The green glove

The Green Glove: A movie set after World War II, starring Glenn Ford as Michael Blake, an ex-soldier hired by a church to find a valuable relic (a bejeweled green glove) stolen years earlier by an ex-Nazi thief. Blake is shadowed by others who are trying to kill him, and is aided by an attractive tour guide, Christine (Geraldine Brooks), who joins him as they travel across Europe in search of the glove.

What they didn’t know is that it’s been here, in Boise, all along. Right in plain sight (although it looks like the jewels were torn off and sold long ago, probably to a pawn shop).

Of course, it wouldn’t have been nearly as romantic or suspenseful to travel across Idaho, Utah and Nevada in search of religious relic, so Europe won out. What a shame.

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The cat with gloves catches no mice.

-Navjot Singh Sidhu

Being still

As she sat by the pool
she hummed
sang a soft, slow music
that danced with the trickling water

Her audience
skimmed the surface like tiny skaters,
meandered fishily between lily pads,
crouched in reeds, like a carving
of the darkest wood

No sound, no applause,
just being
still

Potential

More blooms on a sunny Sunday…

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If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.
-George Bernard Shaw

We are born believing. A man [and woman] bears beliefs as a tree bears apples.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ready to bloom

Taken at sunset a week ago.
Now, all the trees are in bloom.

A good day for blooming -- for plants and people...

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Remember, only the buds that are ready will bloom. The rest have to wait patiently.
-unknown

A Play on "Art"

Three guys who have been friends for years. One abstract painting, bought by one of the three, which sets off a chain of emotional events. Questions about what constitutes "good" art. But, under that, questions about the depths of relationships, and how they play out when secret feelings are revealed.

A brief description of a play we saw tonight, "Art" (by Yasmina Reza), which was performed at the Boise Art Museum (the first time I can recall a play being performed at the museum).

The play is funny, yet intensely serious as it examines what holds friendships together – and can break them apart. Expertly acted by Richard Klautsch, Phil Atlakson, and Gordon Reinhart, and creatively directed by Lynn Allison, the play presents us with characters we’ve all met before (or could be parts of ourselves): Serge, fan of the modern and a seeker of the next cool trend (the one who buys the painting); Marc, a dogmatist who favors the traditional (he hates the painting); and Yvan, the "pleaser" and peace-maker, who is caught in the middle.
We came away very thoughtful and enriched by the experience. And hope there will be more plays performed at the museum. "Art" runs through the April 26th.

http://www.boiseartmuseum.org/

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I’m not an abstractionist. I’m not interested in the relationship of color or form or anything else. I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on.
-Mark Rothko

Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose.
-Tennessee Williams

The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.

-Michelangelo

Words and music

Have you ever wondered what words would sound like if translated directly into music? Now you can find out, through the P22 Music Text Generator. You type in your copy and click on "Generate your music!" Your new composition will begin playing, for your listening pleasure. It’s created as a midi file which you can save on your computer. It also notates your piece, so you can print out sheet music and create a lasting legacy of sound (for your personal archives when you become a rich and famous composer) :-).

I tried some short poems and the results were amazing…

http://p22.com/musicfont/

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Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought.
-E.Y. Harburg

For me, music is always the language which permits one to converse with the Beyond.
-Robert Schumann

Blossoms and art

I’m not sure what kind of tree this is, but the blossoms are rich and beautiful. Nice to see them finally opening for spring. Other trees are blossoming now, too. Some of them remind me of objects of Impressionist painters, like Monet or Van Gogh.

And speaking of art: oil paintings have been found in caves in Afghanistan that date from the 5th through 9th centuries. They are murals of Buddha, nature, and mythical creatures, and were done using an oil painting technique believed not to exist until the 15th century in Europe. Researchers think they may have been created by Asians traveling along the Silk Road. These murals were found in the caves that were behind the giant statues of Buddha that the Taliban destroyed in 2001.

Sometimes beauty can come out of destruction.

Zoos and fools

It’s been one of those long weeks – see, we’re all escaping the zoo, hoping for a fast getaway into the weekend...

The Idaho Secretary of State’s office didn’t have such a great week either. They (and Idaho) made the national news, because they somehow allowed the name of an inmate who is incarcerated in a Texas prison to be on the ballot for May’s primary election as a Democratic presidential candidate. So, the few Democrats in Idaho will be able to vote for Hillary, Obama, -- or Keith Judd.

Judd apparently sent checks to 14 states to pay registration fees so he could "run" for presidential office. Most of the states sent the checks back, but not Idaho, which is the only state where he will be listed on the ballot.

"We got conned," said Secretary of State Ben Ysursa.

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You don’t have to fool all the people all of the time; you just have to fool enough to get elected.
-Gerald Barzan

There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee...that says, fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me...you can't get fooled again.
-George W. Bush

Zoo: An excellent place to study the habits of human beings.
-Evan Esar

In three movements...

Are we treading water? Lost in the woods? Walking a shadowed path? What is that haze on the horizon? What day is it, Tuesday or Monday?

Confusion in three movements: Presto, Andante, Adagio.

That was today.

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Confusion now hath made his masterpiece!
-William Shakespeare

Colors and spring

Actually had some warm spring weather this weekend; flowers, plants, animals, people all woke up from winter snooze. And C is playing tango and I filled sheets with colors and colors of water, gardens and spring. The night is warm; too bad it’s not a full moon. Then we’d be drunk on spring and moonlight.

