Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Shot this on my cell phone and it's a little dark.
I just returned from Concord, CA where I spent a lovely long weekend with my dad, who was celebrating his 84th birthday. We had a lot of fun, going to see Cirque Du Soliel's Totem, eating numerous yummy meals out, playing scrabble. Mostly we just enjoyed one another's company!

Benicia Park
It was especially sweet for me to see my dad and daughter together. Life throws unexpected things at us, and it is important to enjoy the good times when they occur, isn't it? The cool fall day we all went to Benicia Park for a picnic of shrimp salad sandwiches, lovingly made by JD, will forever remain in my memory as one of the happiest of times. Happy Birthday, Daddy! Here's to many more!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Laurie Anderson's 49 Days in the Bardo

Recently I visited Philadelphia for the first time. I went there for a conference (Educause -- a conference about technology and higher education), and while I was there I had the opportunity to see a exhibit. It was Laurie Anderson's 49 Days in the Bardo.



The work was a series of very large panels, maybe 10 feet by 20 feet, I don't know. They just looked huge. They depicted the artists dog who had died as it made its way through the 49 days in the bardo. The bardo is the gap between lives, and 49 days is the customary number that beings are expected to be in the bardo.
I really loved the exhibit. The picture here is pretty representative of the style and also the color. I thought the work was done in pastels or chalk but the explanation said that it was a number of things, including ash.

The exhibit was at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, 1222 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA. It is scheduled to be there through November 19. I encourage you to try to see it. It was stunning.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Offering Bowls

Yesterday I had a enjoyable phone chat with a man who is thinking about Buddhism and how it may or may not fit into his spiritual path. I'm not sure our conversation was useful to him, but I enjoyed it. It made me think of this small essay that I wrote a long time ago. It is a meditation on the offerings typically found on a Buddhist shrine, but with my own particular slant, of course!

Offering Bowls

The first offering is drinking water. I think about how dry my throat felt when I worked on a limestone parking lot when I was 17 in Central Texas and then Mr. Teague brought me a drink of water. Water coming out of a cold well. The water pitcher in my mother's refridge. The sound of the ice cubes when the are half melted and the condensation is dribbling down the side of the glass. My daughter taking the cup for the first time. Ice chips on my tongue when I was in the hospital. Holding my grandmother in my arms and offering her a cool drink on the hot July day when she died. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The second offering is washing water. I think about my shower this morning. Bathing my daughter the first time. The wonderful feeling of a shower after a long camping trip. The cold shower on our retreat land, the feel of the pine boards under my feet, the shivering cold wet plastic that brushes against me as I go out. The different feelings of ocean water and lake water. The amniotic fluid rushing out of me as they ruptured my membranes. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The third offering is flowers. I think about the strong smell of lilies in my lily garden. The flowers in my bridal bouquet. The thousands of small bunches of iris my ex husband gave me. The flowers in the wreath for my daughter's First Holy Communion. The wreath of wild flowers Eva wove for Garchen Rinpoche and how delighted he was and how wonderfully silly he looked. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The fourth offering is incense. I think about the incense in my childhood church, which was a wonderful maple syrup smell. I think about the sensor clanging against the metal chain, the smoke rising. I think about the smoke of hundreds of campfires, as a child and as an adult. I think about fireplace fires. I think about the strange smells of the incense that the monks used on retreat last summer. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The fifth offering is light. I think about the light of my kitchen window when I drive home on a snowy night. I think about my bathroom night-light, the flashlight I dropped down the "unflushable" at camp, of lying on the ground and watching the zillion stars in a summer Texas sky, not being able to sleep because of the unbearable beauty of it, total eclipses and sunburns, the meteor shower. I think about the Advent wreath, Christmas tree, and a romantic candlelit table. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The sixth offering is perfumed water. I think about my mother's perfume (Channel #5), I think about the smell of my daughter when she was a baby, the smells of cinnamon rolls, sauteed onions, fresh mown grass, the smell of rain, the smell of gin and tonic and lime. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The seventh offering is food. I think about what I had for breakfast. I think of the tastes of Altoids, of thanksgiving turkey and dressing, of chocolate cake, of Popsicle. I remember my favorite meal and offer that. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The eight and last offering is sound. I think of the chirping of crickets, of the sound of birds at dawn, my daughter's first words, of church bells, the no sound when Grandma died, the sound of my Vajra brothers and sisters singing long life prayers, the rattle of my gau, the sounds of lovemaking, the sound of the Chod trumpet. The sound of my own voice. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

