Pyongyang
Now the NY Philarmonic has been to Pyongyang. There's a short video to watch on the NY Times website. Take a look at it. Then read the book. See what you think.
(function() { (function(){function b(g){this.t={};this.tick=function(h,m,f){var n=void 0!=f?f:(new Date).getTime();this.t[h]=[n,m];if(void 0==f)try{window.console.timeStamp("CSI/"+h)}catch(q){}};this.getStartTickTime=function(){return this.t.start[0]};this.tick("start",null,g)}var a;if(window.performance)var e=(a=window.performance.timing)&&a.responseStart;var p=0 A favorite blogger writes: "What has happened to all the women who are done with child-rearing? Young voices permeate the blogosphere." What do sixty-something women do with their lives, especially if they do not have full-time jobs? We're here to find that out. But of course. It's not forsythia. It's witch hazel! Why does nobody else grow this? Hint: it's because it's not blooming during the times when ordinary people are apt to be cruising the garden centers. Note to self: get some! And what about those euonymus topiaries in the top picture. That wouldn't be so hard to do. In fact I have a couple on the back plateau that are just about the right size to be candidates for haircuts like this. Should I try it? And this was the last pose of the day, ten minutes in pencil. In addition there were a dozen or so 2-minute poses done in conte crayon. It's going to be an excellent supplement to the pastel class. You can see how the dark backs of the heads of the audience define the foreground, the light figures of the performers make up the middle ground, and the intermediate tones of the scenery make up the background. The tiny lit face and score in the center remind us that there's an orchestra in there too. Again and again we're learning (I'm talking about the pastel class now) how it's all about VALUES - get them right, and the colors will fall into place. I'm learning, I'm learning! I did a bunch of thumbnail sketches of these paintings (no photos allowed) to help drive it home. Even though I spent most of my time on this one exhibit, there was the whole REST of the place to see too. I hadn't been there in years. The NYHS is famous for having all the 400+ original Audubon watercolors for Birds of America, acquired in 1863 for the then astronomical price of $4000 (they would have gone to the British Museum otherwise). Only a few at a time can be displayed because of light issues. There was a powerful exhibit of 9/11 photographs that I refused to let myself get too sucked into - I really didn't want to relive those awful days. There was also a large exhibit related to a spectacular visit that Lafayette paid to the US in 1824-5. He was given a hero's welcome as he traveled to 24 states over the course of 13 months - went as far west as New Orleans and St Louis. I hadn't known that much about Lafayette and probably wouldn't have gone out of my way to see this, but I'm very glad that I didn't miss it. One of the best parts (I should have photographed it but I wasn't sure whether it was allowed) was an enormous privately owned "basket carriage" that was used to transport Lafayette from one town to the next over nearly non-existent roads while in Vermont - at the astonishing speed of 9 miles per hour! And then there was the whole permanent collection, - huge clumps of like-minded objects - chairs, buttons, tools, plaster casts, glass - you name it, it's there. Some of the storage areas were visible (through glass) so you could get a sense of what the rest of the "iceberg" was all about. Who knew there was so much going on outside on such a gray day? Off to work now... Later: I'm not at all pleased with these, but I'll let you have a peek anyhow. Remember, this is an exercise in COLOR mixing. It's not easy to get every kind of green from just those 3 primaries.
Life Begins at Sixty-Five
Friday, February 29, 2008
Pyongyang
Now the NY Philarmonic has been to Pyongyang. There's a short video to watch on the NY Times website. Take a look at it. Then read the book. See what you think.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
From Ougadougou
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Values
So, today's classwork involved making three separate pastel drawings, using only black, white, and gray, on three different backgrounds - also black, white, and gray. Theoretically they should end up looking pretty much the same. On the black paper, the darkest value (the table) would be left alone. Similarly, on the white paper, the lightest areas would be left for the paper to show through. For the gray, we had to choose a "middle value" that would correspond to the paper. Not quite as easy as it sounds, but an excellent exercise.
