Season of Mists

Okay, well, my two favorite sections of the Times this past weekend both mentioned the turning that comes around Labor Day, and in fact both referenced Keats' To Autumn along the way.

I suppose it's not by coincidence that Franklin's now starting his new year at the Intergenerational Learning Center: he's left the Baby Room and moved on to the Toddler 2 Room! Not only that, but he'll now be there four days a week, instead of this past year's twice only. That of course means he'll be home with me just one day a week now instead of three...

Maybe I'm a bit o'er-brimm'd with sentiment, but it feels like a big change.

He of course already loves it, and I am definitely enjoying having a little more time to stretch out and enjoy the wonderful work I'm fortunate to call my job. But—and please forgive the self-indulgence—before we get too far along I want to stop and appreciate just how amazing it's been to spend so much time with that guy.

(PS, I promise: if you make it to the end, there's new material too!)

So, from so many great days, a few favorite photos and videos:


April 2012:


May 2012, when Emily went back to work:


Photo texted to mom, June 2012:


June 2012 is also when we started our weekly lunches with Pete. We should be able to continue those on Fridays, but here's a little look back:


Plato research, July 2012:




Visiting mom at work:


At the Birth and Beyond drop-in class:


September 2012:


October 2012—so ready to crawl:




November 2012:


December 2012:




January 2013:






February 2013:


March 2013:






April 2013:


Downtown library story time:






May 2013, at the Capitol Hill library:


Outdoors:




June 2013, more story time fun:


And fun at home:


But as you know, this summer we found our one true Dad & Franklin love:




August 2013:




August's almost over in this next picture; good thing he's recently learned how to say "big kid":


And on the last Friday in August, just before our new schedules start, what better way to celebrate this excellent time:

Cheers, all!

A Week in Images

So, first of all, this amazing photo showed up on Facebook the other day (thanks for the pointer, Vince!):

Here's the caption from KING 5's Facebook page:
Check this out! Thatcher Kelley snapped this photo from his plane on approach to Sea-Tac Airport yesterday. “I popped up my camera with a 70mm lens attached, waited for the wing and blurry jet exhaust to clear the view. I quickly focused, jammed my face against the seat in front of me to get the best angle, and snapped the shot just before Rainier disappeared from view.”

Over the weekend, KEXP treated us like VIP's as a thanks for our support. Pretty fun free James Blake show at the Triple Door.

Not familiar with his music? Here's my favorite song:

Want to think more about that? Pitchfork gave it a nice little review last year.

And of course schools' going now. Friday found me using the camera on our laptop to check my outfit:


Finally, I saw this article about personal QR codes and couldn't resist:

Well, now that you've got my info, I'd better run. Happy Tuesday!

Happy June!

There's a rumor that we might hit 70 degrees for the second time this year!

And in other news, you may have noticed my updated headshot, courtesy of Seattle U:

Also using photos of myself to raise awareness about our Greek reading group:

Love the hilarious way they wrote up that Q&A!

Okay, at last, here's a photo I'm not in:

The other day we roasted a delicious chicken from Palouse Pastured Poultry. Isn't that a great setup for the farmers market? That picture of the chickens makes me smile.

But seriously, can you believe it's June?
Okay, more soon.

Mapping Things Out, With Help from the Times

Had an incredibly fun, incredibly busy weekend. Could easily do a post for each day... but for now here are some highlights, in no particular order:

Hiked in Wallace Falls State Park. Amazing trail, beautiful falls, and pretty close to the city. All of which explains why we had a few hundred other hikers keeping us company on the trail :)

But we definitely plan on going back. Took some photos, but for now, here's a map of our hike (or "run," as Nike insists on calling it):

Also outdoors: did a fascinating tour of Capitol Hill trees, led by Arthur Lee Jacobson (might have to scroll down a bit to find the Capitol Hill tour). Have about fifty photos that we're still looking through--trying to match up the images with the names Emily wrote down...

But I do know that this is a Redwood, growing on what was a curb:


You have to love the Seattle area!

And it turns out we're the 8th safest place in the county, natural-disaster-wise:

Yay safety!

Okay, just a couple more things...

The Times also put together this cool interactive grid, charting people's reactions to Bin Laden's death:

(Clicking that photo will enlarge the screen shot of my comment, because I'm vain. For the interactive page itself, click here.)

And, on a totally different note (except for the vanity part), I wore a bow tie and a tuxedo shirt as we celebrated our friend Wendy's 50th birthday:

More pictures on the way!

Happy Thursday, reader!

Mind and Other Matters

In anticipation of the CD that my new penpal is sending, I was looking at the Bows & Sparrows blog the other day, and I couldn't believe this photo, originally from the CB2 website:

Bound copies of a philosophy journal as book props? I've heard some interesting stuff about books as art objects recently, but this, I thought, breaks all the rules.

Anyway, more fun with the photo: look at those copies of Mind again (click the photo to see the larger version at Bows & Sparrows). Who bound those journals? Unless my eyes deceive, it was the library at my alma mater, Lake Forest College. Not bad; not bad at all.

So, I studied philosophy at LFC (though I'm not sure I ever cracked the pages of Mind while I was there...); here I am more recently, on the way to teach a few philosophy classes:


And...
Bonus Christmas photo!

Glad to see that Gandalf likes the tree!

Hope 2011 is a blast so far, reader!

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!

I'm in a Book!

It's not much--not even a whole sentence--but the new commentary on Aeschylus' Persians (published by Oxford!) mentions me!

Take a look at lines 8-10 of p.133!

!!!

Want your own copy? Me too. Alas, the book is listed at $150...

Anyway, sorry for the self-promotion, but just to clarify: I'm mentioned in this book! :)

Mittens and Such

Well, so much for the desk helping with my online presence . . .

Oh well, just a busy time of year, I guess. But as you may have heard, I did finish a book review, so that's something.

In the meantime, Emily got a cute new bag from Pravina Studio

Funny how it happened: it was, of course, all thanks to good old, overexposed Twitter.


She also got us tickets to see Neko Case in June! Woo!

Who? There was a great story about her new album on NPR the other day.

Oh what the hell, here's a track:

This Tornado Loves You - Neko Case


Not terribly exciting, but here's my first day of March vanity pic:



Perhaps more exciting: Emily's just about finished her mittens--just in time for spring! :)