Betty's Pub 20.1
Main Menu => Old inactive posts. => Topic started by: andyg0404 on April 18, 2015, 05:49:46 PM
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
As today was the first really beautiful day we’ve had so far I decided it was time to welcome in the Spring Flickr. Hope we have many more days like this.
I walked up to Sotheby’s this morning for viewings of the upcoming auctions of Dutch and American art. It was an annoying commute, the bus into the City was delayed by a marathon run through the Lincoln Tunnel and the ride home was just slow, first the bus and then the subway. And when I finally arrived at the platform at the Port Authority I saw my bus pulling out three minutes early. Not nice.
But the Dutch auction was nothing short of spectacular. This is a link to the Sotheby’s page showing all the lots. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2015/weldon-collection-n09335.html Everything in it was wonderful from the star artists to the artists I had never heard of. One of my favorite genres, 17th Century Dutch and Flemish art, what could be bad. This was the Weldon Collection, assembled over 40 years by Henry and June “Jimmy” Weldon. This is a link to a NY Times article about the Weldons and the auction. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/09/arts/design/weldon-collection-of-paintings-to-be-sold-at-sothebys.html The illustration for the article is Adriaen Coorte’s “Wild Strawberries on a Ledge,” a small but vibrantly beautiful still life which I had seen back in January when it was on display although not yet up for auction. This article explained why I couldn’t find it when I looked through the results of the auctions back then. There was also a landscape by Aelbert Cuyp, two travelers and their horses, which I was particularly taken with also on display back then. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/weldon-collection-n09335/lot.38.html A collaboration between Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the younger, Landscape with Pan and Syrinx , which at an expected range of $3-$5 million will be the star of the show I would think. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/weldon-collection-n09335/lot.30.html Two river landscapes by another of my favorites Salomon Van Ruisdael. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/weldon-collection-n09335/lot.40.html http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/weldon-collection-n09335/lot.49.html A winter scene on a frozen river by Hendrick Avercamp http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/weldon-collection-n09335/lot.6.html
Other big names were portraits by Gerrit Dou, Nicolas Maes and Anthony Van Dyck and a very nice cottage in the woods by Meindert Hobbema. You can see these at the original link at the top as well as all the others in the auction including the ones that I’ve linked to in this message. And to show how “reasonably” priced some of the art is, there was a beautiful street scene by Paulus Constantijn La Fargue, someone I’ve never heard of, that was expected to bring between $15 and $20K. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/weldon-collection-n09335/lot.43.html
On the second floor they had the American which wasn’t top quality but still had some very nice things in it. This link shows all the lots. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2015/american-paintings-n09330.html
The Hudson River painters are another genre I’m fond of and they were represented here with two landscapes by Jasper Cropsey http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/american-paintings-n09330/lot.46.html http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/american-paintings-n09330/lot.54.html Thomas Moran’s A Glimpse of Georgica Pond http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/american-paintings-n09330/lot.68.html and Albert Bierstadt’s View of Mount Rainier with Fisherman. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/american-paintings-n09330/lot.51.html
Along the same lines as the La Fargue painting, insofar as “reasonably priced” art, there was a painting by Norton Bush, again someone I’m unfamiliar with, The Tropics of South America, which was expected to bring between $20 and $30K. This is a large, beautiful landscape very similar in style to those of Fredric Church and Albert Bierstadt, with a wonderful sun lighting up the sky. I wish I had the money and the wall space for it. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/american-paintings-n09330/lot.61.html
And there were a number of Norman Rockwell’s. I wrote about Rockwell last week so you know how much I enjoy him. Two pencil sketches and a ink sketch, in addition to two large oil paintings that were models for magazine illustrations for Red Rose tea.
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/american-paintings-n09330/lot.138.html
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/american-paintings-n09330/lot.140.html
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/american-paintings-n09330/lot.142.html
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/american-paintings-n09330/lot.136.html
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/american-paintings-n09330/lot.135.html
This was as good as any museum exhibit I’ve visited in some time.
Now let’s see what Spring wonders await us at the Flickrs.
Andy G.
short skirt
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131111227%40N04/16285529823
sissy martine (5)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131527239%40N03/16692053510
facebook sissy
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23788525%40N06/16859739962
Shout Out Award
https://www.flickr.com/photos/25270711%40N06/16852876311
Glamour-Girl
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cross_dresser/16884645266
P1040294s
https://www.flickr.com/photos/49437720%40N00/16908639832
IMG_4940
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chiaratalley/16904940495
Yep another Alice Dress
https://www.flickr.com/photos/74475326%40N08/16887548622
simple flower power gal...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131111227%40N04/16264985194
Transgender same sex wedding
https://www.flickr.com/photos/beccakiss/16439463409
Backstage Dilema
https://www.flickr.com/photos/60741642%40N06/16943326986
Randoms of my nephew
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tamila/3055127609
-
Recently saw the movie "Woman In Gold" and understand the actual painting (Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer) hangs in NY at The Neue Galerie. Wondering, Andy if you have seen the painting in person?
BTW, the movie is terrific!
-
Hi,
Yes, I visited the Galerie right after Ron Lauder acquired it. It's given a place of prominence in the main room downstairs and it's a very striking portrait. I followed the story in the newspapers as the heirs worked to reacquire it before selling to Lauder. Here's a link to an illustration of the painting for those board members unfamiliar with it. http://tinyurl.com/q4jpna3
The Neue is dedicated to early 20th Century German and Austrian art which isn't one of my favorite genres but I've been there a number of times for different shows and always saw something I enjoyed. In the December 27th Flickr I wrote about my visit there for the Egon Schiele exhibit which was enjoyable. I wrote about how surprised I was at the big crowd but I guess it's because there aren't many Schiele exhibits.
Have a good night.
Andy G.
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
Well it seems I was a little premature when I launched the Spring Flickr last week, today was the third day in a row I awoke to temperatures in the thirties. This is pretty hard to believe as it’s almost the end of April. The good thing, I guess, is that temperature in the thirties now isn’t the same as temperature in the thirties in the dead of winter. Then I would be wearing the whole winter ensemble, heavy coat etc., while now I can get away with my flannel shirt and scarf. Still, where is the warm weather I so much want to see.
Aside from the weather there’s very little to report. I went into Manhattan and had my hair cut. It’s a couple of weeks past three months and it was kind of shaggy on the sides, the top certainly doesn’t grow like it used to. But he did a nice job and trimmed my beard and mustache back to the point where I look more or less respectable again. Can’t ask for more than that nowadays.
Here is a link to the results of the Weldon auction I spoke of last week. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2015/weldon-collection-n09335.html?cmp=email_N09335_0415_4_AURexample1_event_button1
I thought it was a disappointing return on the collection even though it brought in $22 million. There were many unsold items and most of the sales went at the low end of the estimate. The Rubens Breughel collaboration was just above the low end of $3 million. I found it interesting that a painting attributed to Van Dyke went well above the high estimate. Someone must think they can prove it's really by him. I queried my brother as to what he thought would happen to these unsold paintings now. He said he thought the people who didn’t bid, or bid low, would contact the auction house and a private sale might be arranged. But if no one wants it, the work goes back to the owners to try again, or try to sell through dealers. He was as surprised as I was at the outcome, while he didn’t see it, a friend of his did and he was just as enthusiastic as I was. He hoped the Met would get something, since it’s one of their weaker areas but it’s unlikely they bid.
I’ve spoken of the Hispanic Society in previous posts as a museum with a wonderful collection, very little of which is on display. There was good news in the Times the other day, Philippe De Montebello, formerly the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has been named Chairman of the Hispanic Society and will be raising $5 million to renovate an adjoining location, once the home of the Museum of the American Indian, that would host exhibitions. The Times article was brief and announced the appointment but it referred to an article in the Wall Street Journal that spoke of the appointment before it was official. It has much more information so I’m posting a link to that article. If it turns out to be behind a paywall, let me know and I will post the whole article. http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-head-hopes-to-boost-profile-of-often-overlooked-museum-1429577278?KEYWORDS=philippe+de+montebello
Well I think this is a good place to turn the floor over to our guests, let’s go to the Flickrs.
Andy G.
Allison in the kitchen
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129919732%40N03/17040280268/in/photostream/
Crossed legs left
https://www.flickr.com/photos/42023728%40N03/16972152521
shades of blue
https://www.flickr.com/photos/10792226%40N00/16940786221
Living
https://www.flickr.com/photos/duque300/16735360410
Boris Trap
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95790948%40N06/16945479116
DSCF1903
https://www.flickr.com/photos/misschristinereid/16976959162
Crossdressing
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130065391%40N02/16794826219
l_94924ffb47d8d4d4858992794c195754
https://www.flickr.com/photos/132310095%40N08/16796165669
Easter dress spin in the flower garden
https://www.flickr.com/photos/93643701%40N04/16987106491
Drag ballet 1
https://www.flickr.com/photos/87786750%40N08/16953372525/in/photolist-rQ5Hrc-rQ7t1i
My little sissies
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mistressunique1/16727831278
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
Well today was certainly a beautiful day, with hopefully many more to come.
I had lunch with a longtime friend yesterday, someone who was my employer for 20 years and subsequently has been my friend for almost another 20 years. We’re a good combination, I repeat my stories and he doesn’t remember them. Three years ago he moved to the West Coast and this is his first trip back. We had a very nice time together but for me it was a little bittersweet. He’s fairly elderly, although in really remarkable shape, and he told me that he is through flying and will not be coming back. It wasn’t anything that happened on the flight, just that flying has become to wearing for him. I have another friend who also retired to warmer climes and independently he told me the same thing not that long ago. So as I said, it was a little bittersweet reunion for me as I don’t expect to see him again although we’ve managed to stay in touch via email. I can’t say anything about their decision as I am not someone who ever liked to travel and really have no desire to fly to see them. The only flying I still hope to do is when I retire so as to get a look at some of the great art that’s not here in New York before I’m no longer a physical presence myself.
Today I went back to Sotheby’s for the Impressionist auction viewing. There was a day sale and a night sale. Nothing on a par with the Weldon collection which I raved about a few weeks ago. There was no blockbuster painting this time and not nearly as many really quality pieces. There were multiple works from Monet and Renoir and an interesting Van Gogh but it wasn’t the best work any of them had done. I’ll show a couple of highlights. This is a link to the full list of the evening sale.http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2015/impressionist-modern-art-evening-sale-n09340.html
I see from the website that there were two Van Gogh’s in the auction, the second of which wasn’t on display when I visited which is unfortunate as it is a much greater painting. What I saw was FEMME DANS UN CHAMP DE BLÉ http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/impressionist-modern-art-evening-sale-n09340/lot.32.html which as I mentioned was nice but not on a par with his other works. What I missed was L'ALLÉE DES ALYSCAMPS http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/impressionist-modern-art-evening-sale-n09340/lot.18.html which is a great painting. There is a video about it on the main page I linked to earlier. Wish I had known, I would have asked where it was.
There were a number of Monet’s and to my taste I think these two were the best. LE PALAIS DUCAL http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/impressionist-modern-art-evening-sale-n09340/lot.40.html and NYMPHÉAS http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/impressionist-modern-art-evening-sale-n09340/lot.30.html the former is a Venice canal scene which is mostly water and sky with a few buildings in the background that is very soothing to me, the latter is another depiction of his water lilies which are always magical.
Rene Magritte was a surrealist and I’ve always found him to be a fun painter, his paintings were always unusual in one way or another. There were four in this auction and the one I enjoyed the most was L'APPEL DES CIMES http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/impressionist-modern-art-evening-sale-n09340/lot.4.html a painting of a painting.
There were several Pissarro’s and I especially liked PAYSANNES CAUSANT DANS LA COUR D'UNE FERME, ÉRAGNY http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/impressionist-modern-art-evening-sale-n09340/lot.36.html a simple image of two farm women having a discussion outside the farm house. A quick one no doubt as one of them is holding her milking pails and only the chickens were listening in.
This is a link to the full list of the day sale. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2015/impressionist-modern-art-day-sale-n09341.html#&page=all&sort=lotNum-asc&viewMode=list&lot=129&scroll=7714
There were far more lots in this auction but not so much to report.
There were many Picasso’s in this auction, all different styles and materials but for me the most enjoyable was HOMME À LA BESACE http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/impressionist-modern-art-day-sale-n09341/lot.410.html a simple crayon drawing of a man burdened with a sack over his shoulder, looking down rather than ahead. Abstract Picasso can be colorful and sometimes incomprehensible but he clearly knew how to draw and paint as shown by his realistic works, the style I like the best.
Sisiam queried me about Gustave Klimt's Adele Bloch-Bauer a few weeks ago and I was pleased that they had a very nice drawing of a young girl by him, signed with an inscription. MÄDCHEN IM PROFIL (GIRL IN PROFILE) http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/impressionist-modern-art-day-sale-n09341/lot.409.html
There was a striking portrait of the artist Paul Verlaine by Frederic Bazille PORTRAIT DE PAUL VERLAINE À L'ÂGE DE VINGT-TROIS ANS http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/impressionist-modern-art-day-sale-n09341/lot.209.html
A harbor scene by Eugene Boudin LE HAVRE, L'AVANT-PORT http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/impressionist-modern-art-day-sale-n09341/lot.213.html I like Boudin’s seascapes and beach paintings, of which there are many and this painting of boats at dock in what looks to be a busy port is quite nice.
They also had up some American art for an auction down the road, it was contemporary art and not of the sort I really care for but there was a very nice Georgia O’Keeffe WHITE CALLA LILY http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/american-art-n09350/lot.14.html
There were other lovely things to see as you will note if you look through the catalog but I think I’ve gone on long enough for this week.
