COVID Diary 3

I've been reflecting on what I do and don't like about keeping a diary through this.

I have mixed feelings.

I thought at first that it might be interesting to record the experience of a solo who is pretty content overall. I wasn't having trouble isolating.

By recording my experiences, it's both helped and made things harder.

Helped in that it has made me more aware of what I am feeling, I am noticing nuances that might have slipped by me before. And I'm definitely being present.

Made things harder in that by being more present, I am not distancing from my feelings. It is pretty easy for me to get into a zone, and not really examine what is going on all around me, to let it wash over me, and just be. This is forcing me to notice, and by doing so, stuff is coming up more. I am more aware, but I'm also having to process more. That's not a bad thing, but it's a harder thing.

In the end, it is better to be present and process as I go, but I miss the 'luxury' of being able to get into a zone for days at a a time, largely untouched by outside factors. I've also had something personal open up my heart a bit, and that is naturally making my emotions closer to the surface.

Yesterday this manifested in me feeling terribly sad... hardly surprising considering the number of crisis and trauma floating in the ether (pandemic, Nova Scotia shootings, the downed Forces helicopter), coupled with my awareness of friends who are experiencing loss. What got me was hearing the emotions of a journalist after speaking to the mother of one of those lost in the helicopter crash. Not that I am stoic, but I usually like to know the stories; it feels like a way to honour those who have been scarred or who have left us. But I hit a limit yesterday, and it stuck right there in my throat. As I was feeling this, and doodling, I found a tragic face making itself visible on the page, a crying eye, and bringing it out brought everything to the surface.

I am fortunate in that I have skills learned from many years in therapy that I can turn to when I get emotional or stuck. I wasn't yet at the stage of being overwhelmed, let alone panicked, but I have a deep knowledge that even if it gets that bad, I can cope with it. I can process it, I can work it out. This gives me a lot of strength when the chips are down.

The time I learned this was upon my arrival in Athens in 2009, and I had a big dose of culture shock. I felt traumatized and it went very deep. It wasn't so much Athens itself, but I was vulnerable, and something tilted, and I was not doing well. It took me a couple of days to work through it, I think, but I was able to figure out what was going on, and dug deep to find myself, rescue me, and get grounded again. I write about that a bit in my blog (Arrival in Athens and Chocolate, worry beads and a Greek rainstorm), and although I did not reveal a lot, I remember what a mess I was. That experience has taught me how resilient I really am. And the knowledge of that has helped me a few times in recent years, when I hit a wall. In the present, I wasn't there (yet), was just feeling emotional, but I was reminded of this, and it gave me comfort.

In the end yesterday, I worked it through a bit, then mostly distracted myself for the day (with all news off), and gave myself time.

Today, I feel much better.... but it's also what inspired me to think about how documenting at this time is helping me, and not helping.

Not helping? No, it's not that. It can never be a bad thing to be present and to deal with one's stuff, but it IS harder.

Harder isn't a bad thing.

I think I'd rather have it be harder, and have to work it through, than not feel anything at all, or feel oblivious.

It's all good, it's all good....

Museums engage rapid response teams

A few more museum initiatives on documenting life during a pandemic:

London's Victoria and Albert Museum has
put its Rapid Response Collecting team to work

Museums Scramble to Document the Pandemic, Even as It Unfolds - New York Times

Around the world, the coronavirus outbreak has sent legions of emergency medical and health care workers into overdrive. But it has also meant work for a handful of curators and museum researchers in Europe, charged with tracking the events and implications of the crisis, even as it happens. Most of them do not know exactly how or when their findings will be used, but they are confident that future generations of museum workers — and visitors — will want the information... [continue reading the New York Times article].

