After a week of torrential rains,  my friend E and I  felt a huge need for light and color–so took in  two excellent retrospective art exhibits: Dale Chihuli’s  Through the Looking Glass at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and   El Anatsui‘s When I Last Wrote to You about Africa at  Wellesley College’s Davis Museum, in Wellesley, MA.

Through the Looking Glass is a 40-year retrospective of the Washington State artist’s blown glass sculptures–such as a boat containing thousands of  glass flowers, fantastical forests,  sculptures based on South American basketry–which took  us out of our doldrums and got our imaginations flowing and reminded us that we can each create worlds of our own.

In When I Last Wrote to You about Africa ,  the  West African artist El Anatsui  transformed mundane materials into forms and objects that were beautiful and real.

Surveying nearly five decades of the West African artist’s internationally renowned career, the exhibit featured some sixty works in wood, metal ceramic, painting, print and drawing.  E and I especially loved the gorgeous tapestry created from used wine-bottle caps and labels; wooden sculpture made from open boxes meant to remind viewers of the opening of market stalls and paintings of African colors, shapes. More difficult and disturbing was  a stone-carved head–with traditional face but open in back to reveal not much in the brain.

An additional highlight was an exhibit of fashions designed by Wellesley students–meant to interpret the  show.  I particularly liked one showing a long, flowing fancy dress which, on closer glance, turned made of a black garbage bag, with collar and ruffle resembling feathers–but made from cut up magazines–all commenting on the ephemeral nature, I believe, of show business careers.    E was partial to a dress with a bodice composed of typewriter keys…reflecting El Anatsu’si use of everyday objects in creating new ones.

Apologies for waiting so long to see/write about this one–(it closed on June 26) but E says the ICA has acquired one of the works; that will definitely be worth seeing, there.

Chihuly/ Through the Looking Glass will be at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through August 7, 2011.

Anita M. Harris

Anita M. Harris is a journalist, photographer and President of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

Waiting for Fledges to Fly 6-04-11

In May, I ran into an acquaintance who said she’d been totally busy and frazzled–and was totally behind in her work. Why? ” I’ve been watching the hawks across from the Fresh Pond Shopping Center,” she said, sheepishly. I thought this was nuts: this is a 50-something professional woman with a responsible job–utterly fascinated with watching two red-tailed hawks build a nest and a family on the ledge of an office building in Cambridge. For the second year in a row.

These hawks aren’t even rare in these parts–plenty of people have seen them in the renowned  Mt. Auburn  Cemetery, nearby, but,  evidently there’s something mesmerizing about watching hawks lay eggs, help them hatch, watch over the babies and teach  them to fly— all next to a highway that runs between Cambridge and Arlington. Ok.  Each to her own.  (Ridiculous is what I really thought).

The other day, I went to do some shopping at Trader Joe’s–and from the parking lot, spotted a crowd in front of the office building, nearby.  Yup-it was them. Looking up at a nest under the roof at 185 Alewife Brook Parkway.

Skeptical, but curious, I pulled out my cell phone and asked the guy to the far left if it was OK to take a picture of him. Sure, he said.

George McLean

“I’ve been here since February, ” he said. “Six hours a day.”  Turned out he was George McLean,  a professional photographer, now retired.  “I  saw Buzz and Rubie -those are the parents-‘making whoopie’–so the group named one of the fledges ‘Georgie, after me.” Their  sibs are Honey and Yahoo (after Jonathan Swift’s land of the Yahoos). “We’ve been waiting for them to fly for weeks… today could be the day.”

Or not.

He tells me that people  have been photo- and videographing these birds since January.

Here’s a link to the babies hatching– http://www.cctvcambridge.org/node/44293 ;  another, of Georgie flopping on his face http://atlanta.pointslocal.com/story/atlanta/316332/185-alewife-red-tail-hawk-chick-takes-a-big-flop and, yet another, to video at Cambridge Community Television. http://www.cctvcambridge.org/subject/nature?page=8 .

Last week, George tells me, one of them tried to fly but fell off the ledge  into the parking lot.

People seem mesmerized;  there’s definitely an atmosphere of suspense.

I figure, “I’m here, what the heck,” and start shooting photos of the nest.  It’s quite high up–seven stories–I can make out a few birds but can’t really see them, very  well.

I’m zooming in  to get a close look–when a gasp goes through the crowd–a fledge has spread his wings.

I missed it. Damn.   I shoot again. Got it.  And again-Got that one, too.

And again…and again. I’m getting excited, now…and so is George.

He’s flapping his arms, like wings. When will one of these babies take off?