Let’s move along to the Flickrs.
Andy G.
Tsuki
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jadiina/17092734747
If you have an older sister
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22326055@N06/17105022000
DSC03260
https://www.flickr.com/photos/peterkolkman/17252062315/
Cute Sissy Dress
https://www.flickr.com/photos/120517755@N06/16648450394
Contestant
https://www.flickr.com/photos/104546207@N08/16769813890
20150327
https://www.flickr.com/photos/125651075@N04/16973046576/in/photostream/
Nina Honey
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ninacrossdresser/17033841732
IMG_0611
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hoiphoto/17028122615
Kira CC
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95790948@N06/17040794471
riot in my pants(?)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chantal_fouet/17049642875
Sissy in satin..pink of course...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131111227@N04/16391703983
(^_^)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/natalia_femina/16984513045/
-
Thanks Andy for your art review, I like some of Georgia O'Keeffe's art and just read in an older copy of Architectural Digest about her house in New Mexico. I have quite a few older sets of them dating back to the 70's. They are stacked all over the house in boxes and I have said I will build bigger bookcases for them but so far not started yet.
-
Hi Angela,
When I bought my current home, aside from the fact that it had three bedrooms, the things I looked for were the basement, the attic and lots of wall space. I live alone and when I had the people over painting and doing work I came by with something heavy and they came out to help me. One of them asked me who was going to live there. When I told him I lived alone he gave me a very odd look. But I'm a collector and what I mentioned was very important to me. One bedroom is mine to sleep in. One bedroom is where I ride my stationary bicycle and one bedroom is a library. But I have book cases in all three and frankly, I'm close to running out of wall space upstairs. I have bookcases downstairs in the living room as well. In the basement I have my filing cabinets and above them are my bound volumes of newspapers. My one regret about the basement is the ceiling is low and I wasn't able to put the filing cabinets on boards to keep them off the floor. In the attic, which unfortunately has a peaked roof, I have my boxes of old newspapers and books, along with three more filing cabinets. I have utilized every inch of space in the house and I have to be cautious in what I buy because even if I can afford it, the question becomes where should I put it. But this is the most space I have ever had and also the least cluttered house I've ever lived in. In my last house I had three filing cabinets in my kitchen. Years ago I had a platform bed made to my specifications so that I could put 30 large boxes underneath it. In the last house, when I moved in, all 30 boxes were full and I had to start lining them up next to the mattress that I slept on. When I moved into this house I believe I had another 16 boxes next to the mattress. I do like to collect. My fantasy, aside from the ones we share, is to win the lottery and buy the house next to mine and use it just for my collections. I can only dream.
Thanks
Andy G.
-
Hey Andy, I do know what you mean about space. The ceiling in my basement is also about 7 ft. and has a 3 inch sub-floor on one half so I can keep my collections of things high and dry. The other half is a workshop and wood storage as well as all the tools I have, I also inherited those from my father. I have boxes of newspapers I collect and stacks of photo's and books from my parents as well as some of mine. I am not quite at hoarding stage yet but close. I started in my teens collecting decorating books from England and then monthly magazines and then after I started work full time it was Architectural Digest and I don't think I have missed many since 1970. They are just too good to throw out or even pass on and the photography is very good. It is my way of traveling around the world to see the homes of the stars and designers who decorate for them. Like you when I had my first apartment I built furniture to fit around the collections and bookcases to fill with treasures.
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
A little cool this morning with rain threatening but never arriving. Like probably half of the Country I have trouble sleeping. To put a finer point on it I have trouble staying asleep. I get up very early in the morning to get ready to go to the office, usually around 3:30 AM so I generally go to bed around 7:30/8:00 PM. My co-worker has two small children and I joke that they stay up later than I do which in fact is true. Usually I fall right asleep but pretty much like clockwork I wake up three hours later to go to the bathroom. My brother questioned whether I wake up to go to the bathroom or go to the bathroom because I wake up which is a valid question but I think the answer is the former. Sometimes it’s more than once a night. I remember having lunch with my boss many years ago when I was a young man and he was at the age I’m at now and he said that every night he got up once or twice to go to the bathroom. I blithely responded that I slept through the night. His response was terse, just wait. Well, I can acknowledge him as a prophet now. Generally I fall right asleep but after waking up is when my problems start. Quite often the rest of the night is fitful and while we all say about a bad night that we didn’t sleep at all, that’s not accurate, of course we slept but it wasn’t a very restful sleep. Last night was an unusual one for me. I went to bed around 8:30 PM and slept for five hours before waking up. Then upon my return from the bathroom I fell back asleep and slept until about 4AM. Usually on Saturday’s my internal clock goes off around 5:30 AM and I get up to do my exercises and check my email before heading out to the grocery store, prior to heading into the City. So if I wake up at 4AM, I generally drift in and out of sleep seeing the times change until I finally get out of bed at 5:30 AM. But this morning I was stunned when I rolled over and fell back asleep only to awaken and look at the clock and see it was 6:20 AM. I overslept! First time I’ve awakened with a start in a very long time. In the scheme of things it doesn’t make a difference as I still did my exercises but I had to put off the email until later in the day. And I clearly needed the extra rest. I would love to sleep straight through the night again but I think those days are clearly over.
Anyway, today I went into New York City to Christie’s auction house for a preview of their Impressionist auction, Impressionist And Modern Evening Sale Including Property From The John C. Whitehead Collection. Saw many nice things, although like the Sotheby’s auction I described there were a lot of lesser pieces as well. I started to write here that Christie’s format is different from Sotheby’s, not allowing for individual URLs, but in searching Google I discovered a section of the site that does allow it. But this is a link to the main page where you can click on their catalog to either save it as a PDF or view it as an
e-catalogue. Their catalogues are beautiful things, basically a soft cover book of art and I hope you will take the effort to do view it. You may have to register with Christie’s but there is no fee or anything to discourage you. http://www.christies.com/salelanding/index.aspx?intSaleID=25296 Also, when you go to the individual paintings be sure to zoom in to enlarge, the small window doesn’t show nearly enough.
The star of the auction I guess is Monet, there are two of his iconic paintings, LES MEULES À GIVERNY, haystacks or wheatstacks and LE PARLEMENT, SOLEIL COUCHANT (THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, AT SUNSET). He did many versions of both paintings and these are quality representations. http://tinyurl.com/o9jvefu http://tinyurl.com/qcmcpcy
Amodeo Modigliani is someone whose paintings don’t come up in auctions that often. I saw two paintings of his, the first is a portrait of Jean Alexandre, the brother of his first patron Paul Alexandre. It’s an unusual painting in that there is another painting on the reverse, Seated Nude. The second is of Beatrice Hastings who Wikipedia tells me was an English writer, poet and literary critic who shared an apartment with Modigliani. This URL discusses both. http://www.christies.com/features/Modigliani-Primer-5938-1.aspx and this shows the Seated Nude as well as Jean Alexandre. http://tinyurl.com/q77n753
They had several oil paintings by Toulouse Lautrec, again something that I don’t believe comes up at auction very often, mostly you see his prints and posters. First was EQUIPAGE AU BOSC, a carriage horse with his attendant. http://tinyurl.com/oknb4p3 Second was PRINCETEAU DANS SON ATELIER, a portrait of his friend and fellow painter, Rene Princeteau at the easel in his atelier. http://tinyurl.com/pw4azab
One painting by Gustave Courbet, LE CHÂTEAU DE CHILLON, a house in the snowy mountains. http://tinyurl.com/p5vffro
I mentioned Eugene Boudin as someone I like, there are lots of his paintings available, there were several in this auction and while I liked them all I’ll choose this as representative, BEAULIEU, LA BAIE DES TOURMIS, EFFET DU MATIN, a painting of several boats in what I take to be a lake in the mountains, lots of water and sky. http://tinyurl.com/ooosyjm
One painting by Paul Cezanne, PORTRAIT D’HOMME BARBU, a portrait, head and shoulders, of a man with a beard. http://tinyurl.com/lxecgon
There were lots of other very beautiful items in the auction, I suggest also going through the catalogue of IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN WORKS ON PAPER INCLUDING PROPERTY FROM THE JOHN C. WHITEHEAD COLLECTION which shows some of the things I’ve mentioned along with hundreds of other items. http://www.christies.com/salelanding/index.aspx?intSaleID=25297
I want to mention two more items which were on display although not part of this auction. The first is by another of my favorite American painters, Edward Hopper TWO PURITANS, two wood frame houses side by side. http://tinyurl.com/luryzb2 This painting, along with three others will be in their next auction of American art which I hope to view next week. And a Georgia O’Keeffe which for once is not one of her desert animal skeletons or flowers, EAST RIVER WITH SUN a watercolor. http://tinyurl.com/mzyk2gv
And that’s that for the moment. A very enjoyable morning for me, hope you enjoy it as well.
Andy G.
Retro housewife
https://www.flickr.com/photos/blackietv/16869308989
Reflection in the mirror: glamour portrait in lace, velvet and satin
https://www.flickr.com/photos/juliapanther/16868915687
It's that time...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mica_d/16456211273
My boy to girl!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kristyisaboy/16792829037
Entertaining the Troops
https://www.flickr.com/photos/harald-haefker/16885015640
Trying my best to look gurly
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29846043@N07/17037419276
Lindy Lou wants to play
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lindaw567/17142738661
bangkok 2015 - LB
https://www.flickr.com/photos/seua_yai/17144327365
Waddya think? Narrowed it down to these 2 for the dance. I know the 1st one is kinda young for me, but I MISSED those years! I also like to sparkle, so the gown - also fun. Thinking slick and high pony or high curly pony, or pin str8 or tons of curls
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ashley_david_ny/17126478286
Scuffed, Tattered, Bent, Faded, Often Out-Of-Focus ---- A North Carolina Kodak Album: Nineteenth Album Page: A Smiling Crossdresser, With Inscription
https://www.flickr.com/photos/82329524@N00/17137583841
Do you think I'm sexier as a man
https://www.flickr.com/photos/125249336@N05/17066464795
Skater Skirt
https://www.flickr.com/photos/toni_richards/17088984746
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
This will be an early and brief Flickr. I have the pleasure of treating a friend to a day in New York City, expect to see some great art, have a nice meal and end with the chocolate squares I’ve baked for dessert. Just hoping that the scattered thunderstorms scatter somewhere else when we’re out.
Andy G.
Womanless Wedding
https://www.flickr.com/photos/trannilicious2011/16969556919
I am a man, But I'd rather be Gemma!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gemmasmith_tvuk/17124762282
IMG_1310x2
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65875184%40N03/17098657321
What a wonderful mother!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69122743%40N07/16174787436/in/photostream/
TGN April 2015
https://www.flickr.com/photos/9514484%40N05/17190422851
Marie-Christine as a Bride
https://www.flickr.com/photos/128683052%40N02/16588082534
Image 2
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sharon_xds/8461314258/in/dateposted/
Black dress with green necklace.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/110386909%40N08/17171347312
preparing for a hot date....if only..
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131111227%40N04/17176837886
Lane dressed as a girl
https://www.flickr.com/photos/104546207%40N08/16580158813
Evening Meet
https://www.flickr.com/photos/briony_tv/16949646657
My little "princess" #embarrassingpics #waittilhis18
https://www.flickr.com/photos/12039643%40N05/17070642279
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
It was a beautiful day today but chilly and windy. It confounds me that it is the middle of May and we are still waking up to temperatures in the 40’s. All last week the mornings were cool and it didn’t warm up that much during the day. I came home one day last week and the thermostat in my living room was on 65, which is certainly not frigid but not what you expect. I had opened the windows in my house upstairs and I finally went around and closed all of them which helps, now the thermostat is at 66. But hopefully it will warm up soon. I’m wearing my flannel shirt as I type this.
I had a frustrating week but at least I have the three day weekend to look forward to, hope other board members do as well. Today I went into New York and walked up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the small Van Gogh exhibition that just opened. This consists of four paintings he did at the end of his life and this is the first time they have been reunited in 125 years. It’s two pictures of Roses and two pictures of Irises. All four paintings are from the same size canvas but two are painted vertically and two horizontally one of each for each flower. Two of them are in the Met permanent collection, one is from the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the final one, the one I’ve never seen before, is from the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, a place I sorely would love to visit, and hope to someday. They are beautiful as you may imagine but there is an accompanying story to them. He used a red paint which was known for its brilliance but he also knew it might fade. And sadly it has. One of the Irises now has a white background but when he painted it the background was pink. All the color has faded out of it as has the pink in the roses. This is a link to a very interesting 8 minute video slide show on the Met website which explores the four paintings and how they’ve faded and through manipulation shows how they might look today if he had used a different pigment. http://www.metmuseum.org/metmedia/video/collections/ep/van-gogh-irises-and-roses This is a link to the description of the show from the Met website. http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2015/van-gogh And this is a review of the show from the NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/22/arts/design/review-van-gogh-irises-and-roses-sheds-light-on-a-disappearing-red-hue.html The show is a big attraction and when my brother went during the week it was very crowded. I got to the Met this morning at 10AM when it opened and consequently I was the first one in the gallery and had the paintings all to myself for most of the ten minutes I stood admiring them. If I’ve done this properly, you will see a picture my brother took of the crowd in front of the paintings. The people on the left looking away from the paintings are viewing the video which was mounted opposite.