The International Center of Photography
is collecting on Instagram (#ICPConcerned)

Museums Are Urgently Collecting Homemade Masks and Other Ephemera From the Coronavirus Pandemic to Document History as It Unfolds - ArtNet

Curators call the practice "urgent response collecting"... As many of our minds are focused on how to fight the spread of disease, museums are thinking about how to best document this unique period in history and to preserve elements of the crisis as it unfolds... As a starting point for the current crisis, the Museum of the City of New York and the International Center of Photography are both utilizing Instagram (under the respective hashtags #CovidStoriesNYC and #ICPConcerned)... [continue reading on ArtNet for more initiatives].

Quotes from the diary study

On the screen after submitting each COVID-19 Daily Diary Study entry, there is a quote, and I've decided to collect them (I might even ask them for the first ones). 

Here's today's:

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says 'I'll try again tomorrow.'

- Mary Anne Radmacher

COVID Diary 2

I've been poking at another entry in my COVID-19 Diary without making much progress, but it's not for a lack of focus. It's just that a couple other related activities have been taking my time.

One is the blogposts I have been writing on how museums are documenting life during a pandemic. Theses were interesting initially, but I don't think it will be long until I just say "all museums are doing something".

The other, and most importantly, is the is the COVID-19 Diary Study that I am participating in (and wrote about it here). It's very interesting, but is taking me 20-30 minutes each evening (I will get an output of my responses after 4 weeks, so I might post that, or part of it, at that time).

I feel that I am benefiting from the structure these activities have provided me, especially the daily diary study. It has made me aware of my state of mind, how much I am (or am not) listening to news, my health, and so on. For at least part of my day, I am absolutely present.

I have been listening to music while I do these, and have periodically paused to record what I have been grooving to.

Background music: Ain't Too Proud to Beg (Rolling Stones), Maggie May (Rod Stewart), Innagadadavida (Iron Butterfly), Straight On (Heart), Hush (Deep Purple), Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas), Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits), Won't Get Fooled Again (The Who), Touch Me (The Doors), Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple), Radar Love (Golden Earring)

Canadian Museum of Human Rights: Acts of Kindness

The Canadian Museum of Human Rights is asking,
"What acts of kindness have lifted your spirits
during the Covid-19 pandemic?” 

The UK based Museums Association has created guidelines for how museums should go about collecting pandemic-related content, as well as a toolkit.

In How are museums collecting during coronovirus shutdown? the association profiles 10 museums and their COVID-19 collection efforts, nine in the United Kingdom, and one in Canada(!).

Canadian Museum of Human Rights, Winnipeg 

The Canadian Museum of Human Rights is asking people to create and share videos responding to the question: “What acts of kindness have lifted your spirits during the Covid-19 pandemic?” Selected videos will then appear on the museum’s website (there are 16 videos so far).

To read what the nine UK museums are doing, continue reading on the association's website.

Royal BC Museum: Collecting For Our Time

I posted a few days ago about two interesting initiatives around diarizing life during COVID-19: Documenting life during a pandemic. Since then, I've heard a few more such stories, so will continue this as a little series, as I find them. 

Royal BC Museum - COVID-19: Collecting For Our Time

The Royal BC Museum recently launched a project that invites British Columbians to share stories of their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Collecting For Our Time demontrates how museums are evolving as spaces for reflection and dialog. By seeking contributions from the community, the project is also educating the public how and why museums collect. This involvement will help all of us treasure the long-term value of the collection.

"Right now we’re collecting information. So write to us at forourtime@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca. Tell us what you think should be captured for the future. What do you think will best tell generations to come who we were and what we lived through? You can send us a few lines, a link to a tweet, a photo or a poem... [continue reading on the RBCM website]."

Fake journals: I love it... and I missed it!

Fake journal? What's that?

I discovered it by accident, after clicking on the 'View my complete profile' to learn more about an interesting new-to-me blogger I'd found on Blogger (MHBD's Blog). That took me here, to MHBD's Fake Journal. After puzzling over it a bit, and not quite getting the premise, I turned to Google.

'What is Fake Journal Month?' took me to the Official International Fake Journal Blog, where I learned about the concept, it's creator, and it's 18 year history.

