Queen of the Triple Axels

Midori Ito at the 1996 Figure Skating World Championship (Photo by J. Barry Mittan)

Here's wishing a Happy Birthday to figure skating great, Midori Ito, born on this date in 1969. I'm a big fan of skating, especially the Ladies events. Midori Ito is one of my all-time favorites in this sport. She really brought the athleticism to the competition. Her performances were transformative and served as an inspiration for the current generation of amazing Japanese skaters.

She won the World Championship in 1989, delivering on a triple axel and triple/triple jump combination. It was a record setting event. Here's a vid of her performance:

As the figure skating season draws closer, I'll probably start posting on this topic more.

Enjoy!!!

We're Off to Never Never Land

Metallica (Black Album) released in 1991

It's weird to think that it's been twenty years since Metallica's Black Album was released. I was an enthusiastic fan of their previous album, . . . And Justice for All, and was looking forward to this new album. I wasn't a hardcore thrash fan, but I found their style compelling. When the Black Album came out, I was mixed in my assessment.

On one hand, I wanted more of the style that they had developed through their early work. On the other hand, although the style was significantly different, the music was engaging. Twenty years later, I can comfortably say that this was a good record. We can play "What if. . ?" games regarding Metallica's thrash style, but the answer to the "What did. . ?" question is clear: the band changed their style and created a compelling heavy metal classic that would appeal to a more mainstream rock audience.

More importantly, I like it. ;-)

Enjoy!!!

Friday Flowers: Hibiscus

Pink Hibiscus

Poem to Kali

(By Ramprasad Sen)

The most exalted experience of bliss
in any realm of being
is directly knowing the universal Mother,
the supremely blissful one.
Ecstatic lovers of Kali the Sublime
are not pilgrims to sacred shrines,
for they hear all existence
singing the glory of the Goddess.

I could have gone many different ways with a Hibiscus-related poem, but I went with a good old bhakti poem to the Hindu goddess Kali. Why not a poet from the American South or a cozy tea-related bit of verse? Because I just realized that those flowers associated with Bengalese images of Kali are hibiscus. Yeow! That's something that I should have known!!!

Years of serious study in myth, religion, symbolism, and iconography. . . Well, you learn something new every day. ;-)

Biber: Music from a Real Bohemian

Vanitas Still Life by Pieter Gerritsz van Roestraeten

One of my favorite baroque composers in Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. His music has a rich intricacy that keeps the ear engaged but never overwhelmed. There is an elegant progression to his compositional style. This is most obvious in my favorite piece, the Mensa Sonora seu Musica Instrumentalis (1680). Yeah, it is a series of courtly dance pieces, but I like dance music even if it's over three centuries old. ;-)

Here is a bit of the Mensa Sonora:

And here is Biber's most famous work, the Passacaglia for violin solo in G minor from the Mystery Sonatas. Haunting, yet entrancing.

So, if you've never listened to Biber's music before, then take the opportunity to today to remedy the situation. The Mensa Sonora and the Mystery Sonatas are great pieces to develop an appreciate for this master of the Baroque.

Enjoy!!!

Waterfalls of Caramel

Betty White stars in the first "You're not you when you're hungry" Snickers ad (2010).

Sometimes it may seem that I generally prefer older advertising campaigns and styles over contemporary ads. There's some truth to that accusation. However, there are some modern campaigns that I adore, which dramatically improve upon a brand's prior marketing while retaining a core product message. The current "You're not you when you're hungry" ads from Snickers is a prefect example.

Through out the '80s, Snickers distinguished their candy bar from the competition by emphasizing its capacities as a fulfilling snack food, which will provide a hunger fix and energy boost between meals. It was the proto-energy bar. Whereas other candy bars were mere sweets, Snickers were a helpful way to keep going through a hard day. This branding was summed up in the slogan "Snickers satisfies you."

Although somewhat boring, this branding concept continued into the early '90s with the "There's a hunger inside you" campaign which focused upon athletic excellence, especially in regards to the 1992 Olympic Games. By the mid-90s, Snickers started to lose brand focus, going for cheap laughs and gimmicky slogans that did nothing for creating a coherent product vision.

Snickers "Sings a song of satisfaction to the world."

Certainly, some of these ads are memorable, but is the product being promoted memorable? I don't think so. We remember the Kansas City "Chefs", not the candy bar.

Her Name Means Luck: Ihirwe

Baby gorilla, Ihirwe, rescued from smugglers (Photo by Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project)

Discovery News has an article, "Baby Gorilla Found in Jail with Poachers", that relates the plight and rescue of a baby mountain gorilla. I'm always amazed at the ignorance and cruelty that people have towards endangered species. Honestly, I can understand how profit will motivate foolish behavior, but certainly these poachers must be able to see how their "cash critters" are going extinct. And yet they still hunt them! It's a loathsome lack of perspective.

Fortunately, for this little gorilla, named Ihirwe, was rescued in time. However, it is depressing to consider how many precious creatures get needlessly destroyed through poaching and smuggling.

Here's a link to the World Wildlife Fund.

Weekly Wrap: Wednesday Night #4

At the Bowers Museum

Well, it's been a rough week. I haven't been able to post as much as I would like, but I think I've maintained a decent quality over the past few days. With only nine posts to review, I was thinking of instituting a new "wrap" policy of a ten post minimum. If I can't hit ten per week, then I'll just bundle them up into the next week. I'm still considering it for future weeks.

In regards to post frequency, I'm thinking about doing a easy morning post each day, similar to the quickies that I wrote up back in March when I was beginning to blog. It'll be a picture, a paragraph or so, and a link. Of course, I'll still offer up my normal style posts on a daily basis. The "quickies" will be posts that I can throw together in a few minutes, so they will not intrude upon my quality blog time. ;-)

Now let's review the week.