By the merit of these offerings, by the merit of samsara and nirvana, may all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Vancouver: VanDusen Garden


Miss J contemplates what lucky girls are we!
 J an I share two passions: gardening and photography. I think I'm a better gardener than photographer, but whatever. Nothing is as relaxing to me as looking through the viewfinder of a camera. So our trip to the Northwest was going to include a lot of camera time, and if we could be in a in a garden at the same time, well, that was about perfect.



J with an Umbrella Leaf plant
So our first stop was to the VanDusen Botanical Garden. And what a spectacular garden it is! After fortifying ourselves at their lovely cafe, we chose one of the suggested hikes around the garden. The garden is 55 acres, and having once owned 55 acres of land, I know exactly big and small 55 acres is. The designers of the garden (it was opened in 1975, by the way) have laid it out in such a cunning and artful way that every turn in the path revealed something new and unexpected and totally beautiful.  The stroll we chose wandered through the reflecting pond, with beautiful water lilies, a perennial flower gardens, rock gardens, statuary, Himalayan gardens, and roses. The climate in Vancouver is such that even plants like Yucca and Umbrella Leaf plants from Costa Rica can be represented, as well as what you would expect to find in North America.  Every thing in the garden was in perfect condition. Staffed largely by volunteers and managed by the Vancouver Park Board, nothing looked unkempt. Frequently when we visit large public gardens, even beautiful ones, we wish we could just help out a little bit. Just a bit of deadheading and clean up. That wasn't the case at the VanDusen.




The Felgerts Conquer the Canadian Rockies!

Someone wants to go with us!
J and I have just returned from what has to be our most adventuresome adventure yet: an eight day conquest of the Canadian Rockies. Although we originally had hoped that some of our friends would be able to join us, we traveled alone this time. Here's the itinerary:
  • Sunday, July 24:  Fly to Seattle. Shuttle to Vancouver, BC and check into the Holiday Inn on Howe Street.
  • Monday, July 25: Tour Vancouver
  • Tuesday, July 26: More Vancouver, then Via Rail to Jasper
  • Wednesday, July 27: Arrive in Jasper, rent the car and overnight at the Tonquin Inn
  • Thursday, July 28: Drive to Banff, check into the High Country Inn
  • Friday, July 29: Tour Banff
  • Saturday, July 30: more Banff
  • Sunday, July 31: Drive to Calgary and return the car. Check into the Airport Hilton
  • Monday, August 1: Fly home to Rochester.
The hardest part of the planning -- other than the fact that there were a lot of changes of location -- was trying to figure out what to pack. (Other than the cat, that is!) Usually summers in Rochester run in the balmy high 80's -- but we were experiencing a true heat wave. When we read the forecast for Vancouver and Banff, 70 degrees sounded like winter. "Pack the long johns" advised Miss J. As it turned out, we should have gone with fewer fleeces and more shorts. As a result we found ourselves washing out the few short sleeve shirts we had and wishing for cooler weather.

But finally we were packed, the cat's care instructions explained to a neighbor, and on our way to the airport, thanks to our friend Liz. It was then that the first moral crisis occurred. While we were waiting for our flight, I heard: "Ms Dygert, please approach the podium." When I approached, the Delta representative smiled broadly at me and announced the news that all air travelers hope to hear: I had been upgraded to first class! However, J had not. This was not good. There was no way I was going to be able to enjoy first class while my better half was back in coach. Not if I wanted to *have* a better half when I arrived in Seattle! I gallantly offered the upgrade to her, and she gallantly refused. The Delta representative then had to do some fancy footwork to get me my original seat -- I guess no one has ever refused an upgrade before. I hope the person who got it enjoyed it!

