Thank you snow day!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Snow Day Tomorrow II
The headline at philly.com:
It's official. The latest snowfall total from the Philadelphia International Airport was 14 inches, bringing the seasonal total to record-setting 70.3. The previous record, 65.5, was set in 1995-96.
(an awesome shot from December's massive snowstorm)
No work tomorrow either. I got a call from the director of conservation around 6:00-ish. Tomorrow's plan: house destruction, the BBC's new Emma, and groundhog cookies all day.
It's official. The latest snowfall total from the Philadelphia International Airport was 14 inches, bringing the seasonal total to record-setting 70.3. The previous record, 65.5, was set in 1995-96.
(an awesome shot from December's massive snowstorm)
No work tomorrow either. I got a call from the director of conservation around 6:00-ish. Tomorrow's plan: house destruction, the BBC's new Emma, and groundhog cookies all day.
MidWeek Blizzard
Everyone in Chez Headley had off of work today - which meant a day of work on the house. I took a turn shoveling the walk in front of the house, but by the time I finished, I needed to start over again.
Bret's friend Tom, who lives a couple blocks away, turns the corner, coming to help with the house-fixing.
Bret's friend Tom, who lives a couple blocks away, turns the corner, coming to help with the house-fixing.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Snow Day Tomorrow
Philly, along with rest of the New York / D.C. corridor, is supposed to have a massive snowstorm tomorrow, beginning as of 8:00 this evening actually. The Philly Inquirer called it something like, "an explosive nor'easter" - which sounds exciting. Around 3:00 the Centre decided that it would be closed, which is great. Especially since I would be able to take SEPTA to work, but that it probably wouldn't be running by the evening. Nobody wants to spend the night at the lab, sleeping under their bench.
Third floor view, circa 10:30 pm.
Third floor view, circa 10:30 pm.
Groundhog Day!
Tuesday of last week was Groundhog Day. A very important day, especially since I grew up in a little town near Punxsutawney, and often use Punxsy as a landmark to illustrate that I'm from the middle of nowhere, Western Pennsylvania. (It's quite effective).
Groundhog Day means more than just knowing whether or not spring will arrive early. It means Groundhog Cookies. No actual groundhogs are used in the making of these cookies. Do you hear that PETA? Besides, the groundhogs in Punxsy have a awesome life.
On February 1st, Supervisor Mary said something along the lines of, "Oh, tomorrow is Groundhog Day. We should do something special for it."
I said, "Don't worry Mary. I've already got the Groundhog Cookies made."
This lead into a zillion questions about Phil; where he lives, about the secret Groundhog Society, if he is lonely (no, he has Philamina and Barney, along with other unnamed groundhogs), about Punxsy in general, how do I know these things, etc.
Anyway, the big day arrives and I bring the cookies in to work. I made a ton on the Sunday before Groundhog Day: all three cookie cutters were used. They are a huge hit: I have a zillion requests for the recipe. Everyone adores the shapes. Apparently no cookie has had so much approval ever before in the entire history of the Centre.
Everyone kept asking: Where do you get groundhog cookie cutters? To which my response was: from your Mum for Christmas, and she got them in Punxsy.
No cookies made it home from the Centre, so I had to make some more this weekend. Because I love them so. Thanks for the cookie cutters Mum!
Groundhog Day means more than just knowing whether or not spring will arrive early. It means Groundhog Cookies. No actual groundhogs are used in the making of these cookies. Do you hear that PETA? Besides, the groundhogs in Punxsy have a awesome life.
On February 1st, Supervisor Mary said something along the lines of, "Oh, tomorrow is Groundhog Day. We should do something special for it."
I said, "Don't worry Mary. I've already got the Groundhog Cookies made."
This lead into a zillion questions about Phil; where he lives, about the secret Groundhog Society, if he is lonely (no, he has Philamina and Barney, along with other unnamed groundhogs), about Punxsy in general, how do I know these things, etc.
Anyway, the big day arrives and I bring the cookies in to work. I made a ton on the Sunday before Groundhog Day: all three cookie cutters were used. They are a huge hit: I have a zillion requests for the recipe. Everyone adores the shapes. Apparently no cookie has had so much approval ever before in the entire history of the Centre.
Everyone kept asking: Where do you get groundhog cookie cutters? To which my response was: from your Mum for Christmas, and she got them in Punxsy.
No cookies made it home from the Centre, so I had to make some more this weekend. Because I love them so. Thanks for the cookie cutters Mum!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Weekend Blizzard II
The East Coast had another massive blizzard over the weekend. Most of the snow fell Friday during the night, so there was not another mid-blizzard walk through the neighborhood.
The view from my window: just like being back in Canada.
The view from my window: just like being back in Canada.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Some Japanese Woodblock Prints
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has one of the world's best collections of Japanese woodblock prints. They have a small portion of the collection online, available to view as super-high quality images. All the images below I have borrowed from the MFA Boston.
The prints were to the merchant class of post-feudal Japan as genre paintings were to the merchant class of the Netherlands during the Dutch Golden Age. They were often of pretty women, notable actors (in the roles for which they had won renown), beautiful landscapes, flowers, and interesting scenes. Such as Japanese soldiers are attacking a Chinese camp (see below). And since they were prints, if one was very popular, many others more could be made.
Kobayashi Kiyochika, Meiji era, 1894
Suzuki Harunobu, Edo period, ~1776-68
The Japanese generally liked prints that captured something transient, like mist, or cherry blossoms, or snow.
Utagawa Hiroshige, Edo period, 1833-34
Katsushika Hokusai, Edo period, 1834
Multiples of prints were often made, but the end result was usually different, with the colors and special effects being more complex toward the beginning of the printing and more simple toward the end. Often dramatically so. Scholars can learn when in a series a particular object was printed by comparing these characteristics. The print below, the red Mount Fuji, is actually one of the later prints, but is considered one of the more beautiful ones from this block.
Katsushika Hokusai, Edo period, ~1830–31
This is ridiculously famous. College kids all over America have this as a poster in their dorm rooms. I've seen it. That and that one van Gogh, the Cafe at Night, or whatever it is called.
Katsushika Hokusai, Edo period, ~1830–31
The prints were to the merchant class of post-feudal Japan as genre paintings were to the merchant class of the Netherlands during the Dutch Golden Age. They were often of pretty women, notable actors (in the roles for which they had won renown), beautiful landscapes, flowers, and interesting scenes. Such as Japanese soldiers are attacking a Chinese camp (see below). And since they were prints, if one was very popular, many others more could be made.
Kobayashi Kiyochika, Meiji era, 1894
Suzuki Harunobu, Edo period, ~1776-68
The Japanese generally liked prints that captured something transient, like mist, or cherry blossoms, or snow.
Utagawa Hiroshige, Edo period, 1833-34
Katsushika Hokusai, Edo period, 1834
Multiples of prints were often made, but the end result was usually different, with the colors and special effects being more complex toward the beginning of the printing and more simple toward the end. Often dramatically so. Scholars can learn when in a series a particular object was printed by comparing these characteristics. The print below, the red Mount Fuji, is actually one of the later prints, but is considered one of the more beautiful ones from this block.
Katsushika Hokusai, Edo period, ~1830–31
This is ridiculously famous. College kids all over America have this as a poster in their dorm rooms. I've seen it. That and that one van Gogh, the Cafe at Night, or whatever it is called.
Katsushika Hokusai, Edo period, ~1830–31
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