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Tommy Devine's Online Journal

  • Beatnik Comics

    Mostly Disappointing.



    With fewer and fewer people reading books these days, it is no surprise that a lot of literary stuff is being made available in comic book form. When the popular artists Harvey Pekar, Ed Piskor and others united to do a collection [...]
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    Posted: November 27, 2009, 11:30am EST
    by Tom

  • Gratitude

    Number of comments: 3
    Happy Thanksgiving!

    The lights looked really nice in Northampton last night.



    Today was the community Thanksgiving dinner put on by the Amherst Survival Center at the Lutheran Church.



    The yard of the partyhouse next door to [...]
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    Posted: November 25, 2009, 2:12pm EST
    by Tom

  • Hampenings

    Number of comments: 2
    Around Hamp

    Most pumpkins have gone bad by now, but as my neighbor's porch shows the small ones seem to have longer lives.



    As another of my neighbors has discovered, when pumpkins turn rotten they can become depraved to the point of [...]
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    Posted: November 23, 2009, 2:08pm EST
    by Tom

  • UMass Criticized

    Number of comments: 6
    By Prominent First Amendment Advocate


    Angela Davis caused a UMass free speech controversy in the 70's.

    Nationally respected free speech advocate Harvey Silvergate weighed in on the recent free speech controversy at UMass over the cancelled invitation of a leftist terrorist. Not surprisingly,' [...]
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    Posted: November 21, 2009, 3:29pm EST
    by Tom

  • Jack's Advice

    Number of comments: 1
    Writing Tips.



    I can't believe I never saw this before! It's a list that Jack Kerouac once wrote of the "essentials" of writing which he called Belief and Technique for Modern Prose. Here's the list with my comments after each one based on my' [...]
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    Posted: November 20, 2009, 4:59pm EST
    by Tom

  • Lightfooted Thunderbolt

    Number of comments: 2
    Or the Last of the Narragansetts?



    I have to laugh over the details of the arrest last weekend of Springfield poltitical villain Frankie Keough. He got busted for breaking into his former second home in Rhode Island (odd how so many "public servants" in [...]
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    Posted: November 18, 2009, 4:10pm EST
    by Tom

  • Past Judgement

    Number of comments: 2
    Old Reviews

    Okay people, just one more day of nostalgia as we look at these old reviews I wrote.



    I finally understand this pirate craze thanks to seeing the Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean a few weeks ago. I saw it [...]
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    Posted: November 16, 2009, 5:58pm EST
    by Tom

  • Springfield Starship

    Number of comments: 4
    More Oldies

    Back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth (or at least the concert stages) I was a misbehaving teenager attending acid rock shows in the Springfield area armed with a beautiful topshelf Yashica camera I got for a pittance from a B&E artist I knew (as in Breaking and [...]
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    Posted: November 16, 2009, 11:45am EST
    by Tom

  • Invisible Bear

    Number of comments: 3
    Barely There.

    This morning I came upon this sign along the woodland way leading into downtown Northampton.



    People who live along the woodland way often let their cats run free. They don't realize there are things in the woods that are dangerous' [...]
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    Posted: November 14, 2009, 1:25pm EST
    by Tom

  • Timothy and Charles

    Number of comments: 1
    Leary and Manson

    I'm still working my way through Robert Greenfield's biography of Timothy Leary, the Springfield native who ended up in prison with insane murderer Charles Manson. Indeed, as this little excerpt shows, Folsom prison was a long way from Indian Orchard.


    [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2009, 1:03pm EST
    by Tom

  • Vagina Farce

    Number of comments: 4
    A Flashback

    Here's a reprint of a long out of print post I wrote on January 23, 2004 about a controversy in Amherst:



    I was on my way to purchase my three morning papers (the Springfield Republican and then depending on who has' [...]
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    Posted: November 11, 2009, 2:47pm EST
    by Tom

  • ACORN at UMass

    Number of comments: 1
    Founding Father Speaks



    Wade Rathke (above) the founder and former head of the controversial "community organizing" group ACORN paid a visit to Western Mass, speaking at Springfield College yesterday and at UMass today. Rathke has deep roots in our Valley, having begun his career [...]
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    Posted: November 10, 2009, 6:20pm EST
    by Tom

  • Capuano in Amherst

    Number of comments: 2
    At the Black Sheep



    All of the candidates for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy - with the exception of the frontrunner - appeared at UMass last night. In an unusual twist, the candidates from both parties appeared together, instead [...]
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    Posted: November 09, 2009, 2:51pm EST
    by Tom

  • Neal's Challengers

    Number of comments: 5
    A Year Before the Vote.

