25 posts tagged “boston”

To those who would say that I am a johnny come lately or jumping on the back wagon regarding the Boston Celtics, I would have you look at three blog posts I made over the past two years.

July 3, 2007 -  a tribute to one of my favorite NBA players Ray Allen when he joined the Celtics

July 31, 2007 - recognition of the greatness of acquiring Kevin Garnett by the Boston Celtics.

August 2, 2007 - portending the greatness of the future of the Boston Celtics.

As I stated before in this blog, I grew up loving Doctor Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers.   I HATED the 1980s version of the Celtics.  Nonetheless during the time I lived in Boston from 1999 - 2006, the Celtics were pretty horrible and Boston sports fans paid much more attention to the Red Sox, Patriots, and Bruins.  However given my love for the game of basketball, I began following the Celtics quite ardently, studied their history, watched a great number of games on television (even stomaching Tom Heinsohn's commentary), went to several games and began rooting for the team to do well, especially when they made Doc Rivers head coach.

Tonight I salute the Boston Celtics for their victory against the Lakers and I am so happy for Doc Rivers, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and the BIG TICKET himself, Kevin Garnett.  CHAMPIONS!!!

GO C's!!!

 

While living in Boston several years ago I saw the movie "Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media" on the big screen at the Kendall Square Theatre. (Lord knows I miss the Kendall!)  Yesterday I borrowed the VHS version of the movie and watched it again in my home. I wanted to see how the film stood the test of time.

The film was orignally released in 1992 and featured a provocative portrait of the infamous M.I.T. linguist Noam Chomsky and his ideas on mass media and politics.  I was moved by the film when I saw it several years ago and I was even more moved by the film upon seeing it again.

In this era of total media consolidation (i.e. Rupert Murdoch, et al) and the outlandish prospects of the war in Iraq, it was enlightening and disturbing to see Chomsky's ideas foreshadowed in contemporary affairs.  See this film.  It speaks even louder and more clearly today.

If you've read this blog from the beginning you would know that I had a pretty tough time living for six years in Boston prior to moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Much of my trouble had to do with racial issues in Boston and its numerous social, cultural, and economic ramifications.  Life in Albuquerque has been much better as the weather here is warm, the cost of living is affordable, and for the large part the social/cultural milieu is extremely friendly, open, and tolerant.  I told an acquaintance of mine just the other day that " ...My life in Albuquerque is the first time that I have not had to daily deal with 'being 'Black' ... most of the racial issues in Albuquerque center around Natives, Latinos, and white folk ...".  I am NOT simple or overly idealistic enough to know that my skin color and cultural heritage are truly insignificant in Albuquerque but I must say that Albuquerque is a fairly fluid city where skin color is of little consequence at least from my perspective.

Nonetheless I was truly disturbed by a recent story I heard on "Latino USA" about strained relations between Blacks and Mexican-Americans in Austin, Texas and then I found this today on the Economist website about equally disturbing news of strained relations between Blacks and Latinos in Durham, NC and Los Angeles.  I hope to examine these issues a bit further in detail in the very near future.

Readers of this blog surely know of my love for public radio.  I have been blessed to live in cities where the public radio is good.  Ann Arbor, MI featured WEMU from neighboring Ypsilanti, MI.  Boston of course featured NPR flagships WGBH and WBUR and here in ABQ I am fond of KUNM and KANW.  This morning while lucid sleeping/dreaming I was listening to KANW and a great program called "Justice Talking" which is according to NPR is an "award-winning radio that engages listeners in timely, refreshingly honest debates on the current legal battles that capture our nation's attention" ... I love this show.  Today's episode was EXTREMELY provocative it was titled "The Cuban Embargo - Should U.S. Policy Change?"  The show covers several topics that are very poignant in light of the future of Cuba given the current health situation of Fidel Castro. Two that struck me as very interesting were host Margot Adler talking with NPR correspondent Tom Gjelten about the Bacardi family (yes the Bacardi of rum fame) and its long and complex history with Cuba and the story of Lillian Holloway  from Philadelphia who is a fifth-year medical student at Doctor Salvador Allende hospital in Havana, Cuba. In September 2000, Fidel Castro announced the implementation of full scholarships for American students of little means to go to medical school in Cuba.  Very interesting.  If you are interested at all in Cuba then you must visit the website and listen to this show.  I was transfixed.  I have long had an interest in Cuba and hope to visit there in the very near future.

I like to communicate via email.  I consider myself a pretty good writer and find the written word to be an effective means of communicating.  I try to stay in touch with all the friends and colleagues I've made over the years through college in Atlanta, Georgia, my service in the Peace Corps in Africa, my time as a graduate student/bookseller in Ann Arbor, MI, my life as a book publisher in Boston, MA, and now here in my new home of Albuquerque, New Mexico.  The Internet, Email, my blog, and sites like MySpace (I only have an account there and not an actual working page) have all served pretty well in this effort to help me stay in touch with the numerous people I've met through the years. 

Yesterday I emailed my friend Ingrid to find out where she was and what she was up to.  She nudged me to try out the micro-blogging site Twitter.  I joined Twitter and I must say while I am a sucker for most things Web 2.0 and social networking sites via the web, Twitter really really impresses me.  Only time will tell if I actually make use of Twitter but for now it's a pretty cool new tool.  For more info go to twitter.com ... my user name there is james3neal.

I can't wait to see how this turns out!

