Monthly Archives: December 2004
Podcasting – Fad or Future?
How much longer will podcasting be the hot tech flavor of the week? It’s catchy name and seemingly unlimited potential, piggybacking on the monopolistic success of the iPod itself (although as each and every article now points out, the connection … Continue reading
Dowbrigade’s European Vacation
The Dowbrigade is currently involved in the very tricky planning for a projected Family European Vacation, slated to take place sometime in the spring. AT this point, the "family" consists of yours truly, No. 2 wife and No. 2 son. … Continue reading
New iPod “Signature” Line
It is hard for the Dowbrigade to comprehend why anyone would want to give an extra $50 to Apple for a few extra scratches on the back of an already overpriced hunk of metal and plastic. Nevertheless.the transparently commercial U2 … Continue reading
Jumper Leaves Mystery
He chose the city’s most famous skyscraper as the place to end his life. But three weeks after a man leaped off the observation deck of the Empire State Building, his absence has gone unnoticed by the world at large … Continue reading
Mommy, Why Does Santa Have No Clothes?
A startling sight met Christmas shoppers on stylish Newbury Street in downtown Boston yesterday. In a budding if non-traditional tradition, a scantily clad squadron of Santas were racing down the street in the 5th Annual Speedo Santa Run for Charity. … Continue reading
Kewpi Dolls
BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) – Colombian police seized 292 voodoo dolls but were reluctant to inspect the black, hand-sized talismans for fear of witchcraft. "Witches don’t exist, but if they do, they do," Highway Police Capt. Gerson Fajardo explained in a … Continue reading
Strength in Uniformity
Last week a concerned friend in New York City sent me the following disturbing article, from a site called WhatDoesItmean: In a chilling act more reminiscent of the now defunct Soviet Union or the Nazi regime of Adolph Hitler, the … Continue reading
Shakespearean Legacy Flying Rats Infest Boston
Boston’s legendary, ongoing celebration of incompetence, malfeasance and the art of the bureaucratic boondoggle, otherwise known as the Big Dig, has enlivened the lives of locals for over ten years now. Beguiled by the cost overruns (to the tune of $10 … Continue reading
Disposable Heroes
Every year Boston Globe columnist Derrick Z. Jackson does a number of columns on the sham and shame which major college sports in this country have become. Specifically, the low graduation rates of black male athletes at major school programs … Continue reading
Steroid Jones
Sprinter Marion Jones is in the news again, after suing Victor Conte, the CEO of Balco Juice Co. who has testified under oath that he gave illegal drugs to Jones and then watched while she shot them up. Jones, of … Continue reading
Poetry in Motion
Last night, while girding our intellectual loins for a tepid year-end academic reception at Sol Azteca, a Mexican restaurant (duh) near campus, we decided to afterward attend "HD in Motion," the Boston Final Cut Pro User Group’s year-end industry social. … Continue reading
The Longer We Stay, The Fatter We Get
CHICAGO — Long-term exposure to American culture may be hazardous to immigrants’ health. A new study found that obesity is relatively rare in the foreign-born until they have lived in the United States — the land of drive-thrus, remote controls, … Continue reading