The old Wanamaker department store building, currently occupied by Macy’s, announced that its final day of operation would be on Saturday, March 22, 2025. The store offered blow-out sales on the few items still available for purchase, and provided a series of short organ concerts on the world famous Wanamaker organ. The event attracted a…
Category: Philadelphia
Celebrating the cultural icons of my home town
Three Little Birds
Three little birds arrived on my doorstep (well, actually my feeder) and that got me humming Bob Marley tunes all afternoon. Then a bigger bird (female redwing blackbird? – now I am channeling Paul McCartney) came along and intimidated the little guys. Still, better than having the squirrel feast on my provisions, which he did…
Art from Toys
I visited the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia this weekend, where an exhibit of “Lego Art” is on display. Created by Nathan Sawaya, an attorney who preferred playing with toys to playing with contracts, he left the legal profession to chase his creative muse. And his muse seems to be speaking loud and clear! The art…
Spring in the Arboretum
Spring has arrived! After one of the harsher winters in memory, the arrival of spring this year is especially sweet. The cherry blossoms have sprung to life at the local arboretum, and new life is afoot everywhere. “In the cherry blossom’s shade there’s no such thing as a stranger.” ― Kobayashi Issa
Mummies and Deities – at the Penn Museum
A rainy Good Friday, with the day off from work, yielded a visit to the Penn Museum of Archeology and Anthropology. The special exhibit area on Friday was focused on the ancient peoples of Panama and their use of gold, which was plentiful in the area some 1,300 years ago. Equally interesting was the display of…
Winter Wanderings
On a – relatively – warm and very sunny day, after weeks of snow, I ventured out to explore the high contrast of snow and sun, deep shade and brilliant whites. Here is what I came up with. From Whitemarsh township and its mysterious abandoned stone buildings, to New Hope, Lambertville, and the New Hope…
Adrift in the Snow
I took a short trip to Valley Green today to catch the sunshine on the snow, before too much traffic , melting, and the inevitable return to civilization turn everything that ugly grey that is the inevitable fate of old snow. The Valley Green Inn was sparkling in the afternoon sunlight, but had very few diners on…
Into the Real Clouds
As a technology advisor to professional firms and small businesses, I spend a lot of time talking about “the Cloud”, preaching that we are entering The Third Age of personal computing. Today I ventured into the clouds for real, cashing in on a long-delayed charity auction purchase. To the left here is the instrument panel…
Liturgy and Art at West Kensington Ministry
The Stations of the Cross is a devotional exercise that is observed on Good Friday by many Christian churches. The practice has its origins in the era of the Crusades, when pilgrims trod the Via Dolorosa through the streets of Jerusalem, re-tracing Jesus’ steps on the path to Calvary. The West Kensington Ministry at Norris Square, in Philadelphia, has…