood and I look forward to them moving in. It certainly beats a strip club, adult video store or an abandoned stor front.

Pirates...again

Apparently a Somali pirate got life in a US prison today for some hijacking he did a while back. I am thinking that a US jail is more comfortable than his miserable existence in Somalia which is why he is a pirate in the first place. What they should do is take him up in a helicopter over Mogadishu and throw him out on a rope like they did to Omar the stoolie in the movie Scarface. That might be incentive to not mess with the US. Otherwise your going to have a line at the courthouse for 3 squares and an hour of excercise every day on the dime of the US taxpayer.

Trying to find a reasonable vacation for the upcoming weekend. Warm for the weekend? Can't seem to find anything reasonably priced. We would need to leave Friday night and return on Monday. Anyone have any suggestions?

Praise the lord and pass the ammunition! The Green line is going all the way to Heath Street tonight! The dispatcher must be asleep or it's not cold enough outside to kick is off.

Apparently the weatherman is bringing his A- game today as it's almost 50 degrees out. Cloudy but not cold.

Tonights Dinner

Kudos to the MBTA for getting the E line all the way to the Heath street stop this morning now that there are no passengers on this Sunday morning. Give that dispatcher a free MBTA hat. It's on me.

What kind of a moron writes into the Today Show for advice on Valentines Day? What kind of Moron needs advice at all for V-Day.

26 degrees out and cloudy again. This weather better improve soon or I might have to return to Playa.

Watching CSI Miami. Damn, the weather seems to always be good in Miami.

This weather sucks. I can't wait for winter to be over. The weatherman said it was going to be warm today. He lied.

Charley Sheen has to pay 55,000 a month in child support to his second wife, on top of whatever he is paying to his first wife. I just don't know what to say to that. That is a shitload of money. Every month. 55,000K.

So there is quite a fuss about WholeFoods moving into our neighborhood. Certain parts of the community are up in arms about how the neighborhood will be destroyed by WholeFoods. They have even noted that they are afraid that property values will go up if WholeFoods moves in. Isn't that a good thing if you own property? I drive 5 miles to get to the nearest WholeFoods, now I will be able to walk. What would they do if an adult video store moved in? Or a strip club? I understand the desire to keep things affordable but there are 2 Stop & Shops within a 1/2 mile of this location, and if the old store sold stuff that people want, someone will step up and open a small store if the demand is there. Really backward thinking. This community was a DISASTER 30 years ago, this can only improve things.

How is it possible that a member of the US House of Representatives thought it was a good idea to send half naked pictures of himself to some chick on Craigslist? You would have to be a complete moron to do this. Maybe it was his idea to sell MBTA hats and shirts.

What if the penalty for piracy was death? If these guys knew that they would have their heads chopped off and stuck on a pole in the harbor like they used to do in jolly old England, would that be enough incentive to stop? It just seems silly that in this day and age this can't be stopped and almost appears to be tolerated.

So this morning the E line is not stopping between Heath and Brigham Circle. There are many confused looks as the train cruises by the crowds waiting to be picked up. It's only 7 degrees out. Maybe the T will give them a hat and T-Shirt for the inconvenience. Maybe not.

So the MBTA is going to sell hats and tee shirts to offset their budget deficit? It's moronic ideas like this that they have a deficit. I would be shocked if they made covered their costs never mind a profit? How many tee shirts do you have to sell to by a new locomotive?

Watching the biggest loser. I love this show. I need to lose maybe 20lbs. These people are losing hundreds.

The last five nights it's been the same thing, service ends at Brigham Circle due to traffic and last night the air conditioners were running full blast. Someone explain to me why we have to pay for this?

So my first entry will be about how much the MBTA sucks. Kicked off the green line at Brigham Circle due to traffic issues. It's 15 degrees outside. Sweet.