These are great days, indeed

Magnet #1208 - Churchill quote

If there's one epoch my sisters and I are well familiar with, it's World War II - on both sides of the Atlantic.

Between books, movies, television, work, our father, yeah, I would argue that it might be the time period we know best. (Or, at least enough to possibly get us through a couple of Jeopardy! or Trivial Pursuit rounds, anyway.)

Which is why I so love this Churchill quote that my friend gave me.

Actually, if I'm honest, I just love the big guy himself as one of my fave historical figures, but this quote, taken from this speech given to Harrow School students is just so indicative of the indomitable spirit of England and her leader at the time.

Figured I'd use this magnet as we all head off this evening for a few great days ourselves in Merry Olde England.

Just a very short holiday, we'll be back before we've had a proper visit. My original intent was just to fly in for David Tennant's performance and fly back, over a weekend. But then everyone started piling on to the trip, adding people, days and things to see, until it became not quite a full-blown vacation, but not quite a fly-in/fly-out trip, either.

Whatever. We're still gonna have a blast.

The non-itinerary's as done as it's gonna get, and I've decided if we see it, great. If we don't, then there's always post-Olympics 2013.

Unless David decides to do another play in the meantime, and then we'll have to talk.



*Note: This is the first trip in several years where I'm opting not to bring along my laptop. The very thought of it, makes me feel superduperunconnected to the world. I'm actually a little uncomfortable at how much I already miss her, and I haven't even left yet.

But her absence by my side (sniffle), means I will likely not do any joymagnetism updates until my return, unless I just get industrious while away.

Mind you, I've totally opted for international coverage on my Droid, so dammit, my TweetDeck had better work!

I don't want to live in a totally unplugged world!

**eta:
Having now re-read and posted this magnet, there's a part of me that just wants to pack up the laptop and bring it with me anyway. I mean...what will I do at the airport? How will I cope?

*hyperventilates*

"British Culture with an American Accent"

Magnet #1200 - Agecroft Hall

BBC-America's @anglophenia, one of my favorite blogs, did a great series of US/UK culture comparison posts last week that had me giggling in more or less agreement:

• Five Great American Things the British Ruined
• Five Great American Things the British Improved
• Five Great British Things the Americans Ruined
• Five Great British Things the Americans Improved

Loved this series, because it's one of those fun debates that are never-ending, depending on who you're talking to.

What's that have to do with today's magnet from my sisters and BIL, you ask?

Well, Agecroft Hall is a Tudor manor sitting on the James River riverbank in Richmond, Virginia. But we're not talking architecturally-speaking Tudor, like that house in Salisbury, NC, that my sister loves that was built in the last 50 years.

No, it's an authentic Tudor-era manor built in the 1400s, that some wealthy American dude from Virginia bought at auction in the 1920s.

And then had it shipped over from its original foundation in Lancashire, England.

I mean, it's common practice for folks to go abroad and have stuff shipped back. It happens all the time, right? A statue or ceiling frieze here, a mantelpiece or a chapel there. And, while I understand it's not the entire estate, it's still a vast majority of the original estate that was purchased and moved.

We're talking someone had to dismantle it, crate it up, ship it across the Atlantic, uncrate it and rebuild a whole manor house. Jeepers.

I can't tell if this is another Great British Thing an American Ruined. Ultimately, I'm torn.

There's a part of me that's glad someone saved it from disrepair, and stopped it from becoming just another set of ruins in England. A part of me that's glad more generations are able to enjoy and learn about the Tudor era, and not have to travel to England to do it, if they can't get there.

But there's another part of me (the part of me that wishes the Met's Temple of Dendur were in its original setting, rather than sitting in a glass-enclosed atrium on the Upper East Side of New York City, and thinks that the Elgin marbles should go back to Greece) that thinks it's such a shame that some American stunted 500 years of history, and replanted it elsewhere.

A friend said something the other week about loving standing on well-worn marble steps. It's true. I'm always saying, one of my favorite things to do is to step where history happened, to walk where so many other feet have walked.

So it begs the question, does it physically matter where on Earth those stairs are, or just that they still exist 500 years later for more people to walk upon?

Where the streets have a name. And a magnet, too.

Magnet #1196 - Baker Street NW1

I picked this magnet up at 221b Baker Street, at the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

You know, the one where Mr. Watson scared the pants off of me, by simply moving. What? You can see him here in this vid, tho I suppose he's not as scary here.

