Wonderful 4th!

yesterday was the 4th of july, a federal holiday in the us since it was the day, back in 1776, when they became independent from the kingdom of great britain by adopting the declaration of independence. there are parades, and generally people spend this day outside having a bbq and watch the fireworks in the evening. this was our third independence day in the us, and (some) things have started to become "normal". sort of. i really wanted to see it all in year 1, and last year as well, but this year... naahh...hmmm.. its so crowded, the fireworks start soooo late, then you have to wait forever to get into the subway to get home, and and and... besides, tim said he wasnt interested at all in watching "those boring fireworks with all those millions of people again". we thus decided to go somewhere and to just enjoy the weather. 

the day started out with quite some rain, but when we left it was getting hot and humid again. not even halfway, i thought it would be fun to leave the highway and drive a bit on the backroads... that was fun, for the first few minutes... until we suddenly became the very last car of the 4th of july parade, as you can see above!! not that anyone was interested in us (i did dress appropriately in red, white and blue!); everyone (as usual) was leaving as soon as the last of the real parade had passed by.... and there we were, driving very, very slowly... eventually we got out and back to the highway again... :) tomorrow i show you where we went!

Deciphering headstones

oooh, i missed last weeks taphophile tragics!! i started on the post on tuesday. and on wednesday. and posted nothing on either day (and i also did not visit the other taphophiles... :( ). a new tuesday and its very late yet again, an hour after midnight....

so, just a quick post of tim and me when we are at a cemetery. i guess this is what others will see quite often, as we are reading (or trying to read) whats inscribed on the stone. normally we dont have a photographer to record our behavior, but this time my sister was present (every now and then we do drag others to cemeteries)...  this is in new york, at the graveyard surrounding the st. pauls chapel. this church was built in 1766, and is the oldest church still in use in manhattan. its just one block away from the world trade center; it survived the september 11 attacks quite well. some stones did break, and ofcourse the entire graveyard was covered in rubbish (as you can see here), but it came out relatively unharmed. most likely because of all the trees surrounding the place. it cost 300,000 dollars to restore the church and headstones, which were vacuumed and washed. i myself did not take any pictures here, we could not really read/photograph the inscription, and i just "did not see it", somehow.... (or was too lazy).

we just got back from a movie; bernie. its about an assistant funeral director (jack black; hes really good) that eventually kills one of its future clients... its based on a true story that happened in texas in 1996. we really enjoyed it!

for other taphophiles, go here.

Fishermen's wives

not far from the fishermens memorial stands the fishermens wives memorial. "it serves as a testimonial to what wives, mothers, sisters, and children of fishermen of the world have endured because their men chose to be on the water. They had no choice but to stand on rock, to be on land." dedicated by the GFWA (gloucester fishermens wives association).

on each side she has a child, and together they are looking out over the ocean. in fact, the sculptor of the fishermens memorial made a model for a sculpture honoring the fishermens wives; a woman, holding a baby, with the inscription: "they also serve who only stand and wait." another artist made a model of "the widow of the fisherman". the GFWA didnt like either, as they did not see themselves as women doing nothing but sitting and waiting until their husbands would return from the ocean. many years later they choose for the above statue. it was unveiled in 2001, and the inscription underneath the sculpture reads: "The wives, mothers, daughters and sisters of Gloucester fishermen honor the wives and families of fishermen and mariners everywhere for their faith, diligence, and fortitude."

Sunday post

not knowing what to post, i suddenly saw this picture again. since its sunday, i thought it was appropriate... this was actually in the getty center in los angeles, where we were in may.

today was yet another hot hot hot day! unfortunately i spent quite some time inside. i was so stupid to buy a coupon for making a photobook. the discount was so huge (or so it seemed, ooh how clever salesmen are, and how stupid am i!!), and i thought it nice to print our pics for once (who does that, nowadays...). i bought the stupid coupon somewhere in february, to make a nice album from our roadtrip in december (from memphis to new orleans to eventually miami). more than enough time to make something nice, i thought! well.... i have 14 days left, and only started today.... beeehhh... now i "just" have to finish it (as a dutch i ofcourse cannot go let my 35 dollars goto waste to make an album worth 115.... (see, thats why i fell for it...)).

