2013 Weekly Wrap #1

The elephant-headed Ganesh, among the Norton Simon Museum's collection of Hindu bronzes

We're done with "Week #1" and here's the Wrap, just like in the good old days. It's been a long time since we've put up one of these, but it's been a long, long time since we've had sufficient posts to justify one. After all, why put in these "real time" indices, when looking at a month or more of material is as easy as scrolling down the page?

Well, at least for the first ten days of this year, we have enough material to make it worthwhile. And that's reason to celebrate!!! Woo hoo!!!

Now, I know that a bunch of my posts were on the "fluffy" side, but we did touch base on our usual weekly features. Art and music, history and mythology, flowers and toys, so many of these things that I adore made their appearance over the last eleven posts. Can it get better? Certainly, there is a whole lot of room for improvement, but the core interests of this blog were well represented. Though I hope make it even better, my assessment with the current state is highly positive.

Most importantly, I've been having fun!!!

Going back to basics, the Wrap will feature a photo of me again. ;-)

So here's the Weekly Wrap.

Our posts were a bit mixed in subject matter. For instance, there was plenty of art, music and literature, but they were combined together into hybrid posts. That's what creates that "fluffy" feel that I mentioned above. But we did have a few distinct features.

Friday Flowers featured some phalaenopsis orchids from my household collection. Silly Saturday showcased the wonderfully entertaining Loteria exhibit at the Museum of Latin American Art. On Spooky Sunday, we took a look into Hell as part of our celebration of Gustave Dore's birth date.

Regarding music, we celebrated Tolkein's birth date by listening to music inspired by his works. The holiday season came to a triple-royal finale on Epiphany. The birth date of Al Bowlly, a crooner from the early decades of the 20th century, was the occasion to appreciate some old-time singing. Then, we had a whimsy post featuring music inspired by ancient Egypt, along with a cute mummy doll. ;-)

We opened the year featuring the image of and music to the elephant-headed god, Ganesh, Lord of Obstacles. Then I set out a "meta" post that discussed my intentions and resolutions for this year, 2013. Finally, we had a couple pure "whimsy" posts showing a stop sign and a Budweiser delivery truck.

Fun stuff!!!

"Come and play with us, Danny. Forever. . . and ever. . . and ever."

Enjoy!!!

Keeping on Pace

Budweiser truck, delivering the King of Beers!!!

Well, I've kept up with the daily posting schedule, even with conditions beyond my control that made my new resolution tougher to handle. So, I think it's time to celebrate!!!

Of course, my other personal resolutions haven't fared as well as my blogging. Yeah, the photo above is a clue as to one area in which I have fallen short, albeit not totally failed. I love me some beverages. ;-)

In any case, this post is just to boost my spirits and give a cheer for the improved rate of posting. I really was about to throw in the towel last November, but here we are, perhaps better than ever, writing posts both whimsical and critical. And that makes me happy.

Woo hoo hoo!!!

No Treats for You!!!

Little mummy wants a tasty treat.

Hmm, my internet is hassling me yet again.

Well, I'll just bump today's regularly scheduled fun and games, for tomorrow or Thursday. And we'll just enjoy this darling little mummy doll today. After all, if we used the ancient Egyptian calendar, with its leap year discrepancy, I'm certain that today would coincide with our Halloween sometime over the thousands of years from Old to New Kingdoms. ;-)

So, Happy pseudo-Egyptian Halloween!!!!!

Let's listen to some music.

Buried in a Distant Age

Suspicious patch of dirt upon a green field
What buried mystery might some digging yield?

The music, art, and fashions of bygone days fascinate me, inspiring me to imagine how life might have been in the years, decades, and centuries before my birth. This antique allure also lies at the root of my love for history. So, it is with great enthusiasm that I seek out information on these times past, from the actions of the great leaders of the age to the quotidian lifestyles of the average person.

