i read this early this morning

and just did NOT want to believe it. i'm guessing there has to be at least a tiny bit of truth to it if the feds are investigating it. man, if true, i hope EVERYONE who drove others out of the town (based on ethnicity, race, religion or whatever) gets theirs and gets it good.

it's an ap story so click on the link 

Citing police abuse, Hispanics leaving East Haven

congratulations grrrls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm not into sports as a rule (don't chu be talkin' bout my red sox though) but i DO have to give a wicked loud shout out to the uconn women's basketball team and everyone associated with them. an amazing group of people who accomplished an amazing amazing thing!

(and i hope my popi and his special friend had a GREAT time at the game last night)

No. 89: UConn tops UCLA, beats Florida St 93-62
 Associated Press

Moore dazzles once again as UConn women take their place in history

Richard Deitsch

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The game wasn't competitive. Coronations rarely are. UConn won its 89th consecutive game on Tuesday night, a 93-62 win over Florida State that morphed from basketball game into a blue and white pep rally in the second half.
The victory tops the 88-game winning streak set by John Wooden's UCLA men's team from 1971-74, and leaves the UConn women at the top of the list among major-college basketball's longest winning streaks. In the game's waning seconds, the crowd at the XL Center held signs in the air with the number "89," serenading the team with the sweet sounds of those digits. Behind the Florida State bench, fans unfurled a large tribute banner to UConn coach Geno Auriemma. It read THE SORCERER OF STORRS...............


Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/richard_deitsch/12/22/uconn.women.pass.ucla/index.html#ixzz18ol6vpBo.

Maya Moore added 10 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal to go along with her career-high points total as the Huskies improved to 11-0.

Damian Strohmeyer/SI

uconn huskies women's basketball

blessed be to you all on this winter solstice

image: via

image via

blimage via

it's that time of the year again...............

Funeral details set for Lt Matt Dirrane

details in the courant

Can't get link to work-doing this from my phone so use this:

http://courant.com/community/hartford/hc-firefighter-funeral-1217-20101216,0,114849.story

my thoughts go out to everyone at company 2 (ladder 5) on sisson avenue

in the west end and all the other hartford firefighters too. it's a close knit brother and sisterhood. that house is the one i know the best. it's in the hood i hang in. i know many who work at that house. i didn't know matt, but i have seen him. it's a sad week. to his family and friends, i am so very sorry for your loss (and the loss to the city of hartford)

Hartford Firefighter Killed In Costa Rica

By KATHLEEN MEGAN, kathy.megan@courant.com The Hartford Courant
  
A 16-year veteran Hartford firefighter died Saturday while on vacation in Costa Rica after being hit by a vehicle.

Martin "Matt" Dirrane, 50, who worked at on Ladder 5 at 150 Sisson Avenue was apparently crossing the street when he was struck by the vehicle............. 

Hartford Firefighter Killed While On Vacation

Family Friend: Lieutenant Hit By Car, Lost Too Much Blood

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Hartford Firefighters Association says Hartford Lt. Matt Dirrane was killed Saturday in Costa Rica, where he was vacationing.

A source close to the Dirrane family tells Eyewitness News Dirrane died in the hospital. That family friend tells us Dirrane was hit by a car while he was returning a rental bike. The friend says Dirrane was rushed to a Costa Rican hospital where doctors amputated Dirrane's leg and later died. The friend also questions hospital conditions where Dirrane was treated..............

 

 here's a facebook memorial page for matt dirrane

 

Firefighter Killed While On Vacation

By JEFF SAPERSTONE

Lt. Martin “Matt” Dirrane died after he was struck by a car while he was on a bike.

“He was taken to a small hospital and they tried to stabilize him and ultimately sometime yesterday he succumbed to his injuries,” said District Fire Chief Carol Stiles.

Chief Stiles said Lt. Dirrane was stationed at Company 2 Ladder 5 on Sisson Avenue in Hartford. A black bunting was hanging outside the fire house to remember the 50-year-old.

“So the guys are struggling with it,” said Chief Stiles. “The guys and girls are struggling with it. It's tough. Nobody expected this to happen. We're just trying to get over it, the shock at this point.”.......

 

lovely lovely lovely

Rare Bluebird Spotted At Bradley Airport
By KIM VELSEY The Hartford Courant

Birders have been flocking to Bradley International Airport since a mountain bluebird was spotted there on Tuesday.

The mountain bluebird, a denizen of the Western United States, is rarely seen east of the Rocky Mountains, according to Milan Bull, senior director of science and conservation at the Connecticut Audubon Society.

