November 10, 2008
Oliver-isms at age 3
"Oliver, your five minutes are up." "No! My five minutes are down!"
"I don't want that bandaid. That bandaid is ridiculous."
For a long time, after returning from Brazil in August and making the difficult transition back to using both English and Portuguese, Oliver said porque for "because" and quando for "when" in all his English sentences. He still says quando, but porque has morphed into "that's why" instead of "because," which makes sense if you look at the literal translation of porque/por que, which, of course, is used both for "why?" and "because."
For instance: "It's hot that's why the sun is out."
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May 18, 2008
How about this great prospective tenant?
my is Cindy,25yrs lady straight raised up in United States of American,Am looking for nice peacefully cool place to rent in Ur city on this month, B's have a great project to do in Ur city for my company this month I saw your advert and I am sincerely interested in renting Ur place and I 'am writing just to confirm if you still have the place available for me to rent. More in formations About Me Basically an easy going woman and I am a little on the goth/punk side but get along with most everybody not picky about people.I'll trust you the way you trust me I'm a very outgoing person and also a roommates who are down to earth relaxed and respectful I d stay out of the way and pull my fair share and am a very open minded woman,I would like to extend my friendship, and perhaps even more with an honest gentle roommate of integrity of the area i found my self in I speak many European language- meeting people from other cultures would not impose any difficulty and have spent the last few years raft-guiding in the summer and traveling in the winter. I feel that people that are important to you should be made to feel that they are important. Life is shorter than it should be sometimes. I don't want my roommate ones to wonder if I cared. A good sense of humor is a must! What fun would life be without laughter? I like funny movies, love Jeff Dun ham, Dane Cook, Ron White, etc. I enjoy going to the Comedy Club, and love sit Com's. With all of the bad things and evil in the world today, thank God for laughter and humor! For FUN I enjoy training (karate), walking/running, interior decorating, TV, cooking, flea markets, music, etc. Oh, I'm also a big Tiger fan. I love to go places and do a variety of different things. It would be nice to have someone to share things with. favorite hot spots: I'm not a huge fan of bars, but I do like live music. I enjoy eating out. I enjoy trying new places and new foods. I love to try "hole in the wall" places. I love both the mountains and the beach. I haven't been to either in quite some time though. favorite things: Food: Southern, Italian, Greek, Thai, Chinese, Mexican- Easy to please. Colors: It depends. When it's raining, I like to read, watch TV, cook, cuddle, do puzzles, etc. TV and Music: wide variety of both. (I Love Lucy and Andy- mindless and wholesome) for fun: What I enjoy at 50...HM…. *Laughing with family & friends - they are my core *Shopping for the unique * Walks at sunrise/sunsets *An accurate drive-Thur order *The thought of being a Grandma someday (No rush kids Wait)! I have been single for a few months now and think Im ready for a new adventure. I am an honest and trustworthy person who is looking for mutual respect. I am fun-loving, passionate, silly, hard-working, and have a great sense of humor. I am not perfect, (and do not expect to find "perfect"), and have my scars like the rest of us. But, I have a lot of love, laughter, loyalty, and friendship to offer to the right guy who is looking to enjoy life and a loving relationship. I am a self-employed artist and have a crazy/flexible schedule and love traveling, animals, hiking, walks on the beach, quiet nights at home, going out to see live music of all kinds. I'm really friendly, open mind kind of person, don't get upset for nothing, I'm clean and really organized and when I cook I leave no trace behind Before going back, I hate cheating and riding and I'd love to give the best i can to all my roommate and i knew that its not gonna be easier for only you to be responsible for all the payments method for the house and i think on that i can do every-things to please you to make sure we both both put hands together to pay rent bills and every-things regarding for the house payment regularly and i knew its gonna be a great happiness for you to have a hard working, disciplined,easy going and a clean down earth person, easy to get along with as your roommate preference, if you think am a very lucky lady for you as this time you can rent out your room with please i would appreciate if you can get back with me via my private contact Email Address: siliconcindy @ gmail.comNOTE: PLS ANSWER THE QUESTION BELOW CAREFULLY
(1) QUESTION`S(2) Do you like quiet or parties?
(3)Would anyone consider getting to know me & possibly get an
apartment together?(4) Do you pay your bills on time?
(5) Are you one who eats others leftovers?
(6) What is your biggest pet peeve??
(7) What is your religious background??
(8) Are you married or Do you have a person who would be over often?
(9) cool pic of you and the pics of the room?
(10) little introduction about Ur self?
(11) Total cost to move in as first month rent?
I will be very glad to have all this questions answered with out
leaving a stone unturned.
Pls for quick respond & Fax Email kindly write me back via my gmail
account. siliconcindy@gmail.com
Posted by John at 09:21 AM | permalink | Comments (0)
Apartment Scams
If these ever learn just to say "Is the apartment still available," we could be in trouble. In the meantime, who is going consider an inquiry like this?:
Hi, My name is Julian ,22years old,female, a very simple and quiet person to live with. I love travelling, sporting and enjoy meeting people. I don't smoke but do not mind people who do being around me. I am cool, pretty laid and easy going person and like to have a roommate or landlord who is very responsible and understanding . I saw your advert and i am sincerely interested in the room advertised as i will be moving i leave here [Australia].I am writing just to confirm if you still have the room for
rent..............If YES Please I will like to have answers to the
following questions below:
1) I will like to have the description of the room, size, and the
equipments in there.
2) I will like to have the rent fee per month plus the utilities.
3) I will also be coming with some of my furniture, that is if it is
allowed, like bed, book shelf because I read alot, shoe rank etc
4) If the 4 questions are YES, I will like to know the total cost for
the initial move as in first month rent plus utilities and if deposit
is necessary.
5) I will like to know the major intersection
Note my question is not compusry if you can not answer all.
Thanks as i anxiuosly await your mail. I am looking forward to
hearing from you soon.
Regards
Julian.
Posted by John at 09:15 AM | permalink | Comments (0)
April 24, 2008
Jeff Kent, Goat in Blue
As a fan of the game of baseball more than any particular team, I place a high value on good sportsmanship. I've been watching the Dodgers a lot this season and, despite their rough start, enjoying the players and especially Joe Torre. What a bummer tonight to see their frustration boil over so stupidly. Jeff Kent's force play at second is ruled safe, his foot apparently off the bag, by an umpire standing six feet away, staring straight at the play, and ruling immediately. Maybe he was wrong, but, hey, he had the best view in the house and it was too close to call on tv in slow-mo. Kent argues and argues, well past the point when he should have been thrown out, forcing Torre to come out and argue too. Then in the next inning he shoots his mouth off again, his face so contorted with rage he looks like the killer rabbit in Monty Python's Holy Grail. He eventually gets tossed, as he should have, and forces, I assume, Torre to get tossed too, in the late innings of close game. What an idiot. It will take a while for the bad taste of that one to clear. In the meantime, there's always the Angels to enjoy....
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April 07, 2008
The pure joy of second-time baby
For practically Oliver's whole first year, I'm not sure I ever looked at him asleep without wondering in the back of my neurotic mind if I could remember the details of infant CPR if needed. With Luiza...
...no such problem. She sleeps for hours in my arms and it's pure pleasure.
