Sunday, February 8, 2009

Mad about the Metropolitan Museum of Art . . .

A charming illustrated short story ~ MAD ABOUT THE MET by Maira Kalman. I scanned the pages from the May-June 2008 issue of Departures Magazine. Click to enlarge for easy reading.
















Enjoy your Sunday whether or not you go to the Met.

See her picture story about Abraham Lincoln here.



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Friday, February 6, 2009

Bill Cunningham | The Water Dance ~ Maahvelous! . . .


On the Street The Water Dance

Bill Cunningham photographed people on Fifth Avenue in New York City last week jumping over the puddles of slush. Click on the images and/or the link above to see the audio slide show from The New York Times narrated by Bill.

It's simply maahvelous!




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Thursday, February 5, 2009

Life's Little Instruction Book, pages 19 + 20 . . .







...To be continued...



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Historic tree at Versailles planted in 1786 uprooted in storm . . .


An enormous weeping purple beech planted in 1786 for Marie Antoinette in the royal park surrounding Versailles was toppled in a windstorm in southwestern France last week.

I have read several press releases with conflicting reports of the tree's height. The numbers vary between 82 and 90 feet in height with a 72 foot span of the tree's canopy.

The park's chief gardener said the tree's roots had started to "go mouldy" and were so short that they could no longer counterbalance the giant.

Once cut up, the wood of the the tree will be sold to paper makers. What a shame! I am quite surprised that bits aren't being converted into something more meaningful than paper. I should think a furniture maker would love to have this historic lumber. Maybe the pulp will be isolated into a batch for a very special publication. Let's hope so!




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Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Silly and fun NAMING MACHINE . . .


Naming Machine

If you are trying to think of a unique name for your blog, blog post, new design company, or if you just want to have some fun please try the Naming Machine. Be prepared to waste a huge amount of time too.

It could also be educational for teaching children to read. Try it, you'll like it! I love the sounds. Enjoy.



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Life's Little Instruction Book, page 18 . . .




...To be continued...



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Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Bluebird House in the Snow . . .

It's almost dark and I just returned from walking Webster. It was still snowing a little when we started out but had almost stopped at the end of our trek. The light fluffy snow on top of this birdhouse shows today's accumulation pretty accurately. Every branch is piled high with snow that will blow off or melt by morning. This time tomorrow evening the temperature will be in the single digits if you factor in the wind chill. It's not very cold right now...I did not have on gloves and I was pretty comfortable. It's going to be in the 50s over the weekend and it will all melt. That's February for you!



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