May 18
When MTM has a REALLY CRAPPY DAY, we have an established routine.
1. Make reservations for a preposterous dinner outing.
2. Go out for night caps at our favorite watering hole.
3. Talk about inane, stupid, ridiculous things to keep from rehashing the REALLY CRAPPY DAY.
Our number three for Friday? Answering this question: WHO IS THE SEXIEST MAN/WOMAN ALIVE RIGHT NOW?
Throughout history, the act of creating has been much like throwing mud against a wall. What stuck depended upon physics and geometry. Force. Angle of trajectory.
It usually takes humans a while to appreciate new combinations. We are creatures of the category, of the 'where does this belong so that I can understand it and move on?' When things come along that we cannot slot, we often react with disdain. Bewilderment. Rejection.
Steam blew out of her mouth and fogged her glasses against the backdrop of the night sky. Rubber-and-leather-clad feet crunched on gravel, echoing against the whip of flags in the wind, the sirens, the thrum of jet engines. Even with the ghostly pencil of stone carving a swath between a crescent moon and two planets, she sighed. The National Mall on a windy night wasn't her idea of a fun slog after a zig-zagging day of work, dashing from place to place to place around the District.
Dec 23
I wish everyone could win my Cootchie Contests, because yesterday’s commenters gave me lots of belly laughs. Your company brightened a hectic day.
We have two categories of winner: those who got really close to the mark without looking around online for the answer, and those who found the item online with the magic of Google. Because this item is a rather obscure architectural doo-dad produced and sold primarily in Japan, finding it on Google deserves some reward.
The winners who got close to the mark:
The winners who Googled:
The item is from a Japanese series of architectural model accessories. Click here for a link, generously provided yesterday by Carnell. The whole site is worth a look. The dinosaur series is quite funny to me for some reason.
Now, for my conundrum. I only have two of the antlered ladies to give away. For the other winners, I have a lovely wood cut Finnish snowflake ornament.
Dear Readers, please help me assign the, um, booty. Who should get the antlered lady? The snowflake? Please help me decide by weighing in with your choice recipients in a comment.
And, for the winners, please message me with your mailing address so that I may get these out to you. I will mail them during the first week of the new year, and may they bring luck for all of 2013.
This post is part of the series Roll Out the Holly, about the stories Christmas ornaments can conjure. Click here to read the series from the beginning.
Nov 22
Kiasma. The Museum of Contemporary Art Helsinki. This building actually won a design competition. I wandered around its outside, trying to understand why. MTM the architect wasn’t much help. He didn’t care for the outside of the building, either.
Somehow, this building reminds me of a pecan log. Over-sweet, poufy inside with too much going on outside to ever satisfy the palate.
Still, we decided we could not just the book by its cover. Visiting the inside of the museum – or any building, for that matter – is a must for understanding a place. We walked up to the front door and bought tickets.
The chasm, the reason the museum is named Kiasma, is an open shaft that runs through the building. I did enjoy watching a two-year-old play on this sloping walkway.
But, this was the best part for me. An installation entitled “Babel” by Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles that overlooked the city, each radio playing a different frequency. It was a feast of sound. In the end, I didn’t much like the building, but I’m glad I went inside and experienced this work of art.
Wherever you are, Dear Reader, whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or no, thank you for reading this blog. These words. For interacting with me here. I hope you enjoy your holiday.
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