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Theodore Cross’s passion is for the birds
Theodore Cross, 85, is a proverbial man of many parts. He has been a successful lawyer, publisher, Nixon White House counselor, and guru on African-American economic development. His passion is photographing shorebirds. (Globe Staff, 2/4/10)
J.D. Salinger, the movie
By morbid coincidence, a Hollywood filmmaker completed a full-length documentary about the life of J.D. Salinger shortly before the reclusive writer’s death. As first reported by the website Deadline Hollywood, screenwriter Shane Salerno, credited with the movie “AVP: Aliens vs. Predator,’’ finished “Salinger’’ a few weeks ago. (Globe Staff, 2/4/10)
Pick your poison: your illness or the side effect from drugs that potentially help you
I was reading the paper a few days ago and came upon a mammoth ad for Chantix, a drug that can supposedly help you stop smoking. Now, smoking is not good for your health. But what about Chantix? Let’s examine the not-so-fine print: (Globe Columnist, 2/2/10)
Quest for privacy didn’t outshine great works
Born in Manhattan and published almost exclusively in The New Yorker, J.D. Salinger lived the life of the quintessential New Englander. (Globe Staff, 1/29/10)
Frank Goodwin sells his St. Emilion macaroons to assist Episcopal choir schools
In March 2008, The New York Times reported on a “crisis’’ at Manhattan’s Century Association, a posh membership club. The venerable Century had lost its 60-year supplier of macaroons, which it serves to all guests at the end of both lunch and dinner. The search for the perfect macaroon had dragged on for six months and threatened to last forever. (Globe Staff, 1/28/10)
Voices: You say it’s your birthday?
I have always fantasized about convening an impromptu get-together of the men and women who share my birthday - January 25 - to score some birthday freebies. Let the fantasy begin: (Globe Staff, 1/25/10)
Brown and Coakley aren’t the only winner and loser
Here is a list of people and institutions - aside from the candidates themselves - who emerged from the Senate special election with their reputation intact. Or the opposite. (Globe Staff, 1/21/10)
Jack Bauer returns, but for better or worse?
The first face you see in the new season of “24’’ belongs to Benito Martinez, the actor who played Lieutenant David Aceveda in the memorable FX series “The Shield.’’ So they hooked me at Minute One: the goofy, train-wreck intensity of “24’’ meets the dark, brooding mojo of “The Shield.’’ Welcome back, Jack Bauer. (Globe Columnist, 1/14/10)
Richard Lewis: man of misery
Richard Lewis, 62, is one of the premier comedians of his generation. A veteran of 40 years of stand-up, two network sitcoms, and innumerable appearances on late-night television, he has also recorded a tribute to Jack Kerouac and written a well-received book, “The Other Great Depression: How I’m Overcoming, on a Daily Basis, at Least a Million Addictions and Dysfunctions, ... (Globe Staff, 1/14/10)
It’s a new era for women
A specter is haunting America, and much of the industrialized world - the specter of female domination. (Globe Columnist, 1/12/10)
Augmented reality check
How do I like my reality? Augmented, please. When I first learned about augmented reality software a couple of months ago, naturally I got my hopes up. A world without Senator Joe Lieberman, or dead zones in my cellphone service? A world in which Wes Welker’s knee miraculously heals by Sunday and where all the facts, or near-facts, or surmises, ... (Globe Staff, 1/7/10)
Elimination of the death tax might make Gram and Gramps a little wary
H ere is an imagined scene from a family vacation to the Grand Canyon in April 2010: SON, standing near the edge of the North Rim precipice: “Granny! Come look! The colors are much more beautiful here.’’ FAMILY MATRIARCH/GRANDMOTHER, who has paid for the vacation trip: “But the sign says ‘Do Not Approach the Edge.’ ’’ SON: “That’s just the ... (Globe Columnist, 1/4/10)
Alex Beam peers 10 years into the future
Dec 31, 2019 Dear Alex, Here is your future - welcome to it! Can you imagine? You are 65 years old, but a very lean and fit 65, I hasten to add. You were smart to ditch running, and take up rowing at age 48. All your pals are lumbering around on titanium hips, but not you. If only they ... (Globe Staff, 12/30/09)
