Monday, April 8, 2013
New tales about our favorite royal family getting nutsy on Martha's Vineyard.
Snap quiz: Which of the Kennedys smoked three packs of cigarettes a day? You might suppose it was red-faced, over-weight Ted who looked like the kind of fellow who’d puff away in the dark of his limo while his driver dashed into the Dairy Queen for two Blizzards (and a third one for himself.) But no, it was Jackie O! Jackie who, as we’ve reported in this column, kayaked, swam, and cycled, only stopping to nibble carrot sticks and sip blueberry smoothies along the way to her yoga class. It came as a complete shock, then, when she died so relatively young, at the age of 64. Jackie O?! This paragon of healthy living? But no, in her final days, Jackie confided to her close friend, fashion designer Oleg Cassini, that she had smoked three packs …
Monday, March 25, 2013
Tales of woeful mismatches in the Vineyard social scene.
It may have started as far back as two thousand years ago when, let’s just say hypothetically, a Wampanoag sachem invited tribesmen to share roasted beached whale around the campfire. Later an assistant-sachem might have taken the honcho host aside and berated him, “Didn’t you know one of your tribesmen resented another tribesman for planting corn too close to his ancestor’s burial mound?” To which the sachem might have responded with the Wampanoag equivalent of “Yikes!” Another for-real sketchy Vineyard dinner, this one taking place in 1874, was organized by a Methodist minister in honor of sitting prez Ulysses S. Grant. Famously fond of brandy, Ulysses S. was aghast to find himself in the midst of a strenuously abstemious church society…
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Pope Benedict XVI will retire this week.
At 8 p.m. Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI will become the first pope in more than 600 years to retire. The cardinals of the Roman Catholic church will meet in Rome this week to bid farewell to Pope Benedict as well as to decide when the conclave will begin to elect the next pope. The church has said it plans to have a new pope in place before Easter on March 31. Speculation has already started on who might be the next pope, including Cardinal Sean O'Malley of the Archdiocese of Boston. What issues in the Roman Catholic Church would you like to see the next pope address? What qualities would you like to see in the next pope? Let us know in the comments section.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Do you agree with the governor's decision or was it too drastic?
All non-emergency drivers were ordered off the roads on Friday when Gov. Deval Patrick issued an executive order banning travel during the blizzard. (Editor's note: The ban is lifted statewide as of 4 p.m. Saturday.) Patrick's executive order is being praised by some and bashed by others, reported The Boston Globe. While former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, who was in charge of the commonwealth during the Blizzard of ’78, praised the governor’s move, others called the order “tyrannical” and say the strict ban and hefty fines were too much, according to The Globe. Those caught violating the ban would face up to a year in jail and a $500 fine. What do you think? Do you agree with the governor’s decision or do you think the travel ban …
Monday, February 4, 2013
Super Bowl ads cost as much as $3.8 million this year. Which were the best Super Bowl commercials of 2013? Which were your favorites? Watch some of them right here on Patch.
Millions of sports enthusiasts watched Super Bowl 47 on Super Bowl Sunday. Even more, likely, tuned in to watch Super Bowl commercials. According to Ad Age, CBS essentially sold out its ad inventory for Super Bowl XLVII at prices averaging between $3.7 million and $3.8 million. More from Ad Age: The usual coterie of big sponsors is more or less on board again -- hello, Pepsi! hello Bud Light! -- accompanied by opportunistic, smaller brands that want to make a big splash, such as Century 21 and GoDaddy.com, both of which are also returning to the game. In addition to Ms. Patrick and Mr. Fogle, celebrities and pseudo-celebs on the ad roster will include Willem Dafoe, Amy Poehler, Bar Refaeli, Tracy Morgan, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Psy, …
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Columnist Sean Walsh tells us about Andrew Ellis, a special Barnstable High School senior athlete.
The dynamics of high school and high school athletics never cease to amaze me. There are the hangers-on. The groupies. The wannabees. There are the BMOCs. There are the BWOCs, although, I must confess, I am not certain I have ever actually heard that term before. There are the manipulators. There are the pretenders. There are the fans, in both good and bad ways, and there are the complainers. There are the duplicitous has-beens and the feigning heroes of yore. There are the "Jocks," still, and there are the bullies and then there are those whose glory fades as quickly as the setting sun. Bruce Springsteen sang about them. Robert Frost, in part, wrote about them. Almost every person I know, has some sort of story that hinges upon the …
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Three years after a Kansas man donated his sperm, the state wants him to pay child support.
A mechanic who answered a Craigslist ad to donate his sperm to a lesbian couple, is now being pursued by the State of Kansas for child support, reports the Kansas City Star. In 2009, Angela Bauer and Jennifer Schreiner entered into an agreement with the donor, William Marotta to provide his sperm. They signed a contract that outlined he would be free from any financial responsibility as well as parental privileges, according to the newspaper. The legal contract stated Marotta was not responsible “for any child support payments demanded of him by any other person or entity, public or private, including any district attorney’s office or other state or county agency, regardless of the circumstances or said demand.” Although the women offered…
Sunday, December 30, 2012
The financial deadline looms in Washington, with no deal yet made. Check this primer, and share your questions and thoughts.
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Sunday, December 30, 2012
By Gregg Palermo With Christmas 2012 over, one reality check is that the looming "fiscal cliff" deadline is just a few days away. On Dec. 31, tax cuts dating to the George W. Bush presidential term are scheduled to expire, and President Obama and congressional leaders have not reached a compromise. Of course, that means tax bills would increase for many middle- and upper-class taxpayers. And that means paycheck withholding for many workers would change, leaving them with less take-home pay in the new year. Apparently, though, there will be no immediate change in withholding tables, while the situation is unresolved. According to John Tuzynski, the IRS’ chief of employment tax policy, employers should continue to use 2012 withholding tables…
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts. ~ Janice Maeditere
I love Christmas. Like little-kid love. Like oh my gawd Santa is coming. Santa! Like Elf-level of love. I love the planning. Paying attention all year and trying to find the perfect ornament for each kid. I have to report that once again, I hit it out of the park (I'm nothing if not humble). A replica Orange Line train for Emma to commemorate her new adventure living and going to school in Boston. For Dylan, a custom made ornament showcasing one of his photographs. Photography is a new passion and he has a real talent for it. Both were surprised and happy with their ornaments this year. It's not just gifts that make me love this time of year although they are awesome. I love the entirety of the festive feel to the month of December. …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Schools teach everything – albeit not always well – but they don’t teach the most basic skill of all, a skill that has the capacity to save the world. Schools don’t teach kindness.
They’re making a dent by tagging bullies and troubled youngsters. It’s a start. But I know the way classrooms were run in the 1950s when I was a kid, and I imagine they’re not much better today, perhaps worse because class sizes are larger, and random acts of unkindness harder to detect and treat. How to be kind is easily imparted, easily learned. For me it only required one lesson. It was delivered by a fellow fourth grader, Buddy Bridgers, red-headed, smart and aware. It was recess, we were all hell-bent on four-square, that game with painted quadrants, a large ball, and a line of kids waiting to start in the first quad where you either washed out or worked your way up the chain. At #2, 3 and 4, you held on for dear life. A big kid – …
Holly Nadler
12:14 pm on Thursday, April 11, 2013
There are two kinds of people: Those for whom EVERYTHING is super-serious and those who who are grateful for the moments of humor that suddenly bubble up in this otherwise super-serious situation called life. I've heard Jackie O had a huge sense of humor, and while she might not have loved the article I wrote above (with stories gleaned from a new book; not made up, at least not by me), let's … more ›