The colorful tapestry comprising the personality of our city is challenged only by the crazy things that go down here. From Hollywood East, to parking spots in the Back Bay for $300K, to one <em>Jersey Shore</em> Nickname Generator—2009 has been one helluva ride. Here's to Beantown. Enjoy the look back.
Anyone who has tried to park in the North End after 5pm—or simply tried to park in Boston, period—knows the fear and loathing that comes with having a car in the city. One unidentified denizen decided that enough was enough, and just shelled out a record $300K for a spot to call his own. We'll stick to the meters.
One should judge political candidates based on the platforms they run on for office, but in September, word got out that Rep. Scott Brown (who is running for Kennedy's seat in the Senate) had spent a little time on a different kind of platform. Namely, one that found him nude and gracing a centerfold spread in a 1982 issue of Cosmo. Whoops.
2009 was a big year for Hollywood in the Hub, and our fair city became ground zero for the fairer-haired mavens Blake Lively and Cameron Diaz, who were hounded and tracked all over town while they filmed their new flicks. They really stole the show—that is, until Tom Cruise landed a helicopter on the Zakim Bridge. Show-off.
Harvard decided to get in on the game already being played at Duke and Middlebury by announcing plans to base an urban studies course around The Wire. We think this was a good idea, even if it wasn't that original. Plus, for once, everyone will probably do the homework.
Soon after MTV's new reality sludge-fest Jersey Shore reared its ugly head, local blogger Aaron Cohen created the Jersey Shore Nickname Generator on his blog. Everyone from the Phoenix to the Huffington Post picked up on it, including Conan O'Brien, who discovered his new moniker after trying it out: C-Train.