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Pray you, love, remember. And there is pansies, that's for thoughts.
~William Shakespeare

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"
~Robin Williams

Politics, pranks, and flamingos

Even though it’s the second week of April, it’s still colder than usual. We even awoke to snow one morning this week. A late April Fool’s joke. Definitely not flamingo weather! And it seems to have brought out the "best" of some of our residents:

The day after the local paper became a finalist for a Pulitzer for its story about Senator Craig’s bathroom antics, the senator released a statement saying that his decision not to run for another term of office "pre-dated" the bathroom sting.

Right. As Groucho Marx once said: Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.

There is a property in the Boise foothills where a mansion sits on a large hill. It was owned by one of Idaho’s richest residents, who donated it to the city last year. This year, as the spring grass began to grow, a huge phallic symbol gradually appeared on the hillside. Landscapers tried to cosmetically repair it – but instead accidentally emphasized its shape even more. This evening, the local paper ran this item under breaking news: "Obscene Prank Erased from Boise’s S____ Hill," and the article goes on to say that the area has now been replanted and is covered with a bed of straw.

Next thing you know, it’ll be covered with mating flamingos…

Chasing the wind

When the wind blows, this is one busy cat. I’m not sure if this is a windmill or a lawn ornament. When I researched online I found pictures of "mole chaser windmills" that are built similarly to this one. Mole chasers are supposed to create vibrations in the ground when the wind blows and the vibrations are supposed to make moles crazy and drive them away. But the ones I saw were plain vanilla; not built with character like this one.

When I think about it, I’ve never seen a mole "tunnel" in any Idaho yard. They may not be suited to a high desert climate. So this is probably a "decorative windmill", along the lines of spinners, and wooden ducks with wings that circle in the wind. But if I were buying one of these, I’d choose the cat, of course.

In other news, the daily paper here has been named a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in journalism for their stories on our infamous toe-tapping Senator Craig – who is still in office and still fighting to have his guilty plea rescinded. Maybe we need a "mole chaser" after all…

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The conscience is the most flexible material in the world. Today you cannot stretch it over a mole hill; while tomorrow it can hide a mountain.
- Edward Bulwer-Lytton

If animals could speak the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow, but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much.
- Mark Twain

Animal art and reflection

I was originally going to write about an AP article I saw today about zoo animals that paint. [Painting, along with other activities, helps ease boredom and provides a stimulating "task" for animals to do.]

And I was going to write about the Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project in Thailand [they train the elephants they care for to paint, then they sell the paintings to help fund conservation efforts].

But then I was thinking about C’s excellent presentation tonight at the county library about Mambo and Oscar Hijuelos, who wrote "The Mambo Kings."

And got lost in deep of reflection…

Watching a Sunday

A weekend flashes by too quickly – in the blink of a cat’s eye.

But we visited D and heard her story about running out of gas on the freeway and the valiant stranger who stopped to help. And we had afternoon coffee at the local coffee place. Took walks between the rain showers and household chores, had a bit of brie and apple slices during dinner. And now the piano calls, before I call it a day.

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A Sunday well-spent brings a week of content. [one can always hope]
- Proverb

The cat is above all things, a dramatist.
- Margaret Benson

Ready to burst?

More signs of spring; finally warmer after being sooo cold all week.

Shopping at the art supply store (think: candy store), watching storyteller nonpareil Ben K perform at a bookstore, walking with C in the sunshine and taking photos, drawing and blending luscious colors together on smooth bristol to jazz dee-jayed by C, looking up art cards on the internet, reading a great email from my 10 y/o niece and a touching one from a friend.

A superb Saturday.

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One day I shall burst my buds of calm and blossom into hysteria.
~ Barbara Johnson

Golden moment

On a golden spring day…

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Every moment is a golden one for him [or her] who has the vision to recognize it as such.
~ Henry Miller

A box without hinges, key, or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid.
~ JRR Tolkien

To improve the golden moment of opportunity, and catch the good that is within our reach, is the great art of life.
~ Samuel Johnson

Water

While visiting the Paris Daily Photo site, I saw that the theme for April 1st for the Daily Photo group blogs is water. So, I’ll join in the fun – add my interpretation of H2O. If you look closely, you may find a fish in there somewhere. Check out the PDP for an amazing photo, and for links to all the other Daily Photo blogs.
http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/

A few meditations about water…

His laughter, which was never far below the surface of his conversation, now sparkled like a splash of water in sunlight.
~ Joseph Lelyveld

Don't you realize that the sea is the home of water? All water is off on a journey unless it's in the sea, and it's homesick, and bound to make its way home someday.
~ Zora Neale Hurston

In Amsterdam the water is the mistress and the land the vassal. Throughout the city there are as many canals and drawbridges as bracelets on a Gypsy's bronzed arms.
~ Felix Marti-Ibanez

If American English could develop a vocabulary and way of thinking like Hopi, there would be one word meaning: "A stone is skimming across the water’s surface, it is approaching dematerialization, there is no longer stone or water, the mind where the stone & water skim dissolves in sunlight, there is only the skimming movement when you’re breathing."
Such a word remains timelessly current.
~ Norman Weinstein