Out and About

We had a beautiful, sunny day here yesterday. It called for an outing.

I discovered the Franklin Ave. pillars that hold up the light-rail overpass have been painted quite colorfully.

I went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to see the Vermeer they have on exhibit.

I also went to see the Kunin Collection pieces they have up.  In the exhibit I discovered Philip Guston.

Who surely inspired Maurice Sendak.  I know his relatives inspired the way Sendak depicted the monsters in Where the Wild Things Are but this painting has Max!

You never know what you may discover at the MIA.

In the artwork and in the building.

Today I was dismayed anew by the stadium-in-progress which upsets me so.

A billion dollar structure for a bunch of cheating, wife-beating, child-abusing jerks.

But I can distract myself with the new pair of slippers I made myself this weekend!

Right?

Looking Back

Girl-child came over today and we found some pictures.

I remember this photo session very clearly; it was for a Christmas card.

Boy-child was not cooperating AT ALL.

The photographer was not set up for kids - especially not for a toddler.

There were weird lights and electrical cords everywhere. It was a disaster.

When I got home I put the kids in the rocking chair and took some snapshots and we used one of those for our Christmas card that year.

Got Cabin Fever?

I don't know about the rest of you, but I get cabin fever bad in the winter. Working from home does not help the situation at all. (I know, I know, I should be thankful, and I am, sort of). I did go out for Drunken Knit Night on Friday. There were a lot of people there and it was fun to visit with people face to face. Actually, Merlin's was packed, so I guess I wasn't the only one dying to get out of the house.

In knitting, I'm not sure if I mentioned I made a Habitat for myself using a hank of yarn I won as a door prize at Yarnover last year. See Ravelry for the details.

I also started an Equation cowl - Chelsea's first published pattern. Hooray Chelsea!

It's snowing at the moment, so I guess I'd better go out again while it's warm(ish).

Je Suis Charlie

As you know from previous rants posts, I have strong feelings about freedom of speech.   Recent events in Paris demonstrate the worst of what can happen when fanatics find satire dangerous.

It's a sad day when comedians (Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien, etc.) have such somber moments as they've had this week.

I didn't see The Interview ... I hear it did pretty well with it's strategic/limited release.  The critics panned it, but from what I can tell just seeing the trailers it is a pretty stupid movie.   I'm glad it did well enough I didn't feel compelled to watch it myself ;-)

I remember purchasing The Satanic Verses in 1989 - it had to be requested at the bookstore counter, a copy was retrieved from the back room and brought out in a brown paper bag so that no one could see what I was buying.  Rushdie's comments on the events in Paris this week are not surprising, after all, he experienced the worst of what suppression of expression can mean for a person who survives the fanatics.  I strongly recommend Joseph Anton: A Memoir for anyone who is interested in free speech issues, or for those who might be interested in the story of a man who had to hide for over a decade because of a story he wrote.

If you're interested in the history of Charlie Hebdo you can look here for an article from The Atlantic.   The Huffington Post has an article on Why Satire Matters.   If you want to print out a little sign to put in your window you can go to the Charlie Hebdo website.  It's a small gesture, but it's something.

In the long run I'm going to assume freedom of expression will prevail in The West.  What the cost of that freedom will be remains to be seen.

A Christmas to Remember

It's been a weird holiday season.

Boy-child was supposed to arrive on Christmas Day but was held in Chile because he overstayed his welcome.  His passport was confiscated.

Family and friends in Chile assured him that it wouldn't matter, but it did.

  

I was in National Harbor for work and became very, very sick.

We were at last reunited.  Boy-child is darker than Girl-child for the first time.

It's good to have everyone together again, even if only briefly. 

All's well that ends well.