I was saving this magnet for a couple of reasons. One, because when my former agency rebranded, one of the names were hoping to use was Baker Street, in honor of us looking for the truth (or some facsimile of it), and our amazing powers of deduction (such as they were). But, you wouldn't believe how many Baker Street marketing communications companies there are in this world. So of course, we went with another name and...don't get me started.

Then, I was saving this magnet for when the second Sherlock Holmes (either movie or series) came out, but then I thought that's fooooorever away, and we leave for London in 13 days!

Which totally means I can find other replacement magnets for them while I'm there. What?

You know, there's a big part of me that wants to collect every single one of these street sign magnets that I can find while I'm over there. There's a ton of them.

But, if you think about it, it'd be like me collecting all those Times Square or Broadway or 42nd Street or Wall St. green magnets from those souvenir shops along 8th Ave. And, yes, while I've thought about collecting those, I've wisely refrained.

No room at the inn. For the magnets, or the crazy.

But really, the magnets.

Crazy...well, ya'll are reading this magnetblogpost.

So, there.

Rufus. Really?

Magnet #1154 - William II (r. 1087-1100)

Oh, I sooooo need to get home to the rest of my magnet collection, I'm down to 25 in the photobucket collection and not an ounce of inspiration to use any of them. So this William II magnet will have to suffice.

This time next week, I will likely be ensconced on a sofa in Queens (natch), awaiting the wedding of another royal William - hopefully eating some scones and clotted cream (though, I'm betting Zabar's will be sold out by the time I get home).

So what's this I hear that if/when Prince William takes over, he gets to pick his official name? That it can be any combination of his full name - Prince William Arthur Philip Louis?

I mean, it's probably easiest to go with King William V, right? But, how much fun would that be, picking out your name? (I'd totally be Queen Joy. C'mon, that's nice!) But, it'd be fun to have a King Artie? King Phil? King Bill? King Lou? Oh, the possibilities abound.

Anyway, this William reigned for only 13 years before being killed in a hunting accident in the New Forest. But, apparently, he was known as William Rufus, a nickname given to him because of his ruddy complexion and blond hair. According to reports, he had an outspoken personality, didn't get along with the Church, and had to fight conspiracies left and right to keep his throne.

Hmmm...that sounds like a dozen other monarchs we've run across, no?

King Billy

Magnet #1078 - William III (r. 1689 - 1702)

Won't lie, I don't even want to cover all of the meaning of William III on the throne, but my photobucket bin of readily available magnets will start wearing pretty thin while I'm here in NC unexpectedly.

Ya'll know what I'll never understand? Titles. Like, I never really understood them in the corporate world - how some people vy for better titles, versus having a better salary, or why some people think that whatever's after the comma defines you as a person somehow.

I guess we're all a little guilty of it at some point or another. But I think it might be worse for the royals, since you know, from birth, they come with these humongous titles that mean something on some paper somewhere, and oh, by the way have whole countries of people depending on them.

Take William III. His father, William II, died of smallpox eight days before Tripp was born, making Tripp Sovereign Prince of Orange directly from birth. Seriously. He came out of the womb, and bam! he was head of the Principality of Orange in Southern France. I mean, he was born in The Hague in the Dutch Republic, and responsible for something along the Rhone!

Which brings me to the other thing that always baffles me when I think about it. The royal network across Europe, how they end up ruling bits and pieces of other countries throughout Europe. Oh, I know they marry into it, they're appointed, they conquer it, they're born into it, whatever, but it always makes me laugh when I see or hear it in the movies...oh, and by the way, I may be King of England, but that bit of France, that bit of Holland, and maybe some of that bit in North America and Australia, and maybe a bit of Mars and Venus, are mine, too.

So, William III of *that* William and Mary ended up in the end, "By the Grace of God, King and Queen of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Stadholther of the Republic of the 7 United Netherlands, Prince of Orange, Count of Nassau, Defenders of the Faith, etc."

First, what's the "etc" stand for?

Second, how'd he put all that on a business card?

The other London

Magnet #989 - London, Ontario

One of my roadtripping friends took a mostly for work roadtrip with another friend up to London, Ontario, and brought this back for me.

Settled by Europeans in the 1800s, London, Ontario, Canada, it's definitely taken its cue from its namesake in England, with both a Thames River and a Covent Garden Market.

And, as it turns out, the town of more than 350,000 inhabitants has a lot to see and do.

I'm not a beer person at all, but would so do the Labatt Brewery tour, it looks like fun! I don't have kids, but I would love to visit Storybook Gardens, cuz it just looks like a great place to hang. They have a few museums as well, and we all know how I love those.

