Parent Education Speaker:  Richard Louv on “Nature Deficit Disorder” 7 p.m. at Inly School, 46 Watch Hill Drive.  Richard Louv, the best-selling author of “Last Child in the Woods,” will discuss child development, technology, the value of hands-on, experiential education, and the critical need for children — and adults — to reconnect with nature.  Cosponsored by the South Shore Natural Science Center in Norwell. This talk is open to the public:  tickets are $10 and available online at www.inlyschool.org, 781 545-5544 ext 130.

The Yise Gardeners and the Ventress Library Staff will present their 12th annual Books in Bloom from 10 a.m.to 3 p.m.  The Yise Gardners will be selling lovely Easter and Spring centerpieces and hostess gifts to benefit their Marshfield High School Scholarship fund.  Light refreshments.  Free and open to the public.

Virtual Vacations presented by Massachusetts Audubon at the North River Wildlife Sanctuary, 2000 Main Street.  Today:  Desserts and Destinations, Ecuador & Columbia with Sally Avery from 1 to 2:30 pm. ($13/$10 member).  Preregister at www.massaudubon.org/southshore or by calling 781 837-9400.

Tuesday, April 2nd:

The Ventress Memorial Library, Library Plaza, will host an informative presentation by the Wildlands Trust from 6 to 7:30 p.m.  Lianna Lee, AmeriCorps Community Outreach Coordinator, will speak about the history of the trust and its ongoing initiatives.  781 834-5535, www.ventresslibrary.org or www.wildlandstrust.org .

All pictures from http://www.zimbio.com/

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Click Here to View IMDB’s List

I can’t say that I was surprised at the lack of black faces, because it’s exactly what I expected. Other then most of the cast of HBO’s “Treme,” and Regina King on “Southland,” most of the black faces you see are in the supporting roles. “Community,” has Donald Glover and Yvette Nicole Brown, “The New Girl” has Lamorne Morris, “Parks & Recreation” has Retta and Rashida Jones, Michael Kenneth Williams is on HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire,” and Adina Porter and Chris Chalk are on “The Newsroom,” (although you won’t find them on the promotional cast photos).

Boardwalk Empire

Real Husbands of Hollywood

Deception

Community

Treme

Southland

Scandal

The New Girl

Parks & Recreation

It’s sad that this is essentially it for the black notables in the entire list of 50 shows. I can’t help but wonder are these casts really representing real life groups/populations? What are the main demographics watching these shows? And more importantly, what does the demo look like of the people creating the list?

I would definitely suggest “Scandal” with Kerry Washington and Columbus Short, and maybe “Deception,” which stars Meagan Good and Laz Alonso, or even B.E.T.’s “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” with Kevin Hart, Boris Kodjoe, Nick Cannon, Nelly, J.B. Smoove, and Duane Martin. I don’t know if they’re not on the list because they’ve become big after the list’s most recent update, or maybe because the judges of this list don’t watch these shows because they don’t appeal to them, or what have you, but I do wonder if they were considered…

But, I can’t blame IMDB, because it’s not their fault. The fact of the matter is that black shows, really worth watching, with great dialogue, relateable characters, and a progressive story. aren’t really around. I certainly wouldn’t argue, “Hey, one of Tyler Perry’s shows needs to be on this list!” Because, let’s face it, they don’t. Not to knock Mr. Perry because I think it’s great that he writes, stars in, and directs/produces his own work, you gotta do whatcha gotta do! But a lot of his material is very stereotypical images of the black community, and only geared towards black audiences. A friend, Janett Martinez made a good point, when I first brought this topic up:

“We need writers to write roles for people of all colors that focus on character and plot, not exclusively color, if we hope to break into mainstream media and represent ourselves more honestly. I tend to identify more with white characters onscreen because the caricatured nature of many POC’s represented do not represent my experience as a person, with nuance and depth and struggle. We need to create the inverse of this, characters played by people of color who are more than just their skin, if we ever hope to see more colorful casts.”

