Good Morning Gloucester
Encyclopedia
Good Morning Gloucester is a long standing blog created by Gloucester, Massachusetts
lobster
broker Joey Ciaramitaro. GMG is a snapshot of living and working on the docks of the oldest commercial fishing harbor in the United States
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. In 2010 the Good Morning Gloucester blog is now receiving more than 60,000 visitors per month and recorded its one millionth visitor in February, 2010. Since March 2009 the Good Morning Gloucester blog is displayed prominently on the Cape Ann
newspaper, The Gloucester Daily Times website front page.
The Good Morning Gloucester float "What Up Homie" won first prize, (uncategorized division), in the 2010 Gloucester Horribles parade on July 3, 2010.
On June 20, 2011 the 29,072 views of Good Morning Gloucester eclipsed the 28,789 population of Gloucester
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
broker Joey Ciaramitaro. GMG is a snapshot of living and working on the docks of the oldest commercial fishing harbor in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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History
Good Morning Gloucester began as a daily post on the Cape Ann Online message board. Joey Ciaramitaro would post photographs that he took while walking to the docks before dawn each morning. This thread became unmanageably long and was moved over to a blog in December 2007. Within a year it was recording more than 30,000 visits per month which made it the most active blog on the North Shore of MassachusettsNorth Shore (Massachusetts)
The North Shore is a region in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, loosely defined as the coastal area between Boston and New Hampshire. The region is made up both of a rocky coastline, dotted with marshes and wetlands, as well as several beaches and natural harbors. The North Shore is an important...
. In 2010 the Good Morning Gloucester blog is now receiving more than 60,000 visitors per month and recorded its one millionth visitor in February, 2010. Since March 2009 the Good Morning Gloucester blog is displayed prominently on the Cape Ann
Cape Ann
Cape Ann is a rocky cape in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. The cape is located approximately 30 miles northeast of Boston and forms the northern edge of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester, and the towns of Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and...
newspaper, The Gloucester Daily Times website front page.
The Good Morning Gloucester float "What Up Homie" won first prize, (uncategorized division), in the 2010 Gloucester Horribles parade on July 3, 2010.
On June 20, 2011 the 29,072 views of Good Morning Gloucester eclipsed the 28,789 population of Gloucester
Recurring themes
- "What Up HomieHomieHomie or homey is a slang term in urban culture whose origins etymologists generally trace to African American language from the late 19th century. This was a time when many African Americans were migrating to cities in larger numbers, and "homeboy" meant a male friend from back home. It was...
?" A frequent sometimes daily post of a photo of a seagull with a cartoon cloud showing what the seagull is thinking. Mostly humorous although Homie sometimes shows the gritty reality of a commercial fishing harbor. - Early morning photograph of Gloucester. This long running series shows a Gloucester one rarely sees unless you work on the docks.
- Rubber Duck Chronicles. The continuing saga of the love affair between a yellow bath toy and a large seagull named Homie. The Rubber Duck is based in Rockport while the seagull roosts in Gloucester.
- Beautiful Industry. Articles or photos of the fishing industryFishing industryThe fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....
of Gloucester, MA. - Art. Article or photos highlighting the high concentration of artArtArt is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
and artists on Cape AnnCape AnnCape Ann is a rocky cape in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. The cape is located approximately 30 miles northeast of Boston and forms the northern edge of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester, and the towns of Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and...
. - Good Eggs. Articles based around members of the Cape AnnCape AnnCape Ann is a rocky cape in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. The cape is located approximately 30 miles northeast of Boston and forms the northern edge of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester, and the towns of Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and...
community that have done something above and beyond, usually in a voluntary capacity. - Food Reviews. Usually a very up close photo of a restaurant meal in GloucesterGloucesterGloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
. Since Gloucester is a working fishing port these reviews tend to be mostly about breakfast since there are at least forty establishments that serve early risers. - GMG Represents! The posting of photos sent in by GMG fans holding a GMG bumper sticker while visiting a foreign land. From Manchester to Moscow.
- Cape Ann Sports! A cadre of professional GMG photographers roam the playing fields and gyms of Cape Ann schools to get in depth action photography of athletic events in the area.
- Fishermen Tattoos. Photographs of tattoos worn by fishermen and others working in Gloucester Harbor.
- St. Peter's Fiesta. Annual in depth coverage of the fiesta held the weekend closest to the saint's feast day including the blessingBlessingA blessing, is the infusion of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval.- Etymology and Germanic paganism :...
of the fleetFishing fleetA fishing fleet is an aggregate of commercial fishing vessels. The term may be used of all vessels operating out of a particular port, all vessels engaged in a particular type of fishing , or all fishing vessels of a country or region.Although fishing vessels are not formally organized as if they...
, and the greasyGreasy poleGreasy pole or grease pole refers to a pole that has been made slippery and thus difficult to grip. More specifically, it is the name of several events that involve staying on, climbing up, walking over or otherwise traversing such a pole...
pole contest. - The Block Party. In depth coverage of the Gloucester Block Parties held on several Saturdays during the summer.
- Gloucester ZenZenZen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
. Movies usually shot in early morning with a stationary camera at high resolution of waves or birds with audio. Good for meditation. - WhaZat? A posting of a photograph somewhere on Cape Ann. GMG regulars then try and guess exactly what it is and where. These photos are usually close-ups of some strange anomaly to make guessing difficult. Expensive prizes awarded to the most accurate guess.
