There was a big remodel at work. It feels a bit like a different place. It's a start.
13 thoughts on “May 10, 2015: Remodel”
Went to see David McCullough and Stacy Schiff at the Bushnell last night.
I've read The Path between the Seas and have seen most of the John Adams HBO series. Interesting discusssion.
McCullough still uses a plain typewriter - his staff does all the computer stuff. Schiff does all her writing initially with paper and pencil.
McCullough has a new book out now about the Wright brothers - funny, when asked about another rumored flight by a CT chap two years before the Wright Hnos, McCullough laughed and said that every twenty-five years or so, the CT-rumor comes out and has to be squashed. There just isn't any evidence, said he, whereas the Wrights were meticulous in documentation, photographs on every step along the way.
A cool cat - 2-time Pulitzer and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
The moderator asked McCullough about social media - it was like asking him if he was from Mars.
NBBW just ordered the Wright book for me - I'll post a review accordingly.
now, that's a cool "concert" event, NBB!
I heard a review of the Wright bros book recently on NPR (or some damned place -- maybe read a review in the Economist?). Definitely something I'll be picking up when it comes out on paper ($17+ right now at Costco for hardback is too rich for my blood). Might get a Kindle version for my brother for his birthday.
Sounds really interesting. Truman was a great, great book (didn't like Adams as much), and his two previous "engineering" books about the Canal and Brooklyn Bridge were fascinating. I definitely be trading the Wright Brothers shortly.
making the FB rounds today is an NPR story about a children's book, A Home Run for Bunny, about an American Legion team in 1934 that "played the game the right way."
Springfield College has joined with the city's "Bring It Home" baseball committee to offer housing when the Gastonia Post 23 team of North Carolina visits Springfield on Father's Day weekend.
That visit will mark the first contact between the cities since 1934, when Springfield Post 21 withdrew from an American Legion sectional tournament in Gastonia upon hearing that its one African-American player, Bunny Taliaferro, would not be allowed on the field.
Richard Andersen, a Springfield College professor who wrote "A Home Run for Bunny" about the 1934 team, sent a copy of his book to the mayor of Gastonia last summer. Since then, Springfield mayor Domenic Sarno and baseball committee chairman Mike Borecki have been in touch with Gastonia and American Legion officials, arranging a home-and-home set of games as a way of bringing the cities together. As part of it, a Springfield team will play in Gastonia in 2016.
As the adage goes, it’s never too late to right a wrong.
Mayor John Bridgeman recognized that truth earlier this month when he sent a letter of apology to his courterpart in Springfield, Mass., for a wrong that happened in Gastonia 80 years ago.
To be sure, times were different then. But wrong is wrong, and folks here made a mistake back in 1934 that gave Gastonia a black eye.
Here’s the shameful story of what happened:....
from Chapter 1 of the book:
like most moms, she thought I should spend less time running and throwing and more time reading and writing. She thought sports were a waste of time because people of color couldn’t make much of a living from them. “Ernest,” she used to say, “a bunny ain’t nothin’ but a rabbit. You ain’t no rabbit. Why you let people call you that? Can’t you aim no higher? Twenty years from now, people will think Satchel Paige is some kinda handbag. Now Booker T. Washington? That’s a name people will not soon forget.”
and another story with an interview with Bunny's daughter. Neat stuff.
My old home town of Delmont, SD, was hit by a tornado this morning. My parents are fine (they live in Armour, about twelve miles away), but it sounds like the town was hit pretty hard. Please keep the people of Delmont in your prayers. Here's a link to a preliminary story about it.
I've been around my share -- hope all are well.
Yikes. Some rough weather in the Midwest. I've seen footage of nasty hail storms and of snowstorms in the panhandle of Nebraska too. Thinking good thoughts.
Here are some further reports. This one has the most information, including quotes from some people I know. Further stories are here, here, here, and here.
Wow. My hometown was leveled by a tornado in 1999. The pictures from Delmont are very similar to St. Pete, and it's going to be a tough road ahead. My thoughts are with the folks who's lives are upside down right now.
Went to see David McCullough and Stacy Schiff at the Bushnell last night.
I've read The Path between the Seas and have seen most of the John Adams HBO series. Interesting discusssion.
McCullough still uses a plain typewriter - his staff does all the computer stuff. Schiff does all her writing initially with paper and pencil.
McCullough has a new book out now about the Wright brothers - funny, when asked about another rumored flight by a CT chap two years before the Wright Hnos, McCullough laughed and said that every twenty-five years or so, the CT-rumor comes out and has to be squashed. There just isn't any evidence, said he, whereas the Wrights were meticulous in documentation, photographs on every step along the way.
A cool cat - 2-time Pulitzer and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
The moderator asked McCullough about social media - it was like asking him if he was from Mars.
NBBW just ordered the Wright book for me - I'll post a review accordingly.
now, that's a cool "concert" event, NBB!
I heard a review of the Wright bros book recently on NPR (or some damned place -- maybe read a review in the Economist?). Definitely something I'll be picking up when it comes out on paper ($17+ right now at Costco for hardback is too rich for my blood). Might get a Kindle version for my brother for his birthday.
Sounds really interesting. Truman was a great, great book (didn't like Adams as much), and his two previous "engineering" books about the Canal and Brooklyn Bridge were fascinating. I definitely be trading the Wright Brothers shortly.
making the FB rounds today is an NPR story about a children's book, A Home Run for Bunny, about an American Legion team in 1934 that "played the game the right way."
Here's a link to a contemporary newspaper article (from the "negro" press) about the events.
and a neat follow-up story.
also, from the Gaston Gazette:
from Chapter 1 of the book:
the memorial in Springfield
and another story with an interview with Bunny's daughter. Neat stuff.
My old home town of Delmont, SD, was hit by a tornado this morning. My parents are fine (they live in Armour, about twelve miles away), but it sounds like the town was hit pretty hard. Please keep the people of Delmont in your prayers. Here's a link to a preliminary story about it.
I've been around my share -- hope all are well.
Yikes. Some rough weather in the Midwest. I've seen footage of nasty hail storms and of snowstorms in the panhandle of Nebraska too. Thinking good thoughts.
Here are some further reports. This one has the most information, including quotes from some people I know. Further stories are here, here, here, and here.
Wow. My hometown was leveled by a tornado in 1999. The pictures from Delmont are very similar to St. Pete, and it's going to be a tough road ahead. My thoughts are with the folks who's lives are upside down right now.