Too many quahogs, not enough time (or wampum, but that’s another story). Just wanted to pass along a few Rhody-centric tidbits before resuming with our traditional Monday blog. The first comes from today’s sports pages in The New York Times. It’s an eccentric piece comparing former free agent Mark Texeira, who spurned the Red Sox to don the dreaded Pinstripes, with lifelong Red Sox fan Mark Texeira, a respected jazz and blues drummer from Pawtucket, who has been taking grief ever since his namesake went all Yankee on us. The story touches on Rhode Island culture, especially the local fascination with baseball and the Sox-Yankees rivalry and the state’s intimate connection to Portugal (noting that up to 10 percent of Rhode Islanders claim Portuguese heritage). The good Texeira even attended the world’s longest professional baseball game as a kid. The bad Texeira has no comment on the story.
Rhodywood
Congratulations to Rhode Island actors Richard Jenkins and Viola Davis for being nominated for Academy Awards. Jenkins, the longtime Trinity Repertory Theater actor and director who still lives in Cumberland, received a best actor nomination for his performance as a lonely widower in “The Visitor.” Davis, who grew up in Central Falls and graduated from Rhode Island College, earned a best supporting actress nomination for her role as a mother who learns some hard news about her son in “Doubt.”
The R.I. International Film Festival also had a good day. Three short films that premiered at RIIFF were nominated for Oscars. They include “This Way Up,” from the United Kingdom, nominated for best animated short and two films nominated for best live action short – “New Boy” from Ireland and “Spielzeugland” (Toyland) from Germany.
Rhody Universe: Good ink?
Tuesday’s Presidential Inauguration was marked in Rhode Island by the news that Rhody’s own A.T. Cross Company made the pen that President Obama used to sign a series of inauguration documents and executive orders. With just a week’s notice, the Lincoln-based business (founded in Providence in 1846) was selected by the Obama-Biden transition team to provide the presidential pens. The Cross Townsend black lacquer rolling-ball pens feature the presidential coat of arms and are engraved with Obama’s signature on the barrel. The company’s Web site already has a replica pen available for $135, along with a version in 10-karat gold.
But like most things in Rhody, beware of the fine print: The pens were engraved in the home office at Lincoln but they were made in China.
Today’s ‘Only in Rhode Island’ moment
While driving the two-lane Wampanoag Trail into Providence, morning commuters came upon two orange Road Work Ahead signs. The one in the left lane read: Right Lane Closed. The one in the right lane read: Left Lane Closed. Thankfully, the drunken conga line of cars swerving and braking resulted in no accidents as drivers tried to figure out which of the signs was wrong. (For the record: It was the left sign.)
Friday, January 23, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Obama the President Has a Posse
If you walked around the East Side of Providence in the late 1980s and early ’90s, you probably remember the sticker-face of wrestler Andre the Giant staring back at you from stop signs, telephone poles, Dumpsters and kiosks. Mysterious messages – “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” and “OBEY” – often accompanied the mugs, which were the work of Rhode Island School of Design student Shepard Fairey, who turned guerilla street art into a career. Fairey, now living in Los Angeles, is the artist who created the most indelible image of the Obama campaign, the red-white-and-blue screened portrait paired with the word “HOPE” (coincidentally, Rhode Island’s motto).
A proponent of Heidegger’s theory of phenomenology, Fairey has already played a role in the Obama phenomenon. But even he couldn’t have predicted the boom in all things Barack, when every other economic indicator has gone bust.
On the eve of tomorrow’s Inauguration Day, everybody wants a piece of Obama. The Washington Post and The New York Times have reported at length on the numbers of official and unofficial souvenir stores and sidewalk stands popping up in D.C., mostly in the Penn Quarter area, selling Obama swag.
Along with the traditional President Obama pens, pins, posters, T-shirts, toques, bumper stickers, can openers, paperweights, pint glasses, commemorative plates, commemorative coins, stamps, lighters, license plates, wristbands and wristwatches, there are Obama guitars (and straps), signature baseballs, dog tags, retro mousepads, coloring books and glow-in-the-dark refrigerator magnets. You can get an “Obama ’08” glowing neon sign, a “Barack on Broadway” playbill, an Obama bobblehead, Obama/Biden cookies, Obama keychain (with retractable knife, ruler, bottle opener and fingernail file) and even an Obama Advent calendar. There are also Obama Metro fare cards for the D.C. area, candy bars, wine, yo-yos, piggy banks, designer tote bags, “Hope on a Rope” soap, Obama Inauguration Hot Sauce, “Hope and Change” necklaces and Obama toilet paper (just for show; the ink is toxic).
