Ridgeline

Weathered fence Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . Some love this, some like this -- it was a "found" moment in May 2006 when I was stopped on the side of the road, later in the day, in Westhampton, Mass. It was that "Cape light" time of evening... I had actually stopped to take a picture of an old truck and barn across the road, and noticed this shot forming up out the side window of my car as I was getting back in.

Some believe all time is a line. Everything that ever was, and ever will be, is happening, right now, somewhere else on that Line. Somewhere else. I am a child. My father is always comfortable with margins. He is an attorney. Lawyer jokes are not common. There is no Perry Mason, Johnnie Cochran, L. A. Law. Dad stops, remembers his early career. He is a farmer. Homesick, he postpones his college career. Then, he has bachelor's degree, a masters in engineering. An engineer in industrial America. Here is an old photograph of sixteen men and two women. My father and mother are both on law review at St. Joseph's University Law School. Mom is in her early twenties. Law review is a chance for the best and brightest students to compete by writing and editing scholarly articles on the most obscure points of law imaginable. My mother is 25 and beautiful, surrounded by a dozen young, brilliant, upcoming future judges, partners, CEOs. Somehow, Dad gets ahead of her many suitors. Dad works ...

Slipstream Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . This one's gotten a lot of good notes on Flickr as well -- it's a timelapse from the side of the MassPike last week.

Orient Point Light at sunset Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . Summer is almost here, and it was nice to find this picture from summer 2002 just the other day. I got a lot of nice comments on it from Flickr, too. I had almost forgotten I took it. Didnt do much other than wait for the sun to pass the lighthouse on the ferry.

Surf Clams, Nantasket Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . A cold day in Hull...

Thanks, Uncle Bill. Good morning. Show of hands -- how many of you ever saw one of Mom's shows? Wow. Well, Mom loved a good audience, and you all are the best audience we could have hoped for this morning. Thank you. I also just want to especially thank the eighth grade from Trinity and Kathy Barnhart for you beautiful singing of the "Dona Nobis" -- I know it made Mom very happy. On behalf of the family, we’d like to thank each of you for honoring my Mom, Maureen McNulty, with your presence here today. We’d also like to thank the parish of St. Hugh for welcoming us, as they have for the past 35 years. It’s nice to be home. Here today with me are her children Tom, Liz, Mark & Meg, her brother Bill Tobin, her grandchildren, family, friends, colleagues and so many of her students. Many of us also honored my father on another beautiful morning. In 1993, we welcomed Dad into the arms of a loving God. It’s fitting that we gather here to do the same for my mother....

My mom, Maureen McNulty recently passed away -- April 23, 2006 -- which was her 69th birthday. We held her funeral at St. Hugh of Lincoln R.C Church in Huntington Station, NY on April 27, and buried her alongside my father, William E. McNulty, in family ground at the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Cutchogue, NY. About my Mom, I can't say much right now, other than thanks so many of our freinds, family and students who eased our grief by their presence, their love, their support, and all the wonderful stories we've heard this week. Thank you, thank you. Love you, Mom...

Greenleaf Hut, June 2001 Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . OK, this *is* from a little while ago. But it belongs on a blog named Ridgeline, doesn't it? I was talking to a friend at work last week who had hiked up Lafayette last summer, and we were talking about the what a nice place Greenleaf is to just chill out and head up to the Lafayette summit. Anyway, spring will be here, but never soon enough...

Chrysler Building At Sunset Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . Devin, Nate and I were in NYC as part of vacation week. Earileir in the day, we'd been to the Visionaire gallery in Soho to see an exhibit on flavor and art. I'm used to hearing about art from my wife, but my 11 year old daughter? (Well, it was the always au courant Weekly Reader.) Anyway, this was taken right at susnet, 23 February 2006, just as the city lights were coming on...

Northern State Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . I miss these old streetlights. I found this photo somewhere on the web (I don't remember exactly where.) When I was a kid growing up on Long Island, the Expressway didn' have lights east of the Nassau-Queens line, but the Northern State Parkway was lit up all the way home. Anyway, although its a high speed limited access freeway, it had these quaint lamp poles. (Probably not so quaint if you hit one!) Today, the Northern State still has landscaping and stone-faced overpasses, but these lights are almost all gone...

For a Patriots fan, I guess its time to rest up. Seriously, I'm not accustomed to this much calm and quiet for the first weekend in February. By the way, Commissioner Taglibue, can we do something about the timing of the season? The Super Bowl used to be just after the holidays, but it keeps slipping later each year to line up better with cold weather Sundays, for maximum indoor TV viewership. Is it going to start running into baseball spring training? Other than user Madden 2006 to simulate a Pats-Seahaks Super Bowl, not much doing this weekend. Pittsburgh-New England is supposed to be one of the NFL's new hot rivalries, and I have a hard time warming up to the Seahawks, although I love the city. Well, its in Detroit, so let's stay with another Rust Belt city -- Steelers 17, Seahawks 13.

