Oversized Jumbotron

Hello there, Team! I'm sort of back in the saddle - half-asleep and out-of-sorts but hanging in there. Here's a brief update on what's been going on.

Last Friday we went to a wedding in Morristown, NJ. A friend from college married his high school sweetheart. The event was splendid, and it was great to see the crew from William & Mary.

The next morning, we went to Brooklyn for brunch, then Long Island to celebrate the 91st birthday of Sue's grandfather, Ted. Awesome. Then we drove back to Brooklyn for a night out at Brooklyn Social, and we did our best to tame the beast of a jukebox they've got. At the end of the busy day, around 1AM, we drove back to Long Island to sleep in the cozy comfort of Sue's mom's house.

Sunday morning we had a fun brunch with Sue's dad, Kinny, Carrie and John. We left from there for Providence and ended up back at home at about 3PM. I mowed the lawn, inspected the vegetables, reviewed the progress on the paintjob, etc. and crashed early. The next morning, I hitched a ride with a colleague back to NYC for a three-day conference about corporate and foundation fundraising. I was happy to be able to squeeze in dinners with friends Monday and Tuesday night and learn a few things about raising money from grantmaking organizations.

I returned yesterday at 4PM to see that the painters have mostly finished the porch and garage, and they have started the doors and the west side of the house. It keeps raining each day - like today - which is slowing them down. We're not so sure we dig the red color of the doors, but the old yellow/cream color is still not totally covered, so it's not fair to judge. Once they get another coat, we'll show pics.

Today is Staff Development Day at Brown, so I'll be attending a few sessions to broaden my horizons. I think, if I remember correctly for what I registered, I'm going to learn about the history of Benefit Street on a walking tour and then the significance of the Revolutionary War - why America is different from all other nations - from a history professor.

Here're a couple pics from the last few days.

Ted and Teena in vivo.


Bloomberg closed Times Square to traffic (permanently I think), and I was staying at the Marriott Marquis right in Times Square. The city put out lawn chairs, and day and night people we just sitting and talking beneath the oversized jumbotron advertisements.


Outside of Louie G's gelato shop in Brooklyn - a nice poem. (Click to enlarge.)



I'm taking another blog break until next Monday the 8th, but then I'll be back in the rhythm. I'll have pics then of the vegetable garden's progress, the house hopefully painted completely, Planty the Plant swallowing the bird feeder, more cutouts, ceiling patches, and all the other things that come up. Happy June!

PS
This video is pretty amazing. High scores for technical merit. Thanks to Reuben for pointing me to drawn.ca. There's a making-of video on drawn.ca that shows how they did it.

PPS
This is pretty darn neat: Historical Figures. It goes on and on to the right. Thanks, Milly!

PPPS
A first-ever triple-PS. Happy birthday, Carrie!