Neighborliness Revisited

Over the weekend, someone bashed into the driver’s side of my parked car…I’m guessing $700 damage. And–it’s snowing again. Evidently neighborliness, like winter, only lasts so long.

Feb. 17, 2011
Perhaps I spoke too soon about that neighborliness in tough times thing.

The day after I posted the photo of the snowman on the bench in the Cambridge Common, someone  knocked the bow-tied guy down.

Ice is making it hard to walk, and, now, there’s a layer of dirt on huge mounds of -snow to the point where it’s difficult to see where you’re going.

My friend E and I almost got killed  driving on Route 2 when a car scooted out from behind a drift that must have blocked that  driver’s view.

Six weeks into this,  I’m rarely taking out my car: not only is it it risky to drive, but where on earth will I find a place to park when I get back?

In for the winter?

In my neighborhood, many people still have not dug out their cars;  I have, several times,  but even so, to avoid driving around all night,  I’ve been skipping meetings–or using public transportation when I can.

One of my neighbors decided to brave it–but when she went out to her car, she found it parked in so tightly that even the American Automobile Association couldn’t tow her out.  She left an angry note,  keyed the offending car, then called the police, who said they couldn’t do anything because both her car and the offender’s were illegally parked.

A student at Harvard Law who grew up in LA asked  how anyone can live here for a lifetime. “It’s so depressing!” he said. I told him that some years, we don’t get any snow at all–and that, even this year,  it could be worse: .  he  could be at Cornell Law, in Ithaca, NY or  SUNY Albany, or, worse yet,  Buffalo.  My  (I see now)  obnoxious advice to him? Learn to love skiing and–chill out. Spring will come.”

Feb. 21, 2011
That was then. This is now. Over the weekend, someone bashed in the driver’s side of my parked car…I’m guessing  $700 damage.  And–it’s snowing again!

I say…so much for neighborliness.  Like winter, evidently, it  only lasts so long!

Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the  Harris Communications Group, a marketing communications and public relations firm in Cambridge, MA.

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Mr. Snowman: Neighborliness in Tough Times

Rather than engage in namecalling and derision, I’ll quit now –and simply thank whomever built Mr. Snowman for your neighborliness and sense of fun. You really brightened my day!



Snowman
New Neighbor

This morning, I ran into this fellow  on the Cambridge Common.  When he tried to pick me up,  I gave him the cold shoulder, which he seemed to enjoy. Oh, well.

It was cool to come upon the whimsical snowpersons  that seemed to guide my way  along the paths covered in deep snow by yesterday’s fierce blizzard …especially after President Barack Obama’s thoughtful talk, last night, about the importance of civility, the American national family and the need  to move forward in a positive way after  the horrific shootings in Tuscon. [ Here’s a link to the speech, in case you missed it: http://pol.moveon.org/azobamaspeech.html?id=25807-6209466-EecNh0x&t=3]

In fact, despite all the awful things going on the world–or maybe because of them–I’m finding that my neighbors–like whoever made the snowman–seem to be more considerate these days. After the last big storm, I ran into someone from the building next door (who asked me not to use his name) who was clearing snow, water and ice at a crosswalk so that people would not have to wade through deep water to reach the curb. And my downstairs neighbor, who doesn’t have a car, sometimes just shovels out other peoples’ cars for the fun (and exercise) of it.

Actually, I’ve felt that many people have been more neighborly, nicer, since 9/11…tho this group does not include certain Republicans and pundits who seem to get nastier as time goes on. I was shocked to learn that Ben Quayle, Vice President Dan Quayle’s son, who is now, unfortunately, a Congressman, actually said in a campaign ad that Barack Obama is the worst president this country has ever had..and don’t get me started on Sarah Palin’s trigger-happy “mean girl” rhetoric.  Rather than engage in namecalling and derision,  I’ll quit now –and simply  thank whomever built Mr. Snowman for your neighborliness and sense of fun. You really brightened my day!

–Anita M. Harris

Anita M. Harris is president of  the Harris Communications Group, a public relations and marketing firm in Cambridge, MA.

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A Look Back at New Cambridge Observer for 2010.

Here’s a summary, compiled by the stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com, who mulled over how this blog did in 2010. Five thousand views… Thanks, wordpress, readers, and the Boston Globe! I promise to be more diligent in 2011.

January 2, 2011

Here’s a summary, compiled by the stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com, who mulled over how this blog did in 2010. Five thousand views… Thanks, wordpress,  readers, and the Boston Globe!  I promise to be more diligent in 2011.

Here’s a high level summary-followed by a rundown by individual blog. Anita

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 4,700times in 2010. That’s about 11 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 6 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 57 posts. There were 40pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 6mb. That’s about 3 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was January 6th with 203 views. The most popular post that day was Eeek! May I borrow your cat? Mice. Please advise. .

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were digg.comhealthfitnesstherapy.com,dating-online2u.blogspot.comslashingtongue.com, and the-best-twitter.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for new cambridge observercambridge observerunusual playgroundcambridge common playground, andfruits and vegetables.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Eeek! May I borrow your cat? Mice. Please advise. December 2009
26 comments

2

New Cambridge Playground Opens September 2009

3

Essaydi’s Les Femmes du Maroc a must-see. January 2010

4

Ladino Music Group Aljashu Debuts in Boston December 2009

5

Non-invasive test predicts risk of sudden cardiac arrest March 2009

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Art of Decay: Where Do We Go From Here?

In pondering the curators’ decisions to highlight these artists, I can’t help but conclude that they’re making a statement about the current state of civilization, politics, and art. But I ask, where do we go from here?