Although I was disappointed to learn that the IFJM had ended, and why, I was still curious as the the premise, especially when I learned that the founder was continuing the practice in private. Ah, there it is, the value of the fake journal was really for the individual, shared or not. That made me curious about those benefits.

Some highlights from the What is International Fake Journal Month page:

What is IFJM? Basically it’s a free pass to put anything in a journal that you might not otherwise put in. At least that’s one way to see it. From April first to April 30, you are encouraged to keep a fake journal different from and outside of your regular visual journal. Take on a new persona, alter ego, or be the same person you are now, except in an alternate universe. 

• Maybe you are a cat person and always draw cats, well for April you’ll start a fake journal and just draw birds, with a passion, as if they were the most important animal on the planet. 

• Maybe you want to live somewhere else? Well make a daily journal as if you are already there. 

• Perhaps you are always working in pencil. Now is the time to become that artist who always works in pen, just go for it. 

• Or if you are always image heavy in your journal, spend some time writing, pages and pages.

Interesting concept, eh? I think I may try it out. What twist will I take? I'm not sure, but one idea comes to mind: I draw daily and my doodles almost always include faces; I could challenge myself to just draw abstract for a month, and journal the experience. Will have to see. Thinking about a month later this year to do it.

CVD = COVID Diary

I've thought off-and-on about journalling throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but let it go, choosing instead to stick to my usual un-routine of journalling when I need it (none of this is public anyways).

Earlier, I shared highlights from two radio interviews about COVID-19 diaries: Documenting life during a pandemic.

Interesting, I thought, as I listened.... so am playing with the idea of blogging throughout this.

My perspective is that of a single female introvert, living alone, working at home, and feeling very grateful for everything: Canada, BC, our healthcare system, my health, my job, my apartment and all the time I have on my hands.

The pandemic aside, I am perfectly content to spend days alone. It's as natural as breathing for me. And considering I just spent 10 years living with family, after 30 years of living alone, I am especially grateful to have my own space. Physical space, but mental, emotional and spiritual space as well. I had largely lost touch with those aspects of myself after I began co-habitating, so this is more time along the path I have been on since December.

Background music: Under My Thumb (Rolling Stones), Heart of Gold (Neil Young), Down on Mainstreet (Bob Seger), White Lightening and Wine (Heart), Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin)

Documenting life during a pandemic

Today I listened to TWO interesting CBC Radio shows about pandemic diaries: who's keeping them, and why, and how they have value beyond the personal. It turns out there are a few initiatives to encourage recording this period for their historical value. A few highlights from each:

'We want it all': Keeping a COVID-19 diary? It could help future historians — and your mental health - The Current

Dr. Karen Blair, an assistant professor of psychology at St. Francis Xavier University... is part of a team that's collecting diary entries from those in the thick of isolation. They hope to shed light on how the pandemic is affecting mental health. Each day, participants check in with a short survey. Some even share details about their experiences that day."

It's so interesting that I have joined the COVID-19 Diary Study project.

The Current story resources
Keeping a COVID-19 diary? It could help future historians - podcast episode and transcript
COVID-19 Diary Study - join Dr. Karen Blair's project

National Museum of Denmark's
Christian Sune Pedersen is leading the journal project

Danes are sending their quarantine journals to the national museum - Day 6

"Lots of people are turning to social media to chronicle the monotony of quarantine, peppered with the brief excitement of sourdough starters and family kitchen parties. But folks in Denmark are taking it a step further, by sending pages of their lockdown journals to the national museum to preserve them for posterity. Conveniently, Denmark already has a blueprint for the journal experiment..."

They've done it before, in 1992 (when they received 51,000 entries) and again in 2017. An interesting listen.

