Archive | April, 2007

Is the End Near?

3 Apr

I’m not going to lie: there’s an uneasy feeling in Martinworld today because tonight may just be Haley Scarnato‘s final performance on American Idol. I fear that no matter how well she sings and no matter how hot she looks, she’s a goner this week. After all, if the pattern of boy-girl-boy-girl elimination holds, then tomorrow it’s either going to be Haley or Gina, and I think Gina’s safe for another couple weeks, unfortunately. So yeah, although I hope I’m wrong, I’m resigning myself to the fact that Haley and I will have to part ways after Wedenesday night’s episode. She’s going back to her fiancee, and I’m stuck with Sanjaya. Life is cruel. At least I’ll always have my People magazine spread and my happy memories of our time together. I’ll miss you, Haley. Good luck tonight!

Bagel Blahs

2 Apr

In these last few hours before Passover begins, I just wanted to recall the good old days when I loved Finagle a Bagel. I used to go to the Chestnut Hill location most every Saturday for lunch, and I’d usually get the same thing: a smoked turkey sandwich on an egg bagel. And before I let my recollections run wild, I’ll just say I remember it being a usually pleasant and not too expensive experience. When it was announced that Finagle was opening a location in Coolidge Corner, I was pretty excited. After all, when your only other bagel option (on a Saturday, at least) is Bruegger’s, a Finagle store is like manna from heaven.

But what a waste this store has been. When I stopped in yesterday, I was reminded of why I’ve largely stayed away from the store since its opening a couple years ago. For one thing, it’s too small, by half. That’s the biggest complaint I have. Whether you sit down to eat or you’re simply on line to order, if there’s a crowd, you can’t help but feel cramped. Also, the service is slow. All I had was a bagel with cream cheese. Took about 10 minutes to get that after I ordered. I suppose I can’t complain about the cream cheese slapped on the bagel, but other times I’ve been to Finagle the sandwich making was shoddy (something I’ve complained about before). And finally, a bagel with cream cheese, a medium soda, and a cookie cost me about $6.50. I don’t want to quibble about something like price, but when did such a minor meal become so expensive (relatively speaking, of course)? Used to be you could get a bagel sandwich with turkey or something similarly substantial and a soda for that amount. And it came with chips or a “seasonal accompaniment” like cantaloupe for free. I mean, at Bruegger’s, I get a bagel with cream cheese, a soda and a muffin or something (no comments about my poor eating habits, please), and it only costs about $5.50. A turkey sandwich at Finagle now costs close to $6 on its own, and that’s without the accompaniment. Of course, the price thing is not specific to the Coolidge Corner location, but it’s one more reason why I have begun to really dislike Finagle. How times have changed. Ah well. At least the bagels themselves are still good.

Game On! (again)

1 Apr

Wanted to post an addendum to my posting yesterday about the start of the baseball season. When I got in my car this morning, the first thing I did was turn on WEEI. Because I’m not much of a football, hockey, or basketball fan, I hadn’t listened to the station at all since last August. And over the course of the hour that I could tune in, I just found myself becoming happier and happier. It wasn’t just the fact that I really enjoyed what the guys on The Baseball Show were saying. It was the whole idea that baseball was back.

It got me thinking: Do Patriots fans get this excited about the start of football season? I seriously doubt it. Which is not to say that baseball fans like their sport any more than football fans do. It’s just that the start of baseball season has more significance and has a greater impact on me and, I’ll bet, Bostonians in general. It signals the start of spring and nicer weather, and football season indicates that the weather is getting worse. It’s because there are more games in a baseball season than in a football season, so there’s more to follow on a day-to-day basis, and thus, it’s almost an entire lifestyle change. Maybe there’s more to it, something about father and son relationships, something about hope and rebirth and second chances and the American Dream being symbolized by the sport, and something about long-standing passion and devotion and tradition — all things that I just don’t see to the same degree with football. Maybe it’s because the Sox play right downtown and the Patriots play all the way out in Foxborough. Maybe it’s all those things. But even in cities where the team isn’t very good — the guys on the radio specifically mentioned Kansas City, and not just because that’s where the Sox begin their season — the opening day game is not just a game, it’s an event.

So it is for me with the Sox this year. Not sure I’m adequately expressing my thoughts here, but I’m just really excited to have baseball back in my life. I’m hopeful that this season will end on a better note than last season did. But that’s at least four or five months away — or seven, if we’re lucky and all goes according to plan. For now, I’m just ready to go along for the ride, and looking forward to the late nights I’ll spend watching games on NESN, the time I’ll spend listening to ‘EEI, and the inches of Globe and Herald coverage I’ll read. Bring it on. Bring it all on, even the extra congestion on the T on game nights. It’s been a long, long winter since I followed this sport. I wholeheartedly embrace its return. Let’s go Red Sox!

Listen Up

1 Apr

I had a long drive ahead of me today, so put in my new mix of songs from Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Mika, and James Morrison’s latest CDs. That’s all the mix was — my favorite five or six tracks from those four albums. And if I can toot my own horn about my mix-making ability, then I have to say this was one damned good mix. But it’s not just my arranging that made this mix so good — it was the music itself. Yes, you’ve heard me mention all those folks before on this blog, but if you’ll allow me to do it one more time, I just wanted to give them another plug. If you don’t already own Winehouse’s Back to Black, Allen’s Alright, Still, Mika’s Life in Cartoon Motion, or Morrison’s Undiscovered, then seriously, do yourself a favor and pick them up. Or download a few tracks on iTunes. You’ll thank me.

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