• Posted by "Gabe" on my5senses.blogspot.com: I realized however that within a year or two I am going to be ready to buy something and I am sure as hell not doing that within the 128 loop. Being that I refuse to not live in the suburbs and I also refuse to quit my job and I also refuse to move out of Worcester, only to move back to Worcester a couple years later, well ... that leaves Worcester.

For the most part I am okay with this as things are really starting to shape up here. People are still complaining but I have never seen so many things happening in the city as what is happening right now. And it's stuff that is actually happening not just being talked about. Worcester finally seems to be moving forward and the fact you can actually see it happening is kind of exciting. I have stipulations though, and the biggest of which is that I need to be in a walkable neighborhood. Being there are only 2.5 walkable neighborhoods in the city (because let's face it, Highland Street is only kind of walkable, there's only about 4 or 5 worthwhile things to walk to) I need to put my focus on The Canal District/Green Island and Shrewsbury St or something very close to one of those neighborhoods. I am pretty intrested in The Bancroft. It's affordable and it's being completely redone. There is going to be a fitness center, a lounge and a game room. When the building fills up I can only imagine that the empty storefronts in the immediate area will also. ... I walked up to Main and took a right and walked past city hall and took a right on Front St. By this time it's about 9:30 p.m. I walk down Front and take a left on Commercial. Downtown is a ghost town. There is hardly any activity at all. The thing that strikes me the most though is all the businesses that are closed for the day that don't have any hours posted. Viva Bene I am looking at you! I take a left on Exchange and look into the courtyard of what used to be the Firehouse or whatever other tons of names it has been since. One of the gates in is not locked and I contemplate going into the courtyard and nosing around but I decide against this and move on up Exchange St to Main. I take a left on Main Street and notice right away that there are a few new businesses opening soon. A new bar where the old Octane was and a new cafe wer A'brizzio's used to be. If they make as good of a roast beef and turkey as A'brizzio's did I will be happy. It's really wierd how downtown just shuts down on weeknights. Hopefully with more people living down here this will change. There is one thing I noticed over just about everything else. In all the walking I did in downtown and Kelley Square I never once felt nervous, scared, creeped out or intimidated. As I said, downtown was pretty much a ghost town. The only people I really saw were some folks hanging out in the open bars and folks walking in and out of the White Hen and Honey Farms. Green Island (or "The Canal District" as I guess they are calling it now, what the hell was wrong with Green Island?) had a bit more activity as there were more places open. Even with the activity and the couple of thuggish looking kids walking around I still felt very safe and secure. That's an important thing to note. Worcester, specifically, has a reputation as being a scary place. It's really not. It might be the most beautiful place, and it mide not be filled by the most attractive people in the world but most of them are harmless. I don't see you encountering any kind of random violent crime here as long as you are aware of your surroundings and don't walk into any dark alleys. I then got in my car went down to the Vernon, got a beer and watched some of the open mic and then went to work for the night. A thing to note about this little adventure is the hard time I had making a decision on where to eat while I was on foot. I think that is pretty incredible. Living in Worcester and having whole weekends where I might not even have to move my car seems almost too good to be true.

• Posted by "Tap_Jim" on pastlivers.blogspot.com: Hey everyone, I'm Jim and this is our new tour blog. We're leaving tomorrow night for Baltimore and to the other 10 or so cities we'll be hitting over the next 2 weeks. The show we played Friday with Cartel at The Palladium in Worcester MA was a blast. It was the first time T.A.P. played on a stage that big — it was sort of surreal and really got us pumped up for the rest of the tour. Thanks to the kids who were dancing and singing along.

• Posted by Melanie R. Meadors on melsburrow.blogspot.com: Tired. I got back a little while ago from a Worcester Sharks pre-season game. We won (of course :)). But you know, I have to say this. I've been to many hockey games in my life, many different teams, etc. Providence Bruins fans (and maybe not all of them, and those who are not this way, please forgive me and PLEASE try to convert your friends to be like you) can be very VERY obnoxious. And they teach their offspring to be so as well. Yes, every team has "bad fans." The ones who scream "YOU SUCK" rather than cheering for their own team. The rude people, etc. But I m talking about Providence fans whose little ten year old children tell you to "go the f*** home, you f***ing suck," and if you say, "excuse me? that was pretty rude." Their mother's reply, "shut the f*** up. Don't talk to my f***ing kid." You get the picture. Tonight, there was a harpy and a banshee sitting behind me, literally hurting my ears with their high-pitches screeches. Yelling rude things to the players, making the game an all around unpleasant experience for everyone around them. And they were old farts, too. Platinum blond, black drawn-on eyebrows, about an inch of makeup to fill in the wrinkles.

• Posted by "Bill Randell" on worcesterma.blogspot.com: Although we were suppose to have wrapped up negotiations with MassPort this past July 1st, but but instead had to sign another 6 month extension which I estimate costs the tax-payers $100,000 per month. Although we are 3 months into the 6 extension and have no updates on the MassPort negotiations. Although we have spent approximately $200,000 on IMG to help recruit and retain a commercial airline and have no idea where they stand on any negotiations. Although we still have not seen the Airport Master Plan that was supposed to be released last Spring. Despite all of these reasons why we need a story on the airport, still no story.

I am sure Mr Nemeth will write a glowing story over the next three months how signing a long-term lease with MassPort, where they take over the operating deficit while we keep paying the debt service (600,000 per year), was the right thing to do. Wonder if he will ever write a story about the mismanagement that past ten years, where he played a lead role.

• Posted by "Jason" on happyscrappy.com: Ever catch the new Comcast FiOS commercial, where a dad's sitting on a chair and his little, chubby-cheeked son walks by? "Hey pal, talking to the cable guy?" says dad, to which son responds with a rambling bit of high-tech lingo about FiOS. Dad's perplexed. The commercial cuts to the pitch about FiOS (whatever it is; I never really pay attention), and then we're back to dad and son, who are now outside watching the cable guy finish his installation. Some beams of light fly out of the wall. Dad is impressed. Then son says to dad, "You should see his truck." It's supposed to be cute - the cable guy's got all sorts of cool stuff! - but here's the problem: You should see his truck? Was this boy inside the truck? Or, more to the point: Did the Comcast guy take the boy into the truck? Who at Comcast thought this would be a good, lasting message? "Comcast: We'll set up your television, then molest your kid!"

• Posted by "YETITIBBS" on volcanoboy.com: I think we need to have a Gary Rosen sighting thread. We need to keep tabs on this man. I saw him this morning in front of the Walgreen's on Park Ave., wearing the only shirt he owns, holding his big red sign. I have to smile every time I see him. When the election is over, I am going to miss seeing him throughout town. I think we need to ask him to continue to stand on street corners so that we can keep up the "Where's Gary" game. o

In true blog fashion, the spelling, grammar and punctuation of these selections are to the individual poster's tastes. Comments? E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it