"Life to me is...

Magnet #1262 - Ensemble Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, autumn/winter 2002–3

a bit of a Grimm fairytale.”

- Alexander McQueen

Yep. Last day of the McQueen exhibit. And I didn't manage to get out to the Met to go see it.

I think that's ok, though. Visiting the galleries four times over the last couple of months was enough.

Plus, the six-hour wait was totally a deterrent to me, one of the newest Met members.

I saw a tweet somewhere that they brought in 25,000 new museum members, and that attendance was something like 650,000 for the show.

That my friends, is a successful show.

And somewhere up above, McQueen's tickled pink by all the interest, I just know it.

Fourth and goal

Magnet #1246 - Dress, Autumn/Winter, Alexander McQueen

This dress is one of my favorites from the McQueen exhibit at the Met.

Where I went today.

Again.

For those of you counting, that's now four times.

What? I said it was one of my favorite exhibits ever. In fact, I wonder how will the Met ever top this exhibition I'll never know. The lines are crazy long, all day, every day, and if everyone's paying the new $25.00 entry fee for it, man, they're making a killing.

I can't wait to hear what their attendance numbers will be after it closes on August 3rd.

That gives us about 10 days to go back again. And yes, I plan on going one last time, even if I already managed to finally buy all of the fabulous magnets from the collection. Yay, goal achieved!

Fly like an eagle

Magnet #1240 - Ensemble, No. 13, spring/summer 1999, Alexander McQueen

Yep. I went back to the McQueen exhibit again. This time as member - finally.

Last time around, we were able to avoid a 2-hour line because my friend was a Met Member. And she lives in Atlanta!

So, yeah, given how much time I spend at the Met in any given month, it was definitely time for me to join. I'm totes excited - mostly because I'm a dork, but also because it's part of New Joy's Enjoy Living in New York to the Fullest campaign.

In fact, this extraordinary balsa wood McQueen creation definitely heralds this era in my life. I mean, I've always enjoyed my life in New York, but there's this new sense of invigoration over the last year that makes me want to do more, and do it now.

Most of the urgency, I'm sure, is knowing that it could be taken away in a heartbeat. The last five months have proven that.

This feeling is coupled by the fact this new gig of mine affords me extra hours in my day, something that (with the exception of the last year), I didn't have. I try not to be bitter about it, but I definitely gave up significant amounts of funtime in my 20s and 30s, working really ridiculous and (now I see) unnecessary hours, for a company that didn't appreciate it in the end. What a total waste. Especially since I live in the Best City in the World!

But no more.

I suppose it's both funny and sad that I'm headed into midlife (total exaggeration, I know) and I'm not entirely sure what (single) people do with all this time on their hands. True to form, I'm packing it in with funtime activities, trying to make up for all that lost time.

Oh, I'm sure I'll settle down eventually, but I'm having too much fun flying free to think about that now.

With a shoe and a lampshade, and a little Van Gogh, too

Magnet #1232 - Jellyfish Armadillo boot, Plato's Atlantis, spring/summer 2010, Alexander McQueen

Oh, yes. There's a part of me that's wondering if I'm going to collect every single magnet that the Met has produced of the McQueen exhibit.

Don't put it past me. I have four in my possession now, including this one (which was given to me, in point of fact - thank you).

I think there's like five or six more to go, and roughly a month left to go. I may not have anything intelligent to say about each and every one of them, but I feel like I must own them. All.

Plus? How much do I love the Met for such an impressive magnet array? There's literally a whole shelf full of magnets right as you come out of the exhibit hall. It's like I freakin' set that up myself!

This one's part of McQueen's Plato's Atlantis collection - and arguably one of his most infamous pieces. I mean, even the 10-year-old we went to the museum with today knew about the shoes.

Of course, said same girl was pointing out (with some authority) the outfits that Lady Gaga would most assuredly wear.

Then again, whenever I asked the little girl if she herself would wear it, she goes, "No, Joy, it looks like a lampshade!"

When we left the exhibit, we were wandering around the shop area, and the kid pointed out a Vincent Van Gogh, wondering if they had Starry, Starry Night. I ask you, what 10-year-olds do you know who are asking for Vincent Van Gogh?

So we made a quick trip back through the galleries, so that I could show her the way to the two Van Gogh rooms. Loved it - she was reading plaques, looking at the paintings, taking pictures of them, asking for specific paintings. It was awesome.

