arse poetica

Le Week-End

A smattering of images from the weekend, during which there was not near enough slouching around, though these pix seem to tell another story.

Finny always finds the best seat in the house.

How much money does C*ca-C*la have that they can make all new bottles for a seasonal campaign? And what brave new world is this that I bought this because I simply had to blog it? Ha. (Now who's going to drink it?)

Menu at Super Taqueria where the platillos are indeed muy delicioso. And this time I had horchata, mmmm.

Marketing hysteria. Found in the travel section of the local big box store. On principle of my love for civil liberties I refuse to employ these symbols of our national disgrace. Maybe I'll use them for dog poop or something equally fitting.

A walk in the tall grass. Man, that felt good. (I'm mighty pigeon-toed here.)

Dare.

This song has done me right this morning. Enjoy, friends!

"Dare" by Gorillaz (mp3)

Portrait of Sandro Botticelli (!) by Medici (!), circa 1478-80 (!), from the National Gallery, because Botticelli approves of the groove.

Hopper at the National Gallery

Up in Richmond, VA, for a conference, and it's about time we got a closer glimpse of the city. We've flown by on I-95 at 70 mph about a bajillion times and neither of us have ever stopped in. No longer! While I was at my mtg this morning db walked along the canal and got the lay of the land. He promised me a guest post -- the pix are great.

I took the excuse of a trip to Richmond to plan my getaway to Washington, D.C., for the Edward Hopper exhibit.

Go, friends. It runs through mid-January, and it's worth the trip. Forget what you know from the now familiar postcards and parodies/tributes. We all know Hopper was interested in the play of light, and many of these paintings are now familiar, but there is nothing like seeing them up close. They're incredibly vibrant and deceptively simple in technique and material, but  you end up wondering less how he did it than how he saw it. How does an artist create an entire visual vernacular? I can't fathom.

How many times have we seen "Nighthawks" now? A trillion? Still, when you stand in front of it, you marvel. The colors, the scene, all that it does and says (and doesn't say). We stared at it for 5 minutes just drinking it in, and it's not near my favorite painting of his. Before seeing it yesterday, I was bored of it, frankly. Another familiar painting -- "Early Sunday" (below) -- was a highlight.

High on my list of favorites at the show were two of Hopper's notebooks in which he recorded sketches of and general notes about his paintings, including size, medium, materials, to whom he sold them and at what price (including his cut!). The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has a nice interactive look at one of his notebooks here.

Theatre Notes from Jonathan Franzen

A Q&A in New York magazine w/ Jonathan Franzen, a wonderful writer whose public commentary I think vacillates between gleeful, often thoughtful, snark and pompous windbagery. Hey, you can't win 'em all, and he's a helluva writer, so maybe I should just stick to his books.

There are other interesting bits in the Q&A but Franzen's theatre recommendations got my attention.

Q&A With 'Spring Awakening: A Play' Translator Jonathan Franzen.

Is there anything you really loved recently in the theater?
I actually saw The Drowsy Chaperone twice. I love it. Twice I came out just bursting from laughter, really in physical pain.

Great! I've put that on my mental checklist of Plays To See.

Anything you’ve hated?
If you want an example of what I think theater should not be, Embedded is a good example. I practically came out of Embedded ready to join the Republican Party.

Dear God! What is this wretched mess that makes intelligent writers consider aligning w/ the forces of evil?? Ohhhh...I see. Well then.

I Could Sleep...

Dear Divine Influences in the Universe,

    Thank you for pop music.

Yrs most sincerely,
ae

Band_of_Horses - Is_There_a_Ghost.mp3

Some pop songs just get.it.done. Goodness. The Dingo looks like I feel right now.

How to Make Out, or Levitate (Or Both)

What a curious list! What's this levitate business?

How to Make Out, or Levitate.

Top 10 "How to" Searches in the U.S (4 weeks ending 7/21/07)

1. How to tie a tie
2. How to have sex
3. How to kiss
4. How to lose weight
5. How to write a resume
6. How to levitate
7. How to draw
8. How to get pregnant
9. How to make out
10. How to make a video

Much of it seems like kids' queries to me, and if the right-wing idjits would quit forcing their anti-sex (ed) hysteria on the rest of us and quit yanking Judy Blume books off the shelves, the kids would have a good portion of the information they needed and could instead spend their time querying the interwebs about "how to write a successful speech for my summer at the Model UN" and "how to build a youth movement and spur staid old fuddy-duddy congress critters to begin the impeachment process." Well, one can dream.

And I know that for yours truly way back in the day the question was not 'how to make out,' because one could reasonably expect to figure that out as one went, but 'how to start making out.' That was damn near impossible. Couldn't someone just have yelled, "ready, set, go!"? That would've been v. helpful. =D

[photo: a cute graphic on a bag I rec'd at some gas station en route to Asheville in June.]

Me Meme Also Spells Me me me

I been meme'd by Sally Greene! The topic is 8 Random Facts About Me, and Sally's are much fun. "Random" is just my speed. Anything more specific, and I'd be in trouble.

