Monthly Archives: October 2008

A choice

Posted on Friday, 31 October 2008 by David Gorsline

The Economist endorses Barack Obama for President: There is no getting around the fact that Mr Obama’s résumé is thin for the world’s biggest job. But the exceptionally assured way in which he has run his campaign is a considerable … Continue reading →

Posted in Public Policy and Politics | Comments Off

The not-so-lost chord

Posted on Friday, 31 October 2008 by David Gorsline

Eliot Van Buskirk sketches the analysis that went into decoding the opening guitar chord of The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night.” He links to an audio clip as well as the detailed paper by Jason I. Brown of Dalhousie University, … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing and Mathematics, Music | Comments Off

Lori

Posted on Friday, 31 October 2008 by David Gorsline

We said goodbye to Lori today. Lori was one of the few people who bothered to read pedantic nuthatch. She once put Karen’s nose out of joint by passing along the tip, “Did you know that David Gorsline is blogging … Continue reading →

Posted in Backstage, In Memoriam | Comments Off

At the park: 21

Posted on Thursday, 30 October 2008 by David Gorsline

As Kevin Munroe notes in the most recent newsletter from Friends of Huntley Meadows Park, some prized bird and plant species returned to breeding status in the park this past year. Birds include Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola), which I got … Continue reading →

Posted in In the Field | Comments Off

Genius2

Posted on Sunday, 26 October 2008 by David Gorsline

Four enjoyable pieces from Washington Ballet, emphasizing the strength of the company’s ensemble work. In Mark Morris’s Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes, an elegiacal group piece sprinkled with some challenges to traditional gender roles, and accompanied by Glenn … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, Reviews | Comments Off

Fun with anagrams

Posted on Friday, 24 October 2008 by David Gorsline

You can rearrange the letters of PARIS HILTON’s name to spell THIS OR PALIN. Coincidence? I think not.

Posted in Fun | Comments Off

Radiator renovator

Posted on Tuesday, 21 October 2008 by David Gorsline

Julie Sheehan’s “Big Crazy Victorian” is at Poetry Daily.

Posted in Poetry | Comments Off

Appalachian Trail: Maryland northern third

Posted on Monday, 20 October 2008 by David Gorsline

The day began brisk and clear for a hike of the northern third of the Appalachian Trail in Maryland, from Pen Mar Park just south of the surveyor’s line laid by Mason and Dixon to our endpoint at Maryland Route … Continue reading →

Posted in In the Field | Comments Off

Flappy

Posted on Monday, 20 October 2008 by David Gorsline

At my local Whole Foods, by the check stands, there are six banners hung at their corners from the ceiling, sort of like the championshop banners at Boston Garden. By a quirk of the HVAC in the building, one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Like Life | Comments Off

CityDance Ensemble: Next

Posted on Saturday, 18 October 2008 by David Gorsline

Some highlights from CityDance Ensemble’s mixed bill of six works by choreographers new and old: The evening begins with a period piece, Sophie Maslow’s Folksay (1942), set on folk songs in the Woody Guthrie tradition and spoken word, in part … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, Reviews | Comments Off

Can’t argue

Posted on Saturday, 18 October 2008 by David Gorsline

If a child’s diaper is changed six times a day until he is 30 months old, he will have had his diaper changed more than 5,400 times. Anything a child experiences 5,400 times is an important part of his life … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotable | Comments Off

A green line

Posted on Thursday, 16 October 2008 by David Gorsline

I got a chance to read Tyler Colman and Pablo Päaster’s white paper, “Red, White, and ‘Green’: The Cost of Carbon in the Global Wine Trade,” which is summarized in Colman’s post. The authors perform a detailed analysis of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Climate Change | Comments Off

Musical shoe box

Posted on Wednesday, 15 October 2008 by David Gorsline

Happy birthday to Boston’s Symphony Hall, McKim, Mead & White’s masterpiece of architecture and acoustics.

Posted in Happy Birthday, Music | Comments Off

Blog Action Day 2008

Posted on Wednesday, 15 October 2008 by David Gorsline

As a small contribution to Blog Action Day, this year concerned with the problem of poverty, some notes on books from my library, all three worth the read. Each one, in its own way, puts a personal, human face on … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and Business, Public Policy and Politics | Comments Off

Pragmatism

Posted on Saturday, 11 October 2008 by David Gorsline

I’m catching up with the Cornell Lab’s new birding blog, Round Robin, so this posting on Ken Otter’s research into wildlife impacts of wind turbine facilities has been out there a little while. Even though wind power is a green … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds and Birding, Energy Sources and Consumption | Comments Off