There are buttons galore, including a stumping Homer Simpson (“Homer for Obama”) and a troll doll constituent (“Trollin’ for Obama”). Obama trading cards, cigar box cases, a magnet series, playing cards (with George W. Bush and John McCain as the jokers), “I Kiss Barack” lipstick and chapstick, and Obama Post-It note holders (for good ideas). Hallmark has put out a “Yes You Can” greeting card. Instead of Teddy Bears (a classic child’s toy inspired by former President Teddy Roosevelt), we now have Obama Bears. A toy also prompted the invention of Barack-in-the-box. (Although wasn’t Jack-in-the-box intended to give kids a fright? And, if so, wouldn’t Cheney-in-the-bunker be more appropriate?)
Among the weirdest: A “Live Long and Prosper” Obama Vulcan T-shirt with Barack flashing the Vulcan greeting, appealing to the “Trek” geek demographic. And a mock debate figure set, complete with lecterns, flags and the trappings of a TV studio. The strange part? Obama and Hillary Clinton are depicted debating one another – as skeletons.
The New York Times reports that Obama sex toys are flying off the shelves. We’ll leave those to the imagination, but even though the novelty of the McCain condom has worn off, the Obama condom (“Use with Good Judgment”) is still going strong. On a related note, one of the oddest top-selling items is the Inauguration Obama thong.
The Ikea store has created a replica of the Oval Office in Washington’s Union Station under the banner “Change Begins at Home.” Inside the train station, the words “HOPE” and “OPTIMISM” are on display, with the Os replaced by Pepsi logos.
Every successful revolution eventually ends up a commodity. Some small hope then, as we try to Obama our way out of our economic morass.
This week’s question (now that the Obama administration is using “Hope” as its working mantra): If Rhode Island had to come up with a new motto, what would it be?
Quickie for Size
My father passed along this e-mail making note of another “size of Rhode Island” reference, after watching “Bill Moyers Journal” on PBS. Moyers was interviewing historian Simon Schama, whose four-part mini-series “The American Future: A History” airs on the BBC.
A proponent of Heidegger’s theory of phenomenology, Fairey has already played a role in the Obama phenomenon. But even he couldn’t have predicted the boom in all things Barack, when every other economic indicator has gone bust.
On the eve of tomorrow’s Inauguration Day, everybody wants a piece of Obama. The Washington Post and The New York Times have reported at length on the numbers of official and unofficial souvenir stores and sidewalk stands popping up in D.C., mostly in the Penn Quarter area, selling Obama swag.
Along with the traditional President Obama pens, pins, posters, T-shirts, toques, bumper stickers, can openers, paperweights, pint glasses, commemorative plates, commemorative coins, stamps, lighters, license plates, wristbands and wristwatches, there are Obama guitars (and straps), signature baseballs, dog tags, retro mousepads, coloring books and glow-in-the-dark refrigerator magnets. You can get an “Obama ’08” glowing neon sign, a “Barack on Broadway” playbill, an Obama bobblehead, Obama/Biden cookies, Obama keychain (with retractable knife, ruler, bottle opener and fingernail file) and even an Obama Advent calendar. There are also Obama Metro fare cards for the D.C. area, candy bars, wine, yo-yos, piggy banks, designer tote bags, “Hope on a Rope” soap, Obama Inauguration Hot Sauce, “Hope and Change” necklaces and Obama toilet paper (just for show; the ink is toxic).
There are buttons galore, including a stumping Homer Simpson (“Homer for Obama”) and a troll doll constituent (“Trollin’ for Obama”). Obama trading cards, cigar box cases, a magnet series, playing cards (with George W. Bush and John McCain as the jokers), “I Kiss Barack” lipstick and chapstick, and Obama Post-It note holders (for good ideas). Hallmark has put out a “Yes You Can” greeting card. Instead of Teddy Bears (a classic child’s toy inspired by former President Teddy Roosevelt), we now have Obama Bears. A toy also prompted the invention of Barack-in-the-box. (Although wasn’t Jack-in-the-box intended to give kids a fright? And, if so, wouldn’t Cheney-in-the-bunker be more appropriate?)
Among the weirdest: A “Live Long and Prosper” Obama Vulcan T-shirt with Barack flashing the Vulcan greeting, appealing to the “Trek” geek demographic. And a mock debate figure set, complete with lecterns, flags and the trappings of a TV studio. The strange part? Obama and Hillary Clinton are depicted debating one another – as skeletons.
