Next Stop: 42nd Street

 Happy Year of the Horse!

Amber, UWS, NYC

 Wait. What's that? Stop being an ass?

Right.

So.

 I guess it's time to get on the right track*.

 That's right.

The weather here is about -42 with the wind chill, 

and my arctic glare about asking me my age.

Whatever.

I'm coming to terms with it. 

I've been practicing saying it for a while.

Or have I?

Even the subway signs seem to be speaking to me.

* The number of roads a man must walk down, before ... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTUG9CehwhY)

OR

• 42, the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, from Douglas Adams' series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy;
• "42" (song), a song from Coldplay's album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
•  Jackie Robinson's number, retired by all Major League Baseball teams

iTouch photos all
various NY and NYC transit

Happy 7th Birthday Amber!

 Happiest of Birthdays Ms. Amber!

It was so good to spend time with you at Christmas time,

 instead of chatting through the phone or Grandma Mary's computer.

I am so amazed just to see how ... mature/silly/big sister/little girly/bossy/snuggly/funny/sassy/snotty/caring/focused/scattered/ so very AMBER you were, especially as I tried to share my knowledge of being a big sister and a craftswoman. 

Being with you all day for a week was such a treat. Thanks for posing for me in your presents; l: modelling your special fashion stylings and r: best Church wear.

  I know you colored in a picture of you, me, and Elle as princesses, 

but I hope you slept like Sleeping Beauty in your big bunk bed.

 

 I really enjoyed watching you playing out in the snow of Idaho, 

even if you did aim more than a few snowballs in my direction.

 (Sorry about that Elle. Amber, don't listen to me!)

 

You and your sister look like naturals out there on the sleds. Or, are you a 'boarder?

I also love how much fun you had at the Appaloosa Museum, with your hair up in a pony tail, saddling up for fun, learning about dream catchers, and going straight to the reading corner to read all the books. You are an adorable cowgirl.

I love you too my Amberkins. I can't wait to talk to you soon on the computer. Feel better so you can celebrate your big day. Hope to see you very soon!

xo Auntie Nettie

Retroblogging: Favorite Childhood Poem about a Horse

After all this "poetry" from my childhood, we need a palate cleanser. I know I've mentioned a few times that I was horse crazy as a kid, but I was so horse crazy that I also collected equine-themed poetry and people created computer graphic equine art. (Look, it was the 1980s ... computer graphics and printers were limited to DOS programs and dot-matrix printers. Cut us a break!)

It was hard to keep dibs on this poem. Long narrative epic poems aren't always in fashion and I couldn't always find it in anthologies. I have a version I transcribed in pencil, the copy seen above typed into an early version of a word-processing document on the computer, and now this one - all saved for posterity.

The Arab to his Favorite Steed
By Caroline Norton

My Beautiful! My beautiful that standest meekly by,
With thy proudly arched and glossy neck, and dark and fiery eye,
Fret not to roam the desert, with all thy winged speed;
I may not mount on thee again, - thou’rt sold, my Arab steed,
Fret not with impatient hooves – snuff not the breezy wind
The farther that thy fliest now, so far am I behind;
The stranger hath thy bridle-rein-thy master hath his gold,
Fleet-limbed and beautiful, farewell; thou’rt sold, my steed, thou’rt sold.

Farewell! Those free untried limbs full mile must roam.
To reach the chill and wintry sky which cloud the stranger’s home
Some other hand, less fond, must now thy corn and bed prepare,
The silky mane, I braided once must be another’s care!
The morning’s sun shall down again, but never again with thee,
Shall I gallop through the desert path; where we wont to be;
Evening shall darken on the earth, and o’er the sandy plain,
Some other steed, with slower step, shall bear me home again.

