Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg traveled back to his Massachusetts roots and gave the commencement speech at Tufts University. Bloomberg, who grew up in Medford, name checked various haunts in the hood, tried to seem with it by mentioning Busta Rhymes, Ali G, and Salma Hayek, and reminded kids to call their mother. He also discussed free speech, in what the Sun called a nod to the Minutemen incident at Columbia:

The fourth lesson is, in the words of Ali G, 'Respect.' Don't worry, I'm not going to start quoting Borat. Respect is so important - especially in times of conflict. You all know what I'm talking about. In December, The Primary Source printed some things that much of this community ardently disagreed with - that many considered quite offensive. But instead of suppressing the publication - and despite the emotion of the moment - you respected their right to express themselves. more ›

I was born during the Kennedy administration, in Milwaukee Wisconsin, so people can date me within a thousand days. I went to Tufts University in Boston, which is where I started making short films. In fact, my first project was with my next-door neighbor, Gary Winick, who directed Tadpole and is off doing Charlotte’s Web right now. I had an idea to do a short film on super 8, I asked Gary if he would act in it, which he agreed. So, he had to take of his Fiorucci’s. He was from New York, so that’s what they were wearing at the time. more ›