A foolish consistency

Art through RSS

A Pluck feed of the day ... Art through RSS (XML) - art from the Louvre, feed by Napoleon.com.

I'm not a big art type of guy, but I did find this feed quite interesting.

An example ...



Virgin and Child from the Sainte-Chapelle
Paris
Around 1250-1260
lvory, traces of polychrome
H 0.41 m
OA 57

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the growth of the cult of Mary led to the production of numerous figurines of the Virgin and Child, especially in ivory. This statuette, described in an inventory of the treasury of the Sainte-Chapelle before 1279, is considered to be the finest achievement of Parisian ivory workers, especially since it seems to have inspired a whole series of ivory statuettes in the second half of the 13th century. The drapery and her triangular face with its narrowed eyes and slightly mocking smile place this statuette in the full flowering of Parisian monumental Gothic, in the middle of third quarter of the 13th century.

Peephole Viewer

Ever ring someone's bell, then while waiting for them to come to the door, peek through their peephole to see what you can see? Of course you have. And it doesn't work, because of the wide-angle optics of the peephole.

But it would work if you had a Tactical Door Viewer. Nifty little device.

Knott's Berry Farm & boysenberries

You learn something everyday. While I was looking into rides at Knott's Berry Farm, I ran across this:

It was not until the 1930s that Walter became associated with the "boysenberry" which would became the family trademark. Nearby, Anaheim Parks Superintendent Rudolph Boysen had experimented with a new strain of berry but the plants kept dying on the vine. Walter took the scraggly plants, nurtured them to health and named the new berry - a cross between a loganberry, red raspberry and blackberry - after its originator. Today, all boysenberries in the world can trace their roots to Knott's Berry Farm.

From History of Knott's Berry Farm

So now you know, too.

The Olympics

I couldn't agree more with Tony Chor's comments on the Olympics.

It's true that to a certain extent, the Olympics are staged to create a sense of national pride as well as an emotional reaction in the spectators. I see nothing wrong with that.

There's an honesty to the Olympics, the efforts of the athletes, the sacrifice and discipline to get there, that I admire greatly. No amount of staging or dramatics, or even empty seats, can detract from their accomplishments.

Off to Disneyland

I'm taking the next few days off from work, flying down to LAX to meet up with my wife and daughters, who are driving in from Las Vegas.

We're going to be spending the next four days visiting Disneyland and I think Knott's Berry Farm. We haven't visited Disneyland since the summer of 2000.

I enjoy theme parks. For me, it's not a problem to stand in long lines for the rides, or even to pay the high prices for drinks and food. In return, I get to spend an entire day having fun with my family, laughing together, chatting in line about nothing much, getting a little scared before a new ride and then talking about the best parts when it's over.

The story goes that Walt Disney had two daughters that he'd take every Saturday to "do things" - things like parks. He'd sit on the park bench eating peanuts, watching his girls play on the swings and other things, and there he got the idea for Disneyland. A place where families could play together.