Social Nitpicking...

The number of times I have posted here has dropped off drastically. Methinks it might have to do with playing on Facebook but boredom has set in with that, too...so...here I am Moe. This blog shout off the counter at 1600, so I am left with the feeling that I am preaching to the already converted: myself. Now that Facebook has been piled on by older people, I have found that a lot of it marks the departure of my friends into geezerdom, premature or not. There are terrific blogs getting posted, side splitting videos but the majority of it seems to be the "I am cooking dinner" type of post. No problem with that, it is just that my interests lie elsewhere..I work with professors that feel themselves accomplished because their books have sold 500 copies. Really. This, again, is fine, but no cause for entitlement. Pop culture is so fragmented that nobody succeeds anymore on a grand scale. If the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom, the castle has become very, very tiny.

The Rox, RIP

The Boston Globe is reporting the financial troubles of the Brockton Rox, the indie league team in the "City of Champions," Brockton, MA. Minor League teams are not a stable commodity and we local New Englanders are spoiled by the bedrock teams like the Portland Sea Dogs and the Pawtucket Red Sox. While a pleasant, if bland place to watch a b'ball game, I am sure that when the dollar began wilting, the allure of buying a hot dog with a ten dollar bill wrapped around it became less of a draw. I was quite surprised to see a booth to buy lottery tickets at the park. A friend who grew up in Brockton told me the best advice when you are there is not to look anyone in the eyes, just charming for a photographer....The departure of "Singing Ed Nottle, the manager and storied vocalist must have had an impact as well.

Paradox

In some sort of paradox, "Baseball Faces," the exhibit at Panopticon Gallery that bears my name ends Wednesday, the Ninth of September, the same day as the Beatles catalogue that has been remastered, is being released on CD. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. A pal gave me some studio speakers that I don't even use because they are so powerful. I intend to hook them up and blare "Taxman" and a few others through them....

Noblesse Oblige

The Kennedys have been part of my life since I was nine. My sense of noblesse oblige was formed from a caring grandfather, a child's meager understanding of the New Deal and the actions of the Kennedy family. Jack's election, a fellow Irish Catholic from a shared hometown of Brookline, MA at my age of nine and his murder at my age of eleven, followed by Teddy's term in the Senate, Bobby's presidential run and subsequent murder, had a lot of bearing on what I was to adopt as my own political views. No matter what shenanigans Teddy pulled in his life, I was able to ignore them because he was the only chance America had of adopting a national health care possibly. The Clinton's failed terribly at making it a reality, Obama is skirting failure with the same.the same. Had Teddy been elected president, he would have four or possibly eight years to establish his goals. By having stayed as a Senator, he had so many more years to work his programs through to completion. His death is affecting me far more than I thought. There have been only nine years of my life when I have not been represented by a Kennedy. The booming voice...the loud laughter, the dominating presence; yeah, I have those too and guess where they came from...

Stuck in the Middle

Hot, humid....the day after a horrible beating at the hands of the Yankees...and I am off to my grandstand seats of twenty three years. After the Sox finally won the whole damn thing, my interest in them has waned precipitously. I was there...and now there is no there....there...Twice in my life have I had Sox press passes. Once in 1996, when a woman made a mistake and granted me one for ten games (this explains young Jeter) and once for the 2004 season. Who knew at lunch with Charles Steinburg in March of 2004, I would have all season access to Fenway. I still keep the cramped Section 24 grandstand seats that I have had so long, well, because..there are people out there that the Sox matter to and I supply them when I can.

And the days dwindle down..

Yup, throwing in the towel? I am. How can you expect to compete with a team that spent $420 million on three players and we counter with Smoltz and Penny.....Some days, you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you. It almost seems that the knew Yankee Stadium was the last nail in my coffin of ignoring the majors. The qualities of the minor league parks are being replaced with mini-HOK spots. The last major release of CDs (the remastered Beatles) are the death knell for that recording medium. My film cameras are falling apart...Bitter? No, just amused....

The Sox Offense

Young Mister Porter was as bored as the rest of us with the invisible Sox Offense.

Daredevil 2

Eric Porter hit his first Sox game last Thursday. The Bud Pavillion was dripping with celebs that day and a congenial Ben Afleck posed with Eric and his mom. It struck us as odd tht Afleck commented to Amy that Eric was entirely too young to be brought to a baseball game. I guess you can add child psychologist to his many titles. I eagerly look forward to "Daredevil 2" which will probably will make even less at the box office than our seats cost.

Baseball Faces Opening Night!

Amy Porter joins Bill Chapman at the opening for "Baseball Faces" at the Panopticon Gallery in Boston. To say I was flattered by the size of the crowd would be an understatement. Everybody from a kindergarten chum to some of my most recent friends came to have a grog, shout "HAWG" and see some of the great photographs of Ernest Withers and Jose Luis Villegas. I had such fun, maybe I will have a closing as well.....

Baseball Faces, Redux...

More shameless selfpromotion from your old pal, Baseball Bill! Panopticon, Thursday night. 5-7:30. Three baseball photographers. Latin America, the Negro Leagues and the North American Minors all shot by three (or at least two) noted and well published photographers. Come by and tell me two things that "BBB" stand for and win a prize! Have a grog, kiss a frog....jump up and down and then yell, "HAWG!"

Eric and NOMIE!

In honor of the return of Nomar Garciaparra to Boston tonight, I post this picture of Eric Porter wearing a t-shirt that I shot the photo for in 1996. I was told it is an oddity because Nomar never smiles for photographs! This is in quite a contrast to Eric, who, for the most part, finds the world very amusing.

Baseball Faces

The Panopticon Gallery will present an exhibit entitles "Baseball Faces" with photographs by Jose Luis Villegas, Ernest Withers and your not so humble servant from July 1st,2009 until September 8th, 2009. Images from the Boston Public Library Archives will also be on display. There will be an opening on July 16th from 5PM until 7PM. Each photographer will display 14-20 images each. Putting the three of us together is an idea that I have had for many years and was finally given the chance to pull it off.Hope to see you there!

The Old Man

Birmingham is called "The Magic City." I have been sitting at Rickwood Field for the better parts of two days with the annual "Classic" and my reason to be here occupying tomorrow. Squint your eyes and a cavelcade of baseball history does a conga like through your field of vision.

The Old Girl..

Another trip to Rickwood. Old friends, old South......and a soggy day before the game. Sitting around in a motel, waiting for a ride to the annual and quite traditional lunch with David Brewer at the Rib-It-Up......Today, at least right now, it is pouring. Tomorrow, we can only hope for sun and enough of a break in the weather to let the old field drain a bit.

It's one o'clock somewhere in the world....

I just went to check to see if which teams were playing a one o'clock game today. Zippo. Zilch. The first MLB game on a Spring afternoon is at 3:40 - Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay. Slip sliding away are the days when baseball was the thing to do on a weekend afternoon. Many baseball executives and TV people are misreading the market. Anyone enjoy the rain delay of the Sox game the other night so that ESPN could get their game in?