Water Jokes

Buontalenti and Fortuny are two of my biggest inspirations for creativity, design and beauty. Don't have a Buontalenti fountain but do have 6 Fortuny hand painted lamps and am lucky enough to own a Fortuny gown.
Personally, I feel Buontalenti had too much class to design anything in Las Vegas. He would have used proper scale, the best of materials and his design would have conflicted greatly with the over-kill approach of Vegas.
Tonight I was able to buy 7 beautiful old wooden steamer trunks that are from the mid 1800s from someone in Sun Valley. They are in absolutely mint condition and look almost brand new. One of them was filled with a woman's clothing and jewels from 1888. The clothes look almost new. A woman had them in her basement that she had not gone into for almost 20 years. (the home is 14,000 sq. feet so that is understandable)
She decided to rid herself of all the old stuff down there and a friend of mine told her I was trying to find some old steamer trunks and she called and offered them to me. I will pick them up and look over the other old stuff and make an offer for the bulk.
I have been wanting to open my own rarities shop someday and have a storage locker full of treasures waiting for a shop.
When I go to it and peruse through all the finely made things I realize what is wrong with me being in the world today. I love beautiful things. Well crafted, hand made, one at a time, one of a kind, made with pride things. Even the best of things made today cannot compare with the beautifully carved and crafted things of the days before I was born. The 18th. and 19th. century had the things made for everyday use and though a lot of it could not be bought by the poor and lower working class, some of it could and even those items were beautifully made.
I have a collection of boxes, hand carved, inlaid, from around the world. These boxes are from a time when the craftsmen making them would proudly put their initials or signature in a tiny space somewhere, maybe on the bottom of the box. Even their signature was beautifully carved into the wood or ivory or metal. I looked at all of them a few months ago, (over 180), and not one had a craftsman made flaw. Such time they took to create, and often, for so little pay. Art for art's sake. What a luxury to be able to do art for art's sake. Kind of Buontalenti and Fortuny. On that, I shall take my sleep.

I am still clocked out from yesterday.

idahoproducer, hope you will post photos of the old wooden steamer trucks.

Love to see them.

Also, hope you are able to someday open your rarities shop.

I often go to estate sales. Find many fascinating items. Some I buy -- since I am a collector of many things -- and some I just look at. Look and learn, I call it.

Makes for interesting days. Educational, too.

IDAHO:  Four of my BIGGEST Inspirations, from the Art World ... inspiring Creativity, are Titian, Rubens, Modigliani, and Giussepe Albertini ....... The Creativity they inspired in me was a Genuine Appreciation of Persons, and Things ... of Substance, and the frequent recollection of Caesar's Words, "Let Me Have Fat People About Me ..." ... I was very popular at the Mixer on Graduation Day at Jenny Craig .......

Felt a bit of confused inspiration on the blog today... www.kentuckycurmudgeon.wordpress.com Hello Ivan et.all...

Wot? Gelato as in Italian ice cream sort of stuff?
Fountains, waterfalls - eeew! my garden pond is a nightmare at the moment. The pump has given up the ghost, the weeds are rampant and my creaky ankles, knees and hips discourage me from wading into the slime and sorting it out. The frogs, toads and newts are loving it, so the water must be healthy. The place where I used to get my water plants had a bonkers fountain display, with music, underwater lights and garden benches so you could sit and watch with huge, magnificent coi carp swimming a yard away from your feet.

Copies of the 'Naughty Boy" are popular on culs du sac in Brooklyn.

Coffee is on, and bacon sandwiches, with or without a fried egg and yes! fried green tomatos. I did an exchange of tomatos with a gardening friend, so now I have a bag of little yellow ones - every time I open the 'fridge door I have to pop one in my mouth.

Oh HAZEL, now THAT is a breakfast! Won't help much at the Jenny Craig mixer but would make for a lovely bite sitting by the burbling water.

Somebodeeeeeee~ remind me. Richard Braughtigan? Trout fishing in America, and the Cleveland wrecking yard where you could get trout stream by the yard, waterfalls extra. Brilliant bit of writing. My copy got "borrowed"
 

HAZEL Richard Brautigan Trout Fishing In America. Fabulous! Never loan a book you want to see back! You are welcome to the shirt off my back, but certain books and music, sorry!

