Day 3480: Bibliophile.

 

 

"Sunflower": altered photograph, crayon.

 

Want music?

Click here for Erik Satie - Gymnopédies

then click back on this blog tab or here to listen as you browse, or not?

 

 

 

2GN2S

Sounds familiar to me ...

1.

Lorna Goldstrand Klefsaas didn't want her then 12-year-old son Sivert spending all of his time on social media. She'd raised three daughters who'd used the platforms so much that it was like a "depressant," she said. So she offered her son a deal: If he stayed off social media until his 18th birthday, she'd pay him $1,800. That was in 2016. 

Today, Sivert is 18 – and $1,800 richer after successfully avoiding all things Twitter and TikTok (among many other platforms) over the last several years. Lorna's happy that her son didn't spend his middle and high school years staring at a screen, but Sivert said he didn't even think about it: "I wouldn't say there was ever a time where I thought I was about to break." He's planning to spend his winnings on some items for his college dorm room. Oh, and he's finally on social media now — the first app he joined was Instagram. 

 2.

 In a different era, at age 10, my Dad offered me a $100. payoff (an astronomical amount back then) eleven years later, if I wouldn't smoke before age 21. It seemed a no-brainer to me, as I didn't like the look or smell of it, so at 21 I did receive $100 from my Dad for not doing what I didn't want to do.       Win-win.

 

 

Bibliophile ...

a person who collects or has a great love of books. I am maybe a lower-ranking bibliophile, as I am a fan. And, I do feel less than, when I don't have a book in progress. My last book ...

 

just recently completed, was great! Highly recommended. It grabs you in the first pages and doesn't let go even after the last page. I still think about it almost daily. I give it 5 stars.*

 But now, I am reading ...

 

To be honest, I didn't know the work when I bought the book? Anthropcene is just the current geologic age, but people may think I am smarted than I am when they see the title. I bought and first tried to get into this book before American Dirt. It was a no-go. Have you done that where you start and think not now? So it went on the shelf. But, when I finished American Dirt, I was in a vacuum and needed a book. This time, a go.

The fly-page says "In this remarkable symphony of essays, best-selling author John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale*. That's a wordy but accurate take. I am highlighting again, as is my habit with good (in my opinion) writers. I'll share a couple ...

 

 

Each chapter is a different subject. Quirky, fun but I also learn along the way, and he finishes with his 5-star rating scale for the subject. I like it, you might too. To be fair, I am only on page 51, ready for the Velociraptors and more.

 

 

cool bookmark by fabric artist, Libby Williamson.

The end sheet of this hard bound book has cool paper, for those of us that enjoy mark-making.

 

 

Now, who else is going to show you a book's endsheet? Never know what you'll get here?

 

 

 

 

A wseet 6-minute video, Pre-heated, here.

 

Just because ...

 

Spangled Coquette

 

 

Smiles for Monday ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                               Thanks for coming by today.

 

Day 3479: Blue star.

 

"Blue Star": acrylics, canvas, junk mail collage, digital.

  

Want music?

Click here for Little River Band, Reminiscing.

then click back on this blog tab or here to listen as you browse, or not?

 

 

 

A love story ...

 

The following love story is 100% true and not a compelling piece of fan fiction. Don't you love stories of how couples met? In fact, Dan Giedeman and Esther Wieland’s love story might outdo even the best fictional romances because theirs began with a chance meeting at the top of the Eiffel Tower. SWOON! The year was 1998. Dan was an American grad student attending an economics conference in Paris. Esther was a preschool teacher visiting the city from Switzerland. Both of them found their way to the Eiffel Tower, where Dan spotted her, approached her in broken French and sheepishly learned that she spoke fluent English. The pair peered down at the City of Light and soon descended to the street to wander the Jardin de Luxembourg together. A stranger snapped a photo of them (see above) before Dan walked her to the train station. He kissed her hand, scribbled his contact info on a piece of paper and saw Esther off – and that was just the first few hours of their two-decade international love story. 

 

After weeks of exchanging postcards, they met up in Zurich and began a cross-continent relationship before finally marrying and settling in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and it’s still their home today.) 

 

A few years back, on a family trip to Paris, they took their three children to the same spot where it all began. “I expect that for the rest of my life I will think of you whenever I see an image of the Eiffel Tower," Dan wrote in his first postcard to Esther.

 

 

In the news ...

You may have heard of Hank the Tank?

HANK THE TANK LIVES TO EAT ANOTHER DAY! 

This 500-pound behemoth, who was presumed guilty of breaking into more than two dozen homes in California’s Lake Tahoe earlier this month, was expected to be euthanized – until, his accomplices were brought to light. Hank did break into some of the homes, but the forced entries were the work of not one but three or more bears, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife concluded after examining DNA evidence. Instead of euthanizing the lot of them, the department said it’ll trap, tag and release them in a suitable habitat so it can track their movements. Nature wins again!

A portly bear is partially exonerated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A   great 3+minute video, Hippo/Rhino, here.

 

Just because ...

 

 

Frog-mouth Owl

 

 

Smiles for Sunday ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                               Thanks for coming by today.

\

Day 3478: Scraps.

 

 

"Scraps": junk mail collage & digital.

 

Want music?

Click here for Roy Orbison, Crying.

then click back on this blog tab or here to listen as you browse, or not?

 

 

 

2GN2S ... 

Stunningly Life-Like Figures Hand Carved From Wood by Peter Demetz​

 

 

 Italian artist Peter Demetz brings ordinary wood to life with his incredible, hand-carved figures. The sculptures, which vary in size from about 20 inches to nearly 50 inches tall, feature men, women, and children standing still against a plain, sometimes-colored background. Demetz's attention to detail is awe-inspiring. He's able to shape tiny folds in clothing, reproduce loose strands of hair, and define the human anatomy so well that you'd think these figures really exist.

 

In addition to the stunning meticulousness of his craft, Demetz's sculptures are also conceptually intriguing. The figures' backs are often turned away from us as they stare at the ground. As a result, Demetz's works feel poignant. They aren't necessarily sad, but their body language evokes a sense of longing, loss, or a fleeting period in time.

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Demetz website
via [Reddit and Tutt'Art]

 

 

 

Who knew? 

Doghouse struck by meteorite sold at auction.

 

A doghouse that was struck by a meteorite fragment in April 2019 -- complete with a hole in the roof -- is among the items that sold on Wednesday during an online Christie's auction of rare meteorites. 

 

               

A Mars rock thought to be the third largest piece of Mars on Earth is shown at Christie's online-only auction: 'Deep Impact: Martian Lunar and Other Rare Meteorites', in February 2022.   

 

 

 

 

The doghouse, the former home of a German Shepherd named Roky, was projected to be the second most valuable item in the annual sale, titled "Deep Impact: Martian, Lunar and Other Rare Meteorites." It had a high estimate of $300,000, but it did not meet expectations, selling for just $44,000.

 

 

 

 

 

A sweet 3-minute video, 2 Kinds of Love, here.

 

Just because ...

 

Lesser Green Broadbill

 

 

Smiles for Saturday ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obey Giant

 

                                                               Thanks for coming by today.