two MORE biting the dust in west hartford center

one of them has been in the center since the 40s. i thought black and blue square was supposed to be bringing throngs of shoppers down to the ENTIRE center? every article i read about b&b square says it's hoppin' and doing well. i can't say one way or another. i hope it is but i'm still sorry it's there. i hate the IDEA of it even.

one more time too - to the town of west hartford, BLACK AND BLUE SQUARE (which you used TOWN FUNDS to finance) was supposed to bring our taxes down and allow us townfolk MORE MORE MORE. well, WTF HAPPENED? not only haven't our taxes gone DOWN DOWN DOWN but we're losing services left and right

hey, YOU voted for it, i didn't

Allen Collins Clothing Store Closes In West Hartford
By BILL LEUKHARDT |The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD — - The last sale at Allen Collins clothing store ended Friday and included deals on fixtures and furniture along with closing-sale prices on men's and women's business and casual clothes.

The iconic store at 8 Ellsworth Road, a source of quality clothes and service since the 1940s, closed its doors, done in by the recession and the prevalence of discount outlets that emphasize price, not assistance.

"Allen Collins has been a standard business in West Hartford where business men and women would go to buy suits. It's sad to see the store close," said interim Town Manager Ron Van Winkle, a town native. He walked across South Main Street on Thursday from town hall to wish owners Brian and Tina Rosso well.................

and japanalia is moving from farmington avenue west hartford center to:

JAPANALIA EIKO is moving from
West Hartford Center (May 30 is our last day) to 11 Whitney St. Hartford*, reopening June 2.

25% off SALE May 21-June 6

Phone till May 30, 860-523-7722
from June 2, 860-232-4677

* corner of Farmington Ave, formerly
LaMotta Fine Art, next to Japanalia on one!

talk about offshore

i saw the cover but i didn't actually read it yet. i absolutely WILL today - at brunch. i thought it was quite brilliant but i had NO idea the extent to which the the advocate went


hell, there was even an article about cake (written by someone offshore)! dang


Connecticut Alt-Papers Outsource Editorial Content to India
By Mark Fitzgerald
CHICAGO The Hartford (Conn.) Advocate and two of its New Mass. Media alternative weekly siblings outsourced all their editorial content to India for their issue that hits the streets Thursday. "It's been fascinating to me to see this go from a chuckle in an edit meeting to an entire issue," Group Managing Editor John Adamian said in a telephone interview. All the local news, arts and entertainment reviews, restaurant critiques in the Advocate papers in New Haven and Hartford plus the Fairfield County Weekly were written by Indian freelancers hired for the occasion using ads on Craigslist sites in Mumbai and Bangalore -- the two favorite spots for U.S. outsourcing to India. So Nilanjana Bhowmick writes about the Shad Bake the Essex (Conn.) Rotary Club holds, as well the Shad Derby Festival. Nidhi Sharma Kirti writes about a new exhibition of Pequot Native American art opening in Ledyard. Even the sex-advice column was outsourced to the land of the Kama Sutra. In one example, Vijayalaxmi Hegde writes about an upcoming concert by the California group Cake: "Perhaps, it is this versatility -- this ability to belong to many genres and not be constrained by one -- that is the key to Cake's longevity. It's been a decade and a half since the Motorcade of Generosity rolled by and close to two decades since 'Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle' happened. If this is not durability for an indie band, what is?"..........

OUTSOURCE THIS

We hired Indian freelance journalists to write the paper this week. Here’s why we did it.

Last year, a news Web site in Pasadena, Calif., made headlines when they started outsourcing city hall coverage to reporters in India. Using simple webcams and e-mail, the site, Pasadena Now, would put journalists half a world away inside city council chambers to observe and file stories on local government. The site fired its staff, and replaced them with Indians who’d crank out 1,000-word stories for the rock-bottom rate of $7.50.

The media world was abuzz: American news outfit outsources local reporting to the subcontinent. Could we all be next?

