Oil Paint

The new Photoshop has a filter called oil paint that is a bit weird.

The Waiting is Over!

I'm taking my nap in back of the Mac...

so what do you think of that?

Enjoy my Yellowstone photos, folks!

While You Wait...

While you wait to see the rest of my fabulous Yellowstone photos, enjoy these few from last Sunday's Tanglewood concert.

My travel companion, Rosemary.

The entrance.

What a crowd!

Behold the gag-shots-with-trumpet photos!

Adorable!

We see another trumpet outside as we leave.

Back From Yellowstone

It will take me a while to tweak, label, and organize my pictures, but here is a small preview:

The classic tourist shot in front of a spouting Old Faithful.

The Morning Glory Pool.

A bison by the road.

The Big Wind-Maker

 Anna gave me a big fan she wasn't using.  It has a lot of text on one side.

Gwang-Ho was able to translate.  These are several poems about a lovely lake near Hangzhou.

Sunday in Salem

Went to Salem on Sunday with Rosemary.  These metal, slotted boards had something to do with parking a long time ago..

 

 

 

We went to the PEM to see the Fabergé eggs.  But I only took pictures of non-egg items.  Some weren't even by Fabergé.

 

 

Rosemary wanted to pose with Kevin Garnet's picture before it was whisked away.

A Miraculous Bloom

This plant has been in our office for years; then suddenly it decides to bloom.  JB freaks out and insists that I put it on my blog. Okie doke!

You'll Never Guess What I've Been Watching on Netflix Streaming...

...so I'll just tell you.  The Maze (1953) features a creepy old castle.  I'm a sucker for old movies featuring creepy old castles.  This castle is in Scotland.  The eponymous maze is part of the gardens and looks a lot like this one.

The family that has lived in the castle for generations has a terrible secret.  Many old families like this have a terrible secret, but this family's secret is goofy as well.  I will not reveal the nature of this secret; if you want to know it, watch the movie. (You could always fast forward to near the end.)

One Step Beyond  was a supernatural TV show running from 1959-1961.  I don't remember ever seeing it; perhaps it wasn't rerun the way Twilight Zone was.  (My parents wouldn't let me watch TZ when I was young. So they would've forbidden something as intense as OSB as well.)

Friends had suggested I watch Breaking Bad, since it was filmed in NM.  I put it in my Instant Queue, forgot about it, and remembered it last weekend.  I like it.  It's really dark humor.  For instance, in the second episode the main character has to choose between killing a drug dealer in cold blood or letting the guy go and risking his family's lives.  A lighter comedy would have him suffer moral pangs, abhorrence, and fear, but save him from making the decision by employing a goofy, unlikely accident to kill the drug dealer.  But BB doesn't coddle its characters.  It also does include bits of pretty NM scenery.

A Happy Half-day

I haven't worked Commencement Day in several years.  Today I covered the Widener desk.  Commencement Day at the library is quiet; most people come in for the toilet only.  I enjoy seeing the people in their fancy clothes.

Here's a crowd of visitors taking the usual photo.

As I left, I passed a group handing out buttons.  A guy asked me if I favored immigration reform and handed me one, which I did not put on because I didn't know what kind of reform they wanted.  I didn't stay to find out more because I wanted to catch my bus.  I didn't walk because it was very hot.  From what I can tell from their site, they seem OK.

Spring Update, or This Bud's for you

Here's a picture of the robin's nest in the Pusey Pit tree from above.  You can see the ribbons, at least.

Here's some flowering bushes in back of Wadsworth House.  I don't know what they are.

The flowers on these trees have already fallen off.

Harvard Yard is not too crowded.

London by Night

I'm currently reading The Victorian City by Judith Flanders.  In the chapter on prostitution (The Red-Lit Streets to Death) Flanders mentioned a cheap novel about a nice girl's descent into prostitution.  This is how I discovered London by Night.  I only read bits of it, but the colored plates interested me.

The author, Anonyma, had written many similar books.

This one has lots of illustrations.

I'm pretty sure these are in the public domain, so go ahead and check out these and others here.  However, if you purchased the copyright to the illustrations of William Gray, just let me know.

Brunch

I wanted to have brunch here last Sunday, but they were already reserved up through 2:30.  We went today. 

Here are my brunching partners.

On April 27 I went with Rosemary to the preview of Art in Bloom at the MFA.  I only took pictures of the arrangements I liked.  The hands-down winner was this green lady:

For my other photos, go here.

A Robin with a Ribbon

The Map people notified me of a new robin's nest visible from their windows.  But this robin found some ribbon to weave into her nest.  It's very charming.

 

The windows are pretty dirty, so I had a hard time getting a clear picture.

Bigger files here.

New Stuff on the Christian Science Church Plaza

I actually don't know if it's called the Christian Science Church Plaza, but that's what it is.  Rosemary and I were there on Saturday, because she had seen stuff going up and wanted to investigate.  One proud sculptress, who was installing her 2 "Tiger Mom" figures, said that on the following Saturday there would be a big reception with politicians speaking, etc.

This wind sculpture had many moving parts.

Out for some Fun

Here's that funny-looking building as seen from the entrance of the new wing of the Gardner, where I and my neighbor have come to see the Anders Zorn exhibit.

Here's the front facade.

Here's some of the plants in the greenhouse.

The stall doors in the women's room.  Beautiful!

In front of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

This woman (college student?), whom we met going to lunch on the green line,  kindly allowed me to take her photo.  She and a couple of friends had been celebrating Holi.

Originally, we were going to eat at Cafe Jaffa, but that part of Boston was still closed off.  We strolled over to the closed area.  A woman had brought her therapy cats.

The media were still there in force.