Also, I'm not like a huge tree fan, but how cool does this London Tree Trunk Tour look? The public art project's done by some amazing artists, with the tourism board and STIHL Canada. The artists have taken more than a dozen tree trunks scattered throughout the town, and have created some gorgeous carvings out of the trunks. Seriously cool stuff!

Definitely helps them earn that Forest City nickname!

From Beckham to the Tudors, all in a day

Magnet #870 - Hampton Court Palace

I've been hanging on to this supercute magnet for a while now. During the family trip to London, we did one day trip out to Hampton Court Palace, and were totally blown away.

The original buildings on the property date back to the 1200s and a religious order, the Knights Hospitallers of St John Jerusalem. But then in 1514, it was leased to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey who used it as a country home. He transformed it into quite the palace, including guest quarters for his pal, King Henry VIII.

But then, after episode after episode after episode of The Tudors of not being able to convince the Pope to grant a divorce to King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Wolsey pretty much lost everything from his place at court to his superdupercool palace to the king.

The palace flourished under Henry VIII, who proceeded to make it into the grand estate it is now. It should, he poured the equivalent of almost US$30 million into it over the course of ten years there. Crazy!

They have these cool audioguides for the various areas of the palace, so you're able to learn as much or as little about your surroundings and the rooms you're walking through. And my second favorite part is when they actually had dayplayers dressed as the cardinal and the king to come out and talk to the people. Kinda weird seeing them in the courtyards, because it totally takes you back in time.

Of course, my favorite part is really just walking through the old hallways and passages and living quarters and gardens. It's quite amazing to think of the people who lived there back in the 1500s, and to know you're walking in their steps.

I picked this magnet for today, mainly because rather than watching the World Cup finals, I stumbled upon Bend it like Beckham for like the thousandth time. And instead of watching Bride & Prejudice right afterward, like I was going to, I went on a Jonathan Rhys Meyers kick. Yay for Netflix having Season 1 of The Tudors on Instant Watch.

It's been on my docket for ages to eventually watch, so that's pretty much how I've spent my Sunday, getting lost in the world of Henry VIII, the machinations and treachery of the court, and the marvelous costumes of the day.

Of course, I can't figure out why they keep showing me the CGI version of Hampton Court, unless it's because they needed to get all the modern details totally out of the way. Still. It's odd to see it and think, dudes, that building's still there!

Today, the Duke of Somerset had his head cut off on Tower Hill.*

Magnet #771 - Edward VI (r.1547-1553)

Edward VI was Henry VIII's only legitimate son, given to him by Lady Jane Seymour. She was supposedly the only wife that Henry VIII showed true affection for. Sadly, she died almost two weeks after giving birth to Edward at Hampton Court Palace.

So, Henry VIII totally breathed a sigh of relief that he'd begotten a righteous heir, going so far as to betroth him to a baby cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. (Which led to this whole "Rough Wooing" series of events that included folks smuggling the six-year-old Mary out of the country and into France, so she could marry the King there. I know! Crazy! Find that on Disney Channel!)

Except then Henry VIII went and died, leaving a nine-year-old Edward VI the head of England. And Ireland. And the Church. I won't lie, I was totally gonna make fun of this monarch's signature when I saw it. I mean, look! Then I realized the little guy was...little, and you really can't mock the kid.

You kinda have to feel sorry for him. I mean, nine years old and bam! You're the king! Of course, he totally had a regent council to rule in his place, his mother's brother, Edward Seymour who was dubbed Lord Protector of the Realm. Of course, in true regent fashion, everyone clamored for power over the young king, so there was never any peace.

No. Like, literally, never any peace. Skirmishes and backstabbing, lies and treason, alliances and bald-faced betrayals were the order of the day. Or at least while Edward VI was around. Except that in the end, he wasn't.

This is totally weird, and if I were a better historian, I wouldn't stop until I found out this answer, but this is a magnetblog.

Anyway, there seem to be some discrepancies around his death. How very royal.

According to this article, the poor kid who had always been sickly anyway, caught some combo of the measles and smallpox (whoa), and just went downhill all the way to consumption from there. In January 1553, during a thunderstorm that some say was actually Henry VIII freaking out from beyond the grave, Edward VI cried out a final prayer and died at age 15.

That same article then says that they keep it secret until June of 1553. (Which sounds totally crazy and frankly, slightly impossible.)

But, wouldn't you know it, according to the BBC and the wiki, Edward died in July of 1553. Mind you, the official royal site just says 1553.

