in a perfect world of yancies: April 2010

19 April 2010

More than Pickles

Here's a song I'm really in love with lately:

Wild Hunt, by The Tallest Man on Earth

Can't stop listening to it...

On an unrelated note, I'm also totally hooked on the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes series. We saw that new movie, and even though I like Robert Downey, Jr. a lot, it paled in comparison to the Granada Holmes.

Here's a pretty good clip:


I'm not sure if you're a Netflix subscriber, reader, but if so, take note: every Granada Holmes episode is available for online viewing!


Lastly, in case you missed it, here's the cup of pickles that Café Presse thoughtfully included with my to-go sandwich the other day:

Cute and delicious!

07 April 2010

San Francisco!

Cable Car
As you probably already know from my Twitter feed and Flickr pool, we had a great time in San Francisco last weekend.

Above I'm pictured on a cable car, on the way to North Beach, where we visited some famous bookstores, had cocktails at a historic bar, and ate some tasty Italian food, all thanks to that wonderful fellow, Kuhl Brown.

I have no photographic evidence, but the reason for the trip was the 84th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Division of the American Philosophical Association. I was on the main program, talking Plato to a pretty packed room (well over 20 people attended; even Emily was there!)

Seemed to go well; I got some good, tough questions, but I also got some support and some enthusiastic applause. A good time all in all.

The paper? It was basically an argument that Socrates is super cool, despite his flaws, and despite the fact that one of his most famous admirers/students turned out to be a drunken mess instead of the promising politician he ought to have been. Sounds more exciting than that in person... There's an abstract up on the APA Pacific's site. If you want the whole paper, let me know!

We also had some free time, and checked out Golden Gate Park and the De Young Museum:
Emily at the De Young Museum

Okay, we didn't actually go into the museum proper, but we had a nice time enjoying the building and grounds... I'd really wanted to go to the nearby California Academy of Sciences, but the wait was like 90 minutes and I'm sorry but science is not that cool.

Did get a nice view of the roof from the De Young Tower, though:
Emily overlooking California Academy of Sciences
Love those rounded roof areas. Think there's like a giant rainforest-y terrarium inside one; maybe some stars in the other? I know I read all about the building once long ago...

Enjoying the sculpture garden behind the Museum:
E & safety pin
Okay, here's a little test: I've posted a few shots of works by these artists before. Anyone remember when, where, or the artists names?

What else? Well, as you may have heard, we mostly accidentally ended up in an Easter Vigil at the old mission church.

Oh, and Emily was real excited to see some jerking, a dance (?) thing that we first read about, of course, in the style section of the Times:


And on the windy Sunday of our return home, Kuhl showed us some sites, including this overlook:
E&Y at Twin Peaks, SF

Kuhl & Yancy at Twin Peaks, SF
Love that kid.

Great time. Can't wait to go back!