"This is what keeps bird watchers on their toes," said Bull. "You never know what you're going to see.".......... 

pic: Birders are a-twitter about a mountain bluebird spotted at Bradley Airport on Tuesday. The bird is rarely seen east of the Rockies. (Rollin Tebbetts / Bradley Airport operations manager)

bert jansch at the wadsworth tonight!

An Evening with Legendary Musician Bert Jansch

Join the Hartford Party Starters Union and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art for an intimate, one evening only performance with legendary folk musician Bert Jansch.

Jansch has recorded at least 25 albums and influenced artists ranging from Paul Simon, Jimmy Page and Neil Young.

Special guests will include Pegi Young and Heirlooms.

Saturday, December 11, doors open at 7:30 pm.

Tickets are almost sold out.
$25 in advance and $30 at the door.
Click here to purchase tickets

Here’s what the Hartford Advocate had to say about this rare performance:

“If one of the world’s legendary guitarists — a man whom Neil Young likened to “Jimi Hendrix on the acoustic guitar” — performed in Hartford and you missed it, you’d feel pretty doggone sheepish, right? Here’s your chance, then, to avoid sheep status. Bert Jansch, an icon of the U.K. folk-rock scene for the past half-century whose influence is admitted by cross-generational acolytes will play a solo acoustic concert at the Wadsworth Atheneum.

It’s a fitting venue for someone whom many would say was a living work of art. Those lucky enough to attend the Wadsworth show — a rare New England appearance for Jansch in an even rarer intimate 284-seat venue — will have many words of praise to pass along to the sheep who stayed away, with the rest of the herd.” – Hartford Advocate, December 8, 2010


Bert Jansch
http://www.bertjansch.com/
http://www.myspace.com/bertjansch

Pegi Young
http://www.pegiyoung.com/
http://www.myspace.com/pegiyoung

Heirlooms [Hartford, Connecticut]
www.HeirloomsMusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/heirloomstheband

the smithsonian may pussy out

but  real art ways ISN'T chicken

now, i've not seen this and i don't know if i will. the POINT being, i just want to be ABLE to see it if i so wish to. i don't want my art censored especially because of batshite 'religious' valued loudmouth asswipes.

Uncut version of David Wojnarowiscz’s censored video ‘A Fire In My Belly’
Posted by Marc Campbell 


A Fire in My Belly from ppow_gallery on Vimeo.

perhaps it is a GOOD idea

he retire from west hartford government

is it me or is this story just downright ODD ODD and ODD?

West Hartford Town Councilman Arrested

By KIM VELSEY and VANESSA DE LA TORRE, kvelsey@courant.com The Hartford Courant
  
WEST HARTFORD — Police arrested Town Councilman Rob Durbin on Tuesday after he allegedly followed police officers responding to a domestic dispute and then persistently offered free legal aid to the residents involved.

Officers who arrived at 50 Cortland St. around 1:48 p.m. Tuesday said they became aware of a man trying to open the door of the home that police responded to.

The man, identified as Durbin, 35, said that he had noticed the cruisers' lights and sirens and followed police to the house, authorities said. When an officer told Durbin not to enter the home because they were in the middle of an investigation, the councilman responded that he knew the people involved in the dispute and again tried to enter the home as the officer held the door closed, Lt. Jeremy Clark said.
................. 

if you've never been to the hill-stead NOW is a good time

it's a VERY SHORT hop skip and drive (there's even a highway exit VERY close) from hartford. there is NO excuse. get your arse down there. 

American Collector's Christmas'

Employees Planning Special Event Sunday To 'Meet' The Pope Riddle Family

By JULIE STAGIS, jstagis@courant.com The Hartford Courant

 

FARMINGTON — —

At the Hill-Stead Museum on Mountain Road, it is Christmas — in 1921.
Theodate Pope Riddle, a pioneering female architect whose work includes Avon Old Farms School, and her husband, John Riddle, are preparing to go to Argentina, where John will be the U.S. ambassador. But first, they must host holiday visitors at their estate, which Pope Riddle designed for her parents as a retirement home at the turn of the century.................

the hill-stead museum

(pic from the hill-stead website linked above)

 

shout out to fidelco

and of course newman's own for providing the funding so  Air Force Senior Airman Michael Malarsie can have a guide dog.

