The gift that keeps giving:
[Image Via: Stars in my Dreams]
Sunday
October 6, 2024
Since 2002
Monthly Archives: February 2014
Morning Art
“Mixed Signals” by Garrett Pruter.
Clearing the Bases
From an essay I wrote about Richard Ben Cramer’s Esquire story on Ted Williams for the latest e-magazine from The Classical:
They came to Ted Williams the way those eight ill-fated adventurers came to Everest, thinking they could scale it, conquer it, reduce it to something mortals could comprehend. John Updike almost made it to the top when he wrote that gods don’t answer letters, but Ed Linn got off just as good a line in Sport magazine summing up Williams’ last game: “And now Boston knows how England felt when it lost India.” Leigh Montville weighed in with an almost poetically profane biography, and now Ben Bradlee Jr. has delivered a massive biography of his own at nearly 1,000 pages. But none of them—and I’m talking about a great novelist, two splendid sports writers, and a deeply committed researcher here— made it to the top of the mountain where dwelled Ted Williams, the Splendid Splinter, the Kid.
Richard Ben Cramer did.
He had only 15,000 words to work with, and he had to scheme and skulk and send flowers to get those, but he climbed inside Williams’ life and mind and special madness the way nobody before him did and nobody after him has. His story – “What Do You Think of Ted Williams Now?” – reached out from the pages of Esquire‘s July 1986 issue and grabbed you by the collar. Once you read his first sentence – “Few men try for best ever, and Ted Williams is one of those” – you didn’t need to be forced to go the rest of the way.
Where & When: Game 38
We’re on a roll with Where & When! I love that so many of these beautiful photos have managed to come to my attention and that we can share so much information about them. While I’ve researched various photos and pics, I’ve come to appreciate the wave of changes that occur each generation in New York, even if I don’t necessarily agree with them. Some great architecture has sadly been lost to the ages due to neglect, damage from fire or the changing needs of society at that time, and far more often than not in this generation the replacements have been lacking in artistry or originality, but at least they’re not… well, they do… ah, who am I kidding? The early 20th Century was the golden age of skyscrapers and building construction in all of Greater New York and the surrounding metro area. The mansions were better in the mid-to-late 1800s, but the buildings that came later served a greater purpose and the mansions, if they still exist, are mainly museums now. That’s just my opinion, of course, but you’re welcome to agree or explain why I don’t know what I’m talking about >;)
click on photo to enlarge
Now you may or may not know what and where this is, but the year might throw you off a bit. That’s because there are some very obvious and important distinctions about this place that you will have to list, and getting the year correct will likely help you with that task. So not only are you determining where this was taken and when the photo was taken, but you’re also pointing out the main features in this structure. Two bonus questions(!) go with this one: Name something related to a notorious event that happened here, and name another structure from around the world that inspired this one.
You all have fun with that while I sleep the morning away; I will check in after noon to see how you’re doing. Same prizes as yesterday, but second bonus will be a chocolate biscotti. No peeking!
[Photo Credit: New York Architecture]
Curtain Call
According to this report, 2014 will be Derek Jeter’s final season as a player. The announcement came on Jeter’s Facebook page.
[Painting by Michael Pattison]
Where & When: Game 37
Surprise! Time for more eye and mind candy from Where & When! Don’t ask me why I’m being so prolific of late, just enjoy it as it comes and I still have consistent moments to do it >;) So let’s jump back a few years:
Click on pic to enlarge
That’s quite a looker, isn’t it? This picture was taken the year the building was completed, and it’s can’t be too hard to find since it’s a building that was not torn down with the subsequent revitalization of lower Manhattan; in fact is there anything in this picture that has changed in the passing years? Tell us what the name of the building in the forefront is as well as the two prominent buildings in the rear. For a bonus, tell us what, if anything, has changed in this picture from then to now.
The prize? It’s still too cold for root beer, so you’ll have to settle for a large mug of minty hot cocoa, and the follow-ups will have a cup of ginger spice tea to keep our throats from getting sore from the cold. The bonus will bring you a brownie >;)
Have at it guys; enjoy while I still have time to bring these extra games to you and as usual, no peeking at the photo credit.
[Photo Credit: wavz13]
Where & When: Game 36
[Blink, Blink] Already? Welcome Back for another round of Where & When! Seems our last game was a vintage toughie; if you didn’t see the answer, take the time to go back and and see what happened. When you’re done, come back and take a look at this picture and get your typing fingers warmed up:
click on pick to enlarge
What a beauty, eh? This one’s not as hard as yesterday, only because I’m not asking you to find an obscure clue in the background; though from the looks of it, there might be something that will help you pinpoint the general region beyond the obvious stuff. I’m rolling over the contraband from yesterday since nobody really won that game, so first person with the answer gets a full mug to keep you warm. The rest who follow through will have to settle with a doughnut of choice. You get an extra one if you can give us a little history about what’s in this picture.
Happy now? Then let’s play, and no peeking at the credit.
[Photo Credit: War Of Yesterday]
Afternoon Art
“Window over a Garden” by Marc Chagall (1917)
King of Style
Well, okay then:
A Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner, capable of carrying nearly 200 people up to 7,850 nautical miles, touched down at Kennedy International Airport on Sunday afternoon with only six passengers, including an ace pitcher, his pop star wife, a personal manager and a toy poodle named Haru.
The unusual flight manifest was not a joke, but the grand entrance of Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees’ flamboyant Japanese pitcher who put his newfound dollars to immediate use.
Eager to avoid a snowstorm and arrive in New York in time for his introductory news conference Tuesday, Tanaka rented the plane from JAL for an estimated $200,000. Not even Reggie Jackson made such a colorful entrance to New York when he signed as a free agent with the Yankees in November 1976.
It is unclear whether Haru had his own seat, but there were nearly 200 empty ones from which to choose.
Afternoon Art
“Window in the Country” by Marc Chagall (1915)
"This ain't football. We do this every day."
--Earl Weaver
--Earl Weaver