Good gravy, you know she's a kid after my own heart!

"I want people to be afraid...

Magnet #1217 - Dress No. 13, Spring/Summer 1999, Alexander McQueen

...of the women I dress."

- Alexander McQueen

I'm not a fashionista. At. All. If you know me at all, you know my wardrobe is about as far from avant garde as it could possibly get.

I don't read about it, I don't look at it, I barely even notice it.

But, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate it. Sort of.

Which (of course) is how I found myself visiting the Met's Alexander McQueen exhibit today with my friend (the fashionista, who has an excellent in-depth view of her own), after having breakfast at Alice's Tea Cup (where I learned that I really can drink tea if I use enough milk and honey) and a quick pitstop at Vosges (where they didn't have my Rooster, boo).

Ya'll know I tend to love all museum exhibits, but you guys. This one? Was fantastic. I'd even say it really wasn't just an exhibit.

Rather, "Savage Beauty" was a truly amazing experience - such an insightful tribute to Alexander McQueen, the man and the designer, and obviously curated by a team who loved and cared about both.

After a pretty quick 10-minute wait in line (go early, is all I have to say), we finally were admitted to the ultraovercrowded exhibit hall. Or rather, halls.

The exhibit itself spanned several rooms, with each section well thought out and beautifully designed. As you walk through every threshold from room to room, you're immediately struck by the breadth of McQueen's work, and you get to discover one treat after another.

As I peered around dozens (and dozens) of folks to read the narratives and accompanying placards, I could hear snippets of awed and oddly reverent conversations - full-on discussions people were having about the cut and flow of his designs, the fabrics, the runway shows, etc. There was something nice seeing so many people with a true appreciation for the work, even as I knew I was missing things here and there.

My favorite part of the exhibit was watching the video footage of the various runway shows associated with the different pieces and collections. They helped put the pieces in context - for example, the No. 13 dress on this magnet was on a model being spray-painted by two robotic arms.* The story, and the awesome dress only makes sense, when you see the video.

I can't even imagine having seen any of McQueen's runway shows live, but I bet they were all nothing short of amazing. The production budgets alone must have been insanely ridiculous, and it certainly helps explain why haute couture needs to be expensive.

My favorite room was Romantic Nationalism, not surprisingly, filled with - apparently one of the hallmarks of McQueen's work - the Tartans of the Widows of Culloden and Highland Rape collection. You have to see them for yourselves, the images do no justice.

Oh, I don't claim to understand half of the pieces I saw - next time I visit, I'm totally getting the audio guide. If I'm totally honest, for all the pretty dresses I saw, there were spiney corsets, S&M-y stuff and feathers that absolutely freaked me out.

But, as it turns out, fashion is exactly like art. Love or hate it, you don't have to get it to appreciate the work and creativity that went into it.



*The robotic arms spray-painting this dress totally reminded me of my most favorite Shirley MacLaine movie ever - What a Way to Go!

At about the 1-minute mark, you'll see why.

Forbidden fruit - Escape Home to NYC Day #2

Magnet #1160 - Forbidden Planet

Day #2:

- breakfast strawberry crepes at Alice's Tea Cup
- NYPL to get some work done
- lunch with friends at Bill's Bar & Burgers
- Vosges for a Rooster
- Met & MoMA in three hours.

Ya'll. I am lovin' speed-dating my town! How much of this stuff do we just take for granted living here?

Anyway, by way of explanation, ya'll know all that shopping I did yesterday?

If you know me at all, you know I don't go crazy and spend a boatload on couture or hell, even clothes. Totes not me. (Don't get me wrong, drop me in an Outlet and I'll do a fair amount of damage, but NYC is not an Outlet.)

Instead, with a little money in my pocket, I end up buying silly stuff. And usually from silly places. It's all that forbidden gifty stuff that people keep telling me not to buy within a month of my birthday, so they can buy it for me.

Like my trip yesterday to Forbidden Planet.

This is not my demo, folks. I don't really know what my demo is at this point, but FP is not it. I mean, whenever I walk in, I still feel about a million years old, and way too corporate to be darkening their doorstep. (Especially as I'm wedged in between nerdy cuteboys grabbing their week's worth of comics.)

I don't even read comics or manga - ya'll know that! I've said it a million times! Nor do I play with action figures (mind, I own them, but they never get played with or whatever). And, I don't even wear all those graphic Ts they sell. (Today's Doctor Who Gallifrey Road T-shirt doesn't count, as I didn't buy it there. And yeah, I was totes gonna Tweet a pic of it on me, but then realized I had just taken, and was about to Tweet, a picture of my boobs. Uh, NO.)

