Cleveland Visit, Part 2 and 3

Went to the Opera Cleveland Sunday and saw Rossini's The Barber of Seville (not to be confused with Chuck Jones' Rabbit of Seville). Here is the Dallas Opera 2006 debut, Giorgio Caoduro as Figaro, featuring the famous aria.

Went to El Rodeo for dinner. Today we wandered amongst the stores in Cleveland, including Malley's Chocolates factory outlet and a late lunch at Melt.

Cleveland Visit

My parents are in town this weekend, so I get to play tour guide! Went to the Garfield Memorial at Lakeview Cemetery Saturday. Unfortunately, the interior was being cleaned so we couldn't get inside, but the view of Cleveland from the front stairs was still amazing.

Then went on to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Saw two temporary exhibitions of photographer Lee Friedlander and art of Central African Savannah. Also, part of the permanent exhibit has reopened, which was great to see. The renovation of the 1916 building was beautifully done. Here are two of my favorite pieces:

Twilight in the Wilderness by Frederick Church (1860). This piece is breathtaking. At first one is in awe of its beauty, but it also has a sense of melancholy. The damaged tree stump in the foreground foreshadows the inevitable destruction of forests due to deforestation, a concern even in the 1860s that eventually resulted in the establishment of the National Park System.

Cupid and Psyche by Jacque Louis David (1817). I'm sorry but this piece makes me chuckle every time. I love Cupid's shit-eating grin.

Then on to Hunan in Coventry for dinner and poked around in Big Fun and City Buddha before the trip home.

Zen of Cleaning

Rainia Kelly of Newsweek wrote a fun editorial after reading a book called Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life by Gail Blanke . The very act of purging items from your home, by decluttering your physical space, and living in the present, the book claims, you will find inner peace. Writes Kelly, "...this is a racket. Cleaning and organizing and simplifying always ends up costing us lots of money and time. ...I'm not saying you should let your house fall into disrepair or keep all your National Geographics forever, but couldn't that time and money be used to more directly help a person reach her true potential? Therapy, time with friends and family, a graduate degree—they all seem much more useful than cleaning your closets."

Coming from a family of packrats, a genetic predisposition I try very hard to fight (and lose every time), I have to admit she is right. No matter how hard you try, clutter is always there. Taking time to share a moment with friends or family has its own rewards. It's all about finding a balance.

Having said that, you don't want to end up like Big and Little Edie (see below).

You can read the article here on Newsweek.

My Wacky Movie Weekend

Saw several movies this weekend, while not new, were new to me...

Twilight

Twilight... well, if you haven't heard about this one, you've been living under a rock on Mars (or you haven't been around a teenage girl in the last year). Bella (Kristen Stewart) moves to a tiny town in Washington to live with her dad. New to school and already an outsider, Bella is immediately attracted to another outsider, the James Dean-like Edward (Robert Pattinson), who is oddly both attracted and repulsed by her. He is pale, cold to the touch and always calls off sick when it's sunny. When Edward saves her from an out of control car (using his bare hands), Bella puts two and two together. He is a vampire. Rather than be scared, she is intrigued. They fall in love. Unfortunately for her, another vampire is attracted to her as well, only as a menu item.

Twilight was great at capturing that sense of isolation in high school. To the director's credit, the film had a simple, straightforward story that did not rely too heavily on special effects but focused on character. The pacing was a bit awkward in places and the transitions between scenes were a bit jumpy (one minute they are in Washington, the next they are in Phoenix). I have not yet read the books so I felt I was missing out on some more subtle story points.

Grey Gardens

Grey Gardens... where to start! A documentary film about a mother and daughter, Big and Little Edie Beale, aunt and cousin to Jackie Onasis Kennedy. Victims of both circumstance and mental illness, they grew up in privilege and were reduced to living in squalor. The film records their lifestyle in a once beautiful 20+ room mansion that is now covered with overgrown shrubbery and filled with garbage, cats and raccoons. The film is appalling and exploitative and hillarious and heartwarming all at once. As crazy as their antics are, you  can't help but be charmed by them as they relive fonder moments in their past. Jessica Lang and Drew Barrymore will be starring in an HBO film based on the Beales' life, also titled Grey Gardens. You can view clips of both the original documentary film and a trailer for the new one on Liam's blog. Yes, that is a sweater on her head!

Walt's Ashes

As found on Cartoon Brew.

Red Riding Hood

Slagsmålsklubben - Sponsored by destiny from Tomas Nilsson on Vimeo.

Found on Cartoon Brew

The Graveyard Book

Ghost enthusiasts, have I got a book for you! The author of Coraline, Neil Gaiman, appeared on The Colbert Report last night to promote his newest story, The Graveyard Book. Nobody Owens, or Bod, is a normal boy. Normal, except for the fact that he is being raised by ghosts in a graveyard! "There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy – an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer." He is unable to leave the graveyard because the man who killed his family is waiting for him... Okay, so this book is written for kids (technically), but Gaiman is a darker, more gothic writer. In the spirit of Tim Burton and the Brothers Grimm, this story is sure to delight kids and adults of all ages. Illustrations by Dave McKean.