We wondered too about the limits of outsourcing local news, particularly alternative journalism. Covering city council meetings via webcam is one thing. Producing entire issues of a local news and arts weekly is quite another. What started as a joke — "I’ve got an idea. Let’s outsource an entire issue to India just to see if it can be done" — has culminated in what you see here.
.....................

oh hell let's have MORE cake

congratulations to plan b tavern

for winning golden local best burger award
we stopped in yesterday afternoon prior to seeing cake. had NO idea they were going to be celebrating with free burgers and the like. i was there early so i sat at the bar awhile with jon (one hell of a bartender. you can find him at plan b monday, tuesday, thursday and friday afternoons and the half door for saturday brunches, then sat outside (they put a tent up) when my friends joined me. had a little bit too much to drink (ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - but i wasn't driving) but all turned out well.

shawn and al, congrats!

cake was amazing

(my favorite cake song is mexico. they played it and i was thrilled).

phenomenal

their recorded music doesn't even do them justice. one MUST see them live and i'm so glad i did. great rapport with their audience. hell, THEY GAVE AWAY A TREE. yes. a REAL LIVE TREE (of course it wasn't full grown).

i don't do well in crowds but i held my own. i separated from my friends so i could stand up in back against a wall. even then i was claustrophobic BUT i didn't totally flip. i kept running into people i knew - that was cool too.

a lot of the webster theater audience were assholes BUT they sure did know ALL THE WORDS TO EVERY SONG and hell, THEY SANG ALONG AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS (me too a few times). as i said, they related to the audience and the audience sure related back to them. you could feel it in your soul and it made you feel warm and smiley inside.

come on now, cake endorses SOLID POTATO SALAD on their website:



stop by and check them out. great website, great songs, and seems like they sure are earth conscious as well. you go boyz!!! (and thanks for one wicked cool show) cake music

(shout out to julia, spiro, nate, allie, amy, eileen, brian, mike)

guess who's going to see cake tonight?

Cake Performs Webster Theater In Hartford
By DOUG WALLEN | Special to the Courant

You might not expect a band as iconoclastic as Cake to do a string of shows in the "Evening With" format, where there's no opening band and the headliner plays two long sets with an intermission. But then, consider how many songs the Sacramento band can choose from: five albums, a B-sides collection and the endless possibilities available to musicians who have no trouble covering Frank Sinatra, Black Sabbath, the Muppets and, most famously, Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive."

"We'd had a lot of people complaining that our sets were too short," says Cake leader John McCrea, "and that we didn't play this song or that song. I ignored those complaints over the years, thinking maybe less is more. But I agreed to play two sets [in one night], just as an experiment. It's worked pretty well and people are still paying attention until the very end, it seems."................

pic:

Cake performs at the Webster Theater in Hartford on May 28. (TIM JACKSON / July 18, 2004)

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: sonia sotomayer

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: sonia sotomayer

my point EXACTLY

the other day i posted this about a panel in ireland, the catholic church and the abuse of children. the following courant article was in today's paper

and oh, by the way, not for one second do i believe anything has changed in the catholic church

Connecticut Supreme Court: Unseal Priest Abuse Documents
By DAVE ALTIMARI |The Hartford Courant
For more than 15 years, some of the 23 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse claims against at least seven priests from the Bridgeport diocese have remained sealed, but on Friday for the second time the state Supreme Court ruled the public should have access to nearly all of the 12,675 pages.

As church officials criticized the court's decision and vowed to review all options to keep the files secret, victims' advocates hailed the ruling and questioned whether the documents will have a lasting negative impact on recently retired Cardinal Edward Egan, who ran the Bridgeport diocese as a bishop when many of the priest abuses were alleged to have occurred.

"Sadly, the history of this case has been about access by the secular media to internal church documents of cases more than 30 years ago to suggest, unfairly, that nothing has changed," the diocese's statement said.

"From the anti-church rhetoric of the first trial judge who proceeded to 'invent' an entirely new procedure to accommodate the press, to the lack of an impartial trial judge to reconsider the case on remand from the Connecticut Supreme Court, the history of this case raises issues that should be of concern to all. We are, therefore, currently reviewing our options in response to this decision."...............

some sad west hartford news

a little gem.

by the way, i like park road a kazillion times MORE than the center (where i refuse to go unless it's an emergency. now that sit-n-knit has moved to bloomfield, there is rarely a reason to go.

park road has TONS of restaurants (one of my favorites is india oven but there really ARE a ton (i can't forget plan b either).

lane and lenge one of THE best florists out there moved to park road a few months back. lovely new store. check it out!

