Hey, Want to See Some Vacation Photos?

I suppose it's a bit of a cliché, but we had a great time in Hawaii. I just wish you could've all been there with us, readers!

Anyway, maybe you already saw the set on Flickr, but some of these turned out great, so I'm re-sharing.

Iao Valley, which is both pretty and has a nice and bloody backstory.

We also had the chance to drive the road to Hana, a narrow winding highway that takes you through rainforest, towering stands of bamboo, and some amazing views of the ocean.

It also goes by the Keʻanae Arboretum, and luckily Emily had just installed the Hipstamatic app on our phones, so we were ready.





Love these Painted Eucalyptus trees:




Black sand beach:

Pretty cool, but I decided not to swim...


Once we go to Hana, we kept going, and experienced some of the charm and excitement of the Piilani Highway.


At least that highway has those chains on the rocks. A few days later we tried to drive around the north side of the island, but turned back once we saw what the rain had done to driving conditions:




Here's a map, in case this is getting confusing (or is it just me?):

View Maui in a larger map

We also booked a trip to Molokini, a volcanic crater in the ocean with great snorkeling. Also great: Maui Dive Shop--if you're in the market for a snorkeling trip, or gear rental, I'd definitely recommend them.

Should've gotten an underwater camera, but here's a boat photo:


Lots of fun. And Kihei, where we stayed, has lots of nice beaches, so I could enjoy the water and work on avoiding the sun:


Good sunsets in Kihei too!


Okay, back to work.

But don't worry: we have at least one small reminder that we brought home with us.

See it? How about a close-up?


As I said, there are more photos in the set on Flickr. In the meantime, here's a thanks to you for reading, courtesy of Emily's camera and the waste bins at the delicious Maui Tacos:

Leaving the Mainland

Talk to you soon, reader.

In the meantime, I've finished my grades and submitted a draft of a huge project... and now E and I are heading out in search of this sort of thing:



View vacation! in a larger map

Cheers, and Happy holidays!

Birds, Frogs, and Kids

Thanks to Magen for sending more cute photos!


As she reminded us in an email, Evan's outfit was once Braxton's... here's a blurry old cell phone photo:






Now for a few more kids, courtesy of one Luke Tillo (and Facebook):


Finally, I think I may have posted this song in past Decembers, but it's worth another listen, especially with the recent sad anniversary:

Suit the Action to the Word, the Word to the Action

Maybe you heard that we were at the Center House Theatre.

We were there to see Hamlet, which continues to amaze me. This production got some raves, so we checked it out. A few interesting moves, but on the whole a pretty straight and very good version of what is by far the greatest work of literature I've ever spent time with.

Last shows are this weekend, so you'd better get moving if you want to see it! ;)

In other Shakespeare news, did you hear about Patrick Stewart doing Macbeth a couple of years ago? The review in the Times was so positive we were checking airfare to New York at the time.

Alas, we didn't make it, but don't worry: PBS has put a recording up online! Haven't had a chance to watch yet, but I'm really looking forward to it.

Can't wait any longer? Here's the opening scene:

Watch the full episode. See more Great Performances.

Play on!

Thanks for Last Week--with Photos!

So our friends Nick and Ben live just down the street, and they had us over for Thanksgiving at their lovely home.

(And thank goodness they live so close, with all of that SNOMG business!)

Jon, Emily, myself, and Ben, enjoying pre-dinner snacks (yes, snacks on Thanksgiving: I laugh in the face of danger!)

Nick and Sara took most of the photos, but here's Nick, carving the (delicious!) turkey:


After dinner board games:


And of course pie!

Everyone agreed it was best to just have both...

Among so many other things, I'm grateful for our wonderful friends.


Meanwhile, they get serious snow in Montana:

Good thing King County doesn't have any buses there!

(Thanks to my dad for the photographic reminder of what November looks like in the mountains!)

Okay reader, our quarter's ending in a flurry of excitement, so, for now, cheers!

SNOMG!Plus: Old Books and New Babies!

You probably saw this on Twitter already, but I like the way things look in the snow:

For more (so much more!) coverage of our #snomg experiences here in Capitol Hill, see (of course) the Capitol Hill Seattle blog.

There's a must-see video in the Tuesday update post. And don't worry--we're fine! A little cold, but just fine.



This was taken at 2:50pm on Monday:

This was 30 minutes later:

By this time, campus was officially closed.

Meanwhile, Emily was waiting for a bus in West Seattle:

Turned out that catching the bus was the easy part, as you may have heard.

Upside, of course, was that we got to enjoy a nice snow day together--a snowy walk, then some basketball on TV. Not bad for a Tuesday!


