The morning rain in the Washington area had ended and though it was still pretty humid, it wasn't all that hot.
And so, I decided to walk over to Arlington Cemetery to watch the funeral procession of Ted Kennedy. As these things often are, things were delayed and we ended up standing and waiting for nearly 2 hours til the procession arrived.
There was a large crowd and lots of chatter and friendliness. In a nod to technology, people were checking smart phones and texting to find out the status of the procession. The various reporters, security and Secret Service people joined in to chat with the crowd and give status updates.
I got Twitter and Facebook updates from friends at other points along the route.
As the Kennedy Family arrived following the hearse, there was almost a festive atmosphere as they smiled and waved to the crowd.
Travel. Leisure. Pursuits
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Edward M. Kennedy (1932-2009)
In 1979 it seemed like a lot of things would be happening to this 60's wannabe college freshman. First off, there were rumors that the Beatles were going to reunite for a benefit concert of some sort (never happened, Paul and Wings played a great set at the Concert for the People of Kampuchea, however).
The other thing was that Camelot would be coming back. Ted Kennedy was going to run for president and take care of all those annoying LBJ-Nixon-Ford-Carter blues we'd been having since 22 November 1963 (or 6 June 1968 or 18 July 1968).
Yup, this was a good time to be a College Democrat!
So when Teddy announced at Faneuil Hall that he'd be running for president (in a hopeless challenge against a sitting president no less!) it was GREAT!
I sure didn't understand "realpolitik" then (if I do know!), but it sure seemed like a good idea. My Economics 101 prof was excited (Kennedy will bring in great minds!); and, being in school in Washington, I joined the Kennedy Campaign. I didn't do much (stuffed envelopes at the National HQ building - a former Cadillac showroom [insert jokes here] - ran in a fundraising raise [I think I still have the tee-shirt]). My now wife (a Mass. native) also worked on the campaign and with a friend did a campaign roadtrip to Pennsylvania. There was a big party after the Penn. primary (Ted won!) at the Cadillac HQ, but Ted never showed up.
Being angry - and VERY NAIVE - when Ted lost the nomination (but gave the great convention speech which probably sealed the Reagan victory) I couldn't vote for Jimmy and ended up voting for John Anderson (who you ask???? aside: ran into Anderson at a movie theater in DC 6 months after the election, "I voted for you" says I, "thanks" says he").
And thus passes Camelot.
(image above, pin from 1960 John Kennedy campaign purchased at 1980 EMK fundraiser)
(remind me to tell you about Jerry Brown sometime!)
The other thing was that Camelot would be coming back. Ted Kennedy was going to run for president and take care of all those annoying LBJ-Nixon-Ford-Carter blues we'd been having since 22 November 1963 (or 6 June 1968 or 18 July 1968).
Yup, this was a good time to be a College Democrat!
So when Teddy announced at Faneuil Hall that he'd be running for president (in a hopeless challenge against a sitting president no less!) it was GREAT!
I sure didn't understand "realpolitik" then (if I do know!), but it sure seemed like a good idea. My Economics 101 prof was excited (Kennedy will bring in great minds!); and, being in school in Washington, I joined the Kennedy Campaign. I didn't do much (stuffed envelopes at the National HQ building - a former Cadillac showroom [insert jokes here] - ran in a fundraising raise [I think I still have the tee-shirt]). My now wife (a Mass. native) also worked on the campaign and with a friend did a campaign roadtrip to Pennsylvania. There was a big party after the Penn. primary (Ted won!) at the Cadillac HQ, but Ted never showed up.
Being angry - and VERY NAIVE - when Ted lost the nomination (but gave the great convention speech which probably sealed the Reagan victory) I couldn't vote for Jimmy and ended up voting for John Anderson (who you ask???? aside: ran into Anderson at a movie theater in DC 6 months after the election, "I voted for you" says I, "thanks" says he").
And thus passes Camelot.
(image above, pin from 1960 John Kennedy campaign purchased at 1980 EMK fundraiser)
(remind me to tell you about Jerry Brown sometime!)
Sunday, August 23, 2009
2009 Arlington County Fair: Photography Competition
The 2009 Arlington County Fair competition this year was pretty tough!