1. If I were to run for president -- and y'all remember back when we used to think a regular (intelligent) person couldn't just be president, that it took some special training, a coherent world view, sobriety, a passing familiarity with the Constitution, leadership experience, and not being an insufferable frat boy jackass? How quaint that was. How innocent a time. Anyhoo, were I to run for president, I could actually utter the words "I didn't inhale" with sincerity. Never have.

2. I'm pedantic enough to be annoyed by misspelled spam. I grind my teeth reading those subject lines. Also, I have no idea what the hell OEM software is, but I'm pretty damn sure I'm not in the market for it. That goes double for C1@L1$.

3. For an inveterate list-maker, I'm terrible at Top Tens and such. I don't organize my tastes in hierarchies like this. I love many things, some lasting, some fleeting, and if I'm asked a "what's your top 5 films/books/records/&c." sort of question, I can usually come up w/ one or two before I falter and look to db to remind me. db remembers my Top 5s much better than I do.

4. Famous people I have touched and the cities I have touched them in (in relative order): Michael Hutchence (Charlotte, NC), Bella Abzug (NYC), Betty Friedan (Chapel Hill, NC), Ralph Fiennes (would that there were more to this story, sigh) (London), Lauren Bacall (London), Damon Wayans (LA), Stewart Copeland (LA).

5. I can fence. En garde!

6. To this day I regret the decision to take Calculus my senior year of high school instead of art. Honestly, WTF was I thinking? A colossal waste of everyone's time. I had enough college credits and still I was an idiot. God.

7. There are 8 books on my bedside table right now, because, well, I'm distracted and different moods strike. Essays, poetry, a memoir, 3 novels, and work-related nonfiction. I've started all of them.

8. And in honor of db's remembering more about me than I do, he'd like to add that I nod/shake my head at the TV in anticipation of the person on TV affirming or negating something and that I am visibly appalled when they respond in a contrary manner. Ha.

That was fun. Thanks, Sally!

Human Doings

Odd sign I saw this afternoon in the bar where db and I met our pals JM and PM for a quick drink to celebrate JM's happy news. Odder still: the rednecks who gave db grief for taking a picture of the sign. Whatevs, dudes. How do they know we're not going to spread the word and help DR out? Pfft.

What a day. Maybe this will be a public service announcement after all. Ready? Do yoga! My pal PM and I did yoga this afternoon, and everything about it was wonderful. Walking out of work at 11:45 a.m. and across campus under the gorgeous trees and the warm sun (nice and warm for the first few minutes because my office is cold), being in a beautiful space, stretching and breathing and moving in the middle of the day, walking back with senses alive, staying in my yoga clothes for the rest of the afternoon, because I just didn't feel like changing into my jeans, doing my work on the porch (though more chatting than working). Then capping the day off w/ drinks and dinner w/ pals after work. I don't want summer to end.

Post title comes from our yoga teacher's reminder to just let ourselves be, that we are human beings not human doings. How easy it is to forget that. Before yoga -- true story -- I thought to myself: I'll just bring this work w/ me and read over it on my walk and before class starts. How damn unyoga-ish is that?? Best thing about yoga for yours truly: brain OFF.

I'll Take Two(-Thousand)!!

Holy Hannah, where have you been all my life, magic oxytocin spray??

A nasal spray to shed your shyness!

University of Zurich researchers have created a spray that can relieve people of shyness, and help them socialise with others.

The spray is very easy to use, and an individual can boost self-confidence just by squirting it up the nose.

The researchers say that the spray harnesses the powers of a feel-good hormone called oxytocin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is involved in social recognition and bonding.

The mammalian hormone is produced naturally by the body when a person is in love, and it also induces labour in pregnant women. The spray contains a synthetic version of it, created in the laboratory.

I'm blowing my mind over here thinking of the impact this could have had on my life. Being shy isn't all bad, but it can be significantly limiting in meaningful ways. I've outgrown some of my shyness (not all), but NONE of my introversion. Oh sweet mystery of life, just to be in a quiet house w/ no phone and no commitments, alone w/ my thoughts (db and dogs okay)!

For all you extroverts out there w/ introverts in your life, I heartily recommend this fine article: Caring for Your Introvert: The Habits and Needs of a Little-Understood Group.

Seriously though, I can't get a hold of this stuff fast enough. I wonder how and who I'd be not being me. That said, does the world need more extroverts? Don't we introverts provide balance, some necessary evolutionary purpose -- like being quiet and careful observers of the world's unending wackiness and snarky commenters and sympathetic shoulders to cry on and introspective mooner-abouters? Yeah! The world does need that. I ain't changing for anybody, buddy!

[photo credit: ae @ work, wondering why work has to be so, you know, public.]

Stop Press!

My intern (Well, the intern working w/ me; he's not mine, per se, at least as the laws of the land have it. Frickin' laws.) just walked in here w/ a t-shirt reading "Senior Class 2004." That would be high school senior class of 2004.

I didn't know they made people this young. Are they still doing that? 

Hello, interwebs! Yooooohooooooo!

Is there anybody out there as old as me?

::crickets::

Thought so.

[pictured: The Rosetta Stone, my first blog from back when I was hanging out w/ Ptolemy V in Egypt. Blogs were much heavier back then, not that you youngsters could appreciate it. Get offa my lawn!]