Yes, thou must go! The wild, free breeze, the brilliant sun and sky,
Thy master’s house-from all of these my exiled one must fly,
Thy proud dark eye will grow less proud, thy step become less fleet.
And vainly shall thou arch thy neck, thy master’s hand to meet,
Only in sleep shall I behold that dark eye, glancing bright,
Only in sleep shall I hear thy step so firm and light.
And when I raise my dreaming arm to check or cheer thy speed,
Then must I, starting wake to feel, thou’rt sold my Arab steed,
Ah, rudely, then, unseen by me, some cruel hand may chide.
‘Til form-wreathes lie, like crested waves along thy panting side;
And the rich-blood that's in thee swells in thy indignant pain,
‘Til careless eyes, which rest on thee, may count each starting vein
Will they ill-use thee, If I thought-but no, it can not be.
Thou art so swift, yet easily curbed, so gentle, yet so free.
And yet, if hap’ly, when thou’rt gone, my lonely heart should yearn,
Can the hand which casts thee from it, now command thee to return.

Return! Alas! My Arab steed, what shall thy master do,
When thou, who wast his all of joy, hast vanished from his view?
When the dim distance cheats thy eye, and though the gathering tears,
Thy bright form, for a moment, like eye false mirage appears;
Slow and unmounted shall I roam, with weary step alone,
Where, with fleet step and joyous bound thou oft hast borne me on,
And sitting down by that green well, I’ll pause and sadly think,
It was here he bowed his glossy neck when last I saw him drink,

When last I saw thee drink! – Away!- The fevered dream is o’er –
I could not live a day, and know that we should meet no more!
They tempted thee, my beautiful, for hunger’s powers strong,
Who said I have given thee up? Who said that thou wast sold?
‘Tis false! – ‘Tis false my Arab steed, I fling them back their gold,
Thus, thus, I leap upon thy back, and scout the distant plain,
Away, who over takes us now shall claim thee for his pains!

Retroblogging: Dubious Childhood Poetry III

Just when you thought it was bad before --- just wait ... and there's a bonus haiku! What really makes it, and you won't see it because I'm not posting a photo -- is that these are all written in turquoise ink -- and I got A+s for them ... Really? I didn't get comments like oh, "trite," "give it up," and "stop writing, for the Bard's sake!"

Friend

Friend, is all he thinks I am,
But, I think of him, more,

We've only known each other for a year,
But, boy, does it seem more.

I've seen him in all my classes,
Spanish, math, and more

Friend is all he thinks of me,
But, of him, I think of, more.

Rain

Rain, pouring down,
Upon the thirsty ground
Which drinks it up,
And make the flowers jump.

Why

Why do you like me?
Please tell me why,
If you don't I fear that I
will die.

You try to show you like me
And I still do not know why
And people look at me like,
"Do you like that guy?"

You seem to say you like me.
Please tell me
Why?

Haiku

Horses, red, brown, bay
black, white, dun, dapple, and grey
I love all horses.

Summer Scenes 2012: Commuting Views

Although working through the loss of a second camera in about six months (RIP Ms. RubyNikon), I've still been trying to document some of the things I see around me. Thanks to a cell phone and/or an iTouch, I've managed to photograph some of the daily scenes in the life of Auntie Nettie.

l: I take photos. A photo of a photo ... too meta?
r: How do New Yorkers wash their cars? Double park on the avenue, run a hose to the local building/fire department, and wash them right there in the street! (Don't try this at home. Use a car-wash or your driveway, like most of the country.)

At the office building

l: Behold the current state of the corridor outside my office. Such loveliness/health hazards. Corridors of Power? HA!
r: The view outside the building only reflects how nice the outside is, versus the insides. Storm clouds passing - look for sunlight on the horizon.

One day I came out the service exit to see that the local mounted police were keeping the street safe - for children of all ages and species. Note: I had to take a series of photos to get this one on the right. I knew it would happen. You just have to wait for the moment to occur. The officer was more patient than his steed; that horse was ready for the stable and his oats!

Heading home:

It's not just the people of New York who eek out a living off the little patches of land between concrete.
l: a little urban garden spotted off the train tracks right by a highway on-ramp.
r. This doe was spotted on my way home, as I was walking over a highway overpass. She just emerged out of the thicket on the highway ramp. You don't usually see deer near this particular highway. I guess the coyotes aren't far behind. I got funny looks for taking the photo, but still. When the wildlife decides to move in, you start wondering about the deer ticks taking up residence in your hood too.