I have spent a lot of time in Rome. One of the deeply ingrained pleasures of being there is simply to walk around and find a Bernini on the next little piazza or one of Buontalenti (or an imitator)'s whimsical water spouts. If you listen carefully past the sound of the water babbling someone really is playing opera with the windows open. If you inhale deeply enough you will find a hint of garlic and simmering broth. Look up at the sky and its "Are you kidding me? It actually looks like that?"

The long held respect for beauty and enrichment that belongs to everyone is an incredible tradition which is lost in our recyclable planned obsolence society. . it is so understandable to me that IDAHO and LOTLOT find such pleasure with old things. I have never wanted to live in a new house. I want to feel echoes and spirits and history. The fact that Buontalenti and his ilk were able to enrich the lives of so many people in so many places with whimsy and beauty that have lasted far longer than our country has existed is simply miraculous.

Julia,  I thought about copying it myself earlier.  Here is something for the Otherwise Unrelated department:   http://www.myholysmoke.com/Our_Services.html             ; my best to all,                                          willie
   

I did have stickers to put on the fly-leaf of my books that said "This book belongs to Haze and all her friends" but I ran out of them. Some of them did come back.

Fluid power for the "Aesthetician", yes, but also the useful beauty of hydraulics in our essential plumbing as well as the mechanical "wonders" that allow us to build and move is truly art in motion. When the artists observe creation and then apply it in art and commerce we all behold what human civilization can truly be- truly are There are no compartments rather a large expanse of awe.

WILLIE aren't you the all around Naughty Boy today...!

ROAD YACHT ~ Your timing was off.  Today is joke day.

Niagara Falls...slowly I turned...step by step

haze, perhaps you should have some stickers printed to put in your books that say:

"This prized, costly book that I purchased with my hard-earned money was stolen from hazel leese by some inconsiderate idiot."

Nah~ lotlot~ it makes room on my shelves for new books!

The one sculpture in Brussels "MANEKE PIS"  which they called it when I was young.  Because it was a naughty sculpture everyone was always talking about it - so when I was old enough I visited  Brussel, my first visit was to Manneke Pis fountain.  I was totally uneducated and had never stepped into a museum - my main purpose was to the see the naughty creation that stood in a very narrow little street.  I could not believe the tiny figure and wondered why I came all that way because I had not learned yet the beauty of art and creation at man's hand.  The small size was just too small to be appreciated by me.
 
Then next story was - I visited as a teenager  La Louvre in Paris on a tour of Paris - I still was pretty ignorant of art.  I had left school at 12 years old and worked since that time in Factories on assembly belts  which was a nightmare for a young child with a dream for a better life .  I went to La Louvre having been told that it is famous and when I walked through it, I saw all these Greek Gods with broken legs, noses and arms even one without a head.  You can imagine with my organized mind what I thought - why do they not fix them.                                                                                 
 
My life changed when I was older and graduated with a Master's Degree of Science in Education in the USA.  I did spend some time in La Louvre and I had to study  Michael Angelo "The Dying Slave"  and talk about it -  my University class and the teacher and students were standing at the statue to ask questions and to earn me a grade.  I got an "A".  I have a photo that I took but am not able to put it below.  I will put it in the photo contest.
 
I am telling you this to show that we can work ourselves single handed out of a hole and create and build our own life even at a later stage in life.  Nothing is impossible - we all have the potentials of creativity within us and what age it happens does not really matter.  Any age is fine.  Even at my age, we can still create beautiful things to hold on to - our future is still as real as for the young because no one knows when our time is up.
 
Having become wise through all my life experiences - creativity has become the spirit of my beautiful life - my past experiences support me in believing that the future will be even better than what I left behind.

Wow, if you are cruising for a bruising try the Eye June22, 2010. I was messing around on the site and I do not even know how that page came up but if you want to see some squabbling---holey moley! The basic cast is the same but there are some supporting players whom I haven't seen on site.

And even MORE off topic (but on Peterman)hopefully we'll get another crack at crockpots cuz you guys have some wrong ideas about them! Of course you can take the lid off and adjust seasonings. Tsk tsk.

All right, we now return to our regularly scheduled topic.......

