Her Morning Elegance

I was privileged enough to get to see a live showing of animator Nina Paley's "Sita Sings the Blues" last week and was watching it online today while doing other work (yes-multi-tasking). I was checking out her blog afterward and stumbled upon this awesome animation by Oren Lavie. The song is enchanting.

So, considering it's a yucky, rainy Monday, this should leave you with a smile.

Even a Grocery List... William S. Burroughs

Okay, first I'll say that the bulk of this post is not mine. It's snagged directly from the New Yorker. If you're going to quote, quote from the best I always say. I saw this while skimming through their blog this morning and thought it was bloody brilliant.

Yes-we're in the biggest recession since the Depression, but a book-lover and his money are still easily parted.

Now, on with the show.

"I’ve come to accept that, when an artist or a writer achieves a certain type of fame, anything he or she comes in contact with becomes extraordinarily valuable. Take, for example, the recent liquidation of Michael Jackson’s Neverland estate. Or this story about Picasso’s doodles on a napkin.

Of course, somewhere, a line must be drawn. And perhaps, for me, it’s the recent discovery that someone is trying to sell, for nearly five hundred dollars, the grocery lists of William S. Burroughs. The handwriting is guaranteed, by the seller, to be Burroughs’s, but even if that’s true, nothing in the requested inventory reveals anything interesting about him or his work. If anything, his need for items like plain buttermilk waffles, dry and wet cat food, and vodka is reassuring for any creative mind: even the wildest of writers can be mundane."

Post Script from Bookishredhead: I love that our grocery lists are so nearly identical. Mundane or not, everybody needs dry cat food and vodka on a Wednesday morning.

Happy Clouds at the Tate Modern

Okay, I'm a total cynic and this made even this cold heart smile. Happy, smiley face clouds drifting through the air near the Tate Modern on a cold winter day. Awww. Nice.

28-year-old, Artist, Stuart Semple, created round, smiley face clouds from a combination helium, soap and vegetable dye and unleashed them in the skies around London. The clouds were created by a modified "snow making" machine that is used in Hollywood. This is the first time its been used to create clouds, and the first time its been used in England.

Why did he do it? The artist said, "this was the most straight forward way I could think of to literally contribute something happy to the atmosphere."

Looks like it did. Lots of school children chased along after the wafting clouds before they were picked up by the wind and scooted out over the Thames. Overall Semple receieved a very positive response from Londoners.

Although the happy faces were short-lived – each of them lasting only around 30 minutes before dissipating – Mr Semple was pleased with his efforts.

He said: “At the moment it is a one off piece but I am thinking I could do it somewhere else – the potential is there to do it in other countries.

“I don’t see why we couldn’t spread the happy clouds around the world a bit.”

Bless his optimistic heart.

Dark is the Night- Best Valentine's Day Present Out There

I am celebrating Valentine's Day this year in a different way than usual. Okay, I'm single right now, so that has a lot to do with it, but even if I wasn't I am not really feeling pink hearts and rosebuds this year.

February 17th (okay its three days after VD but I have always liked odd numbers better anyway) Red Hot Charity, the same folks that brought us Red, Hot + Blue back in the day is releasing an awesome two-cd compilation. The list of artists is AWESOME.

Here are just a few:
Andrew Bird (just go ahead and buy it now that you know that)
My Brightest Diamond (did they create this especially for me?)
Bon Iver
Cat Power
Arcade Fire
Sufjan Stevens

Come on- even if this was it, it would be worth buying. If you want to see more about the album go to their site at: http://www.darkwasthenight.com/artists

If you need more encouragement, the money from the sale of the cd (its also available in vinyl for you hipster, old-school folks who can find needles for your players) goes to benefit HIV and AIDS research.

Here are a few tracks from the upcoming compilation. Enjoy. And buy.

Sometimes a Song is Just What's Needed

I had a crap day. I listened to this song and it brought back nice memories of two shows I saw earlier this year. Plus, Clare has a voice that makes you smile whether you want to or not. So, I'm passing it on to you.

The most rockin'ist cover song I've heard in a long time.

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Good News in Dark Times

I was pretty darn thrilled to read a post from my friend Tom Bell of the Georgia Center for the Book today and I thought I'd share it.

"Since 1982, the National Endowment for the Arts has regularly been reporting stomach lurching drops in the rates of literary reading among Americans. In the last report, in 2002, well less than half of Americans reported reading even a single novel, short story or poem over the past year.

Good news today, though. For the first time since 1982, when the NEA started tracking, the rate of literary reading has increased. 50.2% of Americans reported reading at least one novel, story or poem in 2008, compared to 46.7% in 2002. It’s a small increase and still a dishearteningly low number, but at least we seem to be moving in the right direction. Hurray!"

Life is short and there are too many amazing books to read to just sit there watching TV, so snap off the tube and pick up a book. All the cool people are doing it. :)

The World Has Lost a Great Painter: Andrew Wyeth

The world lost a brilliant light in the art world today. Perhaps best known for his painting "Christina's World", a painting of a young woman named Christina Olson. The moving portrait shows a windblown field and Christina in the foreground. The inspiration for the painting purportedly had an undiagnosed muscular deterioration in her lower limbs which kept her from walking. Christina often dragged herself across the ground to pick flowers from her garden, which supposedly inspired the painting.

Wyeth was widely celebrated in and outside the art world. Awarded the Presidential Freedom Award by President John F. Kennedy, he was critically acclaimed since his first one-man show in 1937. His work portrayed America and the simple lives of the people he saw in every day life and the land they called home. Some of his most moving work, in my opinion, was of his neighbor 'Helga' a pale redhead who modeled for him for several years. The work is simply stunning.

I was privileged to see a show of his work several years ago, and while upon entering as a novice admirer of his work, I most certainly left a fan and admirer.

Wyeth, 91 passed away in his sleep on Thursday night at his home near Philadelphia.

Sleep well and be at peace. Thank you for the gifts you leave behind.

You Know Who You Are..

I love Post Secret. It reminds me that there are millions of us on the planet, and at one time or the other we generally experience the same kinds of feelings. This could have been my secret -even though its not all that secret.