How can you not love these two??
A few of my favorite moments from the 2016 Summer Olympics
0
When Michael Phelps was trying so hard not to cry during his 20th gold medal ceremony.
Brazilian gymnast, Flávia Saraiva’s, floor routine that ignited her hometown crowd.
The mostly entertaining, sometimes annoying, commentators and their dramatic claims, such as:
“At Simone’s party, everyone is just a guest.”
“There is the future of backstroking in the world.”
“That’s what an Olympics champion looks like.”
“Big scores. They’re on the podium.”
“Dreams are coming true here in Rio.”
“Once you see those five Olympics rings, it’s all real.”
“That was about as perfect as perfect can be.”
“Her score on the balance beam is as astounding as she is.”
The men’s diving competitions, mostly because of their swimsuits…
Discovering that certain sports are part of the Olympics, or even sports at all, such as power walking.
The opening ceremony because it gave the world an insight into Brazil’s history and culture.
Watching the U.S. women’s gymnastics team kick ass and make history.
The Brazilian men’s soccer team winning the gold medal over Germany.
The Carnivale dance party during the Closing Ceremony.
The final recap after the Closing Ceremony that brought all of us at home to tears.
Latino artists in the Midwest
0Recently, for my job at the Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture, I’ve been conducting interviews with Latino/a artists along with Art Historian Amelia Malagamba in an effort to compile oral histories and trace Latino art in the Midwest. Not only are their families’ migration stories very interesting, as well as what inspires them artistically, they produce beautiful work that I think is worth looking at. Here are just a few examples:
Ramiro Rodriguez – Elementos de Chavon
Ramiro Rodriguez – Great Blue
Maria Tomasula – Heritor
Maria Tomasula – Virgin of Guadalupe
Maclovio Cantú IV – Marcos
Ricco Diamante – Winter Solstice
Ricco Diamante – Atargatis
Salvador Moya – Alien Status
Salvador Moya – Feeding Hearts
Federico Rodriguez
Federico Rodriguez
Romance Novels for Dummies
0I had the pleasure of seeing Romance Novels for Dummies at the Williasmtown Theater Festival yesterday, featuring the one and only Justin Long! He has performed in several plays at the festival and is basically a regular now. This play was both funny and heartbreaking, to the point where I saw many people in the audience wiping tears from their face. I myself was doing everything I could to stop the tears from coming out. It was about death, starting over, family dynamics, and of course, online dating, which is a whole other topic in itself. Justin Long even sported a man bun (and a Boston accent)! Here’s a little promotional video for the play, in which Justin Long asks local Williamstown folks about their worst dating experiences.
Equals
0
I just saw the movie Equals, and for me, it was one of those movies that really has an impact on you. It’s a beautiful portrayal of intimacy and the kind of closeness that you can have with someone, but not just with anyone – only the kind of closeness that exists between two people in those rare, lucky circumstances. It’s about the inexplicable that draws two people together. It’s about how vital human touch is for our well-being. It’s about allowing yourself to feel things even if they are contrary to what you believe is right according to a standard that is set either by yourself or by what is constructed around you. It’s about how easy letting go is, even though some make it seem nearly impossible, and even dangerous or harmful to oneself and others. It’s about how beneficial having that kind of closeness with someone is to other parts of your life.
Based in a utopian society where emotion is not allowed, two people are drawn to each other by forces that are out of their control. It’s cinematically spectacular, with extreme close-ups to highlight the raw emotion and symbolic colored silhouettes, which somehow speak to every sensory perception. I’m not normally a big sci-fi fan, but this movie is definitely something special. For your viewing pleasure, and to hopefully inspire you to see the movie, check out the trailer!
Pippi Longstocking
0
I used to love Pippi Longstocking when I was little. I wasn’t a huge reader as a child, and am still not, but I did love the 1988 film version of Pippi Longstocking. I lived in Italy when I was little, and lucky for me, the movie has been dubbed in 18 languages, including Italian. So the movie that I know and love is the version dubbed in Italian. Yesterday, as I was scanning through channels on TV, I came across the movie, but in English of course. I was so happy to just come across it by accident, but I have to say that watching it in English felt very far removed from my childhood viewing experience of it. It’s amazing how much language can affect our perception of things. Recently, I also came across this touching article about Pippi Longstocking by Conni Schultz, which also brought back memories of this childhood icon for me.
This is the trailer for the 1988 film version I’m talking about just to give you a small glimpse into the joys that this Swedish feminist icon brings to kids (and adults). I challenge you to not have this song stuck in your head for the rest of the day…
If you care about gender issues at all…
2I think this essay by Jennifer Aniston in the Huffington Post is a great rebuttal to the way that women are portrayed in the media, especially celebrities. It’s definitely worth the read!
On a related note, this is a very interesting documentary about how masculinity is shaped in this country, and it runs parallel to Miss Representation, which is about the very issue that Jennifer Aniston is talking about – the portrayal of women in the media and the expectations placed on women from an early age to measure up to certain ‘beauty standards’.
Laughing for days…
0In light of the fact that Bernie has officially ended his campaign, and as I’m struggling to come to terms with and accept Hillary’s campaign, let’s just take a moment to poke fun at the other side’s candidate…I know this video is from a while back, but in case you missed it, here’s some seriously funny stuff about Trump from John Oliver!
Now let’s juxtapose some of Trump’s idiotic spewings with this very eloquent and heartfelt speech by Obama at the recent memorial in Dallas.
It’s a scary time politically, but a little comedy along with a reminder of our current President’s brilliance may help for the time being.
An interior-lover’s dream – Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio
0
I just went to the Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio in Lenox, MA and, as I’m someone who loves anything to do with interior spaces and art, it was simply a dream. The house is situated on a big wooded lot and it’s a ten-minute walk through a little forest from the parking lot to get to the house. A fairly nondescript building from the outside (as is typical of that modern international style), it is boxy, white, and has old metal frame windows. George Morris and Suzy Frelinghuysen, the couple that built the house and studio, were both abstract artists inspired by Braque, Leger, Gris, and Picasso. The house is full of their own works, along with works by artists they looked up to.
The entrance to the house includes a beautiful small circular staircase with an abstract black metal railing. On the curved wall behind the staircase is an abstract fresco painted by George Morris in vibrant colors. The dining room, off to the left of the entrance, was designed by Suzy Frelinghuysen and it is rather dark. There are only two small light sources, the idea being to use candles and the fireplace for light. On the way to the living, which is to the right of the entrance, is a little bar with very cool shelving along the curved wall for the liquor bottles. The living room has a leather-tiled floor, a spacious 12-foot ceiling, zebra print sofas, two frescos by Morris on the main wall, one on each side of the fireplace, and an abstract stone carving above the fireplace, also designed by Morris. Upstairs are three bedrooms and a small gallery space displaying works of art. The narrow hallway is also lined with abstract works of art. I can’t forget to mention Morris’s studio, which is a large space at the end of the hallway with lots of light. Now a gallery space that only displays works of art, it was once Morris’s studio where he, and probably his wife Suzy, spent a considerable amount of time working on their art.
Because the couple was very affluent and of a certain social class, descendants of our nation’s founding fathers, they didn’t have to worry about holding traditional jobs and were able to focus their lives on painting and introducing modern art to the United States in the 1940s and 50s.
The house is a spectacular example of modern architecture and design and it was simply a feast for my eyes. Every turn and every room contain surprising and interesting details to gawk at. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed in the house, but you can see a nice gallery of the interior on the house & studio’s website. It’s definitely worth the visit if you ever find yourself in western Massachusetts!
gooollysandra 