The Clark Institute is, as the expression goes, Worth the Trip. The “Arrangement in Grey & Black” was certainly more interesting in the original (and I’m not likely to be visiting Paris in the near future), but the Renoirs in the main gallery were infinitely more charming. (His talent for capturing light just can’t be reproduced… and it’s obvious he liked women, which is rarer than one would think.) Also, the grounds are gorgeous, even though the leaves haven’t started turning yet.
As a programming note, my laptop accesses Balloon Juice just fine here, and the hotel’s insecure wi-fi led Avast to (successfully) implore us to sign up for a personal VPN, so it might even work back on home turf, cross fingers. I didn’t bring my keyboard, and the wi-fi is as sluggish as it’s apparently insecure, so I can’t promise you much style for the next couple of days regardless…
redshirt
I never doubted you AL!
kdaug
Well, seeing as how post-cake and whatnot, reckon I’d throw this earworm out there.
(No Boehner. Too easy.)
ETA: But one for the big AL. Natch.
Xenos
What did you think about the van Gogh? It was not the widest collection but was decently curated.
The Renoirs there are like old friends I have visited frequently for 40 years. I guess because they are.
Steeplejack (phone)
Music thread?! Front-pager, please. Did you check out what went down here today?
My brain is still periodically coughing up precipitation songs. Mortified that I—and everyone else, in my defense—overlooked Johnny Rivers’s “Summer Rain.” Way bigger than many of the songs I did remember.
kdaug
@Steeplejack (phone):Soaking in it.
Amir Khalid
It’s raining right now. So afterwards, there will be a brief respite from the Haze — for at least the rest of Sunday. Yesterday it was so bad, you couldn’t see the Twin Towers of Petronas from a kilometer away.
Steeplejack (phone)
@kdaug:
That was posted in that thread.
Anne Laurie
@Xenos:
Missed that exhibit by two weekends, dammit.
I’d say I envy you the Renoirs, but I have the Harvard Museum and the MFA within an hour’s drive and we don’t get to either very often!
Steeplejack (phone)
@Amir Khalid:
Hope you get some relief.
Amir Khalid
Jon Bon Jovi, Chris Christie’s new favourite Jersey rocker, is currently touring Asia. (He played in KL just last week.) The BBC is reporting that Taiwanese fans have sent photos to the Chinese authorities of him performing before a backdrop featuring the Dalai Lama; they are apparently hoping to get his shows in China banned so he’ll have to play more shows in Taiwan.
Sneaky.
Mike J
@Steeplejack (phone): What went down here today?
I’ve had three earworms today. Love Rollercoaster this morning, various sea chanties this afternoon, and this evening I Don’t Want to Go to Chelsea. Instrumentally, only the drums have an interesting part. So many cool fills just sort of thrown in willy nilly while everyone else just sort of bobs along. It’s not like it’s every 4th bar or anything, just kinda whenever the drummer gets bored, and its not just throwing the same pattern in over and over. I’m not a drummer and I just love this song so much. Warning, the mix on every video I found online sucks. Or more accurately, just too compressed. Needs more space, which it seemed to have listening to my copy of the album at home.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Mike J:
There was a giant “songs about rain” thread that got nearly 300 comments and was the only thread posted for six hours.
Amir Khalid
@Mike J:
Why doesn’t Elvis C want to go to Chelsea? Karma has been biting them in the ass since Mourinho screwed over his first team’s doctor and physio, and they’re now hovering just above the relegation zone in the Prem. They’re an easy three points.
Major Major Major Major
Trying to decide how to dress like a slut while still protecting the new upper arm tattoo from the sun at Folsom Street Fair.
Might just wear full dress and walk around handcuffed? The mind boggles.
seaboogie
As much as I have loved many of the Impressionist painters, I kind of pooh-poohed Renoir, until I saw one of his more renowned paintings at the Met in NYC, and I just sat on a bench facing it and spent some time with it. And I was like “holy-wow – that is really something right there.”
