Slow as Molasses in January

16 Jan

Forgive me, but I totally forgot to post something yesterday about it being the 87th anniversary of the Great Molasses Flood of 1919. At my company, we have a welcome lunch for the interns every semester, and somehow the telling of this story by our resident historian has become a traditional part of the “entertainment.” Because it’s one of those true stories that so few people my age know, I thought I’d post a quick summary. Here goes …

Back in the day, molasses was the standard sweetener across the country, used in things like soda, etc. (these days it’s corn syrup). Molasses was also fermented and used in producing ethyl alcohol for use in making liquor and as a key component in the manufacture of munitions. Right here in Boston there was a distillery located over by the North End at 529 Commercial Street with a 50-foot-tall, 240-foot-wide tank that contained 2.5 million gallons of molasses. The stored molasses was supposed to be transferred to a plant situated between Willow Street and what is now named Evereteze Way in Cambridge. Suffice it to say, it never got there.

On January 15, a dull, muffled roar was heard emanating from the six-story-tall tank. This was quickly followed by a huge explosion that sent the tank’s half-inch-thick sheet iron shell flying through the air in three giant pieces, and unleashed a wave of molasses upon the unsuspecting people of the neighborhood. Apparently, the wave was between 8 and 15 feet high, it moved at 35 mph, and exerted a pressure of 2 tons/foot. According to Wikipedia’s entry on the subject, “the molasses wave was of sufficient force to break the girders of the adjacent Boston Elevated Railway’s Atlantic Avenue Elevated structure and lift a train off the tracks. Several nearby buildings were also destroyed, and several blocks were flooded to a depth of 2 to 3 feet. Twenty-one people were killed and 150 injured as the molasses crushed and asphyxiated many of the victims to death. Rescuers found it difficult to make their way through the syrup to help the victims.”

Can you just picture this scene? It’s awesome in its scope and destructiveness. It’s like a good disaster movie — The Day After Tomorrow, for example. I mean, the story is real and dramatic, and yes, I know people lost their lives, but how cool does that sound?!? People, we’re talking a fifteen-foot-high wall of molasses!!! Why hasn’t there been a movie made about this yet? There’s even a book that came out in 2004 that provides the perfect title: Dark Tide. No kidding. It’s really called Dark Tide! That’s genius! Jerry Bruckheimer, are you reading this? I hear no less than Nicolas Cage is standing by, ready to take on the leading role.

Anyway, no one knows exactly why all this happened, though a couple of theories posit that it had something to do with the pending ratification of the 18th Amendment, which happened the next day, beginning the Prohibition era. More likely is the fact that unseasonably warm temperatures caused rapid expansion of the molasses and overstressed the tank. The day before, the temperature was only 2 degrees. On the day of the accident, it had risen to an unseasonably warm 40 degrees. (Sounds like this past weekend in reverse.)

Today, only a small plaque at the entrance to Puopolo Park commemorates the flood. But I’ve been told that if you walk through the North End on a hot summer day, you can still smell the molasses coming up from the ground …

(Want more? check out Yankee magazine’s 1965 story about the flood.)

So because this is one of my favorite stories, tragic though it is, I wanted to post something here to commemorate the anniversary.

Happy MLK Day

16 Jan

The nice thing about commuting on a holiday is that it goes a lot faster when no one else is working. Now, if only it wasn’t so cold out …

Spring Is Coming

15 Jan

Of course, the best news about the Patriots‘ loss last night and the end of their season is that it means, at least in one way, that Winter is coming to an end. Soon all the sports news will be about the Red Sox again (not that they’ve really been absent from the sports pages lately), pitchers and catchers will be reporting for spring training, birds will be chirping, the sun will be shining, temperatures will be warmer, and Spring will be here. Woo hoo!

For an Assassin, He’s Really Nice

14 Jan

I liked a few things about The Matador, among them: Hope Davis, who isn’t in the movie nearly enough; the style, particularly the big, colorful type that announces each new location; and the soundtrack, despite the rather obvious inclusion of The Killers‘ “All These Things That I’ve Done.” In addition, Greg Kinnear and Pierce Brosnan make a good team, and I liked that both of their characters end the movie with honor, despite the fact that one of them is an assassin. So why am I only giving the movie a B? I’m not sure. I mean, I wish there was more of the guys in Denver and less of them in Mexico City (maybe a switch of 10 minutes on either side), and as I said, more of Hope Davis. So I guess it’s because the movie just wasn’t in the same league as, say, Munich. But this is far from a bad movie, and I’d recommend it.

