Baby Moses' Favorite Spot

During the middle of the day, when nothing else is going on, Baby M loves to sit on top of this futon sofa and look out the window.

Photo by Matt

Compare and Contrast

I only spent about 15 minutes outside today. But it's hard not to contrast it with what things were like a year ago.

Dirty Moses

Photo by Matt

Deepest Divide in Modern Philosophy?

Whether it's possible to specify the conditions under which how someone reacts suffices to make that reaction true. Put in other words, the divide is over whether under non-circularly-specified ideal conditions, it's still possible to make a mistake.

Basically: Humeans think no, Kantians think yes.

The Lawn at UVA (Charlottesville)

The most striking thing about the lawn at UVA are the colonnades that line both sides. I have no idea how to photograph them. If I try and give a sense of how long they are, they just end up looking tiny.

I've been a fan of covered walkways in general ever since reading Bernard Rudofsky's "Streets for People: A Primer for Americans". Beyond their utility, they just look great. Maybe they're part of what I like about how Venice Beach used to look:

(This is going to sound obnoxious, but the postcard caption is wrong: you're actually looking east, not west.)

Great Reading Spot

I had assumed that I'd posted about this before, but a quick search of previous posts leads me to realize that I hadn't. It's my favorite place in the world to read. It's the water fountain in the LMU library, in LA. The gurgling sound produced by the water is just right, volume-wise and timbre-wise. And there's an enormous skylight above, which floods the space with light--without being too bright. And there are those big comfy chairs, which you can pull up to the fountain, close enough to rest your feet on.

Another Great Reading Spot

Although I haven't actually tested it myself, I assume that this would be a pretty sweet place to sit and read. It's a small brick and glass structure that Jefferson built on the edge of his hill, with over a 180 degree view of the countryside. I don't know much about it beyond that, but it's so small I can't imagine it was built to be anything more than a place to enjoy the view, perhaps with one or two others or perhaps alone. You've got to give him props for building a small little glass-enclosed building just for that.

Jeffersonian Architecture