Labor Day 2002 Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . I took this picture on the ferry line on Labor Day 2002. With the rain, it just said end of summer to me. This was on the ferry dock at Orient Point, waiting for the New London ferry.

12 July 2002 Georges Island 009 Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . My family went to the Boston Harbor Islands a few years ago. It's a National Park, and they run a water ferry from the Long Wharf in Boston out to the islands. This picture was taken while exploring the ruins of the old Civil War-era fort on Georges Isalnd. The pattern of light on the floor, perfectly matching the path through the room, caught my eye.

London Eye Originally uploaded by merialc . Didnt realize I could blog other people's Flickr photos. This is a favorite of mine -- I've never made it over to the London Eye at night, although now I think I'll have to. Hard to appreciate just how big it is, except in person.

February 2003 Parabolic Dunes, California Originally uploaded by cmcnulty2000 . I could never have planned this color the way it came out.

Last year, I noted that Terrell Owens was preferable to Randy Moss: "Some of TO's off-field comments may be self serving, but he can play. Randy may be a playmaker, but I don't recall TO ever running down a police officer with his car. " (Ridgeline, January 2005) Well, I was wrong. Randy Moss didnt blow up the Raiders. Bye bye, Terrell. The NBA could use a class act like you.

Long time, no post. Well that's life. Sorry to see Tom DeLay stepping down -- what a shock. Well, someone's going to need to take over for Jack Abramoff in leading awkward lobbyist junkets. Here, once again, is my highly incomplete list of best, most interesting, memorable, notable music for 2005. Not quite as strong as last year, but still a solid year. Kanye West -- Late Registration -- Addiction One of this year's all-around best. Skip Golddigger and check a hard redning story about death and the diamond trade. Also, JayZ gets called out for glifying the bling, and at least has the courtesy to show up to defend himself. Queens of the Stone Age -- In My Head. Is "Song of the Year" too strong? Paul McCartney -- Fine Line If you haven't heard McCartney since "Band on the Run", check it out. Ranks up there with his best post-Beatles work. Louis XIV -- Me Me Me Me The best UK band ever to come out of San Diego. Beck -- EPro Return to mid90...

I'm impressed with Matthew Gilbert's prodigous output today in the Boston Globe (covering both Lost and American Idol before deadline). Despite my enjoyment of Lost , and Gilbert's writing, though, I have to give the season finale a grade of 'incomplete'. It was loose, draggy, and commercial laden (was it the Super Bowl II?). And Lost has always been taut. Kudos to the explosive opening, and Walt's high seas kidnapping. But we still don't know what's down the hatch. And I'm starting to worry that series creators Abrams and Lindelof don't know, either.

The Media Gates How, you may ask, can I not post on the dynastic ascendancy of the Patriots and weigh in on this topic? Good question. My family and I were going to head back to NY last weekend to see the "Big" gates, but Nate's 24 hour stomach flu made a 9 hour car trip sound like less fun. So, instead, I'll have to satisfy my curiosity with something closer to Boston -- say, in Somerville? When Hayley first sent me the link, I laughed out loud (sorry, bloggists, I mean LOL). So I wasn't surprised to see it turn up in the Boston Globe. I am, however, amused to see that story traversing its way from the NY Times to other sites across the world. So I'll do my bit. This was the most amusing thing I've seen since the Onion reported that Ben & Jerry's had rejected "Hefty Lefty" as the title for their new line of Michael Moore-themed ice cream. Enjoy.

Madden 2005 -- let the computer play Eagles vs. Patriots at Jacksonville. See if TO plays. Convince yourself that Madden is in on the anti-Patriots "conspiracy" Do not purchase brats or, God forbid, cheesesteak -- visit sausageguy.com to get that perfect New England tailgate flavor. Visit the Weather Channel site (http://www.w3.weather.com/activities/other/other/weather/tenday.html?locid=USFL0228) to check local temperatures in Jacksonville on Game Day; make mental note to actually go one of these winters. Plan ahead! Work on your ultimate football mix CD: Rock and Roll Part II, For Those About To Rock, the Monday Night Football theme....umm, why not Rock and Roll Part II again? Two words: face paint. Revisit travel web sites to check one day advance purchase fare to Jacksonville -- $$$$(TK). Contemplate selling car. Reconsider -- according to Mapquest its an 18 hour drive, so you've got time. Trip to video store. Completely out of Three Games to ...