Betty Boop and Bimbo in Minnie the Moocher (1932)


We had three art posts. We looked at Alexandra Grant's text based artworks. Then we considered Andrew Uchin's "Reader" series in conjunction with bibliophilia. Finally, I reported on my visit to the Bowers Museum.

Our Friday Flowers displayed some pretties from the Madrona Marsh. On Spooky Sunday, we considered the Haunted Hotel story, specifically as represented in The Shining.

Our birth date celebrations were held for Louis Armstrong and Alfred Tennyson. We also commemorated the 81st anniversary since Betty Boop's first appearance.

Finally, we got to enjoy Tany Ling's fantastic performance of the Yiddish Policemen's Union at the Hammer Museum. Good stuff!!!

Well, here's hoping for a fun and productive week to come. And we can't finish the Weekly Wrap without leaving a disturbing image for you all.



Here's Johnny!


Enjoy!!!

Beauty and the Bones

Scrimshaw of a Whaling Scene (detail) by J. Cocke

I recently visited the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. The art venues deep into Orange County are not in my normal orbit of activity, but I will make the occasional art foray into the South. I wanted to check out their scrimshaw exhibit. That's not something that gets put on display very frequently. It was a nice modest collection.

Then I checked out the "Spirits and Headhunters: Art of the Pacific Islands" show. Obviously, any show that covers such a wildly diverse area is going to be broad and thin in overall presentation, but this show packed in the quality. It succeeded both in giving an overarching survey and in displaying objects of notable cultural potency.



Spirit Mask, Papua New Guinea


Likewise the "Ancient Arts of China: A 5000 Year Legacy" was broad and thin. It had some gorgeous works, but, given the topic, I'd have like to see more. Of course, while my aesthetic desires are limited only by my imagination, the Bowers has expense and display space to consider. Given those limitations, it's a good collection. ;-)

Boop-Oop-A-Doop

Betty Boop in Snow White (1933)

You all know that I love animation, comics, and cartoons. So it should be no surprise that I adore Betty Boop. I especially enjoy her earlier episodes before the censors cut down on the innuendo and put her in a long dress. Flapper style never looked so good!

Another thing that sets Betty Boop cartoons out from the crowd is the fantastic music. Cab Calloway and his orchestra perform in some of the best of her cartoons. I have a couple linked after the jump. Betty and Cab really make it swing.

Finally, the background elements to the artwork was always compelling. The artists really spent time on creating a compelling visual image. I especially love the gambling skeletons in Snow White.

Boop-Oop-A-Doop

Why am I celebrating Betty Boop today? It's been 81 years since Dizzy Dishes was released, introducing the cutest animated lady to world. ;-)

By the Book

Seeing Through Feeling (2011) by Andrew Uchin

I'm an avid reader, but I'm not big on books. I'm talking about the physical chunk of papers with ink patterns printed upon them. For most of my life, I've had to endure the presence of these dead tree constructions to get at that which I totally adore, the information conveyed on their printed pages. If you ask me to list some interesting novels, or histories, or philosophical texts, I could go on and on with recommendations. If you ask me to list my favorite book, I can answer that immediately. It's the one that most recently left my shelves.

Yeah, that's heresy for most of you book people, but I have a thing against clutter. Book in use are great, but books laying around are fire hazards and vermin hideaways. I haytz 'em!!!

Yet, I can see how people can fall in love with the physical object. Andrew Uchin's exhibit "The Reader Series" at dnj Gallery captures the romance of the bibliophile. These photos convey the human interaction with the book, through markings, deterioration, or the design of the text upon the page. There is a rich history to these books. Perhaps they were beloved sources of tales for the children. Perhaps they were veterans of the library shelves. Or perhaps, like a courier's steed, they carried the reader across the survey of Elizabethan literature.



Modern Library (2011) by Andrew Uchin


These weird inanimate objects that have a special ability to talk to those who can understand, they have poignant tales to tell. And it is not merely that which is printed upon their pages.

Midnight, the Stars and You

Overlook Hotel, July 4th Ball, 1921 (The Shining)

We've discussed haunted houses, but let's turn our attention to hotels. Although residency is usually brief, hotels seem to be ghost magnets. This reputation carries through into the ghostly fiction. In my estimation the best Haunted Hotel story is the cinematic adaptation of The Shining by Stephen King, directed by Stanley Kubrick.

The numerous ghosts, the long corridors, the dark history, these all combine to create a crowded and varied feel to the haunting that couldn't be matched by a normal domicile. It is as if the Overlook Hotel processes damnation in volume, skimming off the numerous guests who pass through its malign doors.



Red rum?! What could that mean?


Twin child ghosts, elevators full of blood, a snowy hedge maze, and haunting music, this movie has all the bases covered. ;-)

Half Sick of Shadows

The Lady of Shalott (1888) by John William Waterhouse

Alfred Tennyson was born on this date in 1809. His works have become the paragons of Victorian poetry. To commemorate his legacy of beauty, here are a few stanzas of my favorite Tennyson poem.

The Lady of Shalott (Stanzas 2-5)

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Through the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four grey walls, and four grey towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott.

By the margin, willow veil'd,
Slide the heavy barges trail'd
By slow horses; and unhail'd
The shallop flitteth silken-sail'd
Skimming down to Camelot:
But who hath seen her wave her hand?
Or at the casement seen her stand?
Or is she known in all the land,
The Lady of Shalott?

Only reapers, reaping early,
In among the bearded barley
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly;
Down to tower'd Camelot;
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers, " 'Tis the fairy
Lady of Shalott."

There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay.
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.



The Lady of Shalott (1905) by William Holman Hunt

 Absolutely beautiful.