(via juliasegal)
Me and a Tree
Synesthesia (also spelled synæsthesia or synaesthesia, plural synesthesiae or synaesthesiae)—from the Ancient Greek σύν (syn), “together,” and αἴσθησις (aisthēsis), “sensation“—is a neurologically-based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to…
file under things you didn’t know about your brother.
But aside from making me really hungry, the video also made me think of how certain media is presented to allow for an experience, to make the technology behind it disappear. That oh-so-smooth transition from “video on a video hosting website” to “Salsa Show!” was clutch to making me view this as more than a 40-second clip about a vegetable I really couldn’t care less about and something I wanted to click away from. Movie theaters are certainly designed to be invisible, and I think physical books are as well, providing only the turn of a page as the sole interruption between the written word and the reader’s imagination. Even then, that interruption is the mark of a good book: a “page-turner.” With the boom of electronic reading devices, it’s important to keep this feature in mind; which device will allow you to have an experience with a book, to make you want that salsa and nothing else, and then give it to you?
my sister is a better blogger than i am.
me, trying to be a tough guy.
tomorrow, alex heads back down to philly after break from dancing & classes. all six of us had dinner for the last time probably until katie’s birthday in a few weeks.
mom told her story again about great grandma ackerman’s sister, who worked at grand central station as a reservations agent, memorized the timetables for the entire united states rail system.
i also whipped up some apple sauce raisin cake. mom and pop’s wedding cake. from the recipes of grandma eliza taylor ratcliffe (1900-1986), edited by mom and eva taylor barclay in 1993:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups applesauce (homemade or McIntosh store bought)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and a little more
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1 cup raisins
- Pinch of allspice
- No eggs
- Preheat oven to 325o - 350o
- Cream butter and sugar, add applesauce and spices.
- Add flour.
- Bake in greased and floured 13”x9” pan until cake leaves sides of pan and springs back when you touch the top. Leave in pan.
- When cool ice with white butter icing.
“I’m sorry, I don’t measure very much, so can’t help you too much, experience is the best teacher, do it when you are not having company.
Lots of love, Grandma”
Aunt Eva says Grandma always put a good meal on the table even though dinner was always being interrupted by people coming by to talk to Grandpa because he was in politics. Many evenings dinner was rushed because Grandma had to have her sons, Bob and Jackie, dressed and ready to go with Grandpa to the Preakness Farmers’ ball games. Grandpa managed the team and Uncle Roy played on it. Grandpa always had to have his sons along with him at the games.
nice evening with the fam.
“quality without compromise.”see’s candy is dad’s favorite.
today was heavy, long but good. the holidays always get you right when you think they won’t.
taking a picture of taking a picture of the white house.
so, her photo actually came out better than the one i took. and, she has my old iphone. this was on the ride back from the kennedy center after one of the first performances of the nutcracker ever in our nation’s capital. the last show is on sunday and while the obamas haven’t attended yet - hopefully they will.
when you have family who both work for the government, you generally get the best experience visiting dc. this one is par for course. just on the ride back, more info than you’d get on any tour, etc.
then, on the way to their house for dinner in garrett park, i hit a pot hole driving through chevy chase, md (ironically, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the nation) and cracked my rim. the tow comes at 8am tomorrow. fingers crossed i’ll be in and out inside of the saturday service hours.
driving in d.c. sucks, but more on that later.
judging by the attire, this probably wasn’t far into the 90s. i doubt you’d be able to get a photo like that in front of the white house anymore. or cop that jacket and those gloves i’m wearing.
i remember this trip distinctly. it was the first our entire family took without having to use a stroller for alex. sort of a right of passage for my parents. the flip side? he was obssesed with escalators. we were in the same hotel i’m in now and there are lots of escalators. after breakfast? take alex up and down on the escalator.
so, today - and everyday - i’m thankful for my family. i love them and years later, we’re back in dc again - celebrating more milestones.
friends,
i’ll be traveling next week to our nation’s capital for business and pleasure. thanksgiving with family, watching family perform and an awards luncheon. from the district, i head to ann arbor but that is brief. i’m back in the office on the 4th.
i’ve been to washington several times and have done the requisite tourist attractions. what is worth my time that is off the beaten path?
my brother, at 20. we’re, officially, all in our 20s. pretty cool.
