Sometimes creativity in the kitchen can get out of hand…
No comments on TurDunkin’
-
One of my co-workers arranged for us to view the filming of Top Gear while in London. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had heard of Top Gear, but had never watched any of the episodes. I’m now a fan.
As we made our way to the large warehouse where the taping was to take place, I noticed a man with an intense tattoo on the side of his neck. Intense, as in beautiful. As in, super professional looking and incredibly intricate. I stared for a few moments then continued speaking to my colleagues.
The show consisted of live bits, as well as pre-recorded pieces. One of the pre-recorded pieces involved comparing the suspension of two cars. We watched as Jeremy Clarkson drove a Scoda Yeti through fields in the country. In the back seat of the car were two men, one giving the other a tattoo on his shoulder blade as they traversed over the land. I immediately recognized the tattoo artist – it was him! The man with the amazing tattoo on his neck. Wielding a tattoo needle. Then I thought about what they were doing. He was giving a tattoo to another man in the back seat of a car as they road over bumpy hills and fields. That’s crazy. Crazy, I say!
After the ride, the two men stepped out from the back seat. On one’s right shoulder blade was a nicely formed, slightly bleeding four-leaf clover.
The next clip showed them in a Range Rover, repeating the process on the left shoulder blade. The ride didn’t look as smooth, and a couple of shots showed the men in the back seat bumping their heads on the roof of the car. I cringed each time the needle slipped. After a few minutes, the car came to a stop and the men exited. The camera showed another tattoo, almost identical, but not as neat, on the man’s left shoulder blade, also slightly bleeding.
So many questions raced through my mind. Was this real? Who thought of this? Who were the men who agreed to get the tattoo/give the tattoo? Did they work for the show or were they random volunteers? How much did that hurt?
The producer called for a tea break. We went out into the chilly afternoon and there they were – the tattooer and the tattooee. My first question was answered: it was real. The man who received the tattoos had his shirt lifted for people to examine the tattoos up close and personal. Crazy!
-
On my first evening in London, the view from my window:
-
So, it’s been a week since I last posted. Truthfully, last Friday I just forgot. And having skipped one day, it was easy to skip the next, and the next, and the next… I don’t want to view blogging as a chore, because writing is something I love to do. I so enjoy constructing sentences and searching for just the right word to convey an emotion or thought. And yet sometimes it’s difficult to summon the discipline to write every day.
sigh.
I’ve just spent an amazing week in London and have stories waiting to be told. It’s good to be back.
-
Tonight we went to Night Life at the Academy of Sciences. It occurs every Thursday evening, with djs, bars and half price admission. Quite a different crowd from the elementary school field trip crowd the museum sees during the day.
The aquarium was outstanding. Several displays of jelly fish, tropical fish, and a tidal pool where you could handle starfish, sea urchins, and anemone. The best exhibit, however, was the patrons. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a social situation where the clientele were so varied. There were people of all ages, seemingly from all walks of life. At one point, we sat on a bench and observed the people. That in itself was worth the $12 admission.
-
I read somewhere that this week is National Letter Writing Week. I love writing letters. I love picking out stationery, heavy paper, with just a hint of design, so that it doesn’t overpower the message. I love thinking about what I’m going to say. Not thinking in the sense of “how can I say this in 140 characters or less?” but thinking as in “what is the essence of the message I want to convey?” What words or phrases will let the reader know this message is especially for them? And I love the physical act of writing. Of placing dark ink on heavy paper and making slightly angular, slightly curved connecting letters, slanting slightly upwards.
But most of all, I love the intimacy of a letter. The suspense before opening the envelope. Holding the paper, reading a message intended for one person only, not for a hundred followers. Knowing that a part of me is with the recipient, a shared experience for just the two of us.
-
I marvel at other people’s collections. I’m fascinated by their ability to choose one point of focus and create a unified collection around it. When I think about starting a collection of something, I change my mind too often. Today I like this, tomorrow that.
My friend Warren has an unimaginable magnet collection. Enough to cover multiple refrigerators. And the amazing thing is, he didn’t buy any of the magnets. The first magnet was a gift to his dad (a doctor) from his secretary (more here). And a tradition was born. After dad retired, he passed along the collection to Warren. Now Warren encourages new additions to the collection. I like adding to someone else’s collection.
Warren recently decided to join in the Post a Day challenge, highlighting one of his thousands of magnets each day at Magnetboard. The blog went live today, with this entry from the Newseum. Until I can decide on what will be in my own collection, I’ll vicariously collect though Warren (and maybe even contribute a magnet or two).
-
It pleases me to no end when someone presents me with a witty pun or clever play on words.
I recently sent my aunt and uncle a thangka painting I obtained on one of my recent trips to Nepal. Thangkas are detailed artworks, generally painted by monks, and depict either a mandala or a scene from the life of Buddha. They tend to be incredibly intricate, with animals and people often painted with a single hair brush. A small thangka may take months to create. I love the detail of a thangka, as well as the colors, which tend to be deep jewel colors highlighted by gold.
I wasn’t sure if they would like the painting. Picking out art for someone else can be tricky. I know that my aunt and uncle and I are similar in many respects, but would we have the same artistic sense? Would they see the beauty in the piece I had selected?
I received a lovely email from my aunt this morning, with the subject line
“Wow!! Thangka you so much!”
That subject line was her gift to me; I haven’t stopped smiling since.
-
I had forgotten how much I enjoy, no, I love, The Sound of Music. Over the Christmas holidays, it came on tv and I sat there, mesmerized once again, by Maria and the von Trapp family.
I enjoy it for so many reasons:
- the songs are familiar, and bring a smile to my face as I sing along. Isn’t it glorious to sing along to “Doe, a dear, a female deer. Ray, a drop of golden sun…”?
- It’s a quintessential love story – between Maria and the Captain, between Liesl and Rolf, between Maria and the children and vice versa.
- It’s a story of survival and beliefs in one’s ideals.
- And it’s a story that celebrates music.
My favorite scene is the one where the Captain hosts a formal dinner party. Maria is on the veranda, teaching the children an Austrian folk dance, when the Captain intervenes. The Captain and Maria dance together, and as he twirls her they stare into each other’s eyes, falling in love. I know it’s predictable, and it’s cliche, but it’s still one of my favorites.
-
I’m fascinated by major events, but not compelled to attend unless there’s a personal connection. I’m intrigued by the common attention on one event and the energy that comes from so many people focused on the same thing. When friends asked me to join them in Barcelona to attend the Formula 1 Grand Prix a couple of years ago, I thought, “How iconic. The Grand Prix. Let’s figure this out.” It’s not something that I would have sought out to attend on my own. However, I went, and had a phenomenal time. Who knew I would enjoy racing so much?
Very dear friends moved to Louisville, Kentucky, recently. About a month ago, he sent out an open invitation for friends to join them in May for the Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby? Yes, let’s make this happen. The Kentucky Derby stirs up such romantic images of horse racing, refined gentlemen in seersucker suits, ladies in lovely hats, roses, and mint juleps. Tickets are booked and come May I’ll let you know how the perceptions and the reality converge.
LoriLoo 