Archive | September, 2005

Get Real

8 Sep

When I went to Orange County in June, one of the other press people on my trip was a reporter from the Boston Herald. While I was there to check out a hotel, she was on specific assignment to experience “The Real O.C.” The story she wrote about the trip finally ran today, just in time for the show’s season premiere.

Want to know about the “real” O.C.? Here’s my take on it.

Basically, there is no “real” O.C. Take the Bait Shop, for example. We were taken to the Newport Pier to see it, or at least where it would have been if it actually existed. The building that is supposed to be the Bait Shop, the one used for the exterior shots, is actually in Santa Monica, about an hour away. Continue reading →

One Degree of Martin

7 Sep

I suppose it’s cool knowing that I went to school with actors who have made it big.

I may not have been friends with all of these guys, but still, who doesn’t enjoy saying “I know him?”

These days, I can do that with a solid handful of folks. Continue reading →

Helping Katrina Victims

6 Sep


If you’re in the Boston area and have been wanting to help the displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina but haven’t yet found a way, please consider this option.

Basically, there appears to be a huge need for used, but serviceable, LUGGAGE WITH WHEELS in Houston so that evacuees who have been flown there and are being temporarily housed in the Houston Convention Center could have luggage rather than using garbage bags.
 
My company is currently trying to collect as much luggage as we can to send down to Houston this Friday. If you have anything you’d like to donate, please send me an email ASAP.
 
Be sure it’s luggage that closes properly, has servicable wheels and is completely empty with nothing inside. It does not have to be pretty or in perfect shape as long as it meets these three criteria.
 
I need to bring in all luggage no later than this Friday. Someone here will be driving it all over to Logan Airport and dropping it off at the terminal.
 
If you would like to donate luggage or know someone else who would, but you can’t get it to me by Friday, please let me know and I’ll get you information about dropping it off yourself.

Thanks.

Summer Has Come and Passed

6 Sep

One thing about living where I do, because the city is so full of colleges and universities, you always know when the seasons change — for better and for worse.

Around Labor Day weekend, the flood of college students makes their presence known. They clog up the streets with their moving trucks, make the lines longer at Shaw’s, delay the T by cramming on in the morning even when there’s no space left, and other subtle things that make us locals long for winter break, when they’ll be gone again.

But it’s not just the students’ fault; all over the city, leases tend to begin on September 1, for example. So whether you like it or not, if you live in Boston, Labor Day weekend signals the official beginning of fall. Continue reading →

Not Funny, Not Good

5 Sep

Saw Junebug today. It’s a southern-fried dramedy about a couple who go to North Carolina and decide to make a detour to see his estranged family. There was great buzz about Amy Adams, who was in Catch Me If You Can, and I’d heard good things about the film in general, so I finally checked it out. Continue reading →

The $69 CD

5 Sep


Never let it be said that I am not a sucker for a free anything. Especially when there’s a minimum purchase required. (Or cake. Mmmmmm … free cake.)

The Gap is currently giving away a “free” CD with covers of different singers’ favorite songs. All you have to do to get it is spend a minimum of $60. I’ve spent more for less in the past. And not that I needed the sweater and shirt I bought, but hey — there was a CD at stake.

So how is it? Well, I flipped to the next track about halfway through Joss Stone’s “God Only Knows” (even Mandy Moore sings that one better) and Michelle Williams’ “Let’s Stay Together” gave the bass in my car a good workout before I became embarassed to have it playing with the windows down. But I quite enjoyed John Legend’s “Hello, It’s Me” and Jason Mraz’s “One Love.” Even Alanis Morissette’s “Crazy” and Michelle Branch’s “Life on Mars” are good.

But the really great track on the CD is Brandon Boyd’s cover of “Alison.” (He’s the lead singer of the band Incubus.) I was trying to figure out if it’s just a great song or if Boyd’s version is just that good. In the end, I decided it just didn’t matter and I decided to “song pon de replay.”