The unsurety (that's totally not even a word, I don't think) of when (and in some instances how) he died is just a little freaky. I dunno why, but I certainly would have expected things to be a little different without TMZ.


*A supposed diary entry from Edward VI. They say that he was somewhat detached from everyone, because even in his journal this entry shows no real emotions around the beheading of his uncle, the Duke of Somerset.

On the flip side, though, apparently one of the people in charge of him used to review his journal and correct entries. So I'm going with yeah, no real emotions in that little diary!

Make real the glory*

Magnet #730 - Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury, England, is a sister city of Salisbury, NC. I haven't a clue if that's official or not, but I do remember a high school choral group going over there to sing in at Salisbury Cathedral, and them calling it a sister city, so let's go with yes, official.

I've not been to Salisbury, England - I think this magnet came from my sister. The cathedral was built in the 1200s - dudes, that's 750 years ago! It never ceases to amaze me that these giant structures were built so long ago, and they're still standing. Yet, I don't ever have that feeling about today's new builds that they'll last out the century. Hmmm.

What makes this cathedral different from most religious structures of this size, is that it was fully built within a century, that is 1220-1258, and without any major additions afterward. It was built in one style - Early English Gothic - and one style only...rather than other cathedrals built over several centuries that end up having several architectural styles incorporated into the buildings - depending on the time and the architect in charge.

The Cathedral has the tallest spire in Britain, coming in at just over 400 feet. Plus, it has the country's oldest working clock, from the 1300s. And, it has one of the four existing copies of the Magna Carta from 1215. Lots of stuff to see and do here.

I picked it for today, because I'm watching BBC-America's airing of the BAFTAs - the English Oscars, which are always fun to watch, but also because I've been thinking about Salisbury, NC, these last couple of days, as I watch the statuses and comments on my home Facebook account fly by.

It just amazes me how people that I grew up with high school and college know each other - even if they were from different parts of my life, from different areas of Salisbury. And yet, they all go to the same games, meetings and churches, not always realizing that they have me in common.

It's weird, that. But, I guess that's what happens when you grow up in a town as small as ours.

* From the cathedral's mission statement: Salisbury Cathedral exists to make real the glory and presence of God in the world.

Seeing the whole picture

Magnet #710 - Gallen-Kallela's Lake Keitele

Ya'll know how I bought that magnet set from the National Gallery in London, the set that has a bunch of insets of famous paintings, and then I spend hours tracking down the name and artist of the paintings, by a sheer matter of guessing?

Heh. Success. I have found that magnet set, and they totally list what painting's whose. So fun! Or rather, really convenient, not to have to look through a thousand pages of the National Gallery's online collection. Not that I don't love doing that, too.

Anyway, I'm always amazed when I pull one of these magnets, and actually look at the full-on image. It's always interesting the places they thought to crop in on. This one was fairly obvious, but when you see the full image, it's amazing.

This particular painting's done by Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela, called Lake Keitele, which is, according to the wiki, is Finland's ninth largest lake, and is situated right in the middle of the country. This photographer caught this image of the real lake at 3am, and it, too, is just breathtaking.

Anyway, I picked it for today, not because I was about to draw some deep Jack Handey thought about being able to see the bigger picture in our lives, and how this, too, shall pass, but really I wanted to because when I saw the full image, I just had to share.

You can see the Monet influences there, and it's just so darn beautiful, I love it.

Off with their heads!

Magnet #674 - Tower of London

Love visiting the Tower of London, if only for the years and years and years of history cropped up within these pile of stones - the thing was begun in 1066 by William the Conqueror, after all.

Plus, no matter how many times you visit, you don't run out of things to do, tours to take, things to see and history to learn. Which is probably why I love it so.

What I don't love, and why I picked this magnet for today, is because we just finished watching the Brit show Gavin & Stacey's Christmas Special, and are sorely, sorely disappointed by their own brand of revisionist history.

Lock up those editors for BBC-A, because honestly, they've edited yet another BBC show beyond recognition.

Argh. I get that they need to edit for time or content or music rights, but man, sometimes, the Brit shows aren't worth watching, when half the good bits are on some digital clipboard somewhere across the waters.

Sigh. They really can't be angry when people turn to alternative resources when 1) BBC-A airs the shows on a delay (which they were starting to get better about), but 2) When they do finally decide to air the show (like this Christmas special I'm talking about is actually from 2008), they have to edit (and bleep) the hell out of it.