Afterwards I took in the “Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy” exhibit. Indian art is fairly new to me and I am still trying to work my way into it. It’s different from the art I appreciate but much of it is beautiful. Part of my problem is that much of it is very small and even with the magnifying glasses they put out for guests it is still hard to see the details. They are very colorful and filled with great detail and intricate. This is a good example, the image is a little bigger than 4”x5” and there is a lot to see. http://tinyurl.com/lkorwnr But there are also images which are larger and clearer and very colorful and beautiful like this Parrot. http://tinyurl.com/lknhtwx This is a link to the NY Times review of the show. http://tinyurl.com/kby6fl4 And this is the first page of a listing of every object in the show, 232 in total. http://tinyurl.com/mxpmu65 In addition to the art there are many objects, bowls, coins, jewelry etc. which are also interesting to see. So while it’s not overly my cup of tea it was certainly entertaining.
Last week I took my friend into the City for a tour of museums and we had a splendid time. I told her that I walked everywhere and she said that she loved to walk. She proved to be a real trouper as my pedometer told me at the end of the day that we had covered more than six miles in our wanderings. We started at Christie’s auction house for the American exhibit where I was pleased to see three items by Edward Hopper,
an oil painting, Two Puritans, two houses side by side, http://tinyurl.com/kyfbzev a watercolor, House with Dead Trees, if that doesn’t sum up Hopper in a few words I can’t say what does, http://tinyurl.com/lwqjrls, and a charcoal drawing, South of Washington Square http://tinyurl.com/knrtwsf all of which were wonderful. This was not a blockbuster show but there were other very nice things as well. From Christie’s we walked over to the Japan Society for the second rotation of the Japanese woodblock prints which I wrote about after my first visit. Finally we walked up to Two Columbus Circle to the Museum of Art and Design to see the work of Richard Estes, a photorealist artist. This is a link to the website http://www.madmuseum.org/exhibition/richard-estes. They were extraordinary and while in some of them if you look closely it becomes apparent they’re paintings, in others it was really difficult to tell. When you visit the website and click on the first painting you’re going to think it’s a photograph. And his technique is amazing, one of them was a painting of him taking a picture of a store front window with the reflection of him holding his camera in the window and the signs from the opposite side of the street reflected, such as McDonalds, backwards! Really fascinating. Afterwards we walked downtown and had dinner at a diner near the Port Authority after which we went back to my place and had dessert, the chocolate squares I had baked. I had a great time but I was even more pleased that my friend had enjoyed it just as much as I did and said that she wanted to do it again. Couldn’t be more happier.
Well, now that you’ve had the art lesson for the day and I’ve caught you up on my social life, let’s wander over to the Flickrs. Let me first say that Flickr has changed the site again and like so many people I really don’t like what they’ve done to it. It also seems to me that fewer images are coming up now. Another case where they can’t leave well enough alone. Grumble, grumble!
Andy G.
She's a whore and she's smoking
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevi_smokes/17298560765
img407
https://www.flickr.com/photos/75047565%40N00/17075337967
414
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lilyblinz/17237630411
Fawn silk N
https://www.flickr.com/photos/59132217%40N03/17063558247
Motel ready...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/claudiafenchel/16648532574
Maria Clasp
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrispenfold/17201361676
Boys Will Be Girls Oaxaca Mexico Carnival
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ilhuicamina/17061853179
bit of light reading...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131111227%40N04/17341246351
another role for dom-master...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131111227%40N04/17358241662
Jessica Sissy Dress from www.sissypink.com
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tallulahhh/17357367361/
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
Pretty beautiful day with the rain not scheduled to arrive until tomorrow around Noon which is fine with me.
I have been commuting into New York City for work for about 39 years now, aside from an unhappy four year stretch when I was sold, along with the Company I was working for, to another Company in New Jersey to which I had to drive to work. I initially figured I would be able to take a bus but to go from my home in NJ to the plant in NJ I would have had to take a bus into New York, then a bus out of New York to get there and then reverse the trip in the afternoon. A ridiculously long commute for no reason. The drive was 30 minutes but I hate driving and I was driving on three of the worst highways in NJ and the last winter I did it was a really bad one with snow, not to mention the fact that the plant flooded when rains were heavy. I hated working for this Company to begin with but when I drove off the road in the snow I knew I had to get out and go back to working in New York again. Luckily I was able to find a job and it’s now been 15 years since I renewed the commute.
That’s a very roundabout way to get my point which is that the bus I take in every morning has become very unreliable. It’s always been late but recently it’s been very late and this week it didn’t arrive at all three days in a row. Hence I arrive in the City 40-45 minutes later than usual which doesn’t affect my job as my time is not clocked but is tremendously irksome to me. I had similar experiences during the winter and let me tell you that when you’re over 60 years old you do not want to stand in three degree weather waiting for a bus for 40 minutes. It isn’t much better when the temperature is 60. It’s why I want to work from home or retire.
I know that calling NJ Transit is pointless as the only thing I will get out of the call is irritation but I just felt I couldn’t let this go without comment. Especially as they are conspiring to raise the fares nine percent as service and the Port Authority and the entire infrastructure continues to corrode. On the second day it didn’t arrive I called to find out what's going on but all you can do is file a complaint. And I got an agent who after I told her my name was Andrew, then told her my email address was my name and started with Andy, stopped me to say, you said it's Andrew and now you say Andy. After a momentary pause as I was literally at a loss for words, I explained briefly about diminutives. Ultimately she told me I would hear back in 3-4 days. The next day when I called back, the agent just asked if I wanted to file a complaint and I said yes; she asked me my name and said I would hear back in a few days. I asked if she had my contact information and she said yes, as soon as she entered in my name it came up. Probably with a flag saying difficult customer. I know I will get a nonsense answer but I just had to make an effort.
I took a walk over to Christie’s auction house again this morning, this time for the Old Masters preview. I can’t say I was disappointed as everything I saw was very beautiful but this is not one of their bigger auctions, no real blockbuster paintings to speak of and lots of follower of, circle of, school of and attributed to. Still, there were a number of Dutch paintings that were lovely, even the lesser renowned Dutch artists were very talented. If this show has a blockbuster I guess it’s a painting by Gainsborough of a man name Richard Brooke. It was given its own wall in the middle although when I went back to the website I see it’s not in the catalog and can’t be called up on a search. Very odd. It was, to me, an unusual style as the man in the painting didn’t have the traditional long neck I’ve seen on so many of Gainsborough’s portraits. If this isn’t in this auction then the total amount sold I would guess will be very low.
A Dutch artist I very much like is Gerard Ter Borch. I saw an exhibit of his work at the National Gallery and it was spectacular, he painted a barn scene with a cow and you could see the nail heads on the floor of the barn. His portraits are wonderful as well. This is a portrait, Portrait Of A Young Man In Armor (Cosimo Iii De' Medici?), that is oil painted on copper. It’s not in very good condition and I imagine a good cleaning would probably increase its value, it’s set to bring in between $60 and $80K which sounds low to me. Generally oil on copper is very bright and beautiful, I went to an exhibit at the Bruce museum of the artist Jan Van Der Heyden and there was an oval painting that he had done on copper and it absolutely glowed, very beautiful. I’d love to see this painting restored. Here’s a link. http://tinyurl.com/ptpf4l7
Another great Dutch artist was Ferdinand Bol. He’s represented here by a Portrait of a Lady Traditionally Identified As Maria Louise Gonzaga. As you will see when you click on the link she was clearly a lady to be reckoned with. http://tinyurl.com/owe4pfc
When I speak of less renowned artists I’m speaking of people like Hubert Van Ravesteyn, someone I’m unfamiliar with. There was a still life he did of walnuts in a bowl with several other items on a table which was wonderful. There is a tablecloth, the Dutch were great with fabrics, and the tablecloth is bunched together and you can see it has tassels on the edges. One of the walnuts has been cracked and there are pieces of shell on the table as well as a pipe shown hanging over the edge. Lovely. Here’s a link http://tinyurl.com/oropemm
Leaving the Dutch, I’ll turn to a Spaniard, Francisco de Zurbarán, someone whose art I saw at the Hispanic Society. He painted mostly religious paintings and in this auction we see his rendition of Veronica’s Veil, a cloth with the image of Christ. It’s a very finely done painting, although it loses much of its appeal in the link I’ll give you. You can’t even see the tiny gold pin he painted under the image which appears to be holding up the bottom of the cloth. It’s definitely not anything I would want to hang on my wall and look at on a daily basis but it is a magnificent work of art nonetheless. http://tinyurl.com/pdh3rre
Finally let me point out a painting by Francesco Guardi, a Venetian painter of the 18th Century who like Canaletto, another of my favorites, painted scenes of Venice, the canals, the courtyards, the buildings etc. Very detailed and on a grand scale. This is Venice, The Bacino Di San Marco With The Departure Of The Bucintoro http://tinyurl.com/p5jvb7s
So, as I said, not a blockbuster exhibit but a very pleasant way to spend some time on a Saturday morning.
Let’s visit the Flickrs.
Andy G.
22726692
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lololatex71/17352658295
sissy in need
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chantal_fouet/17120526310
Vestido Pin Up lunares y stilettos charol negro
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130065391@N02/17180914049
Red summer I
https://www.flickr.com/photos/59132217@N03/17337781922
Prison Stripes
https://www.flickr.com/photos/briannagrant/17103551247
TRANSEXUAL KATYA
https://www.flickr.com/photos/carlmax41/17117619537/
Red and Black
https://www.flickr.com/photos/amberjolake/17329927925
A Fifth Avenue girl
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sesquipedalian_girl/16730162083
JapanSun 2015-050.jpg
https://www.flickr.com/photos/titinetar/17200948330/in/set-72157651978396399
Womanless Contest - Best of the Best final
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127416594@N02/17364266485/in/photolist-bpEMV8-9iZFCE-ssqpsV-9gZ4Pk-dRgS6E
-
Hi Andy. Great finds as always. I believe the person on the right in the womanless contest picture was a contestant at Rainbow Middle School Womanless Beauty Pageant. Click on the section that says - See pictures of the winner and all of the participants!
Here is the link: http://rms.ecboe.org/news/what_s_new/r_m_s_womanless_beauty_pageant/
nice legs
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
Well, really not a lot going on to discuss, it was another chilly week which is hard for me to take in June. The forecast for today was for it to finally warm up as the day progressed but unfortunately for me, the morning, which is when I’m out, was cool, windy and wet. Right now, if I can believe the weather site, it’s in the 70’s. Hope it stays that way for a while. I haven’t turned my heat back on but I finally closed my windows when I came home from work and it was 64 degrees in my living room. Warmed up to 65 with windows closed.
No museum or art galleries today, I went into New York City and walked downtown to buy shoes at the Kmart and almonds at the Trader Joe’s. I’ve had a difficult time finding a pair of shoes that’s comfortable and I think it’s because I was buying a size that was too small. In the past when I tried on size 9, they seemed loose and when I tried on size 8 ½ they fit better but were a little tight. I assumed they would get looser as I wore them but that did not turn out to be the case. So this time I went with the size 9 and I’m hoping things are better. I put insoles in which already take up some of the slack so I’m hopeful. It’s really important to me as I do so much walking. I knew my almonds were going to be more expensive this time due to the ongoing drought in California. I saw an article from 2014 that said that California is responsible for 82% of the world’s almond production and it also pointed out that the cost of almonds had doubled in the previous five years. And now it’s another year. When I started buying them at Trader Joe’s they were $3.99 lb, the last time I bought them they were $5.99 lb and I expected them to be $6.99 lb but they cost $6.49 lb this trip. I have no doubt they will go up again. I buy plain, dry roasted almonds and use them in the cinnamon almond sugar cookies that I bake. But I also love eating them. They’re very good for your health but they are calorie filled, one ounce of almonds which is about 24 nuts is 160 calories. The article said to eat them sparingly and eat them one at a time and chew them 25-40 times for optimum benefits. To that I can only say, are you kidding! It’s hard enough not to just pop a handful in and then keep reaching back into the bag. But I restrain myself as I don’t want to turn back into Mr. five by five.
As there is no art lesson today I guess we’ll just wander over to the Flickrs now.
Andy G.
top of the world totty..
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131111227@N04/17436640785/
So Sleeveless
https://www.flickr.com/photos/briannagrant/17193323344/
img157
https://www.flickr.com/photos/75047565@N00/17188840287/
DSC_7021 Avec Patricia Brune
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23509681@N02/17362436129/
RuiMatsushita9.hiro.smj.dc016
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130820203@N04/17349641456/
Seeing Washington DC!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/17376033661/
I went out shopping and wore this dress for the first time in a long while.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dianabakergt56/17183553837/
boys will be... girls
https://www.flickr.com/photos/7234518@N05/17381585075/
T Girl Tuesdays Cinco De Mayo 2015
https://www.flickr.com/photos/9514484@N05/17202163029/
Sissy Maid 06
https://www.flickr.com/photos/phillymichaela/17353600359/
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
Well, it is a beautiful day today, warm with a nice breeze, my kind of weather. As I’ve said so many times I’m happiest in the heat. To amplify on that, when I bought my house 8 years ago it came with two air conditioners. I’ve never turned them on. For the longest time I didn’t even know where one of them was mounted. Today the weather site tells me it’s 83 degrees and I’m currently baking a turkey in my kitchen, something my friends always comment on with a question mark as in, you have the oven on today? In this heat? Well, yes. Need the turkey for my lunches and I’m not going to let the heat interfere with that.
