IDEASMYTH SNACKS….for Omnivoracious Bon Vivants
~LOVE IN A COLD CLIMATE EDITION~
SOME MEDITERRANEAN LOVE
Italy may not have invented the art of love, but in the Renaissance they definitely knew how to make lasciviousness the new extravagance. The Exhibition, “Art and Love in Renaissance Italy” now at the Met (through February 16th) is a stupendously lusty romp through all the extraordinary trappings of Renaissance family rituals–the weddings, the Christenings…and the libidinous secrets. Not only is there stunning jewelry, commemorative furniture, and allegorical paintings, but there are courtesan portraits that would have smoldered in hiding behind curtains or innocent-looking mirrors and over-the-top pornographic objects (i.e.: such as the majolica plate from 1536 with the inscription in mirror writing: OGNI HOMO ME GUARDA COME FOSSE UNA TESTA DE CAZI (Every man looks at me as if I were a dickhead)). And if you get too hot-and-bothered, on on Friday or Saturday nights they still serve cocktails to quartet music in the Great Hall.
Some YouTube videos relating to the exhibition (a bit dry though!):
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=FCB2799FA1468CC8
[And by the way, should you want to hire a private guide, as I arranged for a newly single friend’s birthday party, could not recommend Renaissance expert Vivian Gordon more highly. Little known tip: the Met has many tourguides on their roster who are willing to compose private tours on just about any aspect of their collections–how do I know? My mother, Diana Rowan is one of their Asian Art specialists.]
SOME REKINDLED FRIEND-CRUSH LOVE
Recently tumbled head-over-heels back into a long-lost-friend crush. You know the giddy high that comes from spending time with an old college friend you haven’t seen in ridiculous forever? Even better than finding out you had forgotten a $100 bill in the back pocket of your jeans–you feel so humbled and grateful that your own life is so much RICHER than you realized. Many of you already know Mike Albo from the fury of his amazing creative output–his Critical Shopper columns for the NY Times Styles section, his deliciously wicked books, Hornito and Underminer and his performances of hyperkinetic genius–I hope some of you saw “Unitard” at Fez? Anyway, there’re lots of goodies for you on his groovy website, www.MikeAlbo.com, but I must highlight my two favorites:
On the sexy evil of marketing:
“The Obsession Promoter”
www.DazzleDancers.com
and their GLITTERAGEOUS video:
I Iike it Electric: “The Love Boat”
http://dazzledancers.com/videos.html
AND
While we’re talking about WRITERS IDEASMYTH LOVES, saw the ultimate New Journalism verbal stylist Tom Wolfe on Wednesday at Symphony Space (thanks boyfriend!) on the occasion of the 40th anniversary reprint of his trippy classic (oxymoron alert): Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test–made me want to reread all of his backlist all over again. The freedom he gave himself has been parodied and misappropriated by many wannabes since, but the original still dazzles.
Also: check out the rest of the THALIA BOOK CLUB series events–great names and books through June.
http://www.symphonyspace.org/series/72
AND
…from the LIFE SURVIVAL TOOLS WE LOVE, FedEx Kinkos is now selling their nifty 2009 Weekly/Monthly planner. Many of my coaching clients ask me what scheduling system to use. Making your own calendar on your computer and making various printouts as you update by the month, week, day would probably be ideal, but I get so impatient with all that reprinting! After many years of experimenting with daily, weekly, Franklin Covey–OY!–I still find I prefer this ugly utilitarian thang the best; it has tabs for the month and plenty of space to make notes for the week. It’s all immediately visually obvious, I don’t have to expand a screen or scroll or double-check that no auto-scheduling gaffes were inserted for the rest of the year. EASY, plain but PERFECT. Ahh.
AND
for a cautionary tale on HOLIDAY GIFT GIVING’S PERILOUS POTENTIAL IMPACT YOUR LOVE LIFE. Ok, it’s promoting crass commercialism and a charmless retailer that is ruining our small-towns and all that earnest urban planning harbinger-of-doom I actually do believe in, but this is SO WELL DONE, I couldn’t help howling my admiration for this mini-movie…!
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1370868150/bctid3130509001
(with thanks to Amy Gardner for sending this on!)
So FA LA LA to you too!
12 December 2008
Victoria C. Rowan
Creatrix-in-Chief, IDEASMYTH
Desk: 212-842-5956; Cell: 917-716-7587
VCRowan@IDEASMYTH.com
~Find out why DAILY CANDY thinks IDEASMYTH services are so SWEET:
http://www.dailycandy.com/new_york/article/34774/Write+On
“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!”
–Goethe
