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Rhyming

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on June 3, 2011|

Every once in a while the urge to write doggerel just overwhelms a person, and you have to give in. It seemed to happen more often when I had young children in the house.

Basil, Basil, you’re a cat
Never try denying that
Stand up for your kitty mother
Turn your back on no cat brother
When the cat god calls your name,
Let there be no cause for blame.
Future generations all
Will praise the cat that heard the call.

Or how about this ditty, which I associate with Suzanne’s friend Joanna, who must have been visiting when the urge overcame me:

Think how lovely it would be
Living always by the sea
Eating muffins with our tea
And jam.

Finally, when Asakiyume and I were working at a famous management journal and hearing lots of jargon, I used one such hackneyed phrase in a haiku I wrote about a dream Asakiyume described:

Watercolor moon
Grows larger nightly and yet
Is trending downward

My father was his class poet at Princeton, and I think he must be turning over in his grave right now.

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Using the Blog Like My Fridge

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on June 3, 2011|

I think I have always cut articles out of the paper to give people or to post on my fridge. (At the office, I post work-related clippings on the wall of my cubicle.) Suzanne and her brother, John, often teased me about how often the stories were dire warnings in the news. Around this time every year, they would be deluged with clippings about sun screen and melanoma or deer ticks and Lyme disease.

Now that they have grown up and have their own homes, the fridge is rather empty of news articles. But since they are reading this blog, I’ll post a typical dire warning from today’s Boston Globe, something I’ve been harping on since the mid-1990s. (Oh, well. They laughed at Columbus.)

Hiawatha Bray’s column for June 2 is about protecting oneself from possible cancer-causing effects of mobile phones. He has several pieces of advice any mother would love: “make like a teenager, and text instead of talking. Sending SMS or e-mail messages keeps the phone well away from your skull. The farther your brain is from the phone, the lower the risk of brain tumors. If you must talk, most handsets have a speakerphone feature to let you converse at a distance. I often use it because I’m too lazy to hold the phone. Now I’ve got a better reason.”

And a study done in Sweden a few years ago suggests that it isn’t just brains we need to worry about. Cellphones left on in a pocket can affect reproductive function.

Bray says, “I carry the phone on my hip, in a holster which keeps it the required distance from my body. I’ve mocked my wife for losing her Android smartphone in her purse, but carrying it well away from the body is the safest way to go.”

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The Joy of Children’s Books

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 2, 2011|

Among children’s books, I especially like books that are fifth-grade level. Although I enjoyed all the “color” fairy books when I was in third grade or so — Andrew Lang’s Blue Fairy Book, the Orange Fairy Book, the Rose Fairy Book, and so on — it wasn’t until about fifth grade that I really got hooked. Flashlights under the cover and all. I had a relative who worked for Dan Wickenden (The Amazing Vacation), and she sent me Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and the Narnia books. My cousin Patsy got me into George MacDonald’s The Princess and the Goblin. I reread that one a couple years ago, and it’s as great as ever.

After college, I  taught fifth and sixth grade for a few years and read to the kids as time allowed. I remember how one class only gradually realized they were really starting to like Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Lost Prince. Reading can sneak up that way.

Today I am one of the volunteers who go out from our workplace to an inner-city school where there has long been a tutoring relationship. It started with a team who read picture books chosen by teachers to first graders. Then other teams were added (such as fourth grade math tutoring), and now there are teams reading with fifth graders. The books are chosen by the librarian. Each fifth-grade volunteer has a group of three children, and grownups and children all take turns reading and discussing. Even though the kids see teams once a week, most individual volunteers only go monthly. It’s not hard to fit into one’s schedule. I have learned about a lot of books by volunteering at the school. I already knew about From the Crazy Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler, but not about Holes, Maniac Magee, Hatchet, or Hidden Talents, to name a few.

One colleague, having found out that I liked this age level, introduced me to the Golden Compass series. Heaven! I also like her suggestion of The Island of the Aunts and recommend it.

