Author Archives: Sans Souci

394. NYC Photo Journal: From the Caribbean to India: Tribal Legacy to Dosa Hutt/Flushing, NY

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Sunday Concert series at Flushing Town Hall, Flushing New York. This is the second in a concert series that we enjoyed. Impending storms kept us inside with the house rocking. Last concert (Doo-Wop), was held outside in the garden and gourmet catered food was available. Great music, great sound: Tribal Legacy. A high energy group that went on and on for 2 hours, sans break. Fabulous time. Dancing, dancing, dancing, hot, hot, hot… We had an after concert (south) Indian dinner in Flushing near one of the Hindu temples at Dosa Hutt. Join me for medhu vada, onion rava masala … Continue reading →

392. Part 6. Photo Journal: Eating our way home: Food as art

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Dinner at Mezze. Unique salad trio; delicious roast chicken with kale/mushroom risotto; cherry cake and gelato The Berry Patch, Stephentown, NY, a wonderful roadside farm stand. This is local color. Pies are from a later stop at McEnroe Farms where organic meats and veggies rule.

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390. Part 5a. Photo Journal: Williamstown, MA: The Clark, The Williams College Museum of Art

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A current exhibit at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute (“The Clark”) is Circles of Influence. It displays the intertwined influences between two great painters, Georgia O’Keeffe and Arthur Dove. Please read this fascinating blurb about two 20th century master painters and how they created a new wave of art. Clark Art Institute Circles of Influence: June 7 – September 7, 2009 Alfred Stieglitz, “Georgia O’Keeffe,” 1918. Palladiotype. The Art Institute of Chicago. Alfred Stieglitz Collection [© 2009 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York] Alfred Stieglitz, “Arthur G. Dove,” 1923. Gelatin silver print. Philadelphia Museum … Continue reading →

389. Part 4C: Photo Journal: Babe The Blue Ox

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Saturday, 7/18/09 We began the day at Mass MoCA; drove to Williamstown to catch a play: “True West” by Sam Shepard; Grabbed dinner at Café Latino in Mass MoCA; Caught the evening alternative cabaret: Babe The Blue Ox, an indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York.

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388. Part 4b. Photo Journal: Mass MoCA, a cultural center in the Berkshires

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The main exhibit is that of Sol Lewitt’s art; “A Wall Drawing Retro-Spective.” These are huge installations which were reproduced by artists and interns by what looks like architectural plans. They are colorful graphics, and the reproductions in such large spaces were an enormous undertaking. A quote that moved me: “The idea is the most important aspect of the work.” I attribute that to the fact that the work was not done by his hand, but by his design. Photos in and around the building. Science as art: the famous upside down growing trees. Artist Natalie Jeremijenko planted trees in … Continue reading →

386. Part 3b. Photo Journal: a stop at Ashfield: food calls

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Friday 7/17/09 Ashfield, MA Countrypie Pizza By 2:00 pm we were starved and needed something to keep us going. We stumbled upon a pizzeria, embedded in a house and sharing its turf with a hardware store. Good stuff, Seth and Eli! These two young pizza cronies make their sauce from scratch and did a beautiful job on a salad and pizza lunch. [click to enlarge]

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385. Part 3a. Photo Journal: A pit stop at the Yankee Candle Company

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Friday, 7/17/09 Over the Berkshires and through the woods… We are traveling northwest to the town of North Adams. (lower right arrow to upper left arrow) This is what happened along the way; a pit stop at THE Yankee Candle Store in South Deerfield. A bathroom stop ended up being an over an hour adventure. (Last year’s trip led us to The Vermont Country Store; once you go in you can’t get out! Former post) Room after room, theme after theme, shop after shop. Almost as good as Disney Land. Ha! I just linked this with an About article and … Continue reading →

384 Part 2. Photo Journal: The National Yiddish Book Center on the campus of Hampshire College, Amherst, MA…more food and poetry

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I have done several blogs on The National Yiddish Book Center; we are annual visitors and the place always amazes us. This is the place to go to learn about Yiddish culture. We attended 4 events; there is always something going on. The building has expanded and is visited by people from all over the world. The founder, Aaron Lansky who can be heard at this link, single-handedly set out to save as many Yiddish books as he could obtain when just a student. His book, “Outwitting History” is the story of how this incredible undertaking began and evolved. The … Continue reading →

383. Part1. Photo Journal: The Connecticut River Valley: come hungry … the eat-a-thon begins

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We enjoy this part of Massachusetts and have been coming here for years. We begin in the Connecticut River Valley, usually in Northampton. (This is the state of Massachusetts; Northampton is the red arrow in the lower center. The area is a hub of college towns: Smith, Amherst, U Mass, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke are the most well-known. This is the northwest corner of the state and it is close to the borders of New York, to the west and Vermont to the north. We will be heading northwest and end up in North Adams, the upper red arrow.)[photos©author/2009:click to enlarge] … Continue reading →

