Owner: A Feather Adrift URL:http://afeatheradrift.blogspot.com Join Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:27:33 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Authobiographical look at my life with plenty of commentary on politics, history, religion, and emphasis on cooking, gardening and crafting tips and ideas. Site statistics:Click here
Any extra luck, please contact me! 2008-03-18 09:01:00 This mural is called the "School of Athens" and was done by Raphael. It can be seen at the Vatican.~It is considered that this mural represents the agora of Athens, mentioned in yesterday's post. I thought it made a nice addition. It does not appear that women attended, although that would be strange for a agora I would assume. Certainly women were excluded from the democracy fashioned there.~On a personal aside, we are not getting the DSL. They were mistaken when they told us that we could get it. After hooking up everything and getting no results, the Contrarian called support and they said, "oops, I guess no one called to tell you of the mistake." Enough said. I hope they leave a little segment of the internet for us folks who can't download most games, can't play YouTube, or download Read more:contact
If you like every entry, your nuts! 2008-03-21 09:42:00 Today we feature the "Seated Statue of Hetshepsut." She was I believe co-ruler during the 18 Dynasty, New Kingdom 1473-1458. This statue can be found at the MMA in NYC.I have been to the MMA, and as I recall, there are at least 32 rooms devoted to Egyptian art. One room contains a compete temple surrounded by a moat. I remain conflicted at the Egyptian artifacts located throughout the world that belong in my opinion to the Egyptians, and were taken from them in years gone by when they could not control this practice. This of course is not limited to the Egyptians but occurred in many ancient lands that had very ancient civilizations, plundered mostly by Europeans in the 1800's. Part of me is happy to have the opportunity to view these pieces, part of me feels we hold them illegally.~~**~~ Read more:every
It's Eye Candy followed by Potpourri 2008-03-20 09:42:00 This masterpiece, sculpted of course by Michelangelo resides in Florence at the Bargello National Museum. It is called Apollo-David since there are references to it by Michelangelo under both names. It is thought to be the third David. The first resides at the Louvre and the second has been lost. It is a work that one can gaze at unabashedly for hours, reveling in the true genius of the incomparable Michelangelo. ~~**~~**~~**~~Speaking of masterpieces, Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was published this day in 1852. ~~**~~**~~**~~Remember the phrase, "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country"? It sounds so, well patriotic. It was uttered by Nathan Hale. Did he originate the phrase or is it a bit more complicated? Read the answer at American Revolution Blog. ~~**~ Read more:Candy
, Potpourri
, Eye Candy
An Easter Prayer 2008-03-23 09:28:00 Greetings readers! The Contrarian and I wish all of you the most blessed of Easter
holidays.On this, the most joyous day for Christians, let us remember all those throughout the world who are less fortunate than we are.On this day of eternal hope and thanksgiving for such a loving God, I ask that you pause a moment and meditate on these sentiments:Dear Lord and Most Loving God:May there be a day soon when all people in all lands find sufficient food, clothing and shelter for the day.May there be a day soon when all people in all lands receive good educations, good health care, and and meaningful work adequately compensated.May there be a day soon when all people in all lands have the time and ability to enjoy reasonable leisure time.May there be a day soon when all people in all lands hav Read more:Prayer
Do You Really Believe in American Values? 2008-03-22 09:17:00 Today is the 2nd annual Blog Against Theocracy Carnival. We are speaking out as bloggers and citizens against those who would destroy our Constitution and its protection against state interference in religion, commonly known as the "Separation of Church and State" or anti-establishment clause. ~Regular readers of this blog no doubt know of my perchance for talking about fundamentalism and the danger I believe it poses not only to America, but to the world at large. Terms such as evangelical, religious right, fundamentalism, and perhaps others are often jumbled together in a confusing fog of mis-identification and meaning. ~Fundamentalism arose historically in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was first and foremost a restatement of basic "fundamental" Christian truths that were beli Read more:American
, Values
Now that You Are Here, You are NOT There 2008-03-25 09:46:00 This is a albumin silver print from a glass negative, done by Julia Margaret Cameron approximately in 1866. It is in a collection at the MMA in NYC. It is entitled "Zoe, Maid of Athens."Photographs are more striking sometimes than paintings. One immediately recognizes that this person was alive at one time, which may or may not be true of the subject of a painting. I always sense that moment in time when the photo was shot. Was she hungry? Worrying about a romantic interlude of the evening before? Planning a shopping trip to the market?What I find so compelling always is, that this woman like any other, thought her moment in time and space to be the most advanced ever. Her culture was the most technically advanced as any had been. She thought of her parents time as outdated and outmoded u
