Back for Lunch


Finally! We stayed an extra night as there was a promise of some nasty ice in Syracuse--and the concept of flying into Syracuse to an ice storm at midnight didnt sit well with us. But hey, we are back. The picture above is of David's Cafe (a block from the Lincoln Road shopping district) where R and I both had cuban sandwiches (as in this picture) and two cafe con leche yesterday for lunch. It doesnt get much better than that. But, in Miami, every experience tops the last one.

The trip to Design Miami, Art Basel was stupendous. My brain is bursting-- so there will be lots of chatter in the next few days reflecting on all that I saw, the people I met, and my hopeful expectations. Of course, there is just a ton of chatter about the wonderfulness of Miami, it's people, it's energy and all the nature and urban life all rolled up like a cigar (Davidoff were rolled at ArtBasel). I decided against my taking my computer which I regret. However, the new point and shoot camera is a real trooper (Canon Powershot A720) and works well in low light situations. So, you didn't get realtime blogging...but I will try and give you a flavor of what was going on.

I will be doing posts in the next few days on:
--the Art and Art Basel experiences >> see the flickr set
--Observations on the Art and how it relates to ME
--the ancillary shows at Flow, Aqua, Art Now, Red Dot and the Beach activities for Art Basel
-- GlassLab and my friends and new friends >>see the flickr set

We stayed at a nice, modest hotel (three hotels up from the Eden Roc) called the Miami Hotel and Resort. There was a lovely swimmable pool with access to the beach and the snappiest stone and tile floors that reek of the Mary Blair/ Jim Flora whimsies of the fifites. When the Wyndam decides to roll some cash into this place--it has tremendous bones and will be quite special when it is done. Each door in the hallway has a big, schmaltzy doorknocker with lots of curlicues. The carpets are redolent with palm and tropical leaves, huge and greens. At each door, in the carpet is an enormous hibiscus flower like the point on the end of an exclamation point.

The flight down on Corning's jet was the way we all should go (and never do. Airport to airport was around 2.5 hours without the crazy shoe taking off and the tons of security mojo. Jet service for 4 with sandwiches and fun conversation, then greeted by a smiling man with a big, black car. Whisked off to the hotel immediately and the fun began. R was already off at Design Miami with the GlassLab. I did a little swimming in the dreamy pool and then got over to the GlassLab around 6ish on Thursday for the Vernissage event.

Design Miami happened in the new and beginning to happen Design District on the fringes of downtown. The design district is very much like the early days of Long Island City and the move of all the contract furnishings showrooms going there. That along with some fru fru stores like Fendi etc. and some new restaurants (Brosia, the newest, was the GlassLab's neighbor in the Oak Plaza). Brosia has an entirely tiled facade with outdoor seating in groups (sofas and the like) The new Addidas and Yoji store (Y3) just opened--the store and more particularly, the stuff was great. Really good looking sports stuff with more design and a really creative approach to the materials and the look. I even bought a cool bag there. More time and money would have def parted me from my cash.

The GlassLab was having the Brazilian Campana brothers and Sigga Heimis work with them that evening. The Campana Brothers are bigtime fabu, famous art/design guys who have a real following. Sigga is a designer from IKEA with a nice design sense and a lovely person to boot. The team enjoyed her spirit and ideas (complete with books on the human body) with her sketches. Sigga created human organs in glass with the kidneys and heart being home runs. It took a few days for the team to get used to her expectations and design sense, and for her to begin to understand the process of design with a hot glass team. The Campanas did a series of open branches that could work as vases and a candle holder etc. There was lots of good energy around the work and working with these designers and hopefully this will be the beginning of an ongoing glass-filled conversation with happy results.

More later>>

new from the land of the dancing vectors


Hooded Merganser on the drawing board. Am liking whats going on here as I have been away from the land of the dancing vectors. I hope to keep this looser than I have gone recently--it feels fresher and more serigraphic if I do. Not done yet, but in progress. Wanted to share it with you.

Felt like sleeping in the freezer last night. Fab!