West Hartford's Park Road Playhouse Closing Sunday
by HILDA MUÑOZ
WEST HARTFORD - The Park Road Playhouse, a nonprofit theater company, will close Sunday, more than eight years after it opened.

"I put my arms out to people who worked at the theater and all the audiences because it was a wonderful ride," said Howie Hirsch, founder and artistic director.

"Bedroom Farce" will be the 50th and final play. Hirsch, who blames the suffering economy for the closure, said he will be on the lookout for a more affordable space.

Hirsch and his wife, Linda, founded the playhouse in 2001. In more prosperous years, they specialized in solid, serious productions like "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf." Lately, they've been putting on a lot of comedies.......

a very nice story was in the courant yesterday

on the coffee trade in avon. as i've mentioned before, i worked in avon for a kazillion years. i've had MANY a cup o' steamin' joe at the coffee trade. i loved it there. it's not just a coffee shop you know, it's got STUFF. lots of STUFF. antiques type of stuff. it's in an old house (it appears to be an old house, but who knows????) and there are three separate sitting rooms. there are antiques in all of the rooms. it really is quite charming PLUS THEY HAVE DAMN FINE COFFEE. oh, if you're a tea drinker (and i've been known to partake now and again) they have quite a variety to choose from. they also make up gift baskets; coffees, teas, accouterments, biscotti, etc. if you're in the hood, DO stop in. it's right on route 44




Dick Portfolio Goes From Corporate Cog To Avon's Coffee King, And Never Looks Back
By SUSAN CAMPBELL

In these uncertain economic times, people holding on in the corporate world can take heart: If you're dropping by The Coffee Trade, prepare to be schooled.

The Avon coffee shop, which has been operating for about 20 years, has been owned by Dick and Joan Portfolio for the past 15. Over the years, Dick Portfolio has learned a few things.

He has learned that a person's choice for favorite coffee is as individual as a fingerprint.

He has learned more than one man should know about coffee. That's roasting, grinding brewing, and creating special coffees like his Obama blend, a mix of Hawaiian and Kenyan beans............

Dick Portfolio, the owner of The Coffee Trade in Avon, has created a blend of coffee named after President Barack Obama. He roasts the coffee in his Avon shop in which he has a roaster positioned in the retail sales room floor. (RICHARD MESSINA / HARTFORD COURANT / April 28, 2009)

the succulents wintered well

i was wondering what was going on

police car after police car came tearing down asylum. now we know (although it sounds like the culprit was NOT caught)

Police Investigate West Hartford Robbery
By DAVID OWENS |The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD - Police are on the scene of a suspected residential robbery on Whetten Road.

The call came in about 4:25 p.m., and shortly thereafter police locked down a child care center on Steele Road and urged officials at nearby St. Joseph's College to take precautions.

Police Chief James Strillacci said the initial call to police reported someone running between yards on Whetten Road bleeding and complaining about being robbed at a nearby house at gunpoint. The person, however, kept running and responding officers did not find him........

good BUT it should have been longer

just on principal

a couple of years ago i met up with a group of friends at the elbow room. my first time there. i'm NOT a fan of the see and be seen scene in west hartford center. never have been in the max there or grants either. have been in briccos (yeah i know same owners as grants). you CANNOT beat the food. it's most excellent. i rather love murasaki as well.

anyway, my friend whose birthday it was chose the elbow room so i went. i ordered the portobello sandwich (don't know if it's still there but it was when i went). the server told me, SORRY BUT THAT'S JUST FOR LUNCH (it was about 4:00 pm when we went). i asked if there was bread and portobellos in the kitchen. yes there was, but i STILL COULDN'T HAVE MY SANDWICH. i was pissed. i ordered a drink. wished my friend a happy birthday and left, NEVER to return. so hell yeah i'm glad

Liquor License Suspended For One Day At West Hartford Center's The Elbow Room

WEST HARTFORD — - The state Liquor Control Commission has suspended the liquor permit of a popular restaurant and bar in West Hartford Center for one day, saying it sold alcohol to a minor.

