It pains me to admit this, but...

...if you do a web search for "Weiner" (yes, that Weiner) and "class act," the first thing you'll find is a link to this blog.

Sol LeWitt, "Structures," at City Hall Park, New York City

Sol LeWitt (1928-2007) was an influential, though self-effacing, American artist of the past half-century. His work is considered to fall within two artistic traditions that arose in the late twentieth century: conceptualism, which sought to relate art directly to the domain of ideas, or concepts; and minimalism, which stripped art of of any sense of personal expression. His sculptures are the subject of a show in New York's City Hall Park, "Sol LeWitt: Structures, 1965-2006," which will be in place until December 2 of this year. The work that is positioned nearest the main, southern entrance to the park, Splotch 15 (2005) (photo above), is one of his later works, made after he broke from strict minimalism and allowed his art to be more expressive.

Three X Four X Three (1984) is typical of LeWitt's earlier work: strictly geometrical and monochromatic; form reduced to its essence.

Large Modular Cube (1969) is even more minimalist: a simple cube in outline.

Complex Form 6 (1987): the title says it all. By the late 1980s, LeWitt began creating more visually stimulating works, breaking from the simple geometry of cubes and designing multifaceted, asymmetrical forms.

Seeing Pyramid (Münster) (1987) in this light brought to mind Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem Pied Beauty, which begins:
Glory be to God for dappled things-
For skies of couple-colour as a brindled cow... .

Another of LeWitt's "architectural" works (early in his career, he worked as a graphic designer in the office of I.M. Pei), and the largest in this show, is Tower (Columbus) (1990), which stands outside the park, on the plaza facing the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. The structure suggests the "wedding cake" or "ziggurat" style of architecture that characterized New York City skyscrapers before the zoning law was changed to encourage tall, slender buildings set back on plazas instead of bulky buildings with progressive setbacks.

The Brooklyn Bridge cactus survives, and thrives.

There's a cactus at the apex of the small triangular garden on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge, where the bike and pedestrian paths converge. I must have walked past it a hundred times before a friend, who has a degree in botany, pointed it out to me a couple of years ago. The photo above shows it on August 24, 2010.

Here it is last December 17, after some freezing weather.

On New Year's Day it was buried in snow.

On January 29, the snow was even deeper.

By March 19, the snow had melted, but the cactus showed little life.

By April 25, the cactus was showing signs of recovery.

On May 30 it was looking downright perky.

Yesterday, June 4, it had blossomed.

At last: the Cellos, featuring Dolly Lyon, on YouTube

Almost four years ago I discovered the singer Dolly Lyon while browsing in the Vocal Group Harmony website. What I found there is the subject of this post, to which I've added over the years as I've discovered more recordings by or featuring her. One that I mentioned was the song she did backed by the Cellos, a five man doo-wop group, titled "Don't Wait." It was recorded in late 1957 or early 1958, but never released until 1992, when Donn Fileti included it on Rang Tang Ding Dong, a CD compilation of Cellos material (Relic 7029). It's now been put on YouTube, thanks to BELGIUMDOOWOP (as I mentioned in my earlier post, Dolly has become well known in Belgium because her song "Palm of Your Hand" is included in a hard-to-define but popular genre called "Popcorn"). On "Don't Wait," her voice takes on a smokier, more seductive quality than on her earlier recordings. This could've been a contender for hottest teen romance novelty song of 1958, but perhaps it was just a little too hot for its time.

Mets 9, Pirates 8

Yesterday, with some trepidation, I went with a friend to see the Mets' final game of their four-game series with the Pirates. Trepidation, because I have come to believe that my presence in the stands jinxes the team. The Mets need luck now. They had just lost their last two games after taking an early lead and then collapsing in the late innings. Seen above is the rotunda at the entrance to Citi Field.

Here is the view looking back from the escalator. Note the English sunrises.

Mike Pelfrey, the Mets' starter, warms up. After a good season in 2010, Pelfrey is off to a rocky start, with a 3-3 record and four no decisions, and a 5.56 ERA, including yesterday's game. My jinx fears seemed justified as Pelfrey yielded seven earned runs through the top of the third inning. Perhaps, I was thinking, he needs to re-acquaint himself with Mies van der Rohe. My friend joked that the Mets were trying a new strategy: let the other team get ahead first. His humor proved prophetic, as the Mets' batters came alive in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs.

Pelfrey settled down to pitch a scoreless fourth and fifth, though with some excitement along the way. In the bottom of the fifth, he was pulled for a pinch hitter. Things got very exciting in the sixth, as the Mets scored four more times (the scoreboard photo above was taken before the fourth run came in) to tie the game.

Now it was the Pirates' turn to worry. Their starter, Paul Maholm, was pulled during the sixth. The Mets were then able to take advantage of the Pirates' bullpen, scoring again twice in the eighth to go ahead. The Mets bullpen held fast through the sixth, seventh, and eighth.

As the Mets rallied, Mr. Met cavorted for the crowd. Francisco Rodriguez, the Mets' closer, came in at the top of the ninth and promptly allowed a leadoff single, which later became a run. He then settled down and got his sixteenth save of the season. My friend said, "He usually gets the job done, but seldom without drama." Sounds like the job description for a Mets closer.

Update: unfortunately, the Mets returned to form last night, taking a 3-1 lead into the eighth then losing to the Braves 6-3.