Went to the Santa Monica Public Library today. It's a gold LEED awardee. That's insider talk for super environmentally friendly. Went with my sister and parents.
Lots of super neat aspects. Inside/outside. landscape design that felt a little like underwater plant life, beach themes (close to the Pacific Ocean), lots of windows and many other neat things.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Philly vs. DC
I'm in Washington, DC yesterday and today for work. While I work from my home in Philadelphia, my employer, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, is located in DC and I am here 1-2 times a month. We're in new office space. It's only 3 blocks from the old digs and still at the same metro stop - Farragut North - but it feels like a new neigbhorhood. The new super close landmarks are ABC News (this is where Nightline is done), The Mayflower Hotel and National Geographic. About two blocks away is the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) but I'll only walk over there for a protest.
I lived in DC for 9 years. College for 3 years (I spent my junior year abroad in Jerusalem) and then for six years after graduation. In August of 2005 I moved to Philadelphia and minus a 3 month stint this past fall in Milwaukee (to stop reinistatement of the death penalty in Wisconsin), Philadelphia is my new home. But because I am in DC frequently for work and because some of my best friends in the world are here, in some ways I feel that I have 2 homes. Though when I see my friend Jason, he always kids with me asking when I'm moving to DC...I think Philly will be my home for the forseeable future.
DC is known for its museums. The Smithsonian museums and scores of other museums some of which do have an entry fee like the Phillips Collection or the Corcoran. But Philly seems just as impressive with its cultural options.
On Sunday my girlfriend and I went to the Barnes Foundation. I've been to some of the most heralded art museums in the country: in NYC: The Met, MOMA, Frick Collection. In DC: National Gallery of Art East and West Wing. In Chicago, it's famous art museum, the Detriot Institute of Art the Houston Fine Art museum, the Getty in Los Angeles and others. The Barnes Foundation is easily in the top tier of art museums if not right at the top. I've got to get to work, but I'll blog more about the Barnes soon, including the controversy of whether it should be moved from its current site just outside of Philly or onto Ben Franklin Parkway where its neighbors would be Philly's other great museums: The Franklin Institue, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rodin Museum and the Free Library.
I lived in DC for 9 years. College for 3 years (I spent my junior year abroad in Jerusalem) and then for six years after graduation. In August of 2005 I moved to Philadelphia and minus a 3 month stint this past fall in Milwaukee (to stop reinistatement of the death penalty in Wisconsin), Philadelphia is my new home. But because I am in DC frequently for work and because some of my best friends in the world are here, in some ways I feel that I have 2 homes. Though when I see my friend Jason, he always kids with me asking when I'm moving to DC...I think Philly will be my home for the forseeable future.
DC is known for its museums. The Smithsonian museums and scores of other museums some of which do have an entry fee like the Phillips Collection or the Corcoran. But Philly seems just as impressive with its cultural options.
On Sunday my girlfriend and I went to the Barnes Foundation. I've been to some of the most heralded art museums in the country: in NYC: The Met, MOMA, Frick Collection. In DC: National Gallery of Art East and West Wing. In Chicago, it's famous art museum, the Detriot Institute of Art the Houston Fine Art museum, the Getty in Los Angeles and others. The Barnes Foundation is easily in the top tier of art museums if not right at the top. I've got to get to work, but I'll blog more about the Barnes soon, including the controversy of whether it should be moved from its current site just outside of Philly or onto Ben Franklin Parkway where its neighbors would be Philly's other great museums: The Franklin Institue, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rodin Museum and the Free Library.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Morning Walks
I love the way books become a part of my life. In The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, which I'm reading for a new book club, the author and her late husband took AM walks in Central Park every day. Unfortunately I don't live in NYC or near Philly's Central Park - Fairmount Park - but I'm intrigued by the idea of going for a walk to start each day. I did so this morning and walked to the South Street Promenade, which is about five blocks away. I brought the book and read a few pages. This might be a fun habit to develop, especially over the next couple months while I continue to work from home. It's incentive to get me out of bed and out of the apartment at a reasonable hour. And I love to explore my and surrounding neighborhoods, and the morning walk is another opportunity to see the area.
The first book/experience that pops to mind when I think about instances where I have incorporated book content into my life is A Widow for One Year by John Irving There's a scene where a father teaches his daughter to drive. They live on Long Island, NY and he drives them into NYC. She is then tasked with driving home. What I remember from that driving lesson is the instruction to never take your eyes off the road. If you have passengers in your car, it's okay to talk to them but never turn towards them because that takes your eyes off the road. I read this book almost 10 years ago, and I don't turn to my right occasionally when talking to the passenger in my car. That said, I do glimpse down or to the side slightly to make cell phone calls :(
The first book/experience that pops to mind when I think about instances where I have incorporated book content into my life is A Widow for One Year by John Irving There's a scene where a father teaches his daughter to drive. They live on Long Island, NY and he drives them into NYC. She is then tasked with driving home. What I remember from that driving lesson is the instruction to never take your eyes off the road. If you have passengers in your car, it's okay to talk to them but never turn towards them because that takes your eyes off the road. I read this book almost 10 years ago, and I don't turn to my right occasionally when talking to the passenger in my car. That said, I do glimpse down or to the side slightly to make cell phone calls :(
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