Day 6 story resources
Danes are sending their quarantine journals to the national museum - podcast episode and transcript
National Museum of Denmark - official website (19 museums/sites)

Public Art: Johnson St Parkade

A block or so away from where I live sits the City of Victoria's Johnson Street Parkade, a non-descript cement faced structure. I've never paid much attention to it, including when I used it a few times in December, and walking past it multiple times. Yet, not long ago, I had my eyes up and my attention outward, I (finally) noticed the public art adorning it. And it's brilliant.

I dug a bit deeper, and found that it is called Woven Together, and was created in 2016 by Musqueam artist, Thomas Cannell, with his mother Susan Point (you may very well have seen his art on public installations throughout BC, or adorning BC Ferries new Salish Class ships - read Thomas Cannell's biography here).

From the 2015 announcement:

Woven Together will consist of colourful, powder-coated aluminum circular forms that are often used in Coast Salish art to represent the cycle of life, but also the traditional weaving spindle whorl and transportation. Colour will play a significant role in symbolizing cultures and different beliefs around the world all coming together to complete the circle. The centre will be made up of four eye motifs that create four butterfly images symbolizing the ability to accept change, metamorphosis, and the beauty of nature. The number four is important within First Nations culture as it represents the four winds, seasons, directions, elements, moons and peoples..." [read the full story here].

Related resources
Thomas Cannell lantern design - LunarFest 2020: Year of the Rat
Susan Point and Thomas Cannell to Create Public Art to Enhance Johnson Street Parkade - City of Victoria
Artwork revealed for Salish class ferries - Salish Sea Sentinel
Where Did the New Musqueam Banner Design Come From? - YVR Airport
Public artwork by Thomas Cannell ready to rise in Deer Lake Park - Georgia Strait
Thomas Cannell profile - Salish Weave Collection
Thomas Cannell, Creator - Westover profile
thomascannell.com - Thomas Cannell's website

Is it just me, or all introverts?

Listening to CBC today, and the various stories about how people are handling isolation, it left me feeling grateful for being who I am: an introvert who enjoys my own company and perfectly content to spends days on my own.

Aside of those with genuine concerns as a result of their health, family or work situation (which I have total empathy for), it was those who simply don't know what to do with themselves home along for long stretches that got my attention.

Beyond that, it was the ones that were feeling traumatized that interested me. Really? I don't say that in a sarcastic way, I say it in a "oh, so some people are really torn apart to be alone?". As in learning, and having my eyes opened. It was a comment by an extrovert that made the penny drop. I know that extroverts get their energy from others, but I don't think I'd understood how distressful it can be just to be alone for long stretches.

But perhaps I can understand, from the other side, as an introvert who just spent 10 years living with others and I almost lost my mind. If I don't spend copious amounts of time alone, I can't think, and I don't know who I am. I have no energy and I become desperate. Same thing, other side?

Anyways, I do not mind days at home alone. Having lived alone for 30 years, it's a common way of being for me, and I'm perfectly content. Since (finally) having my own place again, the days at home since December have been bliss.

Yes, I do like to do stuff, and not having access to coffee shops, and arts, and so on, is certainly missed, but it's not upsetting. Just think of the money I'll save!

Right now I have my headphones on, listening to jazz, with my feet up, and sun bouncing off the windows of the hotel across the street. Trying to decide which book I'll turn to after this, a historical novel set in Egypt in the 20's (a library score), or the Audible memoir of a woman who fell for a fake man. Wish I had more library books, but there is no lack of reading material here on my bursting bookshelves. And Audible is endless in terms of content.

I am quite happily living without TV, especially in current circumstances. CBC Radio One gives me pretty well all I need, without endless visuals of masks and hazmat suits to haunt me. Podcasts and online content fill in the rest. I'm actually not big into social media at the moment, but it's there if I need it. I've only recently been taking advantage of my Prime Video, maybe watching an hour or two most evenings, as distraction.

Then, there's silence.

