Archive for April 5th, 2011

April 5th, 2011

Haiku by Matsuo Basho, April 5

by PaulM

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) wrote during the Edo Period in Japan. He is considered the master poet of the time. In celebration of National Poetry Month, this blog is hosting the 3rd Annual Community Haiku Project. Readers are invited to send no more than two haiku at a time for consideration to info@loompress.com. Traditional haiku and improvisational Western haiku (say a lot in three lines) are welcomed. This blog reserves the right to select the haiku for publication, but we are very democratic.—PM

.

         The crow

walks along there

            as if it were tilling the field.

.

—Matsuo Basho

CategoryCulture, History, Lowell, Poetry | CommentNo Comments »

April 5th, 2011

Giving 17 year olds the right to vote

by DickH

“Just wondering if you’d be interested in tagging along to the statehouse on April 13th to attend he Joint Committee on Election Laws’ public hearing on the teen-led initiative to Lower the Voting Age to 17 in Lowell’s muni elections.”

Above is a message I received from a proponent of lowering the voting age to 17 for Lowell city elections. I can’t make it to the State House for the Public Hearing, but I do endorse the proposal. I do that for practical reasons.

For most of us, voting is a habit that’s passed down from generation to generation. If your parents made voting a priority, then it’s likely that you will make voting a priority. But what of the many kids whose parents don’t vote. How are they likely to become engaged in the electoral process? Through peer pressure. If their friends make voting a priority, they’ll make voting a priority, as well.

Right now, 18 year olds have the vote, but by the time the Fall city election rolls around, many new 18 year olds are off to college or at least scattered from most of their friends from high school and the neighborhood. But 17 year olds are most likely seniors in high school where peer pressure is at its maximum. A small group of motivated kids could potentially incite a substantial number of their classmates to vote. And when you’ve voted once, you’re more likely to do it again and soon it becomes a habit. That’s why I support this proposal.

CategoryLowell, Politics | Comment6 Comments »

April 5th, 2011

Jim Calhoun – Another Lowell Connection

by Marie

  Jim Calhoun, UConn Basketball Coach

We do like to make those Lowell connections. The starting center for the UConn Huskies – Sophomore and Lowell native – Alex Oriakhi was a critical player in last night’s win for the national chanpionship with his 11 points and 11 rebounds. Oriakhi played at both the Bailey and the Daley schools in Lowell’s Highlands.  While Dick Howe was doing his regular Tuesday noontime stint on WCAP-980AM radio with host Jack Baldwin today – the UConn win was discussed along with foreclosures, mortagage rates, politics and a little history. While it was clear that Oriakhi had the “looked for” Lowell connections, Jack thought that the iconic coach of the team – Jim Calhoun has connections as well. Rumor has it that Calhoun spent some time at Lowell State – now UMass Lowell. On air – they both charged me to check it out. With a May, 1942 birthday, Jim could have been one of my classmates in the Lowell State Class of 1964. Here’s what I found about his early life and education:

Calhoun was born and raised in Braintree, Massachusetts, where he was a standout on the basketball, football and baseball teams at Braintree High School. After his father died of a heart attack when Calhoun was 15, he was left to watch over his large family that included five siblings.

Although he received a basketball scholarship to Lowell State (now UMass Lowell), he only attended the school for three months after which he returned home to help support his mother and siblings. He worked as a granite cutter, headstone engraver, scrapyard worker, shampoo factory worker, and gravedigger.

After a 20-month leave from higher education, Calhoun returned to college, this time at American International College n Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was given another basketball scholarship. He was the leading scorer on the team his junior and senior seasons, and captained the team in his final year, during which AIC advanced to the Division II playoffs. At the time he graduated, he was ranked as the fourth all-time scorer at AIC. Calhoun graduated in 1968 with a bachelor’s degreein sociology.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Calhoun

Note:

The win made Jim Calhoun – at 68 - the oldest coach to win a basketball title. Already a member of the Hall of Fame, Calhoun became one of only five coaches to win three or more national championships. There is lots of speculation about retirement. Stay tuned.  Did you know Jim Calhoun at Lowell State?

