Art History, Keyword History

As we all know, history repeats itself, especially here. Seurat invents pointilism as a response to Monet's comma brushstrokes. Prefers geometric organization as opposed to willy nilly, undefined shapes. Takes five years to finish a painting, rather than one day.

Monet's Cliffs at Fecamp


Seurat's Point de A'illy

Internet Redefines Words

I'm breakin' this thing wide open, y'all. The Big Word Project is charging $1 a letter to redefine any word in the English language however you like. You choose your word, pay your monies, and forevermore that word will link internet users to your website.

Unfortunately, princess is already taken. HRH is not a word. And despite my last post, I don't feel that tipple would be appropriate. So, friends and neighbors, I would be forever in your debt if you would help me choose a word that will forever link to my website.

Hit me, I'm open.

Welcome to 1987

Well, I truly love you all, and because of that, I I give you this. Save your work first.

I will humbly accept thanks as you see fit.

Art History Revealed to be Pandering

Impressionism: middle-class Parisians at leisure.

Yawn!

Art History Revealed to be Interesting

Last time in my art history class, we discussed Monet...and how he liked to paint the same subject over and over to get the true essence of it. The main focuses of this discussion were his Gare Saint Lazare series and his Haystack series. He did 25 or such paintings of each subject, denying up to his death that he used photographs to paint from. However, after his death, his photographs were found. After returning from England (where he fled to avoid conscription), he also denied having been influenced by early realists John Constable and William Turner, despite the following striking similarity:

William Turner's The Slave Ship:


Claude Monet's Impression Sunrise:


His photographed Gare Saint Lazare series consisted of gems like these:







A few snippets from my notes about the haystack discussion are:

The Haystack paintings. Oh so very many. Haystack in spring, haystack in winter...

"It's not about the haystack," says professor Scott.

...haystack in autumn, haystack at sunset...

And here are those very haystacks:

And on one final note...

I wrote this in my notes that same day:

The older dyke in this class has a dog with cancer and I have long since become accustomed to her endless droning on about it. She tells everyone around her each detail about the medication, the symptoms, the prognosis, and the financial impact, all amid her apparent obliviousness to the fact that no one cares, least of all her classmates and teacher.

A dog is not self-aware, and therefore does not dread its own death.

I said to her with the most compassion I could summon, "The only blessing is that he doesn't feel sorry for himself," after which she went on discussing how she would continue to give him chemotherapy until his little heart gave out.

Am I the only person that thinks it is overwhelmingly selfish to put a dog through that? The only reason we do it to humans is because they prefer it over the thought of their death. An extra two months is an extra two months. But a dog doesn't make that distinction.

Pandora Takes New Slave

As I have mentioned numerous times, pandora.com is doing a wonderful job of telling me what I like. This song is my new favorite. It gave me goosebumps even before I figured out what it's about (which took way longer than it should have).

Lola does Minestrone

You cannot even imagine what went into this soup. Here is a partial list:

• chicken broth
  
• garlic
  
• green onion
  
• parsley
  
• green beans
  
• wild rice from last Monday
  
• canned corn
  
• tomatoes
  
• zucchini
  
• squash
  
• carrots
  
• spinach
  
• 3 kinds of beans
  
• lentils
  
• celery
  
• jalapeno
  
• olive oil
  
• bay leaves, cumin, oregano, basil, paprika, chile powder, salt, pepper
  

I'm fairly certain I've forgotten some things. Basically, I just went to the corner market and filled my backpack and two shopping bags with vegetables. And then I cooked the whole dealy for the last five hours. Now it's done and it should last at least a week.

Here's how you, too, can make Lola's Minestrone:

• You start with the chicken broth, whether you do that organic stuff in the carton or the cheap kind from a mix: no me importa tres pepinos. Fill yer pot about halfway with water/broth and throw a bunch of beans in. I just eyeball the amount. But remember they puff up. Get the water boiling and then reduce it to a low simmer. Now, the beans'll need to cook at least two hours just by themselves. So go read a book or call your mother or get engaged in the season premiere of Lost or something.
  
• When you come back, the beans should be opened and puffy. Then you can start adding veggies. Add them in the order of what needs to cook the longest. For example, I added my carrots first,then garlic, then zucchini and squash, and so on. Tomatoes last, if you're using them.
  
• This would be a good time to add your spices. I recommend a healthy dash of olive oil, too. With cumin and oregano, it's almost impossible to put too much. You just really can't overdo cumin. It's a mild spice. Watch yourself with the paprika, chile powder, salt, and pepper, though. You can always add more, but if you put too much you might be in hot water. Ha! Get it? Hot water?!.....Ahem. Anyway. I put too much jalapeno this time, and the only solution was to add more water, with the result being a thinner soup. No biggie.
  
• By the time you put the last ingredients in (ie tomatoes) your soup should be pretty much done. Give the broth a taste and bite a carrot to make sure it's cooked.
  

*DONE*

I think I may start posting more about my cooking. Everything I cook, I mostly make up the recipe myself. Like when I wanted to make blueberry muffins, I went online and found a recipe, then changed it to suit my preferences. Plus, posting my cooking exploits here will help me when I want to make something again and I realize I didn't write my recipe down because I thought I would just remember. Because of this false assumption, nothing I cook ever turns out the same as it was the time before.