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B OSTON - City officials hoping to rejuvenate Boston Common are looking to a longtime rival for tips.
A Boston contingent put aside the well-known rivalry with New York in a trip to the city’s parks yesterday to see what they could learn.
Crime and drug use on Boston Common have recently made it a dicey place to visit, especially at night.
The 20-person Boston delegation, including city councilors and civic leaders, visited Madison Square Park, Bryant Park and Central Park.
The Boston Globe reports they were impressed with the food offerings, which seemed to attract vibrant crowds.
Mayor Thomas Menino’s office says he’s open to having a restaurant or food stand on the Boston Common.
Attempts to establish a restaurant on the Common have been stymied by difficulties getting a liquor license.

news.bostonherald.com

Starbucks is the only place in the world where you can find such a random smattering of people; caffeine-ridden high school kids, depressed businesspeople, stressed out students, people on weird “this is our first date but not really” things, and creative, artsy sorts of people.
I’m not sure what the draw is about Starbucks, but even holding a water cup with that quintessential logo on it makes you feel cool and special and sophisticated, almost like “This isn’t just water, it’s Starbucks water.”
That could be the reason for the variety of people.
The preteen kids in Starbucks don’t really like coffee, because they’ve never actually tasted it. They arrive in herds, and always get the biggest size of some sugary confection that tastes nothing like coffee. Some “mocha-licious-frappa-sugar” thing, piled high with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. They suck these things down like a Dyson vacuum and then run around chasing each other in some sort of sugar and caffeine induced form of teenage flirting. So cute.
Then there are the businesspeople. These are the most depressing specimens at Starbucks, so I’ll make it quick. Hunched over a shiny new laptop + large black coffee + bags under the eyes = the depressed businessperson who got off work at 5 but is still working until Starbucks closes. I always just want to give them a hug.
Next we have the stress-case students who use coffee as a tool to help them plow through studying with speedy, caffeinated energy and a nervous twitch. They are surrounded by empty Venti cups, crumpled class notes, and heavy textbooks, and are sweating and shaking from all of the coffee. They occupy a cushy couch in the corner for hours on end, and even if there is a group of them, no one really talks, they just read and scribble things down and get up only to go pee (which is frequent, thanks to 5 cups of coffee). I always wonder if they actually do well on tests with this method.

lariatnews.com

Menacing storm clouds prowled across the sky for much of the afternoon but mostly kept from delivering downpours akin to the previous weekend’s washouts. Only toward the end of the eight-hour day did heavy showers sweep through the fairgrounds, drenching attendees but not affecting the shows.
The lineup again was a mix of marquee acts and lesser-known groups. The Lee Brothers, from Miami, rocked the blues tent with their rollicking You’ve Got to Move. The song started slow and low but steadily picked up pace, taking on the feel and sound of a runaway train. As guitarist Roosevelt Collier plucked at his pedal steel guitar, an electric guitar mounted on a stand and played from a sitting position, audience members danced in the aisles, jumped up and down and waved their arms to the mounting melody.
Outside at the traditional jazz stage, Glen David Andrews and the Lazy Six brass band brought the traditions of a New Orleans impromptu street party to several hundred spectators. After belting out standards such as Mardi Gras and I’ll Fly Away, Andrews, dressed in a dark pinstripe suit and designer sunglasses, jumped into the crowd and led them in street-parade-style dancing.
He was later joined onstage by members of the Old & Nu Style Fellas Social Aid & Pleasure Club, who waved fans and feathers and danced to the tunes.
Food vendors continued to be a main attraction. Some of the star offerings: fried soft-shell crab po’ boys, crawfish bread, pecan catfish meuniere, oyster Rockefeller bisque and jambalaya.
Jason Smith, 35, of Atlanta, said he dashes from one food booth to the next between musical sets. “It’s as much a food festival as a musical festival,” he said, finishing a fried shrimp po’ boy.
Art Neville thrilled the crowds with a rare solo performance. Then he thrilled them some more when he called out brother Aaron to join in for a few final songs. The duets were a glimpse of what’s expected for Sunday, when the Neville Brothers, New Orleans’s “first family of funk,” play together at Jazz Fest for the first time since Katrina.