I’m Just Going to Do It

12 Jan

The last time I belonged to a gym was about 6 years ago, when I joined simply out of boredom. I was living in Allston, around the corner from a Boston Sports Club, and it was March — the time of the TV season after February sweeps when everything was in reruns. Because I was coming home night after night and not doing much more than channel surfing, I figured I might as well do something better with my time. So I got on a mild fitness kick, started to eat a little better, and actually worked out three days a week.

That lasted maybe a couple of months, until the middle of May, when the weather got nicer and my life became busier again. Then I just stopped going to the gym altogether. Every month the fee would be taken out of my bank account automatically, but I didn’t seem to notice. It was like that episode of Friends where Chandler had a hard time quitting the gym. I put my membership on hold, but that was only for two months. It wasn’t until sometime in September or October that I actually quit the gym for good. And I haven’t really thought seriously about re-joining a gym ever since.

Until now.

My company’s offices recently moved right near a FitCorp (it’s practically next door). As if I needed more reasons to join a gym, what with my sister’s wedding coming up and my general wanting to get in better shape, we’re getting all kinds of incentives to join FitCorp (free initiation fee, one free month, discounted monthly fee, etc.). We just had an info session, and I realized that I could ask all the questions I wanted to — When do we get billed? Can I use any location in the FitCorp network? Is there parking? — but it didn’t change the fact that I already sort of know I’m going to join eventually, and sooner rather than later so I don’t miss out on the deals.

Of course, you may be wondering why I didn’t just join right then and there, like some of my coworkers did. Well, I still need to make that mental shift to being a guy who goes to the gym, as opposed to someone who eats poorly, doesn’t exercise, and wishes he went to the gym. I also need to be more of a person who just does things, and doesn’t write on his blog about “mental shifts” and that kind of B.S.

I suppose one reason I never really enjoyed going to BSC was because I didn’t have anyone to work out with, and now I can go with friends. And the Allston facility of BSC was not the nicest of places, so these gyms will be more encouraging to walk into. And I can also go right from the office or to the location closer to home in the medical area.

As I said, I really don’t need to convince myself why I should join the gym. I just need to do it. And then I need to keep on doing it. The Great Reinvention of Martin Lieberman continues …

First I Binged, and Now I’ve Purged

9 Jan

I’m happy to report that “The Great Clean-up of 2006” continued this weekend.

It was a big day of purging yesterday — and of realizing just how much of a packrat I am, and of rediscovering some stuff I haven’t seen in years and was truly baffled that I’ve hung onto for so long.

For example: Continue reading →

Don’t Forget About Me

8 Jan

I see a lot of movies (my current total for 2005 releases is 59), so I take going to the movies quite seriously.

But maybe I take it too seriously. Someone tell me if I am wrong here: Continue reading →

Woody Allen Gets Lucky

8 Jan

Alternate headline: Advantage Woody
Alternate headline: Don’t Call It a Comeback

With a track record over the past half-decade that includes Hollywood Ending and Anything Else, it seemed as if Woody Allen was off his game. But with Match Point, it’s clear that something has gotten through to Woody, because his latest is a real and welcome change from his lackluster product of late.

Yes, Match Point appears at first to be classic Woody, what with its opening title sequence being the same minimalist style as most every other one of his films. But we’re not in Kansas here, folks, or New York, for that matter. Continue reading →

No Weeds Here

8 Jan

I never did get to see The Constant Gardener when it was in theaters, so tonight I watched the screener DVD that’s been sitting in my apartment for about a month and a half. Despite watching it on my couch — never my preference, compared to in a theater — the movie still had my attention. Rachel Weisz is excellent; the film is full of exotic, African locales; and the story is a well-told political thriller, similar to Syriana but a heck of a lot less complicated. In brief, I really liked The Constant Gardener and would recommend the film for anyone looking for a good rental (it’ll be out on Tuesday). I’m giving it an A.

Good Movie, My Brother

7 Jan

The Squid and the Whale is one painful movie.

And from that pain it generates some laughs, but it’s not pretty. Right from the get-go you’re embroiled in the thick of a marriage on the decline and you watch as things get worse, the parents separate, and the kids take sides.

Jeff Daniels gives a fantastic performance as the messed-up father whose superiority complex and comments about uncultured Philistines makes you feel like if you don’t like this movie, then you’re one too. Continue reading →

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