Many different versions, but this one shows the famous fountain best....
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9k6RlPh8Hs
 
 
"Three Coins in the Fountain" implies the fountain has magical qualities of blessing wishes.
Beautiful fountain details.....

Then there is Doris Day's interpretation.....
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvI09n9hMgg&feature=related
 
 
Brings back romantic memories of the good old days......such innocence, hope. No wonder people collect antiques and past works of art.
 
 

In for a penny, well you know...How about some FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE?   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGUG1aCUY2o  ; Fans of Tony and Carm will recall that Tone actually bought something at Fountains of Wayne

AH, ChefDeb, Those were the days, when the men were men, the women were not
faint of heart and squabbling was an art.  Tongue biting was forbidden.  I
accept full responsibility for my part in the fray.  I will rephrase a comment I
made yesterday, even though J. Peterman cringes every time I hit the send
button, he has yet to toss me out.
 

Mooseloop, My father used to ride the bus to school with Doris
Kappelhoff.  I could have been a little Day had he been more suave,
sophisticated or charming.
 
Willie, thank you so much and wherever do you find them?

idaho~ belated response, but I'm dying to know about the clothes in the steamer trunk.

A slightly different perspective on the subject of fountains and i'll throw in some other statuary into the conversation too.....

When i was growing up in Chicago, and maybe it's still like that now in the older-but-not-yet-'gentrified' neighboorhoods, ...... More often than not, you could tell which neighborhood you were passing though just by gancing at style, the amount, or the lack of statuary that graced the typically poster sized front lawns of the bungalows.

The official boundries for each neighborhood would be defined by streets and intersections. The real boundaries were defined by ethniticy and local churches/parishes.

Statuary wise, the impact of this very eclectic mix could either be descibed as art without walls or the 'bizarre bizarre'

I loved that city.......That time and place

When there was a lot of new but modest single story and bilevels being constructed in the 1950's, the owners of these homes seemed to be very competitive with other 'new home' owners on the same block so you would see collections of water fountains, columns, statues..usualky nudes with fig leaves, that started off smallish, but eventually got bigger and more elaborate as they were placed closer and closer to the house as the competition with their neighbors grew more intense.

The fig leafed statues always faced the street, which meant that those homes on the west-side of the street were always greeted with the butt-crack of dawn as they looked out the front window with their first cup of coffee and everyone got to see a full moon at night when the closed their drapes.

Well idon't want to over stay my welcome today so i see a nap in my future on this rainy, rainy day.

Peace out dudes and dudetts

Peter Lake~ You are a contender for Bad Lad of the Day. Enjoyed your offering!

Hazel - I noticed you asked for Richard Braughtigan info...the Wikipedia has this....
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Brautigan
 
and he sounds like a loose cannon character, somehow overcoming a less-than-lovely childhood to write satire. I have not read him, but now that you mention him, I will look up his work and try to know him. Look on Amazon.com for the book you once had. They have some used ones that are not too dear$$.
 
Peter Lake - Our middle income rural and suburban planned neighborhoods seem not to have had the same playbook as yours, as ours like two sitting lions on pillars at the road's edge of the their driveways to denote "this is my estate!" The lions may be small or large, but seem to send the message that that home (which basically looks like most of the others) is somehow more imposing! And the lion's rear is also the view from the house. Do you suppose there is a description somewhere of which houses rate lions or cherubs at the driveway, and which do not?  (I have two little evergreens at the top of my driveway, so what does that say about my piddling estate?)  Do you suppose that Better Homes and Gardens has a section for explaining statuary at driveways and the hierarchy of status? And yes, a few have the obligatory three tiered fountain (dry) in the front, too.

Yeah Paolos, but then you mighta had Terminal Freckles ... and four hundred Daschunds and Wire Haired Terriers in your back yard ...   Imagine all of that Lot having Fleas ... Seems easier to get one Flea the size of a VW, that they could all share ...

Hey KENTUCKY !!!  Gladdaseeya !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mooseloop- I think the rules change with the size of the house and distance from the city..... with all the newer developments, it seems it is the size of the enourmouse and overly ornate brick and stone mailbox structures. one used to be able to down a mailbox with either a cherry bomb or baseball bat..... but these new ones require a wrecking ball.... .... not that i ever engaged in such delinquent activity as a kid......; )

FAY ~ It's good to see that you survived the heat wave.  You had me worried.