Anyway, I walked up the Metropolitan Museum of Art this morning to catch up on a few things. The wonderful thing about the Met is its size and enormous collection, no matter how often you go you’ll still see things you’ve never seen before. But it can be frustrating as well as ostensibly they don’t have enough guards to allow every area of the museum to be visited daily. My brother has told me on a number of occasions that the Jack and Belle Linsky collection is something to be seen. It’s another bequest with a proviso that it must be kept together and not dispersed to different areas of the museum, much like the Lehman wing which I’ll discuss in a moment. It’s a large collection and they have two paintings that I would very much like to see, one by Gerard Ter Borch and one by Rubens. The Rubens is a small portrait of a young man painted in oil on copper and the Ter Borch is a family portrait of his cousin with his wife and baby son. Every time I’ve tried to visit the collection it’s been closed due to manpower shortage. I called yesterday to see if it would be open and was told that the decision on what is open and closed is made on a daily basis so they couldn’t tell me. Of course when I got there it was closed. I wrote to the museum about this and I’m waiting to hear back. Aside from visiting the museum every day until I finally get to see it, which at the moment isn’t possible, I’m wondering how they would suggest I get to see it. It’s very frustrating.
My first stop today was Maurice Prendergast: Boston Public Garden Watercolors, which is hung on the lower level of the Lehman Wing. Three weeks ago I spoke of seeing the four Van Gogh Irises & Roses paintings but I see I neglected to mention that they were exhibited in the Lehman wing. Lehman was another benefactor who bequeathed his fabulous collection with the proviso that it can’t be broken up, so many of the items in it would normally be in other areas of the museum. Being there again I had to stop and say hello to Vincent and admire his paintings once again. And I mentioned Ter Borch earlier, two of his paintings are in the Lehman collection along with many other masterpieces. The Prendergast’s in this exhibit are pencil sketches that he did at the Boston Garden, observing people who were visitors to the garden as they walked or sat or tended to their children who were riding bicycles or playing. These were then done over with watercolor and are very colorful. Mr. Lehman was able to purchase the entire book of 45 sketches from a Prendergast descendant. The book itself was not in great shape and it was decided it would be easier to preserve the paintings individually which is how they are displayed. My brother visited the exhibit and sent me a photo of a woman sitting in the park reading which I looked at quickly and all I really saw was the splash of color. Subsequently when we were on the phone he mentioned it and I told him I found it rather abstract and he was very surprised saying it wasn’t abstract at all. So I went back and took another look and came back to the phone and apologized, it was definitely not abstract, it was clearly how he described it, what I should have said was it was indistinct. All of these have that sort of blurred look that you sometimes see in Impressionist works. Below should be an example I pulled from the website, it’s of people watching a fireworks display. It’s remarkable how just that splash of blue and yellow with a little orange can depict the fireworks and then also you can see how he depicts the crowd. Very nice. There’s been no article in the Times as yet but this is a link to the Met website with a description of the show. http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/press-room/exhibitions/2015/prendergast-watercolors This is a link to the Met website with all 45 images on view. http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/objects?exhibitionId=%7bCAD7D47E-38BD-4F04-BFAA-030607537BFC%7d&rpp=60&pg=1 Remember to click on each to enlarge them.
From there I walked up the steps to the second floor to the European wing and stopped first at Lucas Cranach’s Saint Maurice. This is a permanent part of the Met collection which arrived in 2005 in need of restoration which it has loving received. It’s a beautiful depiction of the Saint Maurice, a Theban member of the Roman guard who was martyred for refusing to slaughter Christians. He is depicted as a Moor in silver armor festooned with gold, pearls and gems. It was the left wing of an altar piece and quite a splendid image. The painting is placed in the center of the room with smaller etchings and objects, as well as informative panels on the walls surrounding it. You can see it at the website here http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/2006.469 and you can see the other images on display here http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/objects?exhibitionId=%7b13945CDC-48D9-4D94-8F53-977BD1FB5214%7d&rpp=40&pg=1 And this is an article that appeared in the now defunct New York Sun when the Met first acquired the piece with background on the painting and the artist. http://www.nysun.com/arts/saint-in-a-suit-comes-to-the-met/59973/
From the Cranach I walked over to an exhibit of 8 paintings by George Stubbs, an English painter who is best known for his paintings of horses and dogs. These paintings are on loan from the Yale Center for British Art and wonderful examples of his craft. There are two horses, Lustre Held by a Groom and Turf, with a Jockey at Newmarket. The other paintings are of men out for a hunt with their dogs. On the panels next to the paintings it says that these were men he knew and was friends with. This is a link to the Met’s website that explores Stubbs and his thoroughbred paintings and depicts Turf. http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/now-at-the-met/2015/george-stubbs This link discusses the exhibit http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2015/george-stubbs and this link displays all the images in the exhibit. http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/objects?exhibitionId={1B71AE57-AF6B-4C58-A8A8-C9A8E300DA58}
The last thing I visited was a new acquisition, an enormous painting, roughly 11 feet by 13 feet, by Charles Le Brun, Everhard Jabach (1618–1695) and His Family. Stunningly beautiful image of a husband and wife and their four children with the family dog at foot. The details are wonderful, the bright red fringed carpet, the chipped tile floor, the busts, books, globe and papers, as well as Le Brun who painted himself in the mirror behind the painting with brush and palette. This is a painting to stand in front of and stare at in awe, truly a masterpiece and a great addition to the Met collection. This is a link to a blog piece by Keith Christiansen, Chairman of the Department of European Paintings at the Met, in which he discusses how the museum acquired the painting. It’s quite a story, be sure to read the comments after the piece as well as there is a lot of fascinating information about the artist and the painting plus more. http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/now-at-the-met/2015/jabach-reflections-on-an-extraordinary-acquisition It’s the fourth of 21 posts at this link, all of which have to do with the acquisition and subsequent restoration of the painting, http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/now-at-the-met?tag=Charles+Le+Brun&st=tag This link identifies every member of the family http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/now-at-the-met/2014/meet-the-jabachs
So, a fruitful morning spent at the Met drinking in great art. I will return to the Jabach again from time to time over the years I’m sure.
Oh yes, now on to what pays the rent for this weekly excursion into art, the Flickrs. And please contribute to Betty, if there’s no Betty there’s no weekly Flickr. Or daily anything. Think about how often you come here and what a drag it would be if it wasn’t here the next time you visited.
Andy G.
IMG_2950
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rafiats/17689429521/
Inseparable Siblings
https://www.flickr.com/photos/60741642%40N06/17458436810/
julie_lg_sitting
https://www.flickr.com/photos/juliemj2002/705671720/
DSC05604
https://www.flickr.com/photos/117560929%40N03/17226134913/
Alan & Daniel dressed up for drag night %40 SUUSI...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/awinner/2711499479 /
Jenna - May 2015
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130760117%40N04/17147427434/
Serina9.hiro.smj.dc006
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130820203%40N04/17741837005/
Black LBD and red scarf on the bed
https://www.flickr.com/photos/misschristinereid/14128575599/
Office Girl by DressGal (15)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/126461197%40N06/17553379266/
Pink skater skirt
https://www.flickr.com/photos/toni_richards/17021376454/
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
Not a very nice today, I wore my shorts and regretted it. I kept expecting it to warm up but it never did. I managed to avoid the rain though until I was getting off the bus by my home but I was lucky as it was just drizzling. It appears Father’s Day will be a washout so my sympathies to all the fathers on the board.
I walked up to the Frick museum this morning for a one painting exhibit. This was Frederic Leighton’s Flaming June. Leighton was a contemporary of James Whistler and this painting is hung nicely in the oval room with four of the Frick’s Whistler’s surrounding it on the other walls. It’s a very sensual painting of a woman reclining on a marble bench which is covered in drapery, asleep, wearing a very sheer orange dress which points out that she is not wearing anything underneath. It has an interesting history in that it was lost for many years before being rediscovered behind a false panel in a house in London. Luis A. Ferré, who, in 1965, founded the Museo de Arte de Ponce saw it in a gallery in 1963 and bought it and it has hung at the Museo since it opened. When the Museo and the Frick announced the exhibition they both stated that this would be the first time the painting was being exhibited in New York City. Which was a surprise to Ed Miranda, of East Flatbush who remembered seeing it at the Brooklyn Museum in the 70’s. He posted his grievance on Facebook and also contacted the Museo who dug into their annals and agreed that he was right. This is a link to an article in the NY Times from a few days ago about Mr. Miranda. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/18/paintings-first-time-in-new-york-no-way-no-how-says-brooklyn-man/ This is a link to the Frick website discussion of the painting. http://www.frick.org/exhibitions/flaming_june This is a link to a NY Times article about the exhibit. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/12/arts/design/review-flaming-june-arrives-in-new-york-preceded-by-its-reputation.html?_r=0
The Frick has all of its paintings back from the Mauritshuis and it was nice to see them again. My brother had alerted me to the rehanging of three large Van Dyck portraits in the East Room. These have been off view for a number of years and I guess it’s a taste of what we will see in the upcoming Van Dyck exhibition at the Frick in March 2016, something I am looking forward to with great anticipation. The three paintings currently hanging are portraits of Anne, Countess of Clanbrassil, James, Seventh Earl of Derby, His Lady and Child and Sir John Suckling. You can see images of all three plus the other five paintings and two drawings in the collection at this link. If you click on the image, then click on the second image you will see an enlargement. http://collections.frick.org/view/objects/aslist/search@?t:state:flow=5bf97c2f-c65e-4581-83ae-d361d9014e4c It boggles the mind that they are kept in storage. So many museums would love to have one of them.
As I was getting ready to exit the museum I almost missed the small drawing exhibit, Landscape Drawings in the Frick Collection, that is currently on display. I knew of it but had completely forgotten about it and I’m very pleased that I didn’t leave without seeing it. A very powerful lineup, Rembrandt, Claude Lorrain, Gainsborough, John Constable, Theodore Rousseau, Corot, Whistler and Antoine Vollon. The Vollon is a new acquisition, View of Dieppe Harbor, and quite lovely. Here’s a link to a description and image on the website, again click on the image to enlarge it. http://collections.frick.org/view/objects/asitem/People@737/0?t:state:flow=26cfc727-51b8-425a-bb21-3eddcaa2d125 The Rousseau is really splendid as well, just a simple pencil sketch, Pond at the Edge of the Woods, which depicts exactly that. This is a link to a description and image. http://collections.frick.org/view/objects/asitem/search@/0/primaryMaker-asc/title-asc?t:state:flow=5afa0e5c-a8c3-4eee-a8a9-97d203b023d7 The whole exhibit was wonderful. This is a link to the Frick press release for the exhibit which has additional images. http://www.frick.org/sites/default/files/pdf/press/Landscape_Drawings_Release.pdf
After the Frick I walked up to the Met specifically to see a painting that I had missed seeing last week, Turner’s "Ovid Banished from Rome." When I got inside and inquired as to what room it was in the woman at the desk couldn’t find it in the database, all she found was the Delacroix Ovid which was all I found when I searched as well. It’s not surprising as this is a loan which I imagine the Met hopes will eventually become a bequest. So I just asked where the Turners were and she told me gallery 808. I said fine and was about to head there when she stopped me and checked to see if they were open. And, they were closed. I was not amused, especially with my lack of success with the Linsky collection, which I wrote about last week and which also was closed. I never heard back from the Met and I’ve written them again.
Well I hope you found this entertaining, I guess we can amble over the Flickrs now.
Andy G.
IMG_1589
https://www.flickr.com/photos/asiandesert/18192920413/
stood up again...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131111227@N04/17829354641/
cute boi in bob
https://www.flickr.com/photos/123125505@N06/16595654793/in/dateposted/
is this the most beautiful boi you've ever seen?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/123125505@N06/16400311567/
Michael Roseto Dressed at Cheerleader, yep its his sister's skirt
https://www.flickr.com/photos/13769896@N05/1405013444/
Nina Honey
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ninacrossdresser/17334910462/
Lindsay
https://www.flickr.com/photos/57082758@N08/6242522774/
maid_floor
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sissy_lottie/17799830356/
Alice dress bib apron front
https://www.flickr.com/photos/34969430@N06/17542443258/
puff
https://www.flickr.com/photos/istolethetv/17195904563/
Keystone Gala Ball 2015
https://www.flickr.com/photos/marie_sunshine/16905096915/
Princess colours
https://www.flickr.com/photos/7172871@N04/3446055580/
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
This will be brief. I’m heading down to the Jersey shore for a visit with friends. I planned on baking a birthday cake but the birthday girl said she would like to try and bake her own birthday cake and instead requested a lemon meringue pie. So it is with a lemon meringue pie and the cinnamon almond sugar cookies that I head south with. Since my Aunt passed away I don’t bake on a regular basis. I won’t bake for myself since I would eat it and that would be bad so I only bake when I’m visiting which is every month or two. Consequently my ingredients go bad. I had eggs in the fridge but they were past their expiration date. Google tells me how to determine eggs freshness. Fill a bowl with water and drop the egg in. If it sinks right to the bottom on its flat side it’s very fresh. If it sinks to the bottom on its end it’s ok. If it floats, throw it away. My eggs were in the middle category which I would have used for a cake but as the pie calls for separating the eggs I opted to deep six them and go for fresh. It’s been a very long time since I’ve baked a pie. When I checked my lemon juice it said best by 2012. When I poured it out the dregs came out in clumps. So everything was fresh and I made a very nice pie if I do say so myself. It’s a lot of work, you have to make the dough, form it into a ball and let it rest in the refrigerator for a day. Then roll it out and put it in the pie plate and put it in the freezer. Then, finally, bake the crust, make the lemon curd, make the meringue, put it all together and bake it. You’re also standing in front an oven that’s set to 450 degrees for the pie shell, then 400 degrees for the pie while you are bringing the lemon curd to a boil. Hot stuff. But very much worth the effort.
