Wordless Wednesday: Eddard Stark

--Sean Bean as Eddard Stark in Game of Thrones. 

Are you watching? I hope so . . . 

26 April 1937

--Guernica, Pablo Picasso, 1937, oil on canvas,

137.4 in x 305.5 in, Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain

4 Things

I decided to do a meme today, since I haven't been motivated to write anything for the past week or so. This meme is entitled 4 Things as seen at The Zen Leaf, a great book blog. Following are my four things in response to the phrases:

Four jobs I’ve had in my life:

1. Janitor for a doctor’s office (doctor is now 88 years old and in trouble for improperly prescribing medicine that caused a death recently—such a sad story)

2. Sales clerk at a men’s clothing store in a mall (now defunct Bond’s that was based in NYC)

3. GED teacher to adults and at-risk youth (Give me the youth any day vs. the adults.)

4. Engineering tech at petroleum consulting company

Four books I would read over and over:
1. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
3. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
4. Miss Lizzie by Walter Satterthwait

Four places I have lived:
1. Lubbock, TX

2. Mesquite, TX

3. Garland, TX

4. Denton, TX

Four books I would recommend:

1. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, Finca Vigía Edition
2. Everybody Was So Young by Amanda Vaill
3. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Four places I have been:

1. Paris, France
2. Rome, Italy
3. London, United Kingdom
4. Oslo, Norway

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Chilean sea bass
2. Prime rib with Yorkshire pudding
3. Fried catfish
4. Spaghetti with Italian sausage

Four of my favorite drinks:
1. Sparkling water

2. Diet Dr. Pepper

3. Grand Marnier liqueur

4. Cabernet Savignon

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Kamaole Beach, Kihei, Maui, Hawaii, USA

2. Trafalgar Square, London, UK

3. Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy
4. Champs de Mars, Paris, France

Four things that are very special in my life:

1. Friends and family

2. Books

3. Music

4. Learning

My View of the World

Here is my view of the world on a daily basis . . . .

From my desk in my office, where I spend a majority of my life!

It is nice to dream . . . A London tube map adds some color, too.

A little art never hurts . . .

Can't forget the contiguous 48 . . .

Aloha . . .

The Farm by Joan Miró

--The Farm, Joan Miró, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

The Farm is currently on loan to the Tate Modern, London. An article on its provenance can be found in the current issue of ARTnews magazine. More information can be found HERE at the National Gallery of Art's website. 

Another article, on Miró and his work, can be found HERE from guardian.co.uk.

One of My Favorite B Movies . . .

is The Mighty Quinn starring Denzel Washington and Robert Townsend, not to mention veteran British actor James Fox. Ebert actually gave this film 4 stars in 1989. It's one of those movies I don't mind watching over and over again, which is unusual since I don't really like to rewatch movies in the same decade. Mystère . . . 

What is one of your favorite B movies?

Jeremy Irons in the LA Times Magazine

--Excerpt from LA Times Magazine interview of Jeremy Irons:

You’re known for having one of the greatest voices in the world. What is your favorite word to say?

Crepuscular. The crepuscular hour is when the sun dips. In movie terms, you call it the magic hour. I also like excellent. Excellent is a word I use because it’s very encouraging, and I learned long ago that when anybody came up with an idea I would say, “Excellent.”

But what if the person’s idea is actually horrible?

Well, you just don’t do it.

Wordless Wednesday: Flint McCullough

--Robert Horton as Flint McCullough