I’m thinking I wish I could  stay..but  company is coming to my house.

Later that afternoon, I check the Internet for news of the fledges…nothing yet.

And again the next day, which is Sunday.

But on Monday, driving by 185–I see an empty corner–and an empty nest. The hawks must have done their thing…

On the group’s yahoo site,   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/185redtails/message/700 ,  one of the observers,  Bonnie, has written that when she arrived at 185  on the morning of  June 6, Buzz and Ruby were “doing a happy dance…. soaring and flying together over 185, over Whole Foods parking lot, and over to the apartment towers and back.” The fledges had flown.

And, according to Paul Roberts,

Life has changed for us all…[At 5:21 AM] this morning,  the baby, Whitey flew directly from the nest towards the CVS sign, where Buzz and Ruby were perched with food….Whitey flew directly and strongly to the CVS sign, but reportedly got only part of his talons on top and could not land, dropping down onto the roof of a Garelick Milk truck, where he got comfortable on top of their refrigerator compressor.

Roberts tells a gripping tale of  the fledges’ struggle to find their new place in the wild world outside the nest–attacked by blue jays, unable to perch…Animal control is called….

To my surprise, based on my 0wn brief experience at 185, I have to agree. See you there, next year?

Anita  M. Harris

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

Last Friday, I had the privilege of attending a retirement party for Bob Giles, curator of the Nieman Foundation at Harvard for 11 years. A good time was had by all–except for Dorothy Parvner of the class of 2009–who was unable to attend because she’s  being held against her  will somewhere in Iran. The Boston Globe reports that the 39-year-old Al Jazeera reporter, who traveled to Syria two weeks ago to cover prodemocracy protests, was detained there, then deported to Iran and has not been heard from since.

Today, Bob sent the following request; I’m happy to oblige:

Dorothy Parvaz Dear Members of the Nieman Community, I’m writing once again to ask your assistance in publicizing the plight of Dorothy Parvaz, our Nieman colleague from the class of 2009. As mentioned in earlier messages, Dorothy was detained at the Damascus airport on April 29 while on assignment for Al Jazeera, and then deported to Iran on May 1. The Iranian government has not acknowledged that she is in the country. As part of the global efforts now underway to win her freedom, I request that if you can, you publish an article about Dorothy or mention her on air; post this photo of her on your websites and Facebook pages; and reach out to other journalists and ask that they do the same. Many believe that keeping her story in the news will keep Dorothy safe and put pressure on Iran to release her. The Nieman Foundation and many of our fellows are appealing for Dorothy’s release, sharing information and seeking diplomatic access to Iranian officials who might know about her detention or who can intercede on her behalf. A related story that appeared in The Boston Globe may be of interest: “Colleagues recall missing journalist as relentless on job” Thank you for your continued support, Bob Giles Curator

Earlier this month, in Kendall Square, two entrepreneurs described new medical devices designed to provide low-cost “point-of-care” tests-far from laboratories or medical centers in the developing world.

Speaking at a meeting of  Health Care and Life Science Special Interest Group of the MIT Enterprise Forum at the British Consulate  former Mass Biotechnology Council  President Una Ryan described the paper-based  medical testing technology that her new nonprofit enterprise,  Diagnostics for All (DFA), has licensed from the George Whitesides Laboratory at Harvard.

The technology allows bodily fluid to accumulate in patterns on postage-stamp sized pieces of paper–to be used for  multiple  tests simultaneously. DFA’s first project, funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is a liver function test to monitor the effects of drugs for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, and  to help manage viral hepatitis.  The test kits will first be sold in convenience stores in Africa at a cost of approximately ten cents each, Ryan said.

Bill Rodriguez, CEO of Daktari Diagnostics, showed a handheld, point of care, battery-operated diagnostics device the size of a small lunch box or portable radio that will first be used to test for AIDS in Africa–at a cost of $1.50 per test–starting next year. He pointed out that while drugs are available to treat the  33 million people worldwide who have  HIV– “ten million of them don’t know it.”

Scientia Advisors Partner Arshad Ahmed, who  served as moderator, (and is my client) pointed out in a recent blog that emerging markets may have the opportunity to adopt the latest point-of-care products, leapfrogging developed countries, in some instances–and that “emerging markets are where we will see the first application of low cost and inovative disruptive technologies at work.” Launching in the developing world allows companies to test out and market technologies before going through the rigorous approval process required in the developed world.

