Friday, January 30, 2009

Everyone Should Have A Duck...

Sharon, over at the Birdchick, found this clip. The duck chowing on a banana made me laugh.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Artistic Luxury: Fabergé, Tiffany, Lalique



This exhibit was at the Cleveland Museum of Art until January 18 and words cannot explain how totally bummed I am that I missed it. This is the first exhibit I've missed for years at the Museum, and it's one that I've been looking forward to for AGES. *sigh*

But, starting February 7, you can find it in San Francisco, at the Legion of Honor. I just happen to have a cousin in San Fran, who just bought a house... so all hope is not lost for me. If you find yourself in Northern California, you should definitely go!

From the Detroit News:

Antique lovers won't want to miss this breathtaking exhibition, which includes rare loans from public and private collections worldwide and is the first comparative study of the work of three of the 20th century's greatest designers. More than 50 international lenders include Queen Elizabeth II of England and Prince Albert of Monaco. Santa may not have tucked one of these masterpieces into your stocking, but don't miss the chance to see them up close in Cleveland.

Considered the "Big Three" of the decorative arts world at the turn of the century, Peter Carl Faberge in Russia, Louis Comfort Tiffany in the United States and Rene Lalique in France enjoyed a spirited rivalry that resulted in the production of some of the world's most beautiful jewelry, decorative arts and other luxury goods. This opulent exhibition of more than 300 objects provides plenty of eye candy and reunites many of their finest masterworks for the first time since they were on view together as part of the legendary 1900 Paris World's Fair.

Highlights include five Imperial Easter eggs by Faberge, one Imperial egg by Cartier and an Imperial Basket of Flowers by Faberge, all designed for the Russian Tsars and their family and later sold by the Bolsheviks; the American debut of Louis Comfort Tiffany's "Magnolia Window," a stained-glass work purchased in Paris in 1901 for a Russian baron and only seen in Russia; Edward VII's cigarette case, on loan from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II; and glittering jewelry featuring diamonds and rare gems by Tiffany & Co. Other treats include the "Autumn Leaf Globe Lamp" and "Adam's Vase," on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and former star of the 1900 Paris World's Fair, both by Tiffany; Faberge's "Kremlin Tower Clock"; and Lalique's "Frogs and Lilypads" vase.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Monday, January 19, 2009

Really?

This is funny. I only have to go into work if I want to tomorrow 'cause the weather people said it was going to snow so they shut down the factory. At the time, it wasn't even cloudy.

And the stores are out of bread, milk, beer and toilet paper - the necessities, you know.

I have a very important supplier meeting tomorrow with people who are leaving to return to Germany on Wednesday, so as long as the weather doesn't totally suck, I'll be going in. *sigh*

Last weekend, I went to Chicago. There was like 4 inches of snow on the runway, and a couple more had fallen by the time I got to the rental car. No one really paid attention. Just in case you weren't already aware, the south is different.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Well, It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time...

Remember a while ago, when I alluded to working my nerve up to do something? And I blamed the tequila and my friends?

Well, that something was letting a nice lady named Allison, who had many tattoos, large holes in her ears and three studs in her nose grab my tongue in a clamp and add a metal barbell to my oral landscape. It actually didn't really hurt. It ached, which was weird. The strangest part? They dry your tongue out before doing it, and that feels very very odd. Your tongue is not meant to be dry. Really. When I asked her if it was going to make me talk like an idiot, she responded that if people wanted to sound like idiots, they would with or without the tongue ring. Then she stuck out her tongue, and holy smokes! she had THREE studs in her tongue, in a triangle that matched the one in her nose!

Why did I do this? I'm not sure how it all got started, but I went out at Thanksgiving with friends from college. It was the first time since college that we'd all been together again and it certainly didn't take us long to regress. One thing led to another and somehow we were all (all 10 of us) trooping to the conveniently located (next to the bar) tattoo/piercing place to each have something done. The first one to remove it pays for the group trip to Vegas. I will not be losing this bet. Now it's down to an endurance test. I was hopeful at first 'cause one friend is a banker and she got her eyebrow done. I was sure that she'd walk into work on Monday and they'd be all "Get that metal OUT of your face!" Turns out, they thought it was so cool that two of her coworkers went out at lunch and got theirs done too. Well, dammit. There went that idea.

So at Christmas, I went back to the store and got new bars with acrylic balls, which are much less likely to hurt your teeth. Also, the light doesn't glint off them when you talk and you're much less likely to have people notice it.

It's actually been fun to play with - if you put ice on the top of your tongue, you can feel it underneath 'cause of the metal conducting the cold. Neat! Interesting and unexpected - talking on my cell phone outside the other night and it was really cold out, and it felt remarkably like I'd stuck my tongue to a flagpole, but INSIDE my mouth.

Pretty cool: I've lost 10+ pounds since Thanksgiving. Crunchy, which is a personal weakness of mine, is a bit of a problem now.

But yesterday, on my way home from work, I realized that the bottom ball had worked its way loose and was floating around my mouth. For whatever reason, I had a hard time getting it screwed back on - no, not while driving, after I got home. And today, damn thing did it again! On Allison's advice, I have an extra barbell in my purse, just in case it comes loose and I swallow it or something. Apparently, the acrylic balls have a very finite lifespan. I'm going to go reattach the stupid thing and if it escapes again, I'll move to a different colored one. *sigh*

Parting thought: Have you ever tried to take a picture of your own tongue? With a newspaper? Proof of life pictures are a major pain.