Coolidge, I’ve Got You Cornered

4 Nov


So it seems that Brookline is celebrating its 300th birthday — again — next weekend (November 13). And at least according to the Brookline Tab, this must be the actual birthday weekend — not the one on September 19 when the first celebration took place.

As a warm-up to the festivities, this week’s issue of the Tab includes all kinds of cool Brookline historical info, including a great list of the “300 Things You Never Knew About Brookline” and a special magazine-style insert with comparisons of past and present, and a timeline of important dates.

Call me stupid if you will, but one of the things I’ve always wondered about Brookline is which specific corner is “Coolidge Corner.” I mean, the whole area around there is referred to as Coolidge Corner, but there has to be one particular corner that has that name, right? Is it the one where Best Cellars is? Where the Bank of America is? Walgreens? CVS? (That’s assuming the corner is at the corner of Beacon and Harvard streets.) Sure, there are some older buildings in that intersection, but given the passing of time and construction and all, it’s possible that one of the newer buildings could have been erected on the site of the actual Coolidge Corner.

According to the Tab, on their list of the 300 things, number 182 is “Coolidge Corner began as the Coolidge and Brother general store at the corner of Beacon and Harvard Streets.” Well, that doesn’t really provide anything new, but it does confirm the intersection (not that I really thought the corner was at Babcock and Harvard streets).

The Coolidge Corner Theater’s web site discusses the Corner’s history, but doesn’t specifically say where the Coolidge Corner is. In fact, by saying “the S.S. Pierce Building (1898), went up near ‘Coolidge’s Corner,'” it implies that “Coolidge’s Corner” wasn’t actually on the corner!

I think I found the answer on the official Brookline 300 web site, which says: “In 1898, the famous S.S. Pierce Building was constructed at ‘Coolidge’s Corner.'” Which means, I guess, that what I assumed all along is true: the corner of the Harvard and Beacon intersection where the S.S. Pierce Building is, where Walgreens is — that is the true Coolidge Corner. Mystery solved. (I think.)

Anyway, to see the full calendar of events for the second Brookline 300th birthday bash — featuring a performance by Entrain, one of my favorite bands — check out Brookline300.org.

This Should Come as No Surprise

4 Nov

Well I suppose if there’s a Thank You, Theo web site, then it’s not surprising to learn there’s also a Larry Lucchino Sucks site too. And this new site is not just a chance for fans to say how much they love Theo (and by the way, as of 8:10 p.m. on Thursday, 1443 people had done so). It’s a protest site where you can do things like contribute to a top 10 list, email the Sox to air your views, and learn how “Larry Lucchino Ate My Baby.”

And here I thought things would quiet down by week’s end. I guess this is going to last all winter long …

In Mutton-speak: Baa Baa Baa Baa !

3 Nov

Chicken Little is a cute movie. I don’t necessarily say that as a good thing, but it’s not really a bad thing either. It’s colorful, generally fast-moving, and fun.

Strangely, though, it’s not entirely kid-friendly; many of the jokes went over the heads of the many, many, many kids in the auditorium when I saw it last night. (And don’t get me started about THAT!)

And it’s sort of two movies in one, including a very long, what I can only call homage to Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds. So, if forced to give a grade, I’d give Chicken Little a B. It’s not bad, it’s not great. It’s just fine. Continue reading →

Exclusive: Red Sox to Name New GM Today

1 Nov

Unknown described as Theo’s “best pal”


Nov. 1, 1:00 PM (ET)
By Noah Treal

YAWKEY WAY (AP) — In a surprise move that stunned an already shocked Red Sox Nation, the president and CEO of the 2004 World Series Champions announced that he would hold a press conference today to introduce the team’s new general manager, less than 24 hours after former GM Theo Epstein resigned from the position.

“How do you replace someone like Theo?” Larry Lucchino said in a statement released to the press early Tuesday. “You do it quickly.” A press conference was scheduled for 4 p.m. at Fenway Park. Continue reading →

It’s Called Plenty of Rest and Fluids …

1 Nov

Ridiculous news story of the day: Bush to Announce Strategy to Battle Flu

My mother probably has some good ideas for him. Chicken noodle soup, for starters.

Scenes from a Weekend

31 Oct

That was Saturday, circa 2:30 p.m.

24 hours later. What a difference a day made! And since it was such a nice day out, I took a few more shots of the leaves against the blue sky. Here are two. Admittedly, not my best work, but hopefully an indication of just how nice the weather was yesterday. It was a perfect fall day.

Welcome to the Party

31 Oct

God bless Robert Downey, Jr. The guy has such a style about him, and he’s so good in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Without belaboring the point, I’ll just say this is a terrifically funny movie. I just wish I could remember more than a couple lines of dialogue. You see, Downey says all his lines in such a matter-of-fact, rapid-fire style that it’s all good and you’re laughing too hard to remember much of what’s been said. And fuck if I know what the movie’s actually about (the plot lost me about a quarter of the way in), but it’s just so much fun that you don’t care. I suppose the self-referential thing does get a little bit old — Downey’s narrator makes reference to the audiences in Times Square that are prone to talking back to the screen and to the multiple endings of the third Lord of the Rings film, among other topics — but whatever. There’s so much else to laugh at that this is just a minor quibble. In the end, I can’t quite decide what to rate this one, so I’m going to go with a B+/A-.

Takes One to Appreciate One

30 Oct

It takes someone who knows the New York Jewish culture to make a movie like Prime.

Which is to say that it is a really authentic-feeling, -looking and -sounding movie.

It starts with Meryl Streep, whose performance as a New York Jewish therapist is completely dead-on and perfect (surprise, surprise).

And the writing, by director Ben Younger (who also made Boiler Room, that loud and obnoxious stock trading movie a few years back), is filled not just with the expected gefilte fish and Manischewitz jokes, but with things like a Jewish mother putting red wine in the fridge, overly obsessive Jewish mother-isms like not giving your kids Q-Tips for fear of them being unsafe, the Bubbie — and small, subtle details like a mezuzah on the doorframe. Continue reading →

WTF ???!!

29 Oct

Alright, it’s 4:00. Now the snow is sticking. This is ridiculous.

I’m Dreaming of a White … Halloween??

29 Oct

It’s 2:15 on Saturday afternoon, October 29 and it’s snowing here in Brookline. Hard. I mean, it’s not accumulating, but it’s really coming down.

Someone tell me … WTF??!!??

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