In other news, look at what the Bibliothèque nationale de France just put online:

That's a tenth-century, handwritten manuscript of Aristotle (takes a few page turns to get to the text). One of the best and oldest in existence. Amazing!

I know this sounds cheesy, but we really live in a magical time.

Speaking of magic, look at these smiles:

And notice the handsome booties Evan has on--from Bootyland, "Seattle's resource for eco-conscious clothing and supplies for women, men, kids, toddlers, and babies."

Thanks for the photos, Magen!

And thanks for reading, reader!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Continuing Interests

So, in case you were wondering, I'm still vain. Here's a recent photo I had Emily check for me:

Love this new shirt! Not sure I want to do this, but if you want a closer look, here's a link.

And I still love New York. Recent Op-Ed piece in the Times came awfully close to capturing a lot of it.

Here's a nice sample:

Today I drop my cleaning off with Joseph the tailor and we exchange Yiddishisms and reminiscences (his) of Jewish Russia. Two blocks south I lunch at a place whose Florentine owner disdains credit cards and prepares the best Tuscan food in New York. In a hurry, I can opt instead for a falafel from the Israelis on the next block; I might do even better with the sizzling lamb from the Arab at the corner.

Fifty yards away are my barbers: Giuseppe, Franco and Salvatore, all from Sicily — their “English” echoing Chico Marx. They have been in Greenwich Village forever but never really settled: how should they? They shout at one another all day in Sicilian dialect, drowning out their main source of entertainment and information: a 24-hour Italian-language radio station. On my way home, I enjoy a mille-feuille from a surly Breton pâtissier who has put his daughter through the London School of Economics, one exquisite éclair at a time.

All this within two square blocks of my apartment — and I am neglecting the Sikh newsstand, the Hungarian bakery and the Greek diner (actually Albanian but we pretend otherwise).

Let's go back soon!

Secrets, Poems, and Maps

Movie news: Secret of Kells is awesome. You should probably see it. Such amazing images, and a pretty compelling story too.

Trailer:

But don't just take my word for it: you can also read the New York Times review. And if you're a Netflix member, you can watch it right now! Online!

We also saw Howl recently. Its animation is not nearly as cool as the Secret of Kells stuff, but that James Franco sure can act.

Not a bad poem either, of course.


Finally, Diana has a new blog, The Rotary.

I like it.

I also like this map Diana pointed readers to:

From www.orkposters.com.

Cheers--hope you have a great week!

How Far & How Fast?

Did I mention that I was busy? Sheesh.

In the time between now and a real post, here's shot of some more art at the light rail construction site that I really like:

Can't quite say why, but I find this piece quite compelling.

Yes, It's True: I ♥ NY

Among the many things we enjoyed in New York, maybe what I liked the most was simply walking around surrounded by millions of people, and surrounded by some of the best food, theater, art, and literature in the world.

Not the best coffee, though: turns out there's at least one thing we do better here :)

Originally I'd planned to split this into multiple posts, but I'm hoping that putting everything in one place will help convey some of the feeling of being in Manhattan, where it really does feel like just about everything is in one place...

Anyway, we enjoyed a interesting and impressive exhibit about Mark Twain at the Morgan Library.

They also had some cool Lichtenstein drawings, but we'd taken the overnight flight, and it was around then that I started day-dreaming about checking into the hotel for a nap...

Our main reason for visiting was the annual meeting of the Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy (SAGP) with the Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy and Science (SSIPS). It's a huge, inclusive, and fascinating conference. I organized and chaired a panel about Plato featuring myself, my current department chair, and my dissertation advisor. From my point of view, it went very well, but my paper was about how things might look different to different people, so I suppose you never know...

Meanwhile, Emily spent the day with her college roommate, Jessica, Jessica's husband Jer, and their daughter Susannah:

I wish I could have seen them too, but at least Emily got some great photos!


Just a few days before we left for New York, we happend to see the play Alphabetical Order reviewed in the Times.

A positive review of a play about a newspaper archive? I mean, the two of us really had no choice. Was in the very tiny and very cute Clurman Theater.

And it was very good.

On our last morning in town, we took the ferry over to Ellis Island. The whole experience was fascinating and I'd even say awe-inspiring.

We were especially interested in the travelling exhibit called Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America, which featured some items from Providence Archives.

Cool exhibit--impressive what these women accomplished.

On either a lighter or a grimmer note, here's an excerpt from an ad for one of the orders:


Okay, I'll end where we began, with a few more photos from the High Line.


An amphitheater overlooking what must be, what, 9th Avenue 10th Avenue?


More park on the way, not quite ready:


I love how they left the rails:


Okay, when can I go back?