(Boston) History books will need to be reweritten

In "Celebrity News" today (aka I'm just reading this at 4:45pm), Whitey Bulger is dead.

The famed mobster from Southie, has been found dead in a West Virginia jail this morning. A bit of conflicted irony to me because I just mentioned reading Black Mass in a previous post.

I'm conflicted because my friend's first response was "shit happens, huh?" and I'm starting to think "yeah, but..." and the rest of it being "it's a part of my history - growing up in and around Boston". I remember hearing about the Bulger Brothers and knowing a lot of the places Whitey ran through, when I was older. I've family, friends and experiences around Massachusetts and New Hampshire. People talk - for good and bad. Massholes have opinions and some stick like glue.

The whole Whitey thing is amazing when you think about it.

I'm not condoning any of the mob lifestyle, but having worked with some off shoots of "famiglia", I understand it. Gang lifestyle is hard as well, and I knew people involved in things that were shady "AF". I never partook in the debauchery.

Whitey knew what he was doing from a young age; street smart where his brother Billy was book smart, he played his cards wisely enough that he moved up in mob ranks rather quickly. From what I've been reading now, both brothers paralleled each other in a way, for how they rose to power in the state government and the underworld mob. Whitey became a mob kingpin and was able to outsmart a lot of people, including the Massachusetts police force, all the way to the FBI.

It's crazy times, he led. I suggest researching the history if you're unfamiliar with all of this.

All things considered, I just don't know really what to say. (Local) (Boston) History is changing right now and I'm sure all the stations are scrambling to cover the story. I bet there will be another movie made within the next 5 years about all of this. Almost "Black Mass part two" - updated for the new millennium. I don't know a lot; I admit it. I also don't pretend that my opinions matter more than anyone else's. I add a story line or two to the ongoing thread of the world, and hope someone else can see whatever point I'm trying to make. For all of this wildly weird violence going on today in the world, I hope that it pans out and people get closure. We all know what they say about karma. Maybe this is it for Jimmy Bulger?


Until next time...


Cheers;





See Also:
Boston's WBUR reporting: http://www.wbur.org/news/2018/10/30/whitey-bulger-obituary
Yahoo / AP report: https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/whitey-bulger-boston-gangster-found-172442940.html





More (local) (Brockton) news: RIP  to a great high school football coach.




e2a: Go Sawx. Kill it.

Just another tequila sunrise?

No, I'm not a day drinker, nor have I ever had a tequila mixed drink. But I do have some sunrise pictures from this week.

Now that it's getting lighter later, the sunrise has been around the time I've been at work on my early day. Not that I've not gotten sunrise pictures before at work, but it's just weird to get it around after 7:15. Guess fall is here and winter is coming?

- Although it's bee in the 80s here this week while my friends back north have been dealing with 40s for temperatures. I hear a Nor'Easter is on it's way. JOY! Be safe, fam, be safe. 

All photos have been taken on an iPhone 6S and no editing has been done. I've used my phone's focus to get some variations, but that is the extent of manipulations. 

I finally finished a couple books and am on Black Mass by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill. Yes, it's the same title as the Johnny Depp movie, mainly because it's the same story. I'm finally getting around to read the book, as I had picked it up last year at a second hand store. I also picked up The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century by Howie Carr, and that will be the next one I read. 

Black Mass is interesting. There's a lot of street and city names thrown in this book that I remember from my adventuring through Boston (and from what I lived near as well). I also remember hearing some of the high ranking names (outside of the Bulgers) mentioned too.* Boston has history, and it's not all about The Freedom Trail, The 'Make Way For Ducklings' statues, Castle Island or the 'Old Gahden'. It's also about the old world charm of "us versus them" ... which has made the North End all Italian (mmmm Maggiano's and Mike's Pastry... *drool*) and Southie all Irish (Dropkick Murphys anyone?). It doesn't have all bad things either. There's just more to the city's history than books let on. Folklore, family talk, things that are rumored to be true but you don't want to believe it. Things your friend's tell you because they think it's a joke. It's all a matter of what you want to believe. Take it or leave it, because the truth will set you free. 

* Synopsis of the updated book, via Amazon: 

When the FBI turned an Irish mobster into an informant, they corrupted the entire judicial system and sanctioned the worst crime spree Boston has ever seen. This is the true story behind the major motion picture. 

James "Whitey" Bulger became one of the most ruthless gangsters in US history, and all because of an unholy deal he made with a childhood friend. John Connolly a rising star in the Boston FBI office, offered Bulger protection in return for helping the Feds eliminate Boston's Italian mafia. But no one offered Boston protection from Whitey Bulger, who, in a blizzard of gangland killings, took over the city's drug trade. Whitey's deal with Connolly's FBI spiraled out of control to become the biggest informant scandal in FBI history. 

Black Mass is a New York Times and Boston Globe bestseller, written by two former reporters who were on the case from the beginning. It is an epic story of violence, double-cross, and corruption at the center of which are the black hearts of two old friends whose lives unfolded in the darkness of permanent midnight.

I guess that's it for now. Must be a Slow News Day.

Cheers.

See Also (aka title reference):

The Eagles: Tequila Sunrise

"How come you only want tomorrow?"