381. NYC Photo Journal: Long Island City: Part 3: The Socrates Sculpture Garden

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Our tour continues further up the waterfront at a 4.5 acre park now known as The Socrates Sculpture Garden. Once an illegal dump site, it is now an area that showcases art installations. It was created in 1977 by the sculptor Mark di Suvero to encourage the arts, to expand the culture and to create a space for the harmonious interaction of people and art. The current theme is “State Fair.” The exhibits are whimsical and ironic. The ones with the New York City themes—such as having to squeeze through the subway doors—are just plain urban fun. Notice how the … Continue reading →

380. NYC Photo Journal: Long Island City: Part 2: Gantry State Park

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Not far from P.S. 1 (part 1 began here)(part 3 continues here) is the new Gantry State Park. The waterfront area just behind the landmark Pepsi-Cola sign now sports gorgeous high rise apartments with waterfront views of Manhattan. Long Island City is a Queens neighborhood that has been built up from a pocket focused on industry. So far, two and a half acres along the East River waterfront are the beginning of this development project. Enjoy the view with me. Click photos to enlarge. Another blog completes the series

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379. NYC Photo Journal: Long Island City Part 1/ P.S.1

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This is an area across the East River from Manhattan on the Queens side. It was once run-down and industrial but as years go by and areas become gentrified the face of the city changes. This area is soon to be unaffordable. I’ll start the tour at P.S. 1. (Public School) P.S. 1 was built in the 1800’s and is no longer used as a school. It has become a contemporary arts center where artists have their own studios in classrooms. About P.S.1 Profile P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center is one of the oldest and largest non-profit contemporary art institutions in … Continue reading →

377. NYC Photo Journal: A visit to Katz’s: Send a salami to your boy in the army OR I’ll have what she’s having

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After our visit to the new High Line park last week, we ended the day perfectly; got back in the car and went from the Lower West Side of Manhattan to the Lower East Side of Manhattan. This was the area where many immigrants (Jews, Irish, Italians) began their life in America. They found themselves living in cramped railroad-flat tenements with little air or light, but lots of street life. They shopped form pushcarts below, children played in the streets. When they had the money they moved “uptown” or left Manhattan for The Bronx or Brooklyn. [photos can be viewed … Continue reading →

376. NYC Photo Journal: The High Line: abandoned rail in the sky becomes a park–a little poetry for Wed

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Welcome back to New York City; here’s what’s happening: the first section of the High Line park has opened this week. In the 1930’s an elevated freight rail cut through parts of New York City’s west side as part of the manufacturing industry’s method of getting raw materials from factories and taking the finished products to their destinations. From the brochure:”The High Line delivered meat, milk, produce and raw and manufactured goods into upper floor loading docks of factories and warehouses. The last train ran on the High Line in 1980, carrying a trainload of turkeys.” The High Line sat … Continue reading →

298. NYC: Part 1. Brooklyn: Saturday photo album, 9/20/08

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Two famous Brooklyn, New York food places. Part 1 We started at The Orchard, located at 1367 Coney Island Avenue, because we “follow” the produce. The Orchard is an unusual fruit store in that it carries the finest and most unusual of produce. When the New York Times says that The Orchard is the only store that will carry the rare Indian Blood peach, we go! These peaches are available for 3 weeks… Part of the store’s caché is that owner, Mitchell, insists that the customer taste each fabulous fruit. That closes the deal. No place has anything juicier or … Continue reading →

356. NYC Photojournal 2/27/09 The Bronx (da Bronx!) From Faggedaboutit to Orchids

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Each of the five New York City Boroughs has a different flavor; where ever we go we make sure we eat. It was Members’ Day for the opening of the Orchid Show at The New York Botanical Garden. The plan was: eat first. Part 1: Food! Off we went to our favorite Bronx pizzeria, Coals, to have Rhode Island style pizza. The crust is very thin and the pizza is grilled. Toppings are fresh and delicious and the feeling is light and healthy. See New York Times review. Join me! [all photographs are property of Sans Souci; click to enlarge] … Continue reading →

423. Friday Fixations: On mothers, cats, books, and Loretta Young

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Some of the great people I am connected to have asked how things are going, so here is a synopsis. And a warm thank you to my Multiply mavens who have been kind and generous in comments and personal messages. I may never meet you in person, but your spirits are real and uplifting. Some thoughts: Mom: I took out this photo and thought: Would this lovely young woman ever imagine whether she would live to be ninety-one years of age? She is now as good as ever, no live-in help. Loves her new place in the assisted living. I … Continue reading →

554. Song Saturday Nostalgia: This I Swear is True

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Maybe it’s Winter; the cold calling for a mind thaw. I’ve been in the nostalgia zone. Deep into that zone for a few weeks. Actually that’s good because with all these songs flooding into my consciousness, along comes the synesthesia–the mind movie I talk about on my webpage; I get back into writing. Each time I would search and find the song that poked its way up through my thoughts, it would lead to another. And another. Many of these were playing while I was in my early teens. There’s was nothing, nothing like the feeling of cheek-burning excitement at … Continue reading →