Above the Narrows - Andrew Wyeth (1960) Andrew Wyeth was a contemporary American realist painter. Even though Wikipedia calls him one of the best known artists of the 20th century, I first heard about him last month. I was at the National Gallery in D.C. and saw this painting: Wind from the Sea - Andrew Wyeth (1947) I was blown away (the reproduction...
Vest from Ferris Bueller's Day Off via Max Goldberg There's something so ambiguous about collectibles. For the person who is buying them - the person who has seen the movie hundreds of times, memorized the lines and basically wished they could live in the movie - a collectible is a sensible purchase. For everybody else, it's a waste of money. And perhaps a...
Northanger Abbey is certainly less famous than other Jane Austen novels like Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. But it is not less fun or charming. It has all that good Austen stuff: despicable villains, exciting balls and, of course, a dashing hero. To be honest, it took me longer than I expected to finish this book. Probably because the book tries...
(Hi, there. I'm back again. Please forgive my lack of posts. Once again it's part because of life and part because I can be a total slacker who doesn't want to read anything but shampoo bottles. But let's get serious.) The Dead Christ supported by an Angel by Antonello da Messina Source A little bit of history Date: 1475 – 76 Location: Museo...
Sometimes disliking a movie is not enough. There are movies I've seen more than once and that I tried to understand and enjoy but ended up abhorring them. My feelings towards these movies are just as intense as my feelings towards the movies I love. (You know how they say the opposite of love is not hate but indifference?) And the funny thing...
Do you remember that episode of Friends where Ross’ girlfriend has a really messy, dirty apartment and in the end Monica shows up at her house saying she can’t sleep because of it and offers to clean it? I totally understand Monica. Not so much her urge to clean, but I have organized my sister’s and my mother’s wardrobe voluntarily just... for fun. ...
Alba Madonna by Raphael A little bit of history Date: 1510 Located in the National Gallery, Washington D.C. This painting depicts one of Raphael's favorite subjects, that of Our Lady with the Infant Jesus. However, unlike his famous Madonnas, this one presents another figure, Saint John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin and precursor, as a child. All three figures look directly at the reed...
*spoilers* I have a love and hate relationship with Woody Allen. So much so that I only watched Midnight in Paris because it was being played at my gym. The movie was so interesting that I ended up working out for much longer that I wanted to. Midnight in Paris is about a young Hollywood writer, Gil, who is inexplicably transported to 1920’s...
Sorry everyone for leaving the blog a bit abandoned. I was half busy, half out of town and half without ideas. Speaking about traveling, I had a very difficult decision to make on my last trip - what book to read on the train. It might seem a banal decision but it’s one I take seriously. Even though technology helps passing the time while...
I love going to museums and while I was visiting the National Gallery in Washington the other day I realized how important it is to have a light bag filled with everything you need to enjoy your museum trip. Here what I usually take with me: 1) Small notepad and pen. Once I had to ask the security guard for a pen and...
I’ll be honest: I’m not a big Clint Eastwood fan. I stay clear of any type of western, no matter how much they try to lure me by associating themselves with spaghetti. Growing up, I have a faint memory of watching a movie with Eastwood and either Johnny Deep or Christian Slater, can’t remember which. His last movies were simply painful to watch and too...
Just one of the many amazing quotes from Lewis' book, The Screwtape Letters I recently finished reading The Screwtape Letters, a book by C. S. Lewis comprised of humorous letters written by an experienced demon to his nephew – also a demon. Screwtape, the author of the letters, gives out advice to Wormwood, his nephew, on how to better tempt his "patient", a man recently...
A little bit of history Date: 1602 Located in the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. Caravaggio’s painting is a vivid portrait of one of the first scenes of Christ’s Passion. It depicts the moment when Judas betrays Jesus by pointing Him out to the Pharisees’ soldiers with a kiss. Saint John (the figure on the left) runs away from the scene in...
Yesterday my little blog turned one! I might be exaggerating, but I think that calls for a celebration. So, as you read, imagine I’m spraying you with champagne, the way those pilots do after they win a Formula 1 race. This could be the imaginary champagne talking, but I want to thank everybody for reading and supporting the blog. Your comments make my...