The New York Times reports that Obama sex toys are flying off the shelves. We’ll leave those to the imagination, but even though the novelty of the McCain condom has worn off, the Obama condom (“Use with Good Judgment”) is still going strong. On a related note, one of the oddest top-selling items is the Inauguration Obama thong.
The Ikea store has created a replica of the Oval Office in Washington’s Union Station under the banner “Change Begins at Home.” Inside the train station, the words “HOPE” and “OPTIMISM” are on display, with the Os replaced by Pepsi logos.
Every successful revolution eventually ends up a commodity. Some small hope then, as we try to Obama our way out of our economic morass.
This week’s question (now that the Obama administration is using “Hope” as its working mantra): If Rhode Island had to come up with a new motto, what would it be?
Quickie for Size
My father passed along this e-mail making note of another “size of Rhode Island” reference, after watching “Bill Moyers Journal” on PBS. Moyers was interviewing historian Simon Schama, whose four-part mini-series “The American Future: A History” airs on the BBC.
Schama was commenting on the American Dream and its derailment during this critical time and he said: "You can’t have Hummers the size of Rhode Island."
Monday, January 12, 2009
Wicked bloggah
The Rhode Island lexicon is filled with words and phrases rarely spoken outside of Providence Plantations. These include: “Not for nothin’” (also the name for a popular blog on Rhode Island politics). “You’re killing me” (the standard answer when anybody asks you to do anything). And “no duh” (the appropriate response to someone stating the obvious – and acceptable as an epitaph).
Yet despite the frequent use of double negatives, Rhode Islanders are quick to praise – especially when we can stick a “wicked” in front of the word. In fact, it’s no duh to suggest that any adjective sounds better with a “wicked” introducing it.
What I’m working up to here is the official highest praise of Rhode Island. I mean, not for nothin’, but there’s a linguistic hierarchy to these things.
“Wicked good.” As in “Most Rhode Islanders think Barack Obama will be a wicked good president.”
“Wicked excellent.” As in “Heath Ledger was wicked excellent in ‘The Dark Knight.’”
“Wicked awesome.” As in “Did you see the wicked beat-down Milan Lucic gave Komisarek last night in the Bruins game? That was wicked awesome!”
But the absolute wicked highest official praise of Rhode Island is the phrase:
“Wicked pissah.” As in “That chowdah was wicked pissah” or “That lobstah was wicked pissah” or “That Flip Wilson … he was wicked pissah.”
So let the world have its Nobel Prizes. If there were an award for the highest acclaim, accolade or achievement in Rhode Island, it’s no duh what we’d call it: The Wicked Pissahs. In fact, let’s start one now. Send all Wicked Pissah-worthy nominations to Blog on the Half Shell.
As for this week’s question: Not for nothin,’ but what wicked Rhode Island expression do youze use most often?
Yet despite the frequent use of double negatives, Rhode Islanders are quick to praise – especially when we can stick a “wicked” in front of the word. In fact, it’s no duh to suggest that any adjective sounds better with a “wicked” introducing it.
What I’m working up to here is the official highest praise of Rhode Island. I mean, not for nothin’, but there’s a linguistic hierarchy to these things.
“Wicked good.” As in “Most Rhode Islanders think Barack Obama will be a wicked good president.”
“Wicked excellent.” As in “Heath Ledger was wicked excellent in ‘The Dark Knight.’”
“Wicked awesome.” As in “Did you see the wicked beat-down Milan Lucic gave Komisarek last night in the Bruins game? That was wicked awesome!”
But the absolute wicked highest official praise of Rhode Island is the phrase:
“Wicked pissah.” As in “That chowdah was wicked pissah” or “That lobstah was wicked pissah” or “That Flip Wilson … he was wicked pissah.”
So let the world have its Nobel Prizes. If there were an award for the highest acclaim, accolade or achievement in Rhode Island, it’s no duh what we’d call it: The Wicked Pissahs. In fact, let’s start one now. Send all Wicked Pissah-worthy nominations to Blog on the Half Shell.
As for this week’s question: Not for nothin,’ but what wicked Rhode Island expression do youze use most often?