I was blown away by the prospects for  devices like these. I asked when and how they will affect the  costs and structure of, say, US healthcare–and whether those who make and market our costly technologies will try to keep these new testing devices from our marketplace. Ryan, whose nonprofit, DFA, will have a commercial wing, responded that she does not expect opposition from stakeholders in our current system. And a marketer for the device and pharma industries was adamant that  developments like these will not impact her customers–for many years,  at least.  Given the vicissitudes of the US regulatory system and financeers needs for ROI, that may well be true.

But, clearly,  technologies like these have tremendous potential to transform health care–and I’m excited at their prospects– for the long-neglected developing world.

—Anita M. Harris

Anita M. Harris is President of the Harris Communications Group, a marketing and public relations firm specializing in health, science and technology industries, worldwide.

Apologies, once again, for the long absence….but this time I have a good excuse. I’ve moved  to the country!

Actually, I still live in Cambridge–but after 29 years in that lofty perch overlooking the Cambridge Common I now live in a new house–just across from Fresh Pond Reservoir.

New home, new neighborhood, new outlook on life–less than a mile and a quarter from Harvard Square.

A few observations:

When I told people I was moving after so many years in the same building, I usually got one of the following responses:

(1) Why are you moving NOW? (As if I should die in a place I NEVER liked. Too little space, too much noise and no parking!)

and

(2) That’s wonderful. Now you have a good reason to get rid of your stuff. (Huh? The main reason I”m moving is that I want more ROOM for my stuff).

The new place is gorgeous-three floors, a garage, a basement, big windows, light…and just a 10-minute bike ride from my favorite morning coffee haunt.  There’s a grocery store nearby, a gym, a Chinese restaurant…I have nice neighbors who like gardening so much that they bought some plants that they take care of in my front yard.  When you walk down the street, people actually smile and say “hello”

Yesterday, my friend Susan and I walked around the reservoir.  On a Sunday afternoon, it felt rather like a Parisian promenade, except that it’s 2.2 miles in  circumference and there were many, many dogs. Part-way round,  theCity of Cambridge Water Department  is renovating…that’s not what they call it…but setting up ramps for people disabilities, a walkway out over the water and something called a vernal pond–which, I now know, courtesy of Susan and Wikipedia, is a temporary or “emphermeral” pool.

These pools, devoid of fish, are dry for at least part of the year but when filled (usually in the Spring) they teem with life such as frogs, toads, salamanders, daphnia and fairy shrimp–the last of which are often used to decisively define a vernal pool.

Close by the pool, we met  MWRA Ranger Jean–who, with a colleague, was posting a sign explaining all of the above. She welcomed us to the neighborhood and told  us to say hi to people and dogs–who, along with the golfers, tennis and base ball players and my neighbors, make up quite a friendly community, and a welcoming crowd.

—-Anita M. Harris

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

At a Loss for Word

I spent the day trying to write and wrestling with Word. I’m a decade late with this rant, but today it got me.

I can barely remember why, but I loved Word Perfect. It was so well named from a writer’s perspective. It was the document software in which I  learned to type and for a long time the standard for writers and PR people and everyone who wanted to share a common language. It could catch my thoughts as they leapt fully formed (if out of context) from my brow;  store sidebars without getting sidetracked; set up and organize the page, stylize it with heads and subheads and put things in the order I wished; insert exported images and show me how they looked; accept Tom Swifties and newly minted puns; and help me express my thoughts in my own voice.

Then came PCs and laptops and Word slipped in under the tent flap and became the standard. Let’s face it, by comparison, Word bites and . . . behaves in other infantile ways. (You know what I mean, but you’ll see in a minute *** why I can’t type it.)

Who made Microsoft geeks the emperors of syntax and spelling and slang (Oh my!)? Who taught them to spell and keep up with language? Why are they the Wizards of Word? Why don’t they know that the basics (page layout, font, ability to insert, addition of typographical and graphic marks) should be doable without leaving the page? How come they use spellcheck to block current spelling of workplan and wasteland and  inhouse that don’t have hyphens- and make us change our use of speech to accommodate that quirk? What kind of bleeping editing program does not challenge words like ‘pubicrelations’ when you meant public relations, or f*** and s*** when you meant to write funk or shim? C’mon, that’s adolescent geekspeak for gotcha, smartyhosen!

What’s your favorite Word bugaboo?  While I’m at it, why do they call it Windows when they’re opaque, and laid on top of what you need to see for reference? For puzzle fans there are seven words flagged here in red by Word (none were on Lenny Bruce’s list).  Can you find them?

All for today. Rest easy  (See? If they knew syntax they’d have flagged that for easily!).

Guest blogger Ann Getman is a writer, painter and public relations consultant based in Cambridge, MA.
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

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.