I think all of the Third Shifters need to step up. Writers need to create more important black roles, producers need to produce shows with black roles that can appeal to mass audiences, and actors need to go for more nontraditional roles. We can’t see progression in this department unless we’re in the forefront of the change. Kudos to the actors and actresses holding us down now! Here’s hoping you won’t have to carry the full weight of our TV

Image credit: Vicky Trochez

Image credit: Vicky Trochez

Image credit: Vicky Trochez

Image credit: Vicky Trochez

Image credit: Vicky Trochez

Image credit: Vicky Trochez

Image credit: Vicky Trochez

Image credit: Vicky Trochez

Image credit: Vicky Trochez

Image credit: Vicky Trochez

[via Laughing Squid]

For the last couple of months, my life’s mantra has been “Treat yo’ self” (derived from the series Parks & Recreation)

It began as an offhand attempt at a bit of light-humour at work. When colleagues asked me…. “Nix, should I have a chocolate bar from the charity box?” or “Nikita, do you think I should skip my gym session for a mid-week glass of wine?” Clearly, they knew which one they would like me to say. Clearly, they wanted me to rationalise their decision. So instead, i just began to say; ”Go on…Treat yo’ self”.

99.9% of the time they would leave any doubt behind and in high spirits reply “Yes, you are right Nix…I deserve this!!!”. And off they would go…Feeling proud. Feeling happy. Feeling content, about their decision.

I then began to experiment with the tone and accent; “Go on gurrrll, treat yo’self… If yo’ ain’t gonna treat yo’self..then who will?” It has now evolved to sound like an African-American Momma. Don’t mean to boast, but I have nailed that one phrase.

It has caught on like a wildfire.

It has now snow-balled….to the point of no return.

It has now officially entered the “Nixasarus” (My personal phrase dictionary).

My waistline has increased. My alcohol consumption has increased. My credit card expenses have sky-rocketed. Overall,  my general self-control is non-existent.

By definition a ‘treat’ should be something which is not consumed or experienced at irregular intervals. However, since integrating this one phrase into my life, my happiness, spontaneity and general life outlook has improved. Don’t believe me? Try it for yo’ self. Go on…I dare you. In the face of temptation or indecisiveness - just say “I think i’m gonna treat myself”

It is the perfect phrase that motivates you to do what you actually want to do…not what you think is right.

And you know what i am going to do? I am going to treat yo’ all with a round up some general design ‘visual treats’ ….

Sunday, March 24th:
Taste of Pembroke, noon to 3 p.m., Pembroke High School, Learning Lane, Pembroke.  Tickets $5 in advance; $10 at the door.  Tickets available from every PHS athlete or at Bridgewater Savings Bank, Bryantville Deli, Fedele’s Chocolates, Renaissance Cooking, Sovereign Bank.

Tuesday, March 26th:
Wicket Trivia with Pat Lally, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. at British Beer Company.

Thursday, March 28th:
Chebator, Catalano & Brech at British Beer Company.

Gardening Green Expo, 10 a.m.to 4 p.m., Kennedy Country Gardens, 85 CJC Highway.  Free. www.greenscapes.org or contact Debbie at the NSRWA at 781 659-8168

The Scituate Art Association reminds all artists that the drop off for its Annual Juried Show are today from 11 a.m.to 2 p.m.. Entries must be delivered to the Ellis House, 709 Country Way.

Pajama Game presented by the Scituate Recreation Department and Scituate PlayHouse at Scituate High School Auditorium, 606 Chief Justice Cushing Hwy. 7 p.m., grades 3-6.

Sunday, March 24th:

Gardening Green Expo, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Kennedy’s Country Gardens, 85 CJC Hwy.  Free. www.greenscapes.org or contact Debbie at the NSRWA at 781 659-8168

Wizard of Oz at 5 p.m. presented by the Scituate Recreation Department and Scituate Play House, at Scituate High School Auditorium, 606 CJC Hwy. grades K-2.

Wednesday, March 27th:

Scituate Arts Association’s March Meet the Artist will feature Marie Flaherty graphic designer, illustrator and collector of ethnic indigenous art from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Scituate Public Library’s Meeting Room, 85 Branch Street.