Deep cold


This is the kind of cold that is lacking in humidity. The kind that produces whispery white snow filled with ice that you can hear as it hits your windows. Its been Miami prep today along with work. Packing, putting away, buying food, writing schedules with phone numbers etc. I made 4 quiches (one for a French Club event, one for our grandmother, and two for teeny A and his snacking) and lunch for our construction crew. The site is a bit frightening with all of the cement getting moved away before the new porch happens. Slow, slow progress.

Good news. The Baker Institute for Animal Health Annual Report (2007) won a silver metal in the Annual Report category of the CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) competition. My client was ecstatic as this is truly something in the eyes of her peers, colleagues, and the broad university. This was her first big print job that she had ever managed--and so she was not really expecting this--We are delighted for her and for us. There may be some good PR for this recognition. She had a tremendous time at Eukanuba in Long Beach--the west coast version of the Westminster at Madison Square Gardens...and had some very insane breed related displays and presentations.

Did I tell you about our new scanner? The company has a little money to move before the end of the year so we got a new scanner to replace the tired old thing that we have been using for years. I was always bothered and sad with our small scanner and decided we should get a large format ( 12.5" x 18") with a transparency head. We got the Epson 1000XL and its a beaut. Lovely that it is one swipe with the big notebook...no juking around--with nice software that is easy to use to modify the scan before it's done.

I was thinking about remains and "the departed". Seems a bit obsessive, but its interesting to toss around as I mill through my laps at the House of Health. Consider, when you are dead, your body is done and your spirit has departed--your brain has shut down--all the memories, all the chemistry, all the ideas that were stimulated by electrical pulses, genetics, chemistry and stuff--go away. When you take the thinking part away from the body, I can understand that. But taking the thinking away from the spirit is a new idea. So, that life spirit is divorced from human intelligence. Is there a spiritual intelligence or intuition? Once the spirit has been blasted away from the dead weight of the remains, the memories, ideas and earthly intelligence also either go dormant or become part of that remains. Makes sense, but a new thought for me. So what is the characteristic of the spirit? Does it just come down to good and evil? Positive energy? Does the life spirit even have a will of it's own as there is no brain to drive it? Or are there aspects of one's human intelligence and spirit that goes with the departing force?


We leave before lunch tomorrow--so I could be bouncing in the ocean by 3:30, reading trashy novels and thinking higher thoughts like the 6 black cloaked women that always stood by the corpse during the time after the service and before the burial as part of the puritan traditions. Was reading about the Puritan religion and beliefs along with the theological turmoil that was stirring up the colonists at the Massachusetts Bay Colony that threatened the ability of this group to stay together.
I love the idea of the 6 black cloaked women, flanked by candles with their "good gloves" and golden rings to honor the death--very Edward Gorey but puritan and not the victoriana that he popularized and referenced.

More from sunnier climes>>

Art Basel Miami: Marc Burckhardt


Marc Burckhardt on Drawger talks about he Know Art Books Exhibition he has been invited to be in. It's at the Claremont Hotel, No.215, 1700 Collins Ave at 17th St. from 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. Scott Bakal comments on the post and cites Mark Murphy's blog which cites the show and deliberately goes through the work of each artist and their viewpoint. Each image is an eight by eight inch square painting. He has some of the big names in the new world...and he has everything from charactor designers, to graffiti people to just plain fun guys. Here is his explanationof the KNOW show:

Art Basel in Miami is the nation's largest art event featuring a small grouping of other art fairs. Mark Murphy will be exhibiting this year at the Art Now Fair (booth 215) promoting a new group show entitled, "Know."

andrew foster, william buzzell, amy crehore

O V E R V I E W

KNOW looks to introduce the fans of art and culture to more that 50 major works, 8" x 8" in size with various social and political themes. Curator and publisher, Mark Murphy will be on hand to introduce you to the artists who are featured in "Know" and who actively celebrate the fine art of visual story telling.