Beach scene

today was a very hot and sunny day. how nice! we started off with some laps in the pool, and then went to gloucester again (where yesterdays photo was taken as well). this time we went for some biking in the woods. it was nice. except that i had quite some bare skin due to the heat, and didnt think of mosquitoes.... buuuuhhh!! we had brought everything; towels, lunch, bikini, sunscreen, walking shoes, water... i was so happy as it seemed for once i hadnt forgotten some essential item.... until we were suddenly surrounded by those tiny flying monsters.... it almost spoiled the fun, but then they were gone again....

it was sooo very hot! i was even contemplating going into the water at the above beach (i have never been into the ocean on this side of the country! the water just looks so dirty and usually the water is so cold!). but.... we could not find any parking..!! we had never been here before on a hot day during summer. and now we know.... parking is nearly impossible at this time of the year. whereas you can freely park during the colder months (especially on the weekend), its prohibited during summer... :(( yes, there was a paid parking lot, but it was 15 dollars!! and it was already after 4 and we didnt plan on staying for too long (and anyways, i think 15 dollars is outrageous). so... no beach/swimming for us this time (we did go here on an almost equally hot day in... march... as you can see here). and ofcourse... we got home after 8, so the pool here was closed.... 

at least tomorrow there should be another day.... and again well above 30 degrees C (90F).

Fisherman's memorial

above part of an 8 foot tall bronze statue of a fisherman that looks out over the gloucester harbor. its known as the fishermans memorial, but also named "man at the wheel". here you can see it in its entirety. apparently, its often confused with another iconic image; that of the gorton's fisherman, the logo of the company that sells fish sticks (also from gloucester), present on its packages since 1964... haha.

but no, this monument was placed in 1925, to commemorate "they that go down to the sea in ships" (taken from the bible), honoring 300 years of gloucester losing fishermen (thats quite a sad way to say it...). for example, in 1879, 249 fishermen and 29 vessels were lost during a terrible storm. and in 1991 6 fishermen died in a storm that formed the basis for the book, and later movie, "the perfect storm".

Poor dog

the poor dog was being laughed at when he (she?) didnt dare to cross the bridge. normally, only cars pass ocer this part of the bridge, but it was closed for all traffic for some festival where tim had to play. well, those grates were indeed quite scary, and the dog was not the only one not wanting to go there (when i took a leisurely stroll with tim, i had to hold him the entire time as i was too afraid to walk by myself. hahahhaaha. seems so stupid now, as the grates were definitely smaller than my shoes, but it does something to your brain that makes you walk funny. just like when you are on an escalator that doesnt work....). eventually, the dog went... slowly.... 

i didnt post for 2 days. i was just.... beeehhhh. so tired every evening. and then just for bed i "had to do my blog", and just didnt want to. my computer is still soooo slow, so just watching photos to decide which one to post is really annoying.... so i went to bed instead. but i actually like doing my blog... so.. its weird. i want to, but i dont want to. blablabla. lets goto bed again.. :) good night!

Magazine stress

above all magazines from a 1 year science subscription. how proud i was when i signed up for this, it was so cheap, a special for poor postdocs like me. i imagined myself reading many scientific articles, not necessarily related to my own topic, and finally not from my screen as i used to do, but from the real thing. perhaps in the subway, or at the pool.....  ofcourse, that didnt happen. the magazines came in every week, and i hardly ever looked at them. worse; i also stopped looking at it online as i used to do once a week, "since i now was receiving the hard copy"... at least i was wise enough to cancel my subscription after one year (yet they continue to send me mail and emails to please come back. grrrr). and just a few months ago we finally decided to also trash the magazines. it was a huge pile in our (for that) too small apartment. but before that, i decided to throw them all on the ground and jump on them for a bit (i do not always behave as a 30-year-old). then we realized many covers are actually really beautiful, and tim ripped them all off, they are still ling around somewhere....