So, no art this week, a baking lesson instead. Not quite as brief as I promised but you all know me so well.
Andy G.
puyal029 (lots more in folder for those of us who remember the old Nutrix and Mutrix books)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/janetpetsie/18991869221/
spring day #5
https://www.flickr.com/photos/45111478%40N08/4498855698/
alice maid 03
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nyaom/5921728248/
Richard_Dress (2)_Devon Valley_2007_
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mahoney028/1463173807/
女装 Japanese Crossdress Christine_BrownSeifukuLooseSocks_03
https://www.flickr.com/photos/christine_3830/3253816408/
From the Archives: Seduction
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tarayoung/8141668673/
kandy lee 24
https://www.flickr.com/photos/132422189%40N08/17145934139/
Edinburgh Fringe: Ladyboys of Bangkok
https://www.flickr.com/photos/26605296%40N06/2747045923/
Tgirl Tuesday April 19 2015
https://www.flickr.com/photos/9514484%40N05/17701566190/
SAM_0245
https://www.flickr.com/photos/anna_mae36/8985681629/
Meijimura (2)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mayuko_vienna/12848818103/
035
https://www.flickr.com/photos/44815144%40N07/17705550770/
-
Most fresh water in the N.E. USA & S.W. Canada is mineral rich hard water. It makes it more dense than regular water... just like if you mix lots of salt in the water, the eggs will float.
So an egg standing on it's end could mean nothing more than hard water or with minerals in it. But if it floats in fresh water, it might be bad. However if you're cracking them open rather than hard boiling them, the best test is to see if they look normal, & smell normal. Un-stirred with the yoke unbroken, uncooked, cold out of the fridge, the egg should have very little smell to them.
Treat all raw eggs & meat as if they are contaminated with e-coli or something just as bad. Wash hands, surfaces, & utensils that were in contact with raw eggs or meat. The heat will kill whatever is going in the oven or being cooked. Wash hands after handling the raw egg shells & dispose of them properly. Make sure pets & children can't get at the raw shells.
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
A very Happy Fourth of July to all the American board members and a Happy weekend to everyone else.
My first week of vacation started yesterday and I am thoroughly enjoying it so far. It’s been filled with art with more to come.
I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Friday and again today and expect to go back at least one more time. Yesterday I finally got to visit the Jack and Belle Linsky collection; I’ve written about my frustration at it’s always being closed whenever I’ve tried in the past. But it was definitely worth the wait. The Linsky's were very wealthy and Mrs. Linsky had a very good eye for quality. A good combination if you want to be a serious collector. It is set up in seven rooms and consists of paintings, medieval and Renaissance objects, Sculpture, Jewelry, furniture and carpets, clocks and gilt bronzes and porcelains. It’s the paintings that I wanted to see. The first room is filled with Renaissance religious art which is not a favorite genre for me and I confess I was concerned that I might be disappointed but as I continued on I came to the Old Masters which were wonderful. A small painting on copper of a young man which is a very early example of Ruben’s art, http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/437530 Jan Steen’s painting of The Dissolute Household, http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/437747 Gerard ter Borch’s Van Moerkerken Family, http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/435716 and Gabriël Metsu’s A Woman Seated at a Window http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/437073 are all extremely beautiful and just what I wanted to see. But there was lots more, period rooms with furniture and objects and paintings, one with two paintings by Boucher. A wonderful still life by the Spanish painter Luis Egidio Melendez. Lucas Cranach, Corneille Lyon, David Bailly and many others make this a collection to be treasured. It boggles the mind that the Met limits access to it. To come from far away and not have the chance to go in would be a real shame. The bronze sculptures, which are numerous, are all lovely as are the clocks and a gilt bronze “Automaton in the Form of a Triumphal Chariot Drawn by Four Horses” which you have to see, http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/207038 Apparently this device actually moves although certainly not in the case. This is a link to a story in the New York Times from 1982 describing the acquisition. http://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/04/arts/met-is-given-60-million-linsky-art-collection.html. The Met has the catalog available on the website in two forms, as an enormous PDF which takes a very long time to download but also in a link to Google books which has the whole thing available for viewing. It’s well worth looking at, it’s really an awesome collection and I couldn’t be more pleased that I finally was able to view it. I’ll go back again although heaven only knows when it will be open again. This is a link to the catalog at Google books http://tinyurl.com/nqvqgta
The second exhibit I visited on Friday was the Nineteenth Century American painter George Caleb Bingham, his images of rivers and frontier life. A wonderful show giving a nice overview of his career from his early portraits to the river paintings that made him famous. He was a self-taught artist and in the exhibit is a book that’s a manual for drawing and painting that he actually worked from to hone his craft. The exhibit is set up really well with the sketches he created for the paintings juxtaposed between the paintings, showing an artist working at his craft. His most iconic painting is The Jolly Flatboatmen depicting a man dancing on the boat with his fellow river men around him, one on fiddle and one tapping a skillet while the others watch him, except for one man who is looking at us the viewer. http://tinyurl.com/oqe689a The descriptive cards explained his technique as, “Bingham often traced his drawings directly onto his prepared canvases, and indentations and registration marks on the drawings and canvases confirm this finding. Using infrared light, conservators were also able to identify numerous pentimenti, or changes on the canvas that are not part of the final compositions.” He also would create a sketch, then put it up against a window with light pouring through and sketch from the back so he could have the same sketch showing from two different sides. This is a link to the NY Times article about the exhibit, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/19/arts/design/review-george-caleb-binghams-serene-images-of-rivers-and-frontier-life-at-the-met.html and this is a link to the Met website with all the objects in it. http://tinyurl.com/q7r4vv3 Very worthwhile.
Today I went to see the John Singer Sargent exhibit which just opened. This is a blockbuster, arguably the Met’s big show for the summer. Its theme is portraits of his friends who were all notable artists, writers, musicians, etc. It was brilliant, really outstanding. For such an enormous show, and it took up many galleries, it was just filled with great works, the oils, the watercolors, the charcoal drawings, everything. There was a crowd but it was not mobbed and they’re fairly large galleries so it wasn’t wall to wall people which allowed me to stand in front of each of the paintings and admire them and also read the descriptive cards which told you who the sitter was and what he or she was famous for. He knew and painted everyone, Henry James, Robert Louis Stevenson, Auguste Rodin, Ada Rehan, Isabella Stewart Gardner, an honor roll of notable Americans of the Nineteenth Century. And all of them are spectacular not one can be considered minor. It made my brother reconsider his opinion of Sargent. He enjoyed his work but didn’t place him in the top tier of artists but after seeing this exhibit he now feels that he is on a par with Thomas Eakins. I have always thought Sargent was wonderful and this only reaffirmed my opinion. This is a link to the NY Times review of the exhibit which appeared in Friday’s newspaper. It’s filled with images. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/03/arts/design/review-sargents-intimate-portraits-of-friends-at-the-metropolitan-museum.html and this is a link to the Met website with all the images from the show, http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/objects?exhibitionId=%7b4F31BE4C-309F-4A01-8A69-45D80D786215%7d&rpp=60&pg=1 I can’t say enough about this show, one of the most enjoyable mornings in a museum I’ve spent in some time. I will definitely go back.
And from the glorious to the Flickrs. Enjoy.
Andy G.
Me in Halloween Drag - circa 1976
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevynjacobs/5500784047/
Southern Belle
https://www.flickr.com/photos/53516713@N06/16282937205/
Unfortunately I do not have a husband, but I've always dreamed to be dressed as a bride
https://www.flickr.com/photos/128692591@N07/14986459263/
Brides dress
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124457900@N03/15222474788/
Long is demure?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38745560@N07/18136026005/
Leihia1
https://www.flickr.com/photos/leihia1/18171133212/
100_4514
https://www.flickr.com/photos/75502057@N06/18161231200/in/pool-1972122@N23/
Rachel Valentine
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rachel_valentine/18274041931/
Little girl
https://www.flickr.com/photos/blackietv/18002006021/
Mellow Yellow
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stefanied/17581080713/
sallycurtsie1
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22704178@N07/10441103945/
Sissy maid in pink dusting
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22979184@N05/11099057306/
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
Well, my vacation has come to an end but I thoroughly enjoyed myself with a veritable orgy of art which I will relate below. The weather cooperated very nicely as well.
I went back to the Met this morning and went through the Sargent exhibit again. I think that’s going to be a regular stop for me until it closes, whenever there’s nothing else doing. It’s just magnificent and it certainly doesn’t lose anything in multiple viewings. While I was standing in front of one of the paintings a man standing next to me told me that from a distance I looked like the poet Ezra Pound. I laughed and told him I hoped I had a better personality as he was a traitor during the second world war. He asked if anyone had ever told me that before and I said no. He must have considered it a compliment. I didn’t say so but years ago when I was in my late 20’s, early 30’s I looked somewhat like the actor Richard Dreyfuss. This was pointed out by my bus driver who greeted me one night by saying hello, Mr. Dreyfuss. The penny didn’t drop as the only Dreyfus I thought of was the investment house. When he explained, it made some sense, there was a slight resemblance because of the hair, beard and glasses. Now, as an old man, I tell people the story and say that neither of us looks like Richard Dreyfuss anymore.
I also went back to the Met last Monday and saw The Royal Hunt - Courtly Pursuits in Indian Art. It’s hard for me to put into words my feelings about this art, other than to just say, it’s very different from the European and American, not to mention Japanese art which I’ve come to appreciate. Perhaps it’s the fact that it’s unrealistic and in many of the images it seems very repetitive, that is, if it’s a hunt with many followers, it appears the artist picked a template and then more or less repeated it throughout the canvas. It was an interesting exhibit and I’m glad I went but I still haven’t really warmed up to it.
When I wrote to my brother about this he replied , “It does take a while to orient yourself to the visual world of Indian art. It is not like anything else and it’s not immediately beautiful or ingratiating. But I’ve found over time that it has grown on me. I had started with the extraordinary Persian miniaturists, and in comparison the Indian artists who followed them seemed much coarser. They are in some ways, but it’s a different approach rather than an inferior style. In all this art you need to focus on the details, which are exquisite, and not the overall image. That’s the essential difference between Western and non-Western art. Western art shows you a whole scene and the whole scene is the point (the Crucifixion, the Battle, whatever). But Eastern art show you details—one after another without really worrying about the impression made by the whole. It’s the difference between looking at a painting on canvas and looking at a scroll on paper—you see the portrait in one glance, but the scroll can roll on and on, and with every turn of the roll you see other things.”
So, I will have to bear this in mind in the future when I see exhibits of this genre of art.
This is a link to the Met website description of the exhibit with images in the gallery. http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2015/royal-hunt
There is an enormous Chinese installation put on by the Costume Center that really is of no interest to me but in one of the galleries there is a video loop of scenes from Anna May Wong films. This was really a lot of fun. Anna May Wong was a Chinese-American actress of the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s who was very beautiful and always dressed exotically, quite often playing a dragon lady part. She made a number of movies where she was in romantic situations with her leading men but could never actually consummate a kiss due to the Hays Code which didn’t allow for depictions of miscegenation in the movies. She is part of the exhibit because of the costumes she wore, some of which are on display in the gallery. From comments by other museum goers I think I can safely say that the majority of them have no idea who Anna May Wong was. This is a link to the Met website description of her and the exhibit, http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2015/china-through-the-looking-glass/exhibition-galleries/209
On Tuesday I went to an exhibit of the illustrator Al Hirschfeld at the New York Historical Society. It’s very good. He lived to be 99 years old and his drawings appeared in newspapers and magazines for close to 80 years, most notably in the Sunday edition of the New York Times, every week. It’s a very big exhibit and it was filled with things I had never seen before. I hadn’t known that he was married three times, or I had forgotten that I read it in his obituary in the Times. Wikipedia didn’t mention the first marriage., so I wrote to them and it took me two times but they added the information. My small bit of keeping the web correct.
This is a link to the website description of the exhibit with images http://www.nyhistory.org/exhibitions/hirschfeld#
This is a link to an interview with the curator also with images. http://behindthescenes.nyhistory.org/the-hirschfeld-century/
On Wednesday I took the train to Princeton to their art museum. I’ve been there a few times now but that never means I know where I‘m going. I was a little confused as to where the DINKY shuttle was this time but I found it. The conductor on the main train took my ticket and I didn’t think to ask for it back but when I told the DINKY conductor he just mumbled that I should get it back next time. I found the museum without too much trouble but I walked the wrong way on the way back. Finally found someone who pointed me in the other direction and I was able to find it but I missed my train. I did this so off the cuff that I forgot that the DINKY has a schedule which I should have checked. I sat on it for about 15 minutes before it pulled out. Then at Princeton Junction I had to wait about another ten minutes or so for the train home. But it was a local which took a long time and when I got to my connecting junction, my train home was 50 minutes away. But the exhibit was wonderful.
It was their watercolors and it was filled with favorites of mine, I’ve put in links where I could find them, they can all be enlarged.
William Trost Richards, Near the Inlet Atlantic City, http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/18960
Thomas Eakins, this is a link to the picture 70 Years Ago http://www.blog-arte.net/?attachment_id=10839 and this is a link to a discussion of Eakin’s life and watercolors, http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/artist44.html
2 Winslow Homers, The Trysting Place, http://www.winslow-homer.com/The-Trysting-Place-large.html Eastern Point Light http://tinyurl.com/o3r6jrn
2 John Singer Sargents, Girgenti, http://www.wikiart.org/en/john-singer-sargent/girgenti#supersized-artistPaintings-266123
Thomas Moran, Venice, http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/11406
3 Edward Hoppers, Lime Rock Railroad, http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/5505 Trawler & Telegraph Pole, http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/5506
2 Maurice Prendergasts, Sea and Boats, http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/42193 New England Shore, http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/16347
Childe Hassam, Newfields, New Hampshire http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/5238
William Constable, Mill at Parkman Town… you have to scroll down to the section on Constable, https://graphicarts.princeton.edu/category/medium/painting/page/3/
There were many more, it’s a brilliant collection.