All art work is available for acquisition and features the inspired talent of Anthony Lister, Jeff Soto, Greg Craola Simkins, Marc Burkchardt, Lola, and 44 other inspired artists. In addition, limited edition monographs will be available for Cathie Bleck, Martha Rich, Mark Murphy, Bob Dob, Jeff Soto and Jonathan Viner. Not to mention, high-quality art book editions that celebrate the today’s visual arts narrative moment.
F E A T U R I N G
Robert Bellm + Cathie Bleck + Marc Burckhardt + Cynthia von Buhler + William Buzzell + Luke Chueh + David Chung + Amy Crehore + Warren Dykeman + P-Jay Fidler + AJ Fosik + Keith Greiman + Matt Haber + Brent Harada + Ryan Heshka + Jordin Isip + James Kirkpatrick + Pamela Jaeger + Travis Lampe + Lola + Daniel Lim + Tommii Lim + Anthony Lister + Jen Lobo + Jason Murphy + Mark Murphy + Joel Nakamura + Kathie Olivas + Brandt Peters + Chris Pyle + Jermain Rogers + Chris Ryniak + Erik Sandberg + Greg Simkins/Craola + Kim Scott + Keith Shore + Jeff Soto + Matt Stallings + Peter Taylor + Mark Todd + Jonathan Viner + Amanda Wachob + Esther Pearl Watson + Damien Weinkrantz + Gord Wiebe + John Yanok

I N F O R M A T I O N
KNOW : Art Exhibition
Curated by Mark Murphy

Art Now Fair : Art Basel Miami
Murphy Design : Booth No. 215
December 6 – 9 : 2007
Thursday – Saturday : 10 am - 8 pm : Sunday : 10 am – 6 pm

Claremont Hotel : 1700 Collins Avenue at 17th Street : Miami Beach

www.murphydesign1.blogspot.com
www.murphydesign.com
www.artnowfair.com

Kick off to a big week!


To do and done:

>Society of Illustrators paperwork, files and framing. Got the paperwork and files done. Check completed. Got the image to my pal who is a registrar at a local museum who understands the whole web of framing, shipping and what is acceptable or not. I am blessed to know this person. This is an arena frought with monsters.

>Ditto on Illustration West 46. Did you know that the work stays on the web for 2 years...that's the show. Impressive.

>Memento Mori with Steuben is on. They picked 4 designs. Awaiting detail. It is going to be breakneck turnaround when they get focused on it. No problem here. There are tweaks like make it bigger and smaller. That's it. I feel relatively unscathed.

>Got 2 bookplates I have been working with Anne Bialke on out to PSPrint to be made into stickers for a new collection at the library for children in memory of Sally Sutcliffe. Anne did a beautiful black and white illustration in both horizontal and vertical formats of a mother loon and her babies. The secret to this is that the mothers often ride the babies on their backs. Too perfect. And Anne's line work is exquisite. I am honored. And, to beat our chests for a moment, she is a full time SU graduate from the tribe of Murray. Wha Who! We should see them in 12-14 days...no rush...
The great thing about PSPrint is that after having a delivery wobble, they had amazing customer service offering reprints at no charge etc...doing a ton of the tracking etc. Takes the randomness of this on demand to another level with service like they offered. I am impressed.

> Pat Cozzarin, known as Pat the Bug Man, former NYS gymnastics champion came today to see what he could see about the critters who scrabble between the rafters for the nuts they laid in. Makes sleeping a sleepless activity--with the anticipation of what is happening next. Grey Squirrels, not the nasty Red ones...thankfully. Traps have been laid. Lets see how fast we can catch them.

Need to go. We had Tburg basketball tonight. K has all of her clothes inside out in the wishing for a big snowstorm.News is:

CT SNOW ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TUESDAY NIGHT.

OCCASIONAL LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS AND SQUALLS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT. SNOWFALL RATES WILL OCCASIONALLY REACH 1 INCH PER HOUR. THIS SNOW...COMBINED WITH NORTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WILL CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF SNOW...WITH NEAR WHITEOUT CONDITIONS AT TIMES. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT.

BY EARLY TUESDAY MORNING...SNOWFALL OF 3 TO 6 INCHES IS EXPECTED.

LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE...BUT WILL BE WEAKER IN INTENSITY ON TUESDAY. SNOW WILL FINALLY BEGIN TO TAPER OFF LATE TUESDAY EVENING. ADDITIONAL LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATION IS POSSIBLE ON TUESDAY... WITH TOTAL SNOWFALL BY LATE TUESDAY EVENING OF 4 TO 8 INCHES EXPECTED.

I think K has a chance. Don't you?

PrepSunday

Thanksgiving dinner is in the oven. Somehow the feast that never happened is going to happen tonight. I have two turkey breasts, two pans of stuffing (one in the fridge), cranberries and some vegetables. To load on the carbs, I made up a bread pudding in a springform pan which as always, worked like a charm, looked good and the crowd devoured at least a half of the 12" round.

Even got much of Christmas wrapped and boxed. All we need are labels and badabing. Done. Set up my 36" white feather tree I bought last week (knowing I would get throughly teased and tortured by the home team)--from a junky craft store. Looks really good, chic. They all liked it. We decorated our chandelier with all these Mary Blair inspired ornaments along with twirly ribbons and beaded tassels. Nutty...but cool. I even had a pink glass cake stand for dessert. It was very festive and not ponderously HOLIDAY-ish.

We have snow. Enough snow to have the driveway plowed. So, its for real. Forecasts predict possibly enough snow to cancel school should the front come our way. Makes sense for the poor retailers who have been waiting for things to pick up what with the mild weather and warm breezes.

However, Miami is just a stone's throw away. I am going down on the corporate plane (a jet!) with a small group of 3. We are leaving around 11:30 --nonstop--getting into Miami around 2:30. There are all sorts of talks, galleries and fun...and then the opening party and event which should be great. Our pal Steve, from CMoG and our cruise will be down there as a resident expert...he has plans for casual seafood...and of course, there is the land of Tiki. If there is a minute, I would love to see the Wolfsonian prior to leaving. If not, I don't think this will be the last shot we will have at it. I am curious to see how Biskup, Baseman, Shepard Fairey are shown. R. says the Luz de Jesus is there. I wonder if the Levine gallery from NYC will be there? All to learn. I am not taking the big sketchbook, but a little one...and travelling with discretion...and lots of batteries for my camera. And my Powerbook to send you the updates. We come back on Sunday late via JetBlue to Syracuse (I think one of their direct flights)--so should be good.

Read more about Art Basel Miami>> and Design Miami

More later.

just your average Saturday pre-holiday blitz


Today we finally had real snow. Snow that stuck to the ground...not the lovely floaty, mothlike snow that promises winter or spring depending on where you are on the calendar. We tied up all sorts of loose ends here from further plans for the demolished facade on the carriage house to wrapping the odd present and sealing up the boxes for shipping. After signing K up for a type of dance called, Caili (sp>?) (pronounced Kale-lee) which is an irish style of dancing with a group with group figures, R and I went down to the Cornmira Horseflats area to check on CMoG stuff and then attend the annual Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) Studio sale. It was sublime.

First off, we visited this wonderful and "Twin Peaks"-y place called the holding point. This is a series of serious storage spaces where the solid and true Larry Orr, Signpainter to the stars was applying vinyl graphics of my logotype for the GlassLab to the GlassLab which was hours away from being packed up for Art Basel Miami (which, dear friends, yours truly is going as Mrs. Cassetti, insider, spy, blogger and aspirational artist--and you all will get a dose of....the powerbook is going, and so, are you!! Get your suits ready as the surf beckons as does art with a capital A).

The Museum has also announced a collaboration with Celebrity Cruise Lines:

At The Corning Museum of Glass, our mission is to engage, educate and inspire visitors and the community through the art, history and science of glass.

We are pleased to announce a new collaboration with Celebrity Cruises that helps us further achieve that mission. Beginning December 2008, the cruise line’s new ship, Celebrity SolsticeSM, will feature the Hot Glass Show, providing this hot glassmaking educational experience to guests the world over.

Outreach beyond Corning, New York to a group of people that might not usually get the glass experience--up close and personal.  It will be wonderful.


More later>>

IF: Excess


Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees any one whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter light, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light.

Plato (427 BC - 347 BC), The Republic

look out.