I thought that I had a a couple of blue ribbon winners this year, but no luck, out of the five entrants this year I had:
- 1 third place (white ribbon)
- 2 honorable mentions (green ribbon)
- 2 no place
Here's the rundown:
Insect/Flower (3rd premium)
Taipei Fish Market (honorable mention), I thought this was a winner!
Taipei 101 / New York New York (honorable mention)
Taiwan Fishing Boats (no place)
In the Wasatch (no place) - really thought this was a winner!
Meanwhile, my eight year old, in her first competition, pulled in a first premium (blue ribbon!) for this photo:
Wild Utah Grass
I thought that I had a a couple of blue ribbon winners this year, but no luck, out of the five entrants this year I had:
- 1 third place (white ribbon)
- 2 honorable mentions (green ribbon)
- 2 no place
Here's the rundown:
Insect/Flower (3rd premium)
Taipei Fish Market (honorable mention), I thought this was a winner!
Taipei 101 / New York New York (honorable mention)
Taiwan Fishing Boats (no place)
In the Wasatch (no place) - really thought this was a winner!
Meanwhile, my eight year old, in her first competition, pulled in a first premium (blue ribbon!) for this photo:
Wild Utah Grass
Friday, August 21, 2009
BHL Presentation at Missouri Botanical Garden
Spent a few days in hot and humid Saint Louis (as opposed to hot and humid Washington, DC!). Had some very good meetings with colleagues from the Biodiversity Heritage Library project and met some new people from the BHL-Europe project just getting underway.
Had a nice dinner around from the Garden at Sasha's on Shaw, some of the every tasty Worlds Fair Donuts, did some home cooking with my Trelease House roommates, and saw some amazing blooming water lilies.
During a break in the meetings, I gave a presentation on BHL to the Missouri Botanical Garden staff.
Had a nice dinner around from the Garden at Sasha's on Shaw, some of the every tasty Worlds Fair Donuts, did some home cooking with my Trelease House roommates, and saw some amazing blooming water lilies.
During a break in the meetings, I gave a presentation on BHL to the Missouri Botanical Garden staff.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
BHL --> This way
A group of twelve Biodiversity Heritage Library members from both BHL and BHL-Europe (and a guest from the Atlas of Living Australia) are meeting this week at the Missouri Botanical Garden to discuss various technical, collaboration, and other issues.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Woodstock and Open Source
It's a free concert from now on. That doesn't mean that anything goes
So, during the three days of celebration of Woodstock's 40th anniversary, I was thinking back to album (since I was too young to have actually gone of course!).
On the LP (that's a long player) for you MP3 crowd, and on the LP version - not, BTW on the multi-disc 25th anniversary version - you get various stage announcements, including the following from John Morris - Production Coordinator:
So, anyway, that's my Woodstock thought!
So, during the three days of celebration of Woodstock's 40th anniversary, I was thinking back to album (since I was too young to have actually gone of course!).
On the LP (that's a long player) for you MP3 crowd, and on the LP version - not, BTW on the multi-disc 25th anniversary version - you get various stage announcements, including the following from John Morris - Production Coordinator:
It's a free concert from now on. That doesn't mean that anything goes, what that means is we're going to put the music up here for free. Now, let's face the situation. We've had thousands and thousands of people come here today. Many, many more than we knew or even dreamt or thought would be possible. We're going to need each other to help each other to work this out because we're taxing the systems that we have set up.
We're going to be bringing the food in. But, the one major thing you have to remember tonight, when you go back up to the woods to go to sleep or if you stay here, is that the man next to you is your brother. And you damn well better treat each other that way because if you don't, then we blow the whole thing, but we've got it, right there. [thanks to NPR for the transcript from their recent interview with Morris]"It's a free concert from now on. That doesn't mean that anything goes". Isn't that sorta the mantra of open source ("Free as in open, not free as in free beer"?).
So, anyway, that's my Woodstock thought!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
32 years ago ...
Elvis died ... and he was only 42 ... hard to believe I'm older than Elvis would ever be!
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Moby Dick: Reimagined
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