February, 2011:

Civic Sense Happy Hour Friday: Let’s Talk Unions

Friday is the big day where we let our inner politics and policy nerds out.

Join ONEin3 and MassINC for Civic Sense Happy Hour this Friday night for some discussion, some hanging out and some cocktails.

As promised, we’ve found a topic we think will be juicy: What is the role of unions in 21st Century America?

In light of the events in Wisconsin this past week, we were reflecting on unions in general, public sector unions in particular and also on recent union related activity here in Massachusetts.

So, we picked State of the Unions by James Surowiecki from the January 17th issue of The New Yorker as our discussion piece.

It might be helpful to read up on some more background about public sector unions in Massachusetts and beyond as well.

Some other good places to start:

Of course, you don’t have to read ANY of these articles. You can come just to hang out. That’s cool too!

Details:

Date: Friday, March 4th

Time: 6:00-9:00pm

Location: Emmet’s, 6 Beacon Street, Beacon Hill

RSVP: Facebook or Eventbrite

See you there!

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Trivia + Friends = Fun

Hello ONEin3ers!

My name is Amy and I’ll be writing here at ONEin3Boston.com.

A little while back, Devin wrote a piece on the plentiful recreational sports options in Boston.

Well, sports aren’t the only thing out there people.

Wondering what you’re ever going to do with all of the dates and names you memorized in high school history? Hoping at some point your knowledge of popular 80’s cartoon characters will pay off? Do have an exceptional working knowledge of all things sports that feels less exceptional now that every one of your peers has a Smartphone?

Don’t worry. There’s a way you can use all of this knowledge and have fun: trivia. Playing trivia is a great way to connect with friends, unwind after the workday, and have fun remembering things you never thought you knew.

TRIVIA


Maybe it’s because Boston is an intellectual powerhouse, but you can easily find trivia every night from Sunday - Thursday in virtually every neighborhood in Boston.  Here are some places where you can start playing trivia this week:

Sunday: 21st Amendment, Costello’s, The Mission
Monday: Ducali PizzaSidebar, Sunset Cantina
Tuesday: Club Cafe, The Living RoomWhiskey’s Steakhouse
Wednesday: Brighton Beer GardenRed Hat , Stadium
Thursday: Coogans, Seapoint, White Horse Tavern

(Admittedly, on Friday and Saturday pickings are slim, but you could always get a group together to play Trivial Pursuit.)

FRIENDS

Now that you know where you can find trivia nights in Boston, you’re going to want to get some friends together to be on your team. Here are some tips for team building, whether you’re new to trivia, or a seasoned player trying to step up your game.

Assemble a crack team of savants. Or if you don’t know a crack team, at least assemble a team of people you like having beers with. Think about team breadth as well as depth. It’s a great way to bring your Classics buff friend together with your friend who never misses an issue of US Weekly.

Make sure your team’s got some heart. The trivia scoring system is complex, slightly confusing, and favors people who stick it out to the end. I’ve seen teams with a commanding leads lose in the final round, mid-competition drop outs, and heartbreaking last-minute disqualifications. So be sure to stay optimistic! If you see a member of your team losing interest or worse, losing faith, be prepared to entice them with promises of more beer, nachos, or good old-fashioned encouragement.

Create an awesome team name.
My favorite team name I’ve had is “Dr. Eddie House”, which was of course even cooler back when Eddie was still on the Celtics. Having an awesome name is key, since the person running trivia will have to say it a few times during the night… like during score updates, or when they announce the winner…which will be you since you’ve assembled the best team with the most heart.

FUN

Remember, while some bars will give the winners cash and prizes, trivia is all about the glory. Whether you’re playing trivia with old friends, coworkers, or a rag tag group of people you just met at the bar, it will be hard not to have some fun with it.

What’s your favorite trivia spot in Boston? Do you have any trivia tips? Leave us a comment and let us know!

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A Bittersweet Recap: Grand Plans and E-Death

Faithful readers, short weeks are always just a little odd. The mind struggles to focus, the body forgets what day it is, the soul wants that 3 day weekend back.

This was no exception. The swings of emotion were massive, my dear friends. MASSIVE.

The Ups:

The Downs:

The In-Betweens

Tweet of the Week:

  • @HeyRatty: The Leather District: “It’s Not What You Think” #BosHoodSlogans

Comment of the Week:

  • From Jenny: Oh I don’t know. The bit about @fakedevincole being admitted to Harvard when he was 8 made me laugh. Out loud, even.

SHE WAS RIGHT. It was funny. So much regret.

That is the week that was. See you next week!

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We Can Do Better: Boston’s #FakeTwitter Accounts Are WEEEAAAK!!!!

For a while now, clever people nationwide have been creating fake twitter accounts for famous people or companies.

Satire, people, satire at its 140 character finest.

@BPGlobalPR skewered the hell out of British Petroleum when they unleashed sweet sweet crude all over the Gulf of Mexico, and then they skewered the hell out of everyone else involved in the mess. Truly awesome.

@MayorEmmanuel (may he @restinpeace) came on the %#$&# scene and swore til he was blue in the face all the way through the Chicago Mayor’s Race. Unfortunately, he seems to have died a strangely peaceful death that ended most appropriately.

Well, I’m here to tell you that we have impostors in Boston too.

I’m also here to tell you that they’re weak sauce!

#FakeTwitter accounts are supposed to be hilarious. So far, I haven’t seen much hilarity.

@TheAndrewPhelps has his moments. Andy’s probably the funniest one out there. Maybe because he’s been around long enough to find his voice.

@ThePetroMachine appeared yesterday and, so far just not that awesome.

@The66Bus is excellent (Exhibit A), but it’s a bus, not a human.

And finally, @FakeDevinCole.

As @GarrettQuinn (also the gentleman who noticed the lack of #FakeTwitter hilarity in town) put it, “Why would someone make a Fake Devin Cole page? You’re an obscure public figure. It’s not like it’s a big enough joke. Like Fake Tom Menino would be funny because people would get it.”

Exactly.

So listen @FakeDevinCole, whoever you are, if you want to be my alter ego, I’m gonna need for you to step up your game a bit.

So far, your funniest tweet was simply “#boston“. Also, I saw you got RTd by none other than @BostonUpdate. Not terrible, but I believe you (I?) have more in you (me?).

YOU CAN DO BETTER! WE CAN ALL DO BETTER!

So, ONEin3ers, I officially declare Feb/March #FakeTwitter month in Boston!

Who should have #FakeTwitter accounts made for them? What should they say?

And last, did I miss anything amazing out there?

Hit us in the comments or, better yet, on Twittah at @ONEin3. And use the hashtag #FakeTwitter!

LATE UPDATE: @FakeDevinCole appears to be no more! Tragic and sad. At least he went out in style with the following:

@FakeDevinCole: Apparently, we are not funny enough for @devincole and @GarrettQuinn. Guess it’s time to pack it up and go home. See you at The Crossroads.

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