Relay for Life (fundraiser)

Once again, this year in April I plan to walk in the Relay for Life event (organized by the American Cancer Society). Last year I walked at Fordham University and my Global Outreach team raised quite a bit of money. Every year college students, especially those who have lost family members to cancer, work hard to organize this event. This year one of my students has invited me to join her team & raise funds for the American Cancer Society. If you're interested in making a donation, you can check out my page.

Every little bit counts. All donations go directly to the American Cancer Society and anonymous donations are welcome.

String of Flounder

The photo I scanned in this evening is of my grandfather. In this picture, he reminds me so much of my father, whose smile takes over his whole face in the same way. There's no date on this shot, and I'm not sure where the photo was taken, but I'm guessing the sound in NY or Maine where they went fishing and lobstering in the summers. Is lobstering a word?

**Addendum: The photo was taken on Dwyer's Island (which is attached to Vinal Haven), Maine, where the family regularly vacationed. The house in the background belonged to the Swears.' And the fish are flounder. Estimated date: Early 1950s (1950-1956).

1. Original Scan:

2. *Scanned in with Color Restoration:

3. Scanned in with Color Restoration & converted to black & white in PhotoShop:

*I'm partial to the second version, because it preserves some of the 'old photo' look.

Family Photos

Leroy and Elvera

Photo taken by Everett Studies Inc., White Plains, NY.

Leroy's Retirement Party, 1971.

As a kid growing up in Missouri, we were able to visit my father's side of the family (in New York) maybe once a year. Its tough to drive a station wagon from St. Louis to Rye, NY. And flights were expensive when I was young. While I didn't know this side of my family very well, I have great memories from those visits with my grandpa, my aunt Sandy, and my cousins Jody & Roy. My grandma passed away when I was very young, and grandpa died while I was in high school, but the memory I have of grandpa squeezing me & spinning me around the living room of their home in Rye is crystal clear. More recently, I've been able to do some catching up (and visiting) with this side of my family. My dad's sister, Sandy, moved to Rhode Island from New York, just after Chris & I moved, and she has been so kind and generous to both of us. Its great to have family in such close proximity.

All of this is to explain the new side-project that I'm about to start. Sandy has a huge bin of family photos that she's beginning to sort through. As she sorts through them, she's lending the photos to me, so that I can convert each into a digital file that will keep these photos preserved beyond their physical life. This also means the photos can be more easily shared and copied. I am very excited to start this project over the next few weeks. I'm going to try to limit myself to only working on one or two photos a day (so that I get my work done!). Once I get them all scanned & touched up in PhotoShop, I'll put them into album-form so that anyone in the family can order prints or a copy of the album (maybe through KodakGallery, but I'm partial to using Blurb). (low-res, full photo scan below)

Park View

View of the Park from our front steps.

Taken with the Hasselblad. Winter, 12/08.

Lovely: Milk Bottles

Design*Sponge posted these the other day -- gorgeous milk bottles etched and hand-inked, by Julia Rothman (the student of the month, at the Reform School).

Annie Leibovitz

An inside look at the new Annie Leibovitz exhibit, from sfgirlbybay.

Willow in the Tub

from 1/29/08.

Grading Essay Exams

Exams...can be so painful to grade. This lovely stamp was a Christmas gift from Jason & Theresa. Who knew it would come in handy so soon?

Where do you get these songs?

(Soundboard at Salve's Radio station, 2/27/08.

Home of the Bleacher Preachers radio show.)

When I'm playing dj for the night, Chris often says "Where do you get these songs?" We have similar tastes, which is bound to happen after 6 - 7 years. The question comes when we finish belting out Edith Piaff and what follows is our bouncing along to Usher's "Yeah." I don't see the problem, but "Where" do I find this music? -- that's a good question...