Better sign off. The last time we had a storm like the one outside my window, my computer was hit.

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Back from Rhode Island

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on May 31, 2011|

We drove back home from Rhode Island yesterday after three lovely days. The weather had been remarkably warm for a Memorial Day weekend, but very misty early. Every morning that I took my walk, I returned with soaking wet shoes.


On the drive home there was nothing much on the radio, so I read a children’s book aloud. The book had been recommended by Asakiyume because she knows I like children’s books, especially the ones she writes. The book I read on the drive home was Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin, and I haven’t finished it.

So don’t tell me what happens.

These Rhode Island photos show a path to the beach, a small shop on the main street, and fishing boats in the harbor. Comments may be sent to suzannesmom@lunaandstella.com.

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Waiting for Superman

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 30, 2011|

Last night we finally watched the DVD of “Waiting for Superman.” We had to wait until we were up for it. We knew it would be good, but painful to watch. It’s a documentary about the broken public education system in this country.

I see now why people come away from this movie saying, “It’s the unions.” But although we clearly need to find a way to dismiss bad teachers and reward good teachers, to just say, “It’s the unions,” seems too simple to me. Even if it is true, when you consider the context of poverty, unemployment, the highest rates of incarceration in the developed world, the War on Drugs, three other wars, confused approaches to immigration, Wall Street greed at the expense of the poor and middle class, antigovernment bias, and many skewed political priorities, to lay the problems of inequality in public education at any one door seems too simplistic.

Still, as the movie makes clear, we need to get rid of bad teachers immediately and make sure children get high-quality teachers before they give up hope. Lotteries to get into better schools are too cruel to too many. Activists can check out this site.

By the way, the film is very well done. We loved the creative graphics making the data real and the clips of Superman movies and past political speeches and TV shows.

Reader Asakiyune writes: “I very much agree with what you said about unions and teaching and the documentary–it bothers me when a problem as complex as that is reduced to one soundbite.”

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A Friend’s Small Business in UK

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on May 29, 2011|

Both because of my job and because of the jobs of many friends and family members, I keep hearing about small business. Suzanne’s birthstone jewelry business is one successful example, and you can read more about its history on the Luna & Stella site. Suzanne’s brother is an entrepreneur, too, in the optics field. And where I work, a number of my colleagues collect data on small businesses and work to improve conditions for them.

At lunch, I heard about an English woman who used to work on GIS mapping for environmental groups in Rhode Island, where I am staying this weekend. Today the woman lives with her husband and children in northern England, where she is into a whole new field (one that benefits the environment, but differently from GIS mapping) — she weaves local wool into scarves, blankets, cushions, and throws.

From a UK site called Keep Trade Local, I learn, “Green business ideas that might benefit the Yorkshire Dales National Park are being offered a cash grant to get started. The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) – now in its seventh year of operation – aims to support new business ideas, community schemes and environmental projects that demonstrate ways of living and working in the Dales and that benefit the National Park and its communities.”

The site notes that support was “given to local businesses producing locally-sourced produce, such as the Sedbergh-based Laura’s Looms. With two grants from SDF, Laura has been able to develop and expand her business creating high quality woven ‘Howgill Throws’ using Bluefaced Leicester sheep fleece obtained from farms in [nearby] Garsdale and Dentdale. She is now selling them both locally and on her website at www.laurasloom.co.uk.”

Laura writes, “I create exquisite handwoven silk and wool scarves  and I design and produce The Howgill Range, an exclusive collection of luxurious wool throws and scarves woven from organically processed pure British wool. Beautiful woollen baby blankets and covetable wool cushions can also be found in my online shop, along with the occasional appearance of my one-off, highly textured handwoven throws. I love to weave!”

An aside: Laura’s husband teaches in the international business school where Suzanne met Erik. 🙂

Comments should be sent to suzannesmom@lunaandstella.com. And I wouldn’t mind having a photo of bluefaced sheep I could post. It sounds like something out of a fairytale.