Mind you, I would bet that in addition to saving almost two minutes in time, they probably also didn't have the rights to Band-Aid's Do They Know it's Christmas? Such a shame, because this scene with Smithy and Gavin? Is the best scene in the entire episode!

And, if you haven't seen Gavin & Stacey - get thee to the (unedited) boxed sets - asap. Such a great show!

Sherlock Holmes, I presume

Magnet #673 - Sherlock Holmes

Oh, yes. I have totally been waiting to use this magnet for the day I saw RDJ's Sherlock Holmes.

I picked this up earlier this year at the BEA show, back when we thought our company rebranding was feature the world's greatest detectives, and position our account executives and creatives as brand investigators and storytellers. I know. Don't ask. It kinda seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm just sorry I didn't manage to convince anyone to pick this magnet as our little company launch tchotcke. Heh.

But yay, fun finger puppet magnet!

I kinda had really high hopes for Sherlock Holmes today, which is why I was kinda sad that it didn't live up to my own hype. Don't get me wrong - it was a fairly good movie, it just didn't rock my world as I expected it to.

I blame the overall story, which was only so-so. I tend to love mysticism in my stories, but this one wasn't at all engaging for me. Though the intricate Holmesian details were pretty good, my problem was that my attention was already lost by the time they started explaining the mysticism of the conspiracy.

One of the best parts about the movie was of course, Robert Downey Jr. He was fantastic, as we knew he would be. And you gotta love the total yay between RDJ's Holmes and Jude Law's Watson. The dialogue skipped along whenever the two of them were together on screen. Loved them - loved their banter. In fact, their banter should be in every movie ever made. And, honestly, Rachel McAdams was cute with them as well.

Another thing I love seeing in any movie is a historic background - in this case, London in the making (literally, with the Tower Bridge being built). Seeing St. Paul's and Westminster and even 221B was supercool. The Thames all crowded with boats plying their trade and horse carriages cluttering the streets was just fantastic.

Of course, now I'm trying to remember how accurate Holmes' and Watson's rooms were at 221B Baker Street - a few years ago, my sisters and I did our own little tour of the Sherlock Holmes house/museum. Pretty cool, even though the wax Watson scared the bejeepers out of me. Also? Check it - this Watson, not as hot as Jude Law. I'm just sayin'.

The Hans Zimmer score was fabulous, particularly with the undercurrents of Big Ben's Westminster chimes, keeping time with all the fight scenes toward the end.

Speaking of fights scenes - whoa. Just. Whoa. The fighting was intense and often - and as my dad said, every time my mom woke him up, people were fighting. But, they were well done.

So, yeah - it's still a recommend. Go. See it. While I wasn't carried away by it, there were a ton of things I really did like about the movie. Not the least of which, RDJ should totally have a stipulation in his contract to do at least one shirtless scene in every single movie he does.

I insist.

Damn Stanley! - Guest blogger, Gloriana

Magnet #588 - Richard III (r. 1483-1485)

When I started this blog, I worried about being able to do justice to this set of the Kings and Queens of England. Especially for a monarch as pivotal as Richard III.

When I started inviting guest bloggers, I realized I knew only one person who could do the job - my friend, Gloriana.

Enjoy! And thanks, glor!

- joy

____________________________________

As a card-carrying member of the Richard III Society, I was overjoyed when joy asked me to guest blog on this magnet in honor of Richard III's 557th birthday.

Meet Richard.

Or at least meet what we think Richard III might have looked like. Though this is the "official" portrait hanging in National Portrait Gallery and the one that adorns countless book covers (and magnets), no one's entirely sure that it's actually right.

The only surviving portraits of Richard III were painted long after his death, and subsequently altered by later generations. X-rays show us that his shoulders have been thrown off-kilter to suggest a hunchback, his eyes have been narrowed, his mouth made thinner. It's the Tudor version of evil Photoshop.

We're all told that history is written by the winners, and the changes to Richard's portrait would seem to be the perfect example. In the years after Lord Stanley changed sides to crown Henry Tudor at Bosworth (damn Stanley!), the Tudors executed a smear campaign, paying off historians and painting over portraits to systematically craft an image of a dead rival deformed both in body and character. Thanks to William Shakespeare - backed by the sainted Thomas More - Richard seemed doomed to be remembered forever as the ultimate wicked uncle, a deranged, murdering hunchback screaming for a horse. Winter of discontent, indeed.

