Tag: Art Installations

Seven Things I Love (8-2-2021)

  1. Before I get started I wanted to remind everyone that today is an important national holiday. It’s National Coloring Book Day! So be sure to pause and do some coloring at some point (well, tomorrow I suppose, but better than never, right?) And if you don’t have any coloring sheets handy, you can print out a mini-coloring book here courtesy of Dover, one of the oldest purveyors of coloring books and stickers and other fun little artsy publications. OR if you are looking for some unique, irreverent and sassy coloring books, look no further than this list. (Though don’t order them from Amazon, be sure to get them from your local bookseller or Bookshop.org.)
52232533 – woman coloring an adult coloring book, new stress relieving trend, mindfulness concept, hand detail
  1. 1. This Article about the Evolution of Female Superheroes Costumes – Many women have been writing articles lately about the impracticality of costumes for female superheroes – from Wonder Woman’s boots
  1. to Sue Storm’s boob window
Marvel’s redesign of Sue Storm’s costume in the 90s immediately comes to mind when sexist costumes are brought up.

to all the other women with skin-tight but barely there outfits. The men often have to wear skin-tight costumes, it’s true, but none of them show a lot of skin.

But more film makers are starting to take comfort into consideration when creating costumes and I suspect that has a lot to do with the fact that more women are involved in the costume making.

For example, here’s a post by Sophia Di Martino who plays Sylvie in the show Loki (which has been my favorite Marvel shows/movies to date.) Sophia is showing how her costume was altered to make it easier for her to be able to breastfeed while working. Kind of pathetic that this is newsworthy/a big deal in freaking 2021 though. Sophia’s costume also covers her body completely (not the way she’s wearing it below obviously, she has it zipped open to show you how she can pump!) It’s much more practical for climbing, jumping, running and fighting off the bad guys.

2. This Video by Olympic Medal Winner Tom Daley – I mean, if there wasn’t already enough to love about this guy – did you know he knits? Could he be any more adorable????

[Found via the Guardian which was sent to me by my friend Kathy – thanks KK!]

3. These Olympics Commercials from Toyota – Honestly, watching the commercials during the Olympics is almost as good as during the Superbowl. (The first one is visually amazing!)

4. This Guest Host on Jeopardy – A LOT of people want Levar to be the permanent host and I’m in that camp!

5. This Bird Installation – Sadly it came down yesterday, and I didn’t get to see it in person, but how cool is this?!?! I love all the art going up around Milwaukee.

Special thanks to my friend Ami Bedi who took the first photo.

Photo by Ami Bedi.
Birds in front of the Milwaukee Public Market
Close up of the Birds

6. This Photo Recreation by Tracee Ellis Ross – Fabulous! (For those who aren’t aware, Tracee Ellis Ross is the daughter of singer Diana Ross and music executive Robert Ellis Silberstein.) I think this is a wonderful tribute for a daughter to do for her mom, even if her mom isn’t Diana Ross.

Here’s the original from a ’70s editorial in W Magazine (which Tracee Ellis Ross labeled “No. 1: MAMA”) –

Here’s the recreation (which Tracee Ellis Ross labeled “No. 2: ME”) –

7. This Instastory of Florence Pugh Cooking – I love her to pieces! She’s so down-to-earth and FUNNY. And I always learn at least one thing every time I watch one of her videos.

Here’s possibly my favorite video of hers, which was a fancy-schmancy one done by Vogue, where Florence tries 11 different English Foods. Wonderful!

Word of the Week


Quote of the Week

Seven Things I Love (6-7-2021)

  1. 1. This Hand-painted Art on Trucks in India – There’s art everywhere you look in India. You can be in the most isolated, rural village and find wonderful sculptures at the side of the road or in front of a hut; ornate carving on archways, doors and pillars; incredible paintings on walls; or beautiful saris hanging out to dry.

Indians see a blank canvas in places most of us wouldn’t – trucks (and taxis) are two canvases they use with extraordinary creativity and skillfulness.

[Found on Hyperallergic, and in person]

A truck driver poses in his truck (Images courtesy All India Permit)

Here are more photos I took on my trip last February (returned just two weeks before the “lockdown”)…

2. This Flower Installation – done by my sister-in-law in Camas, WA. She and my brother own an amazing place called Acorn & The Oak. It’s a restaurant (inspired by Midwest supper clubs) paired with a flower shop. If you are ever in that area I highly recommend you stop there. Or if you know people who live in Washington State/the Portland area (it’s only about 30 minutes from Portland) be sure to tell them about it!

Happy Pride Month!

3. This Stand-up Act by Bob Newhart – I’ve been a fan of Bob Newhart’s standup for decades. Sadly much of it didn’t age well (though I personally still enjoy it) like his bit on Sir Walter Raleigh and “To-bac-co”. Well, now that I think of it, in essence, pretty much none of it ages well because people don’t talk on the phone anymore and they certainly don’t use landlines but regardless…

This one still works and he’s just so damned cute.