Tuesday, March 26th:
Meet local author, philosopher and yoga teacher Mi Sun Donahue as she signs, “The Journey of a Motherless Child,” at the Ventress Memorial Library, Library Plaza, at 6:30 p.m. www.venturesslibrary.org  781 837-5535.

Follow Len and Leslie Marma of Success! Real Estate on their facebook business page, “Marshfield Matters” ….. click LIKE to receive real estate info and what’s happening in Marshfield

Beautifully updated one story home in desirable Briar Hills. High end Brazilian Teak hardwoods in living and dining areas that lead to the updated kitchen with mosaic travertine tile flooring, backsplash and granite counter tops. Living area with wet/wine bar leads to a nice big yard with covered decking. Huge master bedroom and tons of closet space. Gorgeous Low E Double Paned windows and doors throughout. Expensive tile roofing. New Pex plumbing. Curb appeal galore with a nice new driveway.

HAR Link: http://search.har.com/engine/14131-Stokesmount-Drive-Houston-TX-77077_HAR21424934.htm

If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in West Houston, please contact Connie Vallone with First Market Realty at 713 249 4177  or visit www.houstonenergycorridorhomes.com  or www.vallonehomes.com .

Many of us search for meaning in the struggles and triumphs we encounter along our life’s path, “The Journey of a Motherless Child” is an insightful chronicle about one woman’s remarkable journey, the practice of living, and the value of others in one’s life.  Most of all, this book is about being an active presence in one’s own life and finding both meaning and worth in the act of being alive.

Follow Len and Leslie Marma of Success! Real Estate on their facebook business page, “Marshfield Matters” ,,,,, click LIKE to receive real estate info and what’s happening in Marshfield

I would love for some care to be put into this park, it could really be a show piece in the area.  Also, there are so many of us puppies here, and we are tired of getting sick from the trash, or cut on the glass.  Maybe if someone cared we could even have a little dog run!?  Oh, I would be the happiest puppy alive if that happened.  So please, somebody tell the humans who run this place.  Help make Lulu a happy pup!

I would give the park 5 paws if it wasn’t for the problems above, sadly, because of them, I can only give this sad park one paw!

Unfortunately, I was unable to get a pre-ride in of the new Barry-Roubaix course this year. It travels about 95% of the same roads as last year, but the race start/finish has been moved to Hastings, MI rather than the Yankee Springs State Game Area campground. It actually changes the course quite dramatically because Hastings is essentially on the opposite side of the race loop from the historical start/finish. The major concern this year has been course conditions as the killer gravel road race utilizes several seasonal roads that either don’t get plowed, don’t get plowed often, and/or are in the shade limiting the sun’s ability to melt snow off the road. I’ve been scavenging and devouring up every pre-ride report I can find. If you, too, are looking for some idea of what you’re in for, here’s a link to a Flicker page from today, and here’s some YouTube footage (6 part series) from last weekend.

The long range forecast for next Saturday is currently sunny with a high in the low 40′s and a low of 30. Considering we’ll be starting at or shortly after 10a.m., I’m guessing its going to be on the lower end of that range. However, with the sun and warming temperatures, it could cause whatever snow is on the road to soften and create some major road suck as well as make them squirrelly. Top that off with snow forecasted for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week, and this has all the makings for one painful race for the record books. Someone I was talking to said this could be one of those races that everyone talks about for decades and those who participated will be able to boast “I rode THAT year”.

As far as the Absa Cape Epic goes, today marks the beginning of the 7 day event with the prologue. There are a few teams riding in honor of Burry Stander, the South African professional mountain biker who had won the last couple of Absa Cape Epic’s but was tragically killed by a taxi this winter while training. His teammate, Christoph Sauser, is partnering with last year’s Olympic Gold Medalist, Jaroslav Kulhavy for this year’s event under the team name Burry Stander SONGO. They proceeded to hammer the field this morning, opening a gap of 1:06 in just 55 minutes. As a comparison, Burry and Christoph took the prologue by just 13 seconds last year, but went on to win by 27 minutes. I have to believe that there were some emotions driving today’s action as Kulhavy pulled Sauser from line to line. Here’s an intro to the Cape Epic and this year’s race course.

