Thank U [2020], Next

There was a global pandemic, wildfires, murder hornets, lockdowns, protests to open businesses, protests to close businesses, kidnapping plots, a presidential election, and more. We stayed at home, masked up, and social distanced. People baked bread, started gardens, ordered takeout, dined outdoors, distance learned, worked from home, had virtual celebrations, threw drive-through parties, and (finally or suddenly) found themselves in December.

Life for me has continued much as it has for the past nine months, except with colder temperatures, less sun, and Christmas lights. My local NBC channel, however, started the month off by airing the wrong Jeopardy! episode on Tuesday, December 1. I completed my mini-quest to photograph all the canoe sculptures the next day, Wednesday, December 2, and worked on finalizing simulation results and writing my next manuscript throughout the week. Here we go again. The Revolution’s pursuit of their first MLS cup continues, as they suffered a 0-1 defeat at the hands feet of the Columbus Crew on Sunday, December 6, ending their 2020 playoff run and season.

Hiking at sunset

The week of Monday, December 7 was another normal week of research. It got pretty warm for December (mid 40s) at the end of the week so I went out for a couple walks/hikes and discovered that some individual or individuals had put up ornaments on one of the trails that I visit occasionally, which was a fun surprise. Saturday, December 12 was grocery day, and on Sunday, December 13 I made a batch of brownies.

It was back to work on Monday, December 14, and I also watched a virtual performance of Handel’s Messiah put together by UMS (University Musical Society). The video combined recordings from past years, a virtual chorus (plus organ) from this year, and commentary from the music director. I might have tried to go to the live performance this year – I missed it last year for Tuba Christmas – but obviously that didn’t happen. On Tuesday, December 15, I got out for a quick walk around North Campus, which was indeed quiet with only a few days of finals left in the semester. I finished season 4 of Star Trek: The Next Generation on Wednesday, December 16, as well as turned the last of a bag of slightly wrinkly apples into applesauce, and then made a pot of curry on Thursday, December 17. After going over proofs of my paper, it was published online on Friday, December 18. Four years of work turned into eleven pages plus citations.

Snow at Traver Creek

On Monday, December 21, my lab had our last (virtual) group meeting of 2020. I took a couple pre-Christmas hikes on Tuesday, December 22 and Wednesday, December 23. I went out right after lunch on Wednesday to try and beat the rain, and I was almost successful. Christmas Day, Friday, December 25, was uneventful for me. Ann Arbor did end up with a white Christmas, but the temperatures haven’t consistently remained below freezing so since then it’s been grey, gross, and muddy outside. I’ve been hiding out in my apartment watching Netflix, intermittently doing research, and working on cross stitch, my latest old-person hobby (joining solving crossword puzzles, eating soft foods, and watching Jeopardy!). Because it’s been so gross outside (it would actually be better if the ground went ahead and completely froze already; it’s not good for the trails to be constantly wet and muddy), I gave in and ordered cross stitch supplies to entertain myself this winter. Although I didn’t need them by a deadline, USPS delivered within a week across the country, saving my things from package purgatory in Allen Park outside of Detroit. Today, on Thursday, December 31, the last day of 2020, I took one last hike and will bake a final batch of cookies for the year, then it’s onward to 2021.

Canoe Art

My latest discovery in Ann Arbor was a giant fan made out of canoes. I was in the middle of a 7 mile walk along the Huron River (because why not) when I came upon this work of art, part of Ann Arbor’s Canoe Imagine Art project. Canoe Art was a public art initiative consisting of four sculptures constructed of recycled canoes from the city’s canoe liveries. The sculptures were installed in parks along the Huron River in 2015. Each chosen artist was given the canoes for their sculpture and an honorarium.

Tulip (Ray Katz), Bandemer Park

Starting furthest up the river at Bandemer Park, we have a canoe tulip. I didn’t remember this canoe sculpture, but when I went to deliberately hunt it down to photograph it, I realized I had seen it before in my quest to find a way to Barton Nature Area. It’s on the north side of Bandemer Park, in the area marked as Huron Bridge Park on Google maps, and I guess it does bear some resemblance to a tulip?

