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Elizabeth Park
Now that writers have lost Borders as their place to work outside of the home, area freelancers and novelists may be looking for new venues in which to earn their bread.
Here are a few suggestions. Continue reading 'The Ten Best Places for Busting Writer’s Block'»
Depending on how you measure it, this may be the oldest church in Connecticut. It’s definitely the oldest church in Hartford.
Center Church was founded in 1632 in Cambridge (née Newtown), Massachusetts. Thomas Hooker was the minister, who, after some kind of dispute with the State of Massachusetts, said “we out” and brought his congregation to Hartford in 1636. Hooker is credited as being the founder of Connecticut; a parade has been named in his honor.
This meeting house piqued my curiosity over the years, mainly because of the historical angle. If facing the church from Main Street, you can see the Ancient Burying Ground to its right, where something like 90% of those buried never received grave markers, and where Hooker is rumored to be buried. It is also rumored that Hooker’s grave is underneath Center Church.
How is that possible? Continue reading 'Hartford Pew Review: Center Church'»
Left: Gracie, Right: Julie / Thanks to Julie for the photo
Julie just moved back to Hartford after a short adventure in Red Sox land. She writes for Live in Hartford and lives in the West End with Gracie (see photo).
Julie will be writing Hartford Pew Reviews on occasion. Before starting the series I knew I would want to enlist at least one other writer because there are so many places of worship in Hartford. Julie was a top choice for me because she is: (1) a strong writer, (2) respectful of various faiths, (3) someone who is more knowledgeable than the average person when it comes to matters of religion. Also, she’s adventurous and curious.
I don’t usually write self-promotional posts because the material here can speak for itself. But, with the increase in readership over the last few years, I’ve decided it’s time to give a refresher on ways to interact with what is here and how you can get the word to others.
Thanks to those who are already doing any of these things, and a thanks in advance to readers who may begin to do so.
Death and taxes.
That’s all people ever seem to ask candidates about. What will the magic wand look like that they will wave over the city to make violent crime and high taxes disappear.
When I interviewed the four viable mayoral candidates, I began with a question about their favorite things in Hartford. Too often, interviews, forums, and debates are framed in a negative way. Hartford is terrible. It’s broken. It’s unusually violent and should be pitied. Now, who will be the superhero to rescue us? And, who will we blame when this superhero turns out to be merely human? It’s a bogus approach. No place is perfect, including Hartford, but it is not a cesspool either. So, I thought that by framing this differently, I could do two things: (1) encourage candidates to be positive, and (2) find out quickly who lacks civic pride. Using that as a base, I wanted to continue in the positive. Rather than finding out how they would “fix” the city, I asked how they would “boost” it.
The third question is much more specific. It came about by asking a few Real Hartford readers what they would want answered by the candidates. Continue reading 'Five Questions with the Candidates'»
From time to time, people ask me questions about how to start blogs, how to promote themselves, etc. Other times, I find people should be asking questions instead of taking certain actions. I’m not an authority on any of this, but I have been on the internet forever and have written on blogs/websites for about a decade, so I’ve had the benefit of experience. Here, I’m going to answer some of the questions that are being or should be asked: Continue reading '“What is a Google?” and Other Internet-Related Questions Answered'»
You all know someone who is like this. He can not bear to shut off his cell phone. Any conversation with him is interrupted by phone calls and text messages. You never have his undivided attention for more than fifteen seconds. Maybe you are him. If you are, you might have noticed how little you manage to accomplish, despite having every piece of technology ready at your fingertips. Or, you get a lot done, but what it lacks in depth, it makes up for in an abundance of errors.
Today is Single-Tasking Day. The Dull Men’s Club notes:
In the 60’s when productivity began to skyrocket, experts predicted that by the year 2010, we would be working 30 hour work-weeks and enjoying more leisure time. But we have taken out our extra productivity in a higher standard of living and more ‘stuff’ rather than in a more relaxed life. As a result our society is reporting whole new illnesses:
- Toxic Success Syndrome
- Adult Attention Deficit Disorder
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
[...] While most remedies involved medicating and managing symptoms, few suggest changing the lifestyle that creates these problems. Why don’t they just suggest doing less and going slower?
That is the challenge for today. Do one thing at a time. Slow down, pay attention to what you are doing, and relax.
If you’re looking for something more interesting than dinner and a movie on the weekend before Valentine’s Day, consider checking out Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings at the Webster Theater.
These days it seems more musicians are fixated on applying glitter than on perfecting their craft. Sharon Jones is not among that crowd.
Tickets for the February 12th show are $25 in advance and $28 the night of the event. If you tune in to local, non-commercial radio stations, you may find tickets being given away for this show.
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