As an art lover, seeing any painting or sculpture or installation is wonderful, and seeing the ones that are familar through media finally in person is a total revelation. Even at the Met, you can just walk right up to it – see the texture and the brushstrokes…pretty amazing stuff.
I was discussing pointillism with a friend the other day and described walking into the Art Institue of Chicago* and seeing Dimanche Apres Midi a L’isle de La Grande Jatte by Seurat as I walked in (it’s a really big painting), and then Hopper’s “Nighthawks” among so many other well-known images. It’s a real trip seeing the actual thing in person, when you know it so well otherwise.
*Funny thing – while visiting again with friends, we both took pictures of the wallpaper outside the bathrooms, because that was cool too.
Origuy
@seaboogie: I try to make it to the Art Institute whenever I’m in Chicago to see Le Grande Jatte.
I caught the J. M. W.Turner exhibit at the DeYoung before it left. It was of his later works, kind of pre-Impressionism.
Ruckus
@Amir Khalid:
40-50 yrs ago in LA we used to gauge how bad the smog level was by what we could we see from work. On a normal day you couldn’t see the mountains, about 20 miles away, on a bad day you couldn’t see the tall buildings in downtown, about 3 miles away. Maybe 2-3 days in summer you could see those mountains.
Now a kilometer away is damn close for not being able to see a building the size of those towers. Is it like this a lot? Most days?
Amir Khalid
@Ruckus:
No, it’s not like this most days. It’s only been this bad for the past month or so. Last week Singapore’s government issued a statement that basically said, “Fuck you, Indonesia,” because that’s where the fires are burning and where the smoke is coming from. The Indons have arrested some people, so I hear; but that’s not putting out the fires.
ruemara
@Major Major Major Major: Damn! That’s this weekend? Auditions are tomorrow and everything I will shoot will depend on the quality of the cast. But it was on my itinerary to go to Folsom this year. Damming.
seaboogie
@Origuy: I visited the De Young several years ago in the new space, and without the Asian art that had decamped to the Asian Art Museum, it really left me quite cold about the collection and the space – it felt kind of paltry. Except for the Oceanic exhibit of Indonesian art which was quite spectacular, but this was before the family dispute about the collection – not sure of what the status of that is.
Realizing that I need to get out to museums more.
A friend saw the Ai Weiwei exhibit at Alcatraz, and said it was an incredibly wonderful installation.
I hope that art doesn’t go all to hell like current politics and the monetization of everything…
BillinGlendaleCA
@Major Major Major Major: Have you considered sunscreen, maybe the type that lifeguards wear?
BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus: 25 years ago, we had some days so bad that we couldn’t see the ground from the 46th floor of our building.
We still have days where you can’t see DTLA, but that’s mainly due to the marine layer. When the kid and I went for a hike on Wednesday, we couldn’t see DTLA very well from the Verdugos.
Origuy
@seaboogie: I saw the Ai Weiwei exhibit; it was unique and powerful.
I am not a big fan of the permanent collection of the De Young; I like the one at the Legion of Honor better. I also went to the Scottish paintings exhibit earlier this year. The Hawaiian featherwork exhibit is impressive and will be there through February.
Warren Terra
Since this is an open thread: I just had a good giggle reading this Tumblr of “pointless letters” to the editors, published in British newspapers. Mostly just letting the idiocy (and not infrequently the right-wing idiocy) of the correspondents speak for itself.
NotMax
Went to the Neue Gallery on trip to NYC (free on first Friday of the month). Other than the one famous Klimt painting, not worthwhile.
Was more interested in checking out the architecture of the restored mansion where it resides, and was significantly unimpressed. The condition of the mahogany floors was reprehensible. Little of the rococo plasterwork remained, as well.
Major Major Major Major
@BillinGlendaleCA: too dehydrating. It’s still an open wound.
NotMax
@Major Major Major Major
Jockstrap and short-sleeve medical scrubs top, with stethoscope a-dangle.
Next question?
;)
Major Major Major Major
@NotMax: didn’t fix the part where I have a six day old tattoo on my arm.