    The election results on Tuesday strongly indicated that the political tide is turning against the Democrats just one year after they swept into office on a wave of "hope" with Barack Obama. Of course it's best to take these off year election trends with' [...]
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    Posted: November 07, 2009, 12:03pm EST
    by Tom

  • Stray Shots

    Number of comments: 4
    Assorted Ones

    With the voting over, the harvest in and the last of the leaves falling, our Valley is now awaiting the arrival of winter, nevermind these last vestiges of Fall on my neighbor's steps.



    I like my neighbor's chilltown stove.

    [...]
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    Posted: November 05, 2009, 5:14pm EST
    by Tommy

  • Election Night

    Number of comments: 4
    At City Hall



    In the political prognostation racket there are two types, those who pretend to know what's going on and those who really do. There's no question which group I belong to after last night, as I was right in my predictions about [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2009, 11:55am EST
    by Tommy

  • Waiting

    Number of comments: 1
    On Election Day

    This is the polling place where I went to vote this morning before work.



    Einstein theorized that gravity distorted reality but he was wrong - politics does.




    When I went downtown to [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 1:58pm EST
    by Tommy

  • Endorsements

    Number of comments: 6
    And Predictions



    Oh no, don't tell me we've slithered around to another local election! Well, I guess I must do my duty and advise you how to vote. Not that I expect you to follow my advice, I certainly don't allow anyone to tell' [...]
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    Posted: November 02, 2009, 10:55am EST
    by Tommy

  • Lost Posters

    Number of comments: 11
    Drawn By Jerry Garcia



    An integral part of any music scene is the promotional posters that are created to advertise the shows. All the cool posters you see around Northampton are some of the strongest evidence of what a vibrant music scene there is [...]
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    Posted: October 31, 2009, 1:05pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Business Liberty

    Number of comments: 1
    Set Them Free

    Former Massachusetts United States Senate candidate Michael Cloud has some great advice for revitalizing our economy - the complete separation of the state and business:



    "Business interference in government is the main cause of today's economic meltdown and recession," argue' [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2009, 3:20pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • False Promise

    Number of comments: 2
    Can the Government Save Money?



    I'm shocked that I continue to hear people say on TV and in the papers that one of the main goals of the so-called health care reform efforts in Congress is to control spending. Huh? When the hell has' [...]
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    Posted: October 28, 2009, 1:11pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Augusten's Latest

    Number of comments: 2
    Skewering Christmas



    Augusten Burroughs is Amherst's most famous writer since Emily Dickinson, although not quite as beloved. The reason for the mixed emotions are the series of thinly veiled autobiographical novels Burroughs has written based on his trauma-filled upbringing in Amherst and Northampton by' [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2009, 1:50pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • President Trips

    Number of comments: 2
    Did JFK Take LSD?



    John F. Kennedy is probably the most popular president to come out of Massachusetts, although politically one would probably have to say that John Adams and Calvin Coolidge were more influential. Perhaps we like Kennedy more because unlike Adams and [...]
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    Posted: October 25, 2009, 2:08pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Lessons Unlearned

    Number of comments: 4
    The Price we Pay

    In 1989 millions of people were suddenly freed from socialist oppression when most of the communist world collapsed because of the failure of their socialist economies and the firm military pressure of the United States under the leadership of Ronald Reagan and the first George [...]
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    Posted: October 24, 2009, 11:51am EDT
    by Tommy

