Mr. Snowman: Neighborliness in tough times
January 13, 2011
This morning, I ran into this guy when I was crossing the Cambridge Common. When he tried to pick me up. I gave him the cold shoulder, which he seemed to enjoy. Oh, well.
It was cool to come upon the whimsical snowpersons that seemed to guide my way along the paths covered in deep snow by yesterday’s fierce blizzard …especially after President Barack Obama’s thoughtful talk, last night, about the importance of civility, the American national family and the need to move forward in a positive way after the horrific shootings in Tuscon. [ Here's a link to the speech, in case you missed it:
In fact, despite all the awful things going on the world–or maybe because of them–I’m finding that my neighbors–like whoever made the snowman–seem to be more considerate these days. After the last big storm, I ran into someone from the building next door (who asked me not to use his name) who was clearing snow, water and ice at a crosswalk so that people would not have to wade through deep water to reach the curb. And my downstairs neighbor, who doesn’t have a car, sometimes just shovels out other peoples’ cars for the fun (and exercise) of it.
Actually, I’ve felt that many people have been more neighborly, nicer, since 9/11…tho this group does not include certain Republicans and pundits who seem to get nastier as time goes on. I was shocked to learn that Ben Quayle, Vice President Dan Quayle’s son, who is now, unfortunately, a Congressman, actually said in a campaign ad that Barack Obama is the worst president this country has ever had..and don’t get me started on Sarah Palin’s trigger-happy “mean girl” rhetoric. Rather than engage in namecalling and derision, I’ll quit now –and simply thank whomever built Mr. Snowman for your neighborliness and sense of fun. You really brightened my day!
–Anita M. Harris
A Look back at New Cambridge Observer for 2010
January 2, 2011
Here’s a summary, compiled by the stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com, who mulled over how this blog did in 2010. Five thousand views… Thanks, wordpress, readers, and the Boston Globe! I promise to be more diligent in 2011.
Here’s a high level summary-followed by a rundown by individual blog. Anita
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 4,700 times in 2010. That’s about 11 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 6 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 57 posts. There were 40 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 6mb. That’s about 3 pictures per month.
The busiest day of the year was January 6th with 203 views. The most popular post that day was Eeek! May I borrow your cat? Mice. Please advise. .
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were digg.com, healthfitnesstherapy.com, dating-online2u.blogspot.com, slashingtongue.com, and the-best-twitter.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for new cambridge observer, cambridge observer, unusual playground, cambridge common playground, and fruits and vegetables.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
Eeek! May I borrow your cat? Mice. Please advise. December 2009
26 comments
New Cambridge Playground Opens September 2009
Essaydi’s Les Femmes du Maroc a must-see. January 2010
Ladino Music Group Aljashu Debuts in Boston December 2009
Non-invasive test predicts risk of sudden cardiac arrest March 2009
New link for New Cambridge Observer
March 31, 2010
We’ve changed hosts, which seems to have confused the search engines. You can find New Cambridge Observer at http://newcambridgeobserver.com –or email us at harriscom at comcast.net. Sorry for any mixup. Anita Harris
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish Harriscom Blog and Ithaca Diaries Blog.
Flowers in February–Photos by Anita M. Harris
February 7, 2010
Flowers in February Photos by Anita M. Harris
February 1-28, 2010
I hope you enjoy the photos, which are available for purchase from Anita Harris Photography (see below) or at the Town Hall Exchange, 25 Lincoln Rd., Lincoln, MA.
———Anita Harris
Anita Harris Photography
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-576-0906
harris.anita@comcast.net
anharris.myphotoalbum.com
www.harriscom.com
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish Harriscomblog and Ithaca Diaries blog.
Eek, mice, please advise, cont.
January 23, 2010
I live on the fifth floor of a brick building near Harvard Square–and have mice. The 
building management has given me traps–but these being Cambridge mice, they appear to be outsmarting us.
Will attack ads backfire in Coakley/Brown Senate Race?
January 14, 2010
I’m still voting for voting for Martha Coakley but am dismayed at the attack ads her campaign has unleashed on her Republican opponent for the Massachusetts Senatorial Seat– Republican State Senator Scott Brown.
Unfortunately, the ads fail to emphasize the important things Coakley stands for: health reform, civil rights, regulating greed, and finding intelligent ways to fight terrorism. They disseminate untruths about her opponent who, on Monday’s hourlong televised debate, said that he supports abortion (albeit not late term) and emergency contraception for rape victims (albeit not if it goes against health provider’s personal beliefs) and, despite earlier statements, that he believes that global warming is not only natural, but also manmade.
Worse yet, the ads give Brown a perfect opportunity to appear reasonable, dignified and unflappable–Senatorial, if you will, compared with the ham-handedness evident in ads Coakley apparently approved.
A Brown win could end possibilities for health reform in the current Congressional session and beyond.
I’m very concerned that the ads will backfire– and, given my own strong reaction against them I believe they will. (I don’t want to contribute money that could be used to fund them).
I just hope that Massachusetts citizens will look beyond the ads to Coakley’s strong record of accomplishment amd her belief in a government based on human and civil rights –hold their noses–and give her their votes.