4. This Photo of Anthony Fauci and Joan Baez – Joan Baez was recently one of the honorees at the Kennedy Center (along with Garth Brooks, Dick Van Dyke, violinist Midori and choreographer Debbie Allen) and she took Anthony Fauci as one of her plus ones! How cool is THAT!?!

I guess they met after Dr. Fauci saw a portrait that Baez painted of him and they ended up talking on the phone. When Baez called him to ask if he’d be her guest to the Kennedy Center event he said well, it depends, there could be a problem. So Baez responded, “Tony, you’re not going to tell me the sexiest man in the world doesn’t have a tuxedo, are you?”

Fauci replied that he did indeed have a tux but that he needed to know what the COVID safety protocols were. He’s the real deal!

In case you’d like to see the painting Baez did of “Tony,” it’s here.

5. This Diffuser from Thymes – It smells like I imagine heaven smells like. With the weather being so warm I’ve been trapped inside with air conditioning (I do not do well in weather over about 78 degrees.) I feel like I need to have a few diffusers around the house to freshen things up. I think I may have included this in a previous ‘Seven Things’ post but this is on sale right now. (If you buy it I recommend also getting a refill and a packet of reeds too. Besides the fact that the refill is on sale as well, the three things combined will get you over the $50 minimum to get free shipping.) Click on the picture below to go directly to the product page.

6. This Incredible Necklace Entitled “Sheer Elegance” – I actually have TWO extremely talented and artistic sisters-in-law. Here’s another wow-inducing item from one of my Illinois sisters-in-law. This one makes all her jewelry from these tiny little seed beads. This piece is truly a work of art. If you click on the image below it will take you to the product page or you can click her to go to here ETSY Shop.

7. This Really IS the Funniest Flight Attendant Ever – There’s a reason why Southwest Airlines has a reputation for having entertaining flight attendants and I’ve seen several videos of safety speeches that were hilarious but this one is by far the best.

Word of the Day


Quote of the Day

Seven Things I Love: Inauguration Day (1/21/2021 – Special Edition)

I am going to guess I’ll be adding to this in the future but I want to get this posted this afternoon so I’m going to stop here…

1. This Celebration in Kamala Harris’ Ancestral Village – I believe I lived in India in my last life so this makes my heart swell.

2. This Poem Read by the Youngest Inaugural Poet in History – Amanda Gorman finished writing this poem immediately following the Capitol riots.

3. These Coats – I’m not ashamed to say it, I will always notice pretty things. What the First Lady wears (and so will what the Vice President and first families wear too) has always had a significant impact on fashion. Here’s a Town & Country article on the best coats at the Inauguration. Here’s an article on Dr. Biden’s inauguration outfit. Here’s an article about Vice President Harris’ ensemble. And here’s an article about what Michelle Obama was wearing.

Second Spouse, Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, and President Joseph R. Biden
Emma Emhoff, Kamala Harris’ step-daughter stole the show with her coat.

4. This Performance by Lady Gaga Singing the National Anthem – Gaga did NOT disappoint. I had already been teary-eyed by openly weeping by the end of this.

https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1351933239133405184?s=20

And JLo’s performance was beautiful!

5. This Unfamiliar Act of Humility – looking forward to all of us acting more kindly, respectfully, generously, humanely, and with humility. Everyone knows you must lead by example.

6. This Field of Flags – between the pandemic and the potential risk of domestic terrorism there couldn’t be many people in attendance at this Inauguration so an installation of flags represented those who could not be present. The flags represent every state (with Washington D.C.) and territory including American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Here’s a time-lapse video of the installation of the flags.

Flags are placed on the National Mall, looking towards the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial, ahead of the inauguration of
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Approximately 191,500 US flags cover part of the National Mall and represent the American people who are
unable to travel to Washington, DC for the inauguration. JOE RAEDLE/GETTY

7. This 93-year-old Inauguration Announcer – no explanation necessary.

8. I wasn’t going to include this but just had to.
Good night, good bye, and good riddance.

A POEM FOR THE END by Sheila Dershowitz

Good night loon,
Good night goon,
Good night nastiest man in the room.
Good night lies,
Good night spies,
Good night rants and alibis.
Good night twitter,
Good night tweets.
Good night all those crazy bleats.
Good night red hats,
Good night cruel chants,
Good night sniveling syncophants.
Good night wall,
Good night cages,
Good night endless midnight rages.
Good night fine people on both sides,
Good night losers, good night suckers,
Good night evil nasty fuckers.
Good night Ivanka
Good night Jared,
Good night Barron, we hardly knew ya.
Good night thief,
Good night grief,
Good night cruel and callous chief.
Good night fake news,
And Fox and friends,
This is how the nightmare ends.
Good night at last.
It’s time to go,
The American people told you so.

Goodnight Loon: A Poem For The End found on Crooks and Liars

9. And let’s end with the President’s Inaugural Speech – which Fox News’ Chris Wallace called the “best inaugural address” he’s ever heard.

10. One last one. The First Tweet from the @POTUS Account…. under new management. A significantly different demeanor from the previous @POTUS user, n’est ce pas?

[Updated – have to add this, from the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.