What next?

The situation in New Orleans is so sad. I've visited N.O. so many times and the city is wonderful but there are so many people who live in and around the city that are so poor I can not imagine how they will recover from this tragedy.

It also disturbs me that so many people have left their pets behind and are now forced to leave their animals. The "reason" is that human life is more valuable and that people need to be saved -- this just does not seem right.

I really want to do so much more for the people of New Orleans -- I can give money but that just doesn't seem to be enough.

Another very HOT day

typical guy, atypical situation -- a solid soul trapped inside of a broken body This blog is amazing. Really made me think -- none of us has any guarantee. Make sure you appreciate everyday of your life and enjoy the smallest things in life!!

Some interesting things I came across:

Architecture for Humanity

Recycline was established, first and foremost, to provide high-quality recycled content & recyclable products to our consumers. We strive to make sure that our products introduce a new function – improving upon what is currently offered in the marketplace.

Gone to the Dogs is a surreal comedy about the trials of canine metamorphosis. When wayward Jack retires to the seaside with his wife Rose, he thinks the end is in sight. But he soon discovers that life isn't a one-way ticket. After a fatal heart attack Jack returns to earth as a stray dog and is unwittingly adopted by Rose. So begins Jack's bizarre journey of self-discovery as he struggles with his new existence and finally learns what a good marriage is all about.

Early Children's Books: The Fox Collection at San Francisco Public Library The San Francisco Public Library holds a unique archive for the study of early children's books, which will interest scholars of printing, parents, artists, writers, or anyone curious about the book arts. It wasn't until the eighteenth century that children began to be treated differently from adults and a special class of literature beyond ABCs was provided for them. I would really like to write children's books! I know nothing is stopping me except I don't think I have the talent.

Book lust

Update: Dilworth House [August 12, 2005, meeting]

Here is a waste of time, taxpayer’s dollars and for what? To save a piece of property that by all rights should be destroyed. It has no historic relevance; it is ugly and not maintained. It is a pity that some people are wasting their time trying to save this building when so many Philadelphia buildings are under the wrecking ball. Just proves how short sighted most people really are! Save Dilworth Now Save Dilworth Now is a cooperative effort of the Society Hill Civic Association and the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. Our purpose is to advocate for the preservation of the historic Dilworth House, located on 6th Street on the eastern side of Washington Square in Center City Philadelphia. Under Philadelphia’s Historic Preservation Ordinance the house is already designated as having “significant” historic value. This is the highest level of legal protection. Nevertheless a real estate developer has recently applied (on May 27, 2005) to the Philadelphia Historical Commission for permission to raze the house to make way for a 15-story luxury condominium tower. Save Dilworth Now is working to preserve the Dilworth House.

On May 27, 2005, owner/developer of the Dilworth House, John and Mary Turchi, filed an application with the Philadelphia Historical Commission to “reclassify” the Dilworth House as a “non-contributing” site in the Society Hill Historic District (the property is presently classified as “significant”). Concurrently, the property owners asked the Commission to review and approve the demolition of the Dilworth House for the purpose of constructing a new condominium tower on the site. The plans for the new construction will be reviewed by the Commission’s Architectural Committee on July 26, 2005. The consideration of the reclassification of the property by the Commission’s Designation Committee will be July 28, 2005 with an expected report to the full Historic Commission at its August 12, 2005, meeting.

Please if you read this consider the buildings that are destroyed everyday in Philadelphia, much of what is torn down and paved over for parking lots has much more historic significance than the Dilworth House! Please think about what these people are wasting their time trying to save and your tax dollars trying to save!

Women's health issues

Last Thursday I received a call, the radiologist had found a problem with my mammogram and I needed additional scans and possibly an ultra-sound scan. I went yesterday and thank god everything was fine and I have no problem. My best friend who lives near D.C. is not so lucky and she still faces a daily battle dealing with the effects of breast cancer. Please get your annual mammogram and do monthly breast self exam (BSE). If you take the pill start doing self exams I discovered my first benign lump in my 20s when I was taking birth control pills. One out of every 8 women will get breast cancer in the course of a 90-year life span.

What Can Make Your Risk for Breast Cancer Go Down?
Eating a healthy diet, losing extra weight, regular exercise, reducing alcohol use, quitting smoking, and minimizing/eliminating extra estrogen.

What Can Make Your Risk for Breast Cancer Go Up?
Personal or family history of breast cancer, smoking, excessive weight, prolonged estrogen exposure, abnormal breast cell growth, first full-term pregnancy after age 30, never having a full-term pregnancy, heavy alcohol use, early start of menstruation, late menopause.