Wounded Airman Receives Guide Dog From Fidelco
By JENNIFER BERNSTEIN, jbernstein@ctnow.com FOX CT
 



fidelco


newman's own

tuesday morning humor

Fox News ‘is my favorite,’ Sen. Lieberman declares

By David Edwards

 
Former Dem wishes press would stop reporting on Wikileaks
Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman isn't hiding his love for Rupert Murdoch's media empire.
In a Monday interview on Fox Business News' Imus in the Morning, the senator from Connecticut declared that the Fox Business Network, Fox News and anything Murdoch owned were his "favorite."
Host Don Imus asked Lieberman if thought The New York Times should be prosecuted for reporting on secret State Department cables released by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks............

once again i have to tip my hat to ag richard blumenthal

he shot down a pre paid credit card (that sucked people dry with all sorts of EXTRA charges) which was sponsored by the kardashians (or had their name on it or whatever). a bunch o' dipshites known for their bodies and certainly NOT their brains OR for that matter their precious ethics (which they say they possess. i LAUGH AND LAUGH over that one). they have 'worked hard' at projecting a positive public personae (if that includes making all sorts of naked sex tapes and having boob jobs, well then they're NOT lying when they have their rep say they've worked long and hard to project a POSITIVE PUBLIC IMAGE). oh, if naked sex tapes isn't a positive public image portrayer, THEN THEY'RE FULL O' SHITE.

honies, dick blumenthal was doing his job and he did it correctly AND ethically. he uncovered some shady practices on a PRODUCT YOU AT THE VERY LEAST ENDORSED



href="http://www.courant.com/business/hc-kardashians-dump-credit-card-20101129,0,4140368.story">Kardashian Sisters End Agreement With Issuer Of 'Kardashian Kard' After Blumenthal Raises ObjectionsBy JANICE PODSADA, jpodsada@courant.com The Hartford Courant

The Kardashian sisters — Kim, Khloe and Kourtney — withdrew their endorsement Monday of the "Kardashian Kard," a prepaid debit card issued Nov. 9 by University National Bank of St. Paul, Minn.

Dennis Roach, attorney for the Kardashians, said Monday the three sisters were terminating their agreement with the card's issuers after Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal launched an investigation Friday into the card's "predatory fees."

The investigation has threatened their "honest" and "ethical" reputation," Roach wrote in a letter to the card's issuers Monday.............

uh oh, some peeps are NOT too happy

with the festival of lights moving from constitution plaza to bushnell park. uh oh. uh oh. uh oh

Facebook Site Created To Move Festival Back To The Plaza

By

MaryEllen Fillo

 

There were a lot of disappointed kiddos and annoyed parents who turned out for Friday's Festival of Light at Bushnell Park. The event seemed a bit mismanaged and a little light on light, especially when compared to its longtime, landmark run on Constitution Plaza.
 Long story short, a website called "Return the Hartford Festival of Lights Back To Constitution Plaza" has emerged on Facebook, created in the wake Friday night's opening at the new park venue. ..................

the hartford festival of lights starts today

it's moving to bushnell park this year. i personally think that's a LOT better than constitution plaza. we'll see though 

so if you're in the hood at about 5 pm, why don't you join in on the festivities? walk along with the pack from the former home, the plaza, to the new home, bushnell park! 

Festival Of Light Starts Friday At Bushnell Park
By JENNA CARLESSO, jcarlesso@courant.com The Hartford Courant

HARTFORD In a new twist on an old tradition, the Festival of Light will open Friday at Constitution Plaza, but will migrate across town to Bushnell Park, where visitors can see the giant Christmas tree and sip free hot chocolate.

Starting at 5 p.m., Mayor Pedro Segarra, cast members of the Hartford Stage Company's "A Christmas Carol," and Sonar, the Wolf Pack's mascot, will lead a procession from Constitution Plaza to Bushnell Park, passing through State House Square on the way.

During the march, they will be joined by Pucky, a mascot for the Connecticut Whale, and Santa, who will be riding a Zamboni ice-grooming machine. The public is invited to walk with the group or cheer them on along the route, which includes Asylum and Trumbull streets...........

 

a new no kill animal shelter in bloomfield!

 i drive through bloomfield EVERY day (well every work day) and i had NO idea. this is most wonderful!

it would be even MORE wonderful if people had their pets spayed and neutered.

 it would be even MORE wonderful if people who can't or don't want to care for animals DON'T ADOPT ONE TO BEGIN WITH

Foundation Readies $5 Million No-Kill Animal Rescue Center

By DAVID DRURY, Special to the Courant The Hartford Courant

BLOOMFIELD — —

Life began to turn around for Lolly on a hot day this past summer.

Abandoned in a Waterbury garage with three other starving dogs, Lolly, a Rottweiler-shepherd mix, got a second chance when the landlord, unable to locate the evicted tenants, placed a call to The Simon Foundation.

