Categories
Football

Julian Edelman, Dustin Pedroia, and the Glory Days of Grit

Julian Edelman’s retirement earlier this week was far from a surprise. If anything the writing was on the wall last week, when Patriots beat writer Karen Guregian reported that Edelman was unlikely to be able to play the entirety of the upcoming 2021 season due to the “chronic” knee issues that plagued him last year. So, on Monday when news broke that the Patriots were terminating their star wideout’s contract, I didn’t bat an eye (okay fine, maybe it was a half wink situation). I knew what was coming next.

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Categories
Basketball

Wildest Dreams

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

How awesome is it having March Madness back?

That’s obviously a rhetorical question, for two reasons. First, the ol’ blog post format doesn’t exactly allow for much back and forth discourse. More importantly, though, there’s no need to give a real answer here because the only response should be self-evident:

It’s truly, deeply, intrinsically, exceptionally, fucking awesome.

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Categories
Miscellaneous Musings

Confessions of a Plastic Paddy

Christy Moore is a living legend. For five decades now, Christy has been a leading voice in the Irish Folk scene, guiding the genre through a renaissance and reinvention. In 2007, he was named the Greatest Living Musician by RTE, and since then he has put out five new albums. An indefatigable legend at that. 

So, during this special time of year, as people across the country are scrambling to put on some Real Irish MusicTM during their pre-games and pub crawls, I think it’s a good time to talk about Christy and his music. But, before we get there, we’ll have to talk about the proverbial green elephant in the room: the Irish.

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Categories
movies + tv

The Real Housewives of New York City is a Modern Tragic Masterpiece

PART I: “I Never Feel Guilty About Being Privileged” 

Over the last few years, there’s been a growing interest in “Dead Malls.” These abandoned shopping centers have become immensely popular in some corners of the internet. There’s something about the photos and videos of these places – something slightly off-putting, but also evocative and nostalgic. But a Dead Mall is more than just some empty stores; it’s a physical manifestation of a past way of life, a past way of thinking, past hopes, dreams, and aspirations.

They’ve taken everything from us! (John Arehart / Shutterstock.com)

Dead Malls require us to confront a change in perspective – our change of perspective. In a Dead Mall, the glitzy, exciting, “anything is possible” attitude of the 80s seems a lifetime away. These places hold no promise now. The building may be mostly the same. But something has changed. We have changed.

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Categories
Basketball

Back From The Brink

via MATTHEW J LEE / BOSTON GLOBE STAFF

At 8:10 p.m. on Wednesday, February 24th, I was convinced the Boston Celtics would never win another basketball game again. I’m not talking about this winter, or this season. I was thinking about the rest of eternity, and that the C’s were on the cusp of ceasing to exist, like the Kentucky Colonels or an unsuspecting large Dunkin’ iced around Ben Affleck. These are the thoughts one has when Danilo Gallinari turns into a human three-point tsunami in the midst of a blowout loss to the Hawks.

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Categories
Music

Julien Baker Bodyslams Me into Depression

PHOTO CREDIT: Amber J Davis, Nashville Scene

We are truly living through the golden age of sad music.

Ever since Bon Iver made crying in a cabin sexy again, young artists have been tripping over themselves to bare their hearts and spread the Big Sad™ to listeners worldwide. The last decade and a half has seen the woe-is-me musical movement pop up all over, with artists like Drake and Billie Eilish flexing their Feelings all the way to the top of the charts. But the biggest scene for saddies has always been the indie scene. 

And no indie musician has been better at making people sadder than Julien Baker.

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Categories
movies + tv

Seeking The Truth

The best 90s Gryffindor Quidditch player, and Harry Potter.

It was the autumn of 1991. George H.W. Bush was president of the United States, The Jerry Springer Show had just made its television debut, and Nirvana’s Nevermind was setting the music world on fire. And, in an undisclosed location in the highlands of Scotland, The Boy Who Lived began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

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Categories
movies + tv

Palm Springs, Groundhog Day, and the Year of the Plague

I am an unabashed supporter of Groundhog Day. I’m a Punxsutawney truther; I would follow that furry little hog to hell and back if his shadow told me to. So as a lover of all things Groundhog Day, it’s no surprise that I would take some time to wax poetic with you, dear reader, about 1993 classic film Groundhog Day, as well as the recent reimagining of the classic infinite time loop situation, Palm Springs. 

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Categories
Music

An Ode to Shanties

The guy who invented sea shanties, probably.

I had a friend text me a few weeks back asking “Pete, what do you think of Sea Shanty TikTok?” As a longtime lover of the shanty, the question was well warranted. I’ve gotten some version of this meme sent to me, unironically, every year for four years straight during Spotify Wrapped season. So what happens when your niche interests explode into internet superstardom? Let’s explore the journey of the humble shanty.

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Categories
Album Review

Review: Strawberry Mansion

If nothing else (and I mean absolutely nothing else), 2020’s dire conditions have led to some pretty damn good music. Langhorne Slim’s new record, Strawberry Mansion, is the latest entry into this COVID album canon, and a worthy one at that.

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