June 23, 2005

"Enjoying A Sense of Perspective"
5:53am

I have many more pictures from NYC, even of just the Metropolitan Museum itself. Today I will share these two for the sense of perspective they give. I saw the Greek and Roman things down below as I made my way to the 19th century European paintings:

Julia would have loved to see these items closeup.

So would have I, but I only had so much time and energy. I also spent some time sitting and enjoying the art as did these people resting their feet:

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Here is one of the lovely pictures I enjoyed, of Tahitian ladies enjoying their relaxation in the shade:

The Siesta, ca. 1892–94
Paul Gauguin (French, 1848–1903)
Oil on canvas; 35 x 45 3/4 in. (88.9 x 116.2 cm)

June 25, 2005

"A Bit of Understanding"
9:34pm

A strange smoky smell permeates the house. I hate it in summer when the windows can't be opened. In the other three seasons, at least part of the day, we can have the windows open. However, any griping I do must be balanced with remembering that we do get three seasons in which at least part of the day windows can be opened.

This week's Friday Illustration challenge is "Heroes". I made a collage of the various LOTR characters. The challenge was to make the various drawings, all done with a different style, hold together visually. I think I did it. I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

While checking the 'tomatometer' for the current movies, I learned of one intriguing movie, March of the Penguins, which got 95% on the tomatometer, but will it show in Yuma? One reviewer said, "This documentary is every bit as beautiful as Winged Migration only with more emotion as you watch the survival of the fittest and cutest..." WINGED MIGRATION is awesome. I'm glad to own it. I suspect the only way to see the penguin show will be to order it via Amazon.

Meanwhile, we did take advantage of the movies which DO come to Yuma. Bewitched was cute and charming. Okay, Will Ferrell was a bit of a clumsy oaf, but Nicole Kidman really possessed a true sweetness. She did, as one reviewer noted, have a distinct aura of Marilyn Monroe's breathy way of talking, but it didn't distract. I have more respect for Ms. Kidman all the time. I've seen her lately in Stepford Wives, The Intrepreter, The Hours, Birthday Girl... yes, she plays her roles well. And she managed for the short while she was with Tom Cruise to not lose her mind and take his stupid... But I will spare you my rant on that. I assure you it would be long and loud, well as 'loud' as print can get.

I will segue into the following quote, which bears some relevance:

"When there is knowledge without understanding, dogma is, of course, the end result." (page 105 of the Speeth book about Gurdjieff). Too often, there can be no understanding, for the 'knowledge' isn't really knowledge, but sheer utter stupidity...

Oh, yes, I said I wasn't going to rant...

Possibly now is a good time to share more pictures.

Hyacinthe-Eugène Meunier (1841–1906), Called Eugène Murer, 1877
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841–1919)
Oil on canvas; 18 1/2 x 15 1/2 in. (47 x 39.4 cm)

I love the dreamy look in his eyes.

Madame Manet (Suzanne Leenhoff, 1830–1906) at Bellevue, 1880
Édouard Manet (French, 1832–1883)
Oil on canvas; 31 3/4 x 23 3/4 in. (80.6 x 60.3 cm)

She looks as though she could be parked on one of those benches along side Central Park. I enjoyed sitting on one of those benches while in New York.

Brooklyn Bridge

I will end with another quote from the Speeth book:

"...Progress must be based on an understanding that is so personal that it cannot be forgotten or denied. Al-Ghazali learned this the hard way when a brigand who stole everything from him, including his cherished lecture notes, declared, "Knowledge that can be stolen is not worth having."(page 93)

I understand, for it's not really YOURS until it's in your head, fully intregrated and thoroughly understood. It takes a while sometimes to achieve that, that and self reliance.

I like these reassuring words of Goethe:

As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.