Tuesday, 10 November 2020

CITYGARDEN IN NOVEMBER

Autumn colors can come late here, or not at all. If the late summer and early fall are dry, everything goes brown and then plops. We've had some periods of rain this year and things are better if not perfect. We are also not that far north, about on the same parallel as Washington and San Francisco (and Rome). If colors come, they come later than much of the country. Last weekend, Citygarden was awash in golden ginkgos. People's clothing tells you how warm it was.

I'm getting a Covid test this morning. First time. One of my co-workers tested positive and I was in her vicinity in the office last Friday. Not very close, everyone wearing masks, but still. I'm 70 and immunosupressed by my meds for rheumatoid arthritis. Fingers crossed if my joints would let me.                  

Monday, 9 November 2020

STILL GOOD ADVICE

By the same token, this has been a year that has made me glad I don't have a Twitter account.      

Sunday, 8 November 2020

LETTING IT SINK IN

There was a post-results rally downtown on Saturday and not a MAGA hat in sight. The crowd was mostly ebullient but some seemed sobered by the weight of the repair work still to come.        

Saturday, 7 November 2020

TE DEUM LAUDAMUS

Okay, the reference is a little obscure, but bear with me. It's how I roll.

The Latin Catholic mass (my background) has a section referred to as the Te Deum, or, more completely, Te Deum Laudamus: we praise you, God. Not that I'm at all religious but I'm filled with such feelings of of gratitude and joy today that it almost rises to such a level. 

I was thinking all afternoon of the finale of Act 1 of Puccini's Tosca. (Sure, melodrama, potboiler, but of unsurpassed beauty.) The bad guy, Baron Scarpia, had the most intense lust for the heroine, Tosca, while wanting the life of her S.O. and his political opponent, Cavaradossi. Scarpia is Trump. Scarpia craves sex and power. Trump craves adulation and power. In the opera, the congregation rings out with the Te Deum while Scarpia bellows that Tosca makes him forget God. Make your own comparison. https://youtu.be/0euYKIMfV4I            

Friday, 6 November 2020

AT THE PULITZER - INSIDE JOE

You must walk just over 360 degrees through the spiral to reach the center of Joe. The visitor arrives at a nearly circular enclosure. There is plenty of room but you might feel some panic about being able to escape over the high walls. (The museum staff won't let you bring in a grappling hook and rope.) Of course, the way you came in is still there but the space can give you the feeling of being trapped with plenty of space.

I looked through the archives and found one overeposed shot in which you can look down and see the overall shape. https://tinyurl.com/yyfx32ap

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