The Elbow Room at 986 Farmington Avenue paid a fine of $3,000 for the violation, the commission stated in a press release today. The date of the suspension is May 26.........

i love leonard cohen

and have for as long as i can remember. his songs have great meaning to me. it was a wonderful time in my life when i first heard them. i was young, i was in love (yeah, i was BOTH of those things) and i was carefree

leonard, i love you, but i'm NOT spending $252.00 to see you.


Leonard Cohen Brings His Spiritual, Deeply Felt Songs To Waterbury Thursday

May 14 at Palace Theater

By ERIC R. DANTON |The Hartford Courant
Some people write songs with visions of chart success and super-stardom. Leonard Cohen writes songs because he feels them.

The 74-year-old Canadian singer and songwriter has been the subject of renewed interest in the past few years, thanks to a loving tribute concert filmed for the 2006 DVD and soundtrack album "I'm Your Man," his induction last year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the March release of a new concert recording, "Live in London," which coincides with his first North American tour in 15 years.

Although his fans are delighted with the latter development, it's not quite a triumphant return for Cohen. He's on the road largely because he had run out of money. In 2005, he sued a former manager for mismanaging his finances to the tune of $5 million, leaving him with a scant $150,000 in savings for a lifetime's work. (Cohen won a $9 million judgment in 2006 but so far has been unable to collect.)

"I was devastated," Cohen told the Canadian magazine Maclean's in 2005. "You know, God gave me a strong inner core, so I wasn't shattered. But I was deeply concerned."..........

LEONARD COHEN performs May 14 at the Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $252.25, $152.25, $91.75 and $71.75. Information: 203-755-4700 or www.palacetheaterct.org.

my knitting fairy tattoo was done

a few weeks ago. i just didn't post the pictures. well HERE they are! i am very happy with her

artist: pat macdonald at liberty tattoo in berlin (ct that is)

garden

may 13 2009

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: i just saw star trek

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: i just saw star trek

update on the alleged murderer of Johanna Justin-Jinich

this man (allegedly. all of this is allegedly although we know, don't we?) was stalking her for years. this man had threatened her life. this man wrote evil things in his journal (it is no crime to write evil things in one's journal. it just goes to cause is why i'm saying it). a vibrant, innocent young woman's life was taken. there is NO allegedly about that

Suspect In Wesleyan Slaying Turns Himself In

By DAVE ALTIMARI, HILDA MUÑOZ And DAVID OWENS |The Hartford Courant

MIDDLETOWN - The massive hunt for the gunman accused of killing a Wesleyan University junior is over.

Stephen Morgan, wanted by Middletown police in the killing Wednesday of 21-year-old Johanna Justin-Jinich, was arrested shortly after 9 Thursday night after surrendering to police in Meriden.

Morgan, the subject of a nationwide manhunt, walked into the Cumberland Farms store on Old Colony Road in Meriden about 9 p.m. and bought a Smoothie. He told the clerk, Sonia Rodriguez, that he needed to call police and she gave him a phone.

Morgan had trouble dialing, so she dialed Meriden police for him and handed him the phone. After talking briefly on the phone, he walked outside and was grabbed within minutes by police officers........

Man charged in student's slaying
Manhunt ends with arrest in slaying of university student

By John Christoffersen
and Katie Nelson
...................

When police confiscated Morgan's car they found a journal in which he spelled out a plan to rape and kill Justin-Jinich before going on a campus shooting spree, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is under investigation.

Wesleyan officials said that police told them that Morgan targeted Wesleyan students and Jews in his journals. Justin-Jinich, of Timnath, Colo., came from a Jewish family, and her grandmother was a Holocaust survivor................

i thought it was very important to link to the following: ms justin-jinich was MORE than just a student working at a bookstore. most articles about her only mentioned that. jezebel did a tiny bit of digging and found out a bit more

Women's Rights Advocate Murdered At Wesleyan

By Margaret,

.........