This month, Charles LeDray and Evelyn Rydz at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston,  and Leonardo Drew, at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA, share a common theme–all focus on decay and the passage of time.

DeDray makes small items–men’s clothing, thousands of tiny ceramic pots,  sculptures in stitched fabric, carved bone, and wheel-thrown clay. As ICA materials point out, the smaller-than-life formal suits, embroidered patches, ties, and hats, as well as scaled-down chests of drawers, doors, and unique, thimble-sized vessels–and even facsimiles of used clothing stores complete with dust, make the viewer feel large and encourage thought about the content of the constructions. For example the coat in the photo to the left encompasses all sorts of other clothing–bras, pants, tops–making the point that individuals are composites of their experiences and other people.

My friend E liked the exhibit–because it elicited people no longer with us.  S, who tends to save things, found it interesting.

Nearby, in the galleries housing winners in the ICA’s Annual Foster Prize Exhibit, Evelyn Rydz’s “intricate drawings of beaches, based on her own photographs–focus on objects she finds washed up on coastlines worldwide. ”

According to the ICA, this work explores ” the site where sea meets land”…and shows “characters with long stories to tell.” She “references the journey and transformation that these objects have undergone, illuminating their role as castaways in foreign landscapes.”

TitleAt the DeCordova, Drew’s show, “Existed”  highlights  “the cyclical nature of creation, decay, and regeneration through a selection of large-scale sculptures, installations, and works on paper.

Built from rows of stacked cotton and wooden boxes, stuffed with rags, covered with scavenged objects, and caked with rust to suggest degeneration, Drew’s sculptural work is made to resemble the detritus of everyday life.

The artist often ages his found and fabricated materials, employing a process that is physically and conceptually steeped in memory, history, and the passage of time. These disparate materials are often composed within a grid that organizes the chaos into an ordered structure.

 Not exactly the pleasantest of subjects.

And  I suppose it’s good to be able to find beauty in decay–or to make beauty of  it.

In pondering the  decisions to highlight these artists,  I can’t help but conclude that  the curators are  making  statements about the current state of civilization, politics, and art.  All of these artists are highly skilled at what they do. But  I ask, after exploring and commenting on decay and loss, what is left for them (and us?) to do?

Anita M. Harris

Anita M. Harris, a writer and photographer, is president of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

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Window Shopping at Anthropologie, H Square

Anthropologie, located at 48 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA has taken over the old Design Research building–which has sat almost empty for over a year since Crate and Barrel moved out. The store carries an enticing array of clothing, jewelry, shoes, boots and bags–most items are a bit ornate for my simple tastes but definitely worth a visit if only to see the store’s beautiful and creative arrangements of merchandise.

 

Kudos to the display team at the new Anthropologie shop in Harvard Square–their store windows are works of art that absolutely drew me into the store–although I really don’t need a thing.

Anthropologie, located at 48 Brattle St, in Cambridge, has taken over the old Design Research building–which has been almost empty for over a year since Crate and Barrel moved out.

 The new store carries an enticing array of clothing, jewelry, shoes, boots, bags and home goods. Most items are a bit ornate for my tastes but definitely worth a visit if only to see the store’s  artistic and  creative arrangements of merchandise.  –Anita M. Harris


New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish HarrisCom Blog.

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Love and Other Drugs: Funny but Difficult

But while the is full of sex scenes and Viagara jokes, don’t be fooled: it’s funny and enjoyable but deals with difficult and provocative themes.

The pharmaceutical industry and especially Pfizer will hate Ed Zwick’s forthcoming movie–Love and Other Drugs–which portrays drug reps  as money-grubbing sex fiends.  

But while the  film, starring   Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway,  is loaded withsex scenes and Viagra jokes, don’t be fooled: it’s funny and enjoyable for the most part but deals with some very difficult and provocative themes.

In the film,  neer-do-well salesman  Jamie Randall (Gyllenhaal) takes up with the beautiful and insightful  Maggie Murdoch (Hathaway) who, at age 26, has been diagnosed with Stage 1 Parkinson’s Disease. Like Erich Segal’s 1970 Love Story, the film portrays the joys of love but also the anguish that comes with any incurable illness– here, in the context of seemingly uncaring pharmaceutical and medical industries.

Hathaway is convincing, even mesmorizing as the artist and activist who brings old people to Canada to buy drugs. Gyllenhaal is believable and fun as a manipulative salesman who seduces, in one way or another, every woman he meets. The two portray their characters’ evolving realization/questioning of what’s important in life.

I enjoyed the film, but I left feeling unsettled and a bit disturbed–a result of tension between the funny and sad parts, worry about the future of the characters—and wonder about how I myself might deal with a loved one’s serious health issues

My friend K commented that while he liked the film, he felt it was opportunistic –that Zwick and the actors will make a ton of money–while people with Parkinsons and other incurable, debilitating diseases will just go on struggling. 

But I thought Zwick did a great job of personalizing and making more manageble what can sometimes seem like overwhelming problems,  and that he has performed an important service by asking serious questions in a way that will be palatable to a  mass audience.

I recently met Zwick– who was having a publicity photo  taken at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge–and asked why he made the film. It wasn’t for money, he said. He’d been impressed with Jamie Reidy’s  non-fiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman, on which the movie is based,  and had personal experience with a situation like the one the movie describes.

For the pharmaceutical industry…it’s not a pretty picture. But I guess they’ll have to–and have the resources to –fend for themselves.

The film is to be released in late November. In the meatime, here’s a link to the official site and a trailer:  http://www.loveandotherdrugsthemovie.com/

—Anita M. Harris
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

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