Do have jockstrap/will travel, though.
NotMax
@Major Major Major Major
Long sleeve scrubs top, then.
Plus kinky boots.
Major Major Major Major
@NotMax: will alligator skin work?
Major Major Major Major
Have I mentioned how much I love this blog? Lol
NotMax
@Major Major Major Major
You betcha (*wink*).
Dr. Perverto. ;)
raven
wtf-k?
Tommy
Recently switched from Pandora to Spotify and have to admit pretty happy. I love me some goofd playlists. Geeking out on this one on Spotify called “Acoustic Mornings.” This song is in my head and won’t get out of it, and that isn’t a bad thing IMHO ….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u0JNlScNWs
Tommy
@Major Major Major Major: What tat did you get? Oh and I flipping love this blog as well!
Major Major Major Major
@Tommy: oh just the best piece of punctuation in the best font
http://imgur.com/ziun0MJ
Tommy
Had a cousin almost die this week. Well she is still in and out of a coma, but that is done by the docs and she seems to be doing better. Not seen her in about eight years. Last time she was sitting with me at a table at my brothers dinner party he had after he got married. He had got married a few weeks earlier in FL, we are from IL. Only a few of his best friends and family were there for the wedding. Nobody from that side of my family Laurie is from.
My last memory of her …..
As the first dishes came out of the kitchen I looked around and nobody in her family is eating. It wasn’t chicken.
I am like Laurie you don’t like mussels? She and her husband said they’d never had any. I gave them a little background on mussels and begged her to at least try one. Just one. She did and you could see this sparkle in her eyes. She had a second. A third. And more and more. I went to get the plates from her sister, brother, and parents and we just ate them all.
Her mother pulled me aside later and asked how I got her to try something new, she never tries anything new. I just said I asked politely. As I stare at the pic of her on the site her younger sister set-up to keep us up-to-date on her status that is all I can think of.
The joy in her eyes of trying something new for once and enjoying it …..
Tommy
@Major Major Major Major: Nice. Very nice!
Major Major Major Major
@Tommy: you couldn’t safely expect me to *not* get a Palatino interrobang tattoo, if you knew me :)
Tommy
@Major Major Major Major: Might not be what I’d get but jealous! I had my frats letters on my leg (seemed like a good idea at the time). About a decade got that covered up. For many years worked in “corporate” America where a large tattoo that you could see might not have been “cool.” I now work for myself and can do whatever the fuck I want (like shaving my head).
I’d like to get something but I just don’t know what I want :).
Baud
@Major Major Major Major:
When you said best font, I was expecting New Century’s Schoolbook. I am disappointed.
Major Major Major Major
@Baud: Zapf was a genius.
Tommy
@Baud: LOL. As somebody that does a fair amount of design work for a living had to let the “best font ever” pass because well design is subjective. Fonts at the top of the list of those elements.
OzarkHillbilly
I hope my wife can work on this machine today. I have been reduced to using internet exploder.
Major Major Major Major
@Tommy: fine, I have a soft spot for Palatino. Linux Libertine is pretty good too.
Tommy
Stupid question. Not been around much the last week or so, but yesterday and then today it seems the normal posts that are usually up are not up. Are the front pagers having problems? Just curious.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
My god, man. We’re not worth it. Get off the computer now.
Tommy
@Major Major Major Major: What you got is awesome. No doubt about that. But the rest of the font, not my cup of tea :).
Major Major Major Major
@Tommy: have you seen the documentary about Helvetica? You get one guess what it’s called.
Tommy
@Major Major Major Major: Just the trailer. My background is I was a “suit” at high-end ad agencies for almost 20 years. I recall going back to the creative department of said agencies and there would be entire bookshelves of fonts printed out in three-ring binders.
Now I do web sites for a living. I love fonts but keep it stupid simple. Readable. Easy to render. Fonts fascinate me, but my knowledge is lacking to say the least because I know how complex they are and how many are out there. The handful of times I’ve done print work and I go to a stock font site I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of all the options and not found my way out for hours and hours.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: You’re right, you’re not. But I haven’t finished with the Guardian yet so I’ll be around a little longer. Besides, baby girl has horse back riding lessons this morn so she can’t sleep in and I am on the hook for pancakes. I really hate putting a smile on her face.