–Anita M. Harris
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish HarrisComBlog and Ithaca Diaries blog.
Painters Kadish and Morgan: Intrigue at the Clark
January 10, 2010
Metal, materials and process bond the largely abstract landscapes of Timothy Kadish (New Paintings) and Jessie Morgan (Night Tides) in this month’s intriguing show at the Clark Gallery, 145 Lincoln Rd, in Lincoln, MA.
Both sets of works provoke the viewer to ask–”What is this made of? And how did the artist do that?”
Morgan’s elegant abstract, monochromatic work appears, at first, to be photographic or film-based but the explanatory materials attest that it is acryllic painted on aluminum or plexiglass–with wide brushstrokes seeming to form landscapes-sky, ice, water, snow, trees exhibiting a shiny, reflecting (and reflective?) quality. A few of the works use vibrant blues and greens.
Kadish’s colorful paintings– primitivistic, childlike and seemingly whimsical, are full of 
suprises–geometric shapes, animal figures, thick goopy coils of oil paint, metallic oraments painted, glued, stapled, pressed or otherwise attached to the canvas…which isn’t necessarily canvas.
Neophotosynth – 2009, for example, is an 80 x 60 oil including all of the above,
as well as gouache, silver and gold leaf on silver-colored lead on copper that completely covers a frame .
The longer I stood in front of each painting, the more I found in it and the more I enjoyed it.
Both artists involved me in a process of discovery that allowed me to absorb, one step or stroke at a time, how their concepts and motions brought their work into being.
The exhibit is worth seeing. It will be up through January 30.
—Anita M. Harris
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish HarrisComBlog and Ithaca Diaries Blog.
Essaydi’s Les Femmes du Maroc a must-see.
January 3, 2010
Les Femmes du Moroque-Reclining Odalisque
Lalla Essaydi’s Les Femmes du Maroc is a must-see. Today is its last day at the DeCordova Museum, in Lincoln, MA, but it will be soon travelling to the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum in Rutgers, New Jersey.
In her large-format photos of women in chadors, and, sometimes veils, Moroccan- born Lalla Essaydi presents a beautiful and provocative challenge to perceptions about Muslim women going back centuries.
The limited palette photographs in henna, black, and gray on white, depict individual or groups of women in chadors and, sometimes, veils, in poses or situations modeled after paintings by great European masters, reproductions of which accompany most of the photos. 
But instead of emulating the rich color and sexual innuendo of the paintings, Essaydi changes gestures, replaces men with women, and covers much of the surface area with arabic writing–illegible even to those who know the language.
As described on the DeCordova Web site, These women inhabit a place that is literally and entirely circumscribed by text, written directly on their bodies, apparel, and their surroundings by the artist herself.
In commentary provided through cell-phone dial in (difficult to hear because Lincoln has limited cell service) Essadi explains that she wants to make clear that the work of male artists of centuries past has done a disservice to Muslim women by objectifying them as sexual objects, often in harems.
She points out that writing was a form reserved for men, and that one of the original painting is so extraordinarily beautiful that one can easily overlook the subject matter: a naked woman being sold as a slave.
She brings up the difference between private and public space–that painters would never have been allowed into women’s homes, which were considered private space–but thought nothing of bringing women into their studios and showing paintings of them in public spaces–which were ordinarily reserved for men.
Essadyi also provides a complex interpretation of “the veil”. On the one hand, its use is sometimes considered a way of subjugating women, of keeping them out of public life, of denying them equality, full citizenship. On the other hand, she says, she herself sometimes appreciates the veil and finds it freeing–because it protects her and her privacy from a potentially dangerous outside world.
Organized by Senior Curator Nick Capasso, Les Femmes du Maroc will travel to the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, January 30, 2010 – June 6, 2010.
——-Anita M. Harris
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish Harriscomblog and Ithaca Diaries blog.
Eeek! May I borrow your cat? Mice. Please advise.
December 18, 2009
Should I just give the mice names and adopt them as pets?
Claire
Compliments of an Australian client...
Dear G….The mice are freaking me out. I think there are three more…ot at least 2. In the last 24 hours, a big one and a small one have come from under the stove and the refrigerator…and the sink….and the other day one came out from behind the sofa in the living room. I’m guessing they’re living around the pipes.
Thanks, Gus.
Dec. 18
Gus, someone left four sticky traps outside my door. I’m collecting advice on my blog… so far, it ranges from wearing a cat costume to sprinkling dried coyote urine around….Eeeew. Anita
Oh my! If you want to stay at our house for a couple of days, or work in my office until they get rid of the mice, you’re more than welcome. I’d be freaked out too. I hate having uninvited critters sharing my space.
Re: Eeeeek!
Edna, thanks–I appreciate it. The guy who owns the building said he can’t do anything because if he poisons them they will go into the walls and smell bad…I’m asking friends if I can borrow their cats….It’s kind of funny when I think about it…But not when they scoot around, here. Evidently, it’s a common problem. The super says HE has them, and so does the woman who works in our office…but they’re not bothered by them (or by killing them). A friend told me that her husband had to keep mouse traps under his desk at the New York Times… Another friend’s said he sees them at MGH…Eeeeek! I’ll let you know if I need a place to stay…. tho I think that the landlord or the building owner, should pay for a hotel.