nowadays i do have a subscription to time magazine, which was actually because of this post. i discovered that the artwork i had photographed once was a cover for time magazine, and on their website i saw that a subscription is real cheap. i instantly felt more american upon ordering it... :) moreover, finally i would learn everything about american politics, what they think about europe, and what-not... then.... there was a groupon-action for newsweek, another magazine similar to time; one year, 52 issues, for just 10 dollars. as a real dutch i couldnt leave such an incredible deal, and thus ordered that one as well. and guess what?! now i suffer from "magazine stress". those magazines keep coming in every week, and although i read in the subway to work and in the gym, i cannot keep up. i am now 1.5 issue behind with time, and even 3 or 4 with newsweek (somehow i feel i have to read those things from beginning to end, and wow, do i learn a lot! (i do prefer time over newsweek)). so theres the dilemma; should i just not read them when too far behind? at some point its not relevant anymore anyways (like about republican candidates, theres only one left by now, but i somewhere still have an issue on... eehm, whats his name again...?). 

ah well, i guess i should be happy my current distress just concerns magazines that keep coming in at a relentless pace....

In white

when the light indicates its safe to cross the street, i always say "ah, its green!" (except when im alone, i guess), even though its always white here. i just cant get that out of my mind, being used to red and green lights.... this was in new york, last monday, while we were just wandering around a bit.

yesterday i was (once again) too lazy to post. we had a nice, but very hot day. some swimming in the morning, grocerie shopping, some biking around (quite aimlesslly but we managed to bike in a circle and ended up where we started, haha). then came the clouds. many, many clouds. and very dark. tim said "ooh, the wind is blowing them away from us, it will be fine..". but when we were in the supermarket, the rain started. not just rain. pouring rain, huge drops. in no time the parking lot became a swimming pool, and the supermarket turned out not to be watertight, trhough many cracks water was coming down. but it was sort of fun, as we were not biking anymore! back home we went for some more swimming, as swimming in the rain is even more fun, i think. and then... we were ordered out of the pool, as the entire community lost power, and you cannot swim with power, apparently.... (?!). ah, it was dinner time anyways... we drove to melrose; everything out of power. a little further to saugus; all out of power. then we drove even further and had a very late dinner.... 

luckily for us the power at our apartment got back on quite quickly. so far that was the first time we lost power, even though this happens so very often during even the lightest storm (but this was albeit short, a pretty heavy one), since most power cables are above ground...

Lightpole face

somewhere along the charles river....

it was yet another hot day. but with some rain in the early evening. much less heavy than expected (or than it seemed to be with the big clouds and think rain drops..... but at least it seems a tiny bit cooler right now.

good night!

Water fun

this picture was taken at the frog pond, during a hot summer day.... (just like this one, perhaps it was the same day? i dont remember!). just like yesterday, it was (and is, its 11 pm now and still above 30C) very hot, perhaps even hotter.... luckily we have the pool to cool down a little bit. unfortunately, it closes at 8 in the evening, and this is strictly enforced. at 8! who wants to stop swimming at 8 on a hot day/night like this?! but no, there is no discussion. pool closes at 8. (while it gets dark here around 9, so i would think they at least could keep it open till 9!). 

thats something else i miss from the netherlands, there it gets darker so much later in summer.... buuuhhhh!

and guess what, we are having the AC on right now, and i am cold!! i am about to switch it off (dont like it during sleeping), will probably be another difficult night of sleeping again....

