Harvard's Hollis Professor of Divinity is the oldest endowed chair in American higher education and legend has it that this position comes with the right to graze your cows in Harvard Yard. Professor Harvey Cox is celebrating his retirement from the Hollis chair by borrowing a cow. She'll graze in the Yard and take part in Cox's retirement celebration on September 10th. Not wanting to pass up such great publicity, HarperCollins has moved the upcoming publication of Cox's book to match the cow's Harvard visit. (Harvard press release)
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Wikipedia's List of mottos entry is interesting browsing, especially the variety in the educational institutions section.
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Thursday, August 27, 2009

The Lightship Nantucket WLV612 is one of a long line of ships that served to warn others of the dangerous Nantucket Shoals. It's the only operational one left, and Bill and Kristen Golden bought it for $126,000 on eBay in 2000. They restored it and created an elegant interior. The ship can still shine its bright lights and sound the foghorn from its former life, but nowadays it is home for the Goldens. On Wednesday evening, the Lightship Nantucket came alongside the Kennedy compound and turned on its lights to illuminate the late Senator Ted Kennedy's schooner.
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Did any editors yell "stop the presses" when news of Senator Ted Kennedy's death came in the earliest hours of the morning? From a look at the front pages of Boston area papers on the Newseum, it seemed that only the Boston Herald had come through with a tribute that was likely prepared in advance, ready to go (afternoon papers of course had time to prepare). But Editor & Publisher reports that although the first and second editions of the Boston Globe had already been printed, Editor Martin Baron halted the run of the third edition after his night crew woke him up with the news. Fittingly, the redesigned third edition was the one delivered to Cape Cod. (Unfortunately it didn't make the Newseum front page archive.)
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

At America's Camp in the Berkshires of Massachusetts kids who lost parents to the horrible events on 9/11 congregate every summer to do what typical campers do, sing songs, canoe, build close friendships. In the earlier years it was harder for them to talk about their loss, but they knew they shared a strong common bond. Older kids have now become counselors and the youngest campers were born after the tragedy took place. It's a place that you hope will not be needed anymore after those last children grow up, except perhaps for reunions.
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Trees must be at least 65 feet to be considered for Rockefeller Center's Christmas display but that seems like nothing in comparison to the search for a mast to replace one on the two-masted Schooner Zodiac. The ship, built in 1924 for the Johnson & Johnson heirs, needs a 114-foot replacement mast. A yearlong search ended with a 150 foot tree deemed straight enough to make the grade. The new mast is being turned in the spar shop at Grays Harbor Historical Seaport. The Zodiac is used today for educational cruises.
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Monday, August 24, 2009

Ad pages in this year's September Vogue have dropped 36% from last year, leaving 584 total pages in comparison to 798 in 2008. This may come as no surprise given the recession though some have noticed that Elle magazine has, for the first time, surpassed Vogue in ad pages. But Vogue is basking in the current publicity around documentary "The September Issue" which was filmed while they produced the record-breaking 840 page September 2007 issue. I don't recall anything in that issue about "smart buys" and "makeup for less."
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For a slightly different tourist jaunt through the S.F. Bay Area, how about visiting the cold war missile sites? If you think that won't take too long, well, there are at least 24 sites related to the Nike missiles. As Jef Poskanzer describes on his comprehensive website: "Each Nike installation was split into a radar/control site, high on a hilltop for good visibility, and a launch site somewhere lower down and a mile or two away for better protection." Tom Stienstra at the Chronicle has picked his top five Nike sites, all the better for educational hike planning.
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Friday, August 21, 2009

Americans bought 31 million pounds of buffalo meat last year, twice the amount they did five years ago. We use ground buffalo for everything we used ground beef for: meatloaf, chili, burgers. When the vacuum packed 1 pound packs are on sale we stack 'em up in the freezer. The article gives tips on cooking this lean, easy to overcook, sustainably raised meat.
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A link from the Tour de France last month (the best part of daytime TV while I was home sick): PezCycling News gives us a look at the crazy advertising caravan that accompanies le Tour as it travels around. A bed on wheels, gigantic animals and drink bottles on top of cars, and, of course, huge cyclists. It's like a Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade + Super Bowl ads mash-up.
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Thursday, August 20, 2009

I listened to many wonderful hours of live, acoustic music at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, CA and am happy to see they are ready to move into their new building. It's still on Addison Street, but much closer to public transportation and parking, across the street from the Berkeley Rep. Advance tickets for the first two shows next week are sold out, but there's plenty more to come, plus workshops and classes. Meyer Sound Laboratories donated the sound system (you may remember them from Mythbusters' quacking duck and other audio episodes).
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Ice is no simple matter at the Olympic games. There are five ice specialists for Vancouver's Winter Olympics in charge of five very different slick surfaces. Figure skaters and short-track speedskaters share a 1.75 inch layer of ice at 24 degrees F. Long-track speedskaters get a harder track averaging 1.13 inches at 19.4 degrees. Curling takes place on a pebbled surface over 1.75 inches of ice at 20 degrees. And in the uncontrollable outdoors, the bobsled, luge, and skeleton track is kept at an average of 1.2 inches, 24 degrees. The athletes who are the least picky about the condition of their ice? The hockey players who get 1.1 inches at 20.3 degrees F, and whose medal chances don't depend on a hundredths of a second time difference or a missed jump.
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Update from yesterday: here's some Candy Land on Lombard Street coverage. They used interlocking rubber mats to cover the street. Plus they had Princess Lolly, Princess Frostine and King Kandy!
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The Hope Diamond has been at the Smithsonian for over 50 years and Harry Winston, who donated the gem, is going to put it in a new setting to commemorate the anniversary. The diamond will be on display without a setting starting in September, then reset for display in May. It goes back to the original diamond necklace setting later in 2010.
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According to several blogs, the twisty part of Lombard Street in San Francisco is being turned into a giant Candyland board game today for the board game's 60th anniversary. I can't find anything on the Hasbro site about this event, but maybe they're depending on this new-fangled social networking media publicity. I'll wait for photos.
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Friday, August 07, 2009

Turns out I have mono which likes to settle in for a while and really get to know your insides. Forced rest is a strange concept, but I'm trying. Having fun, easy things to do is helpful. John Richards' KEXP morning show ran a John Hughes tribute this morning and I grabbed the playlist and made a table for posterity (the producer's list will be on their blog). And thank you John Hughes for the celluloid and soundtrack of my adolescence.
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