usatoday.com

Happy Sunday, children. This joyous day brings with it four must-see (three can-see) NBA playoff games. Here’s your schedule:
The bad news? Rumor has it that the Nugs/Lakes tilt on ABC won’t be viewable in the New York area because the Pope’s visit to Yankee Stadium is gonna be televised on ABC. I don’t know about you, but until Benedict improves his assist/turnover ratio, I’d rather see Kobe. Oh well.
Meanwhile, if you were watching yesterday, you probably heard Mike Breen formally ask Mark Jackson if he had interest in the Knicks’ now-vacant coaching job. Here’s his reply:
“Well, I’ll tell you what, Donnie Walsh is a guy I have a great relationship with, I have a lot of history with,” Jackson said. “You talk about the Knicks, it’s one of the greatest franchises in all of sports. It is a job that is very intriguing.”
“This is a one-horse race right now; it’s Mark Jackson,” Van Gundy said. “It’s his time and he would do a tremendous job if given the opportunity anywhere, but particularly a New York guy in New York. Great idea on basketball philosophy, great communication skills.”
This certainly does seem to be the case. While we haven’t heard anything yet from Walsh, Jackson does appear to be the front-runner. It’s hard to take a stance when the guy has never coached before and we have no idea what his style is like. I can say that I’d be relieved to longer have to hear his announcing anymore…
More on this as it develops. Enjoy this glorious day and leave your comments here.
It’s being reported that Tom Thibodeau, the defensive assistant coaching expert on the Celtics (And one of our assistants during the Van Gundy days,) has contacted Walsh. This is going to be a VERY interesting offseason.

postingandtoasting.com

Rap superstars 50 Cent, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes and Juvenile have sold more than 35 million records combined. But in Lafayette, they moved less than 300 concert tickets.
Easter Jam 2008, the rap concert scheduled over the weekend at the Cajundome, was canceled because of low ticket sales. Floor tickets were $125, the highest in Cajundome history.
Promoter Derrick Hodge of Shockwave Entertainment of New Orleans said the show was called off after only 289 tickets were sold. Hodge said 60 of those tickets were bought by one person.
Hodge even cut prices to boost ticket sales. Floor seats remained at $125, but second level seats dropped from $87.50 to $77.50. Top level seats were reduced to $60.50 and $45.
But only 29 tickets were sold in the weekend after the price cuts. Hodge said he is disappointed the event did not receive more support.
“All the program directors, general managers at radio stations, from Lafayette, Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, even in New Orleans, they couldn’t believe the people didn’t support the event,” Hodge said. “It’s unbelievable for a lineup like that. You had 7,200 people come out for Lil Wayne (at the Cajundome) and it was basically just him.
“I could have taken someone off the lineup and lowered the ticket prices. But the show wouldn’t have been as good.”
Hodge added he had no hard feelings toward Lafayette.
“I’ll just wait a while before I think about bringing a big lineup like that again. If I do, I’ll have the ticket prices a lot lower.”
Marquee artists, such as 50 Cent and Ludacris, who have also starred in hit movies, come with premium ticket prices. Cajundome Assistant Director Pam DeVille said prices are made by a show’s promoter, based on artist fees, availability, staffing, production, catering, insurance, transportation, lodging and special equipment needs.

theadvertiser.com

ALBANY, N.Y. — Registered voters across New York still favor Hillary Clinton.
“Whether voters have a clear candidate that they support, two thirds said yes they do. Among those, Hillary Clinton leads. She gets 36 percent saying that they support her,” said Steven Greenberg, Siena New York Poll Spokesman.
However, Democrats are split on whether she should end her campaign after Tuesday’s primaries if she continues to trail Barack Obama.
“It’s interesting that there’s this huge level of support for her, yet people are not sure whether she should continue her campaign after tomorrow. In fact, 28 percent of those who support Senator Clinton say that if she doesn’t do well tomorrow she should get out of the race,” said Greenberg.
A Siena Research Institute poll finds nearly half of voters in New York think Hillary Clinton should end her presidential campaign if she still trails Barack Obama after Tuesday’s big primaries. Ryan Peterson has the details.
Not surprisingly, Greenberg says, the majority of Republicans and Independents think her time is up if she fails to gain any ground.
When broken down by gender, the poll finds that women are also split — 42 percent think Clinton should step aside if she trails and 43 percent think she should stick it out. Men favor her ending her campaign 47 to 32 percent.
Greenberg said the poll has also shown the heightened interest this campaign has generated so far. He said it’s a perfect combination of the economy, the war in Iraq and our candidates.
“For the first time since 1952, it is not an incumbent president or a sitting vice-president who’s going to be a nominee. It really is making for a perfect storm for voter interest,” said Greenberg.
The poll also found that 56 percent of New Yorkers are satisfied with the choice of candidates in this year’s election. Here’s where Hillary gains some ground. Of the top three, Clinton’s favorability went up a point, while McCain and Obama’s fell slightly.