Whew, Dividing my Mind into Segments 2008-03-24 15:00:00 Today, we display a lovely work by George Caleb Bingham. Done in 1845, it is called, "Fur Traders Descending the Missouri." It is hanging in the MMA. ~I hope you certainly had a lovely peaceful Easter. Today, it appears we have a lot to look at, so let's begin.~ ~~**~~**~~**~~~First off a bit of housekeeping: Today we have a 2 parter, the second part is the next post. This is necessary, because my blog is so weird that I have a lot of tags (so I can find my own stuff again). Blogger for insane reasons, no doubt, doesn't allow tags whose total is more than 200 letters. I kid you not. So, I've been running out of tag allowance about twice a week, and it's annoying having to pare down my list, and thus make it harder to find stuff. Since I know how to redate things on this platform, I simply
Whew, con't 2008-03-24 13:34:00 ~~**~~**~~**~~I have said for a goodly long time that the regulatory agencies in the US no longer regulate anything. The FCC, FDA and EPA are more mouthpieces for their respective industries than anything else today. The political heads of these agencies routinely join the industries they were sworn to regulate after their stay in office, and get fine cushy high paying jobs. What are we to do when we learn that these same industries hire scientists, not to discover things, not to develop new and safer products or practices. No, they are hired specifically to back up the industries "science" position. It's very very time for the American people to start some yelling about this. Start with both your senators and house reps. And do it soon. Your very life may depend upon it.~~**~~**~~**~~Peca
Pondering Issues of Mighty Import 2008-03-28 09:25:00 This painting hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago. Painted by American, Thomas Wilmer Dewing in 1911, it is called "Lady in Green and Gray."This was still a time when the wealthy regularly sat for portraits. Although photography was done of course, this was still the norm I suspect among the rich.~~**~~**~~**~~A busy morning. Bread is on the second rise, two cake layers are cooling on the table, and frosting is kept cool in the fridge. Salad greens are soaking in cold water subject to spinning and dressing is made. I'm a regular kitchen maven this day. We are having chicken salad for dinner, made from the brined and roasted bird of a couple of days ago. Brining is my newest best friend, it makes the chicken so very moist and tender. We learned about brining when we did the turkey for Tha Read more:Issues
, Mighty
, Import
A True Star and Thawing Tundra 2008-03-27 09:56:00 I just wanted to say a fond farewell to a wonderful actor, Richard Widmark who died on Monday at the age of 93. I was a very young girl when I became infatuated with him, although goodness knows he was nearly 40 years older than me. I had a crush on him for many years, and remember faking illness one day when he was scheduled to appear on the I Love Lucy show. It was part of their "California trip." I saw a very large number of his movies in those years. He was not the type of person to appear on the usual talk show circuit, and actually I think thought of acting as a workman like employment, deserving of no special appelation. He definitely did not feel that his status as actor meant that his opinions were important. He kept a low profile. He died in Connecticut at home where he had live Read more:Tundra
That's a Spicy Mea....err Blog 2008-03-26 09:44:00 The work is entitled, "The Intervention of the Sabine women." It was done by Jacques-Louis David in 1799. It hangs in the Louvre, France.The Sabine women had been captured and raped by the Romans. The Sabines came to war in an attempt to retrieve their women. The women intervene to stop the bloodshed. David allegedly did this painting in an effort to encourage reconciliation after the French Revolution. The central woman is the wife of the Sabine chief and stands between him and the Roman King.~~**~~**~~**~~I had not heard anything about any threats that Buddhist monks plan on immolating themselves at the Summer Olympics to protest Chinese policies. I hope it is not true. But apparently such an action is not new. It was done first in 195 A.D. by a Christian. Reported by Lucian, a Syrian wr Read more:Spicy
So I'm made of Stars? So what? 2008-03-30 09:21:00 Mulling is a favorite occupation of mine. Better than day dreaming which has connotations of wasted time. Mulling is not quite so serious as thinking, but it involves letting thoughts marinade around, mixing and infusing each other. What comes out is often a surprise. I thought it might be useful to save one day a week for a more prolonged look at something. What that something is, well is, fluid? Fluid works with marinade. See I stay within the metaphor. Perhaps a topic I mentioned in passing, a post or article I think merits a bit more attention, or perhaps nothing more erudite than the fact that some Madison Avenue ad really cheesed me. And believe me, plenty of Madison Avenue really do cheese me. ~It simultaneously occurred to me, if thoughts can occur simultaneously that is, that the
