what about the plastic animals?

Summer Sculptures at Lincoln Center

Have you seen these sculptures at Lincoln Center? They were made by the Austrian sculptor Franz West. From left to right they are: Meeting Point, Laube, Ypsilon, Don't, Bronze, Double Ring, and Couch. They are a colorful, playful counterpoint to the very serious plaza. Connect the peaks of the sculptures and you'll have a flat triangle. West made the sculptures to be touched and crawled on. I took the daylight pictures early on a Sunday morning when there wasn't anyone else around. Go any other time of the day and you'll see kids and adults sitting or playing among the works. Hurry up! The sculptures are only on display until the end of the month.

It seemed like a good idea at the time

There was an article in the Washington Post last week that interested me. I asked my friend Romy, who lives near D.C., to mail me that section of the paper (I wanted a paper copy in addition to the online version). Independently, we both thought it would be an excellent idea to surprise me with a chocolate.

Chocolate in the mail. In August. Not such a good idea.

Question for people who know more about file formats than I do: When I saved the original image I've posted here it was 37K in Photoshop Elements. When I emailed it to Romy the message was 372K. Within the Finder the file is 96K. The Typepad file manager tells me the file is 42K. What is going on that I'm not understanding?

Empire State Building from a distance

Here's the view of the Empire State Building as I crossed Lenox Ave at 116th St yesterday morning. The building is slightly more than five miles away. The green in the middle of the picture is the northern edge of Central Park.

Pizza time

I made another batch of tomato sauce this morning. Since I the sauce was handy I decided to make pizza this evening.

When I lived in Bowling Green I would make pizza every week or two. Now I make it every few months. I guess being on a faculty schedule and not having to commute had its privileges.

I was a bit worried while the dough was rising because the yeast I used is several years old (that says something about how seldom I bake breads anymore). I added a small amount of whole wheat flour because I like the flavor. The crust was excellent, crunchy and chewy at the same time. As you can see I don't have a pizza stone, or peel. I just spread the dough out onto a cookie sheet.

There were three cheeses: fresh mozzarella, romano, and aged asiago. It could have used a bit more mozzarella, but was otherwise fine. The toppings consisted of onions, mushrooms, and olives.

All in all a good dinner. Even better, I can have it for lunch tomorrow and avoid the cafeteria.

That's Art

Is the editorial comment meant to be a commentary on the art, or a helpful explanation for passers-by?

Dixwell Ave., New Haven 3

These signs are on the Country Market deli. As you can see in the top two photos the paint isn't going to last very long.

There were a few other buildings along Dixwell that were decorated by Mr. Parks, but I've presented the highlights here. I didn't see any of his work on any of the commercial streets that intersected with Dixwell.

To see more:
Part 1
Part 2

Lime Jell-O Salad U-Haul

School must be just around the corner. Morningside Drive was filled with U-Haul and Ryder trucks of students moving in. It is too early for the undergrads, so these must have been from one of the professional schools. In any event, the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw this U-Haul was "Why is there a picture of Lime Jell-O Salad molds on the side of that U-Haul?"

After closer inspection I saw that the pictures weren't of Jell-O (darn!), but of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary a hundred miles away from Houston in the Gulf of Mexico. I had not heard of the Sanctuary before now. According to what I read. the banks are the northernmostl coral reefs in the United States. The reefs are teeming with life, and the sanctuary is of great scientific interest and a premiere recreational diving location.

Does it seem strange to you that U-Haul would feature on their trucks a location that is a hundred miles out to sea, where there are very few roads?

Storytime with Tien

Empty wing plate.

"It's a hot dog!"

He eats more than pizza!

Last night was the sixth week that we've gone to Croxley's for wings. While the per person wing consumption reached a low point, the number of laughs per person was off the charts. Tien read us all a very nice story. He also did a hilarious impression that I think only I caught. There was much talk of panties, and Adam really likes NYC Icy. I'm already looking forward to next week, but, people, we need to eat more wings!

Tien, Laren, and Nichelle on the evening's fun.

Dixwell Ave., New Haven 2

More from Dixwell. These are from a boarded-up shop.

Dixwell Ave., New Haven 1

A few years ago (maybe in 2001) I went to New Haven, Connecticut for barbecue. There's a guy on Dixwell Avenue, which runs from downtown New Haven north through Hamden and beyond, who cooks and sells chicken and pork out of his driveway. Not knowing where to go I got a chicken dinner I drove down to Yale and ate an enormous and delicious meal on a campus lawn.

As far as I can tell the neighborhood where the barbecue guy lives is known as Dixwell. It is on the northern edge of New Haven. While I was trying to find the barbecue guy I saw lots of window signs all painted in the same style and with a similar color scheme. I didn't have a camera with me on that day so I vowed to come back and photograph the signs.

I finally made it back to New Haven last Saturday. Sadly, many of the signs I saw a few years ago have disappeared. Dixwell was a poor, African-American community when i visited the first time, and only seemed to be poorer now. I photographed nearly all the signs that I saw on this visit. The window paintings are on the exterior and are bound to disappear sooner or later just from exposure to the elements.

The top two photos were the first two photos I took. The owner of Fly's Unisex House of Styles rushed outside to see what I was doing. She didn't seem too happy at first but I think she appreciated that I was capturing the signage to put on the web. She also happened to have grown up about three blocks from where I now live. The name of the artist who did the signs is Leroy Parks. He lives in Dixwell.