And yet, from beyond the grave, Richard struck back. Fueled in part by Josephine Tey's 1951 detective novel, The Daughter of Time, the Fellowship of White Boar has grown by leaps and bounds over the last century. The Richard III Society now claims more than three thousand members in more than twenty countries. (General meeting of the U.S. branch scheduled for October 10th in Las Vegas, and, yes, I do have an invitation.)

That's more than three thousand people worldwide devoted to clearing a man's name 500 years after the fact. As the current Duke of Gloucester, the Society's patron, explains, "The purpose and indeed the strength of the Richard III Society derive from the belief that the truth is more powerful than lies - a faith that even after all these centuries the truth is important."

Today the battle for Richard's reputation rages on. Depending on the current historical vogue and your historian of choice, Richard may be depicted as the perfect Plantagenet prince cut down tragically in battle (damn Stanley!), an able yet ruthlessly ambitious man of his time, or the embodiment of all evil. Posthumously, Richard's been put on trial for the murder of his nephews, the fabled Princes in the Tower, multiple times in multiple settings. He's been acquitted by no less a personage than the Chief Justice of the United States. Twice.

Despite these victories, the truth of Richard remains much like his portrait. Five hundred years, some expertly coordinated mud slinging, and many fervent Ricardians later, we can never really be sure what Richard even looked like, let alone the kind of man he was. The available historical sources tend to be hopelessly biased and somewhat less than credible. (Would you choose to believe a guy who thinks women can be pregnant for two years?) It's a little like someone in 2509 trying to reconstruct today's events using nothing but TMZ's twitter and three or four blogs with widely divergent viewpoints.

Hopeless, in other words.

Which means that it becomes up to the individual to decide who Richard is to them. What kind of man do you see staring out from his portrait? And how far do you think he would go for power?

For my own part, I'll say only this: Damn Stanley.

Oxford Blues

Magnet #501 - Oxford University

Bought ths magnet during a daytrip out 2 Oxford a couple of years ago. We did rlly cool tour group through Evan Evans, & we had a blast wandering arnd the hallowed buildings & halls. I just think it's super pretty w/ all the difft college crests, vry Harry Potter-esque. According 2 their site, they have 38 independent colleges at Oxford (odd, b/c I count only 36 hre). They're independent, & have their own governing bodies, & R basically little colleges w/in the bigger context of the university.

I'm using it 4 2day's magnet b/c I realized something ystrday, in my unending battle w/ twttr. Lately, ive bn familiarizing myself w/ the evr-so-pretty TweetDeck (TweetDeck explained). & I ran across ths automatic TweetShrink fcn, which is wht I did 4 ths entire post.While it's economical, in terms of shrinking Tweets dn 2 140 characters, it essentially makes us all look lk illiterate fools. An abhorrence 2 all of R collective English teachers growing up.

An open letter 2 teachers of the coming generations: Please dnt stp teaching proper spelling & grammar. It pains & saddens me 2 realize that the kids who R coming up ths days R "de-learning" how 2 spell, & not learning proper grammar in the 1st place. &, it just makes me wonder if hallowed institutions such as Oxford will have 2 lower their education standards 2 admit the illiterate classes of the 20teens.Please dont giv up the ship! Xoxo,Stodgy old joy

The measure of a chair

Magnet #431 - Van Gogh's Chair and Pipe

Ok, so for as long as I've had this magnet from the London's National Gallery, I thought it was really just an inset/cutaway of the chair in Van Gogh's Bedroom in Arles.

I loved that painting, because it was on the cover of a desk calendar from the Van Gogh Museum that my first boss at this company gave me. I remember, because it was the best desk calendar I've ever had design-wise, and I've spent the last 11 years trying to find that exact calendar layout. No, I'm not even joking.

Turns out, this chair, is actually Van Gogh's Chair and Pipe. (Seriously, there was some major magnifying of both paintings on my part to verify. Heh.) It's kinda cool on its own, I guess - especially now that I know that Van Gogh painted it as a companion piece to a chair that he painted for Gauguin, as a representation of the vast difference between the two men - as artists, and I'd bet, as men.

It's odd thinking about a chair being the measure of a man. I mean, these days people sit in myriad chairs all over the place - at home, at work, commuting, etc.

But, if I were to think about what my favorite chair would be, it'd be a big, soft ploppable number, where you can burrow down into it and stay for hours and hours. And it'd be blue. With blankets. And have a tv with cable, an overflowing DVR, and DVD player in front of it and maybe the remotes, some chips and chocolate beside me.

None of this straight-backed, woven seat crap. Heh, sorry Van Gogh. Nice painting, though.