CategoryCulture, Current Events, Greater Lowell, History, Lowell | CommentNo Comments »

April 5th, 2011

Local authors appeal in memoir and fiction by Marjorie Arons-Barron

by Tony

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. Check it out.

We love movies set in locations we know: witness The Fighter, set in Lowell, and The Town, set in Charlestown. The appeal of the familiar works in print as well, notably Andre Dubus’ powerful memoir Townie, set in Haverhill, Newburyport and other parts of the Merrimack Valley, and Bone Blind, a mystery novel set in Newton, Wellfleet and Boston.

Dubus III was one of four children abandoned by author and essayist Andre Dubus II of Haverhill, who taught at the (now defunct) Bradford College and was a friend of Kurt Vonnegut and John Updike. Dubus père walked out on the family, leaving their hard-working mother to rear them against a backdrop of poverty, urban violence, frequent moves, alcohol and drugs. Though the father and Andre Dubus III reconciled in later years, especially after the father was mowed down by a car while assisting another motorist in distress, the son never had the benefit of responsible adult male guidance, fell into petty crime and substance abuse, and dealt with the world by using his fists. (In his early years, he actually tried to become a boxer but mostly he earned a living by bar tending and janitorial pursuits. )

That he gradually overcame his reflexive primitive pugilistic ways, went to college and became an accomplished writer (author of National Book Award short-list-honored House of Sand and Fog) is remarkable, to say the least. His candid new memoir, Townie, reflects the same milieu portrayed in The Fighter. While the violence is unrelenting, it speaks to what growing up was like for many in our formerly robust mill towns in northeastern Massachusetts.

Bone Blind by mystery novelist Abigail Padgett is set in Newton, Wellfleet and Boston. The principal protagonist is a mystery writer who lives in Newton Highlands. His female person of interest is also a mystery writer, living in Wellfleet, and the story also advances due to the investigation by a Newton police detective of crimes perpetrated in the present and also 20 years ago. I won’t spoil it for you by telling you who dunnit and who ends up dead. I will say that Padgett is a good story teller, who weaves the threads of different mysteries cleverly enough to keep the reader engaged and, while it’s not great literature, it’s fun to see one’s own hometown show up in print, as on the silver screen.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

CategoryUncategorized | CommentNo Comments »

April 5th, 2011

James Brown and Kevin White Calm Boston, April 5, 1968

by Tony

Thirty Three years ago on April 5, 1968 cities across the United States experienced violence and unrest during the twenty four hour aftermath of Dr Martin Luther King’s assassination. I was seventeen, living in an inner city and remember the night well. In Boston a concert featuring the King of Soul, James Brown had been scheduled for that night at the “Boston Garden”. City officials debated vehemently whether to cancel the concert or allow it to take place before eventually giving approval. Mayor Kevin White convinced WGBH Channel 2 to broadcast the concert as a means to keep young people at home and off the streets. James Brown agreed to cooperate with city officials…the concert went on and Boston saw a peaceful night. Historians give Kevin White and James Brown credit for saving property and potentially lives the night of April 5, 1968.

The video below shows the speeches before the concert given by Boston City Councilor Tom Atkins, Mayor Kevin White and James Brown all urging calm.

CategoryCulture, History | Comment1 Comment »

April 5th, 2011

Happy Birthday Bette!

by Marie

       

On this day – April 5, 1908 -  Ruth Elizabeth “Bette” Davis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. The iconic actress and two-time Oscar winner is remembered for many performances especially in the films “Dangerous” and “Jezabel” for which she won Academy Awards. Her performances in  ”Dark Victory,” “All About Eve” and “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane” were also memorable. She was a bigger than life actress and person who on the official Bette Davis website is described aptly:

Often referred to as “The First Lady of the American Screen,” Bette Davis created a new kind of screen heroine. She was a liberated woman in an industry dominated by men. She was known as an actress that could play a variety of difficult and powerful roles, and because of this she set a new standard for women on the big screen. Independent off-screen as well, her battles with studio bigwigs were legendary. With a career spanning six decades, few in the history of film rival her longevity and appeal.

