We were in Manhattan, after all, so we spent a portion of each day at a museum. I’ve already reported on the Tolkien exhibit we saw at the Morgan. The next day we went to the National Museum of Mathematics,… Read More ›
Travel
Back from New York, Part 2: The High Line
On May Day I wrote about the Tolkien exhibit and promised to discuss the rest of our NYC trip in my “next post.” Unfortunately that task turned out to be far too big for one post, so it is being split among… Read More ›
Back from New York, Part 1: The Tolkien Exhibition
“No masks, wizard staffs, scepters, axes, bow and arrows, or swords are permitted.” Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever been to a museum show with such a rule! As I had promised in this space back on June 17 of last… Read More ›
Is it “Music City” or “Athens of the South”?
Yes, this is the Parthenon. But no, we’re not in Greece. This is the Parthenon in Nashville, not the one in Athens. Barbara and I just got back from a three-day visit to see our niece, Aviva, who is currently… Read More ›
Weston alum blogs about Ireland and Tanzania.
Take a look at Studying abroad in Ireland and Tanzania, a wonderful travel blog by Weston alum Izzi Lambrecht, currently a rising senior at Holy Cross. For example, read her recent essay “Soooo How Much Agency Do We Have? Pondering in… Read More ›
Cinquecento etc.
For the second year in a row, Barbara and I went to Cinquecento for our anniversary dinner. The high standards of food and service remain (even with a clearly inexperienced server). But I should have checked the review I wrote… Read More ›
Back from Manchester (but which one?)
No, not that one! Not Manchester, New Hampshire. Not Massachusetts. (Oh, you’re right, that one is now “Manchester by the Sea.“) Not Connecticut. Does every state around here have its own Manchester? Not even Manchester, England. (Or do I mean “Manchester,… Read More ›
I’ll Have What Phil’s Having
Completely inadvertently, I ended up watching two episodes of I’ll Have What Phil’s Having last night. I had never even heard of the show before, but it instantly hooked me when I saw the shot of the piazza in Panicale, a small hilltown (half… Read More ›
Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre, PA, the garden spot of the universe! Well … no. But at least it’s Joe Biden’s home town, so I guess that’s something. Not that it has anything to do with why we were there. After I was finished with… Read More ›
Rails across Canada?
For the second time, Barbara and I are planning to take the train from Boston to Chicago this April to visit the in-laws…and to enjoy the journey, of course. But that’s less than half the distance across the continent. At… Read More ›
Oliver Sacks redux
I’m gradually working my way through most of the oeuvre of the late Oliver Sacks. Two months ago I wrote about Uncle Tungsten, On the Move, and Hallucinations. Now it’s time for The Island of the Colorblind, Cycad Island, and Awakenings. Once again, all three are fascinating and worth… Read More ›
The Berkshires: Mostly museums
Barbara and I have just returned from a mini-vacation, which we were able to squeeze in between the end of Crimson Summer Academy and the beginning of workshops for Weston High School. We decided we would spend three days in… Read More ›
Worcester
“Worcester????” That was the reaction of almost everybody when they heard that Barbara and I were going to Worcester for a micro-vacation a few weeks ago. Not anyone’s idea of a vacation spot, after all. But we had a great… Read More ›
Connecticut
October is always a good month for traveling within New England, and this past weekend (a long weekend!) was no exception. Barbara agreed to a mini-vacation that focused on railroad museums in Connecticut, so off we went, intending to visit four… Read More ›
A Double Thread: Growing up English and Jewish in London
In his fascinating memoir, A Double Thread: Growing Up English and Jewish in London, John Gross does exactly what the title promises: he shows how the English and Jewish cultures can intertwine and yet remain distinct. It’s important to note that… Read More ›
Transit maps TED talk!
I suppose it’s possible that you don’t share my passion for transit maps. That might be hard to believe, but I admit that it’s possible. Whether you love transit maps or not, you still need to watch Aris Ventikidis’s first-rate (and… Read More ›
Baltimore
For April vacation we decided to visit Baltimore — partly because we wanted to see the city, partly because we knew a couple of people there, and partly because it was an excuse to ride on the high-speed Acela Express…. Read More ›
Stone House Farm
Barbara and I highly recommend a small Bed & Breakfast in Amherst, the Stone House Farm. Right on the northern edge of town, a mile or so beyond the end of the U.Mass. campus, it’s convenient to get to but… Read More ›
Chinese food in Elmira
We had lunch today at Beijing Garden, a reasonably good Chinese restaurant in Elmira. Why were we the only customers using chopsticks? Why was everybody covertly looking at us? And why wasn’t this restaurant open yesterday (Christmas Day)? I guess… Read More ›
The Girl of His Dreams
If you can’t travel to Venice in the real world, the next best thing is to travel vicariously in the novels of Donna Leon. Formally speaking, these novels are squarely in the mystery genre, but Leon devotes as much attention… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 