Another friend was just diagnosed with endometrial cancer . Endometrial cancer is one of the most common cancers in American women. In fact, about 40,000 American women receive a diagnosis of endometrial cancer each year, making it the fourth most common cancer found in women — after breast cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer.

ALCOHOL—IS AN IMPORTANT WOMEN’S HEALTH ISSUE: While it’s true that men are more likely to drink alcohol and more likely to drink greater amounts, women have a higher risk of developing problems from alcohol consumption. When a woman drinks, the alcohol in her bloodstream typically reaches a higher level than a man’s even if both are drinking the same amount. This is because women’s bodies generally have less water than men’s bodies. Because alcohol mixes with body water, a given amount of alcohol is less diluted in a woman’s body than in a man’s. Women become more impaired by alcohol’s effects and are more susceptible to alcohol–related organ damage. That is, women develop damage at lower levels of consumption over a shorter period of time.

And there are significant diferences between men and women when it comes to health. Just the Facts: Differences between the sexes exist and whether a person is male or female matters in the prevalence and severity of a broad range of diseases, disorders, and conditions. It matters at every stage of life - from the very beginning to the very end. It matters at every level - from the single cell to the entire body. Women and Men: 10 differences that make a difference When it comes to health, there are many crucial health differences between men and women. Yet many women do not know that they react differently to some medications, are more vulnerable to some diseases, and may have different symptoms.

And most important please feel good about who you are BODY IMAGE: Are you imagining the wrong body? In general, women seem more dissatisfied with their appearance than men. Women most commonly complain about their thighs, abdomen, breast, and buttocks while men are dissatisfied with their abdomen, upper body, and balding hair. Sometimes, the problem is imaginary, such as the runner who complains about her fat thighs, or the bikini wearer whose stomach is not absolutely flat. Sometimes, the problem is real and ranges from a mild complaint about cellulite to a major preoccupation with "thunder thighs" that results in relentless dieting and exercise akin to punishment.

Dilworth House [Philadelphia, PA]

There was a meeting of the Philadelphia Historical Commission on July 28, 2005, the outcome: Philadelphia Historical Commission's Designation Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the commission retain its designation of the Dilworth house as a significant contributing building within the historic district.

What is a designation: Designation means the listing by the Historical Commission of a building, structure, site, object or district on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. Cultural resources on the Philadelphia Register include neighborhoods, houses, churches, cemeteries, stores, bridges, street surfaces and horse watering troughs. They all have a recognizable place in the historical, cultural, architectural, archeological and educational values of the City, the State or the Nation. The Commission exercises a jurisdiction over any work that requires a building permit or that changes the appearance of designated properties.

Personally I think this is all bullshit. The Dilworth House located at 223-25 S. Sixth St. is in total disrepair, no one lives in or occupies the house; most recently it was occupied and used as office space. There is no question in my mind that the house should go and I am quite sure given Mayor Dilworth’s “accomplishments” as mayor he would agree that development of the property is more important than the structure, which was at one time his home. The neo-Colonial brick Dilworth house was built by Mayor Richardson Dilworth in 1957; designed by George Edwin Brumbaugh, well known for his Colonial Revival work. The house is seen as symbolic of Dilworth's commitment to Philadelphia. Richardson Dilworth was mayor of Philadelphia from 1956 to 1962. He died in 1974.

State Senator Fumo, who appeared briefly at the July 28th meeting, vowed to fight any demolition on the site and to find state funds to place the Dilworth house in a public trust, should it comes to that. Why should my tax dollars be wasted on this house? I would really love to hear an explanation.

The Society Hill Civic Association, the Queen Village Neighborhood Association, and the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, all oppose altering the Dilworth designation.

CREME BRULEE

God I love crème brulee. I could eat this stuff everyday! I enjoy making it but since it is important to limit my intake I buy it pre-made. Some of my favorite recipes are available at Cooks.com

Recently found a frozen variety that is wonderful; it is available at Trader Joes in their frozen food department (it is a Trader Joes brand). This is a very bad discovery it makes it just too easy to prepare and eat!