Here's something else superodd. I just randomly picked this magnet for today. It wasn't until I started to write that line about my first boss here that I realized - today's my 11th anniversary at the same company. Huh. Odd that I should be thinking about that, on today of all days.

A daughter all of her life*

Magnet #407 - Cockney Rhyming Slang for Mum and Dad

Me friend bought me this supercool magnet down Londontown, and we had a good giggle over Cockney slang, where saying "I think I'm going a bit Mum and Dad" really means, "I'm going a bit mad."

But, I'm going to be a bit literal in my usage of this magnet for today, because frankly, I can't Adam and Eve what I just heard not an hour ago, and I know me Mum and Dad would be mad as well. Mad, mad.

There we were - the sister in DC, the Save the World sister in Nepal and her fiance - all Skyping away, havin' a giraffe or two, just larkin' about. We spoke for a good long while, because STWsister is leaving at six on Sunday morning to go to South Base Camp. Of Mount Everest.

Yes. That Mount Everest.

Apparently, a bit of dosh will get you and your sherpa up there, and she has to fly in to the closest airport, and then will do 14 days of walking - just to get to Base Camp. She's not going farther up, but it's something she's always wanted to do - go to Everest.

And, that's something I understand. Everyone has things they want to see, do, experience before they die. Of course. And, it's not like thousands of people don't do this exact trek every year. Plus, she's in the neighborhood, so yeah, I totally get it.

But how you gonna go visit the highest mountain in the world and not call your parents before you leave? How you gonna go trekking for days and days through some of the toughest climes (and probably climbs) in the world, and send only an email to your parents, leaving your two sisters holding the bag? How? In what world is that ok?

Two words: It's not.

She better bring back a damn magnet, that's all I'm sayin'.

Anyway. To bring this back to me, because after all it's not called joy magnetism for nothing...

How come I'm the only one who got the 50-mile radius rule handed down to them in college?

Don't know it?

After my parents found out that I drove from Chapel Hill to Western Carolina University for my best friend's 21st birthday party, they laid down the law:

It's ok if you go places, that's fine. But, please, if you go outside the 50-mile radius, just call us and let us know. That way, we know where to pick up the body.

So tonight, I mentioned that parental law to both my sisters (one's five years younger, the other is eight years younger), and shine a damn light, neither one of them have ever heard that rule!!!! Bah.

This weekend, someone's gonna be going a bit Mum and Dad, but me, I'm just thinking about how the life of the oldest of three daughters is so vastly different than the lives of those that come after. I mean, it's close to two decades later, and I'm still quoting the parental rules...but that's what I've heard the Irish say: *A son is a son till he takes him a wife, a daughter is a daughter all of her life.

Underwriters above the rest

Magnet #311 - Lloyd's of London

The Lloyd's of London building headquarters is on the 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die list. So how could I not visit?

Amazing. It's freakish looking, all modern, with exposed everything, and shiny bits and bobs and funny-looking towers and what have you. And, it was done by the same guy who designed the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and you can see that fact plastered all over this "inside-out" design.

Designed by Richard Rogers in 1986, it was the height of modernism back in the day. Some folks didn't (and still don't) take too kindly to it, but it certainly is an interesting building to look at. As for me, I love looking at it. And they have a Lloyd's building shop on the ground floor. Hence the magnet. Love.

It's much nicer when viewed from farther away, when you're walking in its shadow, you lose a lot of the detail. Plus, you lose a lot of sunlight, just because it's so large that it really does block out the sun.

Lloyd's of London was actually created in a coffee shop, owned by Edward Lloyd, and they basically took his name. That was back in 1688. Whoa. More history, here.

According to this, the best book ever, I Never Knew that About London, they have the Lutine Bell, which came from an old French ship (lost at sea) that Lloyd's had underwritten back in 1799. They used it to let people know when one of their overdue ships had arrived. They announced bad news with one strike, and good news with two. They still ring it, every once in a while - usually for ceremonies, or unusual disasters.

Useless fact of the day: Lloyd's of London used to have their contract with all the terms of whatever they were insuring. And then, they all wrote their signatures at the bottom of the contract - hence the term underwriters.

Sigh. Great building, great history, great city. I finally posted my Arts & Architecture album on FB, which includes a few Lloyd's shots. Though, not as many as I wanted to include, I know.

Toddling off for tea

Magnet #298 - Queen Elizabeth II (r. 1952-Present)

Elizabeth II is the reigning Head of State of the UK and like 15 other commonwealths. She's related to like every major royal family in Europe, descended from some of the greatest names in English history.

