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Sunday, November 05, 2006 -
The Pleasures of Lydia Davis
Lydia Davis, author of "Almost No Memory," "Samuel Johnson is Indignant," and "The End of the Story," visited the UMass campus last Thursday night, reading a few of her notorious witty stories to a crowd of about 80-100 academics, hipsters, professors, and literary junkies. The event was clearly appreciated by all who attended, especially after the free booze was dispensed at the end of the reading. Davis, who was born in Northampton, quipped and waxed humerous of personal notes to the readings, which further charmed the enthusiastic audience. It was a great show. Thanks to UMass for putting together such a great, free event.
Photo taken from Patrick Denker's Flickr photostream
Wednesday, November 01, 2006 -
Jazztastic!
Well, it just doesn't seem right to miss the Bobby Previte Show at Pearl Street on Saturday after reading this article. God save us all.
Wassailling at the Supermarket
Well, unless you have no television, no radio, don't read the paper, and have lost all sensational function besides, maybe, smell, you know that next Tuesday is election day. Hopefully, you also know that not only is the governor's seat up for grabs (or shall we say, the graceful enaction of our benevolent democracy?), but that a number of propositions will appear on the ballot, as well. Included in this glorious list of democractic fodder, is Proposition 1, or "Initiative Petition A," which states:
This proposed law would allow local licensing authorities to issue licenses for food stores to sell wine. The proposed law defines a “food store” as a retail vendor, such as a grocery store, supermarket, shop, club, outlet, or warehouse-type seller, that sells food to consumers to be eaten elsewhere (which must include meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs, fresh fruit and produce, and other specified items), and that may sell other items usually found in grocery stores. Holders of licenses to sell wine at food stores could sell wine either on its own or together with any other items they sell.
It seems that a lot of the advertising devoted to this proposition tries to define the issue as either "consumer choice" (good for capitalism), or "irresponsible sales practices" (good for teens). Although watching small mom&pop liquor stores suffer is bad enough, especially in this lovely enclave of locally-supported business and agriculture, sometimes it's nice to be able to pick up a bottle of red when the only store open is Big Y. It might be the only reason some would shop at the Big Y...
Photo taken from redirete's photostream on Flickr.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006 -
Sylvia Plath is ALIVE!!!
Wait, no she's not. Sorry. But, someone did find one of her unpublished poems recently. Anna Journey, a Virginia Commonwealth grad student who discovered the poem. This from the Gazette:
In her personal copy of Fitzgerald's book, Journey said, Plath wrote the phrase "L'Ennui" - boredom - next to a passage in which Jay Gatsby's love interest, Daisy Buchanan, complains, "I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything."
"She was observing; her notes were creative, metaphorical reactions," Journey said of Plath. "She was riffing off of Fitzgerald's passages."
Journey said the poem - two original typed scripts with some of Plath's handwritten notes - contained the same themes as the notes Plath jotted in "Gatsby."
The 14-line sonnet opens:
Tea leaves thwart those who court catastrophe,
designing futures where nothing will occur.
Plath, who committed suicide in 1963, at the age of 30, was an alumna of Smith College.
...Smell Our Feet, Give Us Something Good to Eat...
Ah Halloween. All Hallows Eve. Day of the Dead. Dia del Muerto. Trick or treaters are out in force tonight, thanks to the warm temperatures, and the promise of over-consuming high fructose corn syrup-laden candies, leading to early onset of Type-2 Diabetes. Halloween and diabetes, what better image of an American child exists? With so much media hype being paid to schools, restaurants, and cities launching campaigns to increase healthy food options, including reducing the use of trans-fatty acids, perhaps it's time to tell the government to stop putting corn in our sweets?
Some of our favorite Halloween memories include: 7 o'clock curfews on trick-or-treating, the up-scale part of town, where full-sized candy bars were handed out, Butterfingers, Charleston Chews, trading candies after returning home with a massive bag of goodies, and weeks of sugary snacks in school lunches (when sugary snacks were not allowed by parents), stories of razors in apples, and the old lady down the street who gave out pencils and raisins.
Yes, pencils and raisins.
Sunday, October 29, 2006 -
The Day the Earth Rewound Exactly an Hour
It's the last Sunday of October, folks, which means at 2am this morning, daylight savings ended for the year. So, don't forget to turn back those clocks one hour!
Next year, the Energy Policy Act, signed by Bush in 2005, will take effect, extending daylight savings in an effort to promote the reduction of home energy use. By extending daylight savings four weeks over the year, people will be able to take advantage of the longer daylight hours, and thus able to use less energy lighting their homes. Next year, Daylight Savings will begin on March 11th, and end November 4th. Some electronics (cell phone, computers, etc.) are programmed to automatically adjust their clocks for daylight savings on the traditional timetable, so you might need to manually change the time forward or ahead, as appropriate, in the coming years. Have fun with that!
Photograph provided by ten0fnice's flickr photostream.
Friday, October 27, 2006 -
Razing Kegger!