Architectural musings:

I love beautiful buildings and great architecture. I appreciate very little modern construction -- just what is going on with modern architecture. There are the ubiquitous MacMansions: "a new, out-of-scale structure that is usually quite large (3000 sq. ft. on average) that does not fit into any neighborhood. These structures are usually tall and massive, losing the side yards to this mass and losing the front yards to large three-car garages and driveways. These ‘Tara on a quarter acre’ overwhelm the homes next to them. "MacMansions" stick out like a sore thumb, both architecturally and culturally." I really hate these houses and doubt if serious architects have anything to do with them. They are the product of greed and the bloated consumer economy.

I love this site -- architecture.com "architecture.com is one of the world's most extensive built environment portals, all courtesy of the Royal Institute of British Architects."

Another site I often look at is: Architecture Internet Resources a database of valuable internet resources created and maintained by the UNLV Architecture Studies Library.

Like everything else I have very specific opinions about what I like and what I don't like. And I guess I am highly critical of current architectural trends. Philadelphia has more than its share of new and current architecture and very little has any appeal to me. One architect that has some appeal is Robert Venturi, his firm is Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates. I won't begin to describe his work but some is very interesting.

So I was surprised to see this design done by Robert Venturi [personally I think it looks much too industrial and it is too tall]: The Dilworth House. I have no problem with the demolition of the current house and reuse of the property but this building won't contribute to the neighborhood.

From the press release about the building "The Dilworth House, which will grace the east side of [Washington] Square, is flanked by the Athenaeum and the Lippincott Condominiums (the former L.P. Lippincott Publishers Building). The new building will replace a Chester County-style farmhouse designed by colonial revivalist G. Edwin Brumbaugh for Mayor Richardson Dilworth and his wife in 1957. The Chester County replica replaced two important early 19th century townhouses. Ironically, Brumbaugh’s design was a suburban gesture in an urban renewal context. The Venturi design honors both the scale and magnificence of the Square. The building will complete the composition of the Square’s east side, aligning the building with the streetscape. The materials of the façade complement the buildings of the Square with brownstone and limestone, and replace Brumbaugh’s colonial-revival brick and marble. The Dilworth House is designed to preserve light in the Athenaeum’s great stair and rear garden."

(more) RANTS about Philadelphia:

What is this with torturing horses -- it is so hot and humid and they still allow the horse drawn carriages to operate. The horses are miserable and NO ONE does a thing to stop the abuse. My husband refers to me as a bug-hugger and I guess I am. I just hate to see these animals suffer so much for absolutely no reason! Tourism bull-shit!

Philadelphia smells like raw sewage! I walk to and from work everyday and pretty much traverse Center City and it stinks and the hotter it gets, the worse the smell gets. Odors escape from the street drains, people piss and shit on the street, people don't clean up after their pets, the list goes on and on and the city smells worse and worse. Not to mention all the exhaust fumes and people standing around outside smoking -- this is not a pleasant place to be.

City of Philadelphia Water Department: Urban Water Cycle Philadelphia has over 2,960 miles of sewers. That’s enough to stretch from the east to the west coast of the United States. Philadelphia's neighborhoods use a separate sewer system. This system collects and transports sanitary waste to a water pollution control plant in a sanitary sewer. Stormwater is transported to a stream via a storm sewer. Our combined sewers are currently designed so that during heavy storm events, stormwater overflows are diverted to our local streams and rivers. Combined sewers transport a combination of stormwater and sanitary waste. When overflows occur, the water is diverted to waterways instead of going to one of our water pollution control plants where we would normally treat it to remove pollutants and debris.

Doesn't that sound reassuring? All that crap I see and smell is just washing into either the Delaware or the Schuylkill River.

Web surfing:

Of possible interest?

ONE The campaign to make poverty history. “WE BELIEVE that in the best American tradition of helping others help themselves, now is the time to join with other countries in a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty. WE RECOGNIZE that a pact including such measures as fair trade, debt relief, fighting corruption and directing additional resources for basic needs – education, health, clean water, food, and care for orphans – would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the poorest countries, at a cost equal to just one percent more of the US budget. WE COMMIT ourselves - one person, one voice, one vote at a time - to make a better, safer world for all.”

Zebra Hall: The Extraordinary Toy Shop

The Curmudgeony Librarian Superstore The Curmudgeony Librarian Superstore: "the place for all your librarian gear needs. We feature reading, books, and library related apparel. Tees, shirts, baby clothes, journals, stickers, and more are here. Our gift items include buttons, drinkware, magnets, teddy bears, tote and messenger bags, and tons of other library and book items and apparel for smart and discriminating buyers."

Jenni Bick Bookbinding One of a kind handmade books: Specializing in handmade photo albums, scrapbooks, and journals in handmade paper and leather.

