Stand Aside, Simone --- Day 10/98

Walk: Presidio Pickleball

Distance: 2.4 miles, 2 hours pickle, yoga

Let's See, What to Write About..... --- Day 10/97

Walk: GG Park Pickleball

Distance: 1.8 miles, 90 minutes pickle, Yoga

Fan Notes --- Day 10/96

Walk: Monday Hood Errands

Distance: 3.7 miles, Yoga

So having 'eaten dinner with Alex Trebek' and loved Jeopardy! for 37 years (including making a trip to their studio for a taping)*, Ciwt feels qualified to say something about the new Jeopardy host. Whoever he or she will be.  

During those same 37 years there were people who never forgave Alex for not being Art Fleming, the host when Jeopardy! was a daytime game.  Many of those in the disappointed crowd probably didn't watch the show any more.  And, it is extremely likely that the same dynamic will come into play when the new permanent host(ess) is announced.

There were a surprising (to Ciwt) number of absolutely excellent guest hosts, some with large, built in followings and some who gained champions during their one or two week stints.  People chose their favorite(s), and they will be legitimately disappointed if their person isn't "the winner."

Ciwt too has her favorites and hopes one of them will be announced.  BUT don't bother calling Ciwt when Jeopardy! is on because she will be watching no matter who is named the permanent host.  Jeopardy! is a great game (for trivia buffs), a great dinner companion, a game Alex believed in and made clear he wanted to continue after his death.  So, there may be a few choices that will be a challenge for Ciwt for a while, but, well, boo hoo Ciwt, then on she will go.....

*See Days 297, 98 & 99 and many Jeopardy entries over the years.

What a Beautiful Frame, My Dear --- Days 10/95 & 96

Walk: 1. Presidio  2. UpDown Steps, Sunday at Home

Distance: 1. 2 miles  2.  1 mile, Yoga

Jules Bastien-LePage (Fr. 1848-1884), Sarah Bernhardt, 1879, oil on canvas

Usually when the frame dwarfs the art work it surrounds, Ciwt finds that unfortunate.  But this dramatic, over-the-top, metal frame seems to her just perfect for a portrait for the-over-the-top Victorian era actress,  Sarah Bermhardt.  

Please, No Purple Presents --- 10/92, 93 & 94

Walk:  1. de Young Museum  2. Marin Driving Day  3. Presidio Pickleball

Distance: 1. 2.5 miles, small yoga  2. .8 mile, small yoga  3. 2.5 miles, 90 minutes pickle, yoga stretch

So, tomorrow is Ciwt's birthday.  And she will not be wearing purple, unlike the Scottish poet Jenny Joseph who warned she would when she was 'of a certain age.'*  Ie, Old.   

Ciwt has never liked purple, particularly mauve.  It comes in on her puce channel which she detests. 

She may owe her actual existence to this purple repugnance. In ancient Byzantium the  Tyrian purple was proclaimed exclusive to the royals and ruled making, buying, wearing or even owning Tyrian purple a crime punishable by death. So the people with purple loving dna were endangered whereas those wth purple repugnance like Ciwt flourished. And a few are having birthdays tomorrow.

*

Where You Been? --- Day 10/92

Walk:  GG Park Pickleball

Distance: 2 miles, 90 minutes pickle, wee yoga

Yinka Shonibare (English), Gay Victorians, 1999, wax printed cotton

Background: Mickalene Thomas, Qusuquzah, une tres belle negress 1, 2011, Rhinestones, acrylic paint, oil, enamel paint on wood panel

Sometimes artworks are so exquisite Ciwt just enjoys their beauty. Other art causes her to think, perhaps re-examine.  

For instance the dresses above.  The artist Yinka Shonibare purchased the fabric at a popular London market.  The cloth is commonly associated with contemporary Central and West African fashion but is actually based on Indonesian batik designs.  So how did the designs get to Africa?  Well, the Dutch in their East Indies Colony were fascinated with the native batik technique, and in the 19th century a Dutch company took it to their colonies in Africa.  There it was adapted to African patterns and introduced into West African markets.

Shonibare has added another layer of hybridization to the cloth by fashioning it into European Victorian style dresses worn at the time of rapid colonialization of much of the African continent.

Hmmm......

Women With Hats, Thank You Very Much --- Day 10/91

Walk: Presidio Pickleball

Distanee:2.4 miles, 90 minutes pickle

Henri Matisse, Woman with Hat, 1905, oil on canvas

Once upon a time it was considered scandalous to portray a strong woman wearing clothes that rival her face for attention and looking straight (and undemurely) at the viewer.  History records that when Matisse did just that, and entered his painting in the Paris Salon of 1905, he was severely ridiculed by the French press and public and even hung in effigy outside the Art Institute of Chicago.

Mickalene Thomas, Qusuquzah, une tres belle negress 1, 2011, Rhinestones, acrylic paint, oil, enamel paint on wood panel

He also opened the door for no holds barred portraits like the powerful one above that sparkles with rhinestones when you see it in person.

Yawn --- Days 10/88, 89 & 90

Walk: 1. No, 2. Quick Hood, 3. Same

Distance: 1. 0, 2. 1.5 and smallish yoga, 3. 2.5 miles, smallish yoga

Ciwt is having trouble getting motivated, so she's returned to shopping - from home.