"I had my Subaru and one crate," recalled Stephanie Ferguson, the foundation's indefatigable executive director. "We scrounged them up and in under four minutes we had four Rottweilers in my Subaru.".....

UNTIL THERE ARE NONE-ADOPT ONE
the simon foundation
 

pic: Austin York, 24, and girlfriend Kelsey Loureiro, 21, both of Granby, volunteer by bottle-feeding puppies at the Simon Foundation's new no-kill animal shelter in Bloomfield. York and Loureiro adopted a rottweiler-shepherd mix named Lolly from the shelter two months ago and come back to volunteer in their spare time. (Bettina Hansen, Hartford Courant / November 14, 2010)

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: watch a 1964 beatles concert FREE on itunes

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: watch a 1964 beatles concert FREE on itunes

andy thibault at the cool justice report

CT BOXERS @ MOHEGAN NOV. 20

since i've met addy and seen her box, i'll just re-post this part from cool justice (click on the link above to see  ALL of andy's posting)

-- Addy Wallops Rachel Clark during their 6-round welterweight bout 1-29-10 @ Mohegan Sun; ref Joe Cusano monitors the action
-- photo by Bob Thiesfield

Hartford welterweight Addy Irizarry
(8-4, 2 KOs)
in 6 round bout
vs.
Jill Emery

Irizarry is a popular fighter who works as a correctional officer.

Emery is the IFBA champion (this is a non-title fight) and one of the top women amateur boxers in US history.

greater hartford school fairs..............check 'em out!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2010

Contact: Jim Caradonio, Bureau Chief, Greater Hartford Regional School Choice Office, 860.757-6188; jim.caradonio@ct.gov
Jenny Smith, Pita Group, 860.293.0157 ext. 15; jenny@thepitagroup.com

Your Great Opportunity to explore the region’s diverse schools and programs
First of seven School Choice Fairs in the Greater Hartford region
to be held this Saturday at A.I. Prince Technical High School in Hartford

HARTFORD, Conn., November 17, 2010 -- Want to explore the many great opportunities for your child’s education within the Greater Hartford region? Bring the family to the first of seven Regional School Choice Fairs this Saturday, November 20 from 9 a.m. to noon at Prince Technical High School, 500 Brookfield Street in Hartford.

The school choice fairs will feature booths and information about the dozens of magnet schools as well as Open Choice options for Hartford and suburban students from preschool to grade 12.

Parents, grandparents, guardians and students can chat with helpful staff at the Greater Hartford Regional School Choice Office (RSCO) and its partners, the Capitol Region Education Council, Hartford Public Schools’ Host Magnet Program, Connecticut River Academy and the Connecticut technical high school program.

“Our goal is to improve access for students throughout the region who may apply to public schools outside their community or district,” said Jim Caradonio, RSCO bureau chief. “Through our seven open houses in November, December and January, families can learn about the many schools and specialized programs in our region that emphasize exciting educational themes such as arts and culture, environmental studies, science, technology, math, and engineering, global studies and social justice. The Greater Hartford Regional School Choice office provides opportunities for both urban and suburban students to get a first-hand glimpse of what these schools offer them and the process by which they can apply to schools that match their interests and skills.”

A complete list of RSCO’s school choice fairs follows below. For more information, call the Greater Hartford Regional School Choice Office at 860.757.6188 or visit their web site at ChoiceEducation.org <http://www.choiceeducation.org>

Saturday, November 20, 9 am - noon
Prince Technical High School
500 Brookfield Street, Hartford

Tuesday, November 30, 5:30 – 8 pm
Avon High School
510 W Avon Road, Avon Snow Date & Time: Wednesday, December 1, 5:30 – 8 pm

Saturday, December 11, 9:00 am - noon
Mary Hooker Environmental Magnet School 200 Sherbrooke Avenue, Hartford Snow Date & Time: Sunday, December 12, 1 – 4 pm
Tuesday, December 14, 5:30 – 8 pm
RHAM Middle School
25 RHAM Road, Hebron
Snow Date & Time: Wednesday, December 15, 5:30 – 8 pm

Wednesday, January 5, 5:30 – 8 pm
University of Hartford Magnet School
196 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford Snow Date & Time: Thursday, January 6, 5:30 – 8 pm
Wednesday, January 12, 5:30 – 8 pm
Granby High School, 315 Salmon Brook Street, Granby
Snow Date & Time: Thursday, January 13, 5:30 – 8 pm
Wednesday, January 19, 5:30 – 8 pm Cromwell High School, 34 Evergreen Road, Cromwell
Snow Date & Time: Thursday, January 20, 5:30 – 8 pm