Published September 6, 2010

Mystic River sunset, August 2005 (snowriderguy/Flickr)

Things are quiet around here as Hubbub takes a Labor Day rest. I hope you’re well, dear readers — even if you’re laboring today.

Published September 3, 2010

“Although Hurricane Earl has weakened some, it is still a potentially dangerous storm and residents should continue to take Earl seriously and get ready.” (Globe)

The MBTA is suspending ferry service after 6 today. (Bostonist)

WBUR’s Bianca Vazquez Toness is on the Cape, where, she says, people are kind of bummed out there isn’t more storm action. (Radio Boston)

@daveshaw00 on Twitter:

Assessment from a reporter on Martha’s Vineyard: “#Earl has become a category five non-story.”

“Baby Earl was born about 10 days ago, on the west coast of tropical Africa. At that stage, meteorologists called him disturbed, but not yet necessarily dangerous.” (Vineyard Gazette)

Adam Gaffin has good pictures and reporting from the South Shore. (Universal Hub)

Once Earl leaves town, Labor Day weekend is going to be real nice. (Globe)

And don’t miss WBUR’s hand-curated live blog. (Hubbub)

Published September 3, 2010

Missing "Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" She's back in the Bean this weekend. (Scorpions and Centaurs/Flickr)

Don’t let Hurricane Earl ruin your weekend: It is a long one, after all. Put high winds, back-to-school jitters and the unofficial end of summer out of your mind with some cold beer and good music. It’s the perfect weekend to indulge your inner rebel with a little ink or to reminisce about the glory days of teen TV. But whatever you do, make sure you stick it to the man (and the impending natural disaster).

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Published September 3, 2010

How would you like to meet Phillip?

Want to date a Harvard man? Without dropping some $54,000 a year for a Harvard education?

DateHarvardSquare is a new website, founded by Harvard grads, “matching discerning women with Harvard University educated men.” Men can join free; women have to pay a monthly fee.

I immediately tried to sign up, of course, but the registration page requires a verified harvard.edu e-mail address. So I signed up as a “Woman interested in Harvard men,” but the site says it is not yet accepting women subscribers.

Meanwhile, you can preview some of the available Harvard men, including Phillip, 28:

• Harvard School, Degree, and Graduation Year: Harvard Business School, MBA, 2010
• Current Occupation: Enterpreneur [sic]
• Favorite Sports: Tennis, Golf
• Favorite Music: House, Classical

How much will it cost for ladies? Not disclosed yet. “Our subscription fees are in line with major matching based dating sites such as E-Harmony,” according to the FAQ. (An eHarmony subscription costs $60 per month.)

The response among Bostonians is, as far as I can tell, universal revulsion. I won’t repeat the word that every single person says upon learning of the site, but the word starts with a D.

@fishno12 on Twitter responds:

i’m glad that places like dateharvardsq exist, if only to cordon off the [word that starts with a D] from the rest of the population

In a hilarious and excoriating response, Above the Law blogger Elie Mystal recalls:

In my day, we didn’t need fancy websites to help Harvard men hook up with desperate women. We just went to BU parties and chewed with our mouths closed.

Reminds me of the infamous Craigslist posting from a Harvard senior seeking a date (“Tufts or Wellesley but BU and BC are acceptable (definitely not MIT)”).

Would you pay to get matched up with a Harvard man? Please, please make me laugh in the comments.

Update: Yes, it’s real. Jay Levitt, a commenter on Universal Hub, dug up the corporation filing and trademark record. The registered owners are Beri Meric and Phillip Triebel, of Cambridge.

• Radio Boston: Website Matches ‘Discerning Women’ With Harvard Men

Published September 2, 2010

With Hurricane Earl barreling toward the Massachusetts coastline, I have created a live blog to capture the latest and best reporting from the WBUR newsroom and other sources. Real-time updates after the jump.

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Published September 2, 2010

Patch’s latest hyperlocal newsroom covers not Boston, not Roxbury, but West Roxbury. The website just launched as part of Patch’s ambitious expansion into upper middle class communities. (Plum TV has the market on the upper class, such as Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.)

Before moving to Boston, I covered city politics and legal affairs for San Diego member station KPBS. When I arrived here, I was surprised to find such little “local” news.

Boston is a world city, where the most important things in health care and academia are happening. The mainstream media here, including WBUR, seem to avoid the stories they deem “parochial” — the school board meetings, the disputes over this new building or that giant pothole. (Indeed, WBUR’s audience consistently tell us they want less “local.”)

Patch aims to, um, patch these holes — reporting news of real importance to people in the community (and of little importance elsewhere). Consider this sampling of headlines from the West Roxbury Patch home page today:

• State Senate Candidates Talk Casinos, Local Aid and More
• Parkway Pop Warner Losing Players to Other Leagues and Sports
• West Roxbury Branch Library Gallery Promotes Enrichment, Local Artists

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Published September 1, 2010

Massachusetts, Earl. Earl, Massachusetts.

Update: The National Weather Service has issued a hurricane watch from Woods Hole to Sagamore Beach, including Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket (not a warning, mind you).

Confused by all the misinformation about Hurricane Earl swirling around, Radio Boston brought on a proper meteorologist today to help explain what, if anything, will happen this weekend. At its best, Earl will be a weekend ruiner for folks on the Cape and islands. At its worst, Earl could cause serious damage — although that’s unlikely.

Universal Hub has deemed the potential threat serious enough to raise the French Toast Alert Level to Yellow — a system normally reserved for snowstorms but dusted off today for the tropical weather. In case you’re not familiar with the system:

The French Toast Alert System has been developed in consultation with local and federal emergency officials to help you determine when to panic and rush to the store to buy milk, eggs and bread.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service is circulating a missive about hurricane terminology, including the difference between tropical cyclone, depression and storm, among other terms. IT IS ACTUALLY PRETTY INTERESTING IF YOU CAN TOLERATE ALL CAPS.

NECN meteorologist Matt Noyes blogs some preparation tips for people in vulnerable areas, which are especially useful for boat owners.

Hey, every cloud has a silver lining: Earl will break the heat wave.

Published September 1, 2010

Garrison Keillor

I’m not alone in thinking the medium of radio is alive and well.

A 17-year-old considering a career in radio wrote to Garrison Keillor for his advice. The public radio host and master storyteller responded thus:

Radio has a bright future which will be forged by young people following their own inspiration, not imitating their elders, though the essence of broadcasting is the same today as it was ninety years ago at the inception: radio is all about coherence.

We all live in a landscape of dense confusion and competing messages and radio attempts to give us a degree of clarity and a coherent view of the world, embodied in the human voice. It’s a powerful medium that speaks to our perpetual loneliness and I wish you well and hope you’ll hurl yourself bodily into getting a good education, studying the hard subjects, taking on a new language, reading the difficult texts.

I would treasure that letter.