It’s chilly today in New York City.
My morning walk with Rory in Central Park was cold, cold, cold.
So when I found this aerial view of carpets in Marrakesh, Morocco — shot by photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand — the colors and reflected sunlight warmed me right up.
Hope it adds a little warmth to your day, too!
Posted in Art, Celebrities, Design, Life, Photography, Weather
Tagged aerial view, art, carpets, celebrities, Central Park, colors, design, dog walk, life, magic carpet, Marrakesh Morocco, Morocco, New York City, photographer, photography, sunlight, weather, Yann Arthus-Bertrand
New York City does not look like this today.
Our skies are overcast. The air is heavy. The rain that alternately threatens and abates has delayed my friend’s plane for hours.
No, the skies are not bright in Manhattan.
But this photo, from Cat Satler’s Art Scrapbook, reminds me that they will be again soon.
Very soon.
Posted in Airplanes, Art, Blog, Blogging, Blogs, Humor, Internet, Life, Photography, Travel, Weather
Tagged airplane, art, blogs, blue skies, Broadway, Cat Satler's Art Scrapbook, Humor, Internet, life, Manhattan, New York City, overcast skies, photography, rain, Travel, travel delays
Facebook — a waste of time?
Maybe…but what an educational one!
While checking this morning’s newsfeed, I noticed a friend had shared a photo of street art in Mexico. Clicking on it for a better look took me to the Street Art Utopia community page, where I discovered the photo below of De Batavier in Lootstraat, Amsterdam.
De Batavier is a facade of books designed by artist Sanja Medic, ceramist P. Kemink and graphic designers Melle Hammer and Susanne Laws. The facade contains 250 ceramic books, the spines of which contain the names of actual works from 18th and 19th century Dutch writers and poets.
The installment was commissioned by Dutch housing organization De Alliantie and HVDN Architects.
I had never seen or heard of this building before today’s random search, but as a book lover, it really speaks to me. And if I hadn’t been goofing around on Facebook, I’m not sure I would have ever heard of it.
Let’s hear it for wasting time!
Posted in Art, Books, Commentary, Design, Humor, Internet, Life, Travel
Tagged 18th century, 19th century, art, art installment, artist, ceramist, commentary, De Alliantie, De Batavier, design, Dutch housing organization, Dutch poet, Dutch writer, facade, facade of books, Facebook, Facebook community page, Facebook newsfeed, graphic designer, Humor, HVDN Architects, Internet, life, Lootstraat Amsterdam, Melle Hammer, Mexico, P. Kemink, Sanja Medic, street art, Susanne Laws, Travel, Urban Street Art community page
So Anthony Ryan is ‘out’ on Project Runway.
Cute Anthony Ryan with the big, ever-changing glasses and tiny jeans.
Generous Anthony Ryan who gave his extra $11 to fellow contestant, friend and non-sewer Anya last night — whose money fell out of her cleavage at Mood — the evening’s eventual winner.
Most importantly, talented Anthony Ryan, who has put together some of the most creative looks on the program all season.
Remember the birdseed dress from the Petland Discounts challenge? Should have won.
Didn’t.
Or the glorious red number from the crazy circus week challenge? He and Laura made stilts look chic.
And my personal fav — the artwork-inspired evening gown from the museum challenge.
Whackadoo and wearable.
I love my Anthony Ryan. He’s a fan favorite, too, based on the votes tallied at Lifetimetv.com.
I’m not embarrassed to admit that I was in a complete snit last night after the judges announced the results.
One note — if you feel as I do, don’t Google ‘Anthony Ryan’ anytime soon.
It will totally poke a hole in your rage balloon.
Posted in Art, Beauty, Celebrities, Commentary, Design, Entertainment, Fashion, Humor, Internet, Life, Television, TV
Tagged Anthony Ryan, Anya, art, artwork, beauty, big glasses, birdseed dress, celebrities, circus, cleavage, complete snit, design, entertainment, evening gown, fan favorite, Fashion, Google, Humor, life, Lifetimetv.com, Mood, one day you're in and the next you're out, Petland Discounts, poke a hole in your rage balloon, Project Runway, Project Runway designers, Project Runway judges, rage balloon, Television, tight jeans, TV, whackadoo
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
But what happens when it doesn’t?
I’m in Sin City this weekend on business and, after my meetings yesterday, was getting the lay of the land at the Aria Las Vegas hotel and casino, since it’s new to me (and Vegas).
As I’m walking around seeing the sights — and the people, who are always a sight in Vegas — I spied a tattoo or two or three. And it got me thinking:
If you get a tat in Vegas, that certainly doesn’t stay in Vegas. That sucker comes home with you. (And depending on where it’s located, everybody knows about it, too.)
Vegas offers some doozies to remember your adventures by.
Wonder which tat I’ll pick?
Posted in Art, Beauty, Business, Design, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Religion, Travel, Vacation
Tagged adventures, art, beauty, Business, casino, design, doozies, entertainment, hotel, Humor, Las Vegas, Las Vegas tattoos, life, Sin City, tattoos, Travel, vacation, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas
I love this photo.