The instructor couldn't be there, but she left instructions as to how the objects were to be arranged. We'll bring the finished products back next week for her to see and discuss. I have a few finishing touches to add.
Does anyone recognize that square object on the bottom - the one with the concave center? I grew up in a household where both parents were chain smokers; every horizontal surface held one of these giant ashtrays, and they were generally overflowing with ashes and used butts. Even non-smoking households would have ashtrays available for visitors. Ack! What were they thinking?
Speaking of value, I'm a latecomer, but a loyal convert to the "dollar store" phenomenon. Hoping that little tripod will be helpful for photographing my "art", once I figure out a system. And the sandpaper will be used as a "ground" for pastel practice (artists' archival sandpaper is in a realm of its own - too costly to practice on). The knives are for the garden - I'm always needing them for cutting roots, dividing tough perennials, opening bags of mulch.... and I buy those little plastic clips whenever I see them. Who can resist?Saturday, February 23, 2008
Movies again
La Vie en Rose
Finding Neverland
The History Boys
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Margot at the Wedding
I didn't intend it to be so, but they are actually listed in order of my preference, though they're quite different from one another, so it's a little silly to compare.
Marion Cotillard is incredible as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose. If you're too young to remember the magical Piaf sound, there are some YouTube clips to watch. Milord was like the theme song of my college years. Update: Wow! She just won the Oscar!
Finding Neverland is about JM Barrie and the writing of Peter Pan. I have no idea how much reality it's based on - maybe none - but it's altogether charming. Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet star.
The History Boys is about eight bright, middle-class young men being prepped for admission to Oxford and Cambridge by a pair of teachers with very different points of view about education. The cast came directly from a legitimate theater run and they are all a joy to watch.
The Girl with the Pearl Earring is based on Tracy Chevalier's novel of the same name. It's a fictional story based on the Vermeer painting . Visually it's gorgeous, and that's the main reason to see it. It's like being able to walk around in 17th century Delft - or, for that matter, a Vermeer. The plot is a little thin and Scarlett Johansson moves through the film in a kind of daze - rarely speaking, always looking pale and lovely - like the girl in the painting.
Margot at the Wedding just didn't quite work for me. The actors were all competent - Jack Black was exceptional, in fact. Maybe it was by design, but it seemed very choppy to me; each scene would come to an abrupt end - almost as if the film ran out - then it would be on to something else. I would rarely notice anything like that, so I assume it was intentional. The transportation symbolism (movie starts on a train, ends on a bus) seemed a little heavy-handed (yes these people are all growing, moving on....). Oh well. The director's earlier autobiographical film, The Squid and the Whale, is worth looking for.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Matching funds
The next screen I see is this:
Thank you! Here's Your Match ...
Your donation has been matched by the person below.
Now you can send them a note about why you gave or respond to their message. If you choose, you can reveal your email address to them so that you can continue the conversation.
Your contribution has been matched by: Jenny N
A message to you from the person who matched your contribution:
This is the first time I've ever given to any political campaign. But unlike any time before, I am inspired to be a part of this campaign and I believe we can change the face of politics by showing the world that we as individuals can make a difference in the national political scene. Unfortunately money is still needed to reach voters, so I believe it is important to support Barack Obama with our own little bit, rather than having him take money from special interest groups and political action committees. Thank you for contributing.
OK, I sent Jenny a note, but opted not to continue the conversation (there was a box to check for that). But then (OK, immediately), I get a thank you email from the campaign that says, in part:
It's going to be difficult to bring in enough new donors to hit our goal by March 4. Make an even bigger difference by inspiring someone new to join our campaign.
Make a promise to match someone's first-time donation now:
https://donate.barackobama.com/promise There's also a space to send a form letter to ten "friends"....
I'm new to this, so maybe it's just business as usual. But it seems like one smart campaign strategy to me.