Think Madge'll have me over for tea?

Today's the start of my "Is there a Doctor in the House?" London trip. Since David's already made sure that no, there won't be a Doctor in the house, tea at Buckingham Palace would be a great back-up plan.

Wonder if they serve Sweet Iced Tea?

Symbol me this

Magnet #113 - Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait

I've dubbed the front of my refrigerator my own little magnet art gallery - paintings and other classic pieces of the grand masters. There are quite a few, and we'll get through them all in time.

But, look, I wasn't an art history major, so I'm going to keep these entries as short and sweet as I can, mainly because:

1. There's a part of me that thinks that the grand masters really shouldn't have their paintings on magnets. Like if Van Gogh knew I had any of his work on a magnet, that he'd likely cut his other ear off.
2. Honestly? While I love art, and think it's beautiful to look at and marvel at the skill it took to paint it and whatnot - I can't stand when people stand in front of the painting and try to dissect every. little. thing. that the artist was thinking. Sometimes, a bowl of fruit really is just a bowl of fruit!

Having said that, van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait, which I saw at the National Gallery in London has some weird aspects to it. Like for years, they thought that it was the portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini guy and his wife Giovanna Cenami in their Flemish bedchamber. But then, they found out that the couple was actually married 13 years after the date on the painting...and hello, like six years after van Eyck died. Do what?

Now they think it's actually the guy's cousin, and either his first or second wife. Really. The painting was done in 1434. It's ummm, 2008. Does it really matter who the guy was? I'm just askin'. Honestly, I just thought it was a pretty damn good painting, no matter who the subjects were.

Oh, but then there's like all sorts of stuff about the symbolism: like how the dog's the symbol for how they wanted kids (maybe it was just a pet), or like how she's looking down and nearer the bed and farther into the room and he's nearer the window and looking directly at us that it's a symbol for gender roles (maybe she likes standing on the right and he likes the breeze from the window), and how she's wearing green symbolizes hope (maybe she loved the color green), how the one lit candle in the chandelier is the Holy Ghost (maybe the lighting was better with one candle).

But, you can read all that here, in the surprisingly robust wiki for it. Actually, I'm not kidding - read the wiki, it got some pretty intriguing some of the symbolism they've come up with for this painting...and how there's controversial views about whether or not it's a memorial painting or a wedding painting, and why they're wearing winter clothes when it's spring. Oh! And they actually show the detail of the writing on the wall, and the two people reflected in the mirror.

As for me, I'm thinking if I wanted a short blogpost today, I should have chosen that bowl of fruit over there on the fridge.

To be eyesore, or not to be

Magnet #105 - London Eye

I still haven't any tickets for David Tennant's Hamlet. Yes, I know we've discussed it before. Be prepared, it'll be popping up again, I feel sure.

The funny thing is that I don't even like Hamlet. I don't like the story, I don't like the character. Yes, yes, I know, I can't exactly talk smack about Shakespeare, since it's a trillion years later and we're still performing his work. I see the merit in the play, I swear. I just think - no matter if it's Olivier, Burton, Branagh, or Tennant - the prince of Denmark's a bit of a whiner. Drives me nuts. But, Hamlet's a definitive Shakespearean role, and one that obvi, DT will knock out of the park.

I do wish the papers and bloggers would stop reporting that tickets are still available, or going fast. I've called the RSC three times, and each time they've been sold out - and rehearsals just started Monday. There's to be a decision taken in the next couple of weeks or so, whether or not they're extending the run to London in December. So, I guess we'll wait and see.

Anyway. Moving on. The London Eye. While I'd seen the pictures and footage, I still wasn't prepared to see a big damn ferris wheel slam in the middle of the city nestled on the banks of the Thames, just down the street from Big Ben.

Don't get me wrong - I think it's an amazing structure. I just find myself questioning what it does to the London landscape. And, it's an amazing ride as well. Takes a while to do a rotation, but it really does give you a fabulous aerial view of the area. And, Londoners seem to have adopted it into its hearts and skyline, so I guess it's not quite the eyesore that I thought it was at first site.

The one thing that I would encourage is to buy your timed tickets before you land on UK soil - that'll save you buckets full of time. Oh! And, mind the darn pigeons hanging out by the McDonald's down the way from the Eye. Eww.

eta:
June 6. How fitting to use a UK magnet on this, the 64th anniversary of D-Day. No worries. I can do a D-day story next year for the 65th. Meetcha back here, then.