Alex Beam looks back on a year’s worth of hate mail
The sad demise of my hate-mail podcast has a silver lining: I can collect 2009’s anti-Beam letters into a year-end bonfire of animus and self-pity. Don’t worry, I received some nice letters, too. They just don’t make for very interesting reading. (Globe Columnist, 12/28/09)
E-book in hand not necessarily the book you want to read
I have a modest proposal. Every large library in the state - heck, in the country - should buy 10 electronic book readers and allow patrons to check them out for two weeks, just like real books. (Globe Columnist, 12/21/09)
Public radio war is on
After a quarter century of snoozing, the slumbering giant of Boston public radio - WGBH 89.7 - is finally waking up. In its morning lineup, the World’s Greatest Broadcast House is throwing NPR dowager Diane Rehm (“My favorite talk show host’’ - Hillary Clinton) up against WBUR 90.9’s yappy Tom Ashbrook. At noon, ’GBH has its franchise TV queen, Emily ... (Globe Columnist, 12/17/09)
Unbridled Joyes: Economy aside, it’s about making the system work for them in ’09
The Joyes 110 Threadwillow Drive (Globe Staff, 12/15/09)
Coming full circle at political loser parties
I developed a taste for political loser parties when I showed up at Michael Flaherty and Sam Yoon’s noncelebration the night they lost the Boston Mayor’s race to Tom Menino in an epochal landslide. It was fun! The Venezia restaurant offered a couple of open bars, and its huge event hall exuded an irreverent, anti-Menino vibe. When the mayor’s face ... (Globe Columnist, 12/9/09)
Katherine Woolff recalls Boston Athenaeum’s culture club
There are a small number of irresistibly Boston institutions: the Tavern Club, the Boston Latin School, Mount Auburn Cemetery, and, perhaps the fuddy-duddyest of them all, the Boston Athenaeum . Founded as a private library and art gallery in 1807, the Athenaeum’s original members never fathomed if a world outside of Beacon Hill existed, or if it was merely a ... (Globe Staff, 12/9/09)
Debate connoisseurs give Coakley a thumbs up, Pags falters
Fifty minutes after the end of this week’s first televised debate, businessman Steve Pagliuca issued a press release headlined, “Pagliuca Outshines Opponents in WCVB Debate.’’ (Globe Columnist, 12/4/09)
In a Senate beauty contest, Coakley takes the crown
Right-thinking women everywhere have begged me not to write this column. My editors will later claim they have no idea how it got into the paper. (Globe Columnist, 12/3/09)
My dinner with Alan
Democratic senatorial candidate Alan Khazei and his wife, Vanessa Kirsch, were coming to dinner. Yikes! What’s a househusband to do? (Globe columnist, 11/24/09)
Attack ads to spice up Senate primary
People say that the Democratic primary race for Ted Kennedy's seat is boring, and they are right. There's not a doughnut's worth of difference among the pretenders. Each claims to be a super-liberal, eager to empty out the US Treasury to placate whatever interest group they happen to find themselves in front of. (Globe Columnist, 11/20/09)
In Mass. Senate race, no endorsement is too insignificant
Last week, Scott Evans endorsed US Representative Mike Capuano for the US Senate. Who is Scott Evans, you ask? He is a young actor who plays a closeted gay cop on the ABC soap opera “One Life to Live.’’ He is also Mike Capuano’s nephew. At the same event, when the better-known Kitty Dukakis also endorsed Capuano, Scott’s brother Chris ... (Globe Columnist, 11/17/09)
Alex Beam: What's working now in politics
Politicians and their outriders yap incessantly about the pivotal role of new media in modern campaigns. There have been undeniable successes: In 2004, Howard Dean emerged from nowhere with his innovative use of the Internet. In the 2008 election, Barack Obama put the fund-raising power of the Web, pioneered by Dean, to excellent use. (Globe Columnist, 11/17/09)
Other people can take all the fun out of running for office
Hell is other people - French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre 1. If you are Scott Brown, Republican candidate for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat, hell is someone named Jack E. Robinson. (Globe Columnist, 11/11/09)