Picasso in Richmond

Tweet I enjoy following connections backward to see where an idea or even a suggestion might have started and where I might wind up.

A few days ago, a good friend suggested that I visit the Kreeger Museum.  I had always planned to visit, but never took the time. Finally, yesterday, I did.  It's a wonderful little museum with Monets, Cezannes, Van Goghs and a few Picasso's.

During the tour, someone happened to mention a Picasso exhibition in Richmond.  Outside, I grabbed my phone and did a search.  Sure enough, a major Picasso show was underway at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. I just happened to be driving in that direction.

I highly recommend this show.  It features nearly 200 paintings and drawings on loan from the Musee National Picasso in Paris -- another museum that I missed during my last visit to Paris. The museum is open late -- until 9pm on some nights and even til midnight on other nights to accommodate the crowds.

It was a bit crowded and crazed last evening, but room enough to spend time with each piece without feeling rushed.

Picasso truly evolved as a painter. It really takes an exhibition like this one to see this evolution.  His early academic style of painting -- the influence of the impressionists, Cezanne and so on. He refused to settle into a comfortable style -- Picasso was innovative -- borrowing from this painter and that painter and finding his own way.

This exhibition shows the evolution by giving us a glimpse of those early years and the last years of his life.

As you walk into the first room of the exhibition -- high on the wall in quotation marks is the famous Picasso quote: 'It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.'

Flints

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I was walking around in a freshly plowed garden after a rain storm and found these three flints. I am not sure how old they are, but am trying to determine the appropriate period. When I was younger, I found lots of similar flints in the same area.

Holding these arrowheads in my hand I feel a special connection to the distant past -- particularly knowing that, perhaps, the last person that held this same piece of flint in their hand, may have lived hundreds if not thousands of years ago.

Nature's Ballet

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This is Trillium -- aka wakerobin, tri flower and birthroot. One species of this wildflower is the official emblem for Ontario, Canada. It's native to temperate parts of North America and Asia. I have found it growing near streams in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Interestingly, if you pick trillium, you can do serious harm to the plant. It prevents the plant from producing food for the next year. It can take years to recover.

 

Hitchin' a Ride

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These little guys were spotted in a puddle on a trail along the Laurel River between Hot Springs and Marshall, NC. 

Water, Water Everywhere!

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Just back from an amazing little hike in Greene County, Tennessee in the Bald Mountains -- up to Margarette Falls. The trail follows the stream and is generally an easy 2.5 miles roundtrip.  There are a few places where I had to scramble up some rocks and cross the stream.

As you approach the falls, the left side of the valley becomes a sheer rock cliff.

Recent rains made for a deep stream and absolutely amazing waterfalls all the way to the mother lode -- the Margarette.  The water cascades some 70 feet into the gorge.

The mist and light breeze off the falls made for a very enjoyable visit.

The confluence of two mountain streams

As one approaches the falls the left side of the valley becomes a sheer cliff of stone.

Magic Bowling Ball

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Bowling is not something I do well. I've bowled maybe a dozen times in my life. Over the past month or so, I've been three or four times.

Yesterday, as I was throwing the ball and it went down the lane -- it suddenly veered into the gutter, hit a raised edge of the lane and leaped into the lane to my left -- bounced and hit the board above where the pins were standing.

It looked like something out of a comedy routine.

The guy next to me was something of a serious bowler -- probably a league bowler.

As I watched my ball do acrobatics before finally settling into his gutter -- I told him that I had tried to bowl a strike for him. He didn't seem to find the humor in the comment.

It was truly bizarre and the whole thing happened as if in slow motion.  It caught the attention of everyone in the bowling alley.

I should have taken a bow.

Branch Lettuce

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One of the things that I've been anticipating since returning to the mountains is the arrival of branch lettuce. It's a wild lettuce that grows along mountain streams. This weekend, I took a hike into the mountains to pick some. I was not disappointed. The season, which is quite short, has just begun -- the leaves are between two and five inches long and are really tender.