Asakiyume answers the call with a photo she found at theshadowsheep. 


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My Friend Asakiyume

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on May 28, 2011|

My friend Asakiyume writes a blog at asakiyume.livejournal.com. Like me, she blogs about whatever interests her. She is also an accomplished children’s author under another name. Today on her blog she shares photos from the natural world she loves to observe and ponder: “Sometimes, you can be so sure the day will fall to rain, and instead the sun wins out. This evening the breeze was running through the long grass, making it undulate and shimmer silver.”

Asakiyume is also the mother of four exceptionally gifted children. One, who is in college, calls herself LittleMetalDrop on YouTube and did this adorable animation for the song “Don’t Stop Me Now.”

Although Asakiyume asked me to hurry up and activate my “comments” function, Luna & Stella is still testing the blog. So for now, please send comments to suzannesmom@lunaandstella.com. I aim to include many comments in my entries.

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The Bicycle Lady

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on May 28, 2011|

Some mornings when I take my walk, it is still dark out. There is not much going on. Few cars — maybe just the newspaper delivery van, the bakery truck, or town employees flushing out the holes in the sidewalk where the flags go for special events like Earth Day or United Nations Day.

Most often, the other walkers are three elderly gentleman. One walks a King Charles Spaniel. One used to check all the bins for recyclable cans and bottles but has retired from that pursuit. One was a slow jogger a couple years ago but is now just a fast walker.

Then there is the lady on the bicycle. The lady on bicycle has a helmet, a bell, and a bicycle light. Also, she bikes on the sidewalk.

One dark morning I was walking along when I heard the screech of bicycle brakes behind me and turned to find the lady on the bicycle glowering. “I nearly ran into you!” she exclaimed indignantly. “You should wear a reflector vest when you go out in the dark!”

Now I take my walk in the street. There are no bicycles in the street at 5:30 a.m.

 

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One Sure Sign of Summer in Boston

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on May 26, 2011|

After a mostly cold and rainy month of May, the sun shone, and there was a lovely warm wind.

But the weather can change again. A surer sign of summer is something that happens outside my office on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the season. So I’m excited that the farmers market returned to Dewey Square today.

There were lots of fresh vegetables and flowers, baked goods (including bread from Maine’s ever popular When Pigs Fly), nuts, prepared foods, preserves, and more. I ended up buying some nice-looking granola. Also a Swedish almond cake because son-in-law Erik is from Sweden, and I am a sucker for pastries said to be Swedish.

The Farmers Market is at one end of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, across from South Station. I wrote about the Greenway a couple days ago, here.

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Paul C. Nagel, Biographer

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on May 25, 2011|

We are sad here because Paul Nagel, our friend, has died. He fell ill suddenly in February. We had seen him last September when he came to receive a lifetime achievement award from the John Adams family and stayed a night with us. Paul wrote many biographies and was a mentor to David McCullough. He was especially noted for his work on John Quincy Adams and the Adams women. His favorite among the women was Louisa, JQA’s wife. Read about him here and here.

When Paul was in Concord, we paid a visit to the North Bridge, where the “shot heard ’round the world” was fired on April 19, 1775, igniting the revolution.


					
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Jazz at the Apollo

					

					Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,  on May 25, 2011|
											

				


				

					
We went with Suzanne and Erik to the Apollo in Harlem for an awesome jazz concert.




When I tell you about the talent that performed, you will never believe that the tickets were only $10. But sponsors put the show in the reach of pretty much everyone. Savion Glover (of Tap Dance Kid fame) may have been the best-known name, but the Temple University band and others were also great, not to mention two young women in their teens who blew the audience away. One was saxophonist Grace Kelly from Brookline, Mass.,  who already has a big reputation both here and abroad.