  • Pancake Thursday

    Number of comments: 1
    My Morning



    Every Thursday I cook pancakes for the people at the shelter in Northampton. I was taught in rehab that service to others was the best way to recover from addiction, because you can't focus on your own problems when you are focusing' [...]
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    Posted: October 22, 2009, 6:00pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Local Polls

    Number of comments: 3
    The Mayoral Races



    WGGB-TV runs a poll every day on a subject related to the news. They are unscientific polls because the people who participate are self selected. However they are not completely unenlightening, since people participate who may never otherwise be contacted by [...]
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    Posted: October 21, 2009, 12:56pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Arturo Innocent

    Number of comments: 3
    Activist Found Not Guilty


    Arturo Castillion

    The Northampton radical group Poverty is Not a Crime, the brainchild of activists Caty Simon and Ira McKinley, organized a number of rallies earlier this year to protest downtown economic development policies, in particular the proposed ordinance [...]
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    Posted: October 19, 2009, 2:18pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Pathetic Palin

    Number of comments: 7
    Absurdity Level Rising

    I do not follow the non-stop drama surrounding alleged 2012 presidential contender Sarah Palin. Personally I blame Palin for the defeat of John McCain last year, if he had chosen former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as his running mate instead, I believe he would have won. [...]
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    Posted: October 17, 2009, 1:38pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Leary in Springfield

    Number of comments: 2
    His Childhood in the City of Homes



    Probably the most infamous person to ever come out of Springfield, Massachusetts was Dr. Timothy Leary, the internationally known LSD advocate once called "the most dangerous man in America" by President Nixon and who once occupied the [...]
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    Posted: October 16, 2009, 4:23pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Hail Columbus

    Number of comments: 2
    Better Late Than Never




    Monday was Columbus Day, and I didn't mention it, but an essay has come to my attention that I think is worthy of belated reprinting. My main personal memory of Columbus Day's past is a speech I once gave [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 1:11pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Clintoned

    Number of comments: 5
    Deja-vu All Over Again?



    In 1993 the newly inaugurated President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton, announced that the top priority of his administration would be "health care reform." The Clinton Administration set deadlines by which congress must take action, but month after [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 2:37pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Blotto on Blotter

    Number of comments: 2
    Zane Kesey Has a Sale



    I'm told that LSD is still available on the black market, but I never see any of it, and that is probably for the best. At this point I can't afford to put any of my remaining brain cells [...]
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    Posted: October 11, 2009, 2:44pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Liberty is Green

    Number of comments: 2
    Ecology Requires Free Markets



    Dr. Mary Rupert is the author of the international bestseller Healing Our World. In this surprisingly brief essay she concisely explains why libertarian free market policies would be the best way to develop alternative energy sources.

    [...]
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    Posted: October 09, 2009, 2:27pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Meghan's Mustache

    Number of comments: 3
    My Photo Causes a Stir

    Senatorial daughter and internet sensation Meghan McCain spoke at UMass last night. Here's a clip of her discussing her mixed feelings about libertarian congressman Ron Paul.



    Of course Meghan had to twitter about her UMass experience, saying this [...]
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    Posted: October 08, 2009, 2:50pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Papers Alive

    Number of comments: 1
    The New York Exception

    Newspapers are dying? Not if you live in New York, according to the Village Voice:



    On the southeast corner of 96th Street and Broadway, on any weekday morning, you would swear that the U.S. daily-newspaper industry isn't dying. In' [...]
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    Posted: October 07, 2009, 3:23pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Magazine Mayhem

    Number of comments: 3
    Big Names Closing



    A lot of attention has been paid to the relentless decline of the newspaper industry, but print magazines too are finding their readers and advertising money stampeding to the internet. Like newspapers, some magazines are finding new life by becoming more [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 3:23pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • The Wee Sound

    Number of comments: 2
    Odd Moment in Hungry Hill

    I was an embryo in Maine. That was where my father was stationed when I was conceived, at a base in Presque Isle Maine.