Heat advisory

today it was HOT. really hot. it was hot already this morning and it just got hotter and hotter. i guess it was around 36 C (little less than 100F?) and a little humid. but well, i was inside and didnt notice much. until i stepped outside into a hot blanket.... ah well, we went to the pool for a bit (and when not swimming it even became a little chilly!), and then out to dinner, as the mayor of boston sent out a heat advisory that we ofcourse obeyed exactly. one of the points is; "avoid cooking".

a quote: "Mayor Thomas M. Menino has issued a heat advisory reminding residents to stay safe and healthy during this first stretch of hot summer weather.  Mayor Menino and the Boston Public Health Commission are urging residents to stay hydrated and in shaded or air conditioned areas whenever possible. Residents can cool off at several Boston Parks Department water spray features throughout the city and in air conditioned community centers." (note that mister mayor menino personally warns us here!) and: "everyone should remember to limit their activities during very hot weather, drink plenty of fluids, and avoid beverages that contain caffeine or alcohol.  When outdoors, limit strenuous activity, wear sunscreen and loose, light-colored clothing, and rest often in cool, shady areas. Additional measures to beat the heat include avoiding cooking, taking cool showers or baths, and staying in air conditioned areas whenever possible." (stolen from the boston city website). unfortunately, it doesnt tell us where to get our food when avoiding to cook (or did he mean it literally?!). luckily we do not yet have a ban on large sodas as proposed in new york, but i presume that next to our assisted living, heat advisories and soda bans, we soon also will be told (and checked) when we have to go to bed.... but surely i will be having trouble sleeping, even more so now that its hot and will stay hot for at least tomorrow... 

above pic was taken at the hoover dam, which we visited while in las vegas.

9/11 memorial

we went to new york this sunday (i stayed on for another day with my sister who is visiting us from the netherlands, while tim went back in the evening), and finally got to see the 9/11 memorial. you have to make reservations in advance, and every time we went to new york since its opening in september 2011, there were no tickets available. around 11.30 (our scheduled time, you have a 30-minute window for arrival; but you can take as much time as you wish once inside) we arrived and went through security (just like at the airport), had to show our visitor passes every now and then, wait in line here and there and finally got to the memorial park. 2 pools, with water falling down from all 4 sides, where once the towers stood. surrounded by bronze panels with all the names of the 1993 and 2001 terrorist attacks. 

2983 names.... (here you can read how the names were arranged; it is not just random). the pools are so huge (as were the towers), surrouded by many oak trees. i thought it was simple yet very beautiful. i was mostly touched by seeing names of 3 women that were pregnant, one of them you can see here. "jennifer l howley and her unborn child".  born in 1967 in lincoln, nebraska, she went to live in new york city when she was 18. she started out as a nanny, but eventually got to work in the insurance industry. with only a high school diploma, she just got promoted from senior vp to director and was pregnant with her first child when she died in the south tower of the world trade center, only 34 years old...

now... i just hope that in the future you will be able to visit this memorial park without prior appointment, airport style security and standing in line. i wonder if they will ever do that.... but i think that only then this park will truly be a place for remembrance where you can just go for a bit if you feel like going...

this is my contribution to this weeks taphophile tuesday. and here you can see a few more pictures that i took at the memorial.

I was.....

in..... New York! i guess that was not a very difficult one....

my sister is here and we went for 2 days (tim joined for one day). and now i am soooo tired!! so, more tomorrow, and perhaps in the coming days... (havent checked my pics yet).

if you are curious about the steaming chimney, i once blogged about that already (here). now i just want to sleeeeeeppppp!!

Here goes...

the band in which tim plays...

they played at some festival in chelsea, on a bridge closed especially for today for traffic... (as you can see, they are walking on the middle of the road). here they were just done..

it started out as a great sunny day and we were in the pool this morning by 8.30!! then somehow the sun disappeared and on the bridge it was really chilly.... i was not dressed for chilly....:( 

ah well, it was fun anyways...

