Funniest Part of Our Trip to NYC

Erin and I went to New York for the day yesterday, so she could do some thesis research and we could eat and shop.

Funniest moment of the entire day - by far - was the minute that she and I both realized, simultaneously, that all of the art in one room at the MOMA had been underwritten by Stavros.

I'm 30.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAY (December 22). You are honored this year for being what many consider to be the rock of their group. You don't mind that others depend on you, because inwardly, you know you're strong enough to share. Financial rewards come in April. Romance blossoms when you're open and vulnerable in February. Scorpio and Cancer make sweet partners. Your lucky numbers are: 3, 28, 5, 44 and 20.

Yeah, financial rewards in April.

The Egg People

Last summer, Cooper and I bought ourselves a housewarming gift (we like to give ourselves presents): a painting called the Drinknapper. The artist is the wife of Cooper's hair stylist (yes, stylist) and the painting is extremely cool. It shows two "egg people" embroiled in some drama involving a martini. The colors are bright - turquoise, pink, green - and it is definitely the centerpiece of our kitchen. I love it.

Last night, Cooper got his hair cut. When he got home, he showed me this web site. Apparently it's pretty old - I know for a fact that some of those pictures have been sold, as we tried to buy one of them - but it is still cool. In person, though, totally cooler. The big paintings are REALLY big and when you see them in a restaurant or bar (we've been to two shows) they're sort of subtly dominant. They are so big that you can't help but notice them, but the colors and texture (they're VERY smooth and the lines are crisp) keep them from feeling overbearing or imposing.

Plus, the artist is super, super nice. Which is just icing, really.

Songbook

Althouse posts about a song that she loves in part because it reminds her of a specific time and place. Between the posts and the comments, it's very Songbook, which is very cool. Plus, the song whe writes about is I Can't Explain, which is one of my favorite songs EVER.

Holidays and Hons

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Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

Last night Cooper and I met some friends in Hamden to visit Baltimore's own Miracle on 34th Street. It wasn't too crowded - it was very, very cold - but the lights were out in full force, as always.

I took a bunch of pictures, but the one I wanted most didn't turn out quite right. One house, around the corner from the famous block, decorates their entire house around a Christmas Story-esque leg lamp. Unfortunately, it was too dark around the house to really capture the essence of the lamp.

But...I captured a lot of other essences...

Lit and glittery pink flamingos are out in full force in Hamden this time of year. A shop window down the street from the lights:

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Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

All the Whos down in Whoville really were singing:

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Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

This big, crazy half-religious, half-Santa yard is a good example of what how most of the houses on 34th Street decorate:

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Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

Local artist Jim Pollock opens his home/studio during the Christmas season. He's got some CRAZY metal sculptures inside his house. Some are, um, kind of disturbing, especially juxtaposed with the Santas and Grinches outside. But in addition to the darker work, he uses a lot of Baltimore imagery, such as metal crabs, Old Bay tins and Natty Boh cans.

This Christmas tree sits in his front yard:

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Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

A close-up of the tree:


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Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

The second-to-last house is usually open to the public, but it wasn't last night. The train wasn't running either:


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Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

And, finally, the view from the porch of the last (or first, if you go the other way) house. The owners of this house display a bunch of certificates of thanks they've received from mayors and the city. There's also a guestbook, and a note that says that the family who lived in that house (until recently), the Hoziers, started the tradition of the over-the-top lights in 1947.


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Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

Looking at the lights doesn't actually take a very long time, especially on a night like last night, when it's not crowded. It is such a fun Christmassy thing to do, though. Afterwards, we retired to the bar at Cafe Hon, finishing out the night with super-cheap beer and Irish music. Good times overall.

Intrigue

How awesome is this: two long-missing Heinrich Burkel paintings resurfaced at a recent auction. The paintings went missing after being removed from a museum during WWII and apparently made their way to a man in Pennsylvania, who bequeathed them to his daughter. She put them up for auction, completely unaware of their history.

Also super-cool: the FBI has a new art crimes team. Apparently they believe the market for stolen art is growing, so there's a need for an art-specific group. Right now I am imagining a whole bunch of Sean Connerys and Catherine Zeta-Joneses squirreled away in an historic Philadelphia house, using state-of-the-art technology and brilliant cunning to nab art thieves, all while in black-tie attire. LOVE IT.

I wish I'd known about this job when I was in college. Fortunately, my sister is an art history major, so I might be able to live vicariously through her. Erin, get on it. For real.