When we talk about realism, we talk about it mostly in terms of the banal. The can rolling down the hill, desperate impatience in waiting rooms and lines, offhand gestures and flat lighting—those details that we take to signify everyday life as it is lived. The filmmaker ...
Archives for May 2019
SPECIAL FEATURE: A MODERN METCO
For more than 50 years, Metco has stood as a hallmark effort to address racial disparities in education. But for the progressive civil rights program to keep pace with the national dialogue around race, inequality, and white supremacy, stakeholders say it’s time to reexamine and recommit to Massachusetts’ once-radical program.
THE SUMMIT: PART V
Residents vent on issues related to trees and the environment
THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE SOCIETY WANTS TO ‘ENTERTAIN THE DERANGED’
The Slaughterhouse Society is an oddity that one would usually find during Halloween season—a time when all things spooky and horror become hot commodities in the US. But it’s an aesthetic that the performance troupe, primarily led by Boston-based performer ...
GREEN DREAM: THE ATTEMPT TO BRING A CROWD-FUNDED CANNABIS COLLABORATIVE TO SOMERVILLE
The Harvest Collaborative is currently a joint venture between Chris Vining and Alex Coon, but if things go per their vision, they will potentially have hundreds of area partners who together own 50% of the dispensary that they hope to open.
FIRST LOOK: A&B BURGERS IN BOSTON
A&B Burgers has come a long way from its rather inauspicious beginnings north of Boston to its star status in the heart of Boston over the course of the past several years.
THE OTHER RACISM
Colorism is not discussed openly enough in African American, African, and African diasporic communities. It is our third rail, and the pain, embarrassment, and humiliation from its legacy still lingers with us even today.
STARTS + STOPS
Stop writing columns about what people should stop doing unless you have something positive to say as well.
GATEHOUSE STRIKES AGAIN: WORCESTER MAGAZINE ON THE ROPES
Over the holiday weekend, my wife and I had occasion to take the commuter rail out to Dedham to a family gathering in memory of loved ones who have left us. As we walked the mile to my cousin’s place—through middle-class suburban streets nearly bereft of foot traffic (and, in some places, sidewalks)—I looked at the many houses we passed. And thought about the fact that, despite their generally tidy exteriors and the lush greenery all around them, we were walking through a “news desert” in formation.
F.I.G.H.T. SUBOXONE: REAL TALK ABOUT MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT
I got people telling me, “Yes, I’m in recovery, but who the fuck are you to tell somebody how they should recover? Who the fuck are you to tell somebody that they aren’t in recovery because they are on medication?” And I’m like, “Because they’re fucking not! What the fuck are you talking about?”
WHAT’S FOR BREAKFAST? PECK
SPECIAL FEATURE: THE FIGHT FOR LIFE IN MASSACHUSETTS
The Bay State has a fraught history of sentencing people to serve life without parole. Now lawmakers have a chance to end the bad deal Beacon Hill made to trade the death penalty for natural life sentences.
SPECIAL GUEST COLUMN: THIS IS FOSTER CARE
These children “deserve every opportunity that their non-foster peers receive”
K IS FOR NASTY
"At first I was scrambling, but in the time since, I’ve done some of my most notable shit. I just kind of go where it takes me."
BEYOND ENGAGEMENT: A HOPEFUL PEEK AT THE FUTURE OF COLLABORATIVE JOURNALISM
Hosted by the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University in New Jersey, the gathering showcased the potential of not only journalists working with other journalists and outlets, but also of reporters connecting with nonprofits, activists, and an increasingly participatory public.
JOY AND PAIN: THE BITTERSWEET ANNIVERSARY THAT COMES EVERY MAY
This May marked the 15th anniversary of marriage equality in the Commonwealth. Looking back at advances such as hate crime laws, the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and DOMA, the legalization of marriage equality, and anti-homophobic bullying becoming a national concern, to name a few, the LGBTQ community has come a long way since the first Pride marches.
OUTSIDE THE LITTLE BOXES
Meet the author who braved the ’burbs to explore the roots of some of America’s most progressive communities beyond city limits
CAMBRIDGE COUNCILORS CAN STOP UNDEMOCRATIC COURTHOUSE DEAL
Four votes against the proposed leasing of city parking spaces should do the trick
FESTIVAL REPORT: ON THE SOUND OF 70MM AT THE SOMERVILLE THEATRE
SOMERVILLE SUMMIT: PART IV
Residents vent on issues related to immigrant communities
AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE DIG: EPISODE 7
The one in which there is an altercation and the editor is fired
OF MICS AND MEDIA
Since even aunts and uncles of mine who don’t know Raekwon from Ray J have asked for my thoughts about the doc, I think I can forego the gratuitous explanation that’s typically offered when hip-hop comes up.
WHAT’S FOR BREAKFAST? LYME DISEASE
THE LONGEST TRIP
An Uber driver recalls a fare he drove all the way from Massachusetts to Miami and wonders, Wait a minute, what the hell was in the trunk?
HITTING THE CIRCUIT: HOW TO HIKE THE HARDCORE MIDDLESEX FELLS ROCK TRAIL
The Rock Circuit’s a loop (hence the “circuit” part of its name) that runs a scant four miles in length as opposed to the seven miles that the Skyline runs. Unlike the Skyline, however, you won’t find many long stretches of relatively level ground here, and as you might also gather from its name, the path is extremely rocky, testing knees and ankles alike.
TWO NEW FAVORITE MASS BEERS
Don’t Worry by Wormtown and CBC Hopheads Guide to the Galaxy
INDIE NO-GO: THE MASS ATTORNEY GENERAL SHOULD INVESTIGATE PLEDGEMUSIC
PledgeMusic, the only one of the major crowdfunding companies that focuses exclusively on music-based projects, has been making news in the music world lately because it has fallen behind on payments to artists, and it now looks like those artists and fans will never see the money they’re owed.
DAILEY OPERATION: A BELOVED BOSTON MUSIC MAKER BREAKS DOWN THE HARPOONFEST LINEUP
As it turns out, the scout behind the multiband festivities is musician Will Dailey, a longtime force on the New England music scene. Though more known for his songwriting than his show-booking skills, Dailey sees the HarpoonFest collaboration as a way he can pay it forward.
MORE DEMOCRACY NEEDED TO SURVIVE GLOBAL WARMING
EDIBLE DERANGEMENT: AS STATE SEEKS SOLUTIONS, BOSTON FORMALIZES GRUDGE AGAINST CANNABIS DINING
Any infused food event at a licensed premise—whether or not it is open to the public, and whether alcohol is consumed or not—is illegal, the advisory states, and violators “will be subject to disciplinary action” including a suspension or revocation of their license.
