My Little Garden: 2009 Edition

Well, I have finally got the little shady garden planted, just in time for the rhododendrons to bloom. Compare this 2009 edition to my 2008 garden in September of last year.

Sunset at Fenway Park

I'm in love with spring!

This Memorial Day weekend is often thought of the beginning of summer, and the end of spring. I'm a little sad that spring is over.

From the late days of winter where the discovery of a crocus daring to bloom on a warm day, I've been in love with the hope that spring brings. From the barren earth, new life sprouts up. And flowers! (The first flower I saw was on Valentines Day, walking with my honey, so that may explain my feelings.)

I find the contrast of the bluebells and forsythia blooming against a brown background as wonderful. Unlike the summer, where the entire landscape is verdant, here the beauty stands in contrast to a dull background.

Then the trees leaf out into their yellow-green. And they flower.

At this point, I'll let my photos do the talking!

Here's my favorite photo from a day in May in Concord, near the Old North Bridge over the Concord River (site of the "shot heard 'round the world, April 19, 1775):

A few of my lastest photos of the Public Garden:

Breasts, What Are They Good For?

Breasts: sex objects or the natural way to feed your baby? After reading a friend's blog post about post-nursing breasts, I thought of the contrast between what breasts were designed to do (i.e., nursing babies) and breasts as exhibited in celebratory fashion.

At this point, I'll let guys, looking for something more salacious, to click the back button and return to their search page.

Ok, back to my post.

Now, not only have necklines plunged to mere inches above the nipple, but we see some celebrity dresses feature a mere two vertical sashes leaving ample side cleavage, and little to the imagination.

With so much revealed, you can almost guarantee every celebrity needs medical enhancing to get that perfect shape and size.

Clearly, in American culture the breast has become a sex object, maybe even the first thing a guy looks at. (But I won't say anything disparaging about men; they're intoxicated with testosterone and can’t help it if society has defined breasts as something to become aroused at mere sight of one.)

But let's contrast this with Muslim culture where women are covered head to toe. No wonder the culture war between Islam and the West!

Also contrast that with a more conservative time in the US (‘50s, early 60’s) when breasts were out of sight, out of mind, and served no function. The modern woman of that time chose the “modern” way to feed her baby with delicious, “nutritious” formula!

Hmmm, do you think that once breasts stopped serving their biological function, they became sexual?

Finally, consider some societies in the warmer climates of Africa and southeast Asia where women may go around topless. In these societies, this is simply natural, and breast do not take on a sexual nature. No customers for enhancement there!

Now I don't mean to be prudish about breasts, but I do think our celebrity culture has taken breasts to an extreme!

View of the Charles River

Yesterday it was 80 degrees F. in April, and for Boston, that's like heaven!

So, in part encouraged by a reader of this blog, and in part because I just had the urge to get out there, we went for a bike ride along the Charles River. We're fortunate in the Boston area to have a long series of bike and walking paths that follow the river from Boston all the way out to Waltham, about 7 miles.

The river has many faces, in some places a placid pool with bordering marshes, in others passing old factories (like many an old New England mill town), and others with more formal development next to the river. Here's a few of the faces of the Charles on a warm spring day.

Below: Two Canada geese swim in the river near the Moody Street bridge in Waltham

Above: Rapids in the river below the falls. Though the banks are wooded, urban development lurks nearby, hidden by the buffer of trees.

Below: A towering stack rises above an old factory in Waltham. Note the silhouette of an abandoned railroad trestle crossing the river.

Above: A restful scene reminiscent of a lazy summer afternoon as a mother and small child (too small to see in photo) relax on the river bank under willow trees. In the background is a footbridge and another abandoned railroad trestle (part of the same rail line). [What can I say, I'm an engineer and I love bridges!]

Below: My all time favorite footbridge - the Blue Heron Bridge. It's a beautiful example of a slender graceful arch with cables supporting the walkway. And the greatest thing: if you're not walking or riding on the trail, you'd never know this little gem existed!