Although MY first true mountain bike race won’t happen until the Yankee Springs Time Trial in late April, I’m beginning to ramp up the adrenaline and excitement.

A group of skateboarding enthusiasts plans to rebuild Marshfield’s downtown skate park.  Chris Cunio, one of the organizers, said the park, installed in the early 2000s, is nearing the end of its life.  The goal is to replace it with a “skate plaza,” a more park-like environment with ramps, stairs, curbs, and other elements of a skate park, plus grass, trees,and benches.  “It has a much, much higher aesthetic appeal,” he said.  The concrete skating surfaces would have a 30-year life.  The retail cost for a park that size would be $250,000 to $350,000, but some elements could be built by a contractor at a lower rate, Cunio said.  Organizers plan to fund the park through donations and community preservation funds, and the amount to be requested from the town hasn’t been determined.  They hope to break ground in the spring of 2014.

Follow Len and Leslie Marma of Success! Real Estate on their facebook business page, “Marshfield Matters” ……. click LIKE to receive real estate info and what’s happening in Marshfield. 

I quite enjoy Parks & Rec, so when Alyssa Rosenberg wrote this Tweet:

I have complex feelings about Pawnee’s Jewish community. #ParksAndRec

— Alyssa Rosenberg (@AlyssaRosenberg) March 15, 2013

my curiosity was stoked. But after watching the latest episode, “Bailout,” I admit that I think the portrayal of the Jews on Parks & Rec is far from the most problematic element of the show. Here are the three things I think really are issues:

1) Jerry Gergich. He is fat. His character is submissive, physically gross (he has soiled himself on more than one occasion), constantly failing, and even when not failing is ignored or deliberately derided or humiliated by the rest of the characters. This is all difficult to disentangle – it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Jerry is a humiliating slob because he is fat and vice-versa; and that we should laugh at the other characters’ mistreatment of Jerry not because we feel bad for Jerry but because he deserves it.

2) Donna Meagle. When analyzing the issue of race in film and television, I have a handy heuristic, kind of a cousin of the Bechdel test, consisting of two independent questions, that helps me understand the role, portrayal, and function of race in what I’m watching:

1. Does this still make sense if “Character X” was a different race?

2. Given the answer to (1.), how should I interpret what this is trying to tell me about the nature of the racial identities in question?

In the case of Donna, the answer to (1.) seems to be a self-evident “no;” the answer to (2.), therefore, seems to be unavoidably ”sassy overweight black women are hi-larious.” A good parallel case is Stanley Hudson, at least as portrayed in the first few seasons of The Office (I stopped watching a while ago); Stanley was black, but nothing about what made his character funny was disentangleable from his blackness. Most of the humor that came from his blackness came from Michael’s awful and racist responses to Stanley’s blackness, which we were supposed to laugh at because they were awful not because we felt any kind of sympathy to them.

3) The politics. It’s hard to say, exactly, what the implicit politics of Parks & Rec are, but last night’s episode seemed to side quite squarely with Ron’s perspective (which, in the context of the episode, seemed to be quite correct IMHO). But more broadly there’s a running implication that the only reason anything gets done well at all ever by anyone is because Leslie is a brilliant, irrepressible workaholic, and the difficult-to-avoid implication is therefore that barring a Leslie-type presence government will tend to fail miserably because it is filled with lazy incompetents. Now, it’s the case that most everyone in Pawnee is lazy, incompetent, and/or stupid, so it’s hard to know whether the real story is just that Pawnee is a doomed awful place (and if we’re supposed to see Pawnee as a stand-in for “small-town Middle America” that tells you a lot about the perspective of the show) but generally everything seems to be subsumed to the relentless need to prove every character is a sweetheart.

Sunday, March 17th:
St. Patrick’s Day celebration featuring The Keepers, 2 to 6 p.m. at British Beer Company.

Tuesday, March 19th:
Wicked Trivia with Pat Lally, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the British Beer Company.

Wednesday, March 20th:
Sweep the Leg at British Beer Company.