Anita
Dec. 19 From Lisa: GaaROOOsome!! I didn’t see a single one at your b-day party! When I was at Simmons, the two things that worked were: 1. peanut butter to attract them; 2. steel wool pads to block their entry. The problem w/ having a cat is that you’ll then have dead mice all over the house. Don’t know which is worse. Well, yes, I guess I do.
Saturday Dec 19 At Haymarket, I told the cheese vendor that the mice won’t touch his low fat feata. He told me to forget the cheese. “Use pate,” he said. (Well, this IS Cambridge).
Sunday Dec. 20:
Last night, I was watching TV when a little dark brown one ventured from behind the sofa (again). I jumped; he jumped back. I got up and opened a box of sticky traps. Put them in big Trader Joe’s paper bags, which I laid out near the sofa and stove. This morning: nothing. Eeeeeek!
—-amh
Thursday, Dec. 24. Still nothing. I’m hoping that its being Christmas eve, not a creature will be stirring…not even…
Monday, Dec. 28
Last night, returned from weekend away. Nothing in gooey or “hotel” traps, despite non-fat cheese. Bought “bounce” per Judy’s suggestion– put sheets of this fabric softener under sofa, stove, fridge; smelled so bad I had to put it in a ziplock bag to store. Saw mouse scurry out of closet toward corner wall, so put one in there, too. This morning, nothing in traps; my eyes watering, sore throat due to Bounce smell–so forget that. Today I am calling the health department.
January 7, 2010
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Wiseman’s La Danse: Three-and-a-half stars
December 17, 2009
Url for LaDanse Trailer on U-Tub: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iU2l0XFrek&feature=player_embedded
My friend E. and I made it a point to sit in on the aisle in the last row when we went to see Frederick Wiseman’s latest film, La Danse, last night at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge–in case we needed to leave in a hurry. We’d heard it was very long (120 minutes) and that it needed some editing.
But we ended up staying through to the end–partly because we wanted to take part in the question and answer session with Wiseman, but mainly because, despite the film’s length and some imperfections, we found it quite beautiful.
It’s cinema verite, shot by Wiseman with a handheld 16MM camera, of practice, dress rehearsals, and behind the scenes discussions at the Paris Opera Ballet, over 13 weeks in Paris in 2007.
I was fascinated by the sessions in which choreographers and coaches viewed and critiqued dancers such as Nicolas Le Riche, Marie-Agnès Gillot, and Agnès Letestu, among others. In those scenes, Weisman provides the rare opportunity to understand what emotions the dancers are asked to convey and how they do it; the detailed movements that go into that; and the occasional difficulty some dancers have in translating direction into specific action.
A photographer myself, I enjoyed the interspersing of arty still views of stairwells, window casings but, because some outside shots of Paris and the Opera House seemed to repeat, I wondered if Wiseman had come away with too little covering footage.
It was also great to see some of what happens behind the scenes: the painstaking sewing of sequins into costumes, one by one; the serving of apparently overcooked broccoli and fish with sauce in the cafeteria; the cleaning of the performance hall, and, especially, meetings of administrators discussing their fundraising efforts–which, combined, give some sense of what’s involved in producing some 250 performances a year.
Wiseman did a wonderful job of filming rehearsals for seven ballets: Genus by Wayne McGregor, Le Songe de Mede by Angelin Preljocaj, La Maison de Bernarda by Mats Ek, Paquita by Pierre Lacotte, Casse Noisette by Rudolph Noureev, Orphe and Eurydice by Pina Bausch, and Romeo and Juliette by Sasha Waltz. Some of the more modern pieces seemed to go on and on but most were mesmerizing–and unlike any I’ve seen in the US.
Wiseman could, perhaps, have left out a few–and, because it’s hard to stare at a screen for three hours straight, I’d have appreciated an intermission. (And, no doubt, so would those who got up to go to the rest room in the middle, blocking our view of the screen).
I found Wiseman’s fly-on-the-wall technique a bit disturbing–mainly because it showed almost no verbal interaction among the dancers, who were portrayed as objects to be molded and by teachers and administrators. But perhaps that’s how it is in the dance world and in the company, described by artistic director, in one segment, as “hierarchical.”
In the Q&A, Wiseman seemed reluctant to answer questions about content or meaning. (When someone asked why he’d included a scene involving beehives on the roof of the opera house, he said that’s for the viewer to figure out–perhaps, I thought, because it’s too obvious a metaphor).
Nor was Wiseman forthcoming about his thought processes (or lack, thereof) in structuring or editing the film. He spent a day looking around the building, then started shooting, he said. After 13 days, he returned with 130 hours of film; spent a year reviewing, culling, editing, reviewing, adding, cutting–and here we were.
It seemed to me that the film could use more structure and that some scenes were repetitive–but given the beauty and grace of the dancers, I’m hard-put to say which sequences I’d leave out.
—–Anita M. Harris
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish HarrisComBlog and Ithaca Diaries Blog.