Plus, I took a CPR refresher last month :-)
Posted by John at 10:34 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
Torii Hunter
He spells his name funny, but I think we'll keep him. Here's why.
Posted by John at 10:23 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
March 21, 2008
If spammers and scammer could spell...
If Internet spammers and spammers could invest a little in correct English in their emails, they might get a lot more victims. Could the fact that they don't mean that they get enough victims anyway? Advertising our condo for rent on the open market for the first time ever, we got one of the infamous Craigslist scam attempts yesterday. Something about this inquiry, "sooth my taste," I think, piqued by suspicion and in thirty seconds on Google I found the exact same fractured text on many real estate sites:
Please let me know if this unit is still available for rent. I will be living in this unit with my wife and daughter. Provide me adequate information on your rent procedures, and the current situation of this unit. Is this house furnished? I would prefer it unfurnished as i intend placing order for my own kind of furniture that will sooth my taste. Can you send me a few pictures of the house?. Treat as urgent pls. +44 70457 46081 Cordial Zoran.
Posted by John at 10:54 PM | permalink | Comments (1)
February 12, 2008
New Baby!
Our daughter, Luiza Maria, was born on Feb. 6. She weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. Unlike our nearly glabrous first-born, Luiza came out with a full head of dark hair, about an inch and a half long!
Oliver, taking a bath a couple of nights later, heard her crying. "Luiza is crying!" "Why do you think she's crying?" asked Dad. "Because the dragon eating her!" replied Oliver happily.
Pix are here.
Posted by John at 12:29 AM | permalink | Comments (2)
October 16, 2007
Another Quake
I was sitting in the living room at a little before 2 a.m., listening to Sibelius Symphony No. 5 through headphones. I felt a quick, sharp vertical movement and thought I heard a bit of a bumping noise. Did I doze off? Was it noise from the study lounge upstairs? Or was that an earthquake? I immediately ran to the computer and the SoCal seismic site, refreshed the browser a couple of times and saw this:
I was right! A 4+ (4.2), just on the other side of the San Bernadino Mts. Event Id ci10285533 at 1:53 a.m. There were five more little shocks of 2.0 or less at the same location within the next fifteen minutes or so, but I didn't feel them. It looks like the first 4+ quake in at least a week, maybe more.
Here's the detailed list:
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October 01, 2007
Go to work, daddy!
Friday afternoon, I'm home after a day - nay, a week - of work, Oliver comes in with my shoes, sets them down in front of me and says, "Papai...sapatos...trabalhar" ("Daddy...shoes...to work")! Smart kid, but a stern taskmaster.
He's also figured out that Leda is more responsive to people who call her by her name, and now when he really wants action he yells "Leda, Leda." He's also taken to calling me and his Avó by our names as well, "John Norvell" in my case, "Dona Maria" in hers.
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September 27, 2007
Names for things, names for people
Oliver is now starting to realize that there are two different languages in his life, I think. For a while now, he will call things by two names if he knows them both and especially if he really wants something: "barco, barco, boat, boat" when he wants to watch his "on the go" Baby Einstein video, for example. His vovó/grandmother now routinely asks him, "how do say that in English" and he will answer.
He will also now successully answer questions about proper names from relational names: What is mamãe's/mommy's name? Leda. What is papai's/daddy's name? John Norvell. What is vovó's name? Dona Maria (because he's heard me call her that). What is the neném's/baby's name? Oliver!
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May 29, 2007
Wifeless & childless
Oh, and I got to go to a baseball game and read the WHOLE newspaper over coffee because wife and son flew to Brazil late Sunday night. I miss 'em. But I don't lack for activities to distract me! :-)
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Inland Empire 66ers
Yesterday evening I went to see the local Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Angels) play down the freeway in San Bernadino against the 66ers (Dodgers). It's quite a nice stadium, with nice mountain views, plenty of good seats (I don't know if it's always this empty or just a sunny Memorial Day low). Food options were bad and beer choices worse. Bud, Bud, and more Bud. There were three taps for better brews, but two were out of service and a third served "Spiced Wheat Beer." I opted for a "Margarita," which turned out to be a bottle of "Agave Wine Cooler," one of the worst beverages I've ever tasted. 66ers 9, Quakes 2 when I left in the bottom of the eighth.
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May 24, 2007
Shakes
Two earthquakes at nearly 4 magnitude tonight around 11:15. As soon as we felt the jolt, I went to the Internet and found this site, which is dynamically updated and won't show these quakes after about a week from now. Here's what I saw when I first loaded the page:
and then the following list, about an hour later, showing two small aftershocks. Devore is in the Cajon Pass on I-15 , so 2-3 miles south of Devore makes it in the foothills just about 10 miles east of here. Within an hour over four hundred people had logged onto the site to report the quake and describe their experience of it.
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March 31, 2007
Oliver Norvell . . . ah . . Hardy
Browsing around on MySpace in preparation for a lecture I'm going to give on social networking sites, I made the discovery that Oliver hardy (of Laurel and Hardy fame) was born Norvell Hardy, and later changed his name to Oliver in honor of his father (at least according to Wikipedia). I saw a tag for "Oliver Norvell Hardy" on someone's MySpace profile. My son's name, of course, is João Oliver Martins Norvell.
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March 07, 2007
New Relaxation Technique
I'm not sure if passenger screening at airports really does much of anything to protect us from terrorism, but it sure is good for some laughs, as guards and police swing into action and press conferences are convened to explain why planes were emptied or diverted and airports thrown into chaos for things like a drop of bleach in a drinking water bottle. Today, we learn in the L.A. Times of possible new relaxation technique after an US-resident Iraqi national was arrested after producing a "rock, chewing gum and thin wire filament" from his rectum. He said they were to alleviate stress.
The scary part is that while he was being arrested on suspicion of having all or part of a bomb in his bum, his flight took off with his luggage still aboard.
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October 20, 2006
Oh, and...
Oh, and he's walking! Took off Saturday night, October 7, one day shy of his eleventh month birthday. We were at the Maracá Ecological research station, sitting around the common room, when he started putting more than two or three steps together. He's delighted with himself!
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October 12, 2006
João Oliver's newest tricks
João Oliver debuted three new inventions in the past weeks. One is to bend over and check out the view of world upside down between his legs. He straightens up and laughs like crazy, but I don’t know if it’s from the view or from a head rush! Another, not so amusing is the reinvention of the wheel of the “fit”: arching, writhing, and throwing himself prostrate on the floor. Finally, yesterday he came up with a frighteningly realistic imitation of an obstructed airway, a wheezing, sucking sound, after which he proudly laughs and looks to our horrified faces for encouragement.
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June 04, 2006
Polygamy: Utah style and Mobster style
Did anyone else suspect that Big Love was going to end its season with a bigger bang than the Sopranos? Still: Tony Soprano: "She's Dominican. Maybe." Can't wait for next year with both shows!
