The staff are eager to develop a multimedia aspect to the Bakker Bugle. Here’s their first experience: Part One of the story of Will following the Olympic Torch through Paris. (more…)
25 April 2008
18 April 2008
As a Tourist: One Regret and One Lingering Question
Anita and I visited many new places over the past three months. After every trip, we discussed the reasons we’d like to return to cities and regions: to see things that we couldn’t fit in our schedule, to experience a place in a different way, or to return for a different perspective on an unusually rich site or collection.
I have few regrets from the trips we’ve made so far. Anita and I find most hotels charming, and if we are momentarily disappointed by a locale or our accommodations, we assume that it’s our job to recognize something that we missed. Our photo collections on flickr are a celebratory embrace of tourism: “Look at what we saw!” And that’s a good reflection of our overall attitude.
Still I find that, for each trip, there’s a lack of some kind: something that I do regret, or a curiosity that will not be sated and will not go away. One regret comes from our time in Lisbon. We did not hear a live performance of fado. We tried to find a venue, although half-heartedly. Weeks later, I still feel that I missed something. I will return to Lisbon, and one reason is to hear the fado.
I’ve known for a long time that Portugal was uniquely famous for its bull-fighting, and we did not see that, either. But I have no regrets about missing that distinctive feature of Portugal’s culture. I don’t plan to see a bullfight when I return. I am just not curious about it, which is unusual for me.
Sometimes, a nagging curiosity is like a good itch, because there’s something pleasurable about the discomfort. I have that feeling about a trivial detail from one place on our trip to northern Italy. In the Piazza Brà of Verona, there’s a building with the following architectural detail. (You can click on the photo to see the context.)
I saw this pattern of alternating crowns in several places, and it seems so familiar that I must have noted it outside of Italy, too. I want to know the name for this style, I want to know why it was used, and I want to know whether it is as common as I think it is. I did the usual surfing around the web to find answers, but I failed.
If you can help, I’ll award you the Commenter of the Irish First Quarter of 2008. (I’ll have to think of an appropriate prize, to be delivered upon arrival at the BBB&B, of course.)
16 April 2008
Former Cubs are a good bet
Well, it’s a tie, but this gimmick is hardly a rousing success so far. Thank you to the two voters for being good stewards of the Bugle franchise.
Corey Patterson’s birthday is August 13, and Melky Cabrera’s is August 11. Both are within a week of my own! So the tie-breaker goes to Mr. Patterson, with the closer one. He’ll be on the roster tomorrow morning.
14 April 2008
And now… Your Team… The Dublin Felons!
After the second week of the season, The Dublin Felons have a respectable 13-7 record, good enough for third place in the league.
The staff would like to introduce a new gimmick — er, feature — for the Bakker Bugle Blog. At several points during the season, you can manage The Dublin Felons! For this week, we let you determine which player will get room service and white balls for batting practice. Just vote in the poll to the right before noon on Wednesday (CDT). Your options are:
- Keep Plácido Polanco, second base, Detroit Tigers
- Drop Polanco and obtain Juan Pierre, outfield, LA Dodgers
- Drop Polanco and obtain Corey Patterson, outfield, Cincinnati Reds
- Drop Polanco and obtain Melky Cabrera, outfield, NY Yankees
In case you’re wondering about the overall lineup: The Dublin Felons currently have three second basemen (Brian Roberts and Dustin Pedroia) and three outfielders. Yes, that’s a serious imbalance. But are the available outfielders worth exchanging for Polanco? You decide!
12 April 2008
N.Italy and Nice trip: Photos finally done!
We’ve finished culling the photos and writing our descriptions, so have at it! You’ll find each day’s activities in a separate set of photos at the following page: Collection of Photos from Northern Italy and the French Riviera
11 April 2008
More Photos from Italy
Happy Friday! There are two new sets of photos from our trip to Italy, so check the photo collection page.
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Bugle P.I. — Lost in Thought
By the time I left my study session at the cafe, the roads were covered in slush and the cars were regularly spraying dirty, ice-cold water on pedestrians like myself. I was hit more often than usual because I was still concentrating on the fact that Garran Keocaigh was a major player in the Chicago Spire project. The same Keocaigh who worked with Eddie years ago. The same Keocaigh who now lived in Dublin. Keocaigh and I had lives that ran in parallel, geographically at least. Also, there was the obvious differences in success, fortune and fame.
I must have had terrible jet-lag, or maybe I was just cold. Either way, I didn’t notice the truck that pulled to the curb until its passenger threw something at me. I turned toward him, in time to get a hard piece of plastic in the nose. It hurt. (more…)