Wisdom Wednesday - Humor

"Humor has been analyzed with great success by any number of people who haven't written any". -Henry Morgan

Tasty Tuesday - Eating Raw Oats

I am not sure how I discovered that I like eating raw oats, but I do. Weird right? Maybe I was really desperate one day and just decided to try it. I really don't know. I don't get the instant oats, I get the old fashioned ones. I've never tried the instant raw, but I somehow figure the old fashioned is better. Plus, if I want to cook them, which I do sometimes, they really don't take that much longer to cook than instant.

I also like to add the oats to my yogurt. In fact, I just finished a cup of fat free or low fat (can't remember) coconut cream yogurt with raw oats. TASTY! I think I really like the raw oats because of the texture. They do dry your mouth out a bit raw, so have a glass of something to drink on hand. Or just throw them in your yogurt. While it might seem odd to eat these raw, they are really good for me. Nothing but oats baby! Now you couldn't get me to eat steel cut oats raw. They are a bit tough uncooked. Got to go with the rolled if eating them raw. And no, I haven't tried eating the steel cut raw. I just KNOW they wouldn't be good. lol Plain ole oats, float my boat!

Movie Monday - The Art of the Steal

"Appreciation of works of art requires organized effort and systematic study. Art appreciation can no more be absorbed by aimless wandering in galleries than can surgery be learned by casual visits to a hospital." -Dr. Albert C. Barnes (that's him and his cute doggie on the left)

Art. Who owns it? When a person dies, do their wishes really matter? If they were eccentric, does it make it "ok" to ignore their wishes?

Not many movies stay on mind days after I have seen them, but "The Art of the Steal" has stuck with me. I suppose it is still lingering because I am an artist. The movie concerns the relocation of The Barnes Foundation , which is located in Merion, PA.  It is located about 5 miles outside of Philadelphia and does sit in a residential neighborhood. It has the worlds greatest collection of nineteenth and twentieth century French paintings. Henri Matisse even came to the foundation in 1933 and painted a mural right on the walls of the building.

Dr. Barnes didn't create a museum. He created an educational institution. He never called the mansion that houses his collection a museum. It was always a place for education, first and foremost. And there are still classes. The collection is displayed in such a way to give you an experience. Paintings are not grouped by style or artist. They are grouped to give you a feeling. They claim they are going to preserve the layout of the paintings and over all aesthetic of the collection in the new building. I somehow don't think it will be the same.

Even though Dr. Barnes was wealthy, he hated Philadelphia society types and was a very independent soul. Some say he was a mean old man, but I just think he was a million mega watts smarter than anyone and was resented for it. Shocker! He started collecting this artwork before it became famous. A monetary estimation of the collection has been said to be 25-30 billion dollars. Yes, billion. But it isn't about the monetary worth. I would seriously say, it is priceless.

Oh, but wait! The people who pushed for this move are all politically connected and/or are politicians. AND they all have access to LOTS of money. OH, and it's all about driving tourists to downtown Philadelphia so they can make more money. About the art? Yeah.............NO! It would be long to explain to you how this deal went down, but let just say it was SHAY-DEEE. While people are mad about it moving, I think the real anger comes from in how the deal went down.

Now, many people say the film is one sided. I don't disagree with this. It is sided to the side of resentment about moving the collection. Many of the people involved in moving the collection refused to be interviewed for the documentary. They had their chance to tell their side and didn't. And the people who did interview who were involved with the move, ended up looking like asses. Too bad the others refused to look like asses. lol

My fiance and I are making plans to see the collection before it moves in 2012. We hope to see it this summer. No, I have never been. I hadn't even heard of this collection before I saw the trailer for the film. I kind of feel like a bone head for never of hearing about the collection before. But now that I know about it, I feel passionate about it. I'm trying to imagine what it will be like to see the collection. I have yet to be successful.

GO SEE THIS MOVIE if you can still find it playing. If it isn't playing, the dvd comes out July 27th. Please visit the Friends of the Barnes.

GIVEAWAY!!!

I reached 200 fans on my fan page! So I am doing a giveaway! You can enter to win a $15 gift certificate to my etsy shop. Snap! All you have to do is leave me a joke on my FB fan page . I love humor! Yes, I am going to make you work for it. ;) Scroll down the fan page and you will find the post about the giveaway. Make sure you leave your joke in the comment section of the giveaway post. Please don't post it here on the blog. Thanks! And Good Luck all!

Foreign Friday - Ritter Sport

 I am completely and utterly fascinated by European candy. When I lived in San Francisco I discovered something called Ritter Sport . It is a German company the makes different types of chocolate with various goodies mixed in. And is it ever AWESOME! My personal favorite is the white chocolate with whole hazelnuts .
And they do not skimp on the hazelnuts. They pack all of the their chocolate with tons of goodies! I have not tried that many flavors. But their chocolate with corn flakes is really good too. I know, sounds weird, but it is excellent! They only carry certain flavors in the US. But you can find the foreign flavors on Amazon. They also have a new 10,000 sq. foot retail shop in Berlin. OMG! HEAVEN! I'll take a one way ticket please! I have a feeling no matter which flavor combo you pick, you won't be disappointed. I have been able to find this in the international isle of grocery stores and at Walgreens. And I am sure European specialty shops carry it too. Enjoy!

Wisdom Wednesday - Rain

Since it is a cloudy/rainy day here in Ann Arbor, I thought a little quote about rain would be nice. Enjoy!

The rains that nourish the optimist's flowers make the pessimist's weeds grow.

Tasty Tuesday - Julia Child Inspires

2 weeks ago I finally watched the movie "Julie and Julia". And after watching it, I really want to cook the beef bourguignon. It just sounds and looks divine! That said, it is labor intensive to make and takes forever to cook. From start to finish it will take about 4-5 hours, depending on how fast you are. But I somehow I feel the reward would be worth the effort. How can you go wrong with beef, red wine, bacon, mushrooms, and fresh herbs? UH, you can't! Remember, bacon makes everything better. And of course there is butter involved. It certainly isn't health food, and I wouldn't recommend eating it everyday. But it would make for a lovely main course for a special occasion. It would be even more divine served with garlic and butter mashed potatoes. Well, that is my opinion. Before I can make this I must get the original book the recipe came from, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". I found the two volume set on Amazon for $50.

Which after some research, is a great deal. I haven't quite figured out why anyone would want to only buy the first volume. That's just me though. I found the recipe for beef bourguignon on Oprah's magazine website. Not my first choice of mags, but it shows the recipe. I could just use that recipe, but I am still going to get the set from Amazon, at some point. I somehow feel the experience of making it from the exact words of Julia would be better and more satisfying. Now, if you are by no means a cook, this book is not for you. From my understanding this isn't the easiest cook book on the planet. You should probably have some experience cooking and enjoy doing it. I do! And I wouldn't say these recipes are for everyday eating. You would never leave the kitchen and probably gain 100 pounds. I like to think of it as a great book for parties, special occasions, and a special meal for two once a month. The only reason I see this book being a challenge for me is that I don't like to follow recipes when I cook. lol  But this one may convert me. We'll see.