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March 13, 2006
New J.O. firsts, at least for me
Today was my first day with a lot of playing with J.Oliver since he returned from Brazil. He has a lot of new vocalizations, including a back-of-the-throat trill that makes him sound like a flock of parakeets. He grabbed and held onto his feet for the first time that I've seen and made the first moves toward crawling: while sitting up again me, he struggled to lean forward and down onto the tummy-time posture he now tolerates and even enjoys for substantial periods of time. He spends most of the day with two or more fingers in his mouth and will pull mine in as well. Too early for real teething, I think, but maybe there's some movement down in his gums. We usually swap them for a pacifier when possible. Less messy, I guess is the reason. He also really enjoyed a bit of up and down, lift and fall kind of play. Leda has told me that while in Brazil he was developing a taste for a little bit of rough-housing. He can't roll himself over yet - the only "can possibly do" at four months milestone he hasn't achieved.
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March 09, 2006
Back with the wife and kid...
Leda and J.O. arrived back in town this morning. Although I might not have picked João Oliver out of a line-up based on his filled-out face, to my pleasant surprise he really hadn't grown than much or changed his habits and abilities either. He's still the little baby that left six weeks ago.
Here he is with his Grandpa in the Brasília airport yesterday afternoon:
And here he is in Boa Vista with his adoring cousin Miguel (that Brazilian towel-head thing again - ??):
...who has already got him addicted to television, apparently. =0
I finished the master bath while Leda was gone, and, at my friend Laurie Graham's incredible home shop with the milling machine, built some really spiffy little poplar wall brackets to hang the Yanomami spears and bow that have been packed up for two years now:
For Iliana, the "towel-head thing" explained :-) :
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February 23, 2006
Flummoxed and Flutzed
It is true, I think, that the new skating rules have made the programs look largely the same, with a few exceptions now and then. Lots of beautiful skating from the women as well as the men, though. Shizuka Arakawa was great. The two with the most to lose, Cohen and Slutskaya, were a little nervous and tight.
Every four years I have to find a website to guide me through the salchows and loops and stuff. This year I found a reference to the "flutz," the lutz that wobbles back from the last-minute outside edge to really be a flip off the inside edge The super-slow motion on the triple lutz that Sasha Cohen fell on at the beginning showed so clearly that it was a flip. Why does she get credit for it?
I'm so tired of Dick Button. So much a back-in-the-day-when-things-were-beautiful kind of guy now. I hope he retires soon. Scott Hamilton is very pleasurable and interesting to listen to.
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February 22, 2006
More musings on the last few days of Winter Olympics
More on snowboard cross. I do detect a strategy now: Stay the hell out of the way and be the last one standing. The announcers keep saying that "anything can happen" in snowboard cross. The top riders can end last, and vice versa. So, is an event in which anything can happen a sport or a throw of the dice? The women's final was "total carnage," according to the announcer, as if that's a good thing.
Lindsey Jacobellis' showboating that lost her the gold was the talk of the Mammoth ski area, of course, as the video clip ran over and over again in the lodge. Too easy to call it a symbol of American hubris abroad? Probably. Hard to know whether it was the joyful irreverence of an upstart sport or the lack of discipline symptomatic of a gen-x diversion masquerading as sport.
Denis Petukhov, the Russian who became an American citizen last year to perform for the US said in an interview that he's the "best example of the American dream." Huh?
Shani Davis. We can't hold him to a higher standard for being African-American, of course, but it is too bad his role model for potential young skaters from a new demographic (urban, Black, whatever...) has to include the prima donna act. Hedrick was not too much better by the time it was all over.
Memo to Canadian Joannie Rochette, re: figure skating, short program. "Like a Prayer" scored for chamber orchestra not a good idea.
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February 19, 2006
Happy birthday, Mom!
...spending it at the Lake Quinault Lodge.
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First Sierra powder
I went to Mammoth this weekend primarily to cross country ski, but I slipped my telemark gear in the box as well, thinking maybe one day, but when the snow dumped Friday afternoon and night and then all day Sunday I forsook the skate and classic skis for the tele boards and skied two long days at June Mountain. Great snow, lots of sun on Saturday, and Sunday's dump made the skiing get better and better as the day went on. I did a little classic x-c on Friday afternoon after the long drive up.
On Saturday I skiied for an hour with a Inoyo National Forest naturalist. I was the only one who showed up for the tour. We talked about the vulcanology of the Long Valley caldera and the white-bark pine beetle, among other topics. Retired guy, now a volunteer, great skier.
Driving back five hours Sunday night I realized that some of those nice people I chatted with on the lifts may have been the same anti-social SUV assholes who tailgated me with their high-beams on at 75 mph on US-395. As they close in on L.A., the reversion to type is complete.
You know how when that happens, you hope they suffer a speeding ticket, if not a single-vehicle rollover fatality? The former kind of poetic justice finally happened on the way up to Mammoth on Friday. This car rode my bumper hard all the way through a speed zone in a little town, roaring past me at the first opportunity and straight into the waiting arms of Smokey, who might have gotten me for a few miles per hour over the limit if this car hadn't flushed him out. Green Jetta with two women. Ha ha ha!
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Winter Olympics, last couple of days
Watching two nights from my hotel in Bishop, CA, Friday and Saturday, home again Sunday night.
I was going to say no event where nobody ever falls can really be a sport, but the Canadian ice dancing couple who fell painfully in the last few seconds, and then the two Italian teams both sprawling on the ice in their programs, send me to find other reasons to disqualify this goofy event. Maybe the vulgar costumes. Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto may be the most attractive pair ever to hit the ice, but her original dance program costume was more than vulgar. Was that a fake thong? Like a thong dickey?
The second half of the program of Barbara and Maurizio, the second Italian pair, started with a bossa nova, which is not even a dance, moving to a samba which looked nothing like samba whatsover.
Can I just say that I also hate freestyle skiing of all kinds, and then I'll say nothing else negative about entire medal events? Halfpipe, snowboard cross, ice dancing, freestyle skiing, moguls. Can 'em all.
Luge, skeleton, and bobsled are almost impossible to make interesting on television, short of a crash, but I admire them as sports.
Ski jumping is too cool for words. I wish they'd figure out a way to televize it so as to give some sense of the scale and the view from the stands. The cams on the track don't do it for me. Ski jumpers are so waif-like, like flying skiing fairies.
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February 16, 2006
João Oliver in the Amazon
Look how chubby! Look how he holds his head to see the book! Look how he snoozes suspended over the stinky dog!
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Winter Olympics Day Six
I love curling, and I loved it before everybody started saying it was "cool." A little before, anyway. It's icy shuffleboard with young, attractive people.
Skeleton and luge: If I had known at age ten that these were sports, I would have had a very different childhood, is all I've got to say. I lived for that.
No medal I guess, but Matt Savoie's free skate tonight was as enjoyable to watch as any I've seen. All three American singles men (4th, 5th, 7th tonight) are really beautiful, interesting skaters.
Ok, half-pipe is a stupid, stupid sport, but it's not boring, exactly. Boring - no, NOT curling - is the even newer "snowboard cross." No detectable skill or strategy, even while reports of skill and strategy are pounded into my ear by totally stoked commentators. I'm currently watching the quarterfinals, where the two riders who don't fall down advance. Ditto semis.
If the US ends poorly in the medal chase, I think they should add a biathlon of saucer sledding and snow ball fighting (to improve a bit on Felix Gillette's suggestion), and I'll go back into training.
Tomorrow I head up to Mammoth for some winter olympics of my own, hopefully two days of skating at the Tamarack x-c ski area and one day of telemarking.