Anyway, so yeah. Ya'll have no idea how much crap I ended up buying there. AND OMG, I found my stuffed Adipose (I was devastated when I lost mine on my last trip to the BBC and was SO happy to pay for it - again.) Shut. It.

I also ended up buying a boatload of stuff at Reminiscence, a fave novelty store a friend introduced me to several years ago, down on 23rd off of 6th. Slightly kitschy stuff, slightly dirrty stuff, and I must confess I've never actually made it to the back of the store. No kidding.

But I love spending time wandering through the store. SO much fun. I mean, I'm totally the biggest kitschy gift person ever - I mean, what's the point of presents if you get someone something they'd give themselves?

And of course, if you know me, you know it's almost impossible for me to leave a bookstore without a book in hand. (I may not actually read it, but owning it is half the battle, dammit!) So of course, I had to buy the books of all three authors at last night's book launch.

Sure, I could have scored free copies of them, easy. But I love, love, love giving those few cents to the author's sales numbers. Plus, how can you not help Independent booksellers like Word Brooklyn out?

So yeah - not a pile of new clothes, just a new pile of dustcatchers...for me, but mostly for others. Hah. Just like half the things in my life, my version of shopping is nowhere near anyone else's version of shopping.

Think 12-year-old.

Or hell, it's quite possible that maybe I'm really turning 5 on Sunday.

Ang kang Tatay

Magnet #1153 - Van Gogh's First Steps After Millet

So apparently, Van Gogh used to recreate Jean-Francois Millet's artwork in his own voice - something like 21 paintings, during his asylum time at Saint-Rémy. This painting, First Steps, After Millet is hanging in the Met - and here's Millet's original crayon on paper for comparison.

I do love this painting, because it's a supercute image of a child's first steps - especially if you see that the child is headed straight for the father's arms across the way.

Ya'll have heard it before - despite the fact that I don't want one, I'm a baby whisperer. For the most part, babies love me. I maintain it's because they see themselves in my chubby face.

It's been a fun year and a half, because two of my good friends had little girls, born 10 months apart. It's actually one of the advantages to being down here in NC this year, because I get to see both girls more often, and get to see them grow up, close up. Or, almost, anyway.

Last week, my BFF asked me to come sit for a bit with her daughter, who was supposedly just gonna sleep the whole time. It's possible that my BFF needs to read my blog more often, because I could swear I've done a blogpost about not allowing me near babies trying to sleep.

Here's why:

I learned that night that my threshold for leaving crying babies in their cribs is just about 10 minutes. What's worse? That baby totally knew I was putty in her hands, which is why she spent the next hour in my arms.

Couldn't help it. And she didn't sleep, either. She didn't cry at all, even as I spent most of that hour humming and singing the same Filipino lullaby over and over again.

It was like a magic lullaby, which totally kept her quiet the whole time! It's below, the lullaby that Tatay, quite possibly the original baby whisperer, always used to sing to us when we were little:

Ang kang Tatay
nga mga saging
nan gatumba kay gihangin

Ug wala pa unta hagagina
ang kang Tatay nga mga saging
dili matumba.*

Who knew? Filipino lullabies work on white babies!



*Translation:
My dad's bananas
have fallen because of the wind.

If it weren't for the wind,
my dad's bananas wouldn't have fallen.

(Yeah, I laughed at that, too.)

Oh [Miss] La La

Magnet #1066 - Degas' Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando

It's another one of my National Gallery magnets. Man, that set had a lot of magnets. But, I think I'm coming to the end of this set.

Just in time, too, because I can't wait to revisit the National Gallery gift shop. I spent only a couple of hours there with my mom the last time around, and in June, I'd like to spend a good part of a day there. Much like the Met or the Uffizi or the Louvre, the NG cannot be done in a day, in a couple of visits, or ever really completely done.

For example, I may have this magnet of Dega's Miss La La, but I've never seen it in person. And I feel like I should, so it's a must.

I'm not a huge Degas fan, like at all, but I find myself both intrigued and freaked out by this image of Ms. La La hanging by the skin of her teeth. That's what Degas was looking for, interesting subjects in arresting poses, according to the site. I think this chick fits the bill.

Also?