The other was Nikki Yanofsky, “a 17-year-old musical prodigy from Montreal. At the age of 13, Nikki became the youngest artist ever signed to Verve Records, when she recorded Airmail Special for the compilation We All Love Ella: Celebrating The First Lady Of Song. In 2008, Nikki’s debut release, Ella…Of Thee I Swing, a live tribute to Nikki’s hero, Ella Fitzgerald, earned two Juno nominations. Nikki’s musical education was further enhanced by collaborations with such jazz luminaries as The Count Basie Orchestra, Oliver Jones, and The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.” Her scat singing was amazing, and her ballads showed control and maturity beyond her age.

					
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Owls Lead the Way

					

					Posted in Uncategorized on May 24, 2011|
											

				


				

					
The New York Times calls the owl “a charismatic sentry in climate change” because owls can show when we are all in trouble.


“As [owl researcher Denver Holt] prepares for his 20th field season in the Arctic, he says that the snowy owl has a role to play in understanding ecological changes in one of the fastest changing places in the world. ‘When lemmings are doing well, everything is doing well — eider ducks, sandhill cranes, arctic fox and weasels,’ Mr. Holt said. ‘If climate change results in habitat changes and it affects the lemmings, it will show up in the snowy owls because 90 percent of their diet is lemmings. The owls are the key to everything else.’ ” Read more here.


This owl spent a day in the ivy at my house. It’s hard to see him, but I guess that is the idea. I was so sorry that he didn’t come back. Suzanne’s sister-in-law said he was a screech owl.

					
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Urban Roof Gardens

					

					Posted in Uncategorized, tagged ,  on May 24, 2011|
											

				


				

					
Here are two interesting stories on urban roof gardens and adapting local vegetation for increasingly warm temperatures.


This one is from the New York Times: “Lufa Farms, founded by Mohamed Hage and Kurt Lynn, turned an unassuming office rooftop into a 31,000-square-foot greenhouse that grows tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other produce year-round and is a working example of a developing trend known as urban rooftop farming.” Read how they founders have turned this into a successful small business — in Montreal, of all places!


Meanwhile, in Chicago, the powers that be are preparing for warmer seasons: “Chicago is getting ready for a wetter, steamier future. Public alleyways are being repaved with materials that are permeable to water. The white oak, the state tree of Illinois, has been banned from city planting lists, and swamp oaks and sweet gum trees from the South have been given new priority. Thermal radar is being used to map the city’s hottest spots, which are then targets for pavement removal and the addition of vegetation to roofs. And air-conditioners are being considered for all 750 public schools, which until now have been heated but rarely cooled.” Read more here.


Feel free to send comments to suzannesmom@lunaandstella.com. I will include as many comments as possible in future entries.

					
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How the Big Dig Created a Lovely Urban Garden

					

					Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , ,  on May 24, 2011|
											

				


				

					
Sometimes I take my morning walk in the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a lovely urban garden created on top of the Big Dig. I know the American Taxpayer paid too much for the Big Dig, but I just want to say I am really grateful for the Greenway. The mayor, among others, is concerned that not that many people use it yet, that it seems to be there just for Suzanne’s Mom and a few office workers. But now there is a carousel in summer and the Boston Harbor Islands visitor center and various food vendors — all of which are expected to attract more visitors. One vendor is Equal Exchange, the fair-trade coffee company. (You can follow Equal Exchange’s carts on Twitter at EEFreeRange.)

					
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Mister Smarty Plants

					

					Posted in Uncategorized on May 23, 2011|
											

				


				

					
Suzanne’s brother started a plant-identification website called Mister Smarty Plants. The idea is that you upload that mystery flower you’ve been wondering about, the one that pops up every spring along your driveway, let’s say. Then other people who come to the site try to identify it. It’s crowd-sourcing. When Mister Smarty Plants has a definitive answer, he sends you an e-mail.




The concept works amazingly well, although some submissions can be tough. Someone posted a picture of a plant grown from seeds picked up on the ground in France, and no one has identified it confidently yet. Maybe you can.


Comments to this blog may be sent to suzannesmom@lunaandstella.com. I will post as many as I can.

					
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