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.
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.
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.
Can we have a new superintendent now? And some news writers who are willing to use their critical thinking abilities? The Courant has published — in the past two days — two articles that show the need for both of those things. Continue reading 'Who Needs to Get Schooled?'»
It’s about time. If you’ve been in New England awhile, you might remember that we used to get significant snowfall every year. Maybe we would not get two feet of it within 24 hours, but we’d get enough. Now, it seems that the media exploits every opportunity, which is typically a few inches of snow, at best. It’s easier to digest such hype when a storm manages to produce noteworthy effects.
The photo above is one of the panels from the Lyric Theater windows. It was blasted with snow, despite being in a sheltered area.
Here are the top twelve items of interest on Real Hartford, judging by which posts were read the most and over the longest period of time. Sometimes there are short spikes in blog traffic, but I am more interested in what is on people’s minds for more than a week at a time. These are not ranked exactly in order of popularity: Continue reading 'Top Stories of 2010'»
Weeks ago, the City’s Director of Communications sent a flurry of emails regarding the Festival of Light. Short attention spans combined with a scheduling disaster and misinformation resulted in outrage from visitors who wanted more for the price of free. Now, the press releases about the next phase of the Festival of Light seem to be only slightly more tempered. Already, there has been one update to the schedule and details. The most recent is below, and if you want to keep up with any additional changes, visit the City of Hartford website: Continue reading 'Faith in Lights on Thin Ice'»
Comments (3) 
Death and taxes.
It’s about time. If you’ve been in New England awhile, you might remember that we used to get significant snowfall every year. Maybe we would not get two feet of it within 24 hours, but we’d get enough. Now, it seems that the media exploits every opportunity, which is typically a few inches of snow, at best. It’s easier to digest such hype when a storm manages to produce noteworthy effects.
Here are the top twelve items of interest on 
Weeks ago, the City’s Director of Communications sent a flurry of emails regarding the Festival of Light. Short attention spans combined with a scheduling disaster and misinformation resulted in outrage from visitors who wanted more for the price of free. Now, the press releases about the next phase of the Festival of Light seem to be only slightly more tempered. Already, there has been one update to the schedule and details. The most recent is below, and if you want to keep up with any additional changes, visit the 