Owwww.

Here and there

Magnet #1057 - Camera Work

One of the things I love about this town, is when there are multiple exhibits around the same subject at different museums. Whether it's planned or not, it still gives you a better grasp on a subject when you see it from multiple vantage points/exhibits.

The last couple of weeks or so, that's what the Seaport Museum and the Met (where I picked up this magnet) have done for me.

The Seaport just finished the amazing Alfred Stieglitz New York exhibit. I'm not a big photography fan, indeed, the amount that I know about it, could fill a teacup.

Yet, I've found myself captivated by his particular work, because he was born during the Civil War, and died at 82 in 1946, after World War II. So, his photography spans from horse-drawn carriages on the streets of New York, to the monumental skyscrapers being built all around him.

Plus, dudes. The man was doing more with his magic lantern camera in the 1890s than I can do with my point and shoot Panasonic in 2011. His photography is amazing. He makes me want to run out there and shoot anything and everything.

If you missed the Seaport exhibit, you can always hop on over to the Met, for the Stieglitz, Steichen and Strand exhibit. Though you can see much of what was at the Seaport, the Met's collection includes the Georgia O'Keefe portraits, plus additional halls focusing on Steichen and Strand's work as well.

While you're there, definitely drop by the Met's Masterpieces of French Art Deco exhibit. Very cool, made more interesting for me today, because it included more than a few pieces from the S.S. Normandie, which I magnetblogged about yesterday.

I know. I keep finding myself at the Met, over and over again. At some point, I really just need to get a job there.

eta:
Oh! I forgot. Each Friday, I've decided to post a new Floaty Pen video. Yes. Exactly what it sounds like. Yes. Just as silly as you would expect.

What? I can't figure out a better way to make use out of my Floaty Pen collection than showing you guys one a week!

Captive unicorn

Magnet #943 - Unicorn in Captivity

My friend bought this magnet for me, which is sad because the darn Cloisters are just a bus/train away from me. Even sadder, given how often I'm darkening the halls of the Met, the parent museum of the Cloisters.

It's one of those New York places that I've been saving, for dcsister to finally do it with me. The thing is, we've been trying to go for seriously, almost twenty years. Every time we think we're gonna visit it, we end up choosing something else in town, or we somehow talk ourselves out of the long trek uptown.

But, at some point, we have to go because I really do want to see the Unicorn tapestries from the 1400/1500s.

I love this Unicorn in Captivity tapestry, because everyone has that elusive thing they're trying to catch. Whether it's that dream job, or a bear, or whatever, everyone can relate to trying to catch a unicorn.

And, hopefully, this year, I'll be able to "catch" both. And maybe even visit the Cloisters, to boot!

Room with a view

Magnet #841 - FLW Robie House Window

So, I've lived in New York since 1995, and I've been to the Met countless times. Seriously, doesn't it feel like I'm always writing about it?

Earlier this week, the Met Tweeted something about their Frank Lloyd Wright room. Dudes. I didn't even know they had one of those! And, ya'll know how much I love my Frank Lloyd Wright!

Totally don't have a clue how I've managed to miss it, but I totally rectified that this evening. It was pretty cool, though, really, in the end, it was just a room. Heh.

I think what I love about FLW houses is the fact that he designed not just the house, but much of the interior and furnishings as well. In some cases, he was pretty OCD about his furnishings being used.

I have to wonder if I'd be able to take it, if he dictated everything that could go into a house I lived in. Even if he did design it. From the chairs to the lights to the screens to the windows - I'd imagine it could be quite overbearing.

Clearly, I say this with a little bit of sour graping, as I also wouldn't turn down a FLW house, even if I think I couldn't live in it.

I will say, though, that I do love his windows. They're really very cool - with subtle differences in colors and patterns. This magnet is of one of the 174 glass patterns of the Robie House, one of the grandest of his Prairie Homes, in Hyde Park, IL. They're celebrating its centennial this year and is currently under a lengthy process of restoration and preservation.

I was so glad I detoured from our Met Scavenger Hunt to see the FLW room tonight. Love those scavenger hunts, they force you to notice the details of what you're seeking...even when you're running from one end of the museum to the other.

So, yay, for @metmuseum Tweeting about tonight's Internet Week event. Fun had by all!

Oh! Speaking of which - apparently, the New York Times has decided to disallow use of the word Tweet in their stories, because it's not in the dictionary. NYTs, you're one of the world's most venerable papers. But seriously. There's a reason why the dead tree industry is dying. But, ignoring the digital future won't make it go away. IJS.