"I cannot live without books"

A quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson -- I feel the same way. I love books. I work all day with books and I have books everywhere in my house (too many books). I actually want to start getting rid of large portions of my collection. I've worked in libraries so long I just don't want to burden any place with gift books even if I think my books are great most libraries just are not staffed to handle gift collections. I've been looking around at all the books in the house that I intend to read -- the list goes on and on. Obviously no one can read everything that is published so I'm trying to be selective. I try to limit fiction to authors that I really enjoy. of course new books are constantly published which makes it very hard to "catch up." I try not to buy books anymore with the exception of those that I want to add to my permanent collection. I am fortunate to work at a small research institution that maintains a small lending library. The library acquires most non-fiction and fiction bestsellers on a monthly basis and the books are available to the staff.

I just read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. It is Elizabeth Kostova's first novel, and it is a good book. In the afterword she mentions her visit to Philadelphia and her visit to an institution that can only be The Rosenbach Museum & Library.

Yesterday was one of the most unpleasant days of my life! I got to jury duty at 8:15 AM and I was finally dismissed at 6:00 PM others were still being held captive and the judge said they might go as late at 7:30 PM or until she could seat a jury. At 6:00 they had 10 jurors. The case involved 14 counts of rape, sodomy, terrorist threats, aggravated assault, the victims were all children ages 6 to 12 at the time of the crimes. They predict the trial will go through August. I could have kissed the ground when I was dismissed. I would have been a terrible person to have on the jury because just seeing the person charged I thought he "looked guilty" -- now that is really fair!

Fish

This morning one of the fish in my aquarium died. It makes me sad. I'd rescued these fish from an Iranian New Year's Celebration in 2000 and they lived a very happy life. Two large goldfish in a 20 gallon aquarium. Mr. White was five years old and doing very well until about a week ago. I think he had a stroke. His little friend seems fine. It is really hard to tell about fish emotions. I buried the fish in my garden near the rose bushes.

Our AC stopped working last night. I called the emergency number but so far no relief!

Tomorrow I have jury duty I know that I should consider this a civic duty but all I can think about are ways to escape. I can't stand the idea of being there and I just want it over! I'll take a book and my cross-stitch and hopefully the hours will just fly by!

4th of July!

I always miss my Grandfather so much but the 4th of July has such special memories. Every 4th of July he would take me and my Grandmother to Elitch Gardens [Denver] (it was so wonderful when I was a kid not the theme park it has become. But we always spent the afternoon, had a picnic dinner, and then we'd watch the fireworks. It was always special.

I think about my Grandfather so often he died in 1972 but I still think about him almost everyday. Not morbid thoughts just really great memories. He was a wonderful, kind and gentle man. I still have many of his wonderful recipes from his bakery and make them every once in awhile. I've modified many of the recipes so that I can make one cake, one batch of cookies, or one or two loaves of bread -- all of his recipes made very large quanities. I never learned his art of making great pie crusts but I pretty good at everything else. I'd love to own a bakery but it is definitely VERY HARD work!

Happy 4th of July everyone! Elton John is going to perform this evening and so it Pattie Labelle. It is great weather for the concert and the fireworks. Hopefully everyone in the neighborhood stays sane but that is asking a lot considering the nasty renters that live next door, they are so obnoxious. Would you ever think of peeing on your neighbors garage door? Thank you Mitch you are such a pain!

Decision

This is the message I just sent to my husband -- I give up!

Okay, I give up!

My contract goes through December. They already told me they will probably want to renew it but that won’t change my mind.

We should decide some things.

Pennsylvania probably isn't as civilized as most states even Virginia will grant a "non-contested" divorce in 6 months. But to get a divorce we can't be living in the same house. So that will have to wait. But if this is going to work it has to be a non-contested divorce -- none of my stuff is your -- none of your stuff is mine. We only split what we own jointly.

The house – we need to get an appraisal. Then sell or one of us buy it from the other.

Household items: decide what is what.

I’ll start working with a moving company – I’d rather be the one to move since I know where I want to go (maybe you do too --but you never tell me anything so I’ll assume this is where you want to be).

I’ll try to be out of here by mid-January depending on the weather where I'm moving.

Also you probably need to communicate this to H.& W. since I have been talking with them about a visit the end of October or early November for your birthday.

Too bad it has to end this way but there is no point in dragging this out any longer!

Another party!

Salsa on the Parkway July 3 from 2PM to 8PM! Near Logan's Circle. Fun, fun, fun!