We had originally planned to take a 5:30 shuttle to Vancouver using Quick Shuttle service. That would get us to Vancouver about 9:30. Our flight was supposed to get in to Seattle about 2:30 and I thought it would be just a tad too tight to try to make the 3:30 shuttle. But with the plane arriving a little early, some luck, and quick decision making, we were able to get our luggage, grab some dinner and make the earlier shuttle. Before we knew it, we were across the boarder and checked into our Holiday Inn in downtown Vancouver, one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. And I have been to some beautiful cities! More about Vancouver in the next post!


Monday, July 4, 2011

Fourth of July Cherry Pie

This year, we were invited down to Keuka Lake where friends have a cottage. The cottage is a charming little house, right on the lake. Even though we were having a scorching hot day (at least what passes for that in Rochester), the breeze off the lake was wonderful. We were all invited to bring a dish to pass, and our hosts provided roast turkey and veg enchiladas. Those might seem like rather odd Fourth of July foods, but since both are native to this continent, I think they were actually spot on! The enchiladas weren't like any I have ever eaten, but they were good just the same.

We also took a bouquet
J and I chose to make pies -- which are kind of our specialty. We have made a lot of apple pies together, and it is soothing to work side by side at something we have done so many times. We decided to make cherry this time, because cherries are in season now, and you can get good local ones. I got up early on Saturday and went down to the city market and scored us 4 pounds of nice local sweet cherries. At noon, yesterday, we set to pitting them. J had done some internet research, to try to determine the easiest way to go about it. But we ended up both working with our little paring knives, cutting the cherries in half and then prying the stone out with the knife. Kind of brute force, but it got the job done. Thirty minutes later we had 8 cups of cherries ready to be employed.

Cherry Pie, strusel topping!
I make the shopping list every week, and J does the shopping, so it was my fault that we only had half as much pie crust as we needed yesterday. Yes, me, the queen of all things homemade, uses roll out pie crust. Well, I'll tell you: I'm no good at making a pie crust, so I take the easy way out. So I found myself short of a 2 crusts. We decided to go with a struesel topping this time, and it was a great choice. Easy to make, too -- I just dumped flour, sugar and a stick of butter in the food processor and pulsed a few times. Pour it on top of the pie, and there you go - pie done. The strusel topping got good reviews, too. I usually make a latice top, and although they look nice and impress some people, they aren't as tasty as that struesel topping.

Cherry Pie with Struesel Topping

Cherry Filling

4 cups of fresh pitted cherries. I used sweet because that's what we had. But sour would be ok. just be sure to taste and adjust the sugar as needed.
1/3 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1/3 cup flour. I know most recipes online call for tapioca, but I didn't have any and this is what my Betty Crocker cookbook calls for. So there.

1 bottom pie crust, rolled out and place in a pie plate

Strusel Topping

Brown sugar
Flour
1 stick butter. Yes, butter.

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix the cherries, white sugar, vanila and 1/2 cup of flour. Pour it into the prepared pie shell.
3. Put the ingredients for the strusel topping into the bowl of a food processor, and pulse a half dozen times until the mixture looks like course meal. Pour the topping on the pie, making sure it is fairly evenly distributed.
4. Bake for 45 minutes,  until the filling is bubbling. Enjoy!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Breakfast for Dinner: Rasied Waffles

J and I like breakfast for dinner, and during the winter I probably cook waffles, pancakes, or omlets once a week. But in the summer, I don't usually think of breakfast for dinner. But this week, I was a receipe for raised waffles, something I have always wanted to try but never gotten around to. So last night that's what I did!

Raised Waffles
This recipe makes about 4 waffles, enough for two.

1/2 packet of dried yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup buttermilk, or regular milk
1 cup flour
1 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

At breakfast time, Dissolve the yeast in the warm (not hot) water. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.