Turbine (Missouri State Western University artists J. Neil Lawley, Heather Andrews, Jake Proffit, Dustin Lafromboise and Hausman Metal Works), Broadway Park

Continuing down the Huron, we reach Broadway Park, which is actually a dog park next to Kerrytown. Out of all the canoe sculptures, this one has the most potential to be an accidental health hazard, because it’s located inside one of the fenced areas of the dog park. The canoes are at a perfect height to give someone a concussion and/or head laceration either from walking straight into the edge of a boat or ducking beneath the sculpture to deal with a dog then standing up without paying attention.

Canoe-vue (Jeff Zischke), Island Park

This was the first canoe sculpture I was aware of. I’ve been to Island Park for ChemE barbecues a couple times, and I think I did a summer game badge at the park as well. Island Park is along the stretch of the Huron between Gallup and Bandemer, just off the Fuller Road portion of the Border to Border (B2B) Trail, so it’s not too far from campus. I believe the idea behind Canoe-vue is that the canoes are now also benches, but I’ve never seen anyone sitting there.

Canoe Fan (Victoria Fuller), Gallup Park

Finally, we reach Gallup Park. Unlike the other three sculptures, there’s more of a story behind how the city ended up owning Canoe Fan. In return for materials and the honorarium, the city was supposed to retain ownership of the sculptures, but the Canoe Fan artist didn’t realize this and ended up using canoes she had previously purchased (just your average starter art kit: markers, glue, construction paper, googly eyes, canoes, etc.). As a result, she loaned her sculpture to the city, and the city ended up buying it for roughly the cost of materials and time. I’ve been to/biked through Gallup Park plenty of times, but the B2B runs along the other side of the river. This time, I approached Gallup from Furstenberg instead of the B2B and was exploring the opposite side of the Huron when I found Canoe Fan. You can get from one side of Gallup to the other in multiple places in the park, I just usually don’t because I’m on the B2B.

So there you have it. Four sculptures made of canoes. A celebration of the Huron River, recycling, and public art.

December Soccer

Sunday, November 29 at Orlando City SC – 3-1 W – After facing old friends in the first two rounds, the Revolution encountered Orlando for the first time in 2020. While it was freezing back in New England, it was a steamy 80 in Florida, as evidenced by the shirtless fans in attendance. If you’re going to have fans in the middle of a pandemic while thousands are getting sick, hospitalizations are rising, the medical system is being strained, and people are dying, at the very least keep them spread out and masked. But no, every time the broadcast cut to fans there was at least one fully unmasked person and one or two more with noses sticking out, plus people crowding together, and lots of yelling. Not cool, Orlando. Also not a good look – the amount of whining that Orlando did, which will come into play later. Similarly to the Union game, the Revolution scored two early goals, the first a 17th minute penalty kick that Tajon Buchanan earned and Carles Gil converted. The second goal came in minute 25 and started with Buchanan winning the ball off Orlando DP Nani. Gil took the ball down the field, slowed down outside the box just enough to give Buchanan time to make a run on the right, and handed the ball off to Buchanan, who put the ball into the box. Adam Buksa’s sliding shot came off the post (again), and Gustavo Bou picked up the rebound to put New England up two goals. Orlando got a goal back off an awful miscommunication between Henry Kessler and Matt Turner. Then, fifteen minutes into the second half, an Orlando player made a flying, studs-up tackle into Matt Polster’s calf. One hundred percent a red card, but the Orlando players lose their minds and swarm the ref, earning Nani a yellow card for dissent (which should probably have been given, like, yesterday for the amount of screaming at and touching of the ref he’d already done) and Orlando their third mass confrontation fine of the season. Now the Revolution just have to see the game out, which is easier said than done when you’re the Revolution. In the 74th minute, they give up a penalty, and none other than Nani steps up to the spot . . . but Turner saves his shot. To close out the night, Buksa, Gil, and Bou combine to get Bou his second goal of the night in the 86th minute, which is enough to end Orlando’s hopes of a comeback.

