In the Doll House

It turns out that Miriam's and Alice's dolls also like Mona Lisa, and have a reproduction on the wall of their bedroom. The dolls have various activities, too, including working on the computer.

India at the Sackler Gallery

Yesterday our visit to the Mall in Washington allowed us to experience several far-away countries and cultures. At the beginning of the day, we went to the Museum of the American Indian, and then to the special exhibit on art from Pompeii at the National Gallery of Art.

Finally, at the Sackler Gallery of Asian art, we heard the Rupayan ensemble of Jodhpur perform bhajans, songs composed by Maharaja Man Singh, an Indian ruler who reigned 1803–43. Singh also commissioned many of the paintings in a newly-opened exhibit called "Garden and Cosmos." The performance was part of the introductory ceremony for this exhibit. The musicians and dancers wore very colorful costumes, and played on folk instruments. Fortunately, the lead singers explained many of the words and gestures when introducing each song. Miriam was completely fascinated by the performance, and watched the dancers intently.



We also spent a little time in "Garden and Cosmos." The paintings in the exhibit were so incredibly detailed that the museum supplied magnifying glasses. The two themes, garden and cosmos, intertwined most fascinatingly. I especially liked the detail of many dark-skinned elephants with pink ears. Some were swimming in mysterious lakes or rivers, illustrating various Hindu myths. A blue-skinned hero appeared in several scenes from his epic adventures. I tried to take in the details of flowering trees, garlanded columns, and of rows and rows of worshipers or of courtiers. The cosmos of Hindu mythology is as unfamiliar as the exotic plants in the gardens.


Unfortunately, the museum allowed no photography of the paintings. I also did not spend enough time there. For a thorough review see "India's 'Garden' State: Lust, Asceticism Flower Side by Side in Sackler's Jodhpur Exhibit" by Paul Richard in the Washington Post (source of the image at right).

Last Canoe Ride of the Year

The Poison Ivy Palate

And a bee inside a flower:

Money: not what it used to be

Mona Lisa: could she be a US President?

A Mona Lisa Banquet at Sea

Late in 1962, as the ocean liner La France crossed the Atlantic from Le Havre, France, to New York, passengers became nervous about suspicious activity around one of the first-class cabins. As a response, the ship's captain had to reveal the identity of the top-secret occupant. In Cabin M-79 the Mona Lisa, inside an ingenious packing case and bolted to the floor, was on the way to New York.

La France was known for its remarkable cuisine in both first and second class. The revealed presence of the world's most famous work of art inspired the kitchen, as well as the passengers:

The ship’s captain broke out the fine wine and champagne. Apprehension quickly turned into celebration as passengers engaged in Mona Lisa costume parties and drinking games. The superliner’s butchers, pastry-makers, and table cooks prepared delicacies of roast beef Leonardo, salad Mona Lisa, and parfait La Gioconda to celebrate the painting’s transatlantic voyage. Passengers feasted under a 52-foot, star-studded dome in the first-class dining room and danced until dawn.

Mona Lisa made two appearances to vast crowds, first at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, then at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. The visit took place thanks to the diplomacy of Jackie Kennedy.

Dinners were held for the museum openings, but I doubt if any food rivaled that served on shipboard.

An entire book is about to be published about this, the last voyage of Mona Lisa: Mona Lisa in Camelot, by Margaret Leslie Davis. International standards for conservation of artwork no longer permit a fragile painting on wood, like Mona Lisa, to be shipped overseas; insurance and security conditions would probably preclude it anyway.

The current Vanity Fair has an excerpt from the book: The Two First Ladies. It's illustrated with great photos, including those above. Thanks to my friend Olga for writing me about it.

Gambling

Since the Dow today so far has fallen 550, on top of the huge drop last week, the dollar isn't worth anything any more. So let's do like Mona Lisa:

We might as well gamble. Though if you played cards with 5 mona lisas, you might have trouble knowing when she was bluffing. That smile....

Here's the deck I'd choose:

Mona Lisa in High-Tech Frosting

For more see: Mona Lisa Eclairs.

Another non Mona Lisa

Of course you recognize "The Lady with the Ermine" don't you?

Well, ok, here:

Mona Lisa: The Lily

Guess who is a student here?

Mona Lisa evidently agreed to have her card used as a sample in a mass email reminder for students with expiring cards.

Who feels the financial meltdown?