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February 13, 2006
Winter Olympic Day Three
Can I just say that Zhang and Zhang - trying the throw quad salchow, her falling straight on her knees, shaking it off, and their finishing the program for a silver medal - that's what I watch the Olympics for. The golden Russians were absolutely beautiful.
Hey, more half-pipe. Wheeeee. Lots of agonies of defeats in downhill. Luge accident. Ouch.
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Vice-Poacher
Not only did our idiot vice-president shoot his hunting companion, HE WAS POACHING!
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February 12, 2006
Winter Olympics Day Two, continued
Michelle Kwan. The most beautiful skater ever. Too bad we won't get to see her skate this year.
Is this the first Olympics that luge sliders are wearing booties with separate toes? Isn't that cute? They should dye them different colors.
The Winter Olympic ads have been way better than the Super Bowl ads. I'm laughing my head off at so many of them.
Note to self: don't change your skis twice in the last twenty-four hours before a big downhill race.
Another great name in sports: Antti Autti. Miraculous is that there are enough Europeans interested in the halfpipe to be "podiuming" with the Americans in this crappy sport.
Is it just me, or do the names of the half-pipe moves all sound like the latest slang terms for maijuana?
Felix Gillette wrote Friday in Slate that one of four ways Americans have traditionally won lots of medals in the Winter Olympics is by inventing new sports nobody else cares about. (The other three are hosting the games, changing the rules, and keeping the Russians out.)
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Winter Olympics Day Two
Liked the cross country pursuit today and the ski jumping. I would like to try jumping someday. Kind of like flying.
I like that NBC is showing sports with no Americans in them.
Ok, so maybe this is the first appearance of a real generation gap for me: half-pipe. At the Olympics. I can't stop laughing. It's no different from any other sport I guess, but to hear the names of these moves and the lingo of snowboarding uttered with Olympics drama. I'm sorry, it's like Olympic skateboarding. "Back to back 10-80s and a front-side 7-20." Huh? You mean when they spin around?
What will it mean when Americans cease to dominate our goofy, made-up sport of snowboarding half-pipe?
.
"Podium" is now a verb, as in, "he'll need a better run than that to podium here."
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February 11, 2006
Winter Olympics Day One
I was hiking most of the day today, but I did watch a little Women's Hockey during breakfast (Sweden x Russia, the fifteen minutes I saw looked like late-night intramurals at Cornell...). Came home and saw a little more while fixing supper. Beautiful pair skating. I turned on just in time to see the first ever Olympic thrown triple axel by Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, which put a little lump in my throat. I would turn down the volume for figure skating except that I wouldn't hear the music. There is no sport commentating that so detracts from my enjoyment of the sport as in figure skating, no matter who is doing it. I thought that under the famously new rules for scoring, I would never have to hear "uh-oh, there'll be a deduction for that!". Right. Now it's, "uh-oh, under the old rules there would have been a deduction for that. Under the new rules they won't get as many points for...." I watched a nice program by Chinese Zhang and Zhang duo set to Led Zeppelin (!) that Dick Button nickeled and dimed throughout only to see them take the lead.
Moguls. I hate to ski them, hate to watch people ski them. In an ideal winter world they wouldn't exist. Not even the breathless medal-race hype can make this event interesting. Ok, well, Kari Traa can. (Have you seen those photos? Did I say I really hope to visit Norway some day?) Great name. Kari Traa. Ok, 'nuff said 'bout that. She got silver.
Some of the NBC announcers are saying "Torino" as opposed to "Turin" and the website does too.
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January 27, 2006
Keep your chickens out of my yard, hippie.
A lawyer friend of mine defended a guy last year who has a farm in upstate New York. Some rich folks from the city built a big house next to his and then tried to get his farm shut down. He won (New York has a right-to-farm law), but now the city has passed a special law with very high penalties for straying livestock. An amusing article from the local paper of record is here.
"The Chryslers, who have struggled with the unwelcome fowl for a year and a half, attended the meeting and were not happy with those unable to appreciate the necessity for the law."
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Childless, wifeless
Leda left for six weeks in Brazil yesterday, and she took our baby with her! I miss 'em already
I was expecting to wake up at night in a panic about where the baby was (my dad reports frequent such experiences until my siblings and I were moved into our cribs), but I didn't. Slept like a baby myself, in fact. Way better than a baby, actually; ever slept with a baby? That expression, meaning "well" or "peacefully" makes absolutely no sense!
Posted by John at 01:14 PM | permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
A teaser to read very closely
Here's a teaser headline from today's Los Angeles Times that I had to read several times:
O.C. Animal Shelter Official is ArrestedThe supervisor is accused of having sex with female inmates who were there to shave time off their sentences.
Whaa?! With female whats?
Aside from the potentially misplaced modifier (to shave time off their sentences: being at the Animal Shelter or having sex with the supervisor for this purpose?), I was missing an important word in three subsequent readings:
O.C. Animal Shelter Official is ArrestedThe supervisor is accused of having sex with female inmates who were working there to shave time off their sentences.
Maybe my misreading was an effect of the discussion of bestiality and the Internet that came up in my class this week.
Posted by John at 12:59 PM | permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 23, 2006
João Oliver's new abilities
Just in the last week, J.O. can push himself up a little bit when on his belly, hold his head upright when held sitting or upright, suck his fingers like crazy, sort of howl along when I sing to him, and bat the toys that hang in front of him in his vibrator chair.
At this week's two-month appointment, he weighed 13 lbs. 5 oz. and measured 24 3/4 in.
Posted by John at 10:13 PM | permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
January 15, 2006
I had a cow, man
I set an alarm to rouse me from a nap to watch The Simpsons tonight, only to make the rude discovery that the show was preëmpted by that overwrought, overacted, and totally underwhelming (we agreed to tape a couple of episodes for some friends one time) 24 crap. Guess I hadn't been paying much attention to the details of the ever more overwrought Fox advertising! My life has no more meaning for the rest of the day. Damn!
Posted by John at 08:13 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
December 26, 2005
J. Oliver's changing abilities and moods
The last couple of days, Oliver has been smiling a lot at all of us (my Dad is visiting at the moment). As of today he has also developed wet tears to go with his increasingly common crying. His early warning signs of hunger have gone by the wayside, and he resorts to pitiful wailing at the first pang, I think. Also, he hasn't been very calm with me today, unless he's asleep. He wakes up, discovers whose arms he's in, and starts to cry. Not too good for my ego, i'm afraid. But then I don't have breasts, which are his world right now....
Posted by John at 11:18 PM | permalink | Comments (7)
December 25, 2005
Christmas Dinner Menu
Roast Goose with Madeira Peppercorn Sauce
Farofa
Braised Red Cabbage
Green Beans with Almonds
Sweet Onion and Tomato Gratin
Internet Deep Dish Cranberry/Blueberry Pie
Pinot Noir, Limoncello
Posted by John at 09:03 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
November 09, 2005
Announcing the arrival of João Oliver Martins Norvell
Hello! It will be a couple of days before I can assemble an email list, so here's the first e-announcement: João Oliver Martins Norvell was born on November 8, 2005, at 6:35 a.m., weighing in at 8 lbs. 5 oz., 21 inches long, fiesty and hungry from his first breath. Here's a picture from his first real nap of the day, late in the afternoon (lots more in the photo gallery):
Posted by John at 11:06 AM | permalink | Comments (4)
September 26, 2005
Finally finished master bathroom
...except for sealing the grout and caulking and putting the toilet back in and putting up the shower doors and the shower controls and, well, the new vanity top and sink, and....
