Sunday, January 25, 2015

Ernie Banks

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Ernie Banks, who died Friday at the age of 83, was one of the greats of baseball during the time I was coming of age. He began his Major...
Sunday, January 18, 2015

"What will become of his dreams"?

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Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him...and we shall see what will become of his dreams. -- Genesis 37:19-20   (N.R.S.V.) ...
Saturday, January 17, 2015

Photo and iPod log: a brisk Brooklyn winter morning walk.

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On Saturday, January 10, a blanket of snow remained from Friday's storm. I took a walk along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade--the photo...
Thursday, January 15, 2015

Superurinary texts.

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Several times every workday I find myself standing facing a sign: PLEASE FLUSH COMPLETELY AFTER EACH USE Sure thing, boss. (To be...
Monday, January 12, 2015

New Year's reflections and shout-outs.

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2014, like many years, was a curate's egg for me. I lost several friends, including law school classmate Guy Blynn , and two fellow  ...
Monday, January 05, 2015

Epiphany, or, Dia de los Tres Reyes.

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January 6 is Epiphany, marking the end of the twelve days of Christmas and commemorating the visit of the three kings, or wise men, or ma...
Sunday, December 28, 2014

432 Park Avenue: Harry Macklowe flips off New York City

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432 Park Avenue (center in the photo above) claims the title of tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere, and second tallest...
Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Lionel Train layout, New York City Transit Museum Annex, Grand Central Terminal 2014

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Every year from late November to early January there's an elaborate Lionel Train layout set up in the gallery space of the New York Ci...
Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Adeste Fideles ("O Come All Ye Faithful"), by Bing Crosby

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I first heard Adeste Fideles on my parents' phonograph, sung by Bing Crosby on the album the cover of which is pictured above. I was s...
Sunday, December 07, 2014

"The Plunge": Coney Island Brewing's winter seasonal.

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The Coney Island Brewing Company's winter seasonal offering is called "The Plunge", after the Polar Bear Club's winter...
Saturday, November 29, 2014

Give vs. gift: is the battle lost?

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When I saw this sign on Madison Avenue in midtown Manhattan, I was mightily discouraged. If you've been reading this blog for a while,...
Sunday, November 23, 2014

Cavalleria Rusticana in Brooklyn Heights

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My wife and I attended Saturday evening's performance of Pietro Mascagni's one act opera Cavalleria Rusticana at St. Ann and the ...
Thursday, November 20, 2014

Tom Rush in concert at First Unitarian Church, Brooklyn, presented by First Acoustics.

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Tom Rush is a singer whose art I've held especially dear. I first heard him in the spring of 1968, on the back half of my first year a...
Thursday, November 06, 2014

Sure 'n' begorrah, I'm more Irish than anything!

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And maybe a bit Spanish, too. Not at all what I was expecting when, at my wife's urging, I sent a sample of my saliva to the lab at ...
Sunday, October 19, 2014

Tampa's streetcars.

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On my way to the American Victory Museum I saw one of Tampa's streetcars (photo above). I was going on foot from the Riverwalk acro...
Saturday, October 18, 2014

iPod log: Brooklyn Heights; Brooklyn Bridge Park; Fulton Ferry; DUMBO; Cadman Plaza Park

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Haven't done one of these since January . The idea is: I take a walk, usually around my neighborhood, Brooklyn Heights, as well as throu...