IT IS AMAZING! they actually managed to get all the live 8 trash cleaned up! THANK YOU everyone who had to work so hard. Too bad people are such slobs and that there was so much trash but it looks great. We'll have to see the clean-up job after the 4th of July!

Disturbing...

Went for a walk along the Parkway when live 8 ended how sad. The trash was amazing. I talked with total strangers and everyone was commenting on the amount of trash just left on the ground. I found a brand new baby stroller full of baby stuff, lawn chairs, barbeque grills (one with food still cooking), a $10 bill and 2 $1’s, plus lots of change. Another woman found a camcorder, camera bag, and $800. Walking out there made me think that people had suddenly vanished. How could they leave so much behind? I only walked a few blocks but I encountered others who had been walking for a while and everyone was commenting on all the stuff they had found. I talked with some Japanese tourist who could not get over the waste. They were truly astounded.

All my neighbors and I also went out at the end of the concert and cleaned up trash on Pennsylvania Avenue. Everyone who was watching live 8 near here just dumped their trash on the street. I filled eight large garbage bags. Disgusting!

I talked with one of my neighbors and all he kept saying was I have to move, this is so disgusting! Why do we have to put up with this?

Of course one of our “neighbors” also rents his house (Mitch) and the people he rents to are dreadful. They have constant parties, are usually drunk, they spread trash everywhere, and tonight the police chased one of the young men down and gave him a citation for disorderly conduct. You’d think this was the ghetto! Of course Mitch thinks he is so wonderful and that all of us owe him something. Another reason to leave this town!

I was interviewed by the BBC, they probably weren't ready for all my comments. Loved their accents!

WTF

Sylvester M. Johnson and his merry boys are obviously drinking the booze NOT allowed at live 8 since over 75% of the people I've seen and been near are drinking beer (and other things)! Too bad -- they just don't get it -- you have to enforce all the rules not just the ones you think might make you popular!

The people of PHILADELPHIA are complete and absolute SLOBS there are trash receptacles every where for live 8 and where do they put their trash -- on the GROUND! Please, that is SO obnoxious!

There are lots and lots of people at live 8! It is hot. I got a great T-shirt -- the money supposedly goes to help the poverty in Africa. I hope so!

My cats hate all the noise -- but living this close to the Parkway there is no escape. Jack loves motorcycles! Every time a V.I.P. police escort goes by he wanders out from his hiding space to watch the motorcycles! Very funny kitty.

Some things are impossible!

Living in the PRACTICE area for a major ROCK show (live 8) really sucks. I love good music but I have yet to hear any, so far it has all just been noise. They may think they are good but outdoor performances are obviously the wrong venue for these bands! They practiced all Friday afternoon -- probably the best show and I'm sure better than the actual live 8 (and NO crowds!)

THE BANDS: Black Eyed Peas, Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Def Leppard, Destiny's Child, Josh Groban, Jars Of Clay, Jay-Z, Kaiser Chiefs, Toby Keith, Alicia Keys, Sarah McLachlan, Linkin Park, Maroon 5, Will Smith, Rob Thomas, Keith Urban, Stevie Wonder

LOVE Stevie Wonder, he will be the last performer tomorrow!

I still find it hard to imagine that a city that cuts funds for education, libraries, and other necessities can find the money to fund a fiasco like this concert!

Rants and raves

I live in a city with so many incredibly FAT people. It is hard to imagine that so many fat people live in one place. In addition the clothes they wear are so inappropriate. One of my co-workers commented that they "just shouldn't make spandex and polyester clothing in such large sizes." Do these people own a mirror?

I also live in a city that has NO CLUE what red lights and stop signs mean. They mean STOP! Pedestrians BEWARE!

This well-known city is also DIRTY and it seems that so many of the terrific citizens of this fair city are SLOBS. There are trash receptacles on almost every corner and where do people put there trash? They just drop it on the sidewalk. This really irks me!

But the biggest question is why do I complain and not just leave? I ask myself this question almost every day. And it comes down to the fact that I just need to get off my butt and get out of here. I'm pretty sure I know where I want to move. I just need to get all my STUFF organized and leave. How is it that everyone seems to accumulate so much stuff? I've pretty much decided I don't want to live with my husband anymore. He is dull, lazy, and we are totally incompatible. I have to make provision for my cats! They come with me no matter what.

That's it for now. The next post will be more cheerful or at least more interesting.

I really thought I might have something to say...

But here I am confronted with a blank page and the words just don't seem to be there. Possibly I'll be more creative later?