I can’t say for sure if the CD was worth the clothes I bought. But what I do know for sure is that today I wear a big S on my chest for “sucker.”

And I’m fine with that.

Up, Up and Away …

4 Sep


As Seal once asked, “In a world full of people, only some want to fly. Isn’t that crazy?”

I use that quote as a lead-in to tell you that there’s a company called Aeroballoon that for a month now has been taking people up in a helium balloon about 300 feet above the center of Boston Common. It costs $12 for a 10–15 minute ride, and the balloon’s tethered, so you don’t go anywhere — but you do get a spectacular view that is totally worth it.

Today I went out to take advantage of such an experience. Of course, it’s all weather permitting, so when I arrived at the site at around 2:30, it was grounded due to wind, and a sign said it would be grounded until 6pm. Being the stupid — I mean stubborn — guy that I am, I kept myself busy until then. Finally, at around 7pm, I went up. And rather than tell you about the experience, which was really cool, I’ll just show you some pictures — taken, I should add, with my new Nikon Coolpix 4600 camera, which finally came out of the box today.

The Aeroballoon is only in town until Monday. After that, it’ll be at Franklin Park Zoo until September 23. Not sure the views will be any good over there, but I still recommend taking advantage of the opportunity if you can.

[Note: If you click on any of the pictures, you can get a bigger version. These small thumbnails really don’t do the views — or the photos — justice.]



What’s That Burning Sensation?

2 Sep

One of the more enjoyable things about my job is seeing all the different ways that PR folks waste money. One of the most recent examples is a mailing that came from Rowenta, the garment care company.

In an embroidered, nylon/poly-blend zippered carrying case, not much different from an oversized wallet or PDA case, the company presented the results of a recent survey on ironing. Ironing. In addition to the obligatory press release, there was a fold-out map, a brochure, a sliding display chart, and a CD of images so I could present the information in an entertaining way. Clearly, an expensive piece of marketing.

So what did I learn? Quite a lot. For starters, I learned that Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, and Milwaukee are “Ironing Aficionado” cities. I also learned that 72.1 percent of people nationwide iron their jeans, and more people in Pittsburgh iron their curtains than in any other city. And overall, people in Chicago iron more often each week than in any other city, while people in Nashville iron the least frequently … but people in Boston enjoy ironing the most. (Note: I was not interviewed for this survey.)

Still, some of the best laughs came from the more randomly asked about items. To wit:
12.3% of respondents iron their socks
23.2% iron their boxer shorts
14.2% iron their towels
27.3% iron their gym clothes

And then there was this:
* At least one person in every city responded that they iron in the nude
* Grilled cheese sandwiches are made with irons in seven cities
* A high percentage of respondents sing while ironing

And perhaps most startlingly …
* Some people enjoy having sex while ironing
(no percentages given for the above activities)

I suppose I don’t need to make any jokes about these results; they do so on their own.

And that, my friends, is your Martin Moment for Friday, September 2, 2005.

What’s in a Name?

1 Sep

You may already be confused by the use of Martin vs Marty on this site. No, I’m not schizophrenic. Without getting too detailed, I’ll just say that different people know me by different names. The people I work with and my family know me as “Martin,” and everyone else calls me “Marty.” These days, I’m starting to prefer Martin. Chalk that up to maturity. (I think.) But I still go by both, and since people who know me as one tend to have a hard time switching between the two, you’ll find both names on this site.

Fascinating second entry, huh?

Better Late Than Never

1 Sep

So here we go.

A couple months before I turned 29, I came up with a short list of goals. Things I wanted to accomplish by the time I was 30.

Of course, like many aspects of my life, this was inspired by something entertainment-related — in this case, the episode of Friends called “The One Where They All Turn 30.”

In the episode, Phoebe had a list of things she wanted to accomplish before she turned 30; it included riding a hippity-hop for a mile.

My list was nowhere near as ambitious. Continue reading →

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