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Full renovation pics are here.
Posted by John at 09:39 PM | permalink | Comments (7)
September 02, 2005
Rough month, rough move
Well, here am I in my new home, Claremont, CA. My Dad had a car accident a week before my move west, and I spent a worried weekend in the hospital in Seattle while he and my Mom and sister and I got through the first few days of his broken L1 vertebrae. I had to go back to Cambridge too soon, but my sister stayed on for a week more, replaced by my other sister after that. Dad is now on a rapid road to full recovery, it seems, but it's been painful.
My packing up went pretty well, and I had nice visits with a sister in Pennsylvania and then a college buddy in Columbus, OH. My long-time luck on long-distance trips and moves gave out along the way, however, when my car was broken into in a hotel parking lot in the midwest. They tried to steal the car and drive away with the U-haul trailer but only succeeded in tearing up the ignition assembly. Amateurs, I guess, and thank god for that. They then turned their attention to the contents of the car, and found my desktop computer under a tarpulin, riding more safely, I thought, over the soft suspension of the car than over the hard bouncing trailer axel. They also found the camera that was tucked in under a box to be handy for a picture along the way but which I thus forgot to take up to the room with me. They also grabbed a gym bag containing an mp3 player/recorder and two cases filled with every cd I've ever pirated (some kind of capitalist justice there, I suppose). I was stuck for two days waiting for the repair on the car. The rest of the trip was pretty nice, but I grieved the whole way for the computer, a lovingly home-made box I was totally attached to. I also really liked that old Nikon FE with the 24mm lens. Oh well.
Anyway, August is over, Dad is on the mend, the theft losses are fading into memory, and a new semester at a great new college job is under way. I never was so glad to see September!
Posted by John at 03:02 AM | permalink | Comments (10)
August 07, 2005
Newport Folk Festival
Saturday I went for the day to the Newport Folk festival with my friend Brian. Hot sun: We baked for eight hours on the grass listening to music. The festival rolled right along, most of it pretty good. We saw the Holmes Brothers, Ray LaMontagne, Dell McCoury Band, Bela Fleck acoustic trio, Patty Griffin, Richard Thompson, and the Pixies acoustic. I also caught a little bit of the excellent Foghorn Stringband at the Strings tent. Incredible this Old Time revival, isn't? Theirs was the most attentive and enthusiastic audience there.
Parking was no problem, and it was a mellow and enjoyable scene. I liked Richard Thompson's show the most, followed by Patty Griffin, Bela Fleck, and Dell McCoury. Openers Holmes Bros. left me a little cold, as did Ray LaMontagne. I didn't know the Pixies really, and can't say they did much for me, acoustic or plugged in.
Posted by John at 10:42 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
August 03, 2005
The Plough and Stars (continued)
I heard a rumor that the bar closed due to problems with their lease after some new people moved in upstairs, two floors above, and complained about noise. Excuse me, but when you move in over an established bar, I kinda think that the noise comes with the place. Friggin yuppies.
*****
Update and mea culpa (added 9:50 a.m.): fact checked this story while walking along Mass Ave. this morning and saw that the building only has one story, no apartments above it. So...who know where that story came from. Some guy told me. Maybe he meant somewhere else. Good thing you weren't relying on me for real news, huh! So, which bar closed because of complaints like this? Oh, lousy memory, damn...
Posted by John at 12:52 AM | permalink | Comments (0)
August 02, 2005
Dennis Oil Can Boyd, July 4th
I finally developed my pictures of Oil Can pitching for the Brockton Rox at Campanelli Stadium against the Bangor Grays, July 4, 2005.
Posted by John at 11:48 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
Thunder and lightning
Great storm last night. Woke me up. Huge flashes, sometimes quite close. I honestly can't remember the last time I experienced a storm like that. Growing up in Maryland, they were regular fixtures of summer nights. Much later, the year in Mississippi, I went through a lot too, although they were tinged with the anxious possibility of an accompanying tornado. I would wait for the sirens, which occasionally went off. The last couple of summers in Ithaca, NY, were too cold and rainy to generate many thunderstorms. This one in Boston last night was like a roller coaster: probably quite safe, lots of shake and bang. After a big t-storm I sleep like a baby.
Posted by John at 11:39 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
July 30, 2005
National League West
Here's something I've not seen before, although I'm sure it's happened. With the slumping Padres, the entire National League West is below .500.
Posted by John at 09:35 PM | permalink | Comments (2)
Lynn North Shore Spirit
One more ballpark checked off last night on what now seems like a quest to visit every pro-baseball stadium within a reasonable drive of Boston before the end of the summer. I know that for some readers this might seem like trying to buy gas at every Texaco in the area, but I enjoy it. Anway, if I'm not mistaken, this is the third time this season I've seen the hapless Elmira Pioneers (my former home team from my Ithaca/Cornell U days) get their clocks cleaned. Last night: Lynn 9, Elmira 3, although 14-12 on hits means L.O.B. and poor performance with RISP was the name of the game.
It's a very nice stadium. It's really a neighborhood park: there are about sixty apartments with views of the field from their balconies, not that anyone was watching, but....
The obligatory Italian sausage with peppers and onions went straight from the grill to the bun and my hand, and the beer selection at least included Sam Adams (hear that Woostah?).
Still to go: Nashua, Manchester, Portland. Pittsfield and Troy are too far away, but if I had a couple of more weeks....
Posted by John at 12:01 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
July 20, 2005
Lowell Spinners
Another New England minor league ballpark checked off this summer. Up to Lowell (New York-Penn League, A) tonight with Dan and Henrik, a Hungarian friend. I always enjoy trying to explain baseball to foreigners! It was a great game for it, actually, with lot of errors and should-have-been errors, and so forth. It's a nice park, right near downtown and the river and in the shadow of some of Lowell's ancienttextile mills. Best name: Yahmed Yema. Top prospect: Jacoby Ellsbury. The one everyone was there to see: Gabe Kapler, back from Japan (Yomiuri Giants) and DH-ing tonight. Final score: 7-1 over Batavia. Dan told me about the Jack Kerouac bobble-head promotion there a two years ago. Sorry I missed that!
Here's Gabe striking out, but (added 7/30) he made it back to Fenway on Saturday:
Posted by John at 11:34 PM | permalink | Comments (1)
Shelby Lynne
Back to the Paradise this past weekend to see Shelby Lynne (July 17). It was a very good show, though, for someone who in interviews says she lives for performing, I thought she was a little uneasy on stage. Her band, the geekiest-lookest threesome ever to come out of Mississippi I'm sure, was really good. The hard rock dobro stylings were a revelation for any fan of that instrument. The highlight of the night for me was a cover of the Stones' "Dead Flowers". I also really like her new tune "Where Am I Now?," off the new album, Suit Yourself.
The crowd mystified me a little. Librarian-ish women and forty- and fifty-something single men. The presence of the latter was explained when a few minutes on Google revealed the Shelby has developed a large gay following.