 

For more on Bette Davis check here at her Wikipedia site and here at her 100th anniversary website.

CategoryCulture, History, Lowell | CommentNo Comments »

April 5th, 2011

St Jean Baptiste Church

by DickH

George DeLuca (Come to Lowell) took a tour of the under-renovation St Jean Baptiste Church on upper Merrimack Street and sent along these notes. From my conversation with George, it was abundantly clear that he was very enthused about the renovation results. With so many former churches in Lowell, finding a realistic re-use for them is very important. Perhaps this project can serve as a model.

Taya Dixon Mullane, President of Lower Highlands Neighborhood Group, David Ouellette, President of the Acre Coalition to Improve our Neighborhood (ACTION) and I attended a tour of the St. Baptiste Church this morning at 7am. The tour was conducted by the developer, Brian McGowan.

The church area is quite large and reminds me of a smaller version of Symphony Hall. It’s that beautiful. It’s dried in to the weather and the finishes are in-tact and quite remarkable. There are 2 balconies at the far end with the top one being for a wonderful organ with all the pipes. Operating condition is unknown, but it looks great from the main floor. The space is vacant, the alter, statues and stained glass are gone. But the woodwork, walls and ceiling work are all in excellent condition. Seeing is believing!

Brian is currently reviewing the feasibility of the church space being designated for general community use; performing arts, theater, concerts, community activities, etc. Obviously, there needs to be a community reach out process so that a proforma can be developed to see if the numbers can work. UML, MCC, the City, Neighborhoods, arts groups, etc. should be contacted to see if there’s a general interest. My sense is that if there is not such an interest, Brian will continue down the road of residential build out. But even he seems in awe of the space, and is hesitant about breaking it up and would like to see it stay in tact. Kudos to Brian for giving Lowell (stakeholders and residents) a chance to review the situation before he moves forward.

There are 56 on site parking spaces, with street parking & vacant lots nearby which may be available for major events. There are also 17 near ready apartment units in the structure connected to the church.

This could be the jewel in the crown when one considers integration with plans for Smith Baker Center and UML’s St. Joseph hospital build out; setting the stage for the entire neighborhood to rise to the next level of economic development. UML should take notice and make a point of arranging their own tour if they haven’t already. I also plan to arrange another tour(s) in the near future if there’s enough interest.

CategoryLowell | Comment4 Comments »

April 5th, 2011

Artist George Condo Profiled in Globe

by PaulM

One of the most important American painters of our day is George Condo, who has deep roots in Chelmsford and at UMass Lowell, where his father, Pasquale Condo, was a longtime professor of mathematics. Condo was profiled by Jim Sullivan in yesterday’s Boston Globe.

One early influence on Condo was Kerouac: “But as a teenager he was more interested in music and the writings of Lowell native Jack Kerouac than in the visual arts. In 2006, Condo wrote the introduction to Kerouac’s ‘Book of Sketches.’  The author inspired him to develop his own ‘pure uncontrollable mastery of chaos,’ he wrote.”

Read the article here, and get the Globe if you want more reporting like this. A few months ago, Condo was the subject of an extensive article in the New Yorker magazine.

His paintings have always toyed with transgression. The faces of his subjects are often warped, disfigured, or caved in on themselves. His grotesques “are almost like musical variations on the portrait format,’’ Condo said.

“At a certain point the variations become the thing I’m interested in,’’ he said. “They’re more representative of the mental state of the character.’’

“His mind is sort of psychedelic, in a way,’’ said Girls guitarist Mark Dagley, a respected artist in his own right. Yet his friend has always had the outward bearing of “normalcy,’’ Dagley said.

And although Condo loved New England, Dagley said, “there was another element of how they lagged behind that really disturbed him.’’

And Condo has made a career of disturbance ever since.

The artwork of George Condo, who grew up in Chelmsford, is the subject of a new exhibit at the New Museum in Manhattan.

George Condo (web photo by Jessica Hodge courtesy of boston.com and Boston Globe)

CategoryCulture, Education, Greater Lowell, History, Lowell | Comment2 Comments »

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