The LA Times today offered more insight into how the disappearance of certain kinds of credit hurt ordinary people, especially small business owners. As I said yesterday, I've been trying to get a grasp of what all this means in human terms. A quote:

As lenders tighten their fists and consumers tighten their belts, businesses from small restaurants to industry titans such as AT&T are getting squeezed.

Some are slicing inventory as they struggle to find financing to buy new merchandise. Others, unable to get loans to cover payroll and operating costs, are laying off employees or closing their doors. Even businesses that have healthy revenue and are up to date on their payments are having their loans called in or their interest rates raised. ...

... the National Small Business Assn. reported that 67% of small businesses said in August that they had been affected by the credit crunch -- and that was before September's market turmoil. The number of small businesses using bank loans was at a 15-year low and 32% said their loan terms were getting worse. The same was happening with credit card rates, 63% said.

Specific examples illustrated business that couldn't make payroll -- so had laid off workers, and business owners who had good credit and lines of credit on tap, but with banks that failed. And so it goes...

The article: Credit freeze puts businesses on thin ice by Marla Dickerson, Tiffany Hsu and Jerry Hirsch in today's LA Times.

Financial Crisis

I've been trying to grasp how the Wall Street meltdown would impact the ordinary voter, who (we hear) opposes the bailout. Thomas Friedman (who misled me on Iraq, but whatever) had a great formulation in his column today:

Well, you say, “I don’t own any stocks — let those greedy monsters on Wall Street suffer.” You may not own any stocks, but your pension fund owned some Lehman Brothers commercial paper and your regional bank held subprime mortgage bonds, which is why you were able refinance your house two years ago. And your local airport was insured by A.I.G., and your local municipality sold municipal bonds on Wall Street to finance your street’s new sewer system, and your local car company depended on the credit markets to finance your auto loan — and now that the credit market has dried up, Wachovia bank went bust and your neighbor lost her secretarial job there.

For what it's worth: I have been following the events very closely but can't imagine trying to write about this complex issue, as I doubt if I can come up with anything original in the least. To date my favorite comments have come from John Stewart and Rachel Maddox on TV and Paul Krugman in his NYT columns and on TV interviews.

Poison ivy in my neighborhood

I walked around noting where poison ivy had insinuated itself into beds of myrtle, English ivy, and even under beautiful blossoms. (Update: about the flowers, Evelyn says: it just doesn't look quite right to be poison ivy. The leaves seem too ornate. She's probably right.)

Of course I found one or two plants in my own garden: the last photo shows what I did next.

What does poison ivy look like....

Sometimes people ask us what poison ivy looks like. Three leaves and a red stem:


And other tales of our autumn walk this morning...

Mona Lisa, Photographer

I haven't found a new Mona Lisa lately -- until this one. It's another example of something I was pursuing: if you are out of ideas, put Mona Lisa ANYWHERE. Then in your text, use a cliche like Why is she smiling? Presto! You have an instant ad. Originality? Who cares?

See my earlier post: Pointless

September Colors

Every autumn I take some photos of the early changing colors at Gallup Park. At the Ann Arbor Farmers Market, they say that the fruit is around 2 weeks later than usual: I think the leaves and other plants are also delayed this year. But still, a few red berries, a few yellow leaves...

Waiting for this Film

The images suggest that this will be another wonderful not-for-kids-only film. I hope someone subtitles this trailer soon.

Commemoration in Lincoln

I read today that Lincoln, England, is holding an event to coincide with "European Days of Jewish Culture." The Europe-wide commemorative events involve towns and cities with a tradition of Jewish history. In Lincoln, "a formalised Jewish heritage trail has been established ready for the event, which will be walked as a complete entity for the first time," according to the blog News for Medievalists.

Several years ago, I spent quite a lot of time researching Aaron of Lincoln, a financial innovator who became the richest man in England. At left is my 2000 photo of the house in England called "Aaron's House" -- though evidence is weak that he lived there in actuality.

Aaron's story is most fascinating, involving the 12th century Jewish communities of Rouen, France, and London and Lincoln, England. Rouen and London were the two capitals of Henry II, Plantagenet, who ruled both Normandy and England -- inherited ultimately from his ancestor William the Conqueror. Another fascinating story.

According to the article:

Steve Griffiths, Jewish community secretary, said: "Lincoln is home to Britain's greatest collection of medieval Jewish houses which are a testimony to its importance as a centre of Jewish life in England. Jews lived here for the better part of two centuries most of the time in comparative peace and harmony which the periodic uproars and tragedies have tended to disguise."