Heat the milk until it just barely bubbles. If you use buttermilk, you will notice that it thickens slightly and water seems to seperate from the milk itself. Don't be concerned about this.

Mix the yeast, milk, butter, sugar, and flour in a large bowl until well mixed. Leave the bowl on the counter until dinner. The mixture will double in size, so use a big enough bowl to accomdate it.

At dinner time, mix in a beaten egg and the baking soda until everything is well mixed. Bake the waffles according to your waffle maker's instructions. Serve with real maple syrup and butter -- why would you use fake when you have these beautiful waffles????

Friday, June 17, 2011

My Garden




I used my Flip Video to make a little video about my garden. Warning: my panning skills aren't great so take your motion sickness meds before viewing! :-)


Monday, June 13, 2011

Mirbeau Spa Get-Away

This weekend Joanne and I got away for a little pampering to a place I have wanted to visit for a long time, but never could quite afford: Mirbeau Inn and Spa, located in Skaneateles, NY. Recently, LivingSocial offered a pretty good deal for a weeknight stay at the Spa. For $350 we got the room, three course dinner for two, and $100 credit in the spa.
Mirbeau Spa and Inn

We went down on Thursday. Skaneateles is only about an hour and a half from our house, so we timed our visit so we got to Skaneateles at noon. I was hoping for a reprise of our Doug's Fish Fry visit of last summer, but J felt like something a little less fried, so we stopped a the Sherwood Inn. I had a bratwurst, red cabbage and German potato salad. It was good -- but it wasn't our personal favorite: Johnsonville Brats. J had a much more disciplined lunch of a salad with grilled chicken.

After lunch, we made our way to the spa. First up were side-by-side manicures and pedicures. The young ladies who took care of us were really lovely. They took a lot of time -- the mani and the pedi were one hour each.

We then had some time in the hot tub, which was more like a stream than a tub, actually. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture, because it is kind of hard to describe. Off of the resting area, where you wait to be called for your spa treatments, is a little courtyard, beautifully landscaped (like everything else at the spa!) We enjoyed the hot water, and also a cool drink from the bar.

When we returned to our room, we found 6 of the most lovely strawberries, dipped in chocolate. Usually this is kind of a throw away thing -- the concept is better than the actual execution. Not in this case. The chocolate was really wonderful.

Our room was gigantic. We had two king-sized beds with those bed toppers where your body heat makes an impression in the top, so you are lying in a perfect you-shaped cradle. There was a fire place in the room, but given that it was about 95 degrees outside and 95% humidity, we decided to pass on the fire. The bathroom was equally huge, with a multiperson shower (4 people could have showered in there!) and a soaking tub.

View from the Porch
Dinner was on the porch. Our SocialLiving deal got us a three course dinner -- 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 2 desserts. There were no restrictions on the menu, which was pretty amazing. We selected calamari and tuna poke (raw marinated tuna). The tuna was wonderful, but the calamari was only ho-hum. We both chose steaks for our main course. They are dry-aged on the premises, and mine was really wonderful -- very deep flavor and everything you might want in a steak. We ordered onion straws and sauteed mushrooms as sides, and although I wished later that we had ordered an actual vegetable, the onions and the mushrooms were lovely. Finally, we had desert. My pick was creme brulee, and J went with a pudding. Her pudding was actually more like a very dense, moist cake.
Our dining companions

After dinner, we went for a stroll around the grounds. Everything was beautifully landscaped. I got a couple of ideas for plants I want to add to our own gardens, based on what I saw. We also noticed that someone had arrived in their personal helicopter. The Spa has a landing pad!

We had a very restful evening, and then stopped for breakfast before heading home. Again, the food was great -- house made granola and yogert, fruit, cold cuts in the European style.Well fortified, we headed for home.