Behind Closed Doors 2008-03-29 10:01:00 Until I reached the age of 15, I would have been shocked had anyone accused me of having anything but a normal family. My parents were, of course deeply flawed, but comparing them to other parents I was in constant contact with, they seemed fairly the same. I was not physically mistreated, and I knew kids who were, or at least some who were subject to more emotional "torture" than I.The father who lived across the street from us was such a one. Bud was a thin wiry man, smaller in weight than his plumpish wife, Betty. His children were frightened of him. He was a yeller, and he was a mean man. I know I steered clear of him. There were tons of rules in their house. No one was allowed to touch the newspaper until after Bud had had his fill. To be caught having snuck a peek at what was at the Read more:Closed
, Doors
I Totally Hate April 1st 2008-04-01 14:00:00 A portrait of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, painted by Louis Tocque in 1758. It can be seen at the Hermitage in Moscow.Well, yesterday it rained nearly all day, and that is never good here. Two dogs and four cats find a good deal to argue about on such a day. The dogs especially are grumpy, and the cats get increasingly so as the day progresses and they have no place to run off their excess energies. The chili for dinner turned out to be a perfect foil for a soggy cold day.Today, the gloom remains, although the rains seem to have departed. It is cold as well, or remains so from yesterday. I am getting that feeling again of hopelessness. I ignore it, keep my head down, and force myself to continue with every day tasks.The bedroom cleaning is nearly done already. I have the walls done all hang Read more:April
Another Con't today 2008-04-01 12:54:00 ~~**~~**~~**~~We have all read and heard about the unprecedented use of private contracting the Bush kids like to engage in, thus avoiding actual bidding on contracts and such. Haliburton and Blackwater have become buzz words. Just a few days ago, I mentioned the new kid AEY, Inc, and its 22 year old boss. We also heard just a few days ago about some folks at the state department who were examining passports of various candidates. They were swiftly canned it turns out, and there may be more to that than we think. It turns out that Virginia is chock full of a variety of private companies all secretly working for the government on the infamous "war on terror." Turns out these state department employees were also so employed. A very important read I submit awaits you at the Washington Indepen
Pardon My Assumptions 2008-03-31 14:00:00 Oh no doubt you guessed this one already. Done by Picasso in 1932, it is called "Girl before a Mirror." It can be seen at MOMA. It is said that the "model" was Marie-Therese Walter, Picasso's mistress at the time. The Artsy people claim that the reflection in the mirror is a death mask and that the painting is a confrontation with mortality. Also it can be seen as daytime and night time and her reaching out an attempt to integrate the two.I am always suspicious of art critics and their psychological interpretations, but I sure know that I feel like this some mornings when I look in the mirror. Well, it looks to be a long post today so we better get at it. It's raining steadily here in Iowa and I have chili on the stove simmering and cornbread ready to begin its final incorporation for bak Read more:Pardon
Pardon Moi, but Con't 2008-03-31 12:32:00 ~~**~~**~~**~~I'm not sure about you, but I am fairly puzzled at the "help" Bush and the boys are offering to this beleagured country in this current economic crisis. I'm not jumping for joy at the idea of our measley check. We are by temperament not likely to help by spending it in any case, except to pay a bill or two. No big splurge for us at the adult candy store. Paul Krugman from the NYTimes calls it the Dilbert strategy, just bells and whistles to make us think they are really doing something. No, they agree more with our boy John McCain that we just better suffer it out. After all, the government can't be to blame with its ridiculous blind eye to consumer lending practices, its bloated war funds, and other such nonsense. Did I say that I can't wait for this atrocious administration Read more:Pardon
Can We Talk? 2008-04-06 09:16:00 That depends. You didn’t seriously think this was gonna be easy did you? Okay, the issue today arises, as do many of my blogging inspirations, from CAF, (Catholic Answers Forum) and a thread I’ve been participating on for some time. It’s about voting and the CAF list of non-negotiables. Now what this means is that some folks at CAF believe that the rule of the Church is that some issues are non-negotiable, meaning that if a candidate is on the wrong side on that issue, he/she may not under any circumstances be voted for. Of course, others do not agree with this assessment, and one member raised some pretty good evidence to the contrary. I believe that poster is correct. What is odd about this, is that this person is a staunch conservative and I am, without question a staunch liberal.
