8 November, 1999:
I'm baaaaack! It's been a whirlwind of relatives for the past few weeks: My mountain-girl sister was here for a while, and the very day she left, my aunt and uncle arrived from Florida to run the New York City Marathon. After watching the race on television (in cozy bathrobe and slippers, hot chocolate and warm bagels in hand) every year for the past five, it was pretty exciting for me to be out there on the sidelines in person (in the bitter cold, the biting wind), cheering on the runners. We stationed ourselves in Harlem, at Mile 22, and the looks on these runners' faces! They looked like death: Their pained expressions said over and over, "What was I thinking???" After my aunt and uncle passed us at 120th Street and 5th Avenue (pausing for a sweaty hug and a few quick snapshots), we raced to the subway to meet them back down in Central Park as they crossed the finish line. There we found a completely different story -- the smiles, the grins, the laughter and the tears were absolutely amazing. And inspiring. Who knows? Maybe I'll run next year.

The Quabbin Reservior was formed in 1939 by the construction of a half-mile dam on the Swift River in eastern Massachusetts. Four towns in the valley -- Greenwich, Enfield, Dana and Prescott -- were razed, all trees were cleared, and all grave sites dug up and relocated. By 1946 the reservior was filled to capacity. After reading about the Quabbin reservoir in a short article in a Boston paper a few weeks ago, I did a little digging on the web to see what else I might find. "Gene" has one page about the building of the reservoir, including a triptych of photos, all taken from the same location on Quabbin Mountain -- one in 1927, one in 1939, and one in 1989.

The Gillette Mach 3 (link removed from Gillette's frames) is a superior razor. My only regret is that I didn't try it sooner.
9 November, 1999:
Photos of TSD's human mobile, filmed last month for Ripley's Believe it or Not, are now online. My friend se had the time of her life! My favorite photo shows them all in action, all in the air.

Blowing a little time on: Piotr Szyhalski's 1996 creation, The Inward Vessels of the Spleen.
10 November, 1999:
The constant parade of visiting relatives over the last few weeks provided plenty of opportunities to show off some of our favorite local treasures, including the Magnolia Bakery. Magnolia's now published the official Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, so we could possibly try to make their amazing banana pudding or red velvet cake right here at home. Or not.

It doesn't matter that I sometimes still feel like a midwestern girl overwhelmed by the big city -- but after almost 10 years here, even lifelong New Yorkers will allow I'm a native. I love this city with a passion, and the upcoming PBS series, Ric Burns' and Lisa Ades' New York, has me positively giddy with excitement. It's 10 hours of interviews and archival films, presented in five parts beginning on November 14th. The final and 6th installment will be aired in 2000. As always, the accompanying PBS site for the series is interesting and gorgeous. (I'm anxious to take on their [Flash 4-dependent] New York Trivia Game, but will have to wait for a faster connection.)
11 November, 1999:
Yesterday's Salon featured perhaps my favorite Cintra Wilson column ever: "I'd rather eat tacos with Daniel Johnston than swordfish with Damien Hirst". She writes about her first Daniel Johnston show, and explains -- in words I myself could never find -- just how amazing this guy is.

The first time I saw DJ play live, I Just Didn't Get It. Granted, the venue (Sidewalk Cafe) was packed past capacity and far too hot, but I didn't know what to make of this obese guy with the battered guitar who didn't even seem able to carry a tune. Thanks to many friends whose appreciation of DJ borders on the fanatic, I gave the guy a second chance (at the Knitting Factory) this past summer. And was so glad I did. After the show, I wanted nothing more than to give him a big hug -- and thanks to a mutual friend, a musician who's actually worked with Johnston, I was able to meet DJ after the show and do just that. (I also picked up a little DJ-style swag for one of those friends who convinced me to give Daniel Johnston a second listen.)
12 November, 1999:
The photography of New Yorker Todd Elert has captivated me since the first time I saw photos like this, this and this. Searching this morning for some images of NYC graffiti, specifically the work of local taggers COST and REVS, led me back to Todd's site. Perusing his "Nutty Stuff" section introduced a slew of new treasures, including the World's Largest Muskie in Hayward, Wisconsin (go figure) and Hurley, Wisconsin's meat raffle.

Tag Magazine has a short feature on Adam Cost, including a gallery of some of his work.