As a young basketball fan beginning in the 1970s I admired and idolized Dr. Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76'ers.  Thus I loathed and hated the Boston Celitcs during the 1980s with Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, and company.  However I seriously considered becoming a little more tolerant of the Celtics when they drafted Len Bias out of Maryland.  We all know what happened with Len Bias so my hatred of the Celtics remained.  Nonetheless during the six years that I lived in Boston from 1999 - 2006, I developed a soft spot for the Celtics who were marred by the coaching era of Rick Pitno.  I don't truly consider myself a Boston fan but after living in that city and loving basketball I must admit I no longer hate the team and root for them to do well.  Now that the Celtics have Ray Allen, one of my favorite basketball players of all time and with the acquiring of Kevin Garnett, I think I may have found a team to root for in the East besides the Detroit Pistons.  Good luck KG ... with you, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen the Celitcs may have a chance for another run at glory.

I must admit when I first heard of the possiblity of this trade between Minnesota and Boston I had some doubts about how much the Celtics had to give up to get KG but my good old friend in Boston, Scott Bishop alleviated my fears with this email:

"

I have some trepidation, but you have to feel the Celts have a 3-4 year window for a title. You look at the Cavs and think, if they can get through the East without a clearly defined sidekick for Lebron, the what can Pierce, Garnett and Allen do?

 

Beyond Al, they gave up no one who’s a sure thing—and Al’s going to be terrific player, no question. But who knows when Greene will figure it out? Ryan Gomes—quality role player. Telfair? Has yet to prove he’s a point guard. Those #1 picks? One is lottery protected. The other is the pick Minny sent over in the Wally/Davis trade.

 

And remember, when Garnett vetoed the first deal, the #5 pick was on the table. So Ainge was able to get Allen with the #5, Wally and West, and Garnett with Big Al, a guy with upside but no brain, a guy with no brain and little upside, and a player who will be a quality 10 year veteran. And the Celts still have their mid-level exception get a point guard and or another role player. (Brevin Knight and PJ Brown would be nice, though I doubt you could get both for $5.6M.)

 

At the least, the Garnett deal makes sense of the Allen deal—which by itself wasn’t helping the cause substantially. Now, how quickly can they learn to play together? That’s a whole other question. But the Celts got more interesting, at least through 2011. I’ll take that over what’s happened since 2002. "

 

As I child my mother had to make me read books.  It wasn't that I did not like to read at all but I preferred the format of newspapers and magazines as opposed to books.  I voraciously read our local newspaper "The State" and loved pouring over the numerous magazines that my father and mother subscribed to.  I was a big fan of "Time", "GQ", "Better Homes and Gardens", "Reader's Digest", and "U.S. News and World Report".  My reading habits continue until this day.  After many years of working in bookstores and in publishing and including my stint as a graduate student of course I have read many books but my reading habits still gravitate toward periodicals.  One of my favorite magazines to read these days is "Fast Company".

I first became familiar with "Fast Company" when I moved to Boston in 1999.  This was right before the Internet bubble burst and there were also sorts of magazines out there that dealt with the new technology economy such as "Red Herring", "The Industry Standard", "Business 2.0".  I think the greatest of these is "Fast Company".  I am a subscriber and when I find the latest issue in my mailbox, I rush to the coffee shop or my office (the bathroom) and sit down to enjoy the latest from this magazine which delivers so much good information in such a stimulating and provcative way.  This is how the magazine describes itself:

"Fast Company sets the agenda, charting the evolution of business through a unique focus on the most creative individuals sparking change in the marketplace. By uncovering best and "next" practices, the magazine helps a new breed of leader work smarter and more effectively.

Fast Company empowers innovators to challenge convention and create the future of business."

I was particularly intrigued with the latest issue that has Al Gore on the cover.  The article on Gore is informative but it was the article on "Fast Cities 2007" that really drew my attention.  If you are interested in business and technology, creativity and design then Fast Company is a wonderful magazine.  Check out their website and also look for the print edition on newsstands.

Surprise!  Surprise! ... another person I admire is a public radio personality ... Since moving to New Mexico and discovering the programming of KANW and KUNM I have enjoyed many programs that I was not aware of living in Boston and South Carolina.  A new favorite of mine is "Democracy Now!" hosted by Amy Goodman.  Goodman is amazing and the show "Democracy Now" is a great source of information in these disturbing times.

 

2007 has been a very strange year for me.  I have undergone an almost complete and radical transformation of who I am.  The biggest reason for this transformation has been my relocation to Albuquerque.  My six previous years in Boston can be described in one word ... depression.  Albuquerque has been the biggest ANTI-depressant I could have ever asked for.  The sun shines here almost daily.  The cost of living here is very affordable.  The city of Albuquerque offers quite a few cultural and intellectual amenities to satisfy my wide range of interests.  Above all, the people of this town that I meet are some of the most interesting, open, and geniunely friendly people I have ever met anywhere and I have traveled wide and far.  I would like to say a personal thank you to all the neighbors and friends I have met here in ABQ.  Thanks for helping me out when I needed you.  It is my continued prayer to find myself in a position to be of great service to others.  I have been truly blessed to find myself in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

At present I am engaged in the study of the Spanish language/Latin American studies and I have begun delving deeply into issues regarding  the digital convergence of broadcasting, satellite, cable, wireless, telecommunications and technology most specifically related to education. I have got my eye on a couple career plans for the future.  Wish me luck.

 

note to self:  This is a good website related to new media - http://www.telmetech.com/