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 ›
Travel
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 ›
Do I look Russian?
One day I walk into a Russian grocery store in Watertown, and the owner starts speaking to me in Russian; I don’t understand a word. Another day I walk into a Russian grocery store in Waban, and the employee at… Read More ›
Visiting Elmira
Barbara and I just got back from spending a week in Elmira. Actually it was just five days, it only felt like a week. Mostly I played a bunch of computer Scrabble, took some walks in the surprisingly nice weather,… Read More ›
An evening in Jamaica Plain
Barbara and I spent a few hours yesterday evening in Jamaica Plain. First we walked to the Axiom Gallery, which is hosting an intriguing Math and Art exhibit through April 27 right next to the Green Street T station (confusingly… Read More ›
Visiting Pittsfield (…Who would visit Pittsfield?)
Delayed post (originally written 9/10): If you say you’re going to the Berkshires for vacation, nobody bats an eye. But say that you’re going to Pittsfield, you get some very odd looks. Who ever vacations in Pittsfield? It can simply… Read More ›
The City of Falling Angels
Continuing my inadvertent theme of reading books with a strong sense of place, I just finished The City of Falling Angels, by John Berendt of Midnight in the Garden or Good and Evil fame. In this case it’s not a… Read More ›
Global Awareness Day
Speaking of professional development…yesterday was Global Awareness Day in the Weston Public Schools. Unlike Art Day, this was an eight-hour endeavor — very elaborate in planning, development, and conception. We began with a presentation about the forthcoming visit to Weston… Read More ›
Blood from a Stone
I recommend Blood from a Stone, by Donna Leon. If you look at the photo on the opening screen of her website, you’ll immediately see what I liked most about this novel: it makes the reader feel that s/he’s in… Read More ›
Ethnomathematics
We have recently been discussing ethnomathematics in the context of Weston’s global awareness emphasis. Here are some thoughts on this subject: It’s worth studying number systems other than our own familiar Hindu-Arabic one. Years ago I developed quite a number… Read More ›
Elmira 2006
This year’s trip to Elmira was not nearly as interesting as last year’s.
Vacationing in Lexington, Newton, and Quincy
If you’re not going anywhere for vacation, how about being a tourist at home? That’s what Barbara and I did this year as a consequence of having unfortunate summer calendars: we ended up having a total of one week’s vacation… Read More ›
Unaccustomed excitement at the Museum
Part of our at-home mini-vacation (more on that later) was an all-too-rare visit to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, all-too-rare since we’re members and ought to be taking more advantage of that opportunity. Anyway, we wanted to see the Americans… Read More ›
Separated by a common language
First I was told that Churchill said it. Then I was told that it was Wilde. But actually it was Shaw who described England and America as “two countries separated by a common language.” Language is part of culture, so… Read More ›
London
We’re staying at 22 York Street, a lovely B&B just off Baker Street in London. Of course it’s foolish to try to make a dent in the to-do list when one has only a short stay in London, but we… Read More ›
Market Harborough and environs
Barbara and I are in England right now, visiting our Dorchester friend Ardis, whose company has sent her to Market Harborough for a period of over a year. She volunteered to be our kind chauffeur, so we don’t have to… Read More ›
The other Cambridge
Barbara and I spent the day with our host, Ardis, visiting the other Cambridge — you know, the one in England. Seeing 600-year-old buildings still in active use and walking in the footsteps of Isaac Newton never cease to astonish…. Read More ›
Another B&B
Just got back from Narragansett, RI, where we attended the wedding of two of my former students. They became high-school sweethearts ten or eleven years ago, and now they’re married! And so we have another B&B to report on (see… Read More ›
Worth a detour
Despite the general lack of excitement in Elmira, it does boast two great attractions: the Arnot Art Museum and the Chemung Valley History Museum. Walking into the history museum, I was immediately taken aback by being offered the senior citizens’… Read More ›
Hotel or B&B?
When we go to Elmira (see yesterday’s post), Barbara and I usually stay at the Hilton Garden Inn in Horseheads. (Yes, you heard that right: Horseheads.) Like any of the low-end Hiltons, it is boring, predictable, and perfectly adequate. So… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 