My Crafty Days of Yore...

Now that I'm employed, I miss the radical freedom of unemployment and all of the fun artsy-craftsy projects that I was able to do.  Some turned out better than others (Peter's pillow), some are yet to be fully implemented (my scissor lino block printing, destined for t-shirts large and small), and some just turned out wonky (the sweater dog).  Hopefully it's wonky in a "I love my mom for trying" sort-of way... see for yourself above.

In other art news, my nifty Brown ID got me in to the RISD Museum (for free!) at lunchtime yesterday to catch the Harry Callahan show before it closes tomorrow.  The Museum is 3 blocks form my office and will be a regular stop on my lunch hour as I explore their collection.  Callahan actually established the photo department at RISD, but there were not too many pictures in the exhibit from their time in Providence.  Chicago is featured prominently, to the point that the city is almost like a family member in the photos.  Callahan's photos of his wife Eleanor (and later, daughter Barbara) are so technically brilliant and tender/intimate at the same time.  A remarkable talent to combine those two aspects.  You may have seen the one where Eleanor is emerging from the water of Lake Michigan looking like something out of a Botticelli painting.

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Warm House

Know what I love more than our new best friends at After Dark, LLC?  (No it's not some skeevy 1-800 number "for singles"--- it's the HVAC repair people who show up within 60 minutes of calling them on a Friday evening when your house is freezing cold, expertly disassemble your furnace and get it back to tip-top shape in short order, all with good humor and quiet voices and at a reasonable price.)  So, back to what I love more than them...

Friday Night Lights.  Best Show on TV.*  I was searching for an image to poach and couldn't find much beyond the cheesecake/beefcake pics of Lyla (Minka Kelly) and Riggins (Taylor Kitsch). Admittedly, there are some VERY attractive people on this show, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.  To say the show is authentic is to use a word that has been cheapened beyond acceptability.  Let's just say good.  Damn good.  [The Landry-Tyra storyline of last season was the only one that seemed to go beyond the pale.]  The two adult anchors of the show are Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler), who's married to new Principal Tami Taylor (Connie Britton), whose new principal-ness adds a powerful dimension to their already complex, fiery yet solid-as-a-rock marriage.  My favorite exchange between them thus far this season, right after Tami took the principal's job (she was a guidance counselor before):

 

Eric: "You know who I miss?  The coach's wife."

Tami: "Huh.  Well, you know who I can't wait to meet?"

Eric: "Who?"

Tami: "The principal's husband."

This show reliably makes me tear up every Friday night, in a good life affirming way.  Not like the tearing-up caused by the abrupt shuttering of Domino magazine, about which I remain too sad to blog coherently.  I think my friend JK summed everything up nicely here.

*[My friend PD recommended "FNL" ages ago.  Come to think of it, she also recommended "The Wire," for which I take some credit because I loved "Homicide" and read all the David Simon books.  But back to my point... how does someone who DOESN'T WATCH TV get the inside scoop on all the best shows???]