 If we talk about the bodily remains and the spirit that departs--the remains and the departed in another way it can get really perplexing or interesting.  And memory might feed into this too.  The remains have no value after the life force or spirit has departed. It is parked or put to  "rest" as if asleep, commemorating that this life happened and that life is remembered (a memory)by those that were effected, changed, or related to that person, that body, that spirit.

So, what happens in the cyber world? We all have personalities and presences without physicality derivative of our cyber communities, relationships, experiences and creativity. We can be the people we are in the real world, or we can be poseurs--assuming an alternative disguise or avatar. We can live in those personalities, developing our cyber lives and when we die or pass on, the servers can or might continue to distribute our ideas and writing we had created during our lives. Does this become memory? or it is life? There may be remains (those e-bills and e-mails, the reciepts and paperwork that are assigned to life transactions) but the spiritual continues to exist. The only way to pass on is to have the server fail and the technology to become antiquated. Then your work and ideas become memories or are they memories the day after they are written? Puzzling.

Speech over, life begins again.


The talk at Syracuse was terrific. I thoroughly enjoyed it...particularly being a whisker early so I had a chance to calibrate my head by looking at the student work and seeing the students interact with each other. The students were attentive, taking notes and even asked some questions. I ended up on time--which was good as I had found out the previous speaker ran on for almost two hours. At the end, the alert ones came up and introduced themselves, asked more adventurous questions and actually thanked me for coming to speak to them. They were anxious to learn more about what I did and do...how I do it, more about print production etc. It was also interesting to be on campus with actual students...it was an entirely different experience. My eyes were opened by seeing some old pals and actually hearing the seeing them within this context. A bit shocking.

The tiki is a sketch of something for the museum. There are a few more for them to pick from. Grandmaster Hyde, glass artist to the tiki nation, recommends us visit the Mai Kai during our visit next week during Art Basel/Miami (yeah!). He succinctly spells it out:

If you have the time in your busy schedule to make the trip, you'll never be the same. Ok, you'll be the same, but you'll have been to The Mai Kai.


The dinner show is a hoot. The food is classic tiki, which is to say like curious chinese food, a lot of sweet & sour, etc.?

The drinks in the Molokai bar are the cheaper way out, and you can get appetizers and the full tiki experience there.?

Pretty girls in grass skirts.?Puffer fish light fixtures. Waterfalls. The whole shebang.

More later::

Turning body consious on its head


R. had an interesting observation on the idea of the remains and the departed. First off, we say "Dearly Departed" and often, the phrase "Dearly Beloved" is used in wedding ceremonies or opportunities for the minister to speak broadly to the community. Remember gloves and gold rings...maybe there is a link here. Another point was that we speak about the departed and not the remains addresses the memory we have of a person. Yes, we remember their physicality and what they look like, but the memory of what they were--their spirit, their life source, their being transcends this and is captured by the word departed.

I also think that the phase some people use instead of the departed is thus and so "passed" or "passed on". Will need to ruminate on that for a while.

The slides are done and burned on a dvd and also a flash drive to have some back up in addition to bringing my powerbook to Syracuse. There always seems to be some sort of glitch that happens and want to be prepared in case today is the day the bytes byte. I think, for now, I have it knocked. I eliminated a few slides this morning and output the slides 6 up and have taken notes on that...so it should go alright. R. proclaimed that if the slides were up, all I needed was to be brief, be myself and go on. If I forgot anything, no one would know as the pix are why they are there. So, deep breath. I am not nervous--just anxious to get this behind me as there are buckets of work and illustrations that have been put on pause to get this done. But to that, now I have a basic presentation done that will work with other clients etc. Seeing one's work in this format spurs change. We all should do it.

Change, that is.

Remains and Departed


I was thinking about some of the language we use around death. The body is referred to as remains but in broad speaking, one referrs to the dead person as the departed. Is the remains like crumbs ( a remainder) or is it what remains here amongst us? The remains are the physical aspect of the person. However, the departed has left the building...or at least has left us. Has a timely feeling to it...ie:" the departed departed at a quarter past ten" or an ephemeral one as the departed has gone, there is nothing to see or respond to. The remains and the soul effigy "the departed"" are separate only at death. Too bad we don't talk about our bodies as St. Francis did referring to it as old brother ass...and that that is the spirit in a different breath. I know we do address physical and mental issues separately but that of the spirit is not even considered part of the mix.

