American Museum of Natural History 5/29/11

I got a new camera for my birthday. My birthday was last January so my present came a little late.

I took it to the museum to see what kind of shots I could get without the flash. Some parts of the museum are pretty dark.

These are the folks that took my 11:15 'Highlights' tour. Here we are in the Hall of Gems. There were about 14 people, which is pretty good for a Sunday on a holiday weekend.

Before the tour I got a few shots. Here are Akley's elephants in the African Mammals hall. These are enraged elephants who are about to charge. I like this picture. The hall is one of the 'darker' places. The lighting is low to showcase the dioramas. The hall is exceptional due to the human sacrifice that went into collecting the animals. That's actually pretty ironic.

These are people in the Roosevelt Rotunda. Some are getting ready to enter. Some are probably leaving. In the back is the 'attacking' Allosaurus mount. All of the mounts in the rotunda are faux; they're casts. Actual fossils are minerals and are really heavy. They can't be mounted in 'action' poses.

That's all, folks!

Bill Goldberg: It Started In B'klyn

Back in October I helped my mother 'clean out the closets'. It seemed like the natural thing to do and I viewed it as a healthy activity. I didn't mind going out to NJ, going through the old stuff, and watching my mother select the items to hang on to. I made several trips to the dumpster with clothes, shoes, and assorted items.

When I arrived my mother handed me three items. Two were watches: a rather nice Movado quartz and a Tag which Roy later told me was a knock off.

I was also given me my fathers Army ID card. He had it since his time in Korea.

I had previously told my mother that I wanted to go through any old photographs that she had. I wanted to do something creative with them. I didn't know what.

My mom pulled out a tuperware trunk filled with photos. I borrowed many of them.

As I reviewed the pictures, it seemed that I didn't know much about them. I didn't know where they were taken or who was in them. Each had a story, but I didn't know any of them.

It seemed if I was going to assemble these images, I needed to know the stories behind each one. The stories mattered.

I asked my mother to be a source and she seemed ok with that.

I arranged the pictures and started with the earlier ones.

This is my grandmother Ann Goldberg. Her maiden name was Mittag. In this picture she might be around 14 or 15 years old. That would date it at about 1917, probably in Brooklyn.

I asked my mother talk for a little bit about my grandmother. This is just an excerpt.



My father as an infant. I would date this at about 1931.



My father at less than 2 years here. Location is unknown.



In this clip, my mother tells a short anecdote about my dad being identified as possibly being the kidnapped Lindbergh baby. Charles Lindbergh's son was kidnapped from his crib in New Jersey in 1932. The child's body was later discovered.



I asked about my father as a young child. Of course all of this information is second hand, but I don't think that matters.

My grandmother is in the doorway in the background. My dad, on the left,  might be about 7 or 8 years old. I recall seeing him in a similar mood as an adult.





That's all for now.

This is just a first post and it's not meant to be definitive. I'll put up more later. There's really no shortage to the material. He was 80 years old.

Whitbread Virtual Yacht Race 1997

At OPPSLA 2000, I gave a brief talk on the Whitbread Virtual Yacht Race that I developed in 1997. Be warned: the email address on the slide is dead.

Use the link below to obtain the slides.

Hoo rah!

Quokka Sports Whitbread 97 Virtual Yacht Race

Snowy NYC

A blizzard hit NYC last night. The snow continued into the morning. Over a foot of snow fell in the city.

This is Lexington @ 30th looking north, 4:30pm.

Same corner looking south.

I think this is 6th ave and West Houston about 7:30pm.

6th ave at W 3rd around 7:30pm.

I missed the sunrise. I thought it would come up about 7:15am. I got out of the gym on time, but found that the sun was already up. It was overcast, but it might have looked good. This is 34th and Lexington looking east.

34th and Lexington looking south.

34th and Lexington with a view of ESB.

This is 32nd and Lexington looking north.

The subway lines to Coney Island have been suspended as well as the train to Rockaway. 

Do what you can do.

Ulla's Birthday

I gave Ulla a present for her birthday. I framed a comic strip. It's from the series 'Mutts' and it came out really nice. Part of the money I paid for the comic went to benefit animal shelters. It's all good.

Sweet Pea, pictured here, is doing well. Some of her feral tendencies are surfacing. She doesn't seem to like other dogs with the exception of her roommate Jack (not pictured).

 
Hang in there Sweet Pea. Happy Birthday, Ulla.

My father's pictures

My mother asked me to come out to New Jersey and help her go through my fathers stuff. We cleaned out the closets and selected items to give to charity. Other items I placed in the dumpster out by the parking lot.

I knew my mother had a collection of photographs of the family and I asked if we could go through them. I was curious about what was there and it's been a long time since I've seen any of these things.

There was a sizable tupperware chest filled with items in the bedroom closet. I dragged it into the den and we went through the contents together. There was a lot of stuff in there. Pictures of all of my grandparents, my mother and father, and brothers. High school report cards (my mothers), graduation pictures, immigration documents, and items dating back to the 1920's were found in the chest. We reviewed everything.

I collected as much as I could carry. I'll probably go back and take as much as my mother will let me have. My mother won't let me have everything.

I'm organizing what I took home and intend to do something with them. I don't know what yet.

The photographs will be scanned. The government has been petitioned for my fathers military service records. I've asked some questions. I'll have to ask more. It's a process.

I even found some things that belonged to me. I haven't seen these things since I last wore them in 1973.

I'll post something about what I've found soon. This will take time, but please stand by.

Over and out.

SNL / Sweet Pea / AMNH

I took pictures Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

This picture was taken from my window at about 11:30 PM.

I got up at 6:00 AM to watch the Journal Report on Fox. The sun was coming up and I thought I could get some pictures. This is what 34th Street looks like at that time. This is facing East.

Another picture of 34th Street at Lexington.

This is the same location.

'Empire'.

This is taken at the top of Murray Hill which is the intersection of Park Avenue and 34th Street.

Another pretty shot of Lexington and 34th Street.

Later on Sunday I gave a tour of the Race to the End of the Earth exhibit at the AMNH. I felt good about it. I got this snap in the Roosevelt Rotunda on the CPW side. The dinosaur mount depicts a Barosaurus defending her baby from an attacking Allosaurus. The scene is fanciful and it is made of cast material rather than actual fossils. Real fossils are too heavy to be posed this way.

The museum has cut a walk way in the base so people can get under the mount and look at it from a different angle.

Sweet Pea Update! She's doing well and thriving. Sweet Pea is the alpha of all she surveys, but she can be a little rough with other dogs and needs supervision.

Here she has determined that I have nothing to eat.

It's Sweet Peas' sofa and she doesn't mind sharing. I'm not sure she remembers me but she seems glad that I'm there.

Me at brunch in Jersey City. I had eggs.

I took no pictures of the food. I've got to start remembering stuff like that.

That's all folks!