Two years ago, as Rory and I were walking through the park that surrounds the American Museum of Natural History, I was struck by a lavender tulip all by its lonesome in a large bed of red ones.
I blogged about it here, in fact.
Rory and I found ourselves in the park again today, and the tulips were out in full force. And wouldn’t you know?
A ‘single lady’ was back again as well.
Welcome!
Posted in Humor, Life, Museums, Nature, Walking
Tagged American Museum of Natural History, blogs, dog walking, flower child, flowers, Humor, lavendar tulips, life, museums, nature, parks, red tulips, single lady, tulips, walking
How do I spell ‘ugly?’
P-E-G-O-M-A-S-T-A-X
Actually, I just started spelling it that way today…when I spied a photo online of this two-foot, bristle-covered dinosaur.
And you know what he said?
No, really — do you??
(I feel like he deserves a rebuttal.)
Posted in Animals, History, Humor, Life, Museums
Tagged animals, dinosaurs, history, Humor, in the eye of the rebuttal, life, museums, pegomastax, rebuttal, ugly dinosaur
What’s that below, you ask?
That’s Como.
On the final day of my trip to Italy, we took a tram to a point high overhead Lake Como…then hiked up a steep incline for another 30 minutes to a lighthouse overlook.
In retrospect, perhaps not the best day to wear flip flops.
Como is as picturesque as you might imagine. It’s not lined with museums or historical points of interest like some of the cities that we visited this week. But if you want to enjoy the sun, the water, a round of golf or tennis — simply relax –
It is perfection.
And then there is the George Clooney factor. Tragically, I was only in Como for a few hours, so I wasn’t lucky enough to see the city’s other major attraction.
Darn. I’m gonna need to go back.
Posted in Photography, Travel, Vacation
Tagged Como, flip flops, George Clooney, high note, hiking, historical points of interest, Humor, Italy, Lake Como, lighthouse, museums, photography, steep incline, tram, Travel, vacation
We have encountered a lot of history and beauty during our week in Italy, and our day in Vicenza was no exception. But today I chose to focus on the beauty.
No museums for me.
The weather was just so nice — blue skies and warm temperatures after a few days of clouds, drizzle and chill.
So I hit the streets of this lovely, upscale village and shopped.
It’s the place to do it.
The only thing that hampered my trip was the shop merchants’ habit of closing down for 2-3 hours in the afternoon. I found myself most interested in items that were behind locked doors, but with no signs to indicate when the owner would return…I left with the money still in my pocket.
For instance, I really wanted to look at these leather wallets and tablet covers…but the shop owner was nowhere to be found.
I’ll show him. I know how to buy things on the Internet.
Still, it is a lovely village filled with nice people.
And as I walked the flagged boulevard toward the train station, I left with warm memories…
…and tired, aching feet.
Posted in Humor, Life, Photography, Shopping, Travel, Vacation, Walking
Tagged all that glitters, beautfy, blue skies, closed shops, history, Humor, Italy, leather tablet cover, leather wallet, life, money in my pocket, museums, online shopping, photography, shop owner, shopping, tired feet, Travel, vacation, Vicenza, village, walking, warm temperatures, weather
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
I could stare at this all day.
I took the photo myself — yesterday morning in fact — while I was walking Rory in the park surrounding the American Museum of Natural History.
(The one with the dinosaurs? Yeah, that one.)
The tulips in their border gardens are amazing this year. I’ve taken dozens of pics during our daily strolls. I especially like this shot because, in that particular flower bed, one lone lavender tulip has braved the red masses on the edge of the green.
Hey, it ain’t easy being lavender.
Of course, the color makes it stand out all the more, so he’s the one you notice out of all those flowers. Bet he never guessed that would happen when he was just a bulb….back when the red tulips wouldn’t let him play their “raindrop games.”
God, I’m a goof.
But it’s funny how a simple flower can evoke such memories of childhood. Being different — by choice or by design — and staying the course regardless of peer pressure or outside influences. And sometimes it’s nothing more than where you were planted in the first place. (I’m kinda liking this whole floral metaphor…)
So, let’s get out there today, and get our bloom on!
Posted in Beauty, Blog, Blogging, Blogs, Commentary, Dogs, Environment, Humor, Life, Love, Museums, Philosophy, Relationships, Walking, Writing
Tagged American Museum of Natural History, beauty, being different, blogging, blogs, commentary, dog walking, Dogs, flowers, Humor, inspiration, lavender tulips, life, Manhattan, museums, New York City, outliers, red tulips, Relationships, tulips, writing
The December 20th issue of New York magazine chronicles “Reasons to Love New York.” The editors compile the list annually, and it’s one of my favorite editions. They never seem to run out of unique reasons to heart my adopted hometown.
I concur.
Reason #16 caught my eye this year…
We’re home to not only the publishing industry, but also to a woman who spends her days smelling books.
The headline is a bit misleading. Rachael Morrison’s full-time job at MOMA is artist, not book sniffer. That became her lunchtime habit six months ago when she became concerned that the smell of books — one of her favorite things — would eventually die away in this increasingly digital age.
So, she made smelling books and recording their scents her personal quest. Her list of 150 books to date includes sense memories like “armpit,” “dog poop,” and “cigar smoke and tea.”
Rachael has always loved the smell of books. I have to admit, I hadn’t given the subject too much thought. Now I wonder — has the smell of a book ever subliminally affected my enjoyment of it?
Did I read it faster because it smelled good…or bad? Did I stop reading it altogether and blame the author, when it was actually the pages’ odor that was the culprit?
I should start a new book today. With my cold/flu/sinus infection — whatever it is — I can’t smell a thing and will be objective about what I’m reading.
Book critics of the world, take note.
Posted in Art, Books, Commentary, Education, Humor, Life, Magazines, Museums, News, Travel, Writing
Tagged book editors, book smell, books, commentary, digital books, Humor, life, magazines, MOMA, MOMA artist, museums, New York City, New York magazine, news, publishing industry, Rachael Morrison, Reasons to Love New York, Travel
Lady luck
When it comes to bugs, I earned my wimp card years ago.
I’m not a fan.
But the ladybug? That’s one very different beetle. It’s cute, it eats a lot of harmful insects and it’s lucky. (That’s a scientific fact.)
Look at that face.
And you might stop reading right now. Because the rest of this post on ladybugs will freak you out. It did me.
Hungarian Artist Gabor Fulop also likes ladybugs. A lot. So much so that he created 20,000 and hand-painted them.
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Posted in Animals, Art, Commentary, Design, Humor, Life, Museums, Shopping
Tagged animals, art, artist, beaded ladybug nightlight, bugs, commentary, design, Gabor Fulop, hand-painted ladybugs, Humor, Hungary, insects, ladybug sculpture, ladybugs, life, luck, museums, New York City, sculpture, shopping, Stoopher & Boots, Upper West Side New York City, wimp card