AllanThinks

Bonnie "Prince" Billy

This is all kinds of awesome!

Big Ass Balloon Dog in the Palace of Versailles

Clicking the image will take you to its Flickr page. You can see a larger version there.

More art appreciation. Doesn't the balloon dog look like he is gazing at the painting?

This piece, by Jeff Koons, is called Balloon Dog (Magenta), and was one of about a dozen pieces by the artist on display throughout the Palace of Versailles.

The juxtaposition of these neo-pop pieces with the classical art of the palace was, to say the least, intriguing.

It turns out there are 5 Balloon Dog pieces, in different colors. I've been told that the red one is currently on display in Berlin.

I am still not done processing photos from our trip, but what I have done can be seen here.

SPAMasterpiece Theater

Goodbye Old Friend

From Gothamist:

Rent, the rock-musical that did more to force LES hipster culture into that mainstream than anybody would care to admit, will take its final bows this weekend on Broadway. The once acclaimed show, which has been on the stage since 1996, will leave as the 7th longest Broadway run ever, and has built up a devoted following of longtime fans. And, just in case you were dying to get one last fix, but missed out on tickets to this final show, it will be captured on film and brought to theatres nationwide at the end of the month. That said, the show is closing after a down couple of years, and it's pretty clear that its time, and its brand of hipster stereotype, has finally passed on.

I say 'old friend' despite the fact I have seen Rent only once on the stage. But that one time I saw it, on Broadway, had a profound effect on me. It was the best show I have ever seen produced in a theatre. 

And getting to see it with my sister, Jo Ann, made it even more special. She loved that show. She had seen it five or six times. At least twice on Broadway, and the rest when touring companies came to Lexington, Louisville, or Cincinnati. She also owned the movie version on DVD, which I now own, and covet.

I've been thinking of her a lot lately. It's been just over a year since she died. I still miss her terribly.

I hope that Rent continues to tour the country. I will go see it any time it comes close to Lexington.

Woot!

I scored two tickets, second row center, to see David Sedaris at the UK Singletary Center for the Arts on October 18.

It's been 5 years or so since he last appeared here. Saw him then, too. But not this close to the stage.

The tickets are a lot more expensive this time, but it is still worth it.

I Can't Wait for November!

You can view the trailer in HD here.

FreeKY

This is a photo of a troupe of fire dancers called Foxfire Hypnotica, who performed during the FreeKY Festival, a free festival of music, art and exhibitions of eclectic culture, held on April 26 in downtown Lexington. It was the culmination of Alternative Music Week, sponsored by WRFL, the independent, commercial free, student run radio station at the University of Kentucky.

The entire week of concerts, art shows, and other events also served as 20th anniversary celebration, and a fund raiser for the station, which plans to increase their power, and reach a wider audience.

Alison and I attended several of the events during the week, including a concert feathering Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, at The Dame the Saturday before FreeKY, a bluegrass music show at Al's Bar, and a concert and art show held at our friend Lori's shop Isle of You.

The FreeKY Festival began at 11 a.m. and continued until almost midnight, featuring a number of bands, an art exhibit, vendor booths, and community group exhibitions. The musical headliners were Jolie Holland, and The Apples In Stereo. We hope that they decide to throw another party like this next year.

Ali and I got there around 3, and stayed until it ended. We took our cameras, and we both took tons of photos. You can see her set here, and mine, here.

As always, the photo is clickable.

 

We Believe!

Social Climbers

Clicking the image will take you to its Flickr page. You can see a larger version there.

Exposure:  1 sec (1)
Aperture: f/22
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/6 EV

These guys were  personal bequest from Jo Ann.

...Magic

Click image for a much better view.

 

Photocraft and...

Click image for a much better view.

 

Imagined Conversation

Bill: Look at all those people talking about you.

Scarlett: Yeah. I didn't believe my agent when he said issuing a press release about me recording an album of Tom Waits covers would generate a lot of buzz.

Bill: Always trust your agent. He knows of what he speaks.

Scarlett: Yeah. I'll never doubt him again.

Bill: Yeah.

Scarlett: But I guess now I will have to record the album.

Bill: Yeah. I think that would be wise.

Scarlett: Bill?

Bill: Yeah?

Scarlett: Who's Tom Waits?

That 'Prison' Movie

This is the trailer to the 'prison movie' referred to in a comment to Ali's post about Snakes on A Plane.

We saw this preview while waiting for SoAP to start last Saturday night. We were all rolling on the floor laughing. According to IMDB, the film was written by three of the creators and stars of Comedy Central's series Reno 911.

That's enough to recommend it to me.

So who wants to go see it with us when it is released in November?

Adblock

Oops!...I did it again.

I bought something just for the purpose of photographing it.

Alison and I went shopping this afternoon for a frame for a large (20 in. X 24 in) photograph we purchased at the Woodland Arts Fair on Saturday. One of the places we stopped was Michaels, an arts and crafts store.

We didn't find a frame large enough for our needs, but we were seduced by lots of brightly colored stuff we didn't need. Luckily, all of it was on sale. At clearance prices for the most part.

Ali found a bunch of cool things that will make great Christmas stocking stuffers for her kids, and both of us bought an item each for ourselves to photograph.

Hers actually has a useful function beyond being a still life. Mine is less useful, although, I think Ali's daughter might be able to get some fun out of it. And, what I bought was marked down from $7.99 to a clearance price of 79 cents, so even if I toss it when I am done, it won't be a big deal. But I think I will leave it in C's room for when she returns to Lexington.

We haven't had a chance to take any photos yet, but when we do, we'll let you know.