Series: Juxtaposition of looking down and looking ahead

l: Encroaching foliage into the Concrete Jungle
r: It's a rat-eat-pigeon squab world up in the overpass rafters.
Urban decay takes on a whole new meaning.

Walking home to the setting sun.

l: To find that it's July and the Christmas lights are still up above and below me.
r: Working dinner, while fielding phone calls and working on the computer.
So glamorous ... not!

Just a random assortment, I know, but it's good to off-set all the childhood pictures from time to time, too. Real life and stuff keeps happening in the present, while I look to the past.

40 Diamonds for 40: Note from Nicole

Nicole, aka Nicolai, Nikki, etc. is one of the few friends from high school with whom I'm still in touch. Ironically, she and Jenn now live in the same town but only seem to see each other when I visit Connecticut. Turns out, I'm the common link in that high school chain of acquaintance. I think they are getting better about getting together without me because I get weird texts from time to time from one about contacting the other. (Just do it girls!)

Honestly, I can't remember which of my classes overlapped with Nicole's so that we first met. As you'll see below, it definitely wasn't the many music, choir, theater, or arts classes. It had to be History or Social Studies or something like that, because that's how we got involved in the trip to the Soviet Union. Also, we were probably bonded by our many extra-curriculars. While I had all the Church-related stuff after school and weekends, Nicole competed, and competed hardcore, in equestrian events, specially jumping events. I may have mentioned (oh, once or twice) that I was horse-crazy as a kid, but aside from a couple of summer of lessons, it's been a admiration-from-a-distance thing. Here was Nicole, who had a horse of her very own! And competed! And was nice! And wasn't snotty about it like some horse-clique folks were! And who was too busy to deal with some of the usual high school high jinx and popularity contests too!

There there was the trip itself. If traveling internationally in the 1980s, on Soviet-era Aeroflot planes, brushing your teeth with, and drinking, Pepsi, sharing what passed as bathrooms in many hotels with high school boys, rejoicing in landing in Sweden and heading out to the Hard Rock Cafe and McDonalds, and spending hours together on a bus, train, plane, and foreign hotel room doesn't bond you for life, I don't know what will.

After high school, Nicole was one of the few people that actually visited one of the Attic's first locations in Westchester, staying overnight while her company sent her to the City for a conference. Fortunately for me, she is always so kind to make time for a brief catch-up meal or visitation when I do make it back to Connecticut. Her husband Scott, two boys, and lovely Rhodesian Ridgeback Jasmine, are very fortunate in this Disney-loving princess. She's a true gem too.

Top row: Nicole in one of our Russian hotel rooms, meeting up with young Russians, and the hospitality of Communist-era "fine dining";
Bottom row: Nicole's high school yearbook photo, and one of her prom pictures with a very forgettable date who she did NOT marry, her wedding invitation, and a candid of Nicole and Scott at their wedding

Ah yes, what can be said about Auntie Nettie? The first thing that comes to my mind is thoughtfulness. You are the only person (besides my husband) that actually remembers my anniversary. AND you actually send me snail mail in honor of it!!

The second thing I think of is... no way are you 40. It just sounds so crazy. Because if you are 40, then I am right around the corner. And I am just not mature enough to be there yet.

It is hard to believe we have known each other since high school. You were my only artsy friend back then. Oh wait... you STILL are my only artsy friend. ;) I still have a little pin you made me with a horse on it that said good luck that I brought to my horse shows. It is sitting in my office with all my pics of Bruiser [Nicole's retired jumper].

My favorite memory of us is from sophomore year. We were sporting lovely 80's perms... and we were going to RUSSIA!!! There was a mismatch of boys and girls for rooming purposes and we were forced to [share a bath]room with two guys. Why? Because we were the most trustworthy of the group! I am still not sure if that was a good thing or not. ;) That was such an amazing trip. [I] drank WAY too much sugary tea and [we] ate WAY too little actual food.

I am so happy that we are still in touch even though we see way too little of each other. And it is totally my turn to come visit you! Although my suitcase is bigger than your place. I'm just sayin....

Love you lots! Have a wonderful birthday celebration!!!!

