NYC life
grrlscientist | July 20, 2006Recently, I received a gift from a long-time reader; the gift of a beautiful book that I've wanted for a long time, New York: An Illustrated History by Ric Burns and James Sanders.
This book is filled with breath-taking photographs and illustrations, and is completely absorbing. I have already spent hours looking at the pictures and reading about the wonders of 1920s Harlem, the building of the Brooklyn Bridge (which I wrote about), and about one of my favorite American artists, Georgia O'Keefe. I agree with one guest reviewer on Amazon, this book does focus on the tremendous disparities…
grrlscientist | July 15, 2006
New York Movie
by Edward Hopper, 1939.
Oil on canvas (The Museum of Modern Art, New York City).
Rough times, my peeps, rough times.
You all sit together in darkness while I stand hidden in bright light,
listening to you enjoy the unfolding story.
.
tags: New York Movie, Edward Hopper, American Art
grrlscientist | May 28, 2006
Manhattan Sunset, 2001.
Click here for larger image in its own window.
Image: Neil deGrasse Tyson/AMNH.
Tonight at 820pm EST, Manhattan will be flooded with sunlight because the sun will set precisely on the centerline of every street.
The skyscrapers that line Manhattan streets usually hide the setting sun, casting the streets into shadows before sunset. If Manhattan's road grid was perfectly aligned east to west, today's effect would instead occur on the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes, March 21 and September 21, which are the only two days when the sun rises and sets directly in the east…
grrlscientist | March 30, 2006
Ivory-Billed Woodpecker trio, Campephilus principalis,
by John James Audubon.
Hey everyone, it might surprise you to learn that I saw ivory-billed woodpeckers in NYC recently! Even better, I saw a trio, and I stood so close that I could have reached out and touched them! I clearly saw the spectacular iridescent flash of red from the male's crest, the two nearly parallel white stripes down the birds' backs, the snowy wings, and the huge pale bills. After such a close look at them, there was no mistaking these birds for anything other than ivory-billed woodpeckers.
How did I manage to see…
grrlscientist | March 22, 2006
Female red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, Lola, with her landing gear retracted.
Photo courtesy of Lincoln Karim.
Click image for larger view in its own window or go to PaleMale.com to purchase it.
Those of you who care about Pale Male and Lola will be outraged to learn that they are once again being harassed by the human residents of the building at 927 Fifth Avenue, where these birds nest. Apparently, the building's human residents sent workmen onto the roof overlooking the nest today, where they proceeded to drop ropes over the side of the building and into the nest, despite the fact…
grrlscientist | March 17, 2006Well, it's day two of jury duty. I have been sitting here in the juror lounge, trying not to freeze to death even though they are running the air conditioning on a 35-degree day, and I am spending more money than I am paid each day to access the internet so I can answer email and post little messages to my blog. Yes, my peeps*, it has been an interesting two days so far, and I have learned several important things as a result.
Lesson One: the people who are here with me for jury duty are really interesting. This leads me to ask; is this always the case, or did I just get lucky? Where'd they…
grrlscientist | March 11, 2006
NYC pair of Red-tailed hawks, Buteo jamaicensis. Pale Male (left) and Lola (right).
Photo Courtesy of Lincoln Karim.
Click image for a much larger view in its own window,
or go to PaleMale.com to purchase it.
Spring is in the air and, as of 8 March 2006, Pale Male and Lola are incubating eggs on their Fifth Avenue Penthouse overlooking Central Park! The eggs should hatch approximately 28 days from now.
Here is a NYTimes story about our celebrity birds.
tags: Pale Male, NYCLife
grrlscientist | February 22, 2006As I was walking to the library, I saw a van parked on Columbus Street, near 82nd. This old, formerly white van, the lower third of which was covered with reddish mud, had the following written on it;
Please bathe me. I am ashamed of what the other vehicles are saying.
grrlscientist | February 8, 2006
Well, I know that all three of you, dear readers, have been eagerly waiting to hear the latest news about (1) the ant farm that I bought as a birdday gift for myself and (2) the ongoing power bill drama with the unreasonable coneheads at ConEdison.
Good news first; the ant farm arrived today (yippee), sans ants (boo). The farm itself is smaller than I imagined it would be, which makes me wonder if this size discrepancy is directly related to the size of my eagerness to be an ant aunt?
I know this sounds silly but I am really disappointed by the lack of ants: I wanted to spend the evening…
grrlscientist | January 25, 2006A friend saw this story and asked what is happening with my own little power bill drama. Since several others of you have also asked, I thought I'd let you all know that I checked my bill status online yesterday, worried that there would be a notice there saying that Harry and Guido were waiting in my apartment to break my kneecaps for non-payment, but I instead discovered that, after receiving a heart-stopping bill for nearly $800, I now owe ..
Nothing.
Well, so far (I am suspicious). My slumlor ... er, landlord, the evil vermin-loving and money-grubbing Scott, will be so relieved to know…
grrlscientist | January 22, 2006
Sun in an Empty Room by Edward Hopper (1963).
(click image for desktop wallpaper).
no loneliness, space
Morris to New York City
no space, loneliness
tags: haiku, Edward Hopper, Empty room