I found these two photographs in Putnam, Connecticut a few months ago. I passed by them until I noticed a detail in the photo above. I almost put it down, but then I found the same detail present in the photo below the jump. I’m still excited about these. Continue reading
All of the cities described in Italo Calvino’s book Invisible Cities remind readers of their hometowns. Many of the descriptions of the cities in his book are relevant to my hometown. One of my favorite, and most relevant is the description of Maurilia, Cities & Memory 5. I’ve read the description for Maurilia a few dozen times and each time I shiver when I reach the final lines. The entire description is so true and relevant to my time and locale. Read the description of the city of Maurilia by Italo Calvino below the jump. Continue reading
Filed under: garden, last green valley | Tags: garden, woodstock, woodstock fair
Perhaps Fair season is a more appropriate time for this post, but an inspirational message of this kind can never come too early. This article is from the New York Times, Wednesday, September 27, 1875:
Filed under: art, garden, last green valley | Tags: art, garden, New York, politics, Pomfret
One, two articles from the New York Times that I enjoyed. The first is about the revival of home vegetable gardens. The second came a little late, but now I have new pea knowledge.
I started my summer maintenance job at Pomfret School on Monday. Most of what I do is move tables and chairs from the lawn of one mansion to the lawn of another. I also bunk beds. No doubt we’ll all be jacked and crispy by the end of the summer; those bunks are heavy and we spend a lot of time outside. I really like the job, even if it’s tiring.
My dislike for the paintings of Tom Menard brings to mind my dislike for the paintings of Grandma Moses brings to mind my fondness for the art of Lisa Sanditz.
Filed under: garden, last green valley | Tags: Farmers Market, garden, Pomfret
I have a hard time growing salad greens. Help? Continue reading
Sparky, an artist from Brooklyn, will exhibit over 100 portraits of himself at the Schroeder Romero / Winkleman Gallery Project Space in Chelsea through June 28. I had the opportunity to meet Sparky when he paid a daily visit to the office I was interning in during the beginning of this year. Sparky’s work is sometimes erotic often with homosexual references. When asked by Amy Sadao if Sparky identified as a gay artist Sparky responded:
It’s nobody’s business whose butt I sniff, but I’m not ashamed of it either. I’ve had some good bitches, but I tend to fall for those Alpha Dog types. There have always been amazing dogs whose sexuality was known in the industry but kept quiet publicly. Lassie was certainly the Rock Hudson of the four-legged world. As far as labels go, I prefer Queer Canine – I’m here, I’m queer, I’m peeing on your lawn, Get use to it!
Go see the Sparky Show or view the Sparky Project online.
Filed under: college, last green valley | Tags: Bennington, maps, New York, Pomfret, Providence, running
Bennington and North Bennington, Vermont:
I’m working on a series of sloppy maps that show various routes through the four municipalities that I’ve been a resident of, Bennington, New York, Pomfret and Providence.
This first series documents my running routes. Knowing what I know about running, I know I’m addicted to running. I had no idea it could become a disorder until a year ago. Luckily, I’m not that extreme yet. In the two rural locations I steered away from subdivisions and in the two cities I…attempted…to avoid traffic. In three of the municipalities (all but Pomfret) I tended to travel in the direction I understood as North on standard runs – Bennington, true North; New York, Uptown; and Providence, towards the top of the RISD Map. In all cases this could be considered necessary – Bennington, avoiding blight; New York, escaping to Central Park; and Providence, avoiding traffic.
So which is my favorite municipality to run in? I don’t know, but a lot of the things that I appreciate while running (lack of traffic and noise for example) aren’t so appreciated when my run in finished. For example, the distance from groceries. Continue reading
Filed under: art | Tags: Mass MoCA, New York Public Library, New York Times, Shakespeare Theater Company
No doubt people like naming things. Expecting parents stereotypically spend a good quantity of time finding a name for their child, companies spend millions to find a name that will make them millions more while the upper class enjoy naming lots of spaces and objects after themselves. Continue reading
Filed under: art, last green valley | Tags: Flanagan, Irish, Pomfret, Southbridge
My friend and I left Putnam, Connecticut in hopes of finding yummy sandwiches in Southbridge, Massachusetts. I remembered seeing that Sturbridge Coffee Roasters had sandwiches so we traveled the few miles to Hamilton Street. Sturbridge Coffee Roasters is in the Flat Iron Building. Not THE Flatiron Building, but the Flat Iron Building of Southbridge. It looks slightly out of place, surrounded by vinyl-sided triple-deckers and two story walk-ups, but has no doubt set an example for the surrounding neighborhood.
Unfortunately, the coffee place was closed. We walked around back where we found an ice cream place and an art gallery. As we were decided to go look elsewhere my friend recognized a woman and asked if she knew her. She did indeed! She was the mother of a friend and also the owner of the building. She gave us a tour and told us that she also owned the building and businesses across the street. The building is 12 Crane (named for its location at 12 Crane Street) and has tasteful Helvetica lettering to tell you so. There is an Irish Pub, restaurant and brewery located within.
The woman who gave us the tour of both buildings was Margaret Morrissey who owned them with her husband Gabriel McCarthy. She apparently lives down the street from me in Pomfret and knows a few of our neighbors.
When I went home and told my very proud Irish mother about the Irish pub I had found and the woman I met she told me she had met her at my grandfathers funeral. Ms. Morrissey is the librarian at the library that my grandfather patronized (or as my mother put it, lived in).
Pomfretite 