A big man
Henry Hobson Richardson was an influential architect active in the late 1800s and based in Boston. I learned about him by reading Architects of an American Landscape by Hugh Howard which I originally picked up because I thought it was going to mostly be about Frederick Law Olmstead but turned out to be more of…
Big Things
As a rule, I stay away from self improvement books. I often find them not that helpful and the lessons are useless if you don’t have a plan to implement them anyway. I made an exception for “How Big Things Get Done” by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner, though, since it came recommended by a…
Pillar Arc
I’ve begun to appreciate public art more and more as maybe is evident by the theme of some recent posts. While in Seattle recently for a conference, I frequented a little plaza outside of the downtown courthouse. It was a block away from the conference center and was a nice respite when I needed it….
Black vessel for a saint
I recently wrote about a pedestrian bridge at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden that caught my attention. Another installation in the park that has stuck with me is Black Vessel for a Saint by Theaster Gates. The piece consists of a statue of St. Anthony, the patron saint of libraries, inside of a black brick cylindrical…
To Hell with Hitler
I work regularly out of an old warehouse building in the Seaport district of Boston. My company is storing some hardware in an adjacent building and I got into an interesting conversation with the longshoreman who was helping us out. It turns out he was very proud of the building and, of course, new of…
A memory-shaping, time shifting medium
I’ve been hesitant to re-read The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman for years. It was the first Gaiman book I’d ever read and it led to me to become a big fan of the author. My fear was that it would never live up to that initial reading, but I’m…
Natural Stupidity
A number of years ago I came across the phrase, “I’m much more worried about natural stupidity than about artificial intelligence.” At the time I thought it rang true, and I still do today even after the entry of ChatGPT into the world. ChatGPT is a powerful, transformational technology and someday may rival the smart…
Mapping Boston
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, maps are an effective storytelling medium! After moving to Boston the first book I bought was Mapping Boston which, as a cartographically inclined individual, was a spectacular decision. It gave me a topographic sense of how Boston has evolved over time that I don’t think I…
Not a conduit, but a place
While visiting family in Minneapolis a few weeks ago, we made an afternoon trip to the Minneapolis Sculpture Park. There was still a foot of snow on the ground in places but the iconic spoon and cherry and other sculptures were intriguing and we enjoyed getting some fresh air. Me being me, I couldn’t help…