I heard that the Spa will be doing another LivingSocial offering sometime soon. We will definitely buy another deal and return to the Spa. It was one of the nicest places that we have visited!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Linwood Gardens


 Have you ever gone to a new place and wondered how it could be that you have never gone there before? That's exactly how I felt when J and I visited the Linwood Gardens on Saturday. Linwood Gardens is located in Pavilion, NY and is a short drive from Rochester.

The Linwood Gardens are located on a former country home created by William Henry Gratwick II, of Buffalo, in 1901. In 1933, WH Gratwick III moved his family to the estate and set up the Rare Plants Nursery. The Japanese Tree Peony became a feature of the nursery and the gardens. Oh, how I would have loved to visit that Nursery! We only have one tree peony in our garden. That would be the plant I spent $50 on, and every year I hold my breath to see if it will come back. But after spending a beautiful summer afternoon with these beauties, I asked J to consider taking out one of our roses (that has never done very well, anyway) and replacing it with a tree peony. I think she may have thought I was kidding, but I was serious. 

View from the Italian Garden
Now the Gardens are open a few weeks of the year, and for $10 (or $15 for two), you can wander through the Gardens and enjoy what must be some of the most spectacular flowers ever. When we were finished walking through the gardens, we enjoyed a cookie and some lemonade while we listened to a group of recorder players. It was about as perfect of a day as I could imagine. 

Thursday, April 14, 2011

"Carry a Poem in Your Pocket" Day

Today is "Carry a Poem in Your Pocket" day. A very, very long time ago, I gave my first love a poem to carry in his pocket.


Parting  
By Emily Dickinson

My Life closed twice before its close;
It yet remains to see
If Immortality unveil
A third event to me,
So huge, so hopeless to conceive,
As these that twice befell.
Parting is all we know of heaven,
And all we need of hell.
      

Friday, April 8, 2011

Biscuits

My dad is an expert biscuit maker, and we had them frequently when I was growing up. Later next month I'm going to see him, and will get the REAL recipe! But until then, this will have to do! The key thing is to handle the dough as little as possible to make a tender biscuit with the maximum rise. Using the food processor to do the mixing of the flour and butter seems to avoid activating the gluten in the flour. And that's a very good thing when you are making biscuits!

Biscuits

Makes 10

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the board
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
3/4 cup buttermilk

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Put the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times until the are well combined.
3.Cut the butter into several pieces -- say 12 -- and add them to the flour mixture. Process until the flour resembles coarse meal and the butter is completely mixed in.
4.Pour the flour mixture into a bowl, and add the buttermilk. Stir with a fork, and the dough will come together.
5.Turn the dough out to a floured counter, and, handling the dough as little as possible, knead it a few times until the buttermilk is totally incorporated.
6.Gently pat the dough into a round about 1/2" thick.
7.Using a biscuit cutter, cut the biscuits. Take care not to twist the cutter when you are cutting the biscuits as doing so will inhibit the biscuits from rising.
8.Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Why I Love Steampunk

Steampunk, a design style that based on how Victorians would have visualized the technology we have today, is one of my most favorite design styles. It is all about brass fittings, glass, gears, and  articulated arms.  And it has been, since I was a little kid! One of my earliest favorite toys was "Mr Machine." I got one for Christmas when I was about 5 years old. When you wound it up, you could see all the gears moving as it moved across the floor. I loved it! It also came with a little wrench, so I took him all apart. Of course, it was beyond my ability to put him back together. So Mr Machine went into a paper sack, and then, without my knowing, my mother threw him away! Tragedy!

My family was kind of Steampunk, as well. For example, we had lots of strange machinery. My father was an engineer, and he could make anything, if he had enough parts. So we had an old Teletype machine, and in the early 1980's, dad turned it into a printer for the microcomputer that he built. Dad used to say about the Teletype machine, "It looks bad, it sounds bad, and it smells bad." We also had an old organ (that was in Eastlake style) that he had connected to an old Electrolux vacuum), so that it was a pipe organ. The vacuum clearner was kind of loud, but the organ was louder!

My father also had a large collection of antique telegraph keys. Recently he started to slim down his belongings, and he sent me one of them. It is really a beautiful thing. So you can see, there was no chance that I was going to escape a love for Steampunk style.