Major Major Major Major
@Tommy: one time
I googled
How to edit a novel
And whatever the hell I found was “step one: hit control/command+A, and make everything Palatino.
There, doesn’t that feel better? Now onwards to editing.”
Guess it stuck with me. I love the typeface.
JPL
@OzarkHillbilly: Aah! That’s sweet.
My son has a birthday tomorrow, so we are celebrating today. Ford Fry, a local chef, opened a Mexican restaurant not far from me, so we are going there and then back to my house for cake.
Tommy
@Major Major Major Major: Clearly I am not trying to pick a fight because your tattoo is way cool. Palatino is maybe the best font that comes with Windows or most machines, but in the grand scheme of things that isn’t saying a lot.
If you were sitting next to me now with a cup of coffee and I fired up Adobe Illustrator and you could cycle through the thousand or so fonts I have you’d understand what I mean.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
Don’t fret. Things will get better soon.
Major Major Major Major
@Tommy: let’s not pretend I didn’t study design and come down on the utilitarian/open source side of things. I would love to do that some time if you’re ever in SF or Denver :) I think I could learn a lot and maybe teach a little.
Major Major Major Major
@Tommy: also not a lot of fonts ship with an interrobang so i kinda had to go with the devil I knew
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Experience tells me otherwise, C’est la vie.
Tommy
@Major Major Major Major: You’d teach more than learn I think. I am also of the utilitarian side of things. I’ve never mentioned this here, but I am almost done with a total redesign of this site. Well the design is done and has been. Now we’re working on the comments and “social” side of things.
When John saw the font (and the colors) he was like that is so cool. I said yes, it is different then what you have now but it is also readable. Easy on the eyes. We could get “cool” or “fancy” but my sole goal with the font is for it to be readable.
Major Major Major Major
@Tommy: well I’m glad I got a bitchin tattoo then.
Can we get Recent Comments back? I WordPress, it’s a widget. Please? I’m not alone :)
Email me if you want CSS help or whatever btw
Baud
@Tommy:
Cool. I didn’t know you were doing the redesign. Agree on recent comments.
Or even better, comments RSS.
Major Major Major Major
Or JS help, I’m quite an indisposed web engineer at the moment, srsly
WereBear
I love Palatino.
But, as Tommy says, online is tricksy. Perfectly nice fonts wind up not working.
PurpleGirl
@Tommy: Interesting thread of comments about fonts. When I was the support secretary for the non-profit I designed the fliers and handouts. A couple of the field staff would try to do their own stuff. One day I’m shown a flier with a font — I can’t remember the name — that is very intricate with internal lines in the letters. And the person set it on the small side. I tried explaining to her that “No, that’s a display font. It’s meant to be used in much larger sizes where you can really see all the lines.” She insisted on using it small. I thought it was unreadable.
I loved playing with fonts. I bought a bunch of fonts myself just to have them. There was one with broken letters — Smutz, IIRC — that I loved playing with. Didn’t do permanent stuff with it but sample pages.
Tommy
@Major Major Major Major: I shouldn’t have mentioned I was working on this site. Told myself I wouldn’t do it.
But with that said yes, you will have recent comments. One of the focal points of the sidebar. The commenting system will, dare I say, be world’s ahead of what we have now. IMHO the design, which John loved, was pretty straightforward.
Where I am stressing is the commenting part. John was willing to buy the best of the best plugins and extensions for said plugins for WP and I just can’t figure out how much to “turn on.”
different-church-lady
Ditch Verizon if you have any other options at home. I swear they’re actively trying to sabotage their own non-cell business at this point.
Tommy
@Baud: Yeah tried not to talk about it. You will be able to get comments via RSS or email.
Baud
@Tommy:
Oh wow. I may have to quit my job so I can Juice full time.