Thanks for the info, Moose.
 

Then again, there is this...
 
http://www.lotsofjokes.com/japanese_water_fountain-video-540.htm

Hassel, am i still in the running for 'Bad Lad' of the day? What an honor that would be! I can take it up a notch or two if that would help my cause.

ChefDeb: The vast majority of the time, civility and etiquette prevail in The Village. Occasionally, however, things get a mite feisty, combative, or even worse. It has a lot to do with the topic. Politics & religion are topics that bring out strong feelings, even in polite society. In fact this may be the only conversational chat site that ALSO maintains a strict "shots fired" policy.....lol I especially like guidelines (mine) such as "don't fire unless fired upon" and "don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." Marquis of Queensbury rules apply, should anyone take out a matched set of dueling pistols.....

BERT Thank you. This is an elegant, well mannered place to hang out and I am not surprised with the level of intelligence demonstrated here that on occasion certain topics can be combative. I think your guidelines are excellent and I shall observe them myself with the exception being the occasional NY zinger that escapes (I can't help myself). That particular day that I just happened on was simply in a stronger vein than I have experienced here in my few months, but I look forward to jumping in the trenches when the topic is appropriate. Here's to you!

Me, why so serious....just words like chocolate, cheeseburger, tolerance, and love. Sometimes its just good to say 'eff it if you can't take a joke. Real boats will always rock when the seas are rough

Peace out, catch you all on tne flip side of this side... Gotta go to a towne meeting.

Peter Lake~ I'm off to under my duvet shortly, so by my book you are awarded the Haze Red Rosette as Bad Lad of the Day. x
Nos da pawb. ('Night everybody)
 
 
 
 
 
 

IDAHO, HAZEL might want to know about the clothes in those steamer trunks but I want to know about the jewels.
Come on, we want photos and all the details.

How did that space get there? The way I see the occasional disagreements in the Village is that every day is a new topic and a one day wonder. We are all grown-ups here, why carry a resentment from yesterday into today? I think it was Ivan recently quoted "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." I really look forward to seeing what each new day brings on the Eye. Hope you are all cooking up a nice dinner. My next flavour will be toothpaste.

To my wonderful village friends. I am picking up the trunks on Saturday, (much to my husband's disgust - he hates big trunks as he will be the one that has to move them), and will be taking photos of clothes, trunks and jewels.
I really lucked out on this one. The woman is going to let me take what I want out of the basement and wants it all out as soon as possible. She wants to put a swim machine pool down there and must have it remodeled so she wants it emptied out.
She was one of those, "Out of Africa" British folks and has all these old, wonderful collections that her husband collected and brought back to US, only to be banished into the basement.
I am renting a large U-Haul to be able to take things out and bring them home. She is offering her husband's collection of original oils so I am so excited I will barely sleep until I have packed it all up and brought it home. She thinks I am doing her a favor. Such a nice, elegant lady. Such a lucky break for me!

Way back to Paolos' comment about craftsmanship I'm wondering how many of you have seen the National Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in D. C.  I know Lynn lives close enough to visit any time.  The cathedral is a true work of art and craftsmanship from the tippy-top gargoyl to the lower chaples' gates to the needle work on kneelers.  The Childern's
chapel is a stunning gem all by itself.  Just the reverse, Paolos, of the temperary casino work it is meant to last forever.  It's rewarding to realize that some want permanent beauitiful things. 

IDAHO: I'm avaliable to help with pricing all that lovely stuff. I love old things too.
My fingers are itching.

I was not complaining about the rather harsh exchanges, in fact I kind of enjoyed them. I thought we all agreed to disagree! And I too look forward to whatever Mr. P. has up his sleeve to stir the pot with.

I think today's topic calls for Bubbly on Thesepia Train! Hope you are all there.

To think Winston Churchill generated all that heat.  Well:
 Sometimes a boil over is a good thing.   Especially when a barely-there simmer has been going on for such a long time. There's nothing wrong with keeping the fire going under the pot.  You can't cook anything when the flame goes out.

Here's to IVAN - he says what he wants to say - usually - because he believes in what he says.He's consistent, he's honest, and damn is he ever smart.  This refers to his comments on 06.22.10 that ChefDeb brought up... and to his comments in general.  Good on you, my outspoken intelligent friend! 