Posted by John at 01:28 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
July 13, 2005
Kafka in the Condos
Our latest Communication to our esteemed Board of Directors. I guess the idea that someone would not have a car in CA is just too much for them.
July 12, 2005
... Homeowners Association Board of Directors
[snip]Dear Board members:
I just learned of Karen's recommendation on July 12, 2005, that we be fined for failure to turn in a parking form. This is absurd. I am trying very hard not to take this suggestion as personal harassment and dishonesty. I will try to see it as merely managerial incompetence and a very bad memory.We have had two interactions with the Association about the parking form. The first was last September when we moved in. We told Karen that we did not have a car and would not have one on the property until the end of this summer. She issued us a sticker, which we have used on the occasional rental car. She told us that there was no point in filling out a form until we had a car of own that we would be parking on the property but that when we moved our car to Pomona and registered it in California we would have to fill one out.
The issue came up again at the May Board meeting, when a representative from the security firm was there to talk about parking issues. My wife, Leda, was present at the meeting and reminded Karen and the Board that we would not have a car at "Partridge Patch Condos" until the end of the summer. Leda says the response was a little vague, but that the answer was that you would be figuring out what should happen in a case like this. Surely the minutes reflect this. No further decision on this portentous issue has been forthcoming.
I have written to Karen and asked her to mail or fax me a form (I am out of state for the summer) if a signed blank form will make her happy.
I also understand that we will be receiving a letter officially asking us to submit a review request for our garage shelves. We have already indicated, verbally and in writing, that we intend to do so. The Board is aware, I hope, that we are both away for the summer (we left a day or two after the inspection by the Board's visiting committee) and will only be able to submit something when we return in late August.
We feel that we are off to a rocky start with this Board and with Karen, and we sincerely hope that future interactions will not require the assistance of our attorney.
Yours,
Posted by John at 03:32 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
Crossing the street in Cambridge
Lots of people ask me, "John, how do mamage to get across the streets in Cambridge"? Cambridge drivers, of course, see pedestrians as so many tin cans to flatten. Here's my strategy:
First of all, no one is going to stop for you in a crosswalk if you stay on the curb like so many timid souls do. The "state law stop for pedestrians" signs could be dripping blood, and it wouldn't phase them. The trick is to make a quick and confident first stride off the curb, furtively making sure that the driver sees you and will actually stop but -- and this is the most important part -- without letting them see you seeing them. Only when you're sure that they will stop can you look at them so they don't think you're totally crazy. Secondly, and this is controversial, you must never wave thanks. They're required by law to stop, of course, so they're not doing you any favors. If you thank them, as do many unthinking pedestrians, you introduce in their minds the pernicious notion that they were doing you a favor, and the next time they approach a crosswalk with a doubt as to whether to hit the gas or the brake, you don't want them thinking, "I already did my favor for today." It might just be me in the crosswalk, looking out of the corner of my eye!
Posted by John at 12:07 AM | permalink | Comments (2)
July 07, 2005
The end of a great bar
I discovered this week that one of my favorite Cambridge bars has closed, the Plough and Stars. I walked in for lunch the other day and found the sad owner, George, closing things up. He thinks it will re-open soon but probably not with him. This was a great bar, and just two blocks from home. Great music, nice folks.
Posted by John at 09:05 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
July 02, 2005
Worcester Tornadoes
Hoping to see games in all the Boston area ballparks this summer, I headed out to Worcester tonight to see a game against New Haven (Can-Am League, Independent). They use the Holy Cross ballpark, not a thing of great beauty. Clunky aluminum granstand, view of the freeway. As usual, I paid for an expensive seat that I never sat in, roaming the ballpark instead. Worst beer I've had to buy in years (Budweiser) and the worst hot dogs and sausages ever -- cold soggy things wrapped in aluminum foil for god knows how long. I told the cashier they needed better beer, and she gave me this look like I was crazy not to love Bud. I wanted to say that there was this beer revolution in America twenty years ago and Worcester will catch up to it sooner or later. The crowd was quite into the game, following it closely, even when the City of Worcester's rather impressive early 4th fireworks show started going off over the right field horizon. I was surprised at the number of California-style, 5th inning-arrivals, though. Worcester-ites are very white and doughy, if the crowd at the game was representative. Sort of Nebraska in Massachusetts. Long lines at the fried dough stand, and it showed :-0.
The officiating was awful (and I don't often complain about that). The home plate and first base umps made egregious calls. The third base ump, hugely fat and looking past middle-aged, labored out to the field every time a man got on, making me glad for the ambulance I saw standing by on the way in. Good guys, leading their division, won 3-1. Decent pitching, lots of good hits, plenty of Little League moments in the infield, shallow outfield (the lights don't illuminate very high and many popups were lost in the darkness), and on the base paths. The Worcester catcher looks like he has it all together, though: Yohanny Valera, a veteran who had his cup of coffee with the Expos for two weeks in 1999 before dropping back down and knocking around the minors.
I had planned on going up to Lowell tonight to see the Spinners, but I learned at the last minute that it was a salute-the-troops night there, with the team dressing in camouflage uniforms. More jingo than I could take, so I headed west instead. The Tornadoes, by the way, are named for the big T4 1953 twister that killed 94 people. Worcester is also the home of Robert Goddard, "father of the space program," as I learned from a sign on 1-290.
I'm excited for Monday's start for Oil Can Boyd down in Brockton. It will be my third Brockton Rox game. I saw him pitch there with Stefan last weekend. I really love that ballpark, and it's fun to reconnect with an ancestral home!
Posted by John at 11:02 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
June 19, 2005
The Joys of Condo Associations (III)
The response:
Some board members looked at my shelves and worried about a lot of things relevant to someone else's garage shelves but not mine. I still have to submit an architecture review. This won't happen until the end of the summer when I'm back and probably the new chair of the architecture committee!
The letter that came today:
[blah blah blah about satellite dishes and garages, then...]If you continue to have a rodent problem in your unit contact the office and terminex will inspect your unit and treat the problem.
I.e., if rats enter again and chew through your walls and carry away your new baby, let us know and we'll spend lots of money to exterminate and settle your lawsuit. We're not interested in spending a few bucks and putting screen over the attic vents to forestall this eventuality.
Posted by John at 09:59 PM | permalink | Comments (1)
June 17, 2005
The Joys of Condo Associations (II)
June 14, 2005
. . . Homeowners Association Board
Dear Board Members:
This week I noticed that the television dish antenna that had been on our roof was gone. Our understanding is that Debby, the former owner of Unit #[XX], had installed the dish without proper permission from the Association and that the former owner of our unit had shared her hookup. Despite the unapproved installation, the dish had apparently been allowed to remain for some years. We had planned to start service using the dish in the near future. When I asked yesterday about the missing dish, Karen informed me that John [the handyman] had recently removed the dish. I asked her if the the problem had been simply that it had been installed without permission or if it had been installed incorrectly. She said the cables had been allowed to lie on the roof and that this was the problem. I pointed out that although the dish had been removed, the cables continue to lie across the roof. The dish was also removed without advising anyone in the building that this would happen. The removal of the correctly installed dish exposed wood beneath it that had not been painted at the last repainting, attesting both to the age of the installation and to the negative aesthetic effect of removing the dish at this time.