Sunday, December 6 at Columbus Crew – 0-1 L – The Revolution made it far enough into the playoffs to be playing in December. [Side note – fans were present, but the spacing looked much better than at the Orlando game. No camera closeups of the stands, maybe to avoid showing things they wouldn’t want to reveal to those watching, but the general atmosphere at least felt like they were acknowledging that the pandemic exists.] Unfortunately, this was not their day. They couldn’t maintain possession in the middle of the field and their counterattack wasn’t sharp enough to get much going. Bruce Arena had been playing Matt Polster and Scott Caldwell in the middle of the midfield, and they’d been good, but they had too much to do in Columbus with the amount of possession the team was conceding. The Crew got their goal in the middle of the second half from a nicely placed cross, layoff, and shot into the bottom corner of Turner’s goal. Around that time, there was a missed pass between Gil and Bou that felt like a decent representation of the game. Following three solid games, it felt like players were half a step off from each other. They pushed for an equalizer that would get them to extra time, but there would be no goal for them this day. Thus ended their very weird 2020 season.

Final thoughts on the season: Matt Turner was the most consistent player all season. I’m not going to argue he should be the USMNT’s starting goalkeeper, but he deserves a callup and probably a cap.

Henry Kessler was robbed of the Rookie of the Year award. Okay, there was another player who probably would have won, but he had a legitimate case. However, with three games left in the season, MLS changed it to the Young Player of the Year award so they could give it to someone else. As a defender, he’s not going to get as much attention as a forward scoring goals, but he had a really good rookie season.

Tajon Buchanan is the most improved/breakout player of the year for the team. He didn’t suddenly start putting up crazy numbers of goals and assists, but he did get his first professional goal(s), and looks dangerous on the right side of the field.

Having Carles Gil on the field for the Revolution makes the entire team play better. That’s it. That’s the thought.

Turns out paying for designated players works. In their playoff run, Gil had two goals and three assists, Bou had three goals and an assist, and Buksa only had one goal, but had shots go off the post in (I think) every game and he looks much better with Gil controlling the ball in the midfield and providing service into the box.

And finally, honestly, even just the Philadelphia win would have been a decent end to the season, but they made it a game farther to the Eastern Conference Final. With the unpredictability of the playoffs, a conference final isn’t a bad way to go out. There’s a little bit of wondering what if – what if they made it to MLS cup? what if this was their year? – but ultimately, in a year of stops and starts, empty stadiums, bizarre schedules, bubbles, travel restrictions, and unprecedented times, they delivered some special moments. Long live the crayon flag.

Sixth Time’s the Charm

Following the end of the regular season and a two-week break, MLS playoffs shenanigans commenced.

Friday, November 20 vs. Montreal Impact – 2-1 W – With one win in their final five games, the Revolution fell in the standings and played themselves into a play-in game against the Impact. At an empty Gillette Stadium, the teams met for the fifth time in 2020. The Impact won the season opener in Montreal all the way back on Leap Day, but New England followed that up with victories at MLS is back in Orlando, at home in Foxborough, and away at Red Bull Arena. Would the Revolution be able to take a fourth win from the Impact? As it turned out, yes. They were the better team through most of the first half, and were moving the ball pretty well with Carles Gil, Gustavo Bou, and Adam Buksa all starting. As halftime closed in, Bou put in a cross to Gil, who volleyed the ball into the back of the net to put the Revolution ahead. It was his first goal of the season, and a very nice one at that. Montreal evened the score on an unmarked header off a free kick (never seen that before, Revolution /s). That left New England most of the second half to push for a go-ahead goal. They tried, had some shots, but it wasn’t until the last minute of stoppage time that Bou was given too much time and space outside the top of the box, shot, and scored. And though he didn’t score, Buksa had a good game – he had a couple headers saved off the posts; Tajon Buchanan had a decent shot and looked okay at right back for about half the game (he was subbed off and Matt Polster took over there); and Teal Bunbury had a chance to put the Revolution ahead in the middle of the second half, took time to aim, and shot over the crossbar. Would it be a Revolution game otherwise?

