rajafacesbothways

What Goes Up Must Come Down

After 2 months, the exhibit at Capital Cellars comes down tomorrow.  Unlike some, this one was quite lucrative, providing me with enough sales to pay for frames for the next exhibit.

Some of these photos have found their home on other walls.

And some of the frames will hold totally different photos in the 20/20 Vision exhibit; that will include approximately 50-55 photos that Karen and I are now prepaing.

Examples: Old drive-in theaters along U.S. 20--like the one above in Idaho--or the one below in Ohio

 

Chasing the Hour Hand

Scanned and identified another 170 slides of Route 20 for 20/20 Vision exhibition and for the web site we are developing. Reading When the Killing's Done by T.C. Boyle, a favorite author. Two trips to Lexington for dance classes and program rehearsal and to buy bagels for First Friday's "lots of lox" gathering here tomorrow a.m. (bagels don't exist in Georgetown--probably because they don't do well with sausage gravy).

Set dye for artist friend Judy who does hand painted silk scarves and ties. And awaiting the arrival of season 4 of Mad Men from Netflix--takes me back to that awful era of the early sixties and assures me why I never got my act together.

Guess this indicates a lack of focus and why I never liked bridge. Once the snacks disappeared I found a fistful of cards and 3 women to be b-o-r-i-n-g.

 

 

Got 'er Done

UKY basketball team moved on to the Final Four by whipping #2 seed North Carolina 76-69.  Wahoo!  I haven't watched sports on TV for several years but as a former fan of Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs I've been so accustomed to losers that being exposed to a winner is totally foreign to me.

Finally. I own a team sweatshirt that I don't have to wear inside out.

Go Cats!

Fortified by Favas frickles and an earlier banana split, I stayed up to watch UKY Cats play and upset number one seed Ohio State in the Sweet Sixteen NCAA tournament. A great 62-60 victory, moving "them Cats" into the Elite Eight.  Kentucky's Calipari is the highest paid coach in the country but he delivers great freshmen teams who usually drop out and turn pro after the season ends. New ones are recruited each year to a University  and state where it's all about being #1 in basketball.

And why not? Kentucky is near the top in the country in lung cancer, obesity, meth labs, high school dropouts, toothless smiles and other maladies. So its important to invest in a coach that gives it something to cheer about.

Two Icons--Woosh!

Two icons I admired just died:

Pinetop Perkins was still appearing on stage into his late nineties, his tentacle-like fingers covering the piano keys with incredible rhythm, skill and devotion. Fortified by cigarettes, booze and good looking women, he played with most of the best blues men over several decades. I saw him a few years ago at the Kentucky Theatre and at 93 he didn't miss a beat.

And Elizabeth Taylor was my childhood idol--unknown to her we've always been in competition. She was rich, beautiful and hot. Perfect competition for me! Most years she won, some years I won. However, I've weathered the decades much better than she--although presently living above an abandoned store in a small KY town, I won.

Celebration of (Ahh!) Spring

First Friday five-- plus two--assembled here for supper tonight for our favorite turkey soup with cilantro, lime wedges, grated cheese, avocados, sour cream and doritos as garnish. It's kinda soup with food added.

 
The weather was in the low 70's --warm enough to cut the grass, welcome back Mama and Baby Duck to the pond and comfortably sit outside after dark. Finally.

 

As I Recall---

Fortified by homemade pizza and beer I now edited all the slides of highway 20--several hundreds of them. I can't remember where I parked my car yesterday but I have almost total recall about the locations, people, and where I stood to take each photo.

Could it be that Kodachrome forced one to think more about the light (and the film's cost) than digital--which didn't exist 15-20 years ago? Or could it be that pizza and beer have wiped out my short term memory?

Mini Trips

The last couple of days have offered warm weather and opportunities to get out to the bigger towns--tho nothing is that big here. Attended a lecture on The Social History of Bourbon  by author Mike Veach at the Kentucky Historical Society, which has been closed until this week to save tax money. The menu included bourbon pork and a bourbon laced desert. A trip through the museum of Kentucky's contributions to every war since 1776 sent us to Capital Cellars for some wine tasting to drive out the horrors of war.

And yesterday went to Louisville--a real city--a 12 hour day with 3 artists and time at Coscos, a Cuban restaurant and visits to various gallerys including the Carnegie Center across the river. An opportunity to check out the space for the 20/20 Vision exhibit. Great space and lots of it.

Gulp! Beginning to feel the pressure with research and framing.

Worse and Worser

 Watching the unfolding of events in Japan continues to become more and more depressing. To add to the situation, Kurosawa's incredible film, Kugemusha, (1980) arrived in my Netflix queue. The tale covered the historical era of about 1570, nearing the end of the samurai culture.

An outstanding film. He is a very favorite director of mine. The battle scene at the end of the film was influenced by Kurasawa's experience after Japan's 1923 earthquake, where he saw thousands of bodies  littered everywhere.

I guess the only plus in disaster is that occasionally some great talents can use the horrors of events and turn them into outstanding creative stories and lessons.

Cats Are on the Prowl

With all the calamitous events occurring across the world, especially in Japan, I'm happy to report a great  Kentucky disaster was averted today.   Against tough odds, the Kentucky Wildcats won their second SEC Championship, defeating Florida 70-54.

You gotta be here to experience the wild frenzy basketball creates in the area. And this is just the beginning--the NCAA is about to begin.