The Boston Traveler

Comic-actor Martin Lawrence (Big Momma’s House 1 and 2, Bad Boys 1 and 2) has a new movie opening next Friday, February 8, called Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins. In the comedy, he plays RJ Stevens, a famous talk-show host and self-help guru in the style of Oprah or Dr. Phil who hails from the small Southern town of Dry Springs, Georgia.
When Stevens’ parents ask him to return home for their 50th wedding anniversary, the entertainment personality does, and he brings along his ten-year-old son, new wife, and misunderstanding that since he’s a media star now, his family and old …read more

Comments Off

Both visitors to and residents of Boston have something to get happy about these days as the MBTA spreads news about two commendable developments: the testing of free wireless Internet access on the commuter rail line and a record ten-year low in the violent crime rate on Massachusetts’ public transportation system.
In the first case, starting this Wednesday, the MBTA will make Wi-Fi service available on the Worcester/Framingham commuter line, one of the busiest lines in the commuter rail system. As a result, passengers will presumably have the ability to do just about anything they normally could on their Internet-ready …read more

Comments Off

And how much longer will it take before New Edition and Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch follow?
Just kidding about the preceding sentence, although the title is a legitimate question.
On Saturday, celebrity rag People magazine reported that the five members of the 1980s–1990s, Boston-based boy band that disbanded in 1994 are planning to reunite. The verification comes in the form of an alleged proverbial “well-placed source,” who the magazine claims confirmed that an official announcement “will be made in the next few weeks.” In other words, surviving NKOTB fans have a lot to look forward to in February …read more

4 Comments

February and Black History Month are just around the corner, and Harvard Book Store (no affiliation with the university, except by virtue of location—it’s right across the street from Harvard Yard) is getting a jump start on the occasion.
At 7pm EST on Tuesday, January 29th, the popular and well-stocked shop will host an appearance by African-American author and Harvard Law School professor Randall Kennedy, a leading researcher on race relations. In his latest book, Sellout: The Politics of Racial Disloyalty, the attorney examines what it means for a black person to be burdened with the label “sellout,” a term …read more

1 Comment

Now we’re talking. A mere week ago, Harvard Lampoon members announced their plans to bestow the Hastiest Pudding of the Lampoon Award upon hotel heiress Paris Hilton.
Today, Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals has stolen the spotlight entirely by announcing its excellent choices of Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Christopher Walken to become the society’s next Woman and Man of the Year, respectively. According to The Pudding, performers must have made a substantial contribution to the entertainment industry to enjoy those honors.
Theron, 32, received her Best Actress Academy Award for her work in the harrowing 2003 fact-based drama Monster, …read more

1 Comment

Officials at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency announced a bit of a change for area residents and visitors on Tuesday. In cooperation with the Council of Massachusetts United Ways, the organization has started operating a new emergency telephone number, namely 211.
One major point of the service is to decrease the number of non-emergency calls to the traditional emergency number 911. As a result of the new distinction, individuals who have inquiries about disaster, health, and human services issues can now get assistance from 211 operators between 8am and 8pm on weekdays. The service is also capable of …read more

Comments Off

Local newspaper the Boston Globe is holding an Arts & Entertainment Weekend of events this Saturday and Sunday, January 26–27, and the best part is everything is free, free, free. Billed as Globe Talks, the series of three discussions focuses on theater and film right here in the Bay State.
Saturday | January 26
A Conversation with Playwright Douglas Carter Beane
First up on Saturday is “A Conversation with Playwright Douglas Carter Beane.” A Tony Award nominee in 2007 for the Broadway comedy The Little Dog Laughed, Douglas Carter Beane also wrote, among many other things, the screenplay for the 1995 …read more

1 Comment

Well, they did it!
Sunday afternoon’s 21–12 defeat over the San Diego Chargers earned the New England Patriots a spot in the Super Bowl XLII championship. On February 3, the team will go head-to-head against the New York Giants in Glendale, Arizona, once again reminding me that I’ve spent all but a few years of my life living in two of the United States’ most accomplished states pro sports-wise.
The AFC Champions are journeying to the big game, their fourth Super Bowl in seven years, after an unprecedented 18–0 season. Their opponents, on the other hand, had to fight a …read more

Comments Off

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States, an official federal holiday that commemorates the January 15th birthday of one of the country’s most well-known civil rights leaders.
Among the minister’s famous speeches is the one that still resounds around the world almost 45 years after it was originally delivered at the Lincoln Memorial on the occasion of the August 28, 1963, March on Washington.
I’m speaking of “I Have a Dream,” of course, wise words that are enjoying massive circulation on the Internet today. This post is therefore just one of many, which is a good thing …read more

Comments Off

One week ago yesterday, on Saturday, January 12th, intrepid commuters in the Boston area took to the T without their pants for the city’s first ever No Pants! Subway Ride.
The Travel and Culture Channel here at b5media did an excellent job providing multistate coverage of the Improv Everywhere event, which broke out of its New York confines in 2008 for the first time in its nearly decade-long history.
As a result of the ambitious international reach, pantsless riders stormed the public subway systems in no less than ten different locations, including New York (of course), Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Portland (Oregon), Washington …read more

1 Comment