This process of learning is like solving a mystery, like digging up buried treasure. It brings me stories and images, which, in turn, drive me to continue to seek inspiration among the hidden cultural gems of the past. Yeah, love for knowledge is a thirst that can never be quenched, an itch that can never be scratched. Yet, it is rarely painful, always beckoning and inviting, leaving gifts of insight with each step taken.

Which leads me to today's topic, the birth date of Al Bowlly. By coincidence, I was asked today about the popular music of the 1930s and his songs came straight into my mind. Although relatively obscure now, as are most crooners of the "sweet" style, Bowlly was quite popular in his day. So iconic was his voice that his music is occasionally used to evoke a nostalgic sense of the era, such as in movies like The Shining.

Photograph from The Shining (Overlook Hotel, July 4th Ball, 1921)
On view as part of LACMA's Stanley Kubrick exhibition

Well, let's dig through the years and excavate some fine music from the obscurity of days gone by. It's not forgotten now.

Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here

Gustave Dore's illustration of Dante questioning the damned frozen in Lake Cocytus

Last year, we celebrated the birth date of Gustave Dore by looking at his biblical illustrations. Since today is Spooky Sunday, it seems only proper that we look at some of Dore's most haunting works, the images created for Dante's Inferno.

There are plenty of gruesome scenes to select, but my favorites are with Francesca and the Lustful being carrying aloft forever upon a tireless, swirling wind, and with Farinata who pridefully argues among the Heretical in their smoldering sarcophagi, and, of course, upon seeing the frozen bottom layer with the Treacherous trapped in the ice of Lake Cocytus, formed from the endless tears of Satan himself!!! Yeah, there are other horrific situations, loathsome and insidious. But these are my three iconic vistas of Perdition.

Other artists have tried their hand at drawing nightmarish visions from Dante's text, sometimes with great success. However, in terms of breadth and consistency, nobody beats Dore in envisioning the words. He makes Hell take shape.

Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta, tossed endlessly by the gusts of Lust

Personally, I've never been a Dante enthusiast, but looking at Dore's work makes me want to give the Divine Comedy another read, especially Paradiso, which I have only read once, back in my college years, when I thought it was so boring as to make my eyes blur with tedium. Yeah, I hate rereading works, but sometimes our perspectives become so changed as to make the text relate to us anew.

Holiday Cheer: Epiphany

A snowman and a penguin go skiing past a golden angel under the colorful holiday boughs.

Today marks Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas. So, I think it's time to end our seasonal celebration. Take down those trees. Toss out the eggnog. Dim those lights. It's been fun, but it's time to turn to other affairs.

I don't generally make a big deal about the holidays, but this year brought a change of pace. I hope you all enjoyed the posts and pictures. And the music, my favorite part of the season.

So, since we're celebrating Epiphany today, let's listen to some appropriate music. ;-)

Loteria!!!

Detail of Death by Tupperware (2005) by Daniela Edburg

Although I love going to the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, sometimes their way of presenting the permanent collection baffles me. The curation seems a bit arbitrary or disconnected to the actual premise of the artwork on view. Since their collection is really impressive, this seems to be a lost opportunity to educate museum visitors as to the actual context or intent of the works displayed.

For instance, their current exhibition is LOTERIA: An Interpretation of MOLAA's Permanent Collection, in which various artworks have been selected to represent certain cards from the game, Loteria, a Mexican game of chance, like Bingo. This is an interesting approach; after all, if one can build a show around landscapes, still life, portraiture, or era, then why not organize based on game iconography? The problem is that the works have no inherent connection to gaming or game symbolism.

Nevertheless, the art in this exhibit is really good. Yeah, the curatorial approach seems scattershot, but the end result is enjoyable. Although organized as representing Loteria cards, this conceptual framework doesn't detract from appreciation of the pieces themselves. And, to be honest, this arrangement is no more arbitrary than setting them up on the wall in accordance with date of production or the letter of the artist's last name.

Detail of Citzij (2006) by Veronica Riedel

So, if there's no harm, then there's no foul. It doesn't really matter if a work is arranged as representative of The Crown or The Drunk or The Moon. As long as the art is accessible, then the curation has done its job.