With its promise of something hard to do

©  David Bowie, Teenage Wildlife

Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)

1980

Well... I don't know when the time of death was, but I found something out yesterday: Teenage Wildlife has officially gone dark. 

No, it's not a dirty site. I've mentioned it a few times over the past two years because it's one of the first social networks I was on. And it happened to be a David Bowie site. 

For over a decade, it's one of those sites I kept going back to. I was always interacting with other users in the various fora, as well as making sure I wasn't quoting a misheard lyric on any thing I was writing (a random term paper or a post). 

Unfortunately, over the past several years, the site had lost a lot of its users. People started logging off and only returning when it suited them (myself included). TW had become a ghost town. 

I think it started when the site owner stopped updating the site. Evan was great in the beginning; he kept the lights on and the beer cold, all through the turbulent beginnings - when a handful of (the original [not me]) users were on every day. It wasn't always "db this" or "db that". There were other discussions happening as well, but it still stayed as a "place for Bowie fans". 

I got on the site in 2001, when I was in college. People had been used to each other by then, so the new kids in town had to prove themselves. I fought my way up through the ranks, and even got to talk to some of the users on AOL Instant Messenger (when that was a thing too). We all had stories and we all shared this one common interest. 

When Evan was starting to get sick, he didn't come around much. The updates were becoming sporadic. People still showed up, but things started getting buggy - links wouldn't work or people's rank wouldn't change. Even the site moderators were getting a lot of heat for things and I don't think they could keep up. 

In 2003, Bowie's health started to show quick signs of wear - he got the flu / pneumonia during A Reality Tour and had to postpone some of the winter shows. I remember this, because I had tickets for early December and had to go to the March show instead. In 2004, he had just finished performing a set and had a heart attack. Rest of tour cancelled. This drew a lot of speculation on TW and a lot of users to log on. 

Over the next few years, the numbers dwindled and the headlines on the site were all from the Heathen and Reality tours. Finally, the forum headlines changed, around 2006, but basic information on the front page stayed stagnant. I think it was around this time Evan only came on for a literal minute. By 2010, most of the links were fully broken and more people had given up. There were people who were still frequenting the site, but it was becoming full of trolls and craziness. I think original users just logged on just for the sake of seeing if anyone was still around. I know I was. By the time Dame Bowie passed away in 2016, the site had become abandoned, or close to it. 

Once the news came out about db's death, people flocked to the site. You had to jump through hoops in the fora in order to find out where people were talking about it. But the original users were there, some of the secondary users (me and people who came on around the time I did), all started talking about the last few years and how we all came back to "celebrate" Mr. Jones and how he impacted our lives. After a couple months of talk, the site went back to conserving energy. No more updates, no more Evan (by this time, I don't know his status). I think he was just keeping it alive just long enough for people to check in every couple months. 

Now, I look to the website and it's completely down for the count. It was inevitable that it wouldn't last forever. We all seem to have had grown up, and Evan finally decided to pull the plug on our play time. I don't blame him, nor do I blame any of the weirdness that happened through out the years there. It was a really cool site when it was in its hey day, but like everything and everyone, it had to have its done day. We are all lucky it lasted this long, and we all have two men to thank for that: Evan Torrie, the site owner / webmaster and David Bowie for bringing us all together. 

In essence, the band was finally altogether and the encore kicked ass. 

Cheers;

You take it on the run, baby. If that's the way you want it, baby.

Then I don't want you around

© Take It On The Run

REO Speedwagon

I think today was the first day in a long time where I didn't turn the dial on REO Speedwagon. I don't know what possessed me to keep the radio on when I heard the intro to the 1981 hit, but I chugged down the road and surprisingly found myself singing along. 

"Talk is cheap when the story is good"... yeah... so good that this is one of the songs that kept me writing the (unpublished and infamously talked about) sequel to my (not so talked about anymore) story from 12 years ago. Yes, it's been over a decade and there's only one major reference to the whole thing on this site right now, and I'm sorry I took all those other pages off. I was stupid and didn't even back any of it up. Things happen when you try to wash your hands of craziness. One momentary lapse of judgement causes a lifetime of regret. I'm truly sorry to those who know the story well enough to push me to finish it. You small group know who you are. I'm thankful for you. I want you to know you were right. 

Thinking everything over, it does seem like the whole Hi Infidelity album pushed me through some of the pages of the sequel, if I recall correctly... and now that I see the track listing of the album (like Keep on Loving You for example), my first thought is "What a theme to pass through tough times!". I remember some Whitesnake making its way into the first round. Guess I partied like an 80s rockstar, writing some radio history, huh? I didn't know where I was going with the whole thing... just looking for an answer, yanno? I don't know if I can ever go back to any of it. Finishing the story, I mean. It took a lot of time and energy. Some dark road that I probably shouldn't go back down until I'm in a different place. Time will tell and wounds will heal. Maybe some new stuff will allow me to take my notes out, retrace my thoughts, and fill some pages with new memories of a somewhat interestingly happy (in a sordidly twisted way) past time.

Until that happens, be groovy to one another and behave.

Cheers;

See also (aka "What the funk is this?! 😲)

Messin' Around Pitbull with Enrique Iglesias