This is a link to the museum website description of the exhibit, with some images. http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/story/painting-paper-american-watercolors-princeton
This is a nice image of the third Hopper http://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/2165-painting-on-paper-american-watercolors-at-princeton-on-view
On Thursday, I visited the Morgan Library. I saw their current drawing exhibit which was a wonderful show. JP Morgan must have bought the bulk of his drawings in one lot in 1909 as so many of the drawings have that date for acquisition. He didn’t get cheated. 3 Ingres, pendant drawings of a husband and wife and a wonderful portrait of his wife with a self-portrait stuck in next to it. Sargent watercolor of his friend Paul Helleu. Very early Van Dyck and a study for Anna Van Thielen. Rembrandt sketch of Saskia sleeping, twice. Giovanni and Lorenzo Tiepolo, Matisse, Picasso, Toulous Lautrec, a wonderful Hendrik Goltzius of a young man with a skull and tulip, http://www.themorgan.org/drawings/item/128202, Degas, Joseph Wright of Derby, Gainsborough study for The Hall which hangs in the Frick, several Bernini’s, a really charming self-portrait by Louise-Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun http://www.themorgan.org/drawings/item/110095 and a bunch of others.
There’s a photo exhibit upstairs which didn’t move me but interspersed with the photos are more drawings. Rembrandt, Botticelli, Samuel Palmer, Claude Lorrain, 2 William Blakes, Goltzius Melpomene, Gaugin and Watteau plus others. This is a link to the Morgan website where you can see images, listed by the artist. You can then call up individual drawings and enlarge them. http://www.themorgan.org/drawings/artists
There was an exhibit on Alice in Wonderland and her creator C.L. Dodgson or Lewis Carroll, that was fun as well, photographs, books, manuscripts and drawings. Very enjoyable.
This is a link to the Morgan Library press release describing the exhibit and listing all the artists in it. In the release are images for Rembrandt’s Saskias, Joseph Wright of Derby, Goltzius and Picasso, all of whom I mention above. http://www.themorgan.org/sites/default/files/pdf/press/LifeLinesPressRelease_0.pdf
On Friday I walked downtown to the Meat Packing District to visit the new home of The Whitney Museum. Hop Stop, a website which gives transit and walking directions in NYC, told me to walk down 8th Avenue and go right on 13th Street and left on Gansevoort. Google maps showed 9th Avenue turning into Gansevoort so I walked down 9th Avenue. I don’t think it turned into Gansevoort but I did find it. Not that it will be any easier if and when I go back. It’s a beautiful, wide open building with glass walls that allow for a very nice view across the river. Of course for someone like me who is directionally challenged I couldn’t tell you if it’s Manhattan, New Jersey or another borough. Or France. While I waited on line there were three tourists from, gauging their accents, Australia, standing on line behind me. I was looking at the newspaper coverage of the baseball game and the Father saw it and they spoke of baseball. When the Father spoke of three balls and three strikes I looked up while the Mother corrected him and looked to me as arbiter when he argued. I agreed with her. They had been mentioning the venues they had visited and I immediately told them to go to the Frick and they quickly noted the address so I feel I did a cultural good deed.
The Whitney may have a new building but nothing really has changed. I knew it was going to be only items from their collection but I didn’t really see anything that wasn’t on view uptown. And half of it was of the type I’m not really excited about. I had hoped they would have brought some things out of the basement or attic and given them a showing but I guess they felt they had to show familiar things to all the people who would be visiting for the first time. They had three Hoppers on display though, all good ones but still, all very familiar, Seven A.M., http://www.edwardhopper.net/seven-am.jsp#prettyPhoto Early Sunday Morning, http://www.edwardhopper.net/early-sunday-morning.jsp and Railroad Sunset, http://www.edwardhopper.net/railroad-sunset.jsp which is really exquisitely beautiful. Otherwise, for me, it was Sheeler, DeMuth, Bellows, Benton, Marsh, O’Keeffe, Hartley and others. The one thing that was new to me was woodblock prints by a 20th Century Japanese artist Chiura Obata. They were very beautiful and I thought they hewed nicely to the style of Hiroshige and the other Japanese artists of the 19th Century that I have only recently come to appreciate. I was particularly taken by this one, Full Moon Pasadena, Ca, http://collection.whitney.org/object/46366
I’ll be curious to see what upcoming exhibits they have as time passes, none of the upcoming exhibits for the next year on the website indicate I will be going back soon.
And as my ancient Aunt was fond of saying, before I knew it, my vacation was over. But I look forward to another week at the end of August and one more between Xmas and New Year’s. Something to keep me functioning through the hum drum days of work.
And now, as you’ve all been so patient, let’s go to the Flickrs.
Andy G.
marie_antoinette_02
https://www.flickr.com/photos/128510274@N06/18326314265/
0108shinymeri-(4)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/meritats/17702881923/
stretched my legs
https://www.flickr.com/photos/katvarina/18043141250/
This is going to be a fun girly day
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kirasydney/18113340899/
Home alone. yahoo!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/natalia_femina/18019128228/
Cute Yellow Mini-Dress
https://www.flickr.com/photos/57172609@N04/17390491393/
VWS 2015 #12
https://www.flickr.com/photos/marie_sunshine/17950490382/
Sunday in the park
https://www.flickr.com/photos/blackietv/18210220119/
DSCN0959 copy
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rudi_burnell/17844547023/
Mirror Mirror
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sexykellie/18464895265/
IMG_6003: mini one-piece, ready to go out
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mimo-momo/4442620182/
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
Well, my first week back from vacation wasn’t too bad as work weeks go. Not working clearly is much more pleasant but I hope to address that not too far into the future. There were thunderstorms predicted for today and it poured very early, just before I left the house, but it just drizzled a little the rest of the time I was out. Currently it’s very hot and sunny.
I was wondering what I would do today as I’ve pretty much seen all the current exhibits but luckily my brother told me that the Met had rotated what’s on view in their Japanese gallery so all new things appeared. It was filled with beautiful scrolls, screens and the woodblock prints I enjoy so much, as well as objects of interest, porcelain, helmets, swords, statues, etc. The gallery wasn’t crowded but the Asian wing continues to be very crowded due to the Costume Institute’s enormous Chinese exhibit. The Met should be happy as they are drawing big crowds. I’ll post just a few samples that I enjoyed. Remember to enlarge them.
This is a very beautiful hanging scroll of Peacocks and Peonies http://tinyurl.com/prkzsud
Another scroll Enjoying the Evening Cool under a Gourd Trellis http://tinyurl.com/q2optf8
This is a screen with six sections, The Four Accomplishments. It’s hard to appreciate the screens as they are so big in real life that this miniature reproduction, even enlarged, doesn’t do it justice but I think you get the idea. http://tinyurl.com/n98xju8
And I’ll end with three of the woodblock prints. “America”: Enjoying Hot Air Balloons http://tinyurl.com/ou3fxru
And the last two are by a personal favorite, Hokusai, South Wind, Clear Sky (Gaifū kaisei), also known as Red Fuji, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) http://tinyurl.com/oa3zwmk and Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) http://tinyurl.com/no57oxe
This is a link to all the objects in the exhibit. http://tinyurl.com/q5en4yo
I guess it’s time to mosey over to the Flickrs now.
Andy G.
1980s Full Skirted Dress with Crinoline Petticoats and White Pumps
https://www.flickr.com/photos/robynmichaels/2038586737/
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lisabacchae/15817365578/
New dress
https://www.flickr.com/photos/90004351%40N06/18326317056/
A few more before heading out to the Ball. It was a great night!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ashley_david_ny/17173036446/
biz-1
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118580634%40N07/12951457135/
Grocery Store Aisle
https://www.flickr.com/photos/empresslouann/16075662295/
In 2004 Vietnamese Girl MISAKKY 001
https://www.flickr.com/photos/misakky/18306133931/
Sunny Side Up
https://www.flickr.com/photos/starrynowhere/18574188695/
Here Comes the Sun
https://www.flickr.com/photos/georgieukcd/18522726131/
I like this pic, perfect light and pose!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43530155%40N07/18597278822/
Pitstone Mill and the Natural History Museum
https://www.flickr.com/photos/81712511%40N04/11905195336/
Playing Pretend - 2
https://www.flickr.com/photos/agentdrow/18604534539/
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
A beautiful day today, sunny and warm. Not much to report this week. No museum visits, instead I decided to get my hair cut. It’s been three months and despite my widening part it was getting a little shaggy on the sides. I was considering trying out a local barber in my town since my current barber is in New York City and I just thought that it might be less expensive and more convenient to have it done locally. On Sunday mornings I go for a long walk since I basically spend the rest of the day sitting in my chair and along the route I pass a barber shop. Last week I made a note of their name, their hours and where they are located. Last night I was going to call them and realized I didn’t have their phone number. I have local phone books although I’m thinking I’m probably the only person left who actually goes to a printed telephone book to look things up but I was dismayed to discover that there was no listing. So I went to the web and Googled them and it took me a little while to find them because it turned out they have two locations. But I finally found their website and before I found the phone number I saw that they had photos of their technicians with clients. I was rather hoping that there was a lady barber as I had a lady barber many years ago who I really liked but she worked in a fancy establishment and it just became too expensive for me to keep going to her. But no lady barbers, just two young men and in every picture they had a clipper in their hands, not scissors. And the men they were working on were getting buzz cuts, flat tops and fades. None of these styles are anything I want for myself and while I probably could have gotten a “normal” haircut from them I decided it wasn’t worth it so I went back to my man Valentino at the Astor Place Barber Shop in Manhattan. And, as always, he did a very nice job.
Next week I expect to be taking two friends on a museum visit so it will be another short Flickr.
And speaking of Flickr, let’s see what we found this week.
Andy G.
Boys Will Be Girls
https://www.flickr.com/photos/128491592%40N08/19183902794/
I would have liked to link to the actual article which appeared in the UK Sunday Times but it's behind an impenetrable pay wall and I don't have access to it.
SummerHat2
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129491964%40N03/18658281829/
; )
https://www.flickr.com/photos/meagancrickett/18620945779/
Amanda Standing in Striped Top & Blue Shorts
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133310672%40N07/18982972461/
Just smile, BITCH! lol
https://www.flickr.com/photos/natalia_femina/18627651250/
Shelley %40 BNO Pinks 4
https://www.flickr.com/photos/shelleyjayne/18149481853/
P1090907_M
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43530155%40N07/17839924344/
Hi, Spring weather＿♥
https://www.flickr.com/photos/saki_75153/17661687636/
P1080271
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mumu_js/15719023409/
2007_china_dress_2555
https://www.flickr.com/photos/61083860%40N00/16753025427/
PicsArt_1434720804065
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83936540%40N05/18932311826/
Trivia, Strangers, and Friends
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14858522%40N00/18753902389/
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
It looks to be a beautiful day and I'm glad the weather is cooperating as I will be taking two friends out for a day of great art, dinner and my devil's food cake for dessert. If we can avoid the late afternoon thunderstorms I expect it will be perfect. As promised last week, this is a short Flickr so let me wish everyone well and say I hope your weekend is as pleasant as I expect mine to be.
Andy G.
Panto
https://www.flickr.com/photos/trixydeans/18759304799/
Pinked Out
https://www.flickr.com/photos/briannagrant/19083498131/
MISAKKY's Early Summer Style 004
https://www.flickr.com/photos/misakky/18358401224/
the future blackmail pics just keep on coming
https://www.flickr.com/photos/82184952@N03/18920404112/
Peachy Life (16)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/126461197@N06/19034028260/
Peace and love
https://www.flickr.com/photos/miaritchie/15023419713/
IMG_3244 (2)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/67222625@N03/18518105713/
Cutie
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jennaa224/9220019406/
15
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bellp/16331619958/
ALICE SISSY SOUBRETTE
https://www.flickr.com/photos/75445494@N03/15382493136/
IMG_1841
https://www.flickr.com/photos/asiandesert/19251956471/
PANOPTIKON's "DISCO VS RETRO at the Globe
https://www.flickr.com/photos/liachendfw/17008714180/
vibes
https://www.flickr.com/photos/128199758@N02/16807006285/
2014-05-09-23-39-03_deco
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54893641@N05/14142445556/
Beach Road, Pattaya
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mlapalme/2900075659/
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
I really had a splendid time with my two friends last Saturday although it was a remarkably hot day. The heat doesn’t really bother me but I was concerned about my guests. They are both fit and enjoy walking but they don’t take the long walks I do on a regular basis and the sun beating down sometimes slowed them a little but they are both troupers and kept up with me and never wavered although I gave them several opportunities to call it a day. They arrived at my house at 11AM and we headed into Manhattan for a day of museums. Our first stop was the UN, a place I had never visited before. There is a Norman Rockwell exhibit being held there currently and when I saw the note about it I knew I wanted to see it. I went to the website and it gave details but it didn’t actually give an address for where it was being held. So I wrote to them and got a nice note back saying that the UN goes from 42nd St to 48th St. but the visitor’s entrance is on First Avenue and 46th Street. We got there and I asked the guard about the Rockwell exhibit and he just told me to stand off to the side and wait. So we waited, not really sure if we were in the right place or not. But after a little while they let us in and it was just like going through airport security. The next guard worked very slowly and he had no information about the exhibit either telling me they would know inside. He took my picture, scanned my photo id and I guess I am now in the UN database and better watch my step. Then we were sent to the scanner and had to empty our pockets and take off our belts although they did allow me to keep my shoes on. I divested myself of everything and walked through the scanner and it beeped so I turned around but the guard just waved me through. I guess I didn’t look too threatening. The final guard did know about the exhibit and he told me it was right inside. So we went in and found it. It was very pleasant, it had original drawings by Rockwell, as well as a charcoal study for We The Peoples, a mutli-racial composition of men and women and children, as well as the finished oil painting. He spent two months traveling around the world for the Peace Corps and he made lots of sketches of people, and himself, in many countries. We also walked around the building and got to look down into the General Assembly which was interesting even though it was empty. We all enjoyed ourselves.