Thursday, March 21st:
Fil Pacino and Friends at British Beer Company

Friday, March 22nd:
3rd Left at British Beer Company, 15 Columbia Road, Pembroke, 781 829-6999, www.britishbeer.com

Scituate St. Patrick’s Day Parade begins at 1 p.m. at the Gates Midle School on First Parish Road.  It continues by bearing right and continuing onto First Parish Road past the Scituate Fire Station.  At Scituate Harbor the parade turns left onto Front Street and continues to Jericho Road where it turns right and ends at Hatherly Road by the Satuit Tavern.  Parking and Shuttle info:  Shuttle busses will provide transportation from Scituate High School parking lot (606 Route 3A) to and from the starting point of the parade (Gates Jr. H.S., 327 First Parish Rd)  Shuttle Busses will provide transportation from the M.B.T.A.parking lot (Driftway Rd.) to and from the harbor (Front St) near St. Mary’s Church.  Visit www.weloveaparade.com for more information.

Matt Browne performs live acoustic at Chester’s/The Mill Wharf, Scituate right after the parade from 3 to 6 p.m.  www.millwharf.com 781 545-3999.

Thursday, March 21st

The Scituate Art Association reminds all artists that the drop offs for its Annual Juried Show are, today from 5 to 7 p.m. or March 23rd, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Entries must be delivered to the Ellis House, 709 Country Way.

Friday, March 22nd:

The Front Street Art Gallery, 124 Front Street presents “Fish Tales:  the Fine Art of Storytelling,” an exhibit featuring paintings, pastels and photos from March 19th to April 7th, with an opening reception tonight from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

The Marshfield Farmers’ Market runs indoors from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. at the Marshfield Fairgrounds, 140 Main Street, offering 32 vendors of fresh local produce, seafood, meats, baked goods, hot and cold prepared foods and artisans.  Free activity for all ages of silk-screening a poster with local artist Doug Lowry.  Kids can make their own market poster and then finish it off with the silk screening.  Parking, admission and activities are free, grounds are wheelchair/stroller friendly.  www.marshfieldfair.org/fm.htm

Singer/guitarist Mama Steph will appear at the Ventress Memorial Library, Library Plaza at 10:30 a.m.  Appropriate for preschoolers and their parents/guardians and is free of charge.  No registration is necessary.  781 834-5535.

Wednesday, March 20th:

2013 Water Watch Lecture Series presented by The NSRWA, MassAudubon, SSNSC, and YMCA is free of charge.  The lectures are at the South Shore Natural Science Center located on Jacobs Lane in Norwell at 7 p.m. every Wednesday night through March 27th.  Tonight:  Beside Still Waters:  Getting Our Feet Wet with Vernal Pools with John Twining, Eastern Nazarene College.  Visit www.nsrwa.org for more information.

Follow Len and Leslie Marma of Success! Real Estate on their facebook business page, “Marshfield Matters” ….. click LIKE to receive real estate info and what’s happening in Marshfield.

Veteran “cult” favorites Parks & Recreation and the final season of The Office might be critically loved, but ratings have never been lower. The same can be said for Up All Night, Whitney, and Community.

New shows Guys with Kids, 1600 Penn, Do No Harm, The New Normal, Deception, and Animal Practice have all debuted to less than stellar ratings (especially Animal Practice that had a special post-Olympics premiere, followed by tanking drastically).

The only bright spots (if you can call them that) are Go On and Chicago Fire. The former series, a new sitcom starring Matthew Perry had a post-Olympics premiere as well, and seemed to benefit from that. The series hovers around the mid-to-high 1′s and low 2′s in the coveted 18-49 demographic. The latter series is executive produced by Dick Wolf, and the ratings have grown to the mid 2′s over the winter and looks like a lock for renewal.

NBC had banked that their other series would perform well without their Monday lineup, but clearly this four month hiatus has drastically hurt the network. Veteran shows like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Parenthood are even shells of their former selves.

The Peacock Network is in so much trouble that they are bringing back their canceled series The Sing Off back for a limited winter run.

Hopefully with the return of Grimm last week and Revolution and The Voice in coming weeks, the network can start to regain the ground they lost. The main question now is does NBC clean their slate and start from near scratch (which has been brought up before), or do they try to pair up critical darlings with their few ratings hits?