Above: The path in Newton snakes through woods next to the river. The trees just have a touch of their early spring light green foliage.

Below: The falls at Watertown, looking upstream at the early spring foliage along the banks. And, yes, another footbridge.


Above: One of the many arch bridges that cross the Charles.

Below: The dead tree and bording marshes present a natural foreground (pay no mind to the high-rise apartments in the background).

What is Beauty?

The phenomenon of Susan Boyle singing on Britain's Got Talent brings back to focus a question close to my heart: What really is beauty?

In a previous blog, I asked What is Ugly? A New York Times article on Oct. 29, 2009 ("Move Over, My Pretty, Ugly Is Here ") examined how "beauty" and "ugliness" is defined with societies. Maybe folks have overdosed on the skinny, young, and pretty which left room for unlikely heroines like Ugly Betty.

But despite a few exceptions like Ugly Betty, the media gives us a constant stream of what is supposed to be "beauty." Be it on TV, in ads on web sites (particularly dating services), or pop music stars.

Freelance web writter Julie Neumann has a recent blog post "Flaws & Fame: Susan Boyle vs. French Elle Magazine" which is a wonderful examination on the issues of beauty and body image, especially for women.

Interestingly, she notes that because Susan Boyle sang so beautifully, people take away the lesson "you can't just a book by the cover." But Julie also asks, what is Susan did not sing so well? What is her singing was ordinary or even bad? Would everyone just laugh at Susan and consider her of no particular value?

That is the saddest reflection I've heard.

Why do we have this societal idea that the beautiful are admired and have value, and that the ugly are avoided and have little value? This is what is closest to me. Having never had great looks, in the past I've tended to "stay in the shadows" and be less social, assume a lower social standing, and generally view myself as less interesting than the beautiful and popular. However, the joy of middle age is becoming unencumbered by these value systems and gaining confidence in your professional and other abilities. And just not really giving a shit about what people think about you.

But my point is not to focus on me. My concern is that so many will devalue others who do not possess what society defines as beauty. How many people are there that may not be the most attractive on the outside, yet have great talent, intelligence, and/or inner beauty.

And, are we not so much poorer for never knowing these people?

Do You Want Cheese on That?

So, what’s the deal with pushing cheese, cheese, cheese, anywhere you go?

Remember when the server at McDonalds always asked “Do you want fries with that?” Well, every time I order a sandwich, the order clerk asks “Do you want cheese on that?”

“No thanks,” I say.

But I can’t simply just say “no” once. At Subway, if I say no thanks to the first order person, the next two workers in the sandwich production line ask again! (Do they get a bonus per slice?)

They’re like drug pushers: “Pssst, hey, want to do some good Gorgonzola?” “You really need some Cheddar on that.” Or Scientologists: “You really do want to have this cheese on that sandwich.”

Oy vey! Has no one heard of kosher? You know, not serving meat and dairy at the same meal? I can’t be the only person out that who eats cheese-less sandwiches?

Not that I keep kosher -- actually, I’m not even Jewish – but my New York roots have given me the occasional craving for a tasty sandwich from a great Jewish deli! Where they never ask me if I want cheese on that!!!

My cynical self suspects that the Cheese Institute, not unlike organized crime, has made a “deal they can’t refuse” with all the sandwich and fast food chains. “Sell cheese, if you know what’s good for you!” Why else would I get asked “do you want cheese on that” about 2.7 times per each sandwich order!

What do you think? Do you long for a good Jewish deli where they never ask you “Do you want cheese on that?”

Walking on a Rainy Day

Usually a rainy day is a depressing: stuck inside, getting your clothes wet if you go outside, the sun isn't shining, so why bother? It's weather only a duck can enjoy!

But walking home from work in the rain this evening was actually pleasant. It was quite warm and the rain was gently falling on my head. It was more a mist than a rain, gently refreshing, and not getting me all soaked by any means.

I was thinking of last summer. I was a big downpour, but I went out to the store in shorts and flip flops with an umbrella. I didn't mind getting wet walking through the puddles. It was all quite refreshing.......