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Archive for July 10th, 2010

From “Sharks” To Storm Clouds !

Jul 10th, 2010 by Jay Albert posted in Cape Ann Images

Which way to turn is the theme around the waterfront as far as photography is concerned. One of the fishing boats I monitor is the “Razzo”. I wondered why I haven’t seen her for for a while and then spied her at a local boat yard getting all spruced up. And with all the talk of Great White shark sightings in nearby waters, I think I found the culprit!”Razzo” looking pretty.New prop and zincs.View

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GMG Tribute To Captain Phil Harris- RIP Phil

Jul 10th, 2010 by Joey posted in Good Morning Gloucester

As many of you fans of the Deadliest Catch know Captain Phil has gone to his resting place. What some may not have known is that he spent some time in Gloucester. Here are some photos from his visit- pics thanks to Leah Lovasco For all the other pictures and videos from The Deadliest Catch [...]

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back to the land, set your soul free

Jul 10th, 2010 by Joey posted in Good Morning Gloucester

Ruth Wall writes- Hi Joey, Remember how I stumbled into Passports thinking I could do anything, including eat that hamburger, because I had just survived the hardest yoga class of my life? I have an opportunity tip-off for a few strong people who don’t melt in the heat. Help Kenny Lane at Seaview farm with [...]

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What Up Homie?

Jul 10th, 2010 by Joey posted in Good Morning Gloucester

Filed under: What Up Homie? Tagged: What Up Homie?

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Blyman Bridge

Jul 10th, 2010 by blackswanbeth posted in Good Morning Gloucester

One of my favorite things . . . Filed under: gloucester Tagged: Beth Swan, Blyman Bridge

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The Cape Ann Military Family Support Group – Thursday, August 5

Jul 10th, 2010 by Joey posted in Good Morning Gloucester

The Cape Ann Military Family Support Groups meets on the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Major Frank Ritvo Veteran’s Center, 12 Emerson Avenue in Gloucester. All are welcome to attend, veterans, family and friends of those in the military. The group provides speakers, events, resources and support. Filed under: Good [...]

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An Inconvenient Wife by Megan Chance

Jul 10th, 2010 by Kathleen Valentine posted in Parlez Moi Blog

Summers are for reading in my life and, since my sitting in the sun days are over, I have been spending much of this summer on my back porch with an iced tea and a book. I love it. I ordered Megan Chance’s An Inconvenient Wife from Amazon on impulse. I tend to love books about the “upper classes” in Victorian New York. I love Edith Wharton and gobbled up Caleb Carr’s two books (The Alienist and Angel of Darkness) on that period with relish. E.L. Doctrow’s Ragtime is still one of my favorite books. So when I read the description of An Inconvenient Wife it sounded like my kind of book. It arrived Thursday at 4, I finished it last night at midnight.

I won’t say it was a great book comparable to Doctrow, Carr and, of course, Wharton. It didn’t have their scope but it was a darn entertaining read and, quite frankly, even though I suspected what might happen next, it was filled with surprises. In fact the last paragraph of the book is still on my mind — did she really mean what I think she meant?

The story in brief is this: Lucy, descended from a very upper class, prestigious, old NY Money family is married to William, a nice enough young social climber who is certainly respectable but far beneath her status. Lucy is prone to “incidents”, she has failed to conceive, numbs herself with laudanum, is too outspoken in social situations, and generally embarrasses her socially-conscious husband. Her husband takes her from one doctor to another hoping to cure her embarrassing (to him) behavior. Eventually he hears about the controversial neurologist Victor Seth who treats patients using hypnotherapy. At first it seems Dr. Seth is something of a miracle worker — until everything gets very confusing. That’s as much as I’ll tell you, I don’t want to spoil the story.

The most disturbing aspect of the story is just how powerless women of that era were. Their fathers and husbands had total control over every aspect of their lives. How these poor women endured the social pressures of the time is a mystery to me. On the surface they were glittering, pampered jewels but underneath the illusion was a life that was so regimented, controlled and proscribed it was little better than a prison. Lucy is intelligent, talented and, above all, passionate — all of which embarrass her husband. The scenes when she is confined to an asylum are disturbing but even more disturbing is her husband’s reaction when she attempts to introduce some passion into their intimate life. “I thought you were a lady,” he tells her as he backs away.

It is never productive to judge the behaviors of characters in one era by the standards of a different era. I’ve read reviews of this book that express incredulity at the way various characters acted but within the context of the times, they seem perfectly believable to me. The writing style is clean, quick, efficient and highly readable. I’m a reader who gets annoyed when the writing style gets in the way of the story. That is never a problem in this book.

Ultimately, when the story is told and the book is closed there are still a lot of haunting questions. Is this what Dr. Seth really intended? Did he create a monster or did he bite off more than he could chew? How much was a product of science and how much of desire? And, above all, how much influence did he really have? Who used whom? I liked this book. I’ll be thinking about it for awhile and that is something I appreciate writers for. Well done.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. Interesting read at Salon: Can the Internet Save the Book?

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Seaport Grill Chicken Wings

Jul 10th, 2010 by Joey posted in Good Morning Gloucester

Filed under: Eats Tagged: chicken wings, Eats, Gloucester Buffalo wings, Seaport Grill

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YO! What are Ya trying to Say, Jay?

Jul 10th, 2010 by Paul F Frontiero Jr. posted in Good Morning Gloucester, Uncategorized

This Post is in response of a comment made By Jay Albert in a previous post questioning if we really knew the meaning of the word Homie. To view Jay Alberts beautiful images of Cape Ann click the link below http://capeannimages.blogspot.com/ Definition of “HOMIE“ Shortened version of homeboy, homeboy being your close friend From the Urban [...]

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Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce Auction Items!

Jul 10th, 2010 by Joey posted in Good Morning Gloucester, Uncategorized

Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce Presents 23RD ANNUAL GOODS & SERVICES AUCTION Friday, July 16, 2010, Cruiseport Gloucester Silent Auction 5:30 p.m., Live Auction 7:00 p.m. $20 per person admission, $175/table of ten purchased in advance Computer and IT support provided by Balsam Technologies. Do You Love Live Entertainment? Don’t miss your chance to get [...]

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Gloucester At Dawn- The Hive At Art Haven 4:40AM 7/8/10

Jul 10th, 2010 by Joey posted in Good Morning Gloucester

Filed under: Art, Gloucester Dawn Pictures Tagged: Art, Art Haven, Gloucester Art, Gloucester at Dawn, The Hive

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Gloucester Zen- Pogie Salting

Jul 10th, 2010 by Joey posted in Good Morning Gloucester

Minimal Editing- Minimal Commentary- Just a Slice Of Time On Gloucester’s Industrial Waterfront Thanks For Watching Filed under: Beautiful Industry, Fishermen Profiles, gloucester, lobster, Video Tagged: Gloucester Zen, Good Morning Gloucester, Lobster Bait, Pogie Salting, Video