Flashbacks: Shopping for the Dalai Lama, how to talk like a Bostonian, and a “ground-breaking” study on homosexuals

September 19, 2003 | With the Dalai Lama set to visit a Buddhist temple in Medford, Chris Wright talked to Hank Peirce, the man charged with welcoming the holy man to town. At the time, Peirce was having some trouble finding a gift to present to the visitor.

" ‘I’m driving myself nuts,’ he said. ‘What do you get the man who has nothing?’

"...One person proposed a pair of Birkenstocks. "I’m not gonna get the guy some stupid hippie shoes," the reverend replied. "Besides, I don’t know what his shoe size is." Another advised a Red Sox shirt with DALAI LAMA on the back. "What number would I put on it?" Peirce asked. "A zero?"

"For Peirce, the most important thing was to get the Dalai Lama something tasteful. For this reason, he rejected the suggestion of a makeover — ‘Oh yeah, Queer Eye for the Buddhist Guy.’ Likewise, the T-shirt that read WHAT WOULD BUDDHA DO? was a non-starter. He thought about gifts that captured the flavor of Medford. But what? ‘There used to be Medford rum and Medford crackers,’ he lamented. ‘But the town’s not famous for anything anymore. Do I say, ‘Here’s a coupon for a nail salon’? ‘A cheese-steak sub’? I think he’s a vegetarian.’ " Read Full Article here

September 17, 1993 | The Phoenix resoundingly endorsed journalist Chris Lydon for Boston mayor.

"We harbor no illusions about Chris Lydon’s long-shot candidacy. Without money, organization, or a geographic base, he has none of the traditional assets that usually translate into victory...

"But make no mistake about it. Chris Lydon’s central vision has been the single most significant development in this mayoral election. Because in a campaign that’s been smaller than life, he has been the only one with the foresight and the guts to remind us constantly that it’s the city’s very life that’s on the line.

"There’s more to pragmatism than filling potholes and plowing snow. And Lydon’s thoughtful, courageous campaign has redefined what is pragmatic when it comes to saving one of America’s great cities. For this reason, the Phoenix urges a vote for Christopher Lydon next Tuesday, September 21."

September 16, 1988 | As part of the Phoenix’s "Rookie’s Guide to Boston," Dennis Becker, PhD, president of the Speech Improvement Company, offered up some advice on how to talk like a Bostonian.

"When you make the sound of the letter r -- say, in the word ‘park’ -- you find it isn’t pronounced in any one place [in your mouth]. We call it a ‘gliding sound’ because it starts from the back of the mouth and glides to the front. Now, in New England, the r starts in the back of the mouth, all right, but it only goes halfway to the front. What happens is the lower jaw doesn’t close; therefore the sound does not get completely articulated: park, pahk; car, cah.

"The interesting thing about the word ‘Boston’ is that New Englanders don’t always say the letter ‘t’ in that word. They say ‘Boson.’

"There are different New England a’s, too. For instance there’s the Back Bay and Beacon Hill a, which is pronounced like, ‘Let’s go to the bar -- bahhh.’ The jaw doesn’t close at all. It’s very much the same sound you make when you go to the doctor and he says, ‘Open up your mouth and say ‘Ahh.’ Then there’s the flat a found in Somerville or Dorchester. If you look in the mirror, your mouth gets wide and flat when you make this a. We find this a lot in the inner city, also Medford -- Meffeh.’ "

September 19, 1978 | Don Shewey reported on a "ground-breaking" new government study on homosexuals, the findings of which suggest that prior to 1978 people were total dingbats.

" ‘Perhaps the least ambiguous finding of our investigation is that homosexuality is not necessarily related to pathology.’ This simple statement may be the most important and most controversial finding in Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men & Women, the ground-breaking new work from the Institute for Sex Research founded 30 years ago by pioneering sex researcher Alfred C. Kinsey.

"The study, which was published on August 28 after 10 years of work, was commissioned and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health in order to provide objective information on the subject of homosexuality to government agencies and institutions facing decisions about gays."