American Woman

Magnet #840 - American Woman

I picked this magnet that my friend bought me from the American Woman exhibition at the Met, because I can't wait to see the exhibition to see for myself how the clothes make the woman.

I may have a different opinion tomorrow when I see it, but frankly, I just like the very idea of the American Woman, kicking ass and taking names. And, I'm hoping that maybe it'll give me some kick-ass encouragement, as this weekend has been dubbed THINK ABOUT YOUR FUTURE weekend.

The theme for this month seems to be change - of any kind, for the good, for the bad.

I had dinner with a friend and former colleague of mine this week, one who will be embarking on some pretty major life changes shortly. Possibly starting a new gig with a fancy new title, halfway around the world, and possibly with a new boy to accompany that gig.

I remember many years ago during our post-September 11th layoffs, she was just a couple of years older than me now, and she was very concerned about her future. Mostly on the professional front as a single-income household, but also on the personal front as a single-soul household.

It's what we single gals have to worry about. If we lose our income, there's no safety cushion in the form of a spouse's salary to land on and carry us through to the next gig. It's a trade-off. We have our freedom to be footloose and fancy-free, but if something happens, tag. We're it.

But, in my friend's case, I've watched as over the years, she's managed to climb the ladder of success at a sister company, and now she's about to reap the rewards of that success. And, her journey's been both inspiring and amazing for me, on the professional front.

I mean journey, literally, too. She's also traveled the world - having done stints in the Amazon and Morocco, not to mention Easter Island and half of Asia, to boot. And she did most of that - by herself. That to me, is fantastic. That, to be frank, takes balls.

It takes balls to be a single woman going it alone - both in work and in life. It's an accomplishment that no one should take away from. It's why I nearly smacked her for thinking she's accomplished nothing over the years.

No kids? No husband? So. What.

There's a world full of women who have both.

The world can use a few good women who have neither. And like it that way.

eta:
And yes, it doesn't escape me that I'm writing this on a Friday night, getting ready to leave work, after another crazy work day. Plotting to have ice cream for dinner.

At the corner of coincidence and fate

Magnet #820 - Inset of Hopper's At Two Lights

This inset of Edward Hopper's Lighthouse at Two Lights that I magnetblogged about before, is supercool. If you go back to the original magnet, and compare it with this, and the Met link above, it's amazing how these art magnets change colors depending on the production process and the image resolution they're reproduced at.

Technically, I suppose the colors also depend on how you look at the image, and ultimately even the person who is looking at it.

It's much like watching LOST. The show means so many different things to different people - everyone has their own set of theories about it.

I said last year that I was just going to enjoy the show for what it was. That I wasn't going to make my head crazy by trying to figure out the ins and of the plot, the story, the characters, the time frames, the whatevers.

For me, there was just no sense in becoming obsessed with the details. I kinda realized that I was out of control the day that I stayed on hold for like half an hour having called in to that one marketing number, freaking myself out, wondering what secrets would unfold on the phone.

Of course, I'm using this magnet for today, because I'm still trying to figure out how they built that lighthouse that Jack destroyed - how'd they build it to reflect the lives of the candidates on LOST? Did they answer that question? Probably, and I just had to move on.

I've had to put LOST on self-imposed hiatus since the beginning of March - and now that I finally watched 11 episodes back to back yesterday and today, I cannot believe how much I managed to stay unspoiled for! Like, boom, went the sub!

Today's backend of the marathon included a 3-hour break for the Last LOST Weekend at the Paley Center. It was a screening of the pop-up pilot, and then a panel with a couple of my favorite crix, @Sepinwall and @poniewozik. So fun.

But, now that I'm totally caught up before the show's finale, I find myself wondering what people will be feeling tomorrow night at this time. Of course, everyone better than to think that tomorrow, when the LOST end credits roll, that half the questions we've asked over the last several years will be answered, or even addressed. I just hope that when the box set comes out, that they'll put in the writers room storyboard and timeline tracker. That, I would pay big money for.

In the meantime, I'm loving this @DamonLindelof tweet:

Folks. Things are going to start leaking. Resist. It's Christmas Eve. You've made it this far. Don't read it. EXPERIENCE IT. Please.

Of course, I dunno how to take that...I open my Christmas presents on Christmas Eve!