Interesting.

Saint Mark of Ephesus says, "We can do nothing better or greater for the dead than to pray for them, offering commemoration for them at the Liturgy. Of this they are always in need... The body feels nothing then: it does not see its close ones who have assembled, does not smell the fragrance of the flowers, does not hear the funeral orations. But the soul senses the prayers offered for it and is grateful to those who make them and is spiritually close to them."

grey Monday


Got my Lulu books back. I think I have gotten the whole pdf, bleed, live and inactive space thing figured out. The 7.5"x 7.5" square book does have the cream paper with the matte black, dense ink. Looking good. I ordered another 20 Memento Mori #1 with perfect bleeds etc. and need to get the belly bands readied for my ready hands that come on Thursday (that is, my dear high school helper). Christmas is coming. My mother wants five books albeit before her friends started raving about the piece thought the book was wierd and pretty much untouchable. Now, they are holiday gifts. My mother-in-law has piped up about more that she wants to buy. Imagine. A little ho ho ho, whoa.

Also have all the holiday cards coming in--samples from one client, proofs from the printer for the other.

Was trolling the web to look at victorian death photography which I used to think was fascinating. Now, I don't know what to think. The whole maudlin focus on the physical--victorian window dressing with the corpse posed in some "natural" position, dressed in their finery with candles and a flowery bower just seems strange and separate from that of the Puritans who viewed death as a marriage with God the spiritual union from which a marriage in life is a mirror of. The physical was left behind with the Puritians--and a celebration of this spiritual marriage transcended the body. The victorians seemed to dwell with the physical--pure and never decaying. Seeing these little children in their buttoned shoes with little plaid dresses with big white collars posed with their toys or propped against a pile of pillows framed by flowers and fabric.

... All that tread
The globe are but a handful to the tribes
That slumber in its bosom.--Take the wings
Of morning--and the Barcan desert pierce,
Or lose thyself in the continuous woods
Where rolls the Oregan, and hears no sound,
Save his own dashings--yet--the dead are there;
And millions in those solitudes, since first
The flight of years began, have laid them down
In their last sleep--the dead reign there alone.
So shalt thou rest--and what if thou withdraw
Unheeded by the living--and no friend
Take note of thy departure? All that breathe
Will share thy destiny....
Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant, published in 1817, and the progenitor for countless later examples of gloomy verse

“What a comfort it is to possess the image of those who are removed from our sight. We may raise an image of them in our minds but that has not the tangibility of one we can see with our bodily eyes.”
Flora A. Windeyer, in a letter to Rev. John Blomfield, November 1870

Here are some images from a show: Haunted when it Rains>>
From the Kircher Society website>
During the 19th century, the newly invented technology of photography allowed people to permanently capture images of their recently deceased loved ones. From the Australian Museum:

Photographs of a deceased loved one served as substitutes and reminders of the loss. Families who could not afford to commission painted portraits could arrange for a photograph to be taken cheaply and quickly after a death. This was especially important where no photograph already existed. The invention of the Carte de Visite, which enabled multiple prints to be made from a single negative, meant that images could be sent to distant relatives. The deceased was commonly represented as though they were peacefully sleeping rather than dead, although at other times the body was posed to look alive.

Whoa


We bought one of these babies at the Oakmont Bakery. They were selling smaller versions of them hot on the Strip by the Still-Ler tables of stuff. Pepperoni bread. Never had it, didnt know what it was all about. After A ate almost one of them in one sitting, we had to buy 4 more to take home to freeze to keep the calories coming for our tiny little baby boy. Essentially, you slice this bread and it is packed with pepperoni and cheese--packed so much so that the bread was minimal to the stuff jammed in there. This, like the Primanti's experience is pure Pittsburgh. Perfect for the game either in front of the tube with Iron City or tailgating downtown before the Steelers or Panthers play. If you are in the burgh, get your hands on one of these.

