Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All

For this First Friday art show, the Flat Iron artists have done something really interesting. The Now You See It, Now You Don’t theme refers to the temporary murals that are all over the maze-like hallways of the building.

To see them, you get one chance and one chance only. From the time the doors open until 10:00 tonight, you can wander around and play Name That Artist. At around 10:00, all these art works are going to be painted right over.

Crazy isn’t it?

I took these pictures on the special Thursday preview night, and I have to say that these murals change the building a lot. I’ve been to shows at the Flat Iron Building for years, and today was the first time in a long time that I became disoriented and turned around in those hallways.

Follow this link to see some of the work in progress.

Tags: Art, Chicago // Add Comment »

Back on the first of the year, I decided that I would set aside one day a month to try out Do Something For Others Day. My first one was designated for January 30, but since that was a Saturday and I am a couch potato whenever possible on the weekends, I moved it to February 1.

My experiment is not to go out and change my routine to specifically make a difference on these days. I’m just trying to go about my regular schedule while being on the lookout for ways in which I can be of help.

For this first time through, I found that the biggest difference on February 1 was in my attitude.

I’ve been pretty busy, tired, frustrated, and grumpy lately. I went to work on Monday doubtful that my feelings would change much, but when I tried to be more friendly and helpful, I found my spirits being lifted with each personal interaction.

It turned out to be a pretty good day.

Other than that, not much else happened. My direct actions were:

• Helped a co-worker complete her project.
• Tried to be helpful in general at the office.
• When a bus displayed the wrong identification on the outside, I yelled to let the rest of the people waiting at the stop know that this was indeed our bus so they didn’t get left behind.

The random number generator decrees that February 11 is my next Do Something For Others Day. Now this should be interesting because I’m helping to put on a major event that day.

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I’m in the middle of reading all five years of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman series. It is blowing me away. There is not another graphic novel that I’ve read so far that comes close to this.

If you’re a literature snob who doesn’t get what the big deal with graphic novels (or comic books) is, give this series a try. Myth and storytelling are not dead.

The sandman of the title is Morpheus, Lord of Dreams. There is a huge mythic cosmology built into this world so I won’t ruin that for you, but if you are well-read, you probably already see the connection between dreams and stories.

Like the great works of literature, The Sandman series explores the never-ceasing philosophical questions of Man and god(s) while being absolutely entertaining. There are epic quests and worlds-shattering battles between good and evil. And there are the quieter, private moments, in which things like companionship and heartbreak may reside.

These stories are great, but Gaiman’s ability to tell stories about telling stories makes the series meta and so very post-modern. He blends the traditional and the beyond-the-edge to make one of the most respected works of the last two decades.

Tags: Books // Add Comment »