Miscellaneous and THB and DB head east

Pic of THB and KM at their first Olympics together: Atlanta 1996, on front porch of the rented house, an easy walk to the O Stadium. It's great to travel with a younger brain. 

News From the Future

World Cup tix update: there's an article THB has always dreamed of: how the organizers figure out how to maximize profits by collecting demand and payment before parceling out the seats ... and adjust the number of seats in  each category, expanding the more expensive seat categories. This time they got caught! Of course, FIFA has been known as the most corrupt organization in international sports. World Cup Scam 

Meanwhile, in LA: {ed. note: there are 20% fees tacked on to every tix sold}

O's organizers announced on April 9 that the 2028 Games had “significantly exceeded” the first week of sales of any previous Olympics and for the first time all of those tickets had gone to locals. They did not release more specific sales data. Read the full NYT article here.

LA28 Update, April 13: The "first global drop" of tix for July 2028 occurred after the 5 LA counties got first dibs of the tix. THB and KM decided to cut our time at the upcoming O's to just 2 events (Athletics and Volleyball) for three days each, slightly overlapping. We managed to get tix for 5 of the 6, two of which we bought enough tix to include the twins and EM. If you have to ask how much did THB spend, you can't afford them! The 20% fee based on the value of the tix ranged from $40 to $400 / tix. 

You send off your loved one's ashes and they are returned with smooth easy to shuffle in your hand rocks inside this box

          Lauren Kalman purchase in Detroit, maybe 8 pounds

same-same

the 900 pounder is still awaiting best way to move to the beach

weird polenta filled loaf

Another unit for sale at Monterey Dunes

THB is not sure if the contents of the garage are included

the pool at the beach is not ready for the April 1 opening; the county held off approving the permits for 4-6 months

unusual rainbow, flattened on horizon in Pacific Grove

between rain squalls it is very pretty 

these blooms are out for a short time, and always in the same spot at edge of the road

April 18: a glorious morning on Monterey beach

Why are these guys taking a battery ram on their run?

there's some sort of fun ride clogging the bike path, this guy took a shortcut

there's a surf lesson going on

sailboat just offshore 

Twins at loft 

C w/teacher G

training Sandy

sharing popcorn  

THB started an eight books series, another stunning series by Dorothy Dunnett; that should THB for another few weeks (months? THB is now listening to book 4

Book Review

Niccolo Rising (book 1 of the House of Niccolo Chronicles, Dorothy Dunnett (read by John Banks, pub’d 1986, audio version in2023). Eight in all, a charming coming-of-age story starting in Bruges and roaming eastward. The other books: 

• Spring of the Ram 1987

• Race of Scorpions 1987

• Scales of Gold 1989 (4 more to go!)

• The Unicorn Hunt 1993

• To Lie With Lions 

• Caprice and Rondo 1997

• Gemini 2000

Akron April 10 Opening: Kent Monkman

Message View

Message View

Kent Monkman, Akron Art Museum: many pics came our blurry (no idea why) 

             

detail from larger pic

either the first, last, or both pic...this guy is a punster

examples of blurry pic

not blurry

Book Review

Heart The Lover**Lily King (read by Rebecca Lowman): a short book, spanning 20 years of a menage a trois of students who regroup in their early 40s when one of them is dying.  Another book about writers, a common theme for novelists. Highly Recommended

Akron Day 9 Part 3

 

                          Akron Day 9 Part 3

A few more pics around AR and RR houses and then downtown Akron for the Curated Storefront. 

outside thee hosues

7 of us dine at a long-standing restaurant in Akron

THB share a fried shrimp combo platter. Appetizer for the table: fried sauerkraut balls with dipping sauce

Transforming Akron into a dynamic urban destination through art

murals sponsored by Curated Storefront, helping making downtown come alive again

local artists are placing work in/on the empty stores

RR and AR purchased the entire collection of art from Clayton Bailey's estate and much of it is now displayed (Clayton was a crazy artist based about 30 miles north of the Loft)

H giving us the rundown 

perfect for parades and 7th inning big head races

every few seconds it jerks and pops

Kaneko wall, hopefully preserved after building is remodeled

How did E get a building in Akron named after her?

another sign of downtown repurposing

pics taken before repurposing

old phone booth repurposed to smart phone privacy

our hotel for the night, 4 of us have early flights to catch so we are spending the night a short shuttle away from the Cleveland airport

how to enjoy an evening in your room: prepaid wine dispense: half and full glasses,  make  your own rose'

Day 10, waiting for the shuttle. It is actually warm-ish and windy

Sierras not overloaded with snow

THB once sat next to Namwali at a seder at Wise Sons Delicatessen in the Mission District of SF. That was before she became a Harvard professor and a best selling novelist and before THB lost his hearing. On Morrison is a deep analysis of Toni Morrison's work and how her life evolved, becoming a Nobel Prize winner in literature. Not quite a biography, more of a book-by-book intense dive into the artistry of a unique chronicler of African-American life as well as a well-known "prickly" intellectual. Side note: Toni and Fran Leibowitz (another famously prickly intellectual) spent a  year together watching the OJ trial on TV.