Saratoga 2010

Well I'm back from the big horse races in Saratoga, New York where I went this weekend with Jordan Williams and photographer Jeff Ziff. There were real horses.

And some fake horses.

But no winning horses, which can sorta piss you off.

Meanwhile, sleepy ol' Amherst came roaring back to life over the weekend with the infusion of over 20,000 students from UMass, Amherst College and Hampshire College. Here the UMass Quidditch team rallies the Potter fans this afternoon.

The opening of a new store called Ode in downtown Northampton marks the first time I can recall in years that this block has had every storefront filled.

Say what you will about the bad economy, Northampton is hopping! In fact, if you're looking for work, the Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles (originally created in Northampton) are hiring, provided you know which Smith College sewer to knock on. 

Speaking of the Ninja Turtles, here's a song about them being sung on Main Street in downtown Hamp. The words are hard to make out but it's fun to watch the people walk by. 

Saratoga 2009 pt 2

More From the Races

 



Okay, I got the last of the pics from Jeff Ziff and combined with some of my own photos here's the rest of the photographic record of my trip Saturday to the races at Saratoga.

The race track can be a confusing place.

The better to see the way. 

Was this horse named after me?

Fabulous hats.

A view of the track.



Waiting for the race to begin. 

Of course there is that famous trumpet blast before each race. I thought it might be recorded, but after the race, when we went into downtown Saratoga, I found out that an actual person plays it and he is a celebrity of sorts. His name is Sam (never got his last name) and he played a little on the street and signed autographs for the racing fanatics. 

Believe it or not, to get his autograph and that of some of the jockys costs ten bucks! Yet there was a line of fans waiting to pay. Later in an art gallery I saw that Sam was even included in one of the paintings.

All over downtown bands were playing outside on one of the last perfect summer nights. The music ranged from country....

To psychedelia....

This sign in a bar window reminded me of Springfield's long vanished Blue Moon Cafe, where my grandfather had been a notorious character before I was born.

 



A coffeeshop for superheroes. 

A majestic lion on the steps of Saratoga City Hall. 

 

Bo Goes National

 



Despite some national TV appearances, Massachusetts' favorite comedian Bo Burnham has been pretty much stuck in the New England comedy circuit. Now he's doing a national college tour which if nothing else promises to make him a rich young man. Bo stops by UMass this Saturday on the 12th. 

 

They're Back!

Speaking of UMass, sleepy ole Amherst has come roaring to life in the past several days as the students have returned to UMass and the other north Valley colleges. All the merchants have their welcome signs out, such as the Amherst Big Y.

However, not everyone is happy, such as the American Legion Post.

On campus today iconic posters meant for dorm walls were for sale.

I was a member of the Science Fiction Society when I was at UMass.

Recruitment has already started for this semester's zombies vs. humans war.

It's nice to know that after all these years I still have friends in high places. 

Seen at Not Bread Alone.

 

Saratoga 2009

A Day at the Races

 



On Saturday I went to Saratoga, New York to see the historic victory of the female horse Rachel Alexandra over her all male competition. How did I manage to go to one of the most expensive racing events in the country? Well, my friend Jordan Williams was in town, visiting from Seattle where he is a computer guru for Bechtel.

Also attending was photographer Jeff Ziff, heir to the Cray Soda fortune.

For some reason they voluntarily paid for the company of this poverty stricken old stoner with attitude from Pine Point, yours truly. I was really out of my element in this land of limos.

Say what you will about the bad economy, the joint was packed to the walls with gamblers. 

However, I spoke to a few of the vendors and they said merchandising sales were down by about twenty percent compared to last year. And not everyone paid for the top dollar digs we had. Many were camped on picnic tables outside the track and watched the races on TV screens. 

In the luxury pavillion where we were there was also a massive screen right in the middle of the track itself. 

A giant tote board also helps you to keep on top of the races.

Horse races have been held here since the Civil War, and the scene is steeped in tradition. Many people wore old fashioned clothes, like this cigar chomping and suspendered high roller.

Not everyone fit the stereotype, like this guy who had an intriguing Herman Munster tattoo.

Who says print is useless? Someone thought these publications would make good bench cushions. 

Not surprisingly, the girl versus the guys angle was played up everywhere, sometimes in kinda sexist ways.

The roses being sold in Rachel's honor were predictably pink.

On the way out we ran into John Walsh of America's Most Wanted fame. 

We thanked him for the work his show has done to try to solve the murder of my fellow boy scout trooper Danny Croteau.

 



In all the trip was an exciting finale to the summer of 2009.

 

Poetic Underground

Every so often a mysterious group called The Drive by Poets flood downtown Northampton with poems. Most of the poems are ignored and unread, but to an enlightened minority they are ultra-cool.



Here's the latest:

The Little Things
by Kristen Sund

I never used to drink this much
Then a guy I knew fell in love with me
because of the way I laughed
when I was drunk.

I thought it was ridiculous.
But now I am staying with you
for no reason other than
I like the way you write with dashes.

You're the only one I know
who uses them correctly.
Every man before you
was a bad writer

Those never worked out.
They all ended up disappointing me,
because none of them knew how to say
the only thing I needed to hear.

Listen,
When I tell you I don't think
I could write one more sentence
all you have to say is: you could.

To submit your poem for consideration by Drive by Poets email drivebypoets@gmail.com