While walking down Newbury Street in Boston I came across Harvey Dent campaigners - students (or possibly actors) participating in the viral marketing for the new Batman movie.

I even got a sticker out of the deal:

For non Bat-fans out there, Harvey Dent is the real name of “Two-face,” a major villain in the Batman comics.  Dent starts as a lawyer fighting crime in Gotham, but half his face is later scarred by acid.  This results in a split personality, as well as a tendency to flip a coin to decide whether to be good or evil.  

You can see a toy based on his look in the new movie below, to get a sense of what the face above will look like by the end of the movie.

The Lone Star appears throughout the state capitol in Austin, Texas. On the wooden seats, the gates, and the monuments dotting the landscape. It appears at the pinnacle of the dome in the center of the building, and is reflected in the floor at bottom. It’s a subtle reminder of the Lone Star state, without having the Texan flag waving throughout the building.

Here are a few photos of stars I noticed (click on any to view larger, Flickr version).

While reading The Liturgy of the Hours during Lent, I came across the following reading:

While all the runners in the stadium take part in the race, the award goes to one man.  In that case, run so as to win!

Athletes deny themselves all sorts of things.  They do this to win a crown of leaves that withers, but we a crown that is imperishable.

I do not run like a man who loses sight of the finish line.  I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.

What I do is discipline my own body and master it, for fear that after having preached to others I myself should be rejected.

I recall being incredibly moved when I read this passage; I read it at a time when I felt I had “lost sight of the finish line.”  For me, shadowboxing is sleeping in on the weekend instead of getting up early, taking too many coffee breaks, surfing the net instead of coding sites.  It’s the tendency to coast when I could be pushing further - running “so as to win.”

And now when I come across challenges, and have the choice to sidestep it or push myself, I think of this passage - so that “I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.”

Shown below: the “Katrina Tryptych” found in Mi Casa on South College Street in Austin, TX.

All panels are painted over silkscreens of the headlines from the tragedy.

Left panel: the weather pattern.

Center panel: Creole woman holding lilies, against the backdrop of a ruined New Orleans.

Right panel: New Orleans jazz funeral, with water flowing out of the frame and uniting all the panels.

The painted triptych was created by Channe Felton; posters are available though I can’t find ordering info online. If you find yourself on South College Street, swing in and take a look at this interesting shop.

Now posted to Flickr, a photo album of photos taken around Austin, Texas.  Mostly of the capitol building, where I spent an enjoyable Sunday morning walking around and snapping shots:

I need to get some words to go with these pictures, especially on the preponderance of the “Lone Star” symbol throughout the capital building.