Oakmont Bakery

Oakmont Bakery Hours:
531 Allegheny Avenue Monday–Saturday: 6am–7pm
Oakmont, PA 15139 Sunday: 6am–3pm
412.826.1606






Yesterday before we left Pittsburgh to come home, we stopped by the Oakmont Bakery I spoke so glowingly about the last trip to the 'Burgh. I must say, they only get better. First off, they were all ready for the next holiday with cakes with pointsettias and red and green jimmies on the racks upon racks of cupcakes offered. I went a bit nuts with the camera and took a load of pictures of the place as it was so much of a Wayne Thiebault moment, it was hard to even think straight.

First off, they have this enormous creche, nativity scene below the number that is displayed in order to have counter time. Then, there are miles of cookies, icing, white flour, butter, and sugar configured with jelly, fruit, nuts, jimmies and the rest of the stuff that make up good days in Kindergarten, a birthday, wedding or anniversary, or just making a nice party even nicer. And from visiting the Oakmont Bakery, it is amazing to see the amount of pies, cakes, cupcakes, cookies,bread, rolls and the like sold. People are cheek to jowl waiting for their turn to place their orders and get their white bags and boxes of wonderfulness. We partook too....to K and A.s delight...with my camera snapping away. There are pictures in these images. To visit more of the Oakmont Bakery, you can visit this album on Flick'r>>

More later on our purchase.

Primanti's for Lunch

Then, off to Primanti's for lunch. We were going to go the original in the Strip distict, but decided given the time and day, that it would be a madhouse--so we opted for the Oakland branch. Primanti's is a sandwich shop that started in the Strip district where all the trucks would come and unload all the produce and groceries at the warehouses. It would (when I was in college) open a bit after midnight--and it was a wild time to go down to the Strip for a sandwich. What they excel at beyond a totally greasy morsel is the gummy white bread with whichever filling you would like (our runaway favorite is Capicola, egg and cheese) and then strategically stack french fries (freshly cut and fried--very meaty) and top with a large dollop of cole slaw and top with another gummy piece of white bread. The whole thing is smashed down a bit and cut in half. It looks like a cross section of a wonderful geological form--with the square ends of the french fries facing you and all the other squiggles and chunks promising an extrordinary stomach bomb that will either delight or kill you.

Thankfully, I am still alive! The home team delighted in this extravaganza with A eating 1.5 sandwiches and K doing justice to hers. After this fun, we split the group. K and R were going to try and see the "Bodies" show at the Carnegie Science Center. I couldnt begin to imagine my dreams with those images happily floating though, so A and I walked the strip and shopped the Steelers gear (which all Pittsburghers revel in ) to find some stuff for A. I mean they have everything. Yellow or black pocketbooks with a players number on it. Checkbook covers, hats, teeshirts, jackets all in numerous styles and orientations. To be quite honest, to be a true Burgher, one should wear Steeler gear from the top of your head to the tips of your toes daily. From the moment you wake up until the moment you go to bed. And we arent just talking outerwear> There are steeler marked sodas and beers, black and gold chips....even Steelers food (the locals call them the Still- Lers ie "You'uns goin' dawn tawn to see the Still- lers?")

Don Pitt


So, after the Phipps, we came out of the front door and there was the University of Pittsburgh, which the natives fondly refer to as "don" or "dawn" Pitt. "Dawn Pitt" means down at the University of Pittsburgh, or at the University of Pittsburgh--whichever works. The top image is of the Tower (Taur in yinser) of Learning--a building with wonderful classrooms decorated (with gobs of coinage) to reflect the different cultures that make up Pittsburgh. Then, our sights travelled across Schenley hill to Hammerschlag Hall at Carnegie Mellon (my alma mater). On the hill, there were a few engineering types from the Institute for Robotics at CMU with their robot project they were taking for a test drive. Almost as if it were a commercial for CMU, the driverless car (the back up) came down the street for all of us to ooh and ah over. Do you think the development people were up to something? It was all very exciting.