Seeking the Sublime in the Everyday

  I meant to add this to yesterdays post. It's titled, "Jorge Wipes the Rain from his Glasses," but if you didn't know that it could be titled,  "There is No Joy in Mudville."

 I meant to add this to yesterdays post. It's titled, "Jorge Wipes the Rain from his Glasses," but if you didn't know that it could be titled,  "There is No Joy in Mudville."

 Well, there is no joy in Mudville.  Not Casey but the Mighty Aaron has struck out.  I don't care who it happens to, I hate to see a sweep.  It just feels mean.  As my friend, Jon Walton said in a similar situation, "We are deeply saddened but we must move on." Before we leave Baseball, I want to tell you something I read about the great catcher, Johnny Bench, reminiscing about the many famous hitters he met at the plate in his long career.  The most memorable was when Hank Aaron, in the midst of his chase to surpass Babe Ruth's home run record, came up to bat.  He turned to the brand new rookie and said quietly, "How you doin', John?"   Fifty years later, Johnny is still moved by that moment.   Here's something that's brightening my days-- the Honey Locust.     Pretty special, wouldn't you say? Lately I see them all over the city.   I especially love the graceful  leaves--they're called composite leaves. They're so small ...

 Last week Arthur and I went to Chicago to see Sam, his wife, Annye and Sunny, who never sits still. They live near Oak Park, Frank Lloyd Wright territory, so we took nice walks and saw some great houses. We went to the Zoo--the bears were snoozing but the rhino, my favorite charismatic megafauna, posed nicely for me. We'll be seeing more of him. Then Arthur went home and I met my dear friend of long standing, Lenesa Leana, for a visit in the Windy City which, by the way is not America's windiest city.  It got that name because in the competition to host   the great exposition of 1895 a defeated New Yorker said we were beaten by "that windiest windbag, a Chicago politician."  Windy or not, it's a wonderful city--and this New Yorker acknowledges that the term "Second City" comes from the rebuilding after the great fire, not that New York is the First City.  OK, I'll allow it. Our first stop was the Chicago Art Institute because Lenesa wanted to visit ...

 I was about to write about Baseball because it's that time of year but then I heard on Brian Lehrer's show, this amazing phrase; Charismatic Megafauna . Brian was interviewing climate change novelist Lydia Millet.  I've never heard of her before but I'm definitely looking her up. When she dropped this wonderful term Brian, bless him, said, "Wait, what did you say?  What is charismatic megafauna?" Well, charismatic means, "exercising a compelling charm which inspires devotion in others."   I've been drawing animals all my life but this sounds so much more glamorous. I haven't had time to do real research but here's what Wikipedia says. Charismatic megafauna  are animal species that are large—in the relevant category that they represent [1] —with  symbolic value  or widespread popular appeal, and are often used by environmental activists to gain public support for  environmentalist  goals. [2] Examples include  tigers ,  lions ,...

  Happy New Year!   Now that we're done with the recent forty days and nights of rain we can enjoy one of life's treats--Autumn in New York. Julia Glass, in her novel Vigil Harbor said,  "October in New York reminds people to renew their vows to stay forever." So let's be sure to take some long walks.  You may remember the architectural tour I posted in 2019,  An Architectural Tour of NYC Here are two great buildings I left out.  If you stumble upon either of these you might think you're not in New York City but somewhere in Europe.   Here's the Old Police Building at 240 Centre Street between Grand and Broome Streets And First Baptist Church, at Broadway and 79th Street. As another way to celebrate Autumn I'm moved to write about my favorite calligraphy ink. It's been my go-to material ever since I branched out from Black and White. People would ask if I ever filled in my black and white drawings with color and no, that really doesn't work; it...