Interviewed by Fox 25 About Unwanted Phone Books

I was just interviewed on camera by Alison Bologna, a reporter for Fox 25, about the unwanted Yellow Pages plaguing our neighborhoods here in Boston. The piece will air on tonight's 10 o'clock news.

Somehow she tracked down my cell phone # (reporters are a cunning bunch) and left me a voice mail at some point this afternoon. By the time I called her back, she and her cameraman were already in Southie.

We arranged to meet on my street, and I answered a few standard questions that she had prepared ("how many did you receive," "do you think it should be an opt-in process to receive phone books," "do you actually use a phone book," etc). We took a walk around the block to get shots of some phone books that were still sitting outside some residences.

I'm excited that this story has picked up momentum, having been first covered by the local blogs and crossing over to the The Boston Globe and now Fox 25. The more I think about it, this is an important environmental issue that seems to have few detractors besides the directories themselves.

Many people champion human rights.

Others support health care reform, or fight against government corruption.

Somehow, I picked phone books.

Assuming they use my sound bites on the 10 o'clock news tonight, this will be, technically, my second time on Fox TV this year, the first being a wide shot of the crowd at Super Bowl XLII (sure...blink and you miss me.....but I'm there).

Giants Win - 17 years in the making.

THAT was nothing like I had ever experienced. What an amazing game and an amazing weekend.

We are still in shock.

And no longer have voices.

So, there's nothing left to do but smile.

Counting Crows at Tempe Town Lake

Last night, we ended up at Super Bowl Saturday Night, a free concert featuring Counting Crows and fireworks at Tempe Town Lake.

We're headed out the door now....so short post here. But suffice to say that the fireworks were the most amazing I had ever seen, and the Counting Crows were as I expected - meaning they changed the freakin' arrangements for each of their songs, one of the main reasons I hate the Counting Crows live (though do like them recorded).

Super Bowl Saturday in Scottsdale

Our hotel in Tempe is quite convenient to Scottsdale, where we spent most of this afternoon. Most of the shops in Scottsdale were either art galleries or de factor souvenir shops, filled with Super Bowl paraphernalia.






Part of why we ventured into Scottsdale today was for the WEEI Patriots block party, to which I was given free tickets. Even though I'm technically on the Giants side this weekend, it's difficult to pass up freebies, especially when they were charging $200 a pop.

I thought this was a great shot - three dudes in three different Tom Brady jerseys. We also saw a few Giselle jerseys (number 00).



ESPN is featured quite prominently in Scottsdale this weekend, as they broadcast a number of SportsCenters live from one of the main squares there.

Thanks to my 300mm zoom lens, I took a few close-ups of Emmitt Smith (here sticking his tongue out, alongside Trey Wingo).

We Made It to Phoenix - Plan A worked

Well, we made it to Phoenix after a long delay at Logan. We had something working in our favor, and this had never happened to me before. Our Boston to Cleveland flight arrived two hours late, and the connecting flight to Phoenix had been held up, awaiting us – 18 of the 50 or so passengers were connecting to Phoenix.

I think Continental evaluated the options – leave 18 Super Bowl bound customers stranded in Cleveland, scrambling to put them onto flights the following day (most of which were likely full or overbooked), or hold the plane. They held the plane.

While the Cleveland to Phoenix flight was also delayed, by the time we arrived on the plane, everybody else had boarded and were waiting for us. The Boston flight. They were likely thrilled, especially the Giants fans.

My uncle called me while we were walking down the center aisle on the plane, asking our whereabouts. As I explained to him that we were boarding the flight to Phoenix, and mentioned the reasons for the delays, I had already-seated passengers in the background chiming in about their displeasure sitting and waiting for us – the Boston flight. One told me (kiddingly, I think) that we owed him drinks.

Another was seated in my assigned seat 31D, who informed me that he was already settled and not about to move for me, even though I had that seat assigned. They were moving folks around to correctly weight-balance the plane, so I’m guessing more people were in seats that weren’t supposed to be theirs. I’m assuming this dude had a middle seat in the front, and jumped at the opportunity for an aisle when they asked for volunteers. Either way, he was a prick about it. No big deal, we took the two seats in row 30.

Later I saw him reading a NY Daily News. I knew it. Typical douche from New York.

We checked in to our hotel is Tempe, and I didn't realize how close we were to the campus of ASU (Arizona State) until we drove into downtown to find some food. The place was hopping, tons of bars and retailers, and a stone's throw from Sun Devil Stadium (NOT where the Super Bowl is being played....that's in Glendale).

Today, we're heading into Scottsdale for a couple block parties. It should be able 60-65 degrees today, so not summer weather, but certainly nicer than Boston this weekend!