Wedding chapel

many people asked us, after coming back from las vegas, whether we got married. well, we didnt.... if it even had been an option, it wasnt after i saw the chapels. it was all just so sad! placed a long busy roads, with a cheesy motel attached to it... beehhhh. here you can see one. its not even pretty!

but.. according to wikipedia, las vegas is the "marriage capital of the world". getting a marriage license is very easy, and costs very little, and thus many couples get married here ( i read somewhere 120.000 marriages/ year, that is more than 300 weddings per day!! i just calculated it 3 times as i couldnt believe more than 600 people get married each day in vegas.... we sure didnt see any happy couples coming out of wedding chapels...)

apparently, there are even drive-thru weddings in las vegas... can you believe it??!! here is the link (check the costs of different packages they offer... named "fast, faster and fastest" the "fastest" is the cheapest... is this the speed with whih you drive...??). you can also be married by an elvis impersonator... here a list of some "famous" people that got married in vegas (how many are still married..?!), and here the website for the above wedding chapel, because... forever starts now.... (ugh!)

Self portrait

i simply was too lazy to post last night, and today i dont have my computer (and i am lazy again), so here a self portrait, while we were in the desert in las vegas....!

Sobering epitaph

few weeks back we were heading home from a beautiful ride along the shore, around gloucester and rockport, an hour away from boston. we happened to drive by a cemetery and stopped to have a look. as you can see, the cemetery faces the ocean. it was just a small cemetery on a piece of grass, in between houses, and most of the stones were very old (i think the cemetery dates from 1630!), named the "old first parish burial ground". the late afternoon sun was still warm and i really liked to walk around this cemetery. most stones had interesting, down to earth inscriptions. some were hard to read, but it was really worth it to take a moment and decipher them. others, like the one above, were, given their age,very well readable. taking a readable picture ofcourse was yet another problem.... :)

the above stone belongs to the grave of ebenezer, died in 1793, aged only 1 year and 3 months. son of john v, and hannah cleaveland (i found it funny that when cleaveland didnt fit on the stone, they just put the remaining letters above; i saw this on several stones on this cemetery). and then the epitaph; "come mortal man, cast an eye, read your doom, prepare to die".

i have collected a few now, and i guess every now and then i will show you one. (unfortunately, i couldnt find anything else about ebenezer or his parents...)

a collection of taphophiles can be found here.

Pretty amazing

here a distant view of las vegas.... when the sun was about to set. isnt it beautiful? too bad i had to take the picture through the window of the car, as you can see....

our hotelroom was unfortunately not too high up (only the 23rd floor or so... haha), and we didnt face the strip (bbuuuuh), but the advantage of that was that we faced the desert (and an awful deserted parking lot and a hotel that probably wont be built soon, only part of it was..), and we witnessed 2 amazing sunrises. i usually wake up very early (only togoto sleep again), and these times it was just around sunrise. the first was a perfect deep red with some purple (i woke up tim, in the end i think he did like to see that sunrise), and the second was greenish like above. really beautiful... just for that i wouldnt mind spending some more time in the desert. (but the desert is pretty cool anyways...)

Tonight's movie

i took this picture very long ago, somewhere in the very first months we arrived in boston. i found it funny and put it in my "to post" folder, but i never did, as i thought, well yes, i post it, and then what do i write....?

tonight we saw a french movie "the intouchables". it was impressive. sad. very funny. i really liked it. you just have to go and see it. i didnt really know where it was about when i went; i didnt want to watch the trailer as it sometimes reveals too much. and now all i can say; just go and see it!

and dont read the review in the new york times (i just did, its here for the curious...). its a stupid review, on many levels. yes, the movie is about a very rich handicapped guy who hires someone to take care of him. that someone turns out to be poor, and very different and despite, or probably because their differences they really get along, eventually. yes, the idea is cliche (but based on a true story!!), but i think its execution is more funny, and more touching than anything i saw in a while (also, i suggest the writer of this review should watch more south park, this episode in particular). anyways, i think the pic somehow fits the movie.... so i can finally post it!

and now its again very late and time for bed....