Posts tagged as:

Providence

COLUMBUS DAY: a confusing holiday

October 10, 2011

The other day I was in Newport and spotted a statue in a little park downtown.*  I had never seen it before, so I walked up closer, only to discover that it was a statue of Christopher Columbus.  Beneath the bronze statue was a plaque which identified Columbus as “The Founder of America.”     Hmmm. [...]

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HONKFEST: a street festival of activist street musicians

October 4, 2011

Well, first of all you have to know what a Street Band is.  As I understand it, a Street Band is a spontaneous group of really fine musicians of all stripes who play in public places … almost spontaneously.  I liken them to the street performers I enjoyed in San Francisco who sang, played, danced, [...]

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WATERFIRE: a magnificent environmental art form in Providence

May 29, 2011

One of the more incredible advantages of living in Providence, Rhode Island , is the ability to participate in Waterfire throughout the warmer season of the year.  The best way to describe it is to quote from its webpage: This award-winning sculpture by Barnaby Evans installed on the three rivers of downtown Providence, has been [...]

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MITIGATE: to make or become less severe or harsh; moderate*

May 27, 2011

What does one do when he discovers, as a newly-elected mayor of a medium-sized city, that the current annual budget deficit is one hundred million dollars?   Information available prior to the election had led everyone, including the new mayor, to believe that the city was struggling, but holding its own.  To the contrary, the actual [...]

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SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION: the concept that at the most, there are only six levels of relationship betweeen all living persons

December 15, 2010

While Ocean State residents tend to think it is a local phenomenon, it is clear that connectedness or relationship  is not restricted to people who live in  Rhode Island.   It is understood by all Ocean State residents that the concept of “Six Degrees of Separation” is not unique to the movies or to the [...]

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LEITMOTIF: an often repeated word, phrase, image, or theme

November 8, 2010

In the New York Times Magazine yesterday the weekly column, “The Way We Live” featured a piece by Christopher Caldwell called “Fantasy Politics.” In this very insightful article Caldwell comments on the leitmotif character of the term, “The American Dream,” heard in speeches during the recent mid-term elections.   In one case, a candidate from Florida, [...]

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URBAN ART: a style of art that relates to cities and city life often done by artists who live in or have a passion for city life

September 19, 2010

The whole concept of urban art is fascinating.  It crosses between  a pure urban genre, known as graffiti and environmental art which is a genre utilizing the existing environment as the canvas for artistic expression.   I love them both. There are numerous expressions of urban art, but I want to focus on just three: the [...]

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WATCH/WARNING: hurricane on the way

September 1, 2010

The photo at the right shows Hurricane Earl as seen from outer space by astronauts aboard the Space Station.  It is massive, already churning up to over 135 mile per hour winds and moving at a rapid 12 miles per hour toward the East Coast.  There is a possibility that we may see Earl on [...]

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5K: Saint Patrick’s “Day” in Providence

March 21, 2010

The cliche about “the luck of the Irish” seemed legitimate when they scheduled the Saint Patrick’s Day 5K Race on the Saturday following the actual observance.  It rained heavily last Saturday, the weekend before March 17th.  Yesterday, however, was magnificent.  It reached 73 degrees mid-afternoon, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  More than [...]

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CONURBATION: an extensive urban area resulting from the expansion of several cities or towns ….(Dictionary.com)

November 17, 2009

——- Rhode Island is unique in many ways. Some of them are enviable qualities, like the beauty of the ocean presence; the lovely, picture-perfect small towns; and the diversity of population. There are other Rhode Island qualities which are not so enviable, like high taxes, high cost of living, eroding industrial base, and what seems [...]

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