Monday, January 5, 2009
R.I.P. Claiborne Pell
Scant minutes into the New Year last Thursday, just after the clock struck midnight, Rhode Island welcomed 2009 to the sobering news that former Sen. Claiborne Pell had died at his Newport home. The quirky, eccentric Democrat, who ran and won six terms in the U.S. Senate, had suffered from Parkinson’s disease, which forced him to retire in 1997. Pell was a member of R.I. aristocracy, but despite his blue-blood roots, he championed the causes of the state’s blue-collar base and he became that rare political animal - a beloved figure among the masses, winning his six elections by an average of 64 percent of the vote. His legacy includes the Pell Grants, a federal program that provides financial aid for college students. He also wrote the legislation that established the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, even though he once said in a 1996 interview: “I don’t like abstract paintings.”
A lifelong train enthusiast, he drafted the bill that became the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965. The act was designed to improve transportation in the BosWash Corridor and became the genesis for Amtrak. He opposed the Vietnam War, sponsored a treaty banning nuclear weapons on the ocean floor and became chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1987, only to lose the post to his polar opposite, North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms, when the Republicans captured the Senate in 1994.
Despite not being active in the Senate for more than a decade, Pell remained an iconic figure in Rhode Island politics. Recently, the British magazine The Week quoted him to illustrate a flaw in the traditional transition period between outgoing and incoming U.S. presidents. “It is ironic,” said Pell, “that our Constitution provides for up to 10 weeks of crippled leadership each time the presidency changes hands.”
William H. Honan, in a stylish obituary written for The New York Times, noted that Pell’s self-deprecating humor and idiosyncratic behavior endeared him to both peers and constituents.
What is your lasting memory of Claiborne Pell?
A lifelong train enthusiast, he drafted the bill that became the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965. The act was designed to improve transportation in the BosWash Corridor and became the genesis for Amtrak. He opposed the Vietnam War, sponsored a treaty banning nuclear weapons on the ocean floor and became chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1987, only to lose the post to his polar opposite, North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms, when the Republicans captured the Senate in 1994.
Despite not being active in the Senate for more than a decade, Pell remained an iconic figure in Rhode Island politics. Recently, the British magazine The Week quoted him to illustrate a flaw in the traditional transition period between outgoing and incoming U.S. presidents. “It is ironic,” said Pell, “that our Constitution provides for up to 10 weeks of crippled leadership each time the presidency changes hands.”
William H. Honan, in a stylish obituary written for The New York Times, noted that Pell’s self-deprecating humor and idiosyncratic behavior endeared him to both peers and constituents.
After he met President Fidel Castro of Cuba in Havana in 1974, Mr. Castro lit up a large cigar and used it to wave farewell. Senator Pell apparently thought the lighted cigar was a parting gift and took it from Mr. Castro’s hand, leaving his host flabbergasted.
John Chafee, who served as a Republican senator from Rhode Island, recounted a story for The Associated Press that became a favorite in descriptions of his colleague.
Mr. Pell was campaigning in Providence in 1972 when it began raining hard. He sent an aide to get him a pair of rubbers for his shoes, and when the aide returned, Mr. Pell asked in his formal manner of speech, “To whom am I indebted for these fine rubbers?”
“I got them at Thom McAn, senator,” the aide answered, referring to the shoe store chain. Mr. Pell replied, “Well, do tell Mr. McAn that I am much obliged to him.”
Mr. Pell was an avid jogger, but he often wore a tweed sport coat when running, and he pushed for congressional investigations into extrasensory perception and UFOs.
What is your lasting memory of Claiborne Pell?
Monday, December 29, 2008
Crooked Rhode
When conversation turns to ranking the most corrupt state in the nation, the typical Rhode Islander’s response is: “No duh.” In 1905, muckraking journalist Lincoln Steffens called Rhode Island “a state for sale.” Public corruption and scandal have long been part of the Rhody DNA. We’ve had governors rifling through Dumpsters for easy loot. We’ve had Providence police seize cars from drug suspects and re-sell them to city workers with no paper trail. We’ve had credit unions cooking the books. We’ve had the chief justice of the R.I. Supreme Court and his court administrator tuck away a secret stash of $177,000 from state coffers. We’ve had a state traffic court that couldn’t explain the disappearance of $39 million in lost, stolen or uncollected fines. We’ve even had a Providence mayor indicted on racketeering charges hired by local radio and TV affiliates to broadcast commentary on the next mayoral race and how his successor “needs to clean up Providence.”
From Operation Plunder Dome to “Puppy Dog” Mollicone, Rhode Island is a paint-by-numbers portrait of trials and errors, a connect-the-dots epic of crime and slime. Sleaze is so much a part of the culture that it has become a perverse source of collective pride for many Rhode Islanders, who love a good scandal as much as a good story or joke. (Usually you can weave all three into the same sentence. This is the Rhode Island equivalent of haiku.)