Friends described Justin-Jinich as witty, smart, and popular and told the Courant that her passions included writing, her work in public health, and women's issues. She had volunteered at various Planned Parenthood offices in Colorado and Connecticut and had a summer internship lined up on Capitol Hill with a women's organization.

Justin-Jinich's friend Leah Lucid, who has known her since freshmen year and was planning to room with her next year, said she had been up past midnight talking in her dorm room the night before. "She's a really loyal friend; a really loving, passionate person about life and about her friends and family," Lucid said. "She was the most giving and loving person I have ever known. I'll remember her loyalty and her warm smile whenever I saw her and her very funny voices she would make with me."................

previous posting and another posting

the connecticut post also has an article about

the shooting death of Johanna Justin-Jinish. as i said, what a tragedy. what a horror.

even though there is a surveillance photo of stephen morgan with a gun, we have to say 'alleged' when we call him (an alleged) murderer.

the 'alleged' murderer is still on the loose as of 2:16 am. there is nothing in the local media to suggest otherwise

to the family and friends of ms justin-jinish, i am so sorry for your loss

Wesleyan student fatally shot at bookstore
Junior shot in bookstore by man dressed in disguise
By Rob Varnon
STAFF WRITER

MIDDLETOWN -- A manhunt was under way Wednesday after a Wesleyan University junior was fatally shot inside the university's off-campus bookstore, sending shock waves through this central Connecticut college community as authorities warned residents and students to stay inside.

Johanna Justin-Jinich, 21 of Timnath, Colo., was working behind the cash register at the Black and Red Cafe at 45 Broad St. near the Wesleyan campus when a man wearing a disguise came in and shot her several times.

"We're requesting people to be vigilant," Middletown police Lt. Margaret Liseo said during a news conference. "The suspect is believed to be armed and dangerous."

Police late Wednesday identified the suspect, saying they're looking for 29-year-old Stephen Morgan. It's unclear where he lives. A Wesleyan spokesman says he has no known connection to the university.

Police wearing camouflage and armed with assault rifles swarmed area streets with dogs as they searched for the gunman while Wesleyan officials urged students and staff to remain indoors.

The shooting comes as a national debate rages over the issue of guns on campus, which was underscored by a 2007 rampage at Virginia Tech University that left 32 students and faculty members dead. Against this backdrop of heightened security, Wesleyan officials responded quickly to the incident.......

freedom states alliance working to end gun violence in america

i was at work yesterday when the news first came out

i read a quick news brief or two online. i could have SWORN the briefs said the person shot was only wounded AND she said she did not know her attacker.

now, we find out she has died. how horrible. how beyond horrible. to the friends, family and student community who knew Johanna Justin-Jinich, my most heartfelt sympathy to you. my thoughts and prayers are with you
Police Identify Man Sought In Wesleyan Slaying
The Hartford Courant

MIDDLETOWN - Middletown police said Wednesday night they want to talk to 29-year-old Stephen Morgan, the man they say they believe shot and killed a 22-year-old Wesleyan University junior at a neighborhood cafe Wednesday afternoon.

Morgan, who police said has no certain address, is suspected of fatally shooting Johanna Justin-Jinich, of Timnath, Colo., at the Red and Black Café inside Broad Street Books. Police say Morgan was captured by a surveillance camera with a gun in his right hand inside the bookstore Wednesday afternoon.

Morgan fled on foot after the shooting and remains at large, police said.

They are investigating whether Justin-Jinich and Morgan knew each other.
Wesleyan officials identified Justin-Jinich as the victim in an email to the campus about 6:15 p.m...........

afternoon.

• Photo of Johanna Justin-Jinich
• Security Update: Voice Message Alert Sent To Wesleyan Students
• Fatal Shooting Near Wesleyan

picture: Police hold a surveillance camera photo of Stephen Morgan, 29, the man they say they believe shot and killed Wesleyan student Johanna Justin-Jinich on Wednesday. Police said Morgan has no certain address. (GEORGE RUHE / AP / May 6, 2009)


freedom states alliance, working to reduce gun violence in america