A doorway in India

Maze at Hever Castle, UK

Don't forget to laugh today.

Babies under water

How do they know?

Rainy Wednesday

Cincinnati artist Charley Harper 1922-2007

Water Dog

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_Harper

Belgian Expressionist James Ensor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ensor

Monday morning

It's going to be a busy, hectic week.

Greek painter El Greco 1541-1614

El Greco lived in Spain.

"El Greco" was a nickname meaning "the Greek."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Greco

Teatro alla Scala, Milan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Scala

 

"Look at all the lonely people."

Sunday is for flowers

Driftwood heart

French painter Gustave Caillebotte 1848–1894

Oarsmen Rowing on the Yerres 

1877

 He died of a heart attack at age 45.

http://www.gustavcaillebotte.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Caillebotte

The guitar pool, Nashville

This pool is across the street from

the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.

Country music star Webb Pierce also built 

a guitar-shaped swimming pool in the 1950s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webb_Pierce

What's on TV now: The Rifleman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rifleman

HAPPY SATURDAY MORNING! 

(cue Pink Panther theme music)

Big sailboat

Owl have some strawberries, please!

 

'Who who who' can resist strawberries and cream?

 

Machu Picchu, Peru

Machu Picchu (mah-shoo pee-shoo), Peru is described as "The lost city of the Incas," and dates to 1400-1550 AD. It is 8,000 feet above sea level. It was not directly conquered by the Spanish (they never found it), but it is believed smallpox reached the city anyway with devastating results.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is also one of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world because of tourism and destruction from the elements.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu

http://tinyurl.com/c79qv

Women's Ukulele Band

"Tiptoe through the tulips with me..."

Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky 1866-1944

Composition IV

1911

Kandinsky was one of the pioneers 

of Abstract Expressionism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_expressionism

UK artist Banksy

http://www.banksy.co.uk/

Dutch painter Albert Roosenboom 1845 – 1873

"The Young Wine Tasters"

New nutritional guidelines

The U.S. government unveiled their new nutritional guidelines this week.

It's pretty self-explanatory.

I'm real bad on the fruits.

choosemyplate.gov

Etsy.com artist Miller Sye

A tribute to Vermeer

http://tinyurl.com/65oan64

British painter Sir Edwin Landseer 1802-1873

"Prince George's Favourites"

1835

Landseer was a painter chiefly of horses and dogs, but he was also a sculptor known for his lions in London's Trafalgar Square.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Henry_Landseer

In the News

Police in Independence, Missouri shot and killed a life-sized concrete alligator lawn ornament last week when they surrounded it and fired. The homeowner was working in the garage and came out to see what the commotion was. Police have apologized.

Police in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida are investigating how a .22 handgun ended up in the bottom of a box of toiletries given to a first-grade teacher by a student's grandmother.

High school kids across the UK were given a math test in which one of the questions was unanswerable. The test-givers were forced to contact colleges and universities to explain that there might be a problem with scores.

A restaurant owner in Chicago who hires ex-felons had to go to court to call his establishment Frank's Felons.

This is a good one. Police in Daytona arrested a man who was bicycling down the street at 2 a.m. carrying a 59-inch television balanced between his body and the handlebars.

A man wanted in Delaware was arrested after he used a loud voice to talk on the phone to brag about his escapades. Guests at the hotel where he was staying turned him in.

A Florida farmer decided to let his escaped bull "calm down" before trying to recapture it, but police thought otherwise, and employed eight deputies and a helicopter to corner the animal, sedate it, and tie it to a tree. He was presented with a fine but fought it all the way to the attorney general's office which today dropped all charges.

That's all for now folks. Remember, it's crazy out there!

Babies under water

How do they know???

American West landscape painter Albert Bierstadt

"Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California"

1865

German-born, New York educated Bierstadt was made famous by his portraits of the unspoiled American West. He is often grouped with the Hudson River and the Rocky Mountain schools of landscape painting. He was prolific, producing thousands of landscapes, many of which survive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Bierstadt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_River_School

Pre-Colombian artifact

The sculpture is located at the Museo Rufino Tamayo in Oaxaca, southern Mexico.

http://tinyurl.com/3nu2a9y 

 http://www.museotamayo.org/inicio/

Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse

In Norse mythology, Sleipnir is an eight-legged horse owned by the god Odin. In this Finnish manuscript, Odin rides Sleipnir into battle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleipnir

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin

Thanks SyFy Channel

Thanks to the SyFy Channel for this weekend's Star Trek movie marathon.
Captain Kirk saved the Enterprise, destroyed the Enterprise, got at least two new Enterprises, imperiled his friends then saved his friends, and, finally, saved the Earth. In true Star Trek fashion they killed off Captain Kirk, but at least they did it while he risked his life to save the day. 

Kudos to Mr. Spock, the guy who made science cool, and who taught us kids that being a loner with lots of baggage and personality quirks was somehow okay.

P&G products shot

Vintage tobacco advertising

 Hungary 1930

 Portugal 1930

French, date unknown

The Beaux Arts Ball

 

With a twist

Renaissance master Leonardo Da Vinci 1452-1519

Female Head 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci

French painter Paul Gauguin 1848-1903

Apple Trees at L'Hermitage

1879

Gauguin was a Post-Impressionist and a Primitivist, and was a companion of Van Gogh. He is known for his paintings of of Tahiti and its women, with whom he was very familiar. He died of syphilis and hard living at age 54.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Gauguin 

Goin' to the pool

This 1,000-yard long, 20-acre saltwater lagoon is located at the San Alfonso del Mar resort at Algarrobo, Chile. The Guinness Book of World Records named it the biggest pool in the world. It holds 66 million gallons of water, took five years to build, cost nearly $1 billion, and the annual maintenance will be $2 million.

http://www.sanalfonso.cl/ingles/main.html

Saturday morning arts and crafts

Happy Memorial Day weekend.

 

Friday is Don't Fry Day

Memorial Weekend is the start of the tanning season in Ohio, and the National Council on Skin Cancer has teamed up with the Environmental Protection Agency to bring you Don't Fry Friday and the SunWise program.

To avoid skin cancer:
Sit in the shade when possible
Use a sun-blocking umbrella
Wear protective clothing like a shirt
Wear a tightly woven, wide-brim hat
Avoid exposure between the peak hours of 10-4
Wear sunglasses with UVA/UVB protection
Apply liberal amounts of sunscreen and apply it often

Don't Fry Day reminds us that sunscreen alone can not prevent cancer.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/dont-fry-day-this-friday-2488048

The family's first television set

Bringing Uncle Miltie to millions of new viewers.