Lady of the House for a Second 2008-04-05 09:08:00 As I may have said, Mother made a quick departure from hearth and home almost before the ink was dry on the divorce papers. In fact, it may have been the same day that she returned from court a free woman again. As I stated, she and I packed up her car with clothes and a few other things she deigned to call her own. The only item I recall was her sewing machine.I was sixteen, feeling my growing "womanhood" and felt as if a millstone had been removed as she pulled out of the driveway and away from my immediate life. I was now the woman of the house, and had several designs on some redecorating I wanted to do. Nothing all that major of course, just a thing here or there, a transfer of dishes from one cabinet to another. Just the usual reshuffling to make it user friendly to me. I had already Read more:House
, Second
Falling into the Flower Bed of Life 2008-04-04 13:00:00 This is Georgia O'Keefee's "Yellow Hickory Leaves with Daisy." It was done in 1928 and is at the Art Institute of Chicago.I needed something that reminded me that flowers are real. One can easily conclude that they are a mere figment of one's imagination given the weather these days. If you can believe it, it snowed yesterday, a good 3/4 of a inch and it came down in literal sheets. Most depressing.I have little interest in cleaning today, but I have a good excuse. The Contrarian did not sleep well, and so returned to bed around 6:30 a.m., and slept in a bit, which is all I need to declare the cleaning schedule completely ruined and a wash for the day. Pretty clever huh? I did knock down the cobwebs around the small room because I could do that quietly. I'll do some more tomorrow. It appea
Continuation of Rambling 2008-04-04 11:15:00 ~~**~~**~~**~~Vox Nova has a most interesting post about the economy, and how people do vis a vis the two parties. It's an eye-opener to be sure, well no, it's rather to be expected. It seems that when the Republicans are in office, only the rich benefit, when the Democrats run the shop, all groups benefit. Of course, given that this is a Catholic site, and that always gets us to abortion, you can imagine the hoops some jump through to negate the value of the research. Can't have good Catholics voting for Democrats now can we? Of course, most Catholics ignore this and vote as they see fit, and more are going democratic this cycle than ever before.~~**~~**~~**~~I discovered the wonders of kohlrabi a few years ago, and find it a delightful vegetable. Great in salads and eaten raw, I was not Read more:Rambling
Fencing the Good, Bad and Ugly 2008-04-03 09:31:00 This haunting print was done by Julia Margaret Cameron in 1867 and is British. It is entitled "Julia Jackson" and was prepared from an albumen silver print from a wet collodion negative. It is located at the Institute of Art in Chicago. Another morose looking day. The dinginess of Spring is always apparent on days such as this. Everything is wet, brown, and unpleasant looking. The birds seem to step carefully among the rubble of winter, picking this or that, perhaps for a nest lining. The dogs seem oblivious to all this, focused entirely on what must be a cornucopia of aromas stored in snow for all these months. The bedroom is done! I finished this morning with a good carpet cleaning with the vacuum attachments pulling ancient dust bunnies from corners and along baseboards. The bedding was Read more:Fencing
My brain hurts from thinking too much 2008-04-02 14:00:00 Today we feature Johannes Vemeer and his "Young Woman with a Water Pitcher." It was done in 1662, and is at the MMA, NYC. A late start today, so this post may be a bit on the short side, or it will be posted rather late in the day. The Contrarian walked to the road, picked up the mail. The lane is in pretty good shape, so he's arranged for a friend to come tomorrow and pull the car out. Hopefully we will be mobile from then on, as the lane looks to be draining quite well. A huge portion of the snow, piled over head high has disappeared he reported. I did the drawers in the bedroom and unfortunately, have a rather large pile of bags now in the closet of old clothes--I can now open a rag shop should anyone need any. I'm done with the room but for moving furniture so I can vacuum with various Read more:thinking
Con't again? 2008-04-02 13:42:00 ~~**~~**~~**~~Big Oil on TV. Did you see it? The boys lined up and were prepped and ready to reply in unison to all those nasty questions. Perhaps with those gigantic profits you might forgo the billions in tax breaks? NO! They shouted, that would be absurd. Well then, how bout a little break for the consumer at the pump? NO! They chimed, whatever for? A fine post by Washington Independent gives you the gory details as the RWM have a go in Congress. (RWM= Rich White Men) Read it and well. . . . PS--their advice to us: drive less!~~**~~**~~**~~Breadsticks! Now that is something I've never made before, and I adore them. So good with pasta dishes, so good with nothing. Baking Beauties has the recipe.~~**~~**~~**~~Oh, did I mention that I loved Tex-Mex? Perhaps you have concluded there is not