    However I was actually born at home, in my parents bedroom in Robinson's Gardens, [...]
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    Posted: October 05, 2009, 10:23am EDT
    by Tommy

  • Life Ain't Fair

    Number of comments: 2
    Local Writer Edition



    Sometimes prestigious awards are denied to the most deserving. For example, Metallica once lost the Grammy Award for best Metal band to Jethro Tull. I love Tull, but they never pretended to be a metal band, which makes you wonder whether [...]
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    Posted: October 04, 2009, 3:13pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Warhol at UMass

    Number of comments: 2
    The Exhibit

    Last year this portrait of Michael Jackson by Andy Warhol sold for $300,000 dollars.



    After Jackson died this year, two months later it sold for a cool million, proving once again that in the art world there is no more [...]
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    Posted: October 03, 2009, 2:31pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Michael's Money

    Number of comments: 1
    Biting Hand That Feeds Him



    Documentaries with an attitude are made all the time by people from across the political spectrum, so how come lefty Michael Moore's movies get such attention? Especially since from a political standpoint Moore's films have been total flops. Roger [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 2:38pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Establishment Tool

    Number of comments: 1
    Obama is No Radical



    Back during the Vietnam War, when people were protesting by the thousands against U.S. policy, conservative elements of the media resorted to an old and dishonest trick to make the protesters look bad. They would single out the craziest looking [...]
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    Posted: October 01, 2009, 1:17pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Deval's Dive

    Number of comments: 1
    The Downward Spiral



    A new poll by Suffolk University shows Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick in increasing danger of defeat next year:

    A new survey by Suffolk University, released the same day Patrick appointed Paul Kirk to the open Senate seat, finds 45% [...]
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    Posted: September 30, 2009, 11:54am EDT
    by Tommy

  • Steve's Book

    Number of comments: 1
    For Bohemians

    UMass cartooning legend Steve Lafler received a lot of emails when the following image appeared in the fashion mags:




    The model is wearing headgear that UMass alumnus of a certain age would recognise. Lafler explains:

    People have emailed me [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 5:02pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Happy Birthday Amherst

    Number of comments: 4
    Two Hundred and Fifty Years Young

    Today is the 250th birthday of my beloved Amherst, Massachusetts. When I arrived at the Amherst Starbucks this morning, looking out the window I felt sure the parade would be cancelled by heavy rains.



    But despite [...]
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    Posted: September 27, 2009, 5:36pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • The Great Smokeout

    Number of comments: 2
    Featuring Karma the Smokehound



    This was back in the old times, before everyone started smoking pot. The marijuana scene was still underground then. No one ever spoke about it except to those who you knew also partook of the weed, or unless you had [...]
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    Posted: September 26, 2009, 6:52pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Pictorial Parade

    Number of comments: 5
    From Around the Valley

    I'm been busy the last few days, but even if I can't write my camera is always close at hand. Here's a potpourri of stuff:

    The Amherst Resevoir this afternoon.



    Hampshire College barncat.

    [...]
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    Posted: September 25, 2009, 6:27pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Discriminatory Practices

    Number of comments: 5
    Erasing the Legacy of the 80's



    The University of Massahusetts has a proud history, despite having had students like me. But even in the rogues galelry of my family history there was my Uncle Steve Willis who played for UMass in the 1920's and' [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 1:44pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Summertime

    Number of comments: 2
    Done Come and Gone




    At 5:18 today the season officially switched from Summer to Fall. How appropriate then that I should spend a little time this morning on Summer Street in Northampton. Not many people know the name of that street, they just [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 5:30pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Dodd in Danger

    Number of comments: 1
    Schiff Enters the Race



    Disgraced Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd continues to find himself in a downward spiral of scandal and incompetence. Now he has another headache on his hands with the long hoped for announcement last week that economic guru Peter Schiff will run [...]
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    Posted: September 21, 2009, 5:24pm EDT
    by Tommy

  • Saratoga Two

    Number of comments: 2
    More From the Races



    Okay, I got the last of the pics from Jeff Ziff and combined with some of my own photos here's the rest of the photographic record of my trip Saturday to the races at Saratoga.

    The race track [...]
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    Posted: September 09, 2009, 12:42pm EDT
    by Tommy
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