By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, DEC. 29, 2012) — You hate the government meddling into your business. We hate the government meddling in our business. But the politicians at the State House in Boston (85% Democrats, by the way) love it, as they did when they sent to […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, JAN. 3, 2012) — Budgets are meant to be fluid documents. Yeah, said the wise guy, to be pissed all over. A budget represents one’s best guess about the relationship between projected income and projected expenses. With boatloads of historical data, the economic […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary ADD 1, THURSDAY, DEC. 28, 2012 — THE PLANET wishes to highlight a comment made by OUTFOX, one of our regular correspondents, because it highlights a great point about the status of school security in the People’s Republic of Pittsfield. Outfox pointed our the greatest lapse in […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, DEC. 24, 2012 & BEYOND — ’twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring … nothing. We shan’t burden you with tales of scandal and corruption. We won’t fill this space with senile fluff. We won’t shamelessly […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT, FRIDAY, DEC. 21) — Today, being the last day in human history according to the ancient Mayan calendar, should be a day of rejoicing. All those bills you owe? Forget about them? The college loans? Screw […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, DEC. 20, 2012) — Don’t look now, but tomorrow is the End Of Time As We Know It. No, Alf Barbalunga hasn’t won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. No, North Street downtown has not become safe and inviting. And No, Dan Bianchi hasn’t […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 19, 2012) — Reason to celebrate: Today, PROF. PLANET finishes another semester. It’s always a cause for celebration, to be freed from the rigors of academia by the blessed end of the semester. We love every second of it. We taught our […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, DEC. 18, 2012) — Only four more days until the Mayan calendar runs out, so why bother with Christmas shopping? We cannot, though, put off sharing this take of what’s going on at Taconic High School from a mom who calls herself The […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary ADD #1 DEC. 14, EVENING — When we posted this blog early this morning, the tragic events in Newtown, Conn., had yet to occur. The first 911 call came in at 9:41 a.m. During the course of the day, THE PLANET was purposefully not near a television […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, DEC. 13, 2012) —In the Old Testament, we read the story of wise King Solomon, who had to decide the fate of a baby. Two women were both claiming to be the mother. After hearing testimony, Solomon realized he couldn’t be sure. He […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 12, 2012) — Yesterday, one of our correspondents, DOWNTOWN DWELLER, did us all a huge favor in posting the agenda of the school committee meeting, slated to begin tonight at 6 p.m. in the PHS library. Here is the link: http://www.pittsfield.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/file/Dec%2012%20Agenda.pdf Playing a […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, DEC. 11, 2012) — Tailgate, or, if you prefer Taligate-gate continues to occupy much conversation around the water coolers and subterranean corridors of the bedraggled city of Pittsfield, and rightly so. The Pittsfield Public School system makes much of its zero-tolerance policy on […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, DEC. 7,2012) — The story of the UCONN tailgating party involving Taconic High School senior footballers, the THS football coaching staff, and massive amounts of beer drinking has all but officially been confirmed. THE PLANET has heard from several people who claim knowledge […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 5, 2012) — Recently, THE PLANET announced its Turkey of the Year Award. Today, with the help of a generous donor who wishes to remain anonymous, we want to help him give away three full prepared Christmas dinners. Yes, today, we giveaway […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, DEC. 4, 2012) — Today, we turn our attention to the long-smoldering hotbed-on-ammo-dump known as Middle East politics. The center, naturally, is the state of Israel. Last week, the United National General Assembly approved Palestine as a non-member observer. The vote was 138 […]
By DAN VALENTI PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary (FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, DEC. 3, 2012) — Now that we have awarded the Turkey of the Year Award (Joe Pinhead‘s nomination and application for Judge Bethsaida Sanabria-Vega), THE PLANET wishes to satisfy the voices of many who called for a runner-up. No. 2, which appropriately enough […]