The Stand Up Paddleboard kicked my old butt today but The Owl Cafe will fix that. A splash of H20 with my libation in honor of the topic. This space is like a scene from Midnight in Paris. I love it when we disagree and still respect & honor each other. As Oscar would say "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." Here we live....well. You can't piss me off unless you quit loving me. Please don't do that because I think we are the dreamers. "For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."

Rusty ~ Good example!  The cornerstone was planted in 1907 and construction
completed in 1972.  Only a short 50 to 100 years ago,enough people cared
enough.  Sometimes it seems we are letting the flame die out, other times I can
see the torch being passed forward.
 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QP0gU_P7tQ
 
PeterLake ~ I wasn't even trying today.  I thought
Willie had it all wrapped up.

I'm with you, Park, before I head for home, I'll lift a glass to Sir Ivan!

Dear Paolos:  I am touched that you worried about me - it is very much appreciated.  Thank you.  My friends keep calling me and telling me to stay in their air conditoned apartments, but I love my home and do not want to move.  I also will return to Tanzania in December for two months and I have to accept their heat - therefore, I just have to adapt already in Manhattan.  I am also trying to learn Swahilli which is very difficult for a worn out brain like mine - I just cannot remember all the rules that are so different from the languages that I speak.  I just keep drilling it into my mind and hope it will eventually absorb it.  I leave December 7 and have some time left to study.   I have a book and CDs that I play - it is a very good system and I should pick up a little to get around and also talk to the children.  I also wish to communicate sweet words to my special friend! Kidding!!!

Wow, Fay, you go for it, gal!!  An insperation to all of us getting on in years or as my daddy used to say "I'm getting old.  I din't say I was I said I'm getting." 
 
Love PBS From the Top!  So great to see the young keeping hope for the fine arts alive whether it be music, sculpture, painting or even classical embroidery.

I'm basking in the glow of being 'Bad Lad' of the day. Don't know if i can top that one so i'll just rest on my laurel.

TT - The Owl Cafe is the best the Forgotten Coast has to offer! Love it....Have some lamb and vino for me! It will be Oct. before I can get down there.!  Don't you love eating in the  brick walled bar area with the wine room adjacent and the old European bar nearby!?
 
Fay, glad you are able to survive the 100's in NY without AC....no thanks for me, even tho' I grew up in steamy Florida! My elec. bill was double this month what it usually is, but must have AC. Push it down to 68 at night....so good to sleep in the cool! Are you sure you need Swahili, as most are now able to comprehend English or a pidgin version....What are you needing to negotiate in the Swahili language? Who are you going to talk to?
 
Read Jalopkin/Ivan's soundoff on 6-22-10 after ChefDeb's mention,and I can see how Ivan could get  irate about the state of things in the DC area! I agree with him in 99%, and would like to see a stronger border policy, as Arizona has tried to uphold. There is a path for legal immigration, but the ILLEGAL entrants are making an issue of claiming perks they do not deserve. We who are tax paying, working Americans would like to see LEGAL mean something!! Anyone who wants to give away the farm is delusional, treehugging, liberal loving, whalesaving, misinformed, or all of the above.  ( Ok, ok, I know...no name-calling, but if the shoe fits, you know who you are! You are undermining a great nation! Stop it!!) As for the leadership, or lack thereof, we need Capt. America to step up for 2012, please!! 
 
We cannot feed and take care of everybody in the wide world!! It is enough to provide for the legal citizens and to try to be fair to the military, elderly, and deserving.  It is like the breast-feeding of triplets (Matt, Pat, and Tat), there is no tit for Tat. (Meant to relate to the topic as a breast is a fountain for the deserving babes....)
 
 
 
 

Moose- your table awaits you at The Owl Cafe...the dining experience was a real "hoot"!

Mooseloop:  I am learning Swahili for the orphan children who do not speak English.  I also try to learn it for the community who do not speak English.  I like to communicate with the ones who are uneducated and give them some encouragement to get out of their impoverished existence - my communication is not just words - I have been where they are and have managed to get above it all.  I want them to fight for a quality life.  Already by trying they change their life by developing their fighting spirit within.  As the students said at City University of New York when I went to College at a very late age  "If Fay can do it - I can do it, too."