I love the colors, the composition, the lighting.
It even fits the Labor Day theme.
Think of all the work that went into making each button. Think of the hands that sewed these buttons onto shirts, blouses, pants and shorts…and then sewed them back on when they fell off.
Think of the craftsmen who utilized these buttons for all kinds of other projects. Think of the photographer who conceived and shot this very photo.
A lot of labor went into these buttons.
But looking at them takes no effort at all.
Posted in Art, Commentary, Design, Holiday, Humor, Life, Photography
Tagged art, blouses, Business, buttons, color composition, commentary, crafts projects, craftsmen, design, Holiday, Humor, Labor Day, lighting, pants, photo, photography, sewing, sewing buttons, shirts, shorts
Yesterday I was miffed at snarky comments on Twitter and Facebook made by NYC locals who were underwhelmed by Hurricane Irene.
I wasn’t the only one.
Neighbors in New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont who are underwater and without power were quick to snark back at their lack of empathy.
The snark resurfaced last night in live tweets about the VMAs, one of the few awards shows I don’t watch (but probably should based on the comments).
Which got me thinking… where does the word ‘snark’ come from? How long has it been around? And is there someone I can personally thank since it is so much fun to say?
‘Snark’ is simply the blending of ‘snide’ and ‘remark.’ I couldn’t find a date or person credited for the first mash-up of the word, but it’s a good one.
I did find lots of ‘snark’ derivations, which are brilliant in and of themselves. I know you’ll want to add a few of them to your vocab:
There are a lot more at UrbanDictionary.com. (Figured it would be snarky to not reveal my source.)
Posted in Blogging, Blogs, Comedy, Commentary, Education, Entertainment, Humor, Internet, Life, Television, TV, Writing
Tagged art, award shows, blogs, comedy, commentary, Connecticut, entertainment, Facebook, Humor, hurricane, Hurricane Irene, Internet, life, live tweeting, Manhattan, mash-up, New Jersey, New York City, news coverage, science, snark, snarkagogy, snarkalec, snarkasm, snarkhat, snarky, snarky comments, snide remarks, storm damage, Television, TV, Twitter, Vermont, VMAs, writing
For your Sunday morning edification and delight, here’s some Japanese street art:
Those are manhole covers, by the way — manhole covers in Japan.
Here’s what manhole covers in the United States — and one from England — look like:
Making the utilitarian beautiful: Japan 1, United States 0.
To see more Japanese street art, check out the book Drainspotting on Amazon.com.
Posted in Art, Books, Design, Life, Philosophy, transportation, Travel
Tagged art, books, design, Drainspotting book, Humor, Japan, Japanese manhole covers, life, manhole covers, manholes, photography, street art, transportation, Travel, United States, United States manhole covers
You probably know someone who’s had a nose job.
I know two or three.
All were trying to take their too wide, too long or too bumpy noses and make them look more like some perfect version they had seen on a model or actress.
Hey, if it makes them feel better about themselves, I say go for it.
But take a look at these ‘nose jobs’ that went in the completely opposite direction — achieving perfection by being as unique as possible.
These are airplane nose jobs, by the way, in an exhibit of the same name at the Eric Firestone Gallery in Easthampton, New York.
Airplane nose art dates back to World War II. Firestone purchased scrap government-issued airplanes– DC7s to F106s — gave them to 22 artists and let them have at it.
There is no standard for these nose jobs — no model perfection. Each nose in the exhibit is as unique as its artist.
I’m sure there is something to be learned from all this.
I just like looking at the artwork.
Posted in Airplanes, Art, Commentary, Design, History, Humor, Museums, transportation
Tagged airplane nose, airplanes, art, art exhibit, art museum, artwork, commentary, design, Easthampton New York, Eric Firestone, Eric Firestone Gallery, Humor, model perfection, museums, nose job, perfection, plastic surgery, transportation, World War II, World War II airplanes
Shiny things
It sparkles. It’s sharp, so it could draw blood. And it’s beautiful.
Is it…a vampire?
No. (But it’s the right time of year to think so.)
Actually, this is an extreme closeup of one of several glass cacti created by artist Dale Chihuly. They are part of his “Nature of Glass” exhibit on display through March 2012 at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.
I love glass, and thanks to a happy Google accident, I am now aware of Dale’s work. Also, Phoenix locals can take advantage of glass blowing classes that are offered throughout the year at the Botanical Garden.
But vampires? No. Fire makes it tricky.
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Posted in Art, Commentary, Design, Humor, Life, Movies, Travel
Tagged art, art exhibit, class cacti, comedy, commentary, Dale Chihuly, Desert Botanical Garden, design, draw blood, glass, glass blowing classes, glass cactus, glass spines, Google, happy accident, Humor, life, Movies, Nature of Glass, Phoenix Arizona, shiny things, Travel, vampires