This is a link to the UN site describing the exhibit. http://www.nrm.org/digital/un/
From there we walked up to the Frick Museum and I gave them the full tour. We sat and watched the short video about Mr. Frick and the museum, something I had seen bits of previously but never actually sat through the entire thing. It was very interesting, going into Mr. Frick’s background which was in steel and portrayed some of the less favorable things he was involved in. Like most of the robber barons of the late 19th early 20th Century he was not a very nice man. But it explained something I had never known. Mr. Frick has a garden court in the middle of the museum with a pond and fountain, not to mention two little frogs which spew a stream of water. I commented that it was a rather odd thing to have in one’s house. But the video explained that where the garden court is, along with the Oval room and other galleries, was once a driveway, or carriageway as it was known back then, that ran a full block from 70th ST to 71st ST. It was the idea of John Russell Pope, Mr. Frick’s architect, to close both ends of the driveway and install the garden and the galleries. It’s a brilliant piece of architectural planning.
Our final destination was the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I took them first to the Lehman Wing to see the Van Gogh Irises and Roses and I also wanted to show them Mr. Lehman’s Ingres since I had pointed out how beautiful Mr. Frick’s was. Then we walked through the Sargent exhibition which I just can’t get enough of, this was the third time for me, and finally I showed them some of the Costume Institute’s Chinese exhibit. It was quite a day. When we left we headed downtown to a diner on Ninth Avenue, then back to New Jersey for the devil’s food cake I had baked. Can’t remember enjoying myself so much. I love the museums and enjoy going by myself but it’s always a treat to have company.
Today was a beautiful day as well, not nearly as warm and humid and as I’ve been doing when there’s nothing else to attend I went back to the Met. I attended a recently opened exhibit in the drawing corridor, About Face - Human Expression on Paper. This turned out to be mostly photographs and it was a rather odd exhibit to say the least. The photographs are from an experiment a 19th Century French neurologist performed in which he used electrical impulses on men and women to simulate emotions on the human face that were then captured in the photographs. It’s very clinical and to me, rather off-putting. The drawings, of which there really weren’t that many, were much more enjoyable. There were three Goya etchings, 2 from the Los Caprichos, a series of 80 which show Goya's condemnation of the universal follies and foolishness in the Spanish society in which he lived and one from Disasters of War, a similar statement about war and the setbacks to liberal society upon the restoration of the Bourbon Monarchy. Thank you Wikipedia. There are also a number of colorful, cartoon caricatures by Thomas Rowlandson, an 18th Century artist, that will bring a smile. So, not to damn this with faint praise but I will just say it was an interesting show. Not one I will visit again but pleasant enough for a Saturday morning.
This is a press release from the Met announcing the exhibit. http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/press-room/exhibitions/2015/about-face
This is a link to the Met website showing all the objects in the exhibit. http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/objects?exhibitionId=%7b3F7DA558-1D1A-4EBB-9B9F-DDC01AA68588%7d&rpp=60&pg=1
No art next week as I have guests coming to visit. This will just be a chance for old friends to catch up as we will spend the afternoon chatting and then they will take me out for dinner. I have traditionally made dinner but they wanted to treat me and I accepted. They told me not to bake either as it’s so warm but nevertheless I will bake them an apple cake which I made with great success in the past. I had to buy eggs this morning for said apple cake. The cost was $3.79 for a dozen large Shop-Rite eggs which I thought rather dear. Coincidentally, when I read the paper afterwards it said that bakers were having to deal with the cost of eggs skyrocketing. This is a quote from the newspaper, “The wholesale price for a carton of a dozen eggs has more than doubled over the last month, as deadly Avian flu spread through the Midwest, leading to the loss of tens of millions of egg-laying hens.” Perhaps I should get a chicken. Although I’d probably have to take out a loan to afford one now.
Well friends, I guess it’s time to visit the Flickrs now.
Andy G.
Nungning Looking very Good in her Gown
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8676322@N06/527576616/
Kellie
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sexykellie/18878515621/
BlkMini5
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tawnibonds/18706331354/
bee1152
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bee-ceedee/19183692449/
DSC00455
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130960247@N03/19395043092/
Natalie - Mika - Debbie - Louann
https://www.flickr.com/photos/louanncd/2119960706/
Hello huns xx
https://www.flickr.com/photos/20733644@N00/18763698493/
No more a little galAm Now a lady
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jennytheodor/18461795269/
fih1422467302571
https://www.flickr.com/photos/crossynupur/16735268381/
P1010097
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118247488@N08/18494036544/
Wanna Come out and play?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95644297@N07/13133126904/
IMG_0988
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kimcad2001/19601027655/
sissy_progress2
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sissy_qualia/19403605230/
-
Thank you again for the wonderful trip to the U.N. and the galleries afterwards. As usual I enjoyed following your Saturday adventures, your comments and seeing things I would not normally get to visit. I also really enjoy the pics you find and post for us to enjoy. I may sound like a broken record but it is one thing I look forward to seeing on Saturday evening as well as any other posts here that take away the boredom.
The last time I was in New York it was a sort of business trip with my two partners and their wives and I never really got to do the things I wanted to do. We had tickets to a Broadway play so we had to schedule our day around making the performance on time and fitting in shopping for the wives as well as lunch at the Plaza and a carriage ride in Central Park before the weekend was over. I have not had time to plan another visit since then. Keep up the great work, we love you for it.
-
Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
Let me open by saying that I don’t own a cell phone. I have no one that I need to call nor anyone who needs to call me on an immediate basis. And it irks me that whether I am getting on the elevator or walking down the street, everyone is staring at the device in their hand. Not to mention the people who constantly almost run me down while I’m crossing the street as they drive and have the cell phone in their ear whether it’s against the law or not. So at the end of this story I don’t need to have people tell me to get a cell phone as I understand that it’s a good thing to have in an emergency. I’m just not ready to give in yet.
Wednesday afternoon I came home from my office saw that the power had gone out for a time. I reset my clocks and did my exercises and when I came down and turned on my computer I had no Internet. Then I picked up my phone to call Verizon and I had no phone. Or TV, a perfect trifecta. And, as I mentioned above, no cell phone. Initially I was able to get the phone working on the battery backup and Verizon told me that they couldn’t reboot my box as it was running on the battery. I needed to unplug the box and take it off battery power before they could reboot it. That didn’t seem to be possible as the line cord appeared to go into the ceiling with the wires that attach to the pole outside. In the middle of our discussion the phone died. I needed to call them back and wondered how I was going to do that. I tried both my neighbors and they were both away so I went to the 7-11 on the corner and asked if I could use their phone. They said yes but I wasn’t able to access the keypad and had to go through Verizon’s automatic system until I could raise an agent. The clerk at the store wasn’t happy that it wasn’t a quick call and kept prompting me to disconnect. This agent also couldn’t reboot it and gave me another method of rebooting the box which didn't work. So I was stuck. The next morning I spoke with them again and arranged a visit although I was told that if it turned out that the box wasn’t getting power I should be prepared to pay an exorbitant charge. They agreed to come Friday with the next available appointment the following Tuesday. The initial window they gave me was 8AM and 8PM which I told them was ridiculous. It was very early in the morning so I had to wait for the actual scheduling office to open but they did call me back and narrowed it down to 1-5 PM.
When I got home on Thursday I went back into the basement to see about this plug. I searched the area by the box again and this time I noticed there was an extension cord to which the box was plugged in. The wires were bundled together and did go through the ceiling but the power cord snaked off, it was laid flat around my circuit breaker panel and came down at the bottom where I finally saw it. I unplugged it, waited and plugged it back in. Nothing happened. So I put on my shoes and went next door again and this time my neighbor was home and she graciously invited me in and allowed me to use her phone. I called Verizon and explained what I had done and asked them to reboot the system. This time the agent asked if there were any lights on the box and I said no. He told me that he couldn’t reboot it, it was dead. Ah!
So on Friday morning I called back to make sure that my appointment was in place and to remind them again that once I left my office there was absolutely no way to contact me. And I asked not receive any more automated messages which may jeopardize my appointment if I wasn’t there to answer them. When I asked about the appointment I was told that the window now showed between 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM. I asked what happened to the 1-5PM window and I was told that there was always an additional two hours tagged on to the latter time, so my window was actually 1-7PM. Oh boy. Before I left my office I checked the Verizon website and for my ticket number it said the technician would be there before 9PM. Then I checked my email and there was an email from Verizon saying the technician would be there between 3:45PM and 4:45 PM. Well, clearly my window was very broad and unspecific. And they did send an automated message which was I able to respond to before I left. And the technician did call my office but my co-worker told him I was definitely home and waiting for him. Thank you.
A little before 4PM he showed up and replaced the box and put in a different battery back-up. The older boxes, of which mine was one, won’t work if the battery dies, even if there is power. The new ones, like the one he installed, will continue to work even if the battery goes bad. So once he finished I was back in the 21st Century. Of the three components, I didn’t really miss the phone, I generally only use the phone on weekends to call my friends and my friends know not to call me during the week. I didn’t really miss the TV, I only turn it on in the morning to see if rain is in the forecast. But I confess I missed the Internet as first of all I couldn’t check Betty’s to see what my board cohorts were up to and I also couldn’t take care of my business duties.
And eventually I will buy myself a simple Trac phone for emergencies, two of my friends own them and they’re quite satisfied with them. But not yet, emotion overrules reason.
Anyway, it’s another beautiful, albeit rather warm day and I visited the Metropolitan Museum this morning but didn’t see anything I haven’t already discussed. Back to the George Caleb Bingham exhibit and the reinstallation of the Thomas Hart Benton ten mural installation, America Today. While I was in the American wing I wandered through some period rooms and saw some rather nice Joshua Reynolds portraits, and surprisingly the Linsky pavilion was open again and the Benton is now installed in the Modern wing so I got to say hello to the Hopper’s and the Norman Rockwell. It was all very pleasant.
But now, on with the Flickrs.
Andy G.
Susie246
https://www.flickr.com/photos/24899087%40N05/15512386272/
PBD 062
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tkr022/19357093266/
IMG_1225
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chantal_fouet/19547499311/
Anthrocon- Saturday, 11 July 2015
https://www.flickr.com/photos/speralyoness/19679726441/
Amanda Standing by Door in Striped Dress & Heels
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133310672%40N07/19673328911/
Miss July ...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22263446%40N05/19677665305/
IMG_8064
https://www.flickr.com/photos/100379735%40N06/19654383435/
yellow
https://www.flickr.com/photos/52912530%40N04/19535843695/
mi frilly skirt
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jennytheodor/19012420118/
Pretty Sissy Boy
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lauracdgirl/18342592899/
Soft Bed Pink Lady
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22263446%40N05/19459705358/
Denise Leone
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124412630%40N03/19019858653/
DSCN1088a
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95163690%40N07/19371640699/
-
Yeah. I know. I avoided getting a cell phone too. I just couldn't see the point. I was forced to get a cell phone by my employer, back in the days they & the service was much more expensive. But they wouldn't actually pay for the phone & service. They got tired of getting my answering machine. They didn't understand that the machine was on not only when I was not home, but if I was too busy to drop everything, sleeping, or simply didn't want to get calls from work 24/7.
Because the place I worked at, at the time was about 1/2 a city block long & wide, 3 stories high (with my office/workshop in the basement), & had a patio with an outdoor movie theater half the size of a football field, they had a hard time contacting me at work.
When I was on duty, it may be difficult to find me, or even if they knew where I was, it might be 1/2 a block away on another floor. Housing restaurants, nightclubs, & a movie theater, you couldn't just loudly page me through the PA, or use noisy 2-way radios without disturbing customers. A pager wouldn't work because sometimes 2-way conversations was necessary. I took care of all sorts of stuff there.
Over the years, it finally got to be I didn't need a mobile phone much anymore & gave it up again. But by the time I was getting ready to move soon, I discovered a mobile phone, & service, was cheaper than land line phone service. Plus I got unlimited international calling, texting, free answering service, & free facebook & twitter feeds. For the business I was in, texting was practically necessary now. My second mobile phone also took pictures, video, & was my portable music/video player.
Back then they were nice & small too, at about half the size of a wallet. My current phone is a little bigger with a 4" long screen but still easily fits in my pocket, & is smaller than a wallet. With good reading glasses I can read fine print on it. Don't need glasses at all for regular texting. It has a slide-out mini keyboard, so I get almost all laptop functions, without having to do crazy stuff on a tap screen. But to just text or post here with the phone, I tap the screen like everyone else. You get used to it remarkably fast, that's why you see so many tapping everywhere.
It sure makes things a lot quieter tapping around rather than having to put up with being surrounded by people talking way to loudly on their phone. They're called cell phone big-shots. Back in the day when they cost more, people talked loudly on them to clearly show off they had one.