That's Just About How I Feel 2008-04-08 09:11:00 This portrait was done by Theodore Gericault sometime between 1819-1824. It is found at the Louvre. It is entitled, "The Woman with Gambling Mania."Of course what struck me about it was the strange title which seems totally incongruous to the subject. But indeed I was wrong. The painter painted this in a series at a mental hospital. Each of his subjects was victim to a single monomania and was in other respects normal. This woman indeed suffered from an uncontrollable desire to gamble. As such it becomes quite a remarkable study into the face of mania. The spring house work is coming along. I'm nearly 1/2 done with the other bathroom and will finish before the week ends. I had a bit of a setback for a couple of days, having pulled a muscle in my back which made any bending an exquisite ex
The Best of Days 2008-04-08 01:00:00 Excuse me readers, but this is an offering to my beloved. You may sneak a peek, of course.Dearest Parker:Today you have reached the ripe or wrinkled age of 58. My, did you ever think to be so old? I sure didn't. We have gotten very complacent in recent years, thinking that we no longer needed to do anything special for each other on birthdays and Christmas and such, but I felt a desire to say a few things.I sometimes envy those that got to be with you in your twenties, thirties and forties; I wish I could look back on decades of having known you. We both surmise that we are better off having not met until we did. We certainly had a lot of growing to do, and sometimes I'm fairly certain I need more time yet. We might well have lasted had we met in our twenties but I doubt we would have the
Thoughts from Above: The Fold 2008-04-07 15:00:00 This is a camera print from a 35mm 15 minute silent movie by David Wark Griffith in 1909. It is entitled "The Mended Lute." It is at MOMA.Hope you all had a pleasant weekend. The weather was lovely Saturday, but I cannot say the same for Sunday which was mostly gloomy with showers now and then. Today is gloomy again and fairly chilly. It's a slow progressing spring, but the trees are budding and the Contrarian predicts we will have leaves this year!Since nearly 3/4 of my feeds are lit up today, it looks like people have been busy, so let's get at it shall we?~~**~~**~~**~~Ever heard of Marbury v. Madison? As a lawyer, I knew it as perhaps the most important case of our early republic. It established the ultimate right of the Court to pass on the constitutionality of the actions of the oth
Con't from Above (God is not the Author) 2008-04-07 13:16:00 ~~**~~**~~**~~The far right is speaking out and they are saying they do not want Mitt Romney as a VP candidate. All the nasties are out in force, condemning Mr. Romney and telling the Mac to step back from this particular precipice. Of particular interest was Willam Murray, fundamentalist and son of deceased atheist Madaline Murray O'Hair, and what he had to say about McCain himself. It was none too kindly, and I think bespeaks what many in the far far reaches of the GOP right are likely to do this voting season--stay home.~~**~~**~~**~~The Artful Crafter has another "roundup" of great crafting sites she's found around about. Take a look and see if there is anything that interests you among a long list she's accumulated.~~**~~**~~**~~I have changed my personal recipe for spaghetti sauce a Read more:Author
That's Food for Thought 2008-04-09 09:33:00 This photograph was done by Lewis Hine and is entitled "Newsies at Skeeter Branch, St. Louis, Missouri, 11 a.m., May 9, 1910." It is from the MMA.We often bemoan that our children grow up too fast these days. I wonder if that has not always been the case. These boys seem to feel quite grown up wouldn't you say? I assume they are newsboys. I wouldn't try to cheat them out of a nickel, would you?Spring cleaning is going well. The bath is nearly done, just the floor to do by hand tomorrow, getting into all those corners that the mop hasn't reached for several months. And then it's on to my office/craft room. I hope I don't lose interest when I finish it! Oh I checked out that site, "flygirl.net" or something to that effect. What an anal retentive site! I'm sure that some can benefit from it,
Tsunami of Rain on a Soggy Land 2008-04-10 09:24:00 Today, our featured art offering is from Japan. Katsushika Hokusai did this in a series in 1830-31, entitled "The Great Wave off Kanagawa. " The mountain in the background is Mt. Fuji. You can find it at the Art Institute of Chicago.I am always rather captivated by East Asian art. I like the delicacy and simplicity, yet great and intense attention to detail.I sure hope you are having a good day. It's raining here, cold and windy. It is expected to go on all day. The good news is that temperatures are going up next week, maybe into the low 70's!!!On the home front, the bathroom is finished. I always start with the bathrooms thinking they are small and won't take time, but they always end up I think being the hardest, soap scum, tiny places where mops don't reach and all that make for slow
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