- Art Rocks. Artist Paul Frontiero sketches a scene on a beach rock using only a SharpieSharpie (marker)Sharpie is a manufacturer of writing instruments whose products are sold in over 20 countries. Originally a name designating a single permanent marker, the Sharpie brand has been widely expanded and can now be found on a variety of previously unrelated permanent and non-permanent pens and markers...
. He then posts a clue as to where it is on GMG and the game is on. Some GMG'ers have been racing around in the early morning hours for years trying in vain to own an Art Rock. On the back is Mr. Frontiero's email and he is notified by the new owner that some Art Rocks have made it half way around the world. - Gloucester Doors. Photographs of doors of shops in Gloucester usually done in the early morning.
- Rosa Rugosa! The documentation of Joey Ciaramitaro's infatuation with a common thorny invasive species of Cape Ann. Mostly close-up photographs of the abundant flowers of rosa rugosa.
- Bizarre Sea CreaturesMarine biologyMarine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
. Anything really strange brought up in a net or a lobster trap is photographed and posted on GMG. Rare blue or calico lobsters. Lobsters with more than two claws. Lobsters that have just shed their shell and are as soft as jelly. Although most are strange lobsters even the common striped bass is photographed and posted if it is large and especially if it is the first one of the season. - The Uncategorizable. Photos or videos of fishermen doing strange things. They can be found leaping off buildings into the harbor wearing only a jock strap and a funny hat or french kissing large sea creatures. Incidents like these are recorded by GMG either in photos, movies, or words. Real stories of real people. CGI or photoshopping is not allowed.
- Man vs. Food. First to eat a five pound burger. First to eat a massive breakfast. Last to cry and run home to mommy after eating very hot chicken wings with 4.7 million scoville unitsScoville scaleThe Scoville scale is a measurement of the spicy heat of a chili pepper. The number of Scoville heat units indicates the amount of capsaicin present. Capsaicin is a chemical compound that stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin, especially the mucous membranes.The scale is named after...
of hot sauce. All of these contests and more are captured at GMG. "I dare you" is usually all it takes to begin a contest and Joey is ready to MC. - "What did JJ Jinglenuts catch today?" Up close photos of a mouseMouseA mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
, chipmunkChipmunkChipmunks are small striped squirrels native to North America and Asia. They are usually classed either as a single genus with three subgenera, or as three genera.-Etymology and taxonomy:...
, moleMole (animal)Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
, etc. conjectured to be the remnants of an interaction with the cat, JJ Jinglenuts. Sadly, this series ended on June 9, 2010 with the passing of Mr Jinglenuts. - The Lobster Trap Tree. An annual Christmas season event of the stacking of lobster traps into an enormous Christmas Tree. Other towns down the coast now imitate this annual event.
GMG as Newsbreaker
- Monday, March 29, 2011, Ellen “E.J.” Lefavour who writes the "Did You Know" series at GMG, (now a book) was interviewed by Fox News for her recent GMG story of the letter delivery to Annisquam that took 66 years.
- Monday, June 28, 2010, GMG was visited by a record 6,329 during a peak of the Fiesta coverage.
- On May 27, 2010, Good Morning Gloucester caught the start of The Amazing RaceThe Amazing RaceThe Amazing Race is a reality television game show in which teams of two people, who have some form of a preexisting personal relationship, race around the world in competition with other teams...
on video and confirmed that the 17th race begins in Gloucester. - February 26, 2010, Good Morning Gloucester was viewed for the one millionth time.
- October 20, 2009, GMG interviews fisherman from The Deadliest CatchDeadliest CatchDeadliest Catch is a documentary/reality television series produced by Original Productions for the Discovery Channel. It portrays the real life events aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and C. opilio crab fishing seasons.The Aleutian Islands port of Dutch Harbor,...
including Captains Andy and Jonathan Hillstrand of the Time Bandit. - June 2009 GMG posts exclusive set photos of Adam SandlerAdam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
movie, "Grown Ups"Grown Ups (2010 film)Grown Ups is a 2010 American buddy-comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider. Sandler and Fred Wolf wrote the script. The film was produced by Sandler's production company Happy Madison and was distributed by Columbia...
. - May 24, 2009 Exclusive Photos of Salma HayekSalma HayekSalma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
shopping for produce at the seasonal Farmer's Market in Gloucester. - August 2008 GMG starts fund raising to plant flowering trees on a barren traffic island on Eastern Avenue in Gloucester. In less than a month the money is collected and the trees are planted by GMG volunteers.
- April 2008 GMG posts exclusive set photos of Sandra BullockSandra BullockSandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
movie, "The Proposal"The Proposal (film)The Proposal is a 2009 American romantic comedy film set in Sitka, Alaska. Directed by Anne Fletcher and written by Peter Chiarelli, the film features Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as the leading roles, with Mary Steenburgen, Betty White, and Craig T. Nelson in supporting roles...
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Awards
- Boston, 2011 Most Valuable Blog Award
- Action Inc.'s 2009 Community Outreach Award conferred at the Action Inc. Annual Meeting, Gloucester, MA, September 23, 2009
- United States CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
Certificate of Special Recognition Award from Congressman John F. TierneyJohn F. TierneyJohn F. Tierney is the United States representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party and an advocate for liberal policies and government oversight. A former attorney, he has served since 1997....
, 6th District of Massachusetts. - Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Senate Special Recognition Award offered by State Senator Bruce E. Tarr
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts House of RepresentativesMassachusetts House of RepresentativesThe Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
Special Recognition Award offered by State Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante