Limelight was padded but there was a Limelight Pizza that was open.
Back in the day, this Church was a nightclub. I went there once. It was loud and dancy.
Sunday was the day AFAM closed for “big changes.” I love the Folk Art Museum even if I only visit sporadically. On Saturday, I made a far- thee-well but also wanted to see what was on offer before the renovations shut me out.
The tapestries of Madelena Santos Reinbolt are spectacular. She also painted in a similarly intense and dense style.
My friend CS joined and enjoyed this remarkable exhibit.
The work of Madelena Santos Reinbolt is intricate, colorful and detailed.
Her work is sophisticated and intelligent.
Santos Reinbolt was a Brazilian artist who made her living as a cook.
The AFAM shop, which is a great source for the unusual, will be open for pick-ups.
It sounded like a CIA operation. It was not what I intended.
My operation was a simple and straightforward return. Amazon has certainly spoiled us for that; no bag, no box, no return label.
This shipping and shopping behemoth spoiled us with quick heck even same day delivery. There was a portent in this order; it took weeks to arrive.
My complaint wasn’t the delay; even the vagueness of who the merchant might be didn’t rile me. Yes, portents and mystery came with this transaction.
I was promised an infomercial’s worth of ‘great for wearing in the snow’ and ‘so comfortable for older women’ that the stiffness of this boot irked. Of course, the boot looks great from its forest green exterior and nice design to the neat angle of its raised heel. It doesn’t feel great.
So, long story short [I hear you saying ‘that ship has sailed’] I called customer service. “We’ll call you in 26 hours; if you don’t answer, we’ll send an email with the address for the return.”
I asked about the logistics of my return.
“You’ll get an email telling you all about that.” Click.
The address for the return is somewhere in Guangdong Province China. I am not kidding.
Shipping charges would fall to me. Unheard of in the annals of easy returns!
Included in this email was this wisdom: “We advise you to stay with the product and we can give you a $ 18 dollar refund otherwise continue to send the product back to us.”
Always accept good advice when it’s generously offered. At least I shall.
Huddling with podcasts has become a source of comfort for me. I spend a part of my respite time under earphones and tuned to one of these specific three.
At the moment, that rotation is led by Julia Louis Dreyfus. I am caught up on Wiser than Me, which gladdens me (I have been enriched), and I can’t wait for Wednesday.
Anderson Cooper offers wisdom on grieving; perversely, I find tremendous uplift in listening to All There Is with…. I am far from done with the seasons of this series.
Somehow, Brooke Shields snuck on to my listening cycle. On Now What? she interviews people who have dealt with moments of transition. (Who hasn’t?) These shared pivotal moments are enlightening.
I found myself listening to one of the most distinctive voices the other day. [Bebe Neuwirth has a special timbre when she speaks.]
I appreciate her work as a dancer and actress, but I love her for a moment at a Broadway Cares event some 4 years ago.
The audience was instructed “cell phones off.” A routine command in the theater. Within minutes, a phone went off.
Ms. Neuwirth rose to the occasion in righteous outrage admonishing the offender.
I hate hearing ringing during a performance, don’t you?
If anyone or anything can convert me towards religion, it would be a snippet from Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. Yes, it is a masterpiece. Yes, it has stunned audiences all over the globe since its creation in 1960.
This audience included. Tonight, I caught a glimmer from archives of this rich inclusive robust dance work on a PBS AmericanMasters show. It sent shivers. Just as it had when I first met it on a stage in the ’60s and every encounter since.
There’s a purity to Alvin Ailey’s choreography that gives his dances grandeur.
Lately, my favorites have been those that specialize in Japanese paper goods; there are so many adorable, and useful, little amusements to discover. I recommend starting out in midtown, at Kinokuniya USA, a giant bookstore whose basement level is almost entirely devoted to notebooks, pens, and letter-writing sets. You can then trek to the East Village, to niconeco zakkaya, a cute-as-a-button spot that specializes in journals, sticker books, rubber stamps, and washi tape.
The New Yorker Daily By Rachel Syme
There are many platforms for the many disciplines of self-expression.
Journaling is a way to get control of your life or at least chronicle its natural disarray. Generally, the journal is used to report to oneself on oneself.
In my books, it’s separate from the blog posts I share with others. [There is an intended pun in there.] My writing is often a chronicle of my life, but the one I post is more organized than it would be in a journal.
Here, I try to make some order of it all. My posts, whether poems or opinions, intend to make a point.
My preferred “journal” is Samsung Notes. Itype, therefore, I can read what I wrote. In my long hand, yesterday’s entry would remain a mystery; well, not just yesterday’s but most days’.
Nonetheless, I am attracted to the paperback book journals Rachel Syme describes and recommends.
All The Best 