Did you practice?

Magnet #811 - Renoir's Two Girls at the Piano

I love this magnet. Shamefully, as many times as I've been to the Met, I can't remember if I've actually seen this painting in real life.

Oh, don't worry, I plan on rectifying that at some point. What I need to do is just go for the day, rather than just popping in and out for a couple of hours here and there, looking for Michelangelos, special exhibitions, and their clearance shop for their magnets.

Or...other things. Heh.

But this particular Renoir, speaks to me, because as my friend says, it really does remind me of my sisters and our collective almost 40 years of piano lessons. That's including:

• running for quick dinners before lessons.
• sitting through each other's lessons while doing homework.
• playing outside during each other's lessons.
• sitting at home, listening to the interminable practicing of the same three, then six, then nine piano pieces, getting ready for Competition.
• hearing the oft-asked question, Did you practice? Often.
• hearing the greeting, "Joyful, how you doin' today? Did you practice?" (Or "Hey, Tiger! Did you practice?" Because she couldn't tell my younger two sisters apart, I think.)
• that's combing the music stores in hopes of finding the right (and more fun) piano books with the right Richard Marx ballad, or the tv show theme or 70s easy listening piece for my parents to hum off-key to.
• finding the right dresses for recital.
• going to recital rehearsals.
• recitaling.

And on and on and on...a lot can happen in 40 years.

Little did my five-year-old self know that when I said, "Can I take piano, too?" after seeing my friends practice, that I would change the course of our family's history.

Rather, little did I know how much I would curse my five-year-old self every time I was asked the question, "Did you practice?" Argh.

Anything you can do...

Magnet #797 - Tiffany's Magnolias and Irises

This Tiffany stained glass window centered around Magnolias and Irises is another of my art gallery magnets from the Met. Yes, I should own stock in the Met Shop.

This piece used to be in a Brooklyn cemetery mausoleum, which is kinda weird, mainly because I'm wondering what's now in its place over the bridge. I don't know why I didn't know this, after seeing so much of Tiffany's work, but he and his studios were often commissioned for memorial windows - that's the River of Life back there.

Even from its sad beginnings, I do love this magnet - it reminds me of both my parents. My mother, because she loves magnolias and irises. And my father, because he's something of a stained glass artist himself.

Basically, he took a bunch of stained glasses courses, learned the rudimentary skills, quit the classes, and started designing and making his own designs. He's designed a couple of really gorgeous pieces, mostly for the house. All of that, is because when he sees something, he honestly thinks he can do it better.

I mean, after all, we're talking about the man who sat in Musee Marmottan in front of Monet's giant paintings and said, I can paint better than that!

Lo so! Pazzo!

Magnet #784 - Firenze, Santa Croce

Perhaps our best day in Florence was visiting Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross). Everyone was getting along, no one was overtired, and we were really enjoying what we were seeing.

Santa Croce is where Michelangelo was buried, as I've magnetblogged before, but I wanted to use this other magnet because whoa, there's a new Michelangelo in town.

Well, sortakinda. It's not technically new, because it's been here since before I was born. And, it might technically not really be a Michelangelo.

This really interesting ARTnews article is about Everett Fahy, the former head of the Met's European paintings group, who wrote a paper about how the Met's Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness could supertotally actually be a Michelangelo.

I know! Insane!

Back in 1970, the Met bought these two paintings by Franciso Grannaci from Sotheby's, one for $150,000 and the other for $200,000. The one for $200,000 wasn't technically attributed to him, but like someone in his close circle of friends....that just happens to include Michelangelo.

I know! Insane!

So, apparently Fahy has kinda always had his eye on the painting wondering if it was really Micheangelo, until one day, things kinda clicked and he put some pieces together, and he just sort of gradually realized it.

I know! Insane!

So they've done all sorts of studies, and they started doing all sorts of techy tests, trying to examine the paintings further. One was trying to see if the underwriting (where some artists draw out what they want to paint, and then they paint over it) was visible. Apparently, while Grannaci did that, Michelangelo (cuz he's Michelangelo, hello) did not. According to them, he knew what he wanted to paint. So, when you see all the underwork stuff, you can see that the John the Baptist one didn't have the initial drawings.

Lo so! Pazzo!

I'm trying to figure out why this isn't the most fanfare-iest news ever, and why more folks haven't like freaked out over it. That's way cool that we have a Michelangelo in our backyard.

