Self-Absorbed Boomer

"[A] delightfully named blog", (Sewell Chan, New York Times). "[R]elentlessly eclectic", (Gary, Iowa City). Taxing your attention span since 2005.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Balder -- a red ship on a gray day.

It was a gray, gloomy morning Thursday when I was on my run through the Empire - Fulton Ferry State Park in DUMBO and saw, with my peripher...

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Lenten stuff 2

Lady of silences Calm and distressed Torn and most whole Rose of memory Rose of forgetfulness Exhausted and life-giving Worried reposeful Th...

Friday, February 01, 2008

Santana to Mets?

Although Twiffer congratulated me on the deal a couple of days ago, given the Mets' recent history I've been reluctant to post anyt...

Monday, January 28, 2008

Jensen Interceptor

Never as well-known as the Aston-Martin, and lacking a James Bond connection (although it did serve Simon Templar in The Saint ), the Jensen...

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Hello, anybody!

If you ain't got a shackle or a chain. - John Stewart Yeah, I've been going through another of those periods of blogger's block,...

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Three Cunard Queens in New York

On Sunday, January 13, all three of Cunard's great cruise ships: Queen Elizabeth 2 , on one of her last voyages before going into retire...

Monday, January 14, 2008

Farewell to "The Third Bridge"

Two mornings ago, while on my customary early run through Brooklyn Bridge Park in DUMBO , I paused to take a photo of part of Osman Akan...

Johnny Podres, 1932-2008

"Millennium," yes; "pandemonium"! Roy Campanella leaps high. Dodgerdom crowned, had Johnny Podres on the mound. - Marian...

Friday, January 11, 2008

"Free Fouad" update: please sign the petition.

An earlier post called attention to the plight of Fouad Al-Farhan , a Saudi citizen and blogger who, just over a month ago, was arrested an...

Get to know Andrew Olmsted.

I recently did, if only by reading his words, and that's as much, unfortunately, as I ever will. He's dead. He was a blogger, like...

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

College football wrap-up: Tigers truimphant.

A thoroughly bizarre season, which started with a huge upset , and saw my alma mater rise briefly to glory in the AP and USA Today polls be...

Monday, January 07, 2008

New York gets it again, and again ...

A month or so ago I was walking through a subway station when I saw a poster advertising the movie I Am Legend , showing Will Smith leading ...

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Some Stan Rogers for Dawn Coyote.

Dawn replied to my New Year's shout-outs , noting that my post on lake ships made her think of the song "The Mary Ellen Carter...

Friday, January 04, 2008

Cold day at Port Henry.

Taken from a window on Amtrak's Adirondack on December 22, this shot shows the Port Henry, New York railroad station, originally built ...

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Classic lake boats: a dying breed.

In a couple of earlier posts ( here and here ), I've written about, and posted photos of, the unique ships (called, I've now learn...

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Free Fouad!

In Saudi Arabia, it seems, blogging about political prisoners can land you in jail . See the New York Times story here . Update: As the l...

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

New Year's shout-outs.

It's time to look back and acknowledge, with thanks, the folks who have encouraged and supported this blog over the past year. First, en...

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Sampling the Sam Adams Brewmaster's Collection

Two days ago I bought a twelve pack of the Samuel Adams "Brewmaster's Collection", in which you get a couple of bottles of the...

Monday, December 24, 2007

Christmas eve thoughts of a wanna-believer.

Two Sundays ago, at a festive mass of lessons and carols, the Grace Church choir sang this: Adam lay ybounden, Bounden in a bond; Four tho...

Monday, December 17, 2007

Yes, I'm still alive.

I've survived my first attempt to teach a continuing legal education seminar to a class of other lawyers (got to be a tough audience); e...

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

More Bothy Band.

While I'm sure that my earlier post was enough to convince you of their greatness, here they are, circa 1977, doing one of those amazi...

Sunday, December 02, 2007

First snowfall of the season.

From the foot of Montague Street, looking westward to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, the harbor and lower Manhattan. From the Promenade, lo...

Check out Brain Tracings

Every once in a while I find a blog I think rates special mention as well as a place on my blogroll. The latest is Brain Tracings (Saw Thi...

Friday, November 30, 2007

Please be patient, my friends.

Real life is about to interfere with my blogging time, again. I'll try to post when I can, but it's likely to be a bit spotty until...

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

A day on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.

Under a overcast sky, the rising sun illuminates lower Manhattan buildings. Early in the afternoon, the National Shipping Company of Saud...

Monday, November 26, 2007

Visitor number 10,000 is from Bexley, Kent, England.

You visited my blog at about 9:30 p.m. your time on 26 November. Your ISP is NTL Internet, your OS is Windows XP, and you browse with Intern...

Friday, November 23, 2007

The Hillary action figure is safe.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Postscript to my screed on consequentialism.

I posted earlier on this topic here . Aaron tells why, if you're shot down over enemy-occupied territory, it's much better to tak...

Visit number 10,000 is rapidly approaching.

Even with slow traffic over the Thanksgiving weekend, S-AB is likely to reach the 10,000 visit mark in a few days. If I can identify my 10,...

Monday, November 19, 2007

"Values voting" in Australia?

According to this article in today's New York Sun , the Australian Labor Party, led by Kevin Rudd, holds a solid lead in the polls over...

View web version

About Me

: I was born in a city renowned in Vaudeville humor, Altoona Pennsylvania. My dad was in the military, so we moved many times in my childhood. We lived in rural England from the time I was five until I was eight, and I began my formal education in a county council school, where my being American is likely all that saved me from having my bottom caned. When I was eleven my father retired from the Air Force, and we settled in Tampa.I graduated from the University of South Florida and Harvard Law School. Since then, apart from two years' active Army duty, I have lived in New York City; and have lived in the Borough of Brooklyn for many years. I'm married to Martha Foley, an historian and archivist. We are proud of our daughter, Elizabeth, and our granddaughters, Ada and Sigrid.

View my complete profile

Powered by Blogger.