I prefer eating them fresh in a salad with a bit of dressing.  You can also drizzle hot bacon grease over the wilted leaves. I've never tried it, but it's the way a lot of mountain people prefer it.

Yesterday's trip into the mountains for the wild lettuce was part of a nearly eight mile hike that wound along beautiful mountain streams, steep hillsides and along ridges with breath-taking views. At the top of one ridge -- strong wind gusts chilled the air -- but if you stepped ten feet down the other side of the ridge -- everything was calm -- not even a hint of those wind gusts. 

Hero of Our Time

Tweet At my gym this morning, the TV was blaring the last half hour of Good Morning America.  Impossible to ignore unless you had headphones -- unfortunately, I had forgotten mine today.

One of the hosts was introducing a pop singer, Chris Brown, and the introduction included a line that he had beat up his girlfriend and, something along the lines of,  had served his time and was taking responsibility and changing his direction -- blah, blah, blah -- it was like the script had been written by one of Brown's publicists.

Anyway, the GMA host asked him about the assault on his girlfriend and he said something like -- that's the past, today is Album Day -- I want to talk about my new album. The host actually apologized to Brown for asking the question. Geez. To her credit, she actually asked him a similar question about the assault and Brown gave a similar response.  She actually apologized yet again. For the rest of the segment, she threw him a few softball (easy) questions and then he performed, his fans went wild and the show ended.

Turns out that Brown was seething over those two questions. Once the cameras were off, Brown turned violent -- broke a window in his dressing room at GMA, nearly got into a fight with a GMA producer and then strangely, ripped off his shirt and walked onto a Manhattan street showing off his tattoos.

I expect this whole episode will boost his publicity -- and sell more of his new "album."  This kind of behavior has certainly helped another celeb -- Charlie Sheen.

The public has an odd way of choosing heroes and role models.

Super Moon

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The Super Moon as viewed in Western North Carolina

The rise of the super moon last night was a bit of a bust here because of heavy cloud cover; however, an hour or so after sunset, the moon beam burst through the clouds.

Last night was special because the moon was at perigee -- its shortest distance from the Earth. The last "super" moon was 18 years ago. If you were lucky enough to see the moon rise last evening -- it was probably an awesome sight.  According to astronomers, the "super" moon was about 20 percent brighter and 15 percent bigger than a regular full moon.

Did you get a good glimpse of the "super" moon?  If so, please share your photos!

The Super Moon over Athens. (Photographer: Anthony Ayiomamitis)

Tasty Apples -- Where Have They Gone?

Tweet What has happened to apples?

I've given up trying to find tasty apples at supermarkets. The ones on the produce counter look appetizing -- large, beautiful and perfect looking -- but take a bite and it's like eating truly tasteless pulp.

I remember the days when I could buy a basket of apples at the local supermarket and they tasted like apples. I'm not sure why our apples are so tasteless -- genetic-engineering?  That goes for strawberries, too. Big and beautiful, but no taste.

It's really a shame that many young people may never know what an apple or a strawberry, for that matter, are really supposed to taste like.

This sounds conspiratorial, but it almost seems as though we are being programmed to eat this tasteless fruit -- especially if we rely only on supermarkets. I have been very fortunate to eat apples -- and strawberries -- from Central Asia - where they are loaded with flavor and very addictive!

My next stop is the farmer's market -- better yet -- my dad's apple orchard.

Customer Service

Tweet After missing out on Customer Service for the past eight years, I am getting re-acquainted with Customer Service -- US style. I notice that they apologize a lot -- and more often than not -- are unable to resolve the issue -- yet -- they are "truly" sorry about it.  Today, I had to call a mobile phone provider about "middle of the night" multimedia SMS's that threaten to kill me if I didn't forward the threatening email to 20 other people immediately. It was 3 a.m. I'm sure my friends would appreciate receiving this SMS as much as I did.

