3 Ring Binder

When I was about five or six, I went to the circus with Uncle Chuck.  I remember very little about the circus, and even less about “Uncle” Chuck, but I remember two things distinctly from that day: driving in his very cool, very red convertible and singing for my supper in the diner where we ate after the circus. A few things remain inexplicable to me about that day, but the actual singing seemed quite normal.  After some banter with the waitress, Uncle Chuck announced to the customers that I would be singing a song.  While I don’t remember exactly what song I sung, I do know that Sweet Charity was a big hit musical around then, that we had the album, and that I happen to remember all the words to Big Spender from my youth (and like to trot it out from time to time – but I digress). I distinctly remember standing in aisle, near our booth, and belting one out for the rest of customers to hear.  I also remember that except for th...

Unless you live in Somerville. Growing up, we called these Mary on the half-shell . It's not surprising to me that someone took the time to photograph the collection of them he saw on the lawns in his town.

I took this in the woods in the Berkshires last year. It's from my tiny digital camera, so the resolution leaves much to be desired, but the moment was fantastic. The leaves were raining down all over us and the woods smelled like a bright combination of sweet overripe fruit mixed with freshly fallen, newly turned leaves and cool earth. Leaves by Elise Brady How silently they tumble down And come to rest upon the ground To lay a carpet, rich and rare, Beneath the trees without a care, Content to sleep, their work well done, Colors gleaming in the sun. At other times, they wildly fly Until they nearly reach the sky. Twisting, turning through the air Till all the trees stand stark and bare. Exhausted, drop to earth below To wait, like children, for the snow. Love in Autumn by Sara Teasdale I sought among the drifting leaves, The golden leaves that once were green, To see if Love were hiding there And peeping out between. For thro' the silver showers of May And thro' the sum...

Dispelling chicken myths, one picture at a time.

I have started at least four posts of some substance and been sidetracked by one thing or another, so I've decided to let loose some of the linky love (TM) I have built up inside (or in the coffee mug on my desk if you prefer). Is it wrong to have a two year-old as my new fashion icon ? I don't care. She works that wig like nobody's business. I have fallen into another doggie-do pile. This time it's the Iditarod Dogsled Race! Check out all that is Iditarod on both the official website , and on the website of my friend and fellow homeschooler, Fiddler . We are still in the planning stages of constructing a giant wall map (thinking about using painter's tape) and then picking our mushers to follow. The race starts on March 7, so there's still time for you to prepare. Two new blogs have caught my eye - well, let's face it - I noticed because they stopped by my blog. Both bloggers seem to be just starting out, but had the serious good taste to link to my blog i...

Seriously, I just saw this commercial on TV and thought it was so goofy that I needed to find it on You Tube. Well, not only did I find it, but I found that I was not alone in my assessment of the advertising efforts. My question: why is the Mom nice and warm and the baby subject to the elements? My advice: if you see these folks at a sporting event - don't walk - run!

Here are two bits of information which I found out this morning thanks to Geek Press , that I'd like to share: A new melody handwritten by Mozart has been found in Paris. A 12 year-old invents a new type of solar cell that works with visible and UV light.

Je ne parle pas Francaise, mais j'essaie. Hier soir, j'ai parle avec la femme qui guardes mon fils quand il etait a France. Si cette est difficile pour vous lire, imaginez-vous comment difficile il etait pour la femme pauvre me comprends! Ah, Francais de la college etait de plus nombreuses annees. (My sincerest apologies to those of you who can actually speak or read French.) In honor of the feisty woman who played the role of my son's mother in France, and who, without speaking 10 words of English (really) has managed to travel to America for the first time in her life, alone, no less, and who loves Marilyn Monroe (said something nasty about President Kennedy, but my French, she is not so good) and who I met only yesterday, I offer my favorite picture of Marilyn. [I bought this poster to hang in our basement gym to inspire me, but have yet to be inspired to find the right sized poster frame to hang it. That's a problem. ] Today's Word of the Day is ambisinister . E...

These are a few of my favorite mugs. I collect coffee mugs. I never intended to do this, but ceramic mugs are texturally appealing to me and completely functional. Combine these attributes with a low price and a display that strikes me as funny, clever, or appeals to my sense of life or feelings of nostalgia and BAM! It’s mug mayhem in the kitchen! When it’s time to cull the stock (those that are chipped, stained, or just don’t otherwise meet my needs any longer), I try to repurpose my favorite ones first. As many others I’m sure have discovered, an unused coffee mug is a perfect place to collect pens, pencils, and other tall/skinny stationery items on one’s desk. However, I have begun to use my coffee mugs to collect all the little things, which belonging nowhere else in particular, I like to have at hand. While I am certainly not commenting on relative importance of the following items, here are the contents of the virtual coffee mug on my mental desk of late: Getting Things Done ....

I'm often struck by sudden and random connections between things I see and things I've seen somewhere before (even without wonky eyes ). This is especially true when I look at photographs then images from art and other visual media come screaming out at me. I tried to find some actual examples of pictures that suddenly reminded me of something else I’ve seen. Here are a few, all of which are also connected to the ocean by mere coincidence. The Gorton's Fisherman The Oyster Gatherers Boats at bay Though sometimes amusing (or disturbing), these correlations of visual perceptions require little more than involuntary mental integration and are basically arbitrary. Art , however, is not a mere connection to reality, but rather a stylized representation of reality exhibiting the artist's values: an aesthetic abstraction . For your viewing pleasure, here is a painting by Andre Derain, exhibiting his representation of "Fishing Boats, Collioure", 1905. (By the way, th...

Sometimes, a girl gets to wondering.... what other paths could I have chosen?

As my IP was once again unable to generate a DNS for my computer over the last two days, here are a few things which Struck My Fancy this weekend: Salt by Mark Kurlansky. I’ve been trying to finish this damn book forever. It’s not that it’s a bad, boring, or belaboring book, it’s just that it’s chock full of fascinating stuff! My love of salty meat products notwithstanding, I didn’t realize that the simple white rock played such an important place in history from food preservation to rued taxation, sustenance to subsidence, mythology to geology. My curiosity was piqued by hundreds of ideas presented in the book. I was enriched by reading it. I was really sad to hear about the death of Tim Russert . There is a nice tribute from his friends at MSNBC . His death reminded me of John Ritter’s sudden death during the prime of his popularity – both very tragic. Finally, for you L.A. Lakers fans, did you ever notice how much Luke Walton looks like Richard Kiel ?