But judging by recent reports, Rhody may be losing its me-first mojo. Early warning signs occurred nearly five years ago. In a report on “Public Corruption in the United States” released by Corporate Crime Reporter at the National Press Club, popular perception failed the statistical litmus test. The analysis documents the number of prosecutions and convictions involving federal, state or local officials nabbed in public corruption investigations.
Three weeks ago, The New York Times ran a new survey, ranking all 50 states and four territories (D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands) in three measures of public corruption. The first updates the Corporate Crime Reporter information for 2008, itemizing convictions in federal public corruption cases at local, state and federal levels. Rhody ranked 49th with 26 cases. (In first place: Florida with 824.)
Of course, Rhode Island is a dense but small state, with a population hovering around a million. So the second measure adjusts the data for population. Even per capita, Rhode Island isn’t excessively scandalous, coming in at 34th out of 54 overall, with an average of 2.5 convicted officials per 1 million constituents. (In first place: Washington, D.C. with 66.9 crooks per million.)
The final measure was a simple survey of journalists. Researchers asked state house reporters to assess their states or territories based on a 1-to-7, clean-to-crooked rating. The results were close, but in the end the other 53 were left choking on our back-graft. Reporters covering Rhode Island were marginally more cynical than reporters covering Louisiana, awarding the gold medal of public corruption to the Ocean State by a score of 5.5 to 5.4.
In fairness to them, when it comes to scandal and corruption, there are things you know in your gut that don’t show up on a spreadsheet.
What is your favorite all-time Rhode Island scandal?
From Operation Plunder Dome to “Puppy Dog” Mollicone, Rhode Island is a paint-by-numbers portrait of trials and errors, a connect-the-dots epic of crime and slime. Sleaze is so much a part of the culture that it has become a perverse source of collective pride for many Rhode Islanders, who love a good scandal as much as a good story or joke. (Usually you can weave all three into the same sentence. This is the Rhode Island equivalent of haiku.)
But judging by recent reports, Rhody may be losing its me-first mojo. Early warning signs occurred nearly five years ago. In a report on “Public Corruption in the United States” released by Corporate Crime Reporter at the National Press Club, popular perception failed the statistical litmus test. The analysis documents the number of prosecutions and convictions involving federal, state or local officials nabbed in public corruption investigations.
The states with perhaps the worst reputations for corruption have historically been Louisiana, Illinois, Rhode Island and New Jersey.
Louisiana … is not the most corrupt state in the country, as its reputation might indicate. It comes in third. Illinois, living up to its reputation, comes in fifth. New Jersey, believe it or not, comes in 16th. Rhode Island is even less corrupt than New Jersey – it comes in 20th.
Three weeks ago, The New York Times ran a new survey, ranking all 50 states and four territories (D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands) in three measures of public corruption. The first updates the Corporate Crime Reporter information for 2008, itemizing convictions in federal public corruption cases at local, state and federal levels. Rhody ranked 49th with 26 cases. (In first place: Florida with 824.)
Of course, Rhode Island is a dense but small state, with a population hovering around a million. So the second measure adjusts the data for population. Even per capita, Rhode Island isn’t excessively scandalous, coming in at 34th out of 54 overall, with an average of 2.5 convicted officials per 1 million constituents. (In first place: Washington, D.C. with 66.9 crooks per million.)
The final measure was a simple survey of journalists. Researchers asked state house reporters to assess their states or territories based on a 1-to-7, clean-to-crooked rating. The results were close, but in the end the other 53 were left choking on our back-graft. Reporters covering Rhode Island were marginally more cynical than reporters covering Louisiana, awarding the gold medal of public corruption to the Ocean State by a score of 5.5 to 5.4.
In fairness to them, when it comes to scandal and corruption, there are things you know in your gut that don’t show up on a spreadsheet.
What is your favorite all-time Rhode Island scandal?
Monday, December 22, 2008
Snow Globe
The first major snowstorm of the year struck Rhode Island this weekend and the state was predictably paralyzed. Shoppers cleaned shelves of milk and bread. Drivers pumped gas tanks dry. Schools, organizations and some businesses canceled business a day before the storm. Part of the panic is primal - anxiety in the collective psyche of all Rhode Islanders who survived the Blizzard of ‘78. But it’s also rooted in reality. Despite the advance warning, the plows waited until the snow came tumbling down to begin sanding, salting and pre-treating the white stuff, exacerbating the slippery conditions.
