Category Archives: Events

The Tornadoes of Springfield, MA

By Matthew B. Harrison, Esq. | Published June 2, 2011

Reposted from MassLive.com – Direct Link

A series of fast-moving tornadoes carrying winds of over 90 mph Wednesday gave Western Massachusetts residents a terrifying glimpse of what their Midwestern neighbors have been experiencing last month.

And as it was in Joplin and Memphis; Raleigh and Tuscaloosa; along the Missouri and the Mississippi, everything changed in a minute.

One minute the clouds darken and the radio waves crackle with storm warnings. One minute faculty and staff at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst are told to descend to the lowest point in their buildings; the next minute, the cloud is spotted over the Connecticut River in Springfield. People who never gave a thought to what they might do in a tornado are trying to remember whether it is safer in the bathtub or the basement.

Meanwhile a tractor-trailer on the Memorial Bridge is suddenly overturned. A community center is minus a roof and the MassMutual Center, which last week hosted a college graduation, is now settling evacuees from the entire South End of the city. A tree that once sheltered a backyard pool is now in the pool. A grill has been tossed from one yard to another as if it were a feather. Power lines and downed limbs are everywhere.

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Talk Radio Day at the United Nations

By Matthew B. Harrison, Esq. | Published June 4, 2010

(From the press release, issued by TALKERS magazine)

NEW YORK – Following up on last year’s historic broadcasting occasion, TALKERS magazine, in conjunction with its sister firm Talk Radio News Service and the United Nations Foundation, will present the fifth annual “Talk Radio Day at the United Nations” on Friday, June 4, 2010. The event again takes place on the eve of World Environment Day (June 5) weekend.

Approximately 15 radio hosts, teams, shows and networks from across the nation, representing a variety of political perspectives, dayparts and geographical coverage, will broadcast live, as well as record interviews for delay broadcast, from a “radio row” set up within the heart of the iconic United Nations headquarters located on Manhattan’s East Side.

The goal is to bring increased awareness of the United Nations’ inner workings as well as a spectrum of dramatic global stories – many involving extreme matters of life and death – largely ignored by the mainstream U.S. media to the national talk radio listening public.

Taking place on the eve of World Environment Day weekend, participating hosts will have access to international experts on a wide variety of major topics including global climate change, bio-diversity and the politics of oil dependency among other pressing environmental issues.

Beyond that, the hosts will have the opportunity to meet and interview a non-stop parade of U.N. officials as well as experts on international issues being debated and tackled at the world organization.

According to TALKERS magazine publisher Michael Harrison, “These United Nations broadcasts are probably the most important radio rows since Bill Clinton first invited talk show hosts to the White House. It is a privilege for those of us involved to be part of something so exciting and productive. This project expands the scope and reach of American talk radio – one of our primary missions. I’m sure millions of listeners across the country will appreciate it.”

Images After the Jump…

Our trip to San Francisco

By Matthew B. Harrison, Esq. | Published May 20, 2010

Emily Therese, The Leica Lady, and I had to go to San Francisco to present my Masters Thesis to the board of advisers so that I could get my degree. These were some snaps taken around the Embarcadero with a Leica M9 + 50mm Noctilux.