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JoeB

I Am A Scientist.

Neighborhood
Allston
Where I'm From
Boston
Occupation
Music Writer, Copyright Research Assistant

About Me

I live in Boston and work in my bedroom. It's hard for me to fill things like this out. I am extremely excited for summer.

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Serious About Fun: Barbecuing in Boston

By JoeB
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Updated 08/15/2009
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(3)

Categories:

Entertainment; Eat & Drink

In Boston, the extremity of the seasons means taking advantage of what precious few beautiful days we are allotted. I'm sure just about anyone will agree that one of the best ways to do so is by throwing a barbecue. Day drinking, excellent home-cooked food, friends, night drinking: What is not to love? In this guide I've included some of my tried-and-true grilling favorites, one item I've never tried but assume I'd like and some drink ideas to make playing with fire that much more fun.

A Free Guide to Free Culture

By JoeB
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Updated 08/15/2009
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(2)

Categories:

Geek; Pop Culture

The phrase "free culture" has been getting bounced around a lot lately, especially around the internet (where we are right now). It's a pretty confusing issue, but it's also pretty important if you're at all interesting in things like "creating art" and "not being sued." This is a guide that highlights several basic organizations and issues revolving around free culture. It's only a starting point, but if you're interested it should be easy enough to take it from here.

Curses! The Cool and the Coincidental

By JoeB
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Updated 10/16/2008
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(4)

Categories:

Humor; Misc.

Nobody likes being on the receiving end of a curse. Unfortunately, religious and psychospiritual doctrines dictate that curses are fun and interesting and therefore must be brought into existence both as a form of punishment and as a diversion from monotonous field labor. Field labor has been outmoded in much of western civilization, but we've hung on to some of the most illustrious curses in addition to coming up with some of our own. Observe.

The Best Possible End of the World Scenarios

By JoeB
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Updated 09/03/2008
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(6)

Categories:

Humor; Geek

The World's gotta end someday, right? Even if we get off earth and reach higher planes of consciousness or whatever the ostensible goals of humanity are, time, nature and science will have their way and at some point the human race as we know it will be eradicated. It's scary to think about, but all the most plausible theories for bringing this about aren't going to happen for quite awhile, so join me in checking out the top of the heap.

People Who Are Great at Being Rich

Started by JoeB
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Updated 08/28/2008
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(0)

Categories:

Humor; Pop Culture

All-too-often we peasants find ourselves thinking, "Man, if I were rich I'd pull some stupid crap." Unfortunately for us, becoming rich often means walking a specific kind of straight-and-narrow that precludes the kind of wacky behavior that would be the best part of being rich in the first place. An amazing category of people have managed to sidestep that. Let's hear some examples of rich people who are actually living the dream.

"They Got Comics On That Internet Now?" "Ohhh yeah."

By JoeB
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Updated 08/27/2008
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(2)

Categories:

Geek; Literature & Arts

I like webcomics one whole hell of a lot. Besides being, as Achewood creator Chris Onstad has put it, "a momentary diversion on the road to the grave," webcomic artists are at the front of a sea change in how working artists make their livings. As a working fake-artist who has, more or less, no living, I can't help but find that pretty cool.

The Greatest Fictional Rock Bands of All Time

By JoeB
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Updated 08/27/2008
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(4)

Categories:

Literature & Arts; Humor

Everyone's got a favorite. Be they a one-off in some obscure episode of a television show, or the terrible band of a recurring character, fictional rock bands are a pop culture mainstay. Here are a handful that I think are pretty great. If there are any you think I missed, let me know.

The Best Themed Blogs

By JoeB
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Updated 08/27/2008
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(2)

Category:

Geek

In case this is the first website you've checked in a few years or you haven't noticed the slow death of print media, I should point out that there are lots and lots of blogs. Lately, I've become partial to focused blogs that have ridiculous, specific themes. These are some of my favorites. To the more industrious among you: It seems starting a blog like this is a one-way ticket to a book deal. Take note.

Something Something With the Radio On: The Best Live Music Venues in Boston

By JoeB
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Updated 08/27/2008
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(1)

Categories:

Entertainment; Literature & Arts

In a lot of places, I often see smaller (read: not arena-sized) music venues recommended really weakly as sort of a “kooky, low-budget night on the town” or “where hipsters hang out and drink PBR’s to the tunes of next month’s superstars.” To me, it’s simply where my time and money are better spent. The people who hang out at these places, at least in Boston, are way more likely to be uniformly annoying college students or (maybe overly) friendly townies than someone’s invisible stereotype...

Something About Screaming: Ice Cream in Boston

By JoeB
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Updated 08/27/2008
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(0)

Categories:

Entertainment; Eat & Drink

Everyone likes ice cream. It's summer. Aside from vegans and the lactose intolerant, I can't imagine anyone turning down some awesome ice cream. This guide runs down some places Bostonians might want to snag some of this culinary gold in addition to collecting some of my favorite ice cream-related detritus.

Some New Boston Bands I've Gone Ahead and Liked

By JoeB
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Updated 08/27/2008
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(1)

Categories:

Entertainment; Literature & Arts

There are lots of bands in Boston. Some of them are good. Many are not. Here are just a few bands that I think fall in the former category. This is by no means an exhaustive list, just the ones that came to mind first and/or the ones I find easiest to write about.

Schadenfreude: The Best Places in Boston to See a Fistfight

By JoeB
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Updated 08/27/2008
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(3)

Categories:

Entertainment; Adventure & Sports

A skinny, relatively wimpy friend of mine was recently hassled by a group of toughs in southern California. Grasping at straws, he explained to them that he was from Boston and had learned how to fight there and that they had better get out of his way. The toughs immediately acted impressed and backed off. However earned the reputation might be, Boston is apparently infamous for both the frequency and quality of its fistfights. Judge for yourself, if you'd like, using the tips in this guide.

Not a Boring Hellhole Ruined By Blue Laws and High Rent After All: Boston Odds and Ends

By JoeB
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Updated 08/27/2008
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(3)

Categories:

Humor; Entertainment

Alright, fine, the title was facetious. Still, though, it seems pretty self-evident that Boston's undergone a pretty serious facelift within the past couple of decades. Crime has dropped and Boston is regularly mentioned among the safest, nicest cities in America. Somewhere along the line, though, it seems like it's lost a lot of the street-level mystique that, to me, makes a city really great. Here are a handful of facts and other minutia that just might fool you into thinking Boston has...

Grown Men With Ponytails: Your Guide to Boston Music Shops

By JoeB
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Updated 08/27/2008
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(4)

Category:

Entertainment

Chances are, if you play guitar or anything else you’re going to have to end up at a music store at some point. Going into a music store is one of the most unequivocally unpleasant consumer experiences I can think of, perhaps rivaled only by buying a coffin. These commission-driven dens of deceit are often a necessary evil, so as someone who has ventured into the belly of the beast more often than most, I offer a guide to some of Boston’s notables.

Buyin' Some Vinyl in Boston

By JoeB
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Updated 08/27/2008
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(3)

Categories:

Literature & Arts; Entertainment

This is a guide for Boston residents who, for some reason, insist on buying physical music, particularly in vinyl form. The number of brick-and-mortar record stores is dwindling pretty quickly in these parts (and everywhere else, I guess), but the ones that are still around are all pretty great. This is by no means an exhaustive list (though I think it's actually pretty close), just a list of my favorites. RIP Mojo, Mars, Skippy White's, Second Coming, Re:Generation's Record Store, etc.

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