You’d think a state that began its life as a glacier could deal with a little snow. Last year the executive director of the State Emergency Agency and the Providence Director of Emergency Management were both fired for their roles in a chaotic first snowstorm that left some schoolchildren stranded on buses until just before midnight.
Leading to this week's question: What is your favorite or wildest snowstorm memory?
You’d think a state that began its life as a glacier could deal with a little snow. Last year the executive director of the State Emergency Agency and the Providence Director of Emergency Management were both fired for their roles in a chaotic first snowstorm that left some schoolchildren stranded on buses until just before midnight.
Leading to this week's question: What is your favorite or wildest snowstorm memory?
Monday, December 15, 2008
Going for Baroque
The Christmas season has always blended the pagan and the Christian, merging stories of Santa Claus and Jesus Christ, lighting evergreen trees and church candles, uttering wishes and prayers with equal conviction. But there are some strange partnerships this season in my neighborhood and surrounding communities. Nativity scenes seem to be on the rise, but they are not limited to Mary, Joseph, the Three Wise Men, the shepherds, the Baby Jesus and the odd donkey, sheep or camel. Every so often you see a penguin or a polar bear lurking among the barnyard animals. Reindeer and camels intermingle. While not yet part of the inner circle, Santa and Frosty are within a snowball’s distance of the Wise Men. One house down the street has propped up a cardboard Nativity on the left side of the front door and a complementary scene featuring Charlie Brown and the gang celebrating a Peanuts’ Christmas to the right of it. Even more disturbing are those lawns along Route 114 that showcase giant, grotesquely inflated, plastic blow-up Nativity figures. It’s one thing to see a glowing Baby Jesus the size of a giant pumpkin. It’s another to see the same Baby Jesus in 52 mph wind gusts, zipping around the yard in his manger, only to be strewn, punctured by a tree branch and flattened in the grass the next morning.
What is the most disturbing holiday decoration you’ve seen so far?
For Scrooge-aholics
Trinity Repertory’s annual production of “A Christmas Carol” is only one of eight versions of the famed Charles Dickens tale now playing within driving distance of the average Rhode Islander. Scrooge runs amok at the Hartford Stage in Connecticut, the Artists’ Exchange in Cranston, the Attleboro Community Theatre in Massachusetts, the Swamp Meadow Community Theatre in Foster, the Granite Theatre in Westerly, the Zeiterion Theatre in New Bedford and at a one-man show in Mansfield, Mass. While it seems like Scrooge overkill, it’s hard to blame strapped theaters for trying to conjure up the Ghost of Christmas Box Office Past to salvage a dreary ticket season.
Rhody Universe: David Byrne worked in a weiner joint
Back in the dark ages of the 1970s, David Byrne, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz hung around Providence as students at the Rhode Island School of Design. Eventually they would form three-quarters of The Talking Heads, considered one of the all-time great bands by music fans of a certain vintage. Ever since, as Byrne grew to iconic status, Providence adopted him as a favorite son. While the feeling isn’t exactly mutual, Byrne does remember his time in Providence, as recounted in the Nov. 28 edition of The Providence Phoenix. The most interesting revelation? Byrne once logged hours in a New York System, selling gaggers by the arm.
What is the most disturbing holiday decoration you’ve seen so far?
For Scrooge-aholics
Trinity Repertory’s annual production of “A Christmas Carol” is only one of eight versions of the famed Charles Dickens tale now playing within driving distance of the average Rhode Islander. Scrooge runs amok at the Hartford Stage in Connecticut, the Artists’ Exchange in Cranston, the Attleboro Community Theatre in Massachusetts, the Swamp Meadow Community Theatre in Foster, the Granite Theatre in Westerly, the Zeiterion Theatre in New Bedford and at a one-man show in Mansfield, Mass. While it seems like Scrooge overkill, it’s hard to blame strapped theaters for trying to conjure up the Ghost of Christmas Box Office Past to salvage a dreary ticket season.
Rhody Universe: David Byrne worked in a weiner joint
Back in the dark ages of the 1970s, David Byrne, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz hung around Providence as students at the Rhode Island School of Design. Eventually they would form three-quarters of The Talking Heads, considered one of the all-time great bands by music fans of a certain vintage. Ever since, as Byrne grew to iconic status, Providence adopted him as a favorite son. While the feeling isn’t exactly mutual, Byrne does remember his time in Providence, as recounted in the Nov. 28 edition of The Providence Phoenix. The most interesting revelation? Byrne once logged hours in a New York System, selling gaggers by the arm.
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