Friday through now

Friday we went to the Met. I always feel guilty after visiting the Met because it simply cannot be done in one day, and that's all we ever have. ( What we saw, and a cute conversation with a stranger )

Shabbat was nice and relaxing. I'll post some observations about shul later.

On the drive back we stopped off for lunch at Claire's in New Haven. The Yale Quad (or whatever the main commons is called) was fenced off; how odd. The traffic lights were all missing and replaced by lights on trailers; how odd. There were a lot of antique cars parked along one road; how odd. There were a lot of "Emergency: No Parking Sun-Tue" signs all over; how odd. It wasn't until several hours later that someone mentioned that Harrison Ford was in town to shoot scenes for the next Indiana Jones movie this week that all became clear.

Then we visited Dinosaur State Park. We were prepared and had brought Plaster of Paris and the other supplies, so we were able to make a cast of an actual dinosaur track. Really cool and highly recommended, but allow 2 hours.

We went back to the car to discover a flat tire. ( That was fun )

And just now I was supposed to drive Tani to his first day at Drumlin Farm camp, except that my car has a flat tire, too, so now H is driving him on her donut while I wait for AAA.

Friday through now

Friday we went to the Met. I always feel guilty after visiting the Met because it simply cannot be done in one day, and that's all we ever have. ( What we saw, and a cute conversation with a stranger )

Shabbat was nice and relaxing. I'll post some observations about shul later.

On the drive back we stopped off for lunch at Claire's in New Haven. The Yale Quad (or whatever the main commons is called) was fenced off; how odd. The traffic lights were all missing and replaced by lights on trailers; how odd. There were a lot of antique cars parked along one road; how odd. There were a lot of "Emergency: No Parking Sun-Tue" signs all over; how odd. It wasn't until several hours later that someone mentioned that Harrison Ford was in town to shoot scenes for the next Indiana Jones movie this week that all became clear.

Then we visited Dinosaur State Park. We were prepared and had brought Plaster of Paris and the other supplies, so we were able to make a cast of an actual dinosaur track. Really cool and highly recommended, but allow 2 hours.

We went back to the car to discover a flat tire. ( That was fun )

And just now I was supposed to drive Tani to his first day at Drumlin Farm camp, except that my car has a flat tire, too, so now H is driving him on her donut while I wait for AAA.

Catching Up

So I'm not going to say "bankrupt my pants", but I will note that I've been in posting-only mode while on vacation and it may take me a while to catch up on the backlog. So, paraleipsis aside, feel free to comment on this post if there's something I should know about.

Catching Up

So I'm not going to say "bankrupt my pants", but I will note that I've been in posting-only mode while on vacation and it may take me a while to catch up on the backlog. So, paraleipsis aside, feel free to comment on this post if there's something I should know about.

Read on Vacation

So what did I read on vacation? Lots of library books....

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin -- after seeing all the retro buzz about this book on ericberlinblog, I decided to see what it was about. I think it suffered from elevated expectations; since so many people had gushed about it I expected it to be better than it was. I think I'll enjoy Winston Breen more, since the puzzles will be more important.

Halakhic Man by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik -- yes, yes, yes! R' Soloveitchik expresses so well the kind of Judaism that I believe in: rationalist, this-world-focused. I'm going to buy this one.

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson -- well, most of it; I've got a few more chapters, but this is one of the most readable biographies I've ever read. Fascinating stuff.

I also started to read American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin and The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses, both of which I'm looking forward to finishing.

Read on Vacation

So what did I read on vacation? Lots of library books....

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin -- after seeing all the retro buzz about this book on ericberlinblog, I decided to see what it was about. I think it suffered from elevated expectations; since so many people had gushed about it I expected it to be better than it was. I think I'll enjoy Winston Breen more, since the puzzles will be more important.

Halakhic Man by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik -- yes, yes, yes! R' Soloveitchik expresses so well the kind of Judaism that I believe in: rationalist, this-world-focused. I'm going to buy this one.

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson -- well, most of it; I've got a few more chapters, but this is one of the most readable biographies I've ever read. Fascinating stuff.

I also started to read American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin and The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses, both of which I'm looking forward to finishing.