Oh, I suppose when it comes to paintings that were supposedly done before the Sistine Chapel in the early 1500s or so, unless ya'll have the Doctor and his TARDIS to go back in time, you're never going to know 100% that it's Michelangelo's.

Still, it's enough to get me over to the Met as soon as I can get there. I kinda want to go right now. Hmmm. Stay tuned.

eta:
And yet again, I love living here because I can make that last-minute decision to run up to the Met and check out the painting for myself.

I love how it sits in relative obscurity in the last gallery (#7) in the back on the second floor. I was able to hang out for as long as I wanted, great bench seating, and like no foot traffic. The security guard knew I was hanging out for a reason, and was like, you know? And I said, yep, I just read the article.

I told him to watch out, once that article hits the mainstream and more people find out, you won't be able to get into the room. We agreed that they'd probably pull it from the collection in order to find a place of honor somewhere...not in the back. Hahahah.

BTW? Not surprisingly, I really couldn't tell the diff between the Granacci and the Granacci/possibly Michelangelo. But, the painting's really cool, the longer you stare at it.

Do you know the way to La-la Land?

Magnet #685 - Hopper's Lighthouse at Two Lights

Another sale magnet from the Met. I think I might singlehandedly be supporting their magnet sales.

As I was looking at my little fridge magnet art gallery, I realized I have a couple of Hoppers, well, in the hopper, so to speak.

So I won't wax poetic about Hopper's work in general, and how meant for Lighthouse at Two Lights (Maine) to stand for the individual's stand against industrialization. One, because I don't totally get it, but also because really? fight against industrialization?

But, a twofold reason why I picked this one today.

One, because I kinda like the idea of the lighthouse sitting as a bastion of hope on this promontory. And, two, because of the amount of sky in the painting.

Why sky? Because it really didn't even take the full first week of 2010 before I remembered my theory about advertising folks, and I suppose, people in general:

There are two people in this world.

The ones who have their head in the clouds, going about their merry little way singing their happy la-la-la's.

And those behind them, who have their noses to the ground, scurrying about, just trying to pick up the pieces.

Which one are you?

Capeside, seaside

Magnet #676 - Monet's Regatta at Sainte-Adresse

This is part of the Monet magnet set I picked up from the Met - it's an inset of this painting from the Met's site.

Monet spent a lot of time at Sainte-Adresse on the coast of France, where his Parisian parents moved. He painted Regatta at Sainte-Adresse (at the Met) supposedly as a companion piece to the Beach at Sainte-Adresse (at the Art Institute of Chicago), both in 1867.

There's some speculation that he painted it to show the class differences - the posh bathers versus the local fishermen.

I just like it because regattas always remind me of when stupid Dawson Leery entered Capeside's Annual Spring Regatta to win the heart of Joey Potter, even though everyone knows that the Joey belonged with Pacey J Witter.

What? I have a million Monet magnets...plus, my sister totally got me the complete series boxset of Dawson's Creek.

Now, if only I had time to do a proper marathon!

joy's progress

Magnet #579 - Paul Gauguin quote

S'truth - I never have been able to resist a well-designed set of magnets.

Yay for the Met. And their clearance store.

As for Pauly boy's quote here?

Well, it's either wishful thinking, or truth.

Depends on the day, methinks.

The magnet menagerie

Magnet #570 - Carousel Horse Magnerine

I've mentioned before, that in addition to being a romance editor, I did a supershort stint as an editor for a newsletter for the National Carnival Association - a 32-page monthly, called Carousel. It's now called Carnival, and apparently still around! *waves to Mr. Dabbs*

So, it should be no surprise to know that there was a time when I would have been able to rattle off a history of the carousel horse, major manufacturers, and what shows and parks had the coolest carousels. Hey! That's some interesting stuff!

And, I know you're totally not surprised that this was the first thing I picked up from the Met this weekend, in their Clearance store. (Yes. Clearance store. Get thee there. Now.)

But you probably would be surprised that I somehow managed to not walk out with every. single. Magnerine. on sale. Otherwise, I would have added a good half dozen more to my ever-growing menagerie. Ok, ok. I'll admit to having had that good half dozen in my hands before I started walking around the small little store and putting them back. All told, I did buy something like 10 magnets this weekend. Thank goodness for sets, I suppose.

What? It's been a crazy year full of ups and downs (see what I did there?), and so I figured I deserved a little Magnerine to make me feel better, thanks very much!