Anyways... was curious as to whether other introverts feel the same. And if I was truly in isolation for weeks perhaps I'd feel differently, but I don't think so. Good thing, and I feel grateful that I am so well positioned to whether this storm.

It leaves me lots of room to learn about how others are coping without it overwhelming me.

And having this ah ha moment about how hard others are finding this is one such learning.

All quiet

It is 2:36 am. I woke up about 10 minutes ago, and in that time, I heard one truck go by. But that's it. No cars, no taxis, I can't even hear any traffic on Douglas. So eerie.

I live in the middle of it all in downtown Victoria, in what is usually a cacophony of cars, sirens, honking, voices, yelling, singing, and so on. Add to this the banging as the adjacent businesses take out their garbage and cardboard to the bins below my window. I happen to love being right here; the noise doesn't bother me, and is often entertaining. So the silence is so unusual.

It's early Friday morning, so I expect the most stunning silence will be in 24 hours, as the peeps who normally go clubbing will presumably have nowhere to go. No middle-of-the-night drunken antics on the street below.

And I've heard almost nothing since I started writing this, maybe 4/5 cars in 18 minutes.

Will write some reflections at a later time.

Museums in the age of COVID-19

Time just published a timely piece: 5 Ways to Bring Art Into Your Home While Museums Are Closed. A few highlights:

As part of widespread efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, many of the world’s major cultural institutions have closed their doors... these institutions’ closure brings a reminder of the importance of the museum’s place in society during times of need. Research has shown that viewing art can reduce stress and anxiety, increase motivation and serve as a mood booster... And museums also play a crucial role in creating a more empathic world. They preserve the past, remind us of our place in the present and give us hope for the future. But the inability to set foot in a museum for the foreseeable future need not be synonymous with the absence of art from people’s lives. Under the Instagram hashtag #MuseumFromHome, cultural institutions have shared several informative posts about their collections and other artworks in an effort to continue to share knowledge and culture with the public, despite the closings. And there are many other ways to get your arts and culture fix from home via the internet, exploring museums that would otherwise require a plane ride to visit..." [continue reading on Time].

5 Ways to Bring Art Into Your Home While Museums Are Closed - Time

Kettle, not black

I got my new kettle today.

I ordered it on eBay a month or two ago, and had kind of given up on it, but today it arrived, all the way from Germany (but made in China). I love the kettle itself ~ both for its beauty, and because I am tired of boiling water in a pot, which I have been doing since December 1st.

Now, it was a cheap kettle (my criteria were: attractive design, whistling-style, free shipping, and cheap), so my expectations were low, so overall I'm happy. But it came with built-in entertainment: the verbiage on the box. I'm guessing this is the result of bad free online translation tools. Beyond amusing, it is instructive as to how bad our English sounds when translated to other languages using such tools.

I've included pics below, but here is what it says, VERBATIM.

FLAT BOTTOM
Ball type kettle
Stailnless steel
THE COLOR

Elaborate, sharp edges, no accute angle
Carefully polished, no acute angle, sharp edge;
No filler welding, use more comfortable
Comfortable, at ease.

The anti-overflow kettle mouth cap
Exquisite safety cap and spout close,
to prevent too much water boiling device
After or water overflow, avoid open
Scalded by hot water.

Humanized design, elegant
The overall design of the kettle body together
Body, do not use retained water, hand
Comfortable handle, more human nature
The intimate and caring

Products with packaging material object as a standard

This product is applicable to various types of stoves and stoves
Electromagnetic furnace
Electric furnace
Gas stove
Side burner

Leaning Tower of Dallas

A wee bit of drama in Dallas, Texas this
week after a less-than-textbook demolition 

The locals are having a blast...

