Tag: newengland

Football Loyalties

Maybe I should have divided loyalties about today’s NFL playoff game between the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens. I have after all just moved from Massachusetts to Maryland.

But sports loyalties are stubborn things, so it’s the Pats I’m rooting for. And after 20+ years in the USA, I’m still not sure that football isn’t played with a sphere.

I wrote the above while waiting for Chinese food about an hour before kickoff. I don’t believe there’s anything in there that might have jinxed the Patriots…

New England Aquarium Media

We recently received the summer edition of blue, the magazine that the New England Aquarium sends to its members once a quarter. It includes an “on the web” sidebar, which draws attention to the aquarium’s blogs.

The above echoes my recent post about Zoo New England and social media. But where ZNE’s dead trees provided directions to multiple social media sites, NEAQ’s emphasized its blogs. NEAQ does use other sites; for example, I’ve just become a fan of NEAQ on Facebook.

There’s a lot to like about the NEAQ blogs:

  • There are multiple blogs, such as: Giant Ocean Tank Divers; Marine Mammal Trainers; and Bahamas Expedition.
  • For each blog there’s a clear subject, and a set of individual bloggers who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about that subject. For example, the Tank Divers blog has a list of regulars, each with a profile. It also includes contributions from others; in fact, the above photo is from a post by an intern, Linda (the ray is anonymous).
  • It seems that NEAQ regards its blogs as an important part of its website. At the risk of being a greedy advocate for social media, I’d like to see the blogs become more prominent, and I’d like to see a link to Facebook and to other social media channels on the blogs, etc. page.

    • I’ll summarize by saying that NEAQ uses blogs well to provide frequent updates from expert individuals. I emphasize that last word because, although organizations can enable and encourage blogging, good blogging comes from people who know and care about what they’re writing about.

New England, Of Thee We Sing

Pumpkins in the SunThere are lots of songs about New England, even if you don’t include the ones about specific states, cities, etc. The thought came to me when I heard that the Decemberists have a song out called “O New England.” Time for a playlist of songs about New England, I decided.

If you thought, based on the photo, that the playlist includes the song “When Fall Comes to New England,” you’d be wrong. If you thought, based on the first paragraph, that it would comprise songs about New England, you’d be wrong again.

As Enough Cowbell noted, the the Decemberists’ song goes on about New York, which is not in New England. As for the other song, Kirsty MacColl wasn’t singing about New England either.

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I was going to include the rather wonderful Jonathan Richman song “New England,” but only a 30-second clip is available at Lala, where I’d already started making the playlist. And I realized that there was a pattern in the song titles that cries out for three more songs: “E New England,” “I New England,” and “U New England.”

Someone please write the missing songs. Feel free to take liberties with the titles. “I, New England” sounds like a winner. I’m less sure about “(Nothing Compares 2) U New England.”