We fully understand the dish antenna policy that has been approved by the Board and the reasons that rigorous Association control is necessary. We would simply like to object to the capricious and illogical manner in which enforcement was carried out in this case. Why not, for example, simply ask someone in the building to rectify the cabling issue if they wish to continue to use the dish?
We would also like to propose that the Board consider an amendment to the dish antenna policy. Since the Association has apparently already received advice on how, where, and how many dish antennas should be installed on each of the buildings of the Project, a detailed description of these installation requirements should be composed and circulated. Residents who contract their own vendors to install dish antennas should be bound to consult with and coordinate with building neighbors, notify the Association in advance of the installation date, and to comply fully with the published guidelines. Those who fail to do so should be immediately fined and charged with the costs of removal. Residents can then show the requirements to such private vendors as they wish to contract to hold them responsible, in turn, for following the guidelines. We strenuously object to having to pay a high, non-competitive price to a single individual with a monopoly on dish installations.
Your truly,
Posted by John at 03:21 PM | permalink | Comments (3)
The Joys of Condo Associations (I)
June 13, 2005
. . . Homeowners Association Board
Dear Board Members,
We would like to bring to your attention four issues of concern:
A. Garage Shelves
We have recently built some new shelves in our garage. Last week Karen Ecoff told us she had seen the shelves and that such work may require architectural approval from the board. We are perfectly willing to submit a request for architectural review and/or open the garage for inspection at a mutually convenient time.
We would like it to be noted that 1) we built three shelves, one workbench of the same construction technique, and two overhead supports for flattened boxes, skis, etc.; 2) the shelves do not extend into the other half of the garage or obstruct the other occupants' use of their half; 3) the shelves leave ample room for our car to be parked in the garage; 4) the shelves replace existing shelving which was already attached to the walls and ceiling joists of the garage but which was poorly built and inadequate for our needs; 5) the shelves are constructed in a modular fashion and are attached to studs and joists in a minimal way using screws and nails; 6) they can very easily be removed in the future with no damage to the garage; 7) there was some urgency to the construction of these shelves since in the last few months we have twice suffered water damage to belongings stored in the garage when water entered through the rear; and 8) the shelves are modeled on shelving we have seen in dozens of garages in this complex.
If the board would like some further action on our part, please let us know. If an architectural review application is requested of us, we would like to see copies of the approved requests for all the other garage shelving constructions in the complex.
B. Water
As noted in the paragraph above and as has been communicated verbally to the board in past meetings, our garage accumulates a considerable amount of water when it rains. In this past rainy season, the water damaged several items that were in the garage because we are remodeling our unit. We request that the board take the necessary steps to resolve this problem before next winter.
C. Rats
The plumber who replaced the bathtubs in our bathrooms discovered that rats were nesting under them. He killed four of them, but we are concerned that others might take their place. The evidence showed that the rats came from the outside through attic vents, entered and chewed through the bathroom vent ducts and got access to the inside of our walls. To prevent further problems that might be more costly, we request that screens be immediately installed on the mouths of the vents to prevent rats or other animals from entering. Since the new owners of Unit #79, below us, talked with Karen about this issue in April, it is possible that this problem has already been rectified, but we would like to know what steps have been taken or are being planned.
D. Laundry
Finally, we would like to inform the board that in the south laundry room one of the new front loader washing machines (the one on the left) has been malfunctioning since it was installed. The machine does not accept fabric softener, which simply accumulates in the receptacle.
Thanks for your attention and please let us know if you need any further information.
Sincerely yours,
Posted by John at 03:19 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
First Quake
We felt our first California earthquake yesterday afternoon, the 4.9 centered east of us in San Bernadino County. We were in Lowes looking at bathroom tile when the building shook and rolled a little. We scurried out of the tile aisle, not wanting to be buried under tons of broken ceramic tile! Nothing happened, of course, but people were talking about it everywhere we went.
Posted by John at 11:21 AM | permalink | Comments (0)
June 16, 2005
New team, new ballpark (for me), great game
Saw the rubber match of the Angels-Nationals series at Angels Stadium tonight (June 15th) with Dan and Stu. It was a great game, Colon v. Drese. The box score is here. Ryan Drese pitched a 2-run, 8-inning shutout, saved by Cordero, who fell off the mound, loaded the bases with two out, and then struck out Dallas McPherson for the win. The rally monkeys were out in full force, but to no avail. Colon gave up one run and eight hits in nine strong innings, for the loss. I sat up in 241 with Dan and Stu for the first seven and then moved down to F112, near my purchased seat (season ticket exchange via Angels website). Great seats both. I liked the stadium, loved the the game. The cameramen on the rocks in front of the waterfalls in center field look like bears in a zoo exhibit!
Posted by John at 03:43 AM | permalink | Comments (0)
May 23, 2005
First Pictures
Here are the first pictures of our son. I have no idea what I'm looking at in one and a faint idea in another. Two are pretty obvious. Leda was there (imagine!) and has a better notion of what we're seeing.
From the top, head and face (?!) and torso.
From the left side, arm raised to head.
Facing down, side view from the left. What a little alien!
A foot!
Posted by John at 04:59 PM | permalink | Comments (4)
May 22, 2005
Open letter to housemates
Esteemed housemates:
I know that this is officially a "laid-back" household, and it's a good thing,
too. It seems to me, however, that the kitchen could be so much more pleasant
for all of us with a minimum of sustained effort by all. Everyone is good
about doing all their dishes eventually anyway, so making that eventuality
sooner after an outing in the kitchen is a small thing that would make a big
difference. With the exception of the occasional dinner party and so forth,
it really doesn't take more than about five minutes to completely wash
all one's dishes and put everything away, including food containers and
peels and so forth. I know this because, as you know, I'm a little obsessive
about doing this after my meals. The only really annoying site for me is
the sink, and I wish everyone would solemnly promise that, even if no other
cleanup can be done, the sink will be left empty after cooking and eating.
The problem, it seems to me, is that when the sink and counters are full of
dirty dishes, the easiest route is just to leave one's own dishes until later
too. Eventually, I think we forget whose is whose.
The other little thing is the blender. Blake. <:-/ Your only annoying habit
among many endearing ones. We all use the blender a lot, and sometimes it's
out of commission for days at a time unless someone is willing to wash it,
which, after three days like at the moment, is decidedly not easy. When we
can find it. Ahem.
Sorry for the email format, but we're so rarely all together. Feel free to
respond with your own pet peeves or counter-arguments or throw coffee grounds
on my door or whatever. All will be received in a happy and generous
spirit! :-)
Cheers, John
Posted by John at 11:39 AM | permalink | Comments (2)
May 11, 2005
Sox
You can never get enough walk-off home runs. This one clinched a sweep. It was one of three in the major leagues today.
Guest of my friend Dan, I spent a nice sunny afternoon in the center field bleachers at Fenway. Clement pitched a great game against the A's (Zito pitched well too but gave up four in the second and third), but Foulke entered in the 9th (Timlin and Myers handled the 8th) to lose a 4-1 lead, sending it to 5-4 into the bottom of the ninth. Jason Varitek hit a walk-off home run off Dotel with Ortiz on first from a walk. Dotel also gave up a walk-off RBI double the night before. Foulke ended up with a blown save and the win, something I don't think should be allowed. I'll tell the first MLB official who asks me. Blown save, no win. Foulke might agree; he was looking pretty glum in the post-game interview.