Tuesday, November 24 at Philadelphia Union – 2-0 W – “Hello Philly our old friend/We’ve come to face you once again/Because the Impact we have beaten/Now the seeds say ‘play the Union’/In the playoffs where strange things can happen/All the time/Within the game of soccer” (thanks and apologies to Simon and Garfunkel and “The Sound of Silence”). In their sixth meeting of 2020, the Revolution finally came away from Pennsylvania with a victory, upsetting the top seed in the eastern conference and ruining a lot of brackets. Nashville, the other play-in game victor, also upset their opponent, number two seed Toronto, leading people to wonder if giving the top seeds a two-week break while the play-in teams were coming in with momentum was actually a good idea. Over in Pennsylvania, after the teams settled in, the Revolution struck twice in quick succession in the 26th and 30th minutes. After a good game against Montreal, Adam Buksa got his goal, a header off a Carles Gil free kick. That was followed minutes later by Tajon Buchanan receiving the ball, again from Gil, on the right side of the field, getting around his defender, and putting the ball in the back of the net. With a two-goal lead, New England proceeded to mostly (minus one ridiculous shot by Gil that almost curled straight into the top right corner of the goal but hit the crossbar) play bunkerball for the remaining hour plus of soccer. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done, to the relief of Revolution fans everywhere. Two funny things about this game – 1) limited numbers of fans were present, but the broadcast covered them up with the fake tarps/ads they’ve been superimposing over the stands all season, and 2) the broadcast team placed a microphone really close to Bruce Arena, providing us with such great quotes as “we’re killing the game off, Kelyn,” “get up, Henry,” and “clear the ball.”

With that, the Revolution moved on into the bracket, to face Orlando City SC in Orlando. After throwing everyone’s predictions into disarray, the feeling around the team was “why not?”

Lost and Found

When you travel a lot on foot, it gives you time to really see some things. It can be good, in a “take time to smell the roses” or “the journey matters more than the destination“ way. It can be bad, like when you get caught in a downpour and your socks get wet or the heat and humidity combine to do their best impression of a sauna and the things you’re seeing are raindrops and mirages. And sometimes it’s just weird. Exhibit A: Baby in a Shoe.

Baby in a Shoe

Baby in a Shoe is a mixed media work composed of rubber and plastic, artist unknown, seen on display on the Cayuga Trail in Ithaca, NY. How did someone lose a shoe? Where did the baby come from? How did the shoe and baby meet? These are the questions we must ask ourselves.

Next, we have Chair. Made of wood and metal, Chair is a reworking of its surroundings. Imagine you’ve been walking through the forest for hours. You’re tired, and hungry, and you’re looking for a convenient rock or log to sit down, rest your feet, and snack on some trail mix. You round the corner, and there’s Chair. You sit down on Chair. You feel a tickle on your arms and legs. It’s a trap. Chair’s bereft tree friends are reaching out for you with their branches and pulling you into the forest. The last thing you see before the trees swallow you is Chair.

Chair

Moving on, to Baby Toddler Kids UPF 50+ Adjustable Chin Strap Wide Brim Breathable Summer Play Beach Pool Swim Sun Hat. This cotton and/or polyester work evokes the child inside each of us while also conjuring a sense of loss. Now lost: baby hat, once worn.

Baby Toddler Kids UPF 50+ Adjustable Chin Strap Wide Brim Breathable Summer Play Beach Pool Swim Sun Hat

Finally, Door 2 is an interactive outdoor art installation constructed from wood and glass. As it lies on the ground, the rainwater pools on its panes. The leaves cover its planks. Even as nature reclaims Door 2, we recognize its human form and function. Is it [a] Door 2 a subterranean civilization? Door 2 an alternate dimension? Door 2 a mud puddle? We may never know.

Door 2

Thank you for visiting the Lost and Found art gallery, where admission is always free and the exhibits are ever changing. Please enjoy the rest of your day and come back again soon.