An Early President's Day with Jeff

This day did not happen on 20 February, the real President's Day, but rather on 4 February.  It wasn't even a planned President's Day but it all worked out exactly as it needed to work out.  And we didn't celebrate the typical Presidents that are celebrated every February but ones that deserve to celebrated nonetheless.

I knew I wanted to go to President Theodore Roosevelt's Birthplace and that Jeff Butler had to come with me.  Jeff loves TR and history and this makes him a joy to be around.

TR's Birthplace is not the actual house he was born and lived in until he was 14 years old.  That house was torn down soon after TR's death.  But TR's wife and sisters wanted to rebuild the house as a remembrance of their husband/brother.  They furnished the house with 60% of the same furnishings that had been there during TR's life.

This is the front room where the Roosevelt's had many social gatherings.  Apparently TR's father, Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., was a great philanthropist and people knew to bring their checkbooks whenever they came over.

I did not know this but the Roosevelt's made their money in plate-glass importing.  TR Sr. sold the business and became a philanthropist. 

There's me and Jeff.

The bed that TR was born in but not the same mattress.

TR's mother, Martha Bulloch, who I think TR looks like.  

Our second stop was right down the street at Beecher's Handmade Cheese.  We watched some cheese being made.

We then boarded the subway and rode to the upper west side to see Grant's Tomb.  Jeff told me to see Napoleon's tomb in Paris in preparation for this visit which I did back in September 2010.  It is very similar but just smaller.

I love that President Ulysses Grant loved his wife so much that he demanded they be buried right next to each other.

Jeff with one of his favorite Civil War Generals - William Tecumseh Sherman.

And then Jeff surprised me by recommending that we also go to Alexander Hamilton's home The Grange.  I had no idea that it was so close and that it had moved three times before it was settled in its present location in 2008.  It finally opened last year for tours.

Portrait of Hamilton in the entry way of the home.

Apparently these portraits of Hamilton and his wife Elizabeth resemble them the most.

Hamilton's story is very sad.  His son was killed in a duel two years previous to Hamilton's own death in the same location.

I recommend going to all of these places if you can and with Jeff.  But also going to see the Royal Tenenbaum House which is not located on Archer Ave but rather at 144th and Convent Ave in Hamilton Heights.

Gorgeous and Delicious Yogurt

I bought these last night at Murray's Cheese not having ever heard of them before.  I was drawn to them by the flavors and the packaging.  I love the glass bottles.  And now I know they are delicious - the right combination between tangy and sweet.  And White Cow Dairy comes from Blue Hill Farm so of course it's delicious.

The Canyon of Heroes

Super Bowl 2012.  The 49ers lost to the Giants in the playoffs so I was not really invested in the game but it's a good excuse to see friends.

But I want to start with the last part first.  I saw a part of the parade honoring the Giants but I loved seeing the paper flying through the air.  I finally left the parade when a boy in front of me dropped trou to urinate on a roll of toilet paper to add the right amount of heaviness to it so as to throw it farther.  I identified where the line was that needed to be crossed for me to leave.

For the actual party, I provided sundaes and Little Debbie snacks from Pittsburgh.  I admit not typical Super Bowl fare but I don't like to always be obvious.

Other people brought homemade bread, hummus, fruit, veggies, popcorn, and turkey jerky.  I was teased at work for not providing wings, spinach dip, chili, etc. but this is how we roll.

It was at this point where the Pats fans were a little upset with what was going on in the game.

Suvi's disappointment.

Paul's elation.

Pittsburgh's Mattress Factory

I was in Pittsburgh last week and had a wonderful dinner with Adam and Liesel.  While at dinner, I was trying to figure out what to do the next day with the three hours in between my meeting and catching my flight.  Adam insisted I go to The Mattress Factory Art Museum.  I had never heard of it before but now I'm a fan.  It's like a museum that's as close to a cool toy store for adults as possible.  I had no idea what to expect which was another nice part of it.  No expectations are sometimes a relief.  I traveled from floor to floor to look at room-sized exhibits.  Some of them can be photographed and some just have to be experienced.  I also walked through the museum completely alone.  Some of the exhibits are in very dark rooms and I was on the edge of freaking myself out multiple times.  It's a nice change from being in overly crowded exhibits in NYC.

I exited the elevator on the 5th Floor and saw lots of hands with real bread placed on them.  It's My Offering by Than Htay Maung.  You can buy a hand for $100 and 100% of the money is donated to a food pantry.  It's a really good first exhibit to see.

This was one of those very dark rooms that I walked into and it took a long time to figure out what was going on.  It was like Tron watching the lights move and then later light up the wall.  It's Para-Site by Pablo Valbuena.

Probably my favorite room.  I was asked to put on booties over my shoes before entering the room.  Infinity Dots Mirrored Room and Repetitive Vision by Yayoi Kusama.

A crazy room that could take hours to look at all of the details - It's all about ME, Not You by Greer Lankton.

I loved this glowing red square.  An entire floor was dark and you just had to feel your way through the rooms to find the art. 

Now I know why Adam was so excited for this museum.  But I have to go to Andy Warhol's Museum next.  I can't believe that I've been to Pittsburgh 5 times already and have yet to see it. 

dia:beacon

Back in January, I dragged myself out of bed to visit Dia:Beacon with Jendar.  It was her last day in NYC and I really wanted to see her before she left. 

The museum is right off the Metro-North train line and an easy walk from the station.  It's housed in a former Nabisco box printing facility and is only open during the day since natural lighting is the only lighting used.  You can see from the pictures how much the space still resembles a factory but now a factory filled with art.

Dan Flavin.  Not one of my favorite artists but I liked the look of this piece in the setting.

Lots of lovely Sol LeWitt which really reminded my of the art by my friend Jess.  Take a look and you'll know what I mean.  I hope she agrees with me.

Both pictures from different directions and you can see the change of lighting on both sides.  Works by Imi Knoebel.  I loved the vast spaces.

Michael Heizer's Long-term installations.  I would think so since they are large holes in the ground.  I was told by a friend that you can take a tour for a closer look but it happens early in the day and we were too late.  They were still impressive to look at from behind the barrier.

I wish I could remember the artist of this work and I don't know if you can tell what it is from the photo.  I turned the corner and thought I was looking in a mirror and I was at an angle where I would not have appeared in the mirror.  I walked much closer to realize they are lines from the ceiling to the floor and it created an optical illusion at least for me that they were mirrors. 

Louise Bourgeois.  I love her spider sculptures.  There was another one in front of the Guggenheim Bilbao.

Richard Serra.  He makes me so happy.  I love running into his works unexpectedly like the sculpture in the first two photos.  The last two photos are from a large room full of his works.

This was the best setting to say goodbye to Jendar for a little while at least.  I'm excited to visit her art space in Salt Lake City when it opens.