Friday Flowers: New Year Orchids

Orchids: Phalaenopsis

Wow!!! Blogger is really acting up, making it a task just to put up a simple post like this. It will not allow me to directly upload photos. Even writing is buggy.

Yeah, Happy New Year, Google-kins. :-P

Well, here's a quickie post. Maybe things will be better tomorrow.

Orchids



Enjoy!!!

In a Reflective Mood, Again

 Reflected through a glass darkly.



Over the past few days, there has been a lot of navel-gazing here at Paideia. Too be honest, those are the easiest types of posts to write, much easier than producing a quality essay or coherent review. Don't worry!!! I plan on putting up posts with greater substance shortly.

I'm just getting back up to speed. One of the problems is that the holidays have not been conducive to going out and doing interesting things, at least things interesting to a general audience of readers. ;-)

Of course, time constraints are also a problem. For instance, today is J.R.R. Tolkein's date of birth, in 1892. I would have liked to write a bit about it, but I guess we'll make do with a few bits of music inspired by his works.

Stop the Clocks!!!

 Triple stop!!! Within a puddle, the stop sign is reflected.



It would have been a bit humorous, after all the bold proclamations of yesterday, if I had failed to put up a post on the second day of the year. Fortunately for my pride, I made it under the wire with a nice “reflection” photo. There is something cool about looking at the world upside down in a body of water.

Anyways, I really thought that I had a bunch of time tonight to write up a full blog post, but somehow it slipped away. If only we could stop the clock, making the hours stretch until we can accomplish all those things that we desire. There are too many movies to watch, books to read, stories to tell, and delights to experience to fit into the leftover time of the day, after the daily grind in finished.

Well, we'll make it work out somehow.

Opportunites Presented by the Calendar

 Perpetual Calendar by Hemisferium (front)

If one is going to undertake a project, then it ought to be worthy of one's best effort. This is especially true for “labors of love” which give no material rewards, providing satisfaction only in having done it well. This is the situation that I find myself facing with this blog. I'm writing here merely because I want to share my thoughts and inspirations with the readers, but haven't been doing it as well as I would like. Therefore, it's time to rededicate myself, to return to a regular rate of blogging, to entertain and inform as best as my time and talent will allow.

With the flip of the calendar, I am presented with a new starting point, an opportunity to get back on track. I'm going to be putting back my old features to establish a reliable rhythm of blogging, from Silly Saturday to Friday Flowers, from Weekly Wraps to Monthly Dance Parties. Moreover, my 365 Photo project will formalize the previously haphazard “Image of the Day” posts upon which I have been heavily relying over the past few months.

At least, this is my intent. This is my resolution. I love writing, playing with words, conveying my experiences through prose and verse, even if they frequently drift to the shade of purple. So, I am again committed, dedicated anew to blogging, compelled to do it properly.

 Perpetual Calendar by Hemisferium (back)

And, hopefully, these words are worthy of you, my darling readers. ;-)

Dancing Ganesh

 Dancing Ganesh, the Lord of Obstacles

Bangladesh, Dinajpur District

11th-12th century

Los Angeles Museum of Art



Starting off my year-long photography project, I figured it would be auspicious to showcase Ganesh, the Lord of Obstacles. I have two reasons for this. First, it stays to the theme set last time, when I featured a few photos of Shiva Nataraja for the New Year, thereby establishing a Hindu spin to the calendar change. Second, since I'm trying to get this blog back into steady production and high quality, it seems only appropriate to honor a being who legend claims can remove difficulties from my path or, alternatively, set obstacles before me that will help me grow as a thinker and writer.

Moreover, although I did not intend for this to be an “Art” blog, featuring artworks has been an essential part of Paideia since I began, nearly two years ago. So, it seems fitting that the first of 365 photo posts features a lovely work from my local museum. Yeah, we'll see plenty of the normal fare, landscapes and still life, scenes from my daily travels.

But, for today, we have Ganesh. And you can't beat a dancing elephant for an interesting way to start a project. ;-)