Fear of Islam

September 14, 2010
For months now, we have been subjected to a manufactured controversy over a proposed mosque "near" the site of the World Trade Center so I was almost relieved to hear that France's parliament just passed a law prohibiting burqas in public: it's not just our country but the whole world that's gone mad! What is wrong with you people? I can not conceive of a single legitimate reason why anyone would oppose either a mosque in lower Manhattan or a veil covering the face of a devout Muslim. It is completely insane. Sure, I've heard the "reasons" for not wanting…

Maine

September 7, 2010
From Cape Cod to Maine for the final leg of my summer travels... Portland has been blessed by the arrival of Andrew and Rachel last summer. Rachel is involved in the art community there and I attended a vibrant outdoor fair in which she and other local artists set up booths to display and vend their wares, while bands rocked the stage in beautiful weather. We then hit up Hugo's Restaurant, where Andrew is Chef de Cuisine and indulged in gastronomic delight with his absurd tasting menu. Both of them are incredibly creative and passionate artists and have settled into…

The Cape

August 26, 2010
As a tyke, my summers were spent in glorious Cape Cod, so I can't be sure just how much of my love for this place is nostalgic, but darn if it isn't a perfect place to be today! This weekend was an amazing Taylor family reunion, with MomMom and her four sons and daughter-in-laws, plus 10 of the 12 cousins (myself included) and their wives/fiancees/boyfriends congregating in Osterville for beach and beer pong... It isn't often that I see my extended family, but every time I am reminded how awesome this family is; we have our mini-dramas for sure, but…

The Capeman

August 16, 2010
Theater is typically immune to foul weather, but when the venue is Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, The Doppler Radar is the main tool for determining a show's viability. At 8pm, when Paul Simon's Capeman was scheduled to start, standing umbrellaless was a mistake so Alaina and I huddled under the one we had and waited the next hour until it was closer to mist than storm and we filled our seats in the quarter-bowl. Before the head of The Public Theatre, Oskar Eustis, gave his introductory thanks and acknowledgments (calling the Delacorte "the greatest theater in the greatest city…

AC

August 13, 2010
The myth. The Legend. Atlantic City. Saying I went to AC is a bit misleading since we didn't leave the Tropicana Resort for more than five minutes, a brief foray into a somehow unnatural natural beach environment that felt awkward and uncomfortable from the moment we left "the bubble"; an artificial world with rules and lives that exist only within the cubic volume of highly conditioned air. It was not my first time in a casino, but it was the first time I have been in the company of casino royalty and treated as such. Eric is a gambler and…

Reading “books”

August 9, 2010
Summer always affords good book reading opportunities, and I have bolted through a few in the past month. My first journey was into The Change with "Dies The Fire", a sci-fi novel taking place in 1998 from moments before a cataclysmic event which renders all engines, electronics and explosives useless. The aftermath is brutal; a struggle to survive in a suddenly lawless world, described precisely by S.M. Stirling. I look forward to continuing this series... "The Beach" by Alex Garland is another world of savagery that festers then erupts on a utopian tropical wonderland and was a huge challenge to…

And it’s only August 3rd!

August 3, 2010
I hate to brag, but this summer has been one of my best ever. The past month was pure chill, with European adventure and Vermont bliss. My last entry came just after our Italian leg, which was followed by two weeks in Catalonia, visiting the Bucklands in Barcelona and Borde Neuve. Surrounded by Americans, but soaking in Spanish and French culture, eating beautiful food and drinking local -- as in backyard -- wine. In Barcelona, Kevin introduced us to the squat scene, a truly bohemian free lifestyle, and I met up with two women who used to be au pairs…

Italia!

July 14, 2010
Today I sit in a beautiful apartment in Barcelona, Spain, where Alaina and I arrived last night after spending 8 fantastic days in my homeland away from home, Italy. An invitation from a friend to spend a week at his house on the island of Elba is never to be turned down, and so our summer plans were set in motion; a week on Elba became three weeks in Europe, hitting all of our friends and family on the continent... When I enrolled at Middlebury, I knew that I wanted to take advantage of their incredible language program and Italian…

Knot theory

July 2, 2010
No matter how neatly I try to wrap them, my earphones always become the most tangled clump of wires they possibly could. In searching for an explanation for this maddening phenomenon, I researched knot theory and learned a bit about Topology. There was also pretty pictures. Inspired by the more than 6 billion tabulated knots that can be constructed from an unbroken circle, I composed some rhythmic knots in 5/4 and 7/4 time... Restlessness Pure

Time Flies When You’re Having Fun

July 1, 2010
To look at my last post, written two weeks ago at the cabin in Maine and consider describing all that has happened since then is too daunting a task, so we are going to the abridged and illustrated notes instead: Caitlin/Sam engagement party -camping and partying at beautiful Reiche property in Freeport, Me Tuna Boat with Andrew and Will -Many tuna seen, but none that wanted any piece of our deadly trap... Land Party -camping and partying at beautiful Buckland property in Warwick, NY The weekend of my year has begun and it has been an incredible vacation so far.…