A tank full of gas, a clean windshield and a shoe shine

Ok, so I didn't really get a shoe shine. But I wore my new Simple sneakers for three days in NY last week. The first day we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and saw a play. We walked every street of the Lower East Side and had a tour at the Tenement Museum (highly recommended) on Day 2. On the last day, we toured Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate in Tarrytown. So, we saw two very different sides of life in America in the early 20th century -- the cramped quarters and extreme poverty of the immigrants who lived at 97 Orchard Street and the lavish wealth and palatial digs of the Rockefellers. Many pix are now on my Flickr page. Take a look and let me know what you think of them.

Mad Rush to the PO

I was on a mission to get both of these items in the post today. First was this excellent, mint condition, vintage Kake-Toter by Everedy that I got for ST at the flea market. The top turns to attach to the bottom plate. Brilliant! And it's clearly been hanging around unused for 40-50 years. You just can't beat that. Second, I had a request from Spooner that I send Pepto Bismol tabs to him in the UK for him to take along on his upcoming trip to Mexico. He is hoping to avoid -- or at least lessen the impact of -- the bugs that distressed him on his last visit south of the border. I included some Immodium caplets as well. But what's wrong with this picture? I paid more than $6 to mail over-the-counter meds across the Atlantic Ocean so that he can fly back to this continent with them in his suitcase. I thought it was better to do as asked than to ask questions, but I'm curious to know if the UK is really a land without PB. What does the Queen carry with her when she travels abroad to visit her subjects? What does she do if she eats some bad fish in France?

Farewell, Gateway PC

These old components had been strewn all over the floor of my study for the past 9 months. Together, they probably weigh the same and occupy as much space as I do. My plan all along was to recycle them, but I hadn't quite figured out how to do that. Dell would take them, but I would have to pack them into the box that my new computer came in (one look told me they wouldn't fit, or if I could get them into the box, it certainly wouldn't fit in the Mini) and ship them back to Dell. I sent e-mail last fall to the Five College recycling coordinator, asking her how I could recycle computer components, but she never replied. The college where I work has a recycling program, but only for college-owned computers. The UMass recycling facility will accept personally-owned computers, but you need a UMass ID to get in (mine expired in 1988). I gave the old ink-guzzling Epson printer away last fall, sold the external CD drive (the best of the lot) for $20, and tried to no avail to find a buyer for the speakers and subwoofer (old, but still sound good).

Then this week I saw a post on Usenet -- someone wanted an old PC. I wrote back, he called, we arranged a place to meet, and the components shifted the next day from my car to his. His plan is to rebuild an old computer for his sister. He didn't ask any questions, so I didn't have to tell any lies. I did tell him in advance that the hard drive was about to die (true) and that I would be pulling it out (easier than trying to permanently delete -- if that's even possible -- all my personal stuff from it). So, there was no mention that the monster monitor spazzes out periodically and that the power switch is temperamental. Apparently he didn't need to know. He promised to recycle whatever bits he couldn't use, and that was all I needed to know. I'm thrilled that I can see my floor again.

The Hand-Off (Gina, Part 2)

This part of the saga seems a bit anticlimactic, especially following last week's gripping tale of the acquisition of Gina's Fever Dream. I've watched enough episodes of Antiques Roadshow to know the importance of provenance and an unbroken chain of possession, so I provide this as documentation: The painting, wrapped in a black garbage bag to seal it from today's torrential rains, rode to Jamaica Plain in the Mini Cooper, from which it was transferred to Erin's Toyota Echo and transported to the home of Mike, MOBA's curator. As Mike wasn't home, we left it on his porch and left a message on his voice mail to tell him of the delivery and to caution him not to mistake the black plastic bag for trash and put it on the curb on collection day.

We also made a visit to MOBA's permanent home in the basement of the Community Theater in Dedham. In my mind's eye, I had pictured the gallery to be a bit bigger, brighter and cleaner. It's somewhat dim and dank, but endearingly so, despite the pooling water on the floor that emanated from somewhere near the men's room or perhaps from the week of precipitation. I've posted some pictures on the Flickr page. It will be a proud day when we see Gina's portrait hanging beside those of George, Lucy, Pablo Presley and the others in MOBA's fine collection.

A Teaser to Gina, Part 2

We heard back from Mike at MOBA the other day:

Dear MJ,

We would like to open our next show "Hackneyed Portraits From Our Collection" sometime in May. It may not happen until June but it would be nice to have the painting earlier if possible. You and Erin would be honored guests at the Opening - whenever it does occur.

Thanks,
Michael Frank, Curator-in-Chief
Museum of Bad Art

I'll be taking the painting to Erin's house this weekend and she'll pass it off to Mike as it turns out they live quite near each other. We can't wait for the grand opening of Hackneyed Portraits, and I'll be sure to post pix and all the details when it ever does happen.

In the meantime, here's an article about MOBA for you all to read while you anxiously await the next installment of this tale: In Dedham, this museum is exhibiting 'bad' taste