Here's my favourite story:

"As the infamous wrecking ball continues to tap away at the Leaning Tower of Dallas, Jerrel Sustaita is there to paint its progress. Since last week, the Dallas artist has stood before his easel outside the slanting building, painting acrylic impressions of the scene... When the tower finally falls, Sustaita will move on to another project, but he said he hopes his miniature art exhibition will find its way into a museum gallery. Although he’ll be printing copies of the paintings for sale, he said he wants the original pieces to remain together as a testament to the historic Leaning Tower of Dallas. “I’m not really interested in a situation where people buy it and take it off the wall,” he said. “I’d like it to stay up for a little while just for people to reminisce.”..." [read the full story on dmagazine].

Not your best demolition company ad...

Qui tacet consentit

Sir Thomas More (1527) by Hans Holbein the Younger

Qui tacet consentit

Ah, Latin.... This was the email signature from an inquiry to a For Sale ad I'd posted on Craigslist, and I was curious. Ot course, I turned to Wikipedia...

In a nutshell: Consensus is assumed when there's no evidence of disagreement.

Qui tacet consentire videtur, ubi loqui debuit ac potuit (He who is silent, when he ought to have spoken and was able to, is taken to agree) — Latin proverb

AKA if you disagree, the onus is on you to say so.

The maxim is "Qui tacet consentit": the maxim of the law is "Silence gives consent". If therefore you wish to construe what my silence betokened, you must construe that I consented. — Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) in A Man for All Seasons

I actually found all this on a resource page for Wikipedia edits, who apparently go mad with both editing and silence about their edits. I found the following of particular interest:

Warnock's dilemma, named for its originator Bryan Warnock, is the problem of interpreting a lack of response to a posting in a virtual community. The term originally referred to mailing list discussions, but has been applied to Usenet posts, blogs, Web forums, and online content in general. The dilemma arises because a lack of response does not necessarily imply that no one is interested in the topic, but could also mean for example that readers find the content to be exceptionally good (leaving nothing for commenters to add). [more here]

Dancer on my rooftop

CFAX pic

So, all this went down where I live. She may well have danced over my rooftop. Definitely heard the "explosion" bang.

"A woman is in custody after an incident which began with a break and enter in the 1300-block of Broad Street this morning. On Thursday, February 6th, 2020, shortly after 1:00 a.m., Patrol officers were called to the 1300-block of Broad Street for a report of an alarm at a business. Officers arrived on scene within minutes and observed the woman suspect, who had broken into a business at that location. The woman fled the scene via rooftop. A K9 unit was deployed to assist in locating the suspect. The woman then broke into two separate suites in a nearby multi-unit residential building in the 1300-block of Douglas Street. The woman barricaded herself inside the second suite. During the incident, the woman discharged a fire extinguisher and pulled the fire alarm. Many building residents were evacuated. The Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) attended the scene. Negotiation attempts were unsuccessful, and GVERT officers took the woman into custody approximately four hours after the initial call for service. A loud distraction device was used during the arrest, which has led to reports of an explosion in the area. ..." [continue reading VIC PD's story].

Great speedy and effective response by Vic PD and the K9 team. Still feel safe living in my hood.

02-02-2020

The Gauguin sculpture that wasn't

Interesting story regarding misattribution (aka fakes).

"A wood sculpture attributed to Paul Gauguin held in the collection of the Getty Museum in Los Angeles was not actually produced by the famed artist, new research suggests. Its attribution status has been demoted to “unknown” in December 2019. According to a report by the French newspaper Le Figaro, the institution paid an estimated $3 million to $5 million in 2002 to acquire the work, which is titled Head with Horns, from Wildenstein gallery in New York..." [continue reading on ArtNews].

Getty Museum’s Gauguin Sculpture Revealed to Have Been Misattributed - ArtNews

The sad demise of a BC gallery

Just stumbled across this:

'I did a lot of things wrong': Why artists turned against a small-town gallery owner in B.C.

"Marlowe Goring’s art gallery was the talk of the town when it opened in 2013 in the retirement community of Qualicum Beach, B.C. The gallery featured the works of aboriginal artist Norval Morrisseau — “the Picasso of the North” — and various West Coast artists. There was talk of incorporating a chic wine bar. But about a year and a half in, the gallery went bust and residents in this normally staid town are said to have become furious with Goring over unpaid debts and unaccounted-for paintings..." [continue reading in the National Post].

