Endless Knots

Carrot dust and heaven in a barn... and a flood... and a festival

It was a gorgeous late August day,
fields abundant with the fruits of summer.

 

Even the goat and pig were friendly.

 

But we had come to eat the best meal of our lives.
First, hors d's (photo by Etienne Frossard) on the patio

 

With the eve's wine in the fine hands of Daniel Johnnes (r)

Fifty people at one very long table in the center of the barn
(photo, Etienne)

with tomatoes for sale along the walls.

With Ray Bradley (left) and his pal (since they were 14 growing up near Storrs, CT) David Bouley cooking in the kitchen, grilling cod in the field.

Six courses, maybe 16 (photo from Bouley Restaurant on Facebook, thanks)

Which then were served to discerning palates (thanks again, Etienne)

Including the piece, the Carrot Dust of the title (Etienne, encore)

 

Course by course until it was over and David and Ray said goodbye
and that they'd do it again -- soon

And that the Annual Festival would take place Sept 25

 

But what we did not know is that just a few days later,
Hurricane Irene would turn Ray's farm into this
and ruin his whole crop

 

As the waters receded, fund-raising arose (everyone loves Ray)
and he continued to go to (Grand Army Plaza and 97th Street Farmers) Market
selling what he could (here on Sept 24)

 

And the next day, we went to the festival, which NY Times reported on here
and where Etienne took this picture of these tractor drivers

And I took this picture of Etienne

And of Heather Marold Thomason, whose company badfeather does Ray's website and who's been reporting on the flood on her blog

And said goodbye to Iris Kimberg, who runs the show

And to the stone pig

Collaboration -- solo style

Thanks to my friend Tom Witkin for this perfect definition of collaboration, compliments of some fine New Yorker cartoonist.

Collaborating on healthcare IT -- do it!

My friend Liz Barron, who directs custom programs at University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, sends along the following invitation to a free one-day symposium on amping up healthcare IT by increasing research and collaboration. No need for me to ballyhoo how important this is. P.S. I like the name of the student union at UMD -- and that's seriously the university's logo honoring Kermit's friend and UMD grad Jim Henson.

University of Maryland Fall Health IT Summit

Accelerating Information Technology Enabled Healthcare Transformation in Maryland and the Nation

When: Friday, October 7, 2011, 8:30am - 5:30pm
Where: Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland, College Park

Engage with faculty from across the University of Maryland, College Park and Baltimore campuses, as they provide briefings on their latest health IT research; hear from state leaders as they provide insights on health reform in Maryland and implications for the state’s health IT strategic roadmap; join with industry, federal and university executives as they share perspectives on driving fruitful collaboration and tapping the rich resources available through the university; and much more!  Joshua Sharfstein, Maryland's secretary of health and mental hygiene, will deliver the keynote address.  The University of Maryland Fall Health IT Summit is hosted by the University of Maryland Center of Excellence in Health IT Research.

The Summit's goal is to stimulate research and collaboration between the University of Maryland and potential partners in government, industry, clinical organizations and advocacy groups.  It is a forum for stakeholders across the health ecosystem to discuss current health information technology strategy, policy and technology issues that Maryland and the nation is facing. The event also showcases the multi-disciplinary resources of the university, through its College Park and Baltimore campuses, that are being leveraged to accelerate health transformation. The event also provides a forum for engaging students and furthering intra-campus collaboration and research opportunities.

The event is free, but space is limited. Please RSVP by sending an email including your name, organization and title to Faye Baker at fbaker@rhsmith.umd.edu




College Park, MD  20742-1815

"Grand Pursuit" #12 on NY Times hardcover best-seller list (Oct 2)

Have you read it yet?

So excited to report that Sylvia's new book is racing up the charts. Here's the October 2, 2011, NY Times best-seller list with the book at #12.

And if you're in NY and looking for a fun evening next Tues, Sept 27, 7:30 PM, head on up to the 92nd Street Y where Sylvia will be holding forth with Paul Krugman, after which she'll be signing books.

But if you're not in NY, don't despair. She's got a ton of events coming up, including a lecture at the Boston Public Library on October 27 with Amartya Sen at 6 PM.

See you there?

Artist alert for Bradley Farm

Further to yesterday's post from the Bradley Farm newsletter, pictures reprinted with permission (and I still promise that post on the heavenly meal served at Bradley Farm on Aug 21):

 

Show Your Support, Design a Bradley Farm T-shirt!

Here's your chance to help support Bradley Farm and show us how creative you can be!

Ray suffered terrible losses from Hurricane Irene. The farm, and with it the fields of crops that would have been harvested to sell at the markets, have all been flooded. We're planning to sell t-shirts as a fundraiser to help Ray recover some of his losses, and we thought it would be a lot more fun to get Ray's loyal customers in on the action.

Bradley Farm T-Shirt Contest
Send us your best idea. The winning t-shirt will be for sale at this year's Annual Farm Festival!

Contest: Email your design by Wednesday, September 14th to contest@raybradleyfarm.com. We'll choose a favorite and the winner will be announced in the next week's newsletter.

Prize: The winner will receive a t-shirt, a free ticket to this year's farm party and a big hug from Ray. All submissions will be included in a gallery on the website.

Details: Your design must be able to be reproduced in 1 or 2 colors (it will be silkscreened). Send us a jpeg, PDF or other digital file (no Word Docs please) that is at least 150dpi at actual size (email us with any questions about this).