The Haverblog

Just yesterday I noticed that our resident black squirrel population was looking especially fat ‘n fluffy. 

A drizzly Friday afternoon, and a jagged-toothed inflatable monster on wheels stands guard (or beckons?) on the steps of Ryan gym. I approach cautiously. He appears to be snacking on…us?…and as I squeeze past I can hear the hiss of inhaling and exhaling air. Inside Ryan gym, I find New York performance artist Pat Oleszko getting ready for a weekend-long workshop on the creation of such inflatable pieces. 

Posing next to the half-jeep, half-prehistoric animal on the steps, Oleszko says this “Warosaurus” carries a clearly political message—her response to the current administration’s handling of international affairs.

Over the weekend students had the opportunity to create, assemble, and paint their very own inflatable. Oleszko promised a group effort:  a “Group grope which will be Yearning Man, Procuring Man, Blurring Man, and Touring Man.” I get the sense that the process will prove just as fun, engaging, and larger than life as the finished product itself.

-Monica Pace, Office of Communications

Gotta love this guy.   Here’s an earlier Tom Donnelly post – including video - from last year.

Meanwhile, in Physics, Walter Smith gets noted on a Discovery blog:  “Smith runs what he describes as the premiere online collection of physics songs in the world.”

Sad news to report:  Patty Coleman, daughter of former Haverford president Jack Coleman, has died.  She was diagnosed with MS before she turned 30, says her Philadelphia Inquirer obituatuary, which also quotes her brother John:  ”Some would have reason to retire or surrender.  She saw it as a reason to step on the gas.”  Our thoughts are with the Coleman family, which includes brother Steve ‘84.

Norm Pearlstine ‘64, who once headed up Time, Inc., is the lead anecdote in a Vanity Fair profile of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s media empire. “Gone is the private office; here, both of Pearlstine’s workstations are smaller, and have less privacy, than that of his former secretary. All of which is fine by him. As far as Pearlstine is concerned, what really differentiates Bloomberg News from all of the Establishment outlets he’s been at in the past is the fact that it is still making money. “I haven’t felt this energized in a long time,” he told me on his second day in his new digs. “I can’t stress enough the excitement.”

Ted Robinson ‘59, a retired pediatrician, has a refreshing perspective on our health care system.  “His experience in medicine is that ‘practicing good medicine can be practicing cost-effective medicine. Time spent asking questions can reap huge savings’…Looking at today’s health care system, he said that ‘doctors have more incentive [to order tests and prescribe medications] than to take case history. It’s the physicians who drive costs.’”

John Berg ‘84 lands a top role at Young & Rubicam. “John is a brilliant addition to our North America management team,” said Tom Sebok, President and CEO of Y&R North America. “He knows how to drive growth, knows how to develop and deliver great work, and understands the impact that building the right agency culture has on both. John Berg always touches the heart of his clients and his employees, and that translates to great results.”