James White, an art wholesaler in Ontario,
says he consigned paintings to Marlowe which
remain unaccounted for. Seen here: ‘Spirits
Journeys’ by Norval Morrisseau. (National Post)

Review: Rooftops of Tehran

Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic
I loved this book. I chose to read this book in light of recent news and politics, hoping it would give me more insight into Iran and the Iranian people. It did not disappoint. The hopes and dreams of Iran's youth, set against the context of the country's norms and traditions, provided a rich picture. The characters were very real to me. The tiny details of the neighbourhood, the cooling hose in the heat, the imaginings under the stars, took me right there. Richly written. Great narration. 5 stars.

View all my reviews

Review: Deadly Deception- The Jennifer Pan Story

A Daughter's Deadly Deception: The Jennifer Pan Story by Jeremy Grimaldi
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Rambling
I'd had enough of this book about half way through, but stuck it out. Not so sure it was worth it. Overall, the book could have been 1/3 shorter and told the same story. The order was odd, the last half was misplaced. It was factual at first, but seemed to fall into conjecture. The last 2 minutes of the Acknowledgements told me why, and I wasn't thrilled to have spent my time on it. I like true crime stories but would not read this author again.

View all my reviews

Snow swirls

1:11am. I awaken to the silence of snowy streets.
I open the big sash window in my bedroom to better hear the silence.
The air is fresh and lovely.
I could make a snowball from the ledge outside my window. But I prefer to leave it pristeen. Except where I poked it.
The flakes are falling slowly.
They float up, down, horizontally, moved by gentle gusts of wind.
Then fascinating swirls as the wind between buildings blow.
I have seen big swirls, almost like a two story high ghost floating down the street.
I find myself wishing I knew where my camera battery was, unpacking undone. The snow on the branches of the tree outside my window, the icicles on the streetlamp, but perhaps I am meant to marvel, not fiddle.
There is perhaps 2-3 inches of snow downtown, the streets unplowed.
Very occasional cars, half driving faster than is safe for the conditions.
A very few pedestrians, a drunk couple sporting umbrellas.
As I am enjoying this scene, I get a stark reality check.
A man crosses the street mid-block, right below my window.
The man is wearing a winter coat, with boots, and is carrying a shopping bag.
Once under the shelter of the hotel's canopy, he pauses to dig through his shopping bag, pulling out a big scarf. Glad he has some gear, perhaps picked up from a full or closed shelter nearby.
My eyes swell up with tears and my heart skips a beat. I feel sad, and full of empathy for this presumably homeless man. What a horrible night to be without shelter. How COLD it would be to sit or lie down.
He stands for 5 or 10 minutes, at one point calling to someone across the street (there may be homeless sleeping in the doorways directly below my apartment), but finally moves on.
Now my winter wonderland isn't so magical. Or perhaps it's still magical, but is tempered by how very, very tough this is on the homeless.
I close my window and go back to bed.
Not sure how long it will be until I sleep.

This person does not exist

Fake lady from thispersondoesnotexist.com

Ok, weird stuff in the world of AI (artificial intelligence) and stock photos...

Visit thispersondoesnotexist.com and keep refreshing. All fake.

Think you can spot the fake? Try whichfaceisreal.com and see how you do.

It's a weird, weird world...

Audiobooks on The Sunday Edition

There was a great story on CBC's The Sunday Edition today about audiobooks (you can listen to it here).

This is what I doodled while listening to it.

