Philoi is Greek for "Friends"

(Would write φίλοι if I thought your computer could handle it, reader...)

All right, first of all, I wanted to thank Adam & Melissa (and their son Hollis), who I hadn't seen since junior year at LFC. Adam picked me up at the Baltimore airport, introduced me to the Nautilus Diner, and (with the rest of the family) treated me to some tasty food one night in Timonium. Sadly that all took place before I was into my "groove" with the picture taking . . .
Maybe next time.


Meanwhile, here are some scenes from the rest of the trip:

Dinner with Deron at the White Tiger in DC. Mmm.

Saw Haley too.

Tried to get us all in one frame; almost succeeded:

Thanks also to them for the fun and the ride to the airport on Sunday!


But why hang out in the Baltimore/DC area, aside from the cool people? I was there attending the Ancient Philosophy Society meeting. Good group. I even gave some comments on a paper on Plato's Meno, which seemed well-received. So that's cool.

APS group photo


Unfortunately, Emily wasn't able to go. But she did attend a birthday party at an apartment with this view:

So things ended up all right...

Here she is from the computer's perspective:


Hope you had a nice weekend as well.

Cheers.

Relaxation and Renewal

Haven't done a smorgasbord post in a while. Enjoy!

Heard on the radio the other day that our vacation spots don't only provide us with renewable energy--they're also prime sites for actual renewable energy production!

At Whidbey, they're talking about putting in under-water turbines so as to capture tidal energy. Very cool.



And down in Manzanita, they're hoping to put some floating windmills about 10 miles off shore.


On a sort of relatedly "green" note, I read this great line in an article Eric sent recently:
"While an average of 19 new malls per year were built in the United States during the 1990s, not a single new mall has been built in the last two years, said Ellen Dunham-Jones, the director of Georgia Tech's architecture department."

Is that not super cool?


Of course, also cool: more of photos of young Emily.







Dangerously cute, I'd say.


Now that she's all grown up, she does things like take me to the KEXP membership/pledge drive party.

Held at Sole Repair. They spent the whole day up here, because Capitol Hill raised more money than any other neighborhood. Because Capitol Hill is better.


Okay, one last, totally unrelated thing. I wrote a review of a new translation of Plato's Symposium. And now it's live online, so if you'd like, please read it, and let me know what you think!

Then and Now

I love this photo of Emily and Magen. (Click to enlarge.)

As you may or may not know, Emily's parents are gradually making the move to Green County, Indiana. So we've been getting some shipments of Emily's things as they're working through their house. Most recent included the above--and more, which I'm eagerly waiting to see!


And what is she up to lately? Well, she was involved with an exhibit that just opened at the Washington State Historical Society called Nurses at Your Service: A Century of Caring.

Involved? Well, she signed the release for some of the Mother Joseph artifacts. Mother Joseph (in addition to many other things) helped establish St. Joseph Hospital (in 1858, in Vancouver, WA), the first permanent hospital in Washington--in the Northwest, for that matter.


Mother Joseph also made wax figures:


Label:


So we attended the opening. The museum is really worth seeing (even with a bad back!), and it was fun to finally see Tacoma.

The opening also featured some students dressed in old-timey nursing uniforms:



Well, that's all for today. Reading group, KEXP party, more books to review...

Happy weekend, reader!

What I'm Eating

What's the deal with this blog lately? I'm not as busy with teaching, and the weather's been kind of cold and rainy, so I should be posting more, right? Weird.

Maybe it's got something to do with my back? Well, I'm trying acupuncture this morning, so hopefully that will soon resolve itself...

In the meantime, how about a round-up of some recent Twitter posts about food?


Recently I had my first banh mi sandwich. Honestly, I have no idea why I haven't been eating these for years! Crispy baguette, chilies, cucumbers, carrots, cilantro: oh wonderful mix of France and southeast Asia!

Got ours from Phở Cyclo, conveniently located around the corner from our apartment building. Got it because of that recent New York Times story. Huzzah!


Also from the Times (yes, I know...):

Citrus salsa (or "xec"), by Mark Bittman


And zucchini pancakes:

Recipe from the Temporary Vegetarian column.

They were great, and the garlic and yogurt sauce was also delicious!

All right, better grab some breakfast. Cheers, reader.