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More Nancy ...
First job: Assistant to Vice Chair, Democratic National Committee
Little known fact: Every year I try to do something truly frightening. I've ridden in a helicopter, scaled a mountain, gone down in a deep pit mine and been interviewed by business reporter Peter Binzen. Talk about scary!
Home: Center city Philadelphia
Want to be remembered for: Being kind and wise
Philosophy: Not-for profits face tougher challenges than their corporate counterparts because nonprofit leaders have to constantly struggle to balance the mission against best business practices.
Career Path: Peripatetic. Because I've work in and for such a wide range of not-for-profits, I'm able to see things in a wider view.
Mentors: Armen Tashdinan, Larry Wiseman, Jim Hamilton and my mother
Word that best describes you: Strategic
Best decision: Marrying my husband Myron Bloom and having a sensational kid, Nella
Worst decision: Signing up for a job with 27 bosses
Favorite vacation spot: The next one
Favorite performance art: The Mummers
Favorite music: Frank Sinatra in the 1950s, The Beatles in the 1960s and everything by Vivaldi and Cole Porter
Favorite mode of transportation: Motor scooter
Favorite way to spend a Sunday: At the movies, the first matinee of the day, eating popcorn for breakfast
In no particular order
Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology by Lawrence Weschler
My favorite book about my favorite museum, the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles . The book is a commentary on the origins of museums, the art of display, and the power of the authentic. Oh yes, it's also about the strange world of horned humans, pronged ants, and tiny trailer park dioramas.
The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession by Susan Orleans
"Readers suffering from the impeachment blues can start the new year right with The Orchid Thief, a swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great. Here are visionary passions and fierce obsessions; heroic settings; outsize characters, entrepreneurs on the edge of the frontier, adventurers seeking the bubble reputation....Ms. Orlean, an intrepid sociologist among the orchid fanatics, is also a poetic observer of the Fakahatchee swamp. There's an offhand brilliance in her accounts of its weird beauty and discomforts. But the most compelling sections of this fascinating book deal with the orchids themselves....Zestful." -- Frances Taliaferro, The Wall Street Journal
Then and Now: The Wonders of the Ancient World Brought to Life in Vivid See-Through
Reproductions by Stefania Perring
This book features lushly illustrated profiles of twenty of the world's greatest architectural wonders. Photographs of how they appear today are overlaid with detailed illustrations on clear acetate filling in the detail of their appearance at their prime.. A perfect book for the sick bed, a book for imagining.
Wisconsin Death Trip by Michael Lesy, Charles Van Schaick
Photo montages of dead babies, grim-faced pioneers, and farm animals. Newspaper clips relating murder, mayhem and grief. In this haunting book the authors capture the essence of life on the Wisconsin prairie around the turn of the 20th century.
The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Davis
A history so compelling you long to have authored it yourself. The true story of an incident in 16th century France, The Return of Martin Guerre transports the reader into a world that's both familiar and strange where a man may or may not be who he says he is and those who know him best may or may not care.
The American Senator by Anthony Trollope
I'm such a fan of Trollop that I took a sentimental journey to the Irish town where he once served as postmaster. The Victorian-era characters that populate his novels think and act exactly like people you know today--only dressed up in funny clothes. You may hate or admire Arabella Trefoil, the beautiful anti-heroine of this novel, but you're unlikely to forget her.
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
Small town spinsters with go-nowhere lives. Nothing much happens in a Barbara Pym novel. But that's exactly what gives space for such subtle depth.
The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics by Norton Juster
For the romantic, here's the classic tale of the search for true love among the dot, the line and the squiggle. Elegantly illustrated.
The Volcano Lover: A Romance by Susan Sontag
Set in 18th century Naples, based on the lives of Sir William Hamilton, his celebrated wife Emma, and Lord Nelson, and peopled with many of the great figures of the day, this unconventional, bestselling historical romance from the National Book Award-winning author of In America touches on themes of sex and revolution, the fate of nature, art and the collector's obsessions, and, above all, love. (Amazon.com product description).
Reading Terminal Market, 12th and Arch Streets
The raw, the cooked, and the pots and pans to cook it in. It's why I could never live anywhere but Philadelphia. Nothing beats Reading Terminal early on Saturday mornings when the regulars share breakfast, gossip and recipes before the crowds arrive.
Bitar's, 945 Federal Street
Lebanese grocery with all the usual fare and more: multiple choices of feta cheese, olives, and pastries. Home made yoghurt is great on dirty bread - large rounds of pita bread covered with seeds and spices. Luncheonette attached in case you need a quick salad or grilled chicken sandwich.
Friday Saturday Sunday, 261 South 21st Street
Same as it ever was, with menu classics reaching back to the early days of Philadelphia 's restaurant renaissance.
Hamilton's Grill Room, Lambertville, NJ
The freshest seasonal fare presented in elegant informality by Jim Hamilton himself, a master of food and décor.
Dante's & Luigis Restaurant 762 South 10th Street
Italian food and wine so authentic you would swear you're in Tuscany .
Szechuan China Royal Restaurant, 727 Walnut Street
There may be better Chinese restaurants in town but will they deliver in a snow storm?
Bar Ferdinand, 1030 N. Second Street
The liveliest bar in Northern Liberties, the liveliest neighborhood in town, with many varieties of tapas � always something new � and good Spanish wine. Best when the weather's warn and you can sit at a table on the sidewalk outside.
Vietnam Palace, 222 N. Eleventh Street
You simply can't get better Vietnamese food for the money anywhere in town.
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