Now that you can get one & the service cheap, the cell phone big-shots had to buy huge bright screens, to show off how important they are. And if it has an Apple logo on it, they expect you to think they're royalty.
People used to lean over my shoulder & ask why don't I buy a new phone. Why? Mine does everything theirs does & more - it still looks brand new too. I have a laptop if I need a bigger screen, can add more memory if I want it, & my phone has a real neat slide-out keyboard that I really love. The keyboard lights up too.
This is only my third mobile phone ever. I got my first one in 1997 for work, that one didn't get wifi or the internet. It ended its life rather abruptly, when after I got about the 30th call from work on my day off, I smashed the expensive piece of hardware to bits against a brick wall, & vowed never to get another cell phone again.
I get a phone call only about once or twice a month & have to call somebody every couple of months. Nobody calls anymore, they just text, Facebook, or tweet. Out of the few surviving family & friends I have, most of the female ones only use Facebook to contact or update people on stuff, or their private messaging system to contact people. So to keep up with most family & friends stuff, I have to be on Facebook, or at a family conversation, I won't know half of what they're talking about.
I found out my brother (I had several brothers) had cancer last year through my sister's Facebook messaging. Nobody bothered to call or e-mail anyone to let us know about it.
But I don't want to keep logging onto FB all day. So I have all Facebook stuff from family & the closest friends forwarded to my phone. With FB messages, ordinary texting messages, I get 25-50 text a day on the phone.
Of course, I send & recieve lots of e-mail too, & get private messages here at Betty's. I wish people would post more here rather than just gabbing away on our private messaging system all the time. It's all encrypted so I can't see what people are talking about or who they are, but I do get to see it's constantly being used. Only members can use it, but it wasn't intended to be a substitute for chatting at the board & replace it. Maybe I should just disable the private messaging here, but I don't have the heart because it's used so much & popular.
Last night we had a severe lightning storm. My lights got very dim for a few seconds a couple times. Not to risk damage to my modem or computers, I disconnected the internet, & outside line until the storm blew over.
I turned on my battery operated VHF-UHF scanner to listen to police, other emergency service's radio calls. I grab my phone to view the latest animated weather radar map, read the latest local emergency news feeds, & read about how everybody else was enduring the storm on Facebook. I posted on FB with my phone that I will be offline the rest of the night but am OK.
Before I got laid off, I would check Betty's on the phone during a long work day or night. I wouldn't be writing or installing software with it, but could do most moderator functions, & post with it. It works just like a tiny laptop. They had wifi, so I didn't need any expensive data plan. Most mobile phones, even without a carrier, or data plan, even with the SIMs chip removed, will still run as a tablet anywhere there's wifi.
It also doubles as a pocket media player. Watch a favorite comedy video while waiting in line, or listen to my favorite tunes. Can't carry a camera everywhere, but if I see something interesting I can take a picture, or make a video of it with the phone. It has a flash, so I can take night shots too. I got my Samsung phone for $45 (with a mail-in rebate), over 5 years ago. My current avatar was taken with my phone. I can also record sound, dictation or music with it. Near wifi, or with a data plan, even watch you-tube.
You can check your e-mail too, but I check that twice a day on my computers. It also has a light so doubles as a flashlight in the dark. Some of them even come with an FM radio tuner.
A few days after I moved to my place, Verizon went on strike. It would take almost 2 months for me to get the internet on. I got on the web with a temporary data plan on the phone tethered to my computer, & wifi at work.
I'm surprised you got anybody there at all, it could have been worse. They're on strike again.
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2015/08/13/verizon-workers-pickett-wilmington-offices/31614733/
For about $50-$60 T-mobile will sell you a nice Samsung smart phone, with a 1 year contract, & $34/mo. for their most basic service. But I had to give up the service due to budget cuts. I use it through some hack tricks or through wifi. I could pick up anybody's wifi within a block of me, & there's always a few with only simple wifi passwords that can be easily cracked.
I got wifi at home because somebody sent me a wifi router to review for free that I get to keep, & it works great. So as long as I'm within a block of my house, I use my phone through my own wifi.
A company sends me 1-3 items a month or 2 to review. I don't get paid anything, but get to keep the stuff. The reviews have to be 200 words long, & include pictures or a video. Sometimes it's only boxes of cereal, candy, soap, underwear, & T-shirts. But once in a while it's really cool stuff like a $159 wifi router, or $200 in free bedding, blankets, & pillows. Hey, to get free stuff, even if it's just cereal or panties, I'll write an honest review.
-
Hi Betty,
I was lucky they came the following day, as I mentioned in my post the next appointment was 4 days later. Verizon, at least in our area, isn't on strike yet, they're working without a contract. But I won't be surprised if they go on strike. I had them over to my house a few years ago and the young guy who came told me that Verizon was letting people go and not replacing them. Hence the guys in the field were working longer days and appointments were being scheduled further and further out. My technician yesterday said he regularly went home late. I'm also not thrilled to have all my services in one bundle since, as just happened, it takes me completely off the grid. But the savings are too great to start splitting it up. Years ago the one thing you could rely on was the phone, very seldom lost phone service.
As I said to a friend, technology is great, except when it isn't.
Andy G.
-
If you don't get a mobile phone, you may consider adding a simple low-tech phone to your existing phone line. The kind where it's not cordless & doesn't have a built in answering machine. Those kind don't need house power or batteries, they run fine right off the phone line. They will not interfere with the normal function of your cordless phone or answering machine.
You don't need to even keep it plugged in all the time. Keep in in a drawer, to just plug it into you're phone jack when you need it.
During most power failures people are amazed to find their phone line still works. Phone lines get their electricity fed to them from the phone company. When they have a power failure they have battery & generator backup. Because phones use so little power, most phone companies can keep their phone lines active for months on back-up power.
-
By a very far margin internationally, people who visit Betty's on their phone, visit on a Samsung phone more than any other phone - specifically, the Samsung Galaxy, their most popular model. Basically it's a small android tablet that also makes phone calls & texts.
During business & school hours we get many more visitors on phones to Betty's than we do from tablets, PCs, & laptops. In evenings we get many more people on PCs & laptops running Windows 7 than anything else. Google chrome is currently the most popular browser used here, but that's a little off because Chrome is available on android phones & tablets too. If you subtract chrome users that might be on a portable device, it's almost tied with Firefox for computer usage. But that's also off because Pale Moon, the preferred more efficient derivative of Firefox shows as being a Firefox browser if used in Firefox compatibility mode - a necessary mode for some sites that refuse to recognize Pale Moon as a separate browser.
So when you read tech reports on the most used stuff, browsers, OS, & stuff, you have to know the technology enough to read between the lines.
One could conclude, when someone is away from home, they'll visit Betty's on a small phone because they can visit anytime, where it's hard for others to see their tiny screen & what they're reading, where when they're at home or in their room, they prefer visiting Betty's on their bigger screen computer or tablet.
-
Hey Betty, I am still using a Samsung Flip phone to make my wireless calls. It does take pictures but not great ones and I may have used it for that purpose only once or twice in fact to take photo's of a collision my son was involved in. The girl tried to say it was his fault until I showed her the photo's I took and reminded her that I had evidence and would go to court if needs be. She backed off and admitted guilt as she was not paying attention and even told the cop she was texting at the time. I don't need a fancy phone as I only make a few calls. If I get a new phone I will give up my hard wire home phone to cut my bills a little.
-
Back to the original theme/topic
Hey Andy - we are fast into SUMMER so isn't it time to change the:
"Re: Well, I guess it’s safe to start the Spring Flickr now."
To a SUMMER mode !
Thanks for the treasure trove of pictures and I hope others have noted using the
arrows at the right and left edge of the displayed picture to see more.
-
The plain phone running off the line battery is something that is going away. Verizon is trying to switch people to fiber optic and a unit in the home that runs off house power with a 1 hour battery backup. Even for just plain telephone service. They don't want to maintain the copper lines.
I was having trouble in my line with static every time it rained. They didn't want to fix the copper line, they only wanted to replace it with fiber. I kept telling them I didn't want the fiber. Finally I ported my number to another carrier and got a "mobile home" phone, which is wireless phone in a base station that runs off my house power, has a phone jack for the phone, and the calls go over the mobile network. The advantage of this is that I can now take my home phone number with me, even to another state.
-
Hi Babylock,
I was thinking the same thing actually but usually I let the thread run until it get's higher in views. I went too far once and Betty locked it. But I'll consider changing the subject to a more timely one. Glad you enjoy the pictures, hope the blather isn't too boring.
Andy G.
-
Hi alison,
I've been reading in the papers as well about Verizon wanting to do away with the copper lines which makes me laugh as my office is in Manhattan and we would love to get FIOS but they're still not offering it in our area. Periodically we get notices that it's available but we call up and it turns out not to be the case.
Never been fond of the phone company myself since the days of Ma Bell. For those who remember the original version of the movie "Fun with Dick and Jane" which starred George Segal and Jane Fonda, there's a scene where they enter a phone store, the kind where people used to go to pay their bills. There's a line of people waiting and they come in and announce that it's a holdup and ask the agent behind the counter to give them the money. As they leave with the money everyone in line applauds. The phone company has never had a very good reputation.
Andy G.
-
Copper phone lines (or more likely copper clad aluminum these days) are still dominant everywhere, although phased out in some areas. Where it's not around, all the more reason to have a smart phone in an emergency situation. Basic mobile phone service is usually cheaper than line phone service for basic calling, unlimited international long distance, texting, & usually has Facebook & Twitter messaging at no additional charge.
In an emergency, even if the local cell tower power goes out (but some of them have generator back-up too), there's a good chance you may be able to hit another tower a dozen miles away - esp. if you go out in an open space, or try from a window of an upper floor of a building, or from a hill to increase your range. Most smart phones can get wifi & the internet too, if you don't want to pay extra for a data plan. If the power & tower is out, if you can get within a block from an active wifi spot, you can still get a message out, read about the emergency to know what to do or where to go.
It's essential to get a Facebook account. Many of your friends & family have an account, I find women, young people, mac fanboys, & self employed use it the most. If you can't get a call or text out through the tower, you can message somebody through their Facebook or have them relay your message to somebody not on Facebook if you can find wifi somewhere. People don't check their email frequently or only every few days, so email won't work for emergencies. People check their FB account often, or have FB messages sent to their phone in real time.
In an emergency you can get your communications out near any wifi, through Facebook messaging & texting.
A portable CB radio "walkie talkie" is handy for emergencies too. All state, county, provincial, & some local local police monitor emergency CB channel 9 for emegencies in the USA & Canada. You don't need a license to use one. A CB portable is a lot bulkier than a phone though, using 8-12 AA batteries to have enough power to transmit long at 3-5 watts. With their short antennas they only have a range across half the city, but in an open area, on a upper floor, or on a hill that range can be more. More likely then not, there will be an emergency official monitoring channel 9 within your range.
In an emergency, officials monitoring channel 9 will relay a message to who you need to get it to for you.
And the 8-12 AA batteries in it can serve as spares to use in your emergency LED lights, & a nice portable AM-FM radio. You need a durable sensitive AM radio for emergencies to tune in the news, emergency reports, storm updates, find out what's going on, & what to do. For around $10 you can get a nice sensitive AM-FM sony pocket radio that will run about 60 hours on a pair of AA batteries. Sitting in the dark with no power, perhaps for days, the radio, news, & music can save your sanity. It will bring a sense of normalcy or comfort to a dire or panicked situation. At night AM radio can pull in stations from the entire continent, so you'll have plenty to listen to.
Avoid AAA or button battery powered lights & radios. They don't have enough energy to last the long term. An AA battery has 3 times the power than an AAA battery. For survival you don't want super tiny& miniature, you want long lasting & durable.
However, I have a couple solid all metal keychain LED lights powered by a single AAA cell. They'll run up to 10 hours on a singe cell. Not very bright but pretty good, & after 6 hours they start to get dimmer. I have a couple plastic LED lights that dimmed down to their lowest setting will run 96 hours on a single AAA cell. I also have a couple AA versions of it too. 156 hours of light on it's lowest setting on a single AA cell. The lowest setting is pretty dim, but makes a nice nightlight during a power failure.
There's also my modified Ray-O-Vac LED lantern which will light up an entire room very bright for 150 hours. It runs on 4-D cells. "D" cells have 4 times the power an AA cell has.
If you have an old flashlight with an old incandescent bulb in it, throw it out or replace the bulb with an LED direct replacement. LEDs run 4-20 times longer on the same batteries, & are more reliable. Everybody uses LED flashlights & lanterns for 15 years now. The newer modern ones are very bright for the power they consume, & won't burn out when dropped.
-
Hey Betty, I just bought a wonderful LED Solar floodlight for my back patio. It has 80 bright white LED light chips and it is great. It can be set to come at dusk and off at dawn or it can be motion activated with an adjustment for the duration of ON time. I have replaced most of the bulbs in my house lights with LED's and got most of them at Lowes on sale and I have noticed a change in my hydro bill so they will pay for themselves soon enough. There was also a promo from our government with coupons for $5 off each bulb I bought so it made sense to change them.
-
In my area, Verizon is trying to switch everyone to fiber optic. When I got their FiOS internet service I didn't think to retain copper phone service. However they provide a battery backup for their FiOS connection that is supposed to be good for about 24 hours and I've never [yet] had to test it for that long. I just got notice that mine is one of the areas where Verizon is selling their non-wireless services. GTE customer service was terrible; Verizon was a big step up. I can only that hope the new carrier won't be another GTE.