Category: Thoughts, Musings, Stories
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The Pardoner and his Tale, Jan 19 2021
Today (January 19, 2021) everyone in the U.S. is busy guessing who will be on the pardon-list of that outgoing guy. The official list will be documented here: https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardons-granted-president-donald-trump#Jan202021 Meanwhile, let’s find out how a person who Pardons does it. Geoffrey Chaucer’s character The Pardoner, and his tale in The Canterbury Tales (1387) come to…
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Noguchi sculpture appears in the Rose Garden, Episode #2
How your intrepid blogger discovers new answers to her puzzles about the Noguchi sculpture … on Dec. 1 Timothy Harleth and Nikki Pisha in the Rose Garden. On Dec 1, 2020 at 10:00 am, the White House Historical Association host an online two-panel symposium on “The History of Diverse Artists in the White House Collection”.Between…
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Noguchi sculpture appears in the Rose Garden, Episode #1
How a surprising news story in the US leads us to a Noguchi sculpture, a White House puzzle, and an unexpected update a week later … Breaking News, Friday Nov 20, 2020 “First Lady Melania Trump is pleased to announce the installation of Floor Frame (1962), by Isamu Noguchi (1904-88). The sculpture will be located…
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East Enders vs the Republic of China
How a small news story about East-Enders and the Chinese Embassy takes us on a big ride through family history, via the Battle of Cable Street and the mural … Ron’s late mum Alice Weihs was an honourary East-Ender. She was dubbed “Ellis the Ken-eye-dian” (cockney accent). She went off to London UK on her…
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Playing Real Good for Free
One of the pleasures of our 10-day stay in Lisbon was the quality of the street music all over the city. Best of all was a really fine ensemble from Cabo Verde playing near the waterfront, Nôs Raíz. We listened to their concert for about 40 minutes and bought a CD, which turns out to…
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Gallery 46: Photos of homeless in 1970s London
A room in Gallery 46 Gallery 46 is in Whitechapel at 46 Ashfield Road, one of two adjacent Georgian houses. To be admitted to 46, you knock on the door of its neighbour. The gallery occupies three floors of the otherwise empty house. The exhibition was “A Sort of Home”, photographs by David Hoffman of…