The streets of Boston were not laid out by cows. You can put that urban legend to rest. The poorly planned streets were just poorly planned, the result of residents living where they wanted to. Cows did graze on Boston Common way back when, but don’t blame them for the roads. Or the Big Dig budget overruns. (via Follow Me Here)

After many months of getting to know Steinway grand piano No. K0862 in the N.Y. Times columns covering its creation, we now have to get accustomed to two new monikers as it was given two new names: No. 565700 (its serial number, for the 565,700th Steinway built) and CD-60, which identifies it as a part of Steinway’s “concert fleet.” Old No. K0862’s second name places it in the set of pianos loaned out by the company for various events and programs. Thus, when it was sent to the showroom in Manhattan, it went into the basement. This is quite a basement — it could name-drop for hours. Bernstein, Horowitz, Van Cliburn, Rachmaninoff, Glenn Gould, Billy Joel. The basement is where the celebrity pianists go to pick out a Steinway for their recording sessions, concerts, TV shows. And even though CD-60 had been adjusted and readjusted at the factory, the resident technician went through the same drill of going over the hammers and strings, and perhaps not for the final time as a pianist may request further adjustments. 15 pianists gave their opinion of CD-60, most felt it needed time to break-in and “bloom.” But its first gig is lined up. Steinway sent seven grand pianos to the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival. So CD-60, formerly No. K0862, is in Kalamazoo, Michigan right now, perhaps getting played by a new talent who will one day walk into the showroom basement and pick out an old friend for a command performance. (N.Y. Times archive of the entire series)

I assumed everyone in Japan lined up at noodle shops for a steaming bowl of lunch, but apparently the elite did not used to patronize food joints of the working class. But certain ramen shops have now become the producers of sought after delicacies. And a contest to find Japan’s best ramen cook gave added exposure to the simple meal of noodles. Upscale eateries opened which feature organic ingredients and fancy interiors. And the regular old noodle shops with their pitchers of water and stacks of chopsticks continue to draw in the crowds — elite or not.

Estée Lauder, the daughter of American immigrants, cooked up skin creams in a New York kitchen with her chemist uncle and went on to build an empire. She died on Saturday at age 97. Her sales techniques set the groundwork for the luxury cosmetics industry. Prescriptives, Clinique, Origins, and Aramis…they are all part of Estée Lauder. M.A.C., Bobbi Brown Essentials and Tommy Hilfiger fragrances are also under the Lauder umbrella. Estée Lauder’s drive, ambition, and salesmanship are legendary in the cosmetics industry. She reportedly studied department store entrances to track which side most women went to upon entering and positioned her cosmetic counters accordingly. She gave us the now ubiquitous “gift with purchase” that fills women’s bathrooms with cute little cosmetic bags stuffed with lipsticks and eyeshadows that don’t always match our coloring. The N.Y. Times called her “the last great independent titan of the cosmetics industry.” Her children and grandchildren now head the companies she created. (N.Y. Times obituary)

Although perspectives can be deceiving in photographs, I get a good idea of the size differences between the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Elizabeth 2 from these two shots: docked at the piers Sunday and heading out together on Sunday night. They were sent off with a fireworks display, which you can see in this photo where the venerable QE2 gets to look the bigger of the two. Bon voyage!

Monday was Boston Marathon day, and I was happy to see that the screech tunnel at Wellesley College’s halfway point lives on, worthy of reporting year after year. This year’s t-shirt: “Boston — 13.5 miles” with an arrow on the front; “Wellesley College Scream Tunnel — 2004” on the back. Some runners reportedly held up cell phones to relay the immense density of the noise to others.

Starbucks is enticing the non-caffeinated crowd this summer with two Frappuccino drinks that have no coffee. There’s Strawberries & Crème and Vanilla Bean. Also available is Java Chip which does have coffee. However, in the details it is noted that the two non-coffee drinks are available blended with coffee, and the Java Chip is available without. So there’re really three ways to join your caffeinated friends in cooling off with a luxury beverage.

If high gas prices aren’t enough to get you down, how about rising dairy prices? Ice cream is one of the products expected to go up in cost with expected expensive milk prices this summer. Dairy farmers are happy, but ice cream sellers may be forced to pass the cost on to consumers. Other contributing factors, according to the National Ice Cream Retailers Association: “a cyclone that reportedly wiped out the vanilla crop in Madagascar, the world’s leading producer” and “political unrest in West Africa, a major supplier” of chocolate. Two annual free cone days are coming up next week, so get your freebies while you can: Ben & Jerry’s on April 27th and Baskin-Robbins on April 28th.

How could you not love an opera about hockey? With singers in hockey jerseys, a conductor in referee stripes, a geisha, and three periods instead of acts, the opera “Nagano, the Birth of a Legend” celebrates the Czech national ice hockey team’s 1998 gold medal. The work premiered in Prague on April 8th at the same theater where Mozart first premiered Don Giovanni.

Whatever happened to Sandra Boynton? Her “hippo birdie two ewes” sentiments were everywhere in the 1980s. Ballerina rhinos and singing pigs capered through greeting cards and books. She had a nicely done book on chocolate in which I remember she claimed there was no such thing as a good chocolate ice cream — she loved chocolate so much no ice cream could do the flavor justice. I’m curious about how she feels towards the grandiosely flavored gourmet chocolate ice creams of today, but I still get her point. Anyway, Boynton is still out there, writing a few books and also creating accompanying music. She’s no longer creating greeting cards, but you can catch her on calendars and buy her classic books. Perhaps it’s time to launch a big retro-Boynton fad.