capitalnews9.com

From time immemorial to the present day, the Turks and Iranians have lived together with good neighborly relations and got along very well where they have differed.
Within the limits of their communications, they have attained the completion and evolution of numerous common cultural elements. One of the most significant cultural elements of this sort, is Noruz, being our topic of discussion.
The Persian ‘Noruz’ means ‘New Day’.
It is the first day of the solar year on the Iranian calendar.
In the Roman calender, it falls on the 9th of March, and on the Christian calender it falls on the March 21 (or March 20).
The Turks still, based on the Roman calender, celebrate the 9th of March.
Meanwhile, there is the trace of Noruz in the Arab sources.
Noruz as the commencement of the new year, is traced back to a far-fetched history.
For the very first time in Iran, during the rein of Jamshid its evolution took place.
Later, within the dynasty of Achaemenids and Sassanids, it continued with more developed and immense traditions, in a larger scale, while with the advent of Islam, it found its place in the grand Eids of Iranians.
Prior to the advent of Islam, at the time of Zoroastrians, being the official religion of Iran, Noruz held a significant place.
In the contemporary era, still within the Zoroastrians of Iran and India, this celebration is held as the life celebration (YASAN).
On this day, the angel guards of ghosts, and the dead are prayed for, while several ceremonies take place.
Within the Noruz Eid, the Parsees shake hands with their right, while exchanging hearty words.
Noruz tradition has stretched to the Middle East and the Balkan peninsula, and is celebrated within the Turks of these regions.
On the other hand, the majority of Arab countries, headed by Egypt and Iraq, have given significance to Noruz among their Eids.

www2.irna.ir

I’ve been following the I-70 mountain corridor. Not in any literal sense. I quit driving that thing around 2002 because it scared the living bejesus out of me. Yeah, I’ve used it to access Colorado’s fabulous public lands. And back in the day, to go hang out in groovy places like Idaho Springs for a nice quick getaway. But if you try to, say, leave Denver on a Friday after work…well, those of you who have braved that know whereof I speak. Brings to mind the lyrics from that Police song: “packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes.” So I pretty much quit driving the corridor and instead, found other routes to the back country, varying my days. I do still follow the corridor, but in a more metaphysical, detached way. I’ve become an armchair observer of the discussion, debates, frustration, and freak-outs over what to do, how to do it, where to do it, and how much it’s all going to cost to decrease traffic jams on the corridor, increase safety, and make sure that everybody’s historic and environmental preservation needs are met.
Last summer was the busiest in terms of vehicles on the road in the 34-year history of the Eisenhower Tunnel. 2007 was pretty busy overall on the corridor. So busy it even made the New York Times. According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, a million cars log-jammed onto the corridor in March 2007. Thirty thousand cars daily use it, filled with commuters, tourists, outdoor recreation fans, and second-home owners. And probably their dogs, kids, skis, bikes, kayaks, newspapers, ebook readers, laptops, and PlayStations, as they all need something to do while they’re sitting in traffic for five hours on their way to or from the mountains.

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In a move to calm growing concerns about the slumping economy, President George W. Bush assumed an optimistic stance as he addressed members of the Economic Club of New York in Midtown Friday morning.
“The economy is obviously going through a tough time,” said Bush, on a day that saw a stock market drop of 200 points and the near-collapse of the investment bank Bear Stearns.
Bush said this is not the first time the nation has faced an economic slowdown during his time in the White House, adding he’s certain the economy will recover in time as it has in the past.
“The interesting thing, every time this economy has bounced back better and stronger than before,” Bush said. “So I’m coming to you as an optimistic fella. I’ve seen what happens when America deals with difficulty. I believe that we’re a resilient economy and I believe that the ingenuity and resolve of the American people is what helps us deal with these issues, and it’s gonna happen again.”
The president used his address, carried live on NY1 and other news stations, to tout the benefits of tax relief, his economic stimulus package, and steps the Federal Reserve is taking to encourage economic growth.

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I don’t know which is more surprising: That caped crusader Eliot Spitzer allegedly had sex with a call girl, or that he paid her $4,300.
If you haven’t been in the market for a prostitute lately, that might sound like a lot of money. But it’s pretty typical for a high-priced call girl in a big city.
The Emperor’s Club VIP, the New York agency Spitzer allegedly used to hire a prostitute, charged $1,000 to $3,100 per hour for its so-called models, depending on their “education, sophistication and ambience created,” according to a cached version of the club’s Web site, which has been taken down.
The club’s “most valued clients” were offered membership in the Icon Club, which allowed them access to “the most highly ranked prostitutes whose fees started at $5,500 per hour,” according to a complaint filed in federal court for the southern district of New York.
Spitzer allegedly arranged a four-hour date with “Kristen” - identified by the New York Times on Wednesday as Ashley Alexandra Dupre - in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 13. It was the night before Valentine’s Day and his testimony before Congress on bond insurance.
His $4,300 payment appeared to include $1,500 to be put on deposit with the Emperor’s Club for his next rendezvous.

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