Apparently all the bad behavior at the beginning of this semester has led UMass to make good on its promise to demolish frat row. The plan was proposed earlier this year in an effort to procure more property for "large classrooms and academic offices." Of course, we all know the real agenda: making ZOO-Mass a dry campus... No, seriously, that's too bad. Has anyone seen the demolition? Has any of the equipment been left unattended?... Is there a rager going on next door?... Hmmm...
Thursday, October 26, 2006 -
Biggest Debate of the Week? Bikes on Sidewalks!
Did anyone catch this discussion on the MassLive forums? Drivers downtown always seem rather conscious of pedestrians, however, cyclists present another issue - especially on Route 9 past the railroad bridge and in the opposite direction past Smith. We've witnessed two accidents with cyclists caused by negligent drivers, and numerous close calls. Riding one's bicycle on the sidewalk, especially downtown, is undeniably dangerous for pedestrians, but what about children on their bikes with training wheels? Perhaps more bike lanes are needed, or maybe the downtown section of Route 9 should be sectioned off for pedestrians only. Anyone who bothers to drive downtown after 4pm knows if basically is already...
Best Way to Lose a Popularity Contest Ever
Well, both the local teachers' union and area students must be pretty bumbed, as Northampton recently received a grant to study extending the school day. According to the report, one stipulation of the grant is that the town "must submit proposals to the Department of Education outlining the feasibility of increasing learning time in their districts by at least 25 percent, or 300 hours per year." 300 hours? Okay, so 300 hours, divided by 180 school days per year, equals 1.67 hours each day. So, in school terms, that means extending the day from 2:05pm to 3:45pm! 2:05pm seemed late enough to us as high school students, but then, we never had to pass the MCAS, either.
If the school year is to be extended by 25%, does that also mean teachers' salaries will accrue an equal raise in pay? How will the schools fill the day, too? Add lab periods to History classes? Extend lunch period? Bring back recess? We propose schools consider using the time to let students cross Route 9, slowing traffic even more during rush hour. Perhaps the extra time could be spent enriching students academic lives beyond preparing for standardized tests? Oh wait, that isn't sanctioned by No Child Left Behind.
Our Pal Deval
This week's Valley Advocate has a great article on why Deval Patrick deserves your vote for Governor. Definitely the anti Romney/Healey, Patrick has a lot of great ideas on how to strengthen our state's public policy, boost public services like education, and reduce our energy costs.
Charasmatic in debate, Patrick has deflected numerous attacks by Kerry Healey on crime and taxes. Speaking of debates, has anyone watched these past few debates? Christy Mihos is clearly the quintessential Massachusettsian in the race - he's got the accent, he's sort of goofy, and he thinks everyone else is wrong. Grace Ross has been an excellent candidate in our opinion, too, but unfortuantely, she doesn't have the voter base to defeat Healey, who's administration would probably accomplish even less than Mit Romney's. In our opinion, everyone should definitely vote for Patrick on November 7th. If you're thinking of not voting, please reconsider - more than any other time, we need now to take control of our democracy.
Sidewalk Art Sales Allowed Downtown
The Board of Public Work last night approved a policy to allow artists to sell their works downtown. Apparently, only painting, sculpture, prints, original photography, video art and documentary films are considered art by the Board, as crafts, mix-tapes, baked goods, donated hair, and cardboard signs are not covered by the policy. The artists can hock away from 9am-9pm in a handful of designated locations: the arts kiosk on Main Street, the sidewalks in front of Faces and the Hampshire County Courthouse, and the sidewalk and steps in front of City Hall (isn’t the arts kiosk where the high school Goths and homeless wanderers hang out?). Retail space is limited to 15 square feet, and permits are valid for only 90 days. I guess the Heresy Collective will have to renew their permits in February – traditionally New England’s busiest month sidewalk shopping. Will they have to shovel their own snow or de-ice the sidewalks then?
We’re looking forward to when someone sets up a blanket with bronze-cast keychains in the mold of city hall for sale. Other highly-anticipated art-ifacts: photos of rainbow flags that say “Pace,” characatures of the “Can I have a Dollar” lady, and life-sized sculptures of Bill Dwight.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 -
Graduating from High School Gets Even Harder
 In a 7-to-2 vote yesterday, the Massachusetts Board of Education voted to raise the minimum MCAS score required to graduate from a public high school from 220 to 240. The new minimum score requirement will go into affect in 2010, affecting numerous schools already (or in danger of being) deemed "underperforming" by the state.
The ruling is sure to have an affect on curricula and teaching in classrooms across the state, especially in schools with high populations of English Language Learners (ELLs) and immigrant students.
UMass Student Dies After Helping Fellow EMTs
 Here's a nice article on Brad Skikne, the UMass undergrad who died in a crash on Amherst Road shortly after helping EMTs at the scene of another accident. It sounds from reports by friends that he was quite the remarkable person, selfless and giving. It's a horrible shame.
Amherst Road, which connects downtown Amherst with Route 202 in Pelham, is notoriously dangerous. For a windy, hilly road, it has a high speed limit, no shoulder, little room to pass, and a lot of areas with poor visibility. We've witnessed many close calls with cars, bicyclists, roadside objects like rocks and trees, and even a moose on that road. Our sympathies go out to Brad's family and friends.
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