Here's the box score.
Posted by John at 10:55 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
Kathleen Edwards
Last night I made a spur-of-the-moment trip across the river to see Kathleen Edwards at the Paradise. I started trying to remember when was the last time that I went to a club to hear a band and I couldn't remember. I'm not sure whether this reflects more on my sad social/cultural life or my lousy memory. I thought the last time was probably in Missoula, meaning Spring 2002 at the most recent. And this would have been one of the local dance bands, not a touring act. I now remember that I went to Johnny D's to see Boy with a Fish last fall, but this was a band two of whose members I know, so it's a little different. Anyway, yesterday while waiting for the dentist, I read an interview article with Kathleen Edwards related to her show last night. The name didn't ring a bell, but the way she was described sounded up my alley and the musicians she mentioned as influences made her sound even better. And the price was under $20. Amazing. I went. Turns out she has a song on the radio that I have heard and noticed, but her name hadn't registered. The show was great. Her band was excellent, and she is quite a fireplug. Her songs are sincere and engaging, and she has an incredible stage presence. It's hard to take your eyes off her, actually. Her biggest and sweetest smiles were for the roadies and band members. She follows the band members' solos with such intensity and interest, as if she'd never head them before, and coaxes more out of them with almost disconcerting sexuality-qua-musicality. I enjoyed the show immensely. I've seen her described as the next Lucinda Williams, a pretty inapt comparison, in my view, although this could be applied to the opening act, Mary Gauthier. She has the same dark and raw stuff that Lucinda produces. Kathleen is much too happy and polished and confident.
Added 5/22/05: Ok, now I get the Lucinda comparison, after listening to both of K.E.'s albums. Must have been a live thing.
Posted by John at 10:43 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
April 26, 2005
those Red Sox
Here's today's (yesterday's, but who's looking at the clock?) Boston Globe article on the latest Boston/Tampa Bay brawl. I was just reading along thinking my usual "who cares" kind of thoughts until I read about David Ortiz lecturing about respect and ethics on the field. David Ortiz??? Excuse me, but didn't he throw a bat at an ump last year? Yes, he did and he got suspended, but not much.
You know, nobody missed hockey, really, and I kind of wish that Major League Baseball would go on strike for about a decade or so too. There's plenty of softball in the park and it looks pretty good to me.
Posted by John at 01:22 AM | permalink | Comments (1)
April 23, 2005
Blogging & Typos
I don't know what it is, but blogging seems to make my typing/writing skills go even lower than they already are. With just a handful of entries, I could already employ a full-time copy editor to go back and find mistakes. I already hardly ever write handwritten comments on students' papers anymore because I write such stupic, i.e., ungrammatical, things, but I look back over this blog and find error after error. Sheesh. (Did I make it through these four sentences with no mistakes? A miracle.)
Posted by John at 10:11 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
April 20, 2005
Don Giovanni
On Friday I was invited to used an extra ticket with some friends to see Don Giovanni at the Met on Saturday, April 16th. I went down on the Chinatown bus, saw the opera, and stayed with friends in the West Village. On Sunday I went to the Neue Galeria, Fifth Ave & 84th, to see the excellent photography exhibit, German and Austrian photography 1900-1938. Amazing stuff, like seeing the birth of photography as an art, really. I planned more museum visits, but the day was so gorgeous that I went to Central Park instead and watched softball. Came back late Sunday evening.
The opera was great -- I'd not seen it before -- but I was a little underwhelmed by the staging. The sets grew dull by the second act, and the ending, with snow instead of flames, didn't give the oomph I was expecting. The singing/acting was great. It was my first experience seeing a titled opera ("Met titles"). An improvement in the experience, for me, but a little weird to hear laughter before or after the actual line is delivered on stage.
Posted by John at 12:03 AM | permalink | Comments (0)
April 15, 2005
Brian Robison, "Music in Stacks"
I just returned from the World Premier performance of my brilliant friend Brian Robison's composition for "library" at MIT. Brian, an Assistant Professor of music composition and theory at MIT, wrote the following blurb for his piece:
The written score establishes an overall template of speeds, volume levels, textures, and timbres, but the moment-to-moment details will be determined during the performance, according to scores selected by the audience from the library shelves during the performance.
When you bring your selected score forward, please open it to the selected passage and hold the pages open as you place the score on the stand, until I nod to indicate that I'm ready for the next selection.
The piece is in five movements. It was a pretty amazing experience, especially watching Brian contort his (figuratively) bulging cerebral cortex and work the various pedals and buttons on his electronic gadgetry with his shoeless toes, all the while playing along on an electric Les Paul guitar with fingertips, picks, slides, and some weird little light vibrator thing. I almost never recognized anything, but others might have. I provided a bossa nova, a mambo, and a seventies jazz score from a fake book. The pile of used scores seemed to run from Bach to Cage to Broadway with most stops in between. The third movement -- "Recitative and Aria" -- turned out to be quite beautiful, with layers of sound combining to form stunning harmonies (he used a sampling/real-time recording gizmo). Other passages were funny, quirky, dark.
I'll try to get him to comment here and fill in gaps and correct in the errors in my description.
Posted by John at 01:42 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
February 04, 2005
last post before move
I'm going to try to move the blog to my new website at johnnorvell.net. Everything might go away, and that wouldn't be too horrible, actually. I'm tired of my office workstation crashing while I'm out of town or at home, so I'm going to host this and other things--the wiki, the file archive--on a real web server with 24-7 support.
Posted by John at 11:14 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
December 08, 2004
S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe)
The Dec/Jan Real Simple mentions this amino acid (one that naturally occurs in the body) as a good supplment for joint pain. It does seem to be effective, not only for this but for depression as well, but the jury is still out on whether it should be taken the way one takes glucosamine, for example. It's also extremely expensive. Here are some links:
http://www.stoneclinic.com/sam_e.htm
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2474/5/6
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1523-3812/5/460/abstract
Posted by John at 09:35 AM | permalink | Comments (0)
December 01, 2004
back from LA
Returned late last night (Nov. 30) from over two weeks in Pomona. Finished the painting, went through several anxious periods about how to lay the bamboo floor over our shitty concrete, and finally got the floor cleaned, primed, and vinyl-ed. Got next to no academic work done. We stayed with Kathryn Miller practically the whole time while the apartment was being painted.
Posted by John at 08:55 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
November 06, 2004
Books, mead, and a movie
Smita recommends a novel about a slave ship builder called Sacred Hunger.
Saw Sideways at Kendall Square tonight with John and Smita. Great flic.
Before the film we started a batch of mead with the wild blackberry honey from Washington State, Snoqualmie Valley Honey Farm in North Bend, WA.
Posted by John at 11:42 PM | permalink | Comments (1)
Books to get at McIntyre's
left behind to get next month: Wagley and Harris, Minorities in the New World, in "anthropology"/W, and Rachel Harding, A Refuge in Thunder: Candomble and Alternative Spaces of Blackness in "Brazil."
Posted by John at 04:37 PM | permalink | Comments (0)
November 04, 2004
first post
Today is my birthday, the first day of my post-41 life, and the first day I've been able to get MovableType working on this box.
Posted by John at 06:53 PM | permalink |