And you can't beat Ron English for subversive, vigilante art...
13 November, 1999:
The word "dinosaur" wasn't coined until 1842.
The Linda Hall Library in Kansas City, Missouri, hosts Paper Dinosaurs, 1824-1969, "an exhibition of original printed materials related to the history of dinosaur discovery". It's worth a quick look, if only for some of the fantastic old drawings -- whether they're ultimately accurate or not.

Since this is more than likely an error, it probably won't be there for long -- but the Stuart Little site is listed on Yahoo under the category Home > Science > Earth Sciences > Paleontology > Prehistoric Animals: Dinosaurs

Runner's World has put up their site for last week's New York City Marathon. Its course section features maps and information on the neighborhoods through which the race runs, but it's the elevation map I find most interesting.

Leonardo Da Vinci's "Temporary Rotating Bridge" is just one of 222 drawings presented on the "Sketches of a Renaissance Man" site. The works in the "Allegory" section are probably my favorite, but some of the maps in "Architecture and Maps" are pretty wonderful, too.
14 November, 1999:
Is this old news? I just saw Pico. What a riot. [Shockwave required]

I've just posted my first epinion: Telluride is the antidote to New York City.

Hey, that was fun! I just posted my second, Loopy and sublime: "Being John Malkovich"

Stop me before I epine again! A little epinion on dining in Greenwich Village, Where the locals go for dinner.

(From now on, a list of my epinions can be brought up via the link to the left.)
17 November, 1999:
Another epinion: A romantic long weekend in Rome

Well, damn! if the last two nights at the Mercury Lounge didn't feel like a couple of Bluegrass Anonymous meetings: "Hi, I'm Andria. And I listen to Bluegrass music..." Leftover Salmon played in "my town" this week, and it was a pleasant change from my usual travels around the country to various festivals to hear these boys who pull off "polyethnic cajun slamgrass" like no others. Their opening act was a real treat, too: Austin's very own Bad Livers came out to mix it up a bit, a duo of bass and banjo (with the bass player occasionally blowing the tuba for a little variety). And the banjo player picks up a mean fiddle, as well. (In honor of their second night on the Lower East Side, Salmon did a "God Save the Queen", perhaps inspired by the sight of the venerable CBGB's a few blocks up the Bowery, that almost broke my brain. It was just like the Sex Pistols, but with a banjo. Unforgettable.)
22 November, 1999:
Through the Eyes of a Child is a project that brought together a dozen NYC schoolchildren, ages 5-16, and a dozen professional photographers. Some of the work that came out of it is nothing short of amazing, particularly the photographs of 6½ year old Sean Choi.   Chris Waller, age 10, got some wonderful shots of the Brooklyn Bridge and the harbor. He said of his experience, "When I was taking pictures I found out what I really don't look at is pretty interesting." This is such a great project! If they were to fund a reprise by selling prints of some of these kids' work, I've already got a list of a bunch I'd buy.
29 November, 1999:
Back from Thanksgiving, it's good to be home.

Easily distracted by bright, shiny things... I love the web. It goes something like this: Continuing on my desert bender, devouring still more books about the American Southwest (on Native Americans, water rights, poetry, folklore, survival, fiction, photography, you name it), I came across a reference to the Harvey Girls (and was surprised to learn that Judy Garland starred in a movie about them, go figure). And then became intrigued by onetime Harvey Girl Emily Hahn (so another stack of reading material piles up on the nightstand), which prompted an altavista search on Emily's name bringing up links to (basically) irrelevant but strangely compelling sites like The Garbage Generation (see Part V, The Mutilated Beggar Argument. Oy.) and A Note on the Sources of Eva, a short page about the development of communication by, of, and with primates. More (slightly) appropriate search results included this wonderful collection of the Atchinson, Topeka and Santa Fe company's brochures, including rail schedules and dining car menus.

Resulting from a search on "harvey girls": With the Wings of an Angel, a biography of Ellsworth and Emery Kolb, early photographers of the Grand Canyon.
30 November, 1999:
What a wonderful coincidence: On Medley, a link to her epinion of Nobody Said Not to Go: The Life, Loves, & Adventures of Emily Hahn. This Emily Hahn biography by Ken Cuthbertson just moved up the queue in my reading list.

Wow! A good day to be checking in at Medley. An item on her reading list alerted me to another book by Leonard Shlain: The Alphabet Versus the Goddess. Shlain is the author of one of my most favorite books ever, Art & Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light. It's probably time to re-visit his Art and Physics site, too.
October 1999 December 1999