I worked from home today, keeping my germs with me. I’m very grateful to work the kind of job in which this is possible, and I’m grateful to have an employer and a manager who embrace the notion.
You gotta love The Onion:
Click to read their story entitled, “Sasha Obama Keeps Seeing Creepy Bush Twins While Riding Tricycle Through White House.”
One of the tweeters, @ayeshamus, whom I met out on Valentine’s Day night, is a creative photographer. This is one of his pics:
I think this is a general access URL to the pic on flickr, where he talks about the staging of the picture and what camera specifications he used.
I used www.tweetgrid.com to keep a Twitter eye on anyone tweeting about NCSU, and in doing so saw someone tweet about Andrei Codrescu speaking tonight at NC State! If you listen to NPR at all, you probably recognize his name as an occasional commentator. If you heard him, you’d probably recognize him. Here’s a three-minute audio clip.
At State tonight he was speaking at the College of Design and his talk was called: “When the coasts drown what will we live in?” It had a subtitle intimating something about “and what responsibility will architects have to take for what happens.”
I never did quite get from his introduction if Andrei had any actual architectural background and education, and it was hard to tell by his talk. I described it in a tweet as: “brilliantly intellectually ambiguous.” The man just has an absolutely incredible command of the language. He has been an extremely prolific writer in terms of getting his works published. About that, there is no doubt.
I liked this that he said, “Catastrophes are architecture’s best friend.” I also liked how he described New Orleans as a “soup bowl” surrounded by a river and an ocean.
It was a most interesting, and at times fantastical consideration of the rebuilding of New Orleans after Katrina. His basic posit was that they should totally ban highways, concrete and even the levees there. What they should be doing is embracing the area for what it is and make it a floating city. It should be totally pedestrian where it can be, and they should just let the water come in and make canals. Get around there like they do in Venice. Build houses that float, and use the natural green habitat that would grow there to act as anchors on the floating homes in stable times.
That sort of thing, but very beautifully articulated by him. I thoroughly enjoyed it—even if I was only there as a celebrity stalker, since I have virtually no interest in architecture.
@DiMambro came over to my house and fixed my wireless router for me. Such a great guy—we had a couple of drinks and chatted after he was done with my router, which was after about five minutes, literally.
I pretty much followed him out—to take Stiff back to the library, as it was due today and I was not about to get stuck for the dime overdue fee. I hate to report that I ended up not liking that book as much as I did in the beginning. I loved the beginning. It turned too much into historical non-fiction for me, and I’m just not a big history fan. I did, however, without a doubt, learn a great, great deal reading it. At the beginning, I also thought it would be my next selection for the Mostly Social Book Club, but have changed my mind now that I’m done.
I dropped by the Harris Teeter at Cameron Village since I was there, and I picked up some Maple Cinnamon Coffee Cake to take to our team meeting tomorrow morning.
Not long after I got home, I got this update on my dad from my sister.
| Subject: Vivian’s Father
Hello friends and family: Today was a good day. My father received a room on the 6th floor – room 630 at precisely 6:30, for those of you who like to play the lottery pick three! They plan to get him up tomorrow with some physical therapy, and hopefully, continue the home health care after he leaves. No word on that yet, one day at a time. I am planning to work Thursday if I can get them home Wednesday, if not, I’ll have to stay. My niece who is most helpful to my mother is having her baby on March 10th, planned C-section, so she cannot help much at this point. The good news is that the great grandson will come tomorrow and my dad perked right up when we told him that. So, hopefully another restful night for everyone and we’ll see what tomorrow brings. It is hard for the “baby of the family” – ME, to have to play second fiddle to the great grandchild! I’ll try to keep my inner child in check — LOL My mother and I love this hotel – the beds are awesome, the comforters are so thick and warm; and we get free yummy breakfast everyday! Keep those prayers and spiritual thoughts flowing our way. I appreciate everyone’s kind words and emails – I wish I could acknowledge everyone personally, but I am pooped! Vivian Dr. Vivian Martin Covington, Director |
I absolutely adore my sister!