Nicole

Спасибо ("spa-see-ba") - Thank-You Nicolai my friend!

Photos of the Day: Horse with No Name

Sadly, we just lost the singer, Dan Peek, who co-founded the band America in 1970. As a child of the 1970s, the refrain to A Horse With No Name was well known and I often break out singing it for no reason.

I especially end up singing it when I am reviewing this series of photos I took of a site-specific sculpture installation entitled The Mustangs, outside Snow Canyon in Ivins, Utah done by the artist Ed Hlavka, at his studio at the Kayenta Art Village.

For more about Ed Hlavka, click here. An article about the installation can be found here.

If you can't view the YouTube clip, go here: http://youtu.be/woP1ITeIQcI

Bet you can't get the song out of your head either. I miss songs where there is a) a narrative with an actual point, b) you can actually understand the lyrics, c) the lyrics are clean, and can d) harmonize - and the harmonies are excellently tight as can be.

Once a child of the 1970s, always a tiny bit of a flower child.

Photo of the Day: Horsing Around

Caramoor, Katonah, NY, Late June 2011

Long, long posts coming about my time with the gang at Caramoor for Opening Night, but I just haven't gotten around to writing them yet. Coming soon.

Horsing Around on the Lawn

You never know what you are going to see out your window at the Big J. Seriously. One day it was POTUS, another day it was a Passion Day parade for Holy Week. The Halloween costume "parades" featuring students from the two local high schools are some of the most "interesting" displays ever of the sublime, slutty, and the ridiculous.

But then there are just the normal view of every-day events on the Lincoln Center plaza and lawn. Last year, Lincoln Center officially opened the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Lawn,

"an elevated, 7,203 square foot expanse of public green that slopes gracefully toward Paul Milstein Pool and Terrace. Technically described as a hyperbolic paraboloid, the Illumination Lawn brings another dimension of visual interest to Hearst Plaza—its texture contrasting with the surrounding materials, and its unexpected shape setting off the linear quality of the buildings around it. Designed to provide a tranquil, verdant oasis for students, artists, and visitors, the green serves as a dynamic gathering space, as well as the roof of a pavilion housing the new destination restaurant ..."

Whatever (pretentious architects). We that look at it every day call it the twisty, tessellating, or rolling lawn where all the tourists and half naked kids go to sprawl about. It's also the destination of choice for the early childhood classes and nannies, so it's not uncommon to just get caught up watching little kids run about with glee, and the adults chase after them with some concern. Some of those corners dip suddenly, and we're just waiting for the day when someone launches over the sides or the glass gives way.

This great rolling expanse of green (or brown depending on the season) across the way has been closed for the winter and for the spring so that the grass could grow. [For a New York Times article on the special art of this particular lawn's care, click here.] One day earlier this month, however, we noticed a flurry of activity near the entrance stairs. With a big red bow, it could only mean a grand opening! YIPPEE.

This wasn't just a normal grand opening, with human beings cutting the bow. Nope. This year, the giant puppet war horses from the production at the Lincoln Center Theater made it a synergistic opening. Not only were the two featured horses there, but the teeny tiny ballerina girls from the School of American Ballet were there to frolic together on the lawn. Seriously, all they needed was Brunhilde from the Wagner opera at the Met and fancy canapes from the seriously overpriced restaurant to overload on the cross-constituent promotion.

But, more to the point, it was a fun view minutes for all of us peering through our windows. Tickets for the show are selling out very quickly, so this was probably our only opportunity to see the stars of the production. Those puppets are amazing. When the 3 puppeteers are manipulating the horses you almost can't believe that they aren't real. They snort, prance, and rear just like real animals, and if you don't think about it too much, you can believe the illusion. (Also a point of pride, a few of those puppeteers are Big J trained actors.)

Anyway, here's my pictures of the great lawn opening of 2011, as snapped via the zoom, from across the street and through a large dirty pane of glass. Better media can be seen here, courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater, or go to http://lct.org/showMedia.htm?id=199 or http://youtu.be/qw8ruoIqGxI.



I also have to report that standing barefoot in that grass without having to be concerned about what real horses would leave behind is very nice indeed.