"Hartford" magazine: Don't bother

For the last few months, I've been receiving a copy of "Hartford" magazine in the mail. I'm not a subscriber, so I really don't know why it's been coming. And thank goodness I'm not, because, in my humble opinion, this "magazine" isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

Each month seems to bring a new round of "who's who and who's doing what" in the Hartford area. These are essentially photos of various Connecticut "celebrities" at parties around town. It's like the society page of the NY Times with lesser known names and in glossy color. I'm guessing that most of us couldn't care less.

The articles are more like advertisements than anything else. It seems as if each month brings another "Best of...." article. If it's not restaurants, it's dentists. If it's not dentists, it's physicians. If it's not physicians, it's "Best Towns to Raise Children." I'll tell you this. If I were a dentist or physician in the area, I'd be pretty upset about these types of articles. They seem to be nothing more than popularity contests, and often leave very good and very qualified practitioners out. Add to that the fact that the article pages are often surrounded by ads for various medical and dental offices, and it leads one to wonder just how "objective" these puff pieces are.

About the only thing worthwhile is the monthly restaurant listing. Some of the eateries are reviewed, others are not. And advertisements also appear on the same pages as restaurant ratings. But at least I know the addresses and phone numbers of places I might want to dine at.

So if you're not getting this mag for free, as I assume most others such as myself are, don't waste your money buying it. Better to visit the local public library, where you can peruse it at no charge.

A Perfect Holiday Weekend

Growing up here in the northeast, my family and I used to venture to the Catskills for most Memorial Day weekends. And it always seemed that there would be at least one rainy day over the course of the holiday. Not this year, however. In fact, the weather has improved each day through the holiday weekend, capping off with a great day today, with temperatures reaching the low 80s everywhere in Connecticut but the shoreline (where the sea breeze off the cool L.I. Sound will keep the temperatures only in the 70s).

What else might make the weekend perfect? How about a sixth Yankee win in a row this afternoon in Baltimore? Combined with a typical Red Sox West Coast trip (disaster in Oakland), the Yankees are finally gaining ground on the Sox. The only problem is that the Tampa Bay Rays haven't yet realized who they are, and are playing lights out. This could only happen in the Bizarro World.