Review: Bloodstains

Bloodstains by Jeff Mudgett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Very dark but compelling.
I've had Eric Larson's "The Devil in the White City" sitting unlistened to in my library for sometime, but decided to read it before reading "Bloodstains". I recommend you do the same, as it provided context.
I like memoirs and have read a few by people who have learned about a parent or relative's criminal history ~ drawn by the curiosity of wondering what that must be like ~ so Bloodlines caught my eye.
But this is no run of the mill serial killer (if there is such a thing), this was the first and worst. A truly evil psychopath. And I knew this story would involve unfathomable darkness. The journey Mudgett took to uncover his family history was inseparable from his own mental illness, which reared its head while he was uncovering revelations. It made for a very dark story indeed. But I am glad I read it.
There is an oddity about this book in that it has a music and sound effects in the background throughout most of it, and it was distracting. Like B-grade movie, the amateurish audio effects drew attention to them, instead of enhancing the story.

Read my review of The Devil in the White City
View all my reviews

Review: Devil in the White City

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dark history in the white city.
After a false start a year ago, when I couldn't get into this book, I picked it up again. I had just come across "Bloodstains" by Jeff Mudgett, the great grandson of the "devil" in this book, and thought I should read this first (I recommend reading them in this order; it gave good context for Mudgett's revelations).
Overall, this was a pretty good book, but tying together two largely unrelated storylines isn't easy to do. While both were joined by the time and place of the Chicago World's Fair, flipping from a mass murderer's arrival in the city to the architects planning the site couldn't help but feel disjointed.
In the end, the stories were joined in the grizzly nightmares and calamities during the fair. It was disturbing to learn that the disappearing women barely registered with authorities and the "devil" carried on under their noses.
It is a dark history, but interesting nonetheless.

Read my review of Bloodstains
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Opera Garnier learnings

I have been a fan of the Opera Garnier since I stumbled upon it early into my month in Paris in 2009. I was already blown away by the building when I looked up and first set eyes on Chagall's remarkable ceiling. I gushed at the time, and have since acquired a tremendous print of the ceiling (yet to be framed) and a book or two.

Yet, despite learning that construction began in the 1860's, I never really thought about how that Chagall got there.

Then, this morning, reading an old copy of a Sunday NY Times left over from a vacation (I buy a copy and read it front to back over a week, and unfinished sections set aside... one of which just surfaced), I had a major ah ha moment:

"Among the theater's most famous fixtures are the chandelier and the painted ceiling that surrounds it ~ originally by Jules Eugène Lenepveu, then replaced in 1964 with a new sprawling work by Marc Chagall depicting scenes from operas by Mozart, Wagner and more."
Behind the Curtain at the Paris Opera, New York Times, September 8, 2019

Of course!!!!

Insouciance

I learnt a new word yesterday:
insouciance

Click to enlarge to see definition

Picasso damaged at Tate Modern

Stuff like this piece in the news today drives me crazy....

After an important Pablo Picasso painting was damaged at one of London’s most notable museums, a man could face criminal charges. This past weekend, Pablo Picasso’s 1944 painting Bust of a Woman was reportedly ripped at the Tate Modern. The person suspected of vandalizing the painting is Shakeel Ryan Massey, a 20-year-old man from London, who was charged with criminal damage on December 28. According to the Guardian, Massey has said he will deny the charge. The work was created during the Nazi occupation of Paris and is now valued at £20 million (about $26.3 million). The piece depicts the photographer Dora Maar, the artist’s lover and muse, wearing bright green clothing and a hat. The painting, which is on long-term loan to the museum from a private collection, was attacked on Saturday and has been taken off view..." [continue reading on ArtNews]


More on the subject:
Man Charged with Criminal Damage After $26.3 M. Picasso Painting Is Ripped at Tate Modern - ArtNews
Museum visitors damaged a Salvador Dalí painting while taking selfies - Photography
Denver man accused of ‘throwing things and knocking things over’ in damage spree at art museum - Dallas News
Here Are 9 Shocking Times People Destroyed Art While Taking Selfies - ArtNet
What Happens if You Accidentally Damage or Destroy a Priceless Work of Art in a Museum? - Today I Found Out