Update: Here's the thing, commenters: I've never been a member of one party or another. I register as a Democrat because around here it's the only primary that makes any sense to vote in. Overall, I'm more right-leaning than left.
But I do believe in a two party system. I think we need liberals to inspire us, to remind us that some of us are "more equal than others" the way things stand, and lead us in new directions. I think we need conservatives to ask Wait! Who's going to pay for all this stuff? And to remind us that private enterprise very often (usually!) offers better solutions to problems than government programs. I'm not very concerned with anybody's "platform" or campaign promises because I believe that it's not the president who ultimately decides anything about policy. It's all about those checks and balances. I see the president as a manager, or administrator on the very highest level.
I think that what we need more than ever right now is a smart, charismatic leader who appeals to Americans across a broad spectrum, and who can inspire the world (people and leaders) to respect us in a way that's been lost. It seems to me that Obama might be able to do this. Maybe I see a little of Lincoln in him?! There's still a long time til November. Will be interesting to see how things evolve.
This interview with David Remnick (from November, 2006, before he was a candidate) is worth reading or listening to (both options available at the link).
Monday, February 18, 2008
History lessons
I had read John Adams when it first appeared several years ago, and knew of McCullough's wonderful ability to bring history to life. And Goodwin's memoir Wait Til Next Year is one of my all-time favorite books. So my expectations were high.
These books aren't just timely because it happens to be President's Day. They're timely in that they use perfectly chosen detail to remind us and help us understand exactly why these two presidents were truly great. And what they were up against. We think times are tough? Just imagine the stresses of living in 1776, or in 1860. (Or read/listen to the books if you're fuzzy about the particulars.) I found it impossible, as I listened, not to think carefully about the personal qualities and strength of character one might hope to find in a presidential candidate today.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Multi-tasking
Friday, February 15, 2008
Both/And
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Movies I've Missed
Anyhow, I looked up The Color Purple to see why it hadn't won the best picture award in 1985. Well, it was up against "Out of Africa" (the winner), "Prizzi's Honor", "Witness", and "The Kiss of the Spider Woman", all of which I DID see at the time. Tough choice for the voters that year.
But this led me to scrolling down the lists of other nominees by year, here, and most likely elsewhere as well. I thought I was reasonably movie-literate (is there a better term?), but I was amazed to discover how many great films I must have missed over the years. Since it's so easy for me to get pretty much anything through the library, I'm making a plan RIGHT NOW to work through this troubling gap in a systemmatic way. I'll start with the "best picture" group, realizing that there are going to be plenty in some of the other groups ("best actress", etc) that will be worth tracking down as well. Even at one movie a week I can work through fifty in a year. Will that bring me up to speed?
Monday, February 11, 2008
Tamarind and blood oranges
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Playaway
Our library has just started buying audio books in this new self-contained format called "Playaway". I had to buy the earpod thing for $2 (after experimenting with a little giveaway headset from an airplane that didn't seem to work), but otherwise, that's it. Book and player combined in one tiny lightweight package. I'm giving the system a trial run with Life of Pi.
So far, I'm liking it! There's something about the way the sound goes straight into your head, as compared to traveling through "air" from a speaker - even ones as nearby as the ones in the car - that increases concentration. I'm not sure why this is, but I suspect it's something that iPod users already know about.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Witch hazel
Life Drawing
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Ashcan Wednesday
By the time I left it was dark out (only 5:30) but I decided to take a few minutes to stroll over to Broadway. I love the Upper West side, and rarely go there. The main thing that would attract tourists is the Museum of Natural History, but you can get there straight from the subway without even going above ground. So the rest of the area has a residential feel that I love. My main indulgence for the day was a tiny and outrageously expensive marrons glace gelato from GROM - a trendy place I'd heard of but not visited before. All in all, a good day.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Folded Page Art
Better Late...
Finding a leaf in February