These days I find music from the blogs I read. Sometimes Elsie, over at A Beautiful Mess, asks for recs to make a new mix for the gym. And I've picked up a few songs from Sarah Parrot's review of her favorite albums of the year (Part I and Part II) -- Joanna Newsom (odd/beautiful vocals) and Rilo Kiley for a little alt-rock. Sarah's list was a great way to hear new music, so I thought I'd share some of my most played from 2007 as well. The artists may not have released this music in 2007, but they're in my Most Played Artists/Albums List for 2007:

1. Regina Spektor. I stumbled onto Regina & the song "Samson" after reading The Red Tent with my we-only-read-one-book-together book club in nyc. "Samson" speaks of the women forgotten by the authors of the bible, similar to the story told in The Red Tent.
Spektor's uniqueness is found in her vocal surprises. She's a classically trained musician, which can make a world of difference in how an artist puts a song together. She's become much more well-known this past year (alas) but, according to my iTunes, she was my most played artist and will probably remain the top choice for kitchen music (chopping veggies to "Loveology" = extreme happiness). My favorite video: "Us." Intro songs: "Fidelity" or "On the Radio," Going Die-hard: "Back of a Truck"

2. Rufus Wainwright. Album: Want One (as opposed to Want Two). What can I say about Rufus? His voice can be emotionally crushing. Seeing him at Carnegie was unforgettable. We also saw him in Boston at the Avalon, but his piano ballads are meant to be enjoyed in a cocktail lounge, whilst drinking dry martinis. Again, Wainwright knows what he's doing with his voice, with the piano, and in the layering process of composition. While Chris was in Germany ('06), I sent him a few cd mixes that included "In my Arms" (from Rufus Wainwright) and a few songs from Poses. Since then, Wainwright has become a favorite. Songs: "Hallelujah" and "Art Teacher" are among my personal favorites.

3. Coconut Records. Album: Nighttiming. Jason Schwartzman, is one of my absolute favorite films, Rushmore. But I can see why Schwartzman might annoy some people. When I heard that his band, Coconut Records, was about to release an album in his band, however, I didn't hesitate to track down whatever songs I could find. Song: "West Coast."

4. Hellogoodbye. Album: Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! The band may be a little tweenie for me. The bouncy techno dance songs, like "Homewrecker" and "Here (in your arms)," are fun, but I'm obsessed with "Baby, Its Fact." And the video warms my heart: "Baby, Its Fact. The Video."

5. Kanye West. I adore so many of the songs on Kanye West's last few albums (College Dropout and Graduation, esp.). They also work well for meal prep chopping, but mostly they're high on my most-played list because they make me want to shake my ass while I'm on the elliptical machine at Bally's. Kanye and the Blackeyed Peas--the perfect dance-party tracks.

Providence in Color, Part 3 (of 3)

Way back in November, in much warmer weather, I took shots of the neighborhood. Somehow I overlooked this last batch. Homes on Parade St., Providence.

11/2007

Dexter Training Grounds on Parade St., Providence. 11/2007
On Parade Street, Providence.
11/2007

Snowy Providence (Hasselblad pics)

Street-cleaning Snow Truck.

Taken with the Hasselblad, 12/2007.Street-Cleaning Roomie.

Taken with the Hasselblad, 12/2007.

(These were taken during one of our first Providence snow storms, but I just got this roll of Hasselblad film back from the shop, during one of our first snows of the season. The first shot is my favorite, with Dexter Training Grounds and the Armory building in the background.)

My Funny Valentine

Thought I'd share these before February ends. Neither Chris nor I are big Valentine's Day people, as you may know. But, we had tickets to see Rufus Wainwright in nyc on 2/14, so we gave in and made a night of it. That evening we stumbled onto the best sushi EVER (at the Haru in midtown).
The trip wasn't perfect. We drove into the city late, grabbed dinner quickly, ran to the concert, met up with Anne & Ashley, crashed in midtown, woke up before dawn, and headed back so that I could teach in Providence the next morning. We're not as young as we used to be and we won't be doing that again.
Our visit included a celebratory evening with Anne & Ashley. Anne had been hoping to hear back about a job at Creighton University in Omaha. She was offered the job earlier that day and announced it to us when we arrived. I couldn't be more happy for her. Selfishly, I'm sad that she'll be moving futher away, but *so* happy that she's headed off to, what sounds like, the perfect job.