As I grew up, I developed a love for Thomas Mann jewelery. Thomas Mann is a designer from New Orleans, and he describes his style as "techno-romantic." It is all gears and brass and rivits. Here's a sample of his work from his website.

I also love skeleton watches. I have kind of a love-hate relationship with watches, mostly because they seem to break on me all the time. I can't keep one running. Now I only wear one when I am traveling and need to check what time it is so I know when the torture (flying) will stop or when I need to get to the gate or if I have time to go to the bathroom (again!). Unfortunately, they don't seem to make skeleton watches for women.

Anyway, all these diverse loves and attractions have made me a sucker for all things steam punk!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Kickstarter Project: The Manual

I love Kickstarter, a site for crowdfunding creative projects. Here's a project I have recently supported: The Manual. According to The Manual's creators, "The Manual is a new, beautifully crafted journal that takes a fresh look, in print, at design on the web. Published three times a year—with the first due this summer—each issue will have six substantial, beautifully illustrated feature articles, along with several additional pages of rich material."

Take a look at their video, and checkout Kickstarter.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

When Civilization Collapses, Brunch Will Be At My House

We are having quite the week. J flew south to help out with the grandchildren when her son had to have a minor surgical procedure. Upon arriving, she became very sick with the cold and inner ear infection from hell. I have spent the last couple of days pacing around trying to figure out how to get down there to be with her -- a totally fruitless endeavor because all it would accomplish is probably getting me sick.

So it was a big surprise for me to see in my inbox a question about Book Club. At my house. In three hours.

Lucky for me, the house was clean. And I had some ginger cookies that I had made the day before. A quick scan of the Internet turned up a recipe for brownies, a few tweaks, and we were in business.

I am so glad that I can cook things from scratch. The brownie recipe is actually only marginally harder to make than opening a box. You have to measure the ingredients, but other than that, it is the same as a mix. And I know what is in there. No mystery. I keep sugar, flour, baking power, cocoa in the house, so when I have an overwhelming desire for something chocolate, I can whip something up.

Here's the recipe. Give them a whirl and enjoy the feeling of being all pioneer womanish!

Brownies

 Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chopped pecans 
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan. 
In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, eggs, and vanilla.  
Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually stir into the egg mixture until well blended. Stir in pecans, if desired. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. 
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let them cool, then cut into squares.


Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Francesca Woodman

Yesterday I learned about the work of an incredible artist photographer, Francesca Woodman. You can see her work here. It is incredible to me that she only lived to be 22.

To me, what separates art from what is not art is that art makes you feel what the artist is feeling. Francesca Woodman's work surely does that. You can feel the torturous quality of her life.

Who else do I know nothing of?

Here's a link to a book about her work.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Cold Snowy February Day

J and I went out shooting on Saturday. We have been having such a snowy cold winter. I don't remember one like it in the twenty five years I have lived here.

IMG_1988

I got a new lens for Christmas, and I was all hot to use it. So we went to the Rochester pier at Charlotte, and shot these pictures. It didn't take very long for us to be chilled right to the bone. So even though a couple of guys came by and told us that there was an eagle at the end on the pier, we couldn't force ourselves out to see it.
IMG_1985

And of course the wide angle lens that I had was not the right one to use for the eagle, but climbing over the snow bank to get back to the car to change the lens, with my fingers all stupid from the cold, well, it just wasn't going to happen.

IMG_1983

I'm counting the days until spring. I can't wait for my new bulbs to come up. And for some temperatures above 20 degrees.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Beautiful Combination

One of my workmates pointed out this beautiful video. I love the way it makes use of shadow puppets and sign language elements. And of course, the music is beautiful too.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Letters of Note

 Letters of Note is a really interesting website. As you might guess, it presents letters from famous, infamous, and interesting people. Today's offering is a letter from Keith Haring, the brilliant artist who was lost to us due to AIDS.


Keith Haring's advice.