OzarkHillbilly
@Tommy: Now we know who to blame, and we will. ;-)
Tommy
@Baud: We have the entire site, all posts and comments, on our test server (working with another fellow Balloon Juicer). Running “real time.” When we presented John with how things like recent comments, most popular posts, et al worked with things like feeds he openly admitted he didn’t understand it all but seemed way cool. We were like trust us, your users will understand. If they don’t, that is why we are going to put together a few 1-2 minute videos that explain everything!!!!!!!!!
But as I said in another comment stressed beyond words on the commenting system I am going to put into place. First something of a learning curve, because most of my clients are “corporate” and don’t have comments. Second what I might want I can see others not wanting. Things like a profile, avatar, nestled comments, rated comments, you name it.
Just trying to figure out when I turn everything on, well what not to turn on.
Tommy
@OzarkHillbilly: LOL. When it goes live everybody will know exactly who to blame. I don’t have very thick skin to be honest, but presented a lot of creative materials in my life and I know you can’t make everybody happy. At times with this or that it will be a blood bath and been trying to prepare myself since I started the project a few weeks ago.
MomSense
@NotMax:
Nice!
@Major Major Major Major:
You must be feeling better which makes me happy.
ThresherK
We haven’t been to the Clark since their redo. Sometimes a swift kick in the reminder is needed!
debbie
@Major Major Major Major:
You can put a bandage over the tattoo and then wear something with sleeves.
Matt McIrvin
@Tommy: My father once asked me why people needed more than one font. I couldn’t come up with any explanation that satisfied him.
debbie
If you have to go with serifs, nothing beats Janson. And if forced to use a sans serif, I think Futura makes Helvetica look like WalMart.
Tommy
My freaking gosh. I mentioned up thread my cousin was very sick and I am trying to follow what is happening on the site they set-up. My parents are at my house until later today, but will be back in the town Laurie lives in late today and want to know what to do to help. Trying to keep my parents informed and I don’t know how to translate this for them. I am an atheist (parents close). This is the first post on their site today, from Laurie’s husband Nate:
Am I strange in thinking that this is a little over-the-top? Thank god all you want. But encouraging me to give my life to Christ. I am just trying to see how my cousin is doing …..
Major Major Major Major
@debbie: nothing says slutty like a bandage with long sleeves :P I’ll figure it out..
debbie
@Tommy:
If this is how her husband chooses to deal with her situation, who are you to question it?
Tommy
@debbie: Very good point. Very good. I guess what I think isn’t really important at this point and I should be far, far, far less judgemental. Thank you for saying that BTW!
Tommy
@Matt McIrvin:
About the best I could come up with is “because we can,” but bet that would have just pissed your father off :).
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Mike J: Amazon has an MP3 of Chelsea that is cleaner. You can listen for free for 30s.
My favorite song showing the bored-drummer-effect on Quadrophenia. There’s a relatively quiet part in it where Keith just does a single “Bop!” that is just about perfect. It’s around 5:50 on Doctor Jimmy.
Cheers,
Scott.
theronware
Why do singers need so much stagecraft? If you have a good voice and decent lyrics, aren’t those enough?
Cervantes
@theronware:
Case in point.
Anyhow, do your questions answer themselves?
Aleta
@different-church-lady:
Steeplejack (phone)
@JPL:
Are you talking about Superica? Let me know how you like it. If not, let me know anyway. I’ll probably be down in Atlanta this fall, and I’m always looking for good Mexican.
thalarctos (not the other one)
If you’re in the Berkshires, a trip to Mass MoCA is also worthwhile; as is the Williams College Museum of Art (which is free!).
J R in WV
@Tommy:
Hi Tommy,
So sorry to hear about your cousin. Mrs J was in a medically induced coma for 21 days dealing with septic shock – she was in hospital for 59 days, but total recovery eventually. Hiking in the Pyrenees the next fall. So much luck, along with being in a good teaching hospital!
So have positive hope for your cousin, Maybe you can introduce her to Thai food someday!
Best wishes,
JR