The Beantown Bloggery

Grammy winner and 7 time Grammy nominee Paula Cole has released six solo albums spanning an eighteen year career. She has sold approximately three million albums and has performed with icons in many genres of music from Peter Gabriel to Dolly Parton (and many more.) Cole’s emotionally deep and thrilling performances are a trademark. Poetic and fiercely touching, intelligent writing makes Cole stand apart. Her compositions have been covered by Herbie Hancock, Annie Lennox, Katherine McPhee to name a few.

From Rockport, Paula Cole was raised in a musical family with whom she and her daughter remain close. Cole is a scholarship alumna from Berklee College of Music with a background in jazz, received her first record deal with a jazz label (which she declined), and has collaborated with many jazz artists. 

Click (here) to get tickets. 

 

Couple of book signings tomorrow at Blackstone's.  
 

The folks over at Groomstop.com shot me an email asking me to take a look at their website and let my readers know what I think of it.  Personally, I'm at this stage where the weddings have started to slow down and people are having babies left and right.  In case you were wondering, I'm turning about to turn 31 in two weeks.  But a handful of years ago when weddings seemed to be a monthly occurrence, I did end up being a groomsman a handful of times.  In the last 3 weddings that I was a groomsman, I received a wallet, a scotch decanter, and a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue.

Upon first glance of Groomstop.com, they seem to have stuff along the same lines.  Whiskey barrels, flasks, barware.  Alcohol seems to be a recurring motif at weddings.  Ever go to a wedding without an open bar?  I have.  It was awful.

See the picture above?  That's their Bota Wine Bag (22 bucks).  I'm not going to be a groomsman in a wedding any time soon, but I'm pretty sure I'm ordering one of those for myself, filling it with whiskey, and sneaking it into the theater with me while I watch The Hobbit.....

Perusing Groomstop may not be a bad idea for those of you who are getting married soon and have no idea what to get your groomsmen.  They've got some fairly unique groomsmen gifts. 

Mayor Thomas M. Menino today announced the 20 finalists in the City’s Deck the Windows of Boston Main Streets contest, a friendly competition that tests the creativity of local businesses and promotes neighborhood Main Streets business districts by asking them to decorate their storefronts for the holidays. Residents are encouraged to vote online for their favorite holiday-themed windows. The contest is part of Mayor Menino’s Deck the City campaign, encouraging both residents and business owners to celebrate the holiday season by decorating their homes and local businesses districts.
·         Stingray Body Art - Allston Village Main Streets
·         Ashley’s Breakfast Shop - Bowdoin/Geneva Main Streets
·         Centre Pieces Design Flower Shop - Brighton Main Streets
·         Juice Bar - Chinatown Main Street
·         A Nubian Notion - Dudley Square Main Streets
·         Topacio Restaurant - East Boston Main Streets
·         Boston Express Multiservices - Egleston Square Main Street
·         A Sweet Place - Fields Corner Main Street
·         Reggae on the Grill - Four Corners Main Street
·         Lulu's Barbershop and Salon - Greater Grove Hall Main Streets
·         Sonia’s Bridal & Quinceañera - Hyde/Jackson Square Main Street
·         Justine’s Dancewear - Hyde Park Main Streets
·         Polka Dog Bakery - JP Centre/South Main Streets
·         Innovative Fashions & Bridal - Mattapan Square Main Streets
·         Penguin Pizza - Mission Hill Main Streets
·         Sebastian’s Barber Shop - Roslindale Village Main Street
·         Back to Life Chiropractic & Wellness - St. Mark’s Area Main Street
·         A&M Bargain Store - Upham’s Corner Main Street
·         Coco Baby - Washington Gateway Main Street
·         Fabutique - West Roxbury Main Streets

Click (here) to vote.
 

·         To date, more than 90,000 bottles of wine have been opened at the Boston Wine Festival.
·         Featured wineries include: Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery, Domenico Clerico Winery, Opus One, Peter Michael, Frog’s Leap, Diamond Creek, Cheateauneuf du Pape and Cakebread Cellars. 
·         Chef Bruce has never repeated a menu in the 23-year history of the Wine Festival with over 4,000 different dishes and 1,000 dinners served.
·         All dishes for each event of the Boston Wine Festival are custom-designed by Chef Bruce.

Click (here) for more info.

What do you guys think?  Should I sign up for this?  I could probably use the help.......

Boston may consistently rank online as a top city for singles, but judging by the amount of Boston-centric speed dating, matchmaking and online dating sites, while it may be a great city for singles, it's tough to find love in the Hub. But, with a new dating game show for singles on the horizon, finding love may be as easy as Pedroia turning the double play.

WHAT:                 Beer meets bivalve as ICOB celebrates the Boston release of 21^st Amendment’s new oyster stout, Marooned on Hog Island, the first canned collaboration between the celebrated San Francisco brewery and their friends at nearby Hog Island Oyster Co. on Tomales Bay.

For a unique first taste of this West Coast merroir/terroir marriage, ICOB will shuck Hog Island oysters to accompany pints of this obscure historic beer, available on draft for the entire evening.

Sure to please oyster lovers and beer enthusiasts alike, Marooned on Hog Island is an oatmeal stout brewed with the liquor and shells of Hog Island Sweetwater oysters. The latest installment in 21^st Amendment’s sought-after Insurrection Series, the beer will be available in a limited edition four-pack and on draft wherever 21^st Amendment beer is sold throughout the month of December.
INFO:                    islandcreekoysterbar.com or call 617-532-5300

Ok, so on my first attempt at this flow chart, I was told to "go into hiding."  I'm pretty sure my family is getting cash this year.  I tried to goto Macy's the other day to buy a couple new shirts for work, and I came pretty damn close to running out of there screaming like a crazy person.  I loathe shopping.

This one's for you folks that actually enjoy shopping.   


Via: Shaneco.com

My family doesn't really do presents anymore.  Although, my sister did get me a North Face fleece last year that was pretty badass.  Add that to the fact that I don't like my friends enough to actually buy them things, and that means my holiday season is not nearly as hectic as yours probably is. 

Enter my friend Lisa at Lisa's Hands of Time, here with a reminder that she can make your life less painful. 

I got an email the other day about a new local artist named Saul Conrad, who's album just came out a few weeks ago.  I'm listening to a few of his songs right now, very mellow - nice. 

I'm not a huge folk music listener, but there's a time and a place for every type of music I would say ... except maybe dubstep (just kidding ... kind of)

Here's what the Globe had to say.

Review by James Reed, POP Music Critic, THE BOSTON GLOBE:

"Saul Conrad’s POISON PACKETS is the debut release from Mountain of Leopards Records, a new independent label based in Jamaica Plain, and it sends a clear message: These guys are not interested in the straight and narrow.

"Conrad, a singer-songwriter raised in Brookline who lives now in Jamaica Plain, writes and sings at the intersection of Jonathan Richman and Daniel Johnston. The songs on POISON PACKETS are ostensibly folk, but they exist on the far fringes of the genre.

"Quirk has a strong place on this record, from the moony “Mexico” (which will remind a select few of Ed’s Redeeming Qualities, an off-kilter indie-folk band that emerged in Boston’s music scene in the late-1980s) to the good-natured twang of “Whiskey Eggs.”
Click (here) to listen to some of Saul's songs.