US – Friday, July 30
Arlington graves may be mixed up
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has just gotten quite a bit of company: As many as 6,600 graves at the country’s hallowed Arlington National Cemetery for fallen U.S. service members may be mislabeled, one lawmaker said on Thursday.
 
WikiLeaks founder defends war posts
Julian Assange, founder of the website that published more than 91,000 secret U.S. military reports from Afghanistan, says he’s revealing injustices. President Barack Obama says he’s concerned that disclosure of sensitive information may harm military operations.
 
Short-term living in Jersey City
Subletting in NYC typically involves some kind of covert transaction. Try to find a budget traveler who hasn’t enjoyed the risk of Craigslist’s lease-free rentals. But thanks to a bill Gov. David Paterson signed into law last Friday, renting an apartment for less than 30 days isn’t kosher. Fortunately, there’s a saving grace for those in search of short-term living: Jersey City.
 
Taking a joy ride through Italy
Unless the locals covered you in meatballs and sang “Nessun Dorma” upon arrival, this vacation could hardly be more Italian. For this is a “Vespa vacation” — a two-wheeled tour of the nooks and crannies, the winding back roads and the off-the-beaten-track hidden gems of breathtaking Umbria, a beautiful region located in Central Italy.
 
She’s ready to Crosse the bridge
Telling Liris Crosse that she can’t do something might be a guarantee she will try.
 
Dinner and a movie plus something more
Around the corner from the marquee that bears the name of one of Hollywood’s founding fathers, Marcus Loew, and adjacent to one of Boston’s oldest cinemas, the newly restored Paramount, BiNA Osteria’s Cinema Italiano brings benchmark Italian movies (with English subtitles) to Downtown Crossing.  Pair, say, Fellini’s masterful three-hour stunner “La Dolce Vita” with BiNA’s Cinema Italiano three-course prix fixe ($35). Or choose the inky black seafood risotto ($23), which is as dark and decadent as the film’s finale. Next up: “Johnny Stecchio.”
 
Rabbis, controversy, and jail time at Chelsea’s wedding
Although facts on the famed Clinton-Mezvinsky wedding, which is rumored to happen this weekend, are tighter than Hillary Clinton’s smile, some details have leaked out. Sources report that groom Marc Mezvinsky  has “hurt” his father’s family by not inviting them to the wedding (Ed Mezvinsky pleaded guilty in 2002 to swindling investors out of $10 million.
 
PATRIOT TRAIN
School is in session at Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots kicked off their 2010 training camp Thursday.
 
HOPE THERE, BUT IT'S SLIM
As the clock ticks down to baseball’s trading deadline, the Red Sox don’t appear close to making any splashy moves. Deals can, and often do, come together at the last minute, however, so fans will wait on tenterhooks.
 
Updated 22:43, July the 1st, 2009
 
A woman holding an umbrella walks by a window display advertising bathing suits on Boylston Street yesterday.A woman holding an umbrella walks by a window display advertising bathing suits on Boylston Street yesterday.
Photo: NATHAN FRIED-LIPSKI/METRO
 

Boston’s summer is an endless bummer

 July began Wednesday with torrential downpours, flood warnings and temperatures which struggled to reach the mid-60s.

Just more of the same, it seems.

For about a month, a weather pattern settled upon the Boston area has been loaded with cloudy, cool extremes. Consider these numbers released by the Blue Hill Observatory:

  • June 2009 saw sunshine just 27 percent of the time, making it the second gloomiest June on record behind the 25 percent mark in 1903.
  • The highest temperature recorded in June was 79, making it just the second June on record and first since 1916 that failed to reach 80 at any time.
  • There were 19 days of measurable precipitation in June, second only to the 20 from 1916.
  • The average wind speed of 9.8 miles per hour was the lowest on record for the month.
  • At Logan Airport the average June temperature was 63.3, nearly five degrees below normal and the sixth coolest mark on record.


For the first time since the Blue Hill Observatory began tabulating prevailing wind directions in 1951, June saw them come from a northerly direction, a sure sign of atypical weather. And the atmospheric hold over the region was something normally reserved for January.

“What happened in June is we saw a pattern where in the upper levels we had low pressure over us,” said Alan Dunham, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton. “It was really typical of what we see in the wintertime, not in June.”

Rainy conditions are expected to last until Saturday.

 
 
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MMMpod
In the July MMMpod, Young Veins talk about breaking away from Panic! at the Disco, Keith Lockhart talks about Buckwheat Zydeco throwing the Boston Pops for a loop, Zooey Deschanel talks about how Roy Orbison inspired a She & Him song, Derek Miller of Sleigh Bells talks about how awesome Funkadelic is, and we talk about how awesome Jimmy Cliff is, who in turn talks about Sam Cooke and divine intervention. An explosive show for July! Oh yeah, and we also test your knowledge of America songs in the MMMPod medley.