I provided the provider with the phone number from which the threatening SMS had been forwarded, but was told the only thing they could do was to block all SMS's. Hmmm......that's like using a machete when a scalpel is needed.

Instead, I had suggested they contact the person and ask them to stop.  It seemed the logical thing to do, but the customer service representative informed me that was impossible.  "We can change your number," she suggested, but I told her I prefer keeping my number.  She apologized and said "is there anything else I can help you with" and I said "no, thanks" and I was told to have a wonderful day -- click.

Later, on a separate issue, I tried to reach an internet provider about whether it could provide internet to my rural area. I dialed a local number here in North Carolina, but spoke to a Customer Service Representative half way around the country -- she informed me that I should be talking to a local representative, but then said, the local office in North Carolina is not allowed to accept incoming phone calls.  I gave up and hung up. Maybe I would have more luck with a Customer Service Representative in India or the Philippines.

The 12 Chairs

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A non-white parrot at Bali Bird Park without red shorts

I'm reading Ilf & Petrov's The Twelve Chairs -- a hilarious book about the early days of Soviet Russia. Mel Brooks even made a movie based on the book. There are many funny lines in the book -- including this one:


"...the three room apartment was occupied by an immaculately white parrot in red shorts. The parrot was riddled with fleas, but could not complain since it was unable to talk. For days on end it used to crack sunflower seeds and spit the husks through the bars of its tall, circular cage onto the carpet. It only needed a concertina and new squeaky galoshes to resemble a peasant on a spree."

I laughed so hard after reading that line because I can actually see it.  There are many descriptive and funny moments in this book -- about life in the "new" Russia -- written before the Soviet censors really began to take themselves and their insane bureaucracy -- seriously.

Ancient Graffiti

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I wasn't sure I was seeing the actual rock art at Paint Rock, so I checked with the North Carolina Museum of History website -- just to make sure. It would be easy to mistake the pictograph for modern-day graffiti. However, this graffitti, from somewhere around 2500 B.C. has withstood the test of time.

Here is the description of the rock art -- as described on the website of the N.C. Museum of History:

"The pictograph at Paint Rock, located on a vertical rock cliff near the French Broad River, is an intricate rectilinear pattern in red and yellow. The design is similar to that found on Mississippian-period ceramics in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. An estimated half of the original pictograph exists today; the rest has faded or chipped off. The design and condition of the paint suggest that Paint Rock dates from the Mississippian period or later."

21st Century Rock Art at Paint Rock near Hot Springs, NC

The Long and Short of It

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I had thought I was pretty good at judging distances -- miles, kilometers, etc. So, when I go on a hike, I go until I figure that I've walked a couple of miles and turn around and head back. I'm always exhausted when I get back even though I consider myself in pretty decent shape -- regular trips to the gym, hiking, etc.

Yesterday, I bought a hiking book that lists just about all the trails that I've been hiking and a bunch more.  Wow!  I was in for a surprise and now realize why I am so tired when I get back to my Jeep.  The trail that I had thought was around three miles or so -- is actually closer to eight -- another trail that I thought was six miles -- is ten.

I think I am just completely getting lost in the forest -- in terms of mileage.

Having not lived and hiked, regularly, in these awesome mountains in a very long while, I just become enchanted by the gurgling streams, the waterfalls, the creaking trees, the wind whispering through the white pines, the shrieking sound of the Blue Jay and everything else in the woods.

I'm sticking the book and map in my knapsack.

Pond at Mill Ridge near Hot Springs, NC

Appalachian Trail near Mill Ridge

French Broad River at Paint Rock

The High Rock

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A fairly easy hike, except for the briars and brambles, is up to the high rock. I hiked up an old logging road and then up a rounded ridge -- suddenly just before you reach the top -- the upper third of the rock comes into view. Once on top -- the rock sits down the other side of the mountain about 50 yards.  It is quite a beauty.  On this particular day, the winds were pretty high and I didn't stick around too long since there were some dead trees and limbs along the trail.