Too Good to Miss

Auctioned on January 3, 1013 at Swann Galleries in New York.

Auctioned on November 29, 2012, at Swann Galleries in New York.

Picasso’s Postcard

Above is a handwritten postcard that came up for auction recently. Imagine finding such a thing at a flea market or a yard sale! It includes a little sketch of a festive holiday meal. The auction was at Swann Galleries in New York. Here’s how the catalog described the postcard:

The top lot at Swann Galleries’ November 29 auction of Autographs was a postcard from Pablo Picasso to conductor Henri Defossé sending New Year’s greetings from Paris in December 1919. The card, signed “Olga et Picasso,” included a small ink drawing of a holiday feast set out on a table, and sold for $27,600—more than any other postcard from the artist at auction.

I have a real weakness for postcards. They are like tiny works of art. In this case, absolutely a work of art. My personal collection is now curated down to an album of hand-colored real photo images of Martha’s Vineyard. They are very distinctive, quite beautiful, and not very expensive.

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Beautiful Landings

Paro Airport, Bhutan. A short runway located in a deep valley.

Here are the finalists in Privatefly’s annual contest to pick the world’s most stunning airport approach, but I like the full list better. How can LAX be a finalist in this contest for flight connoisseurs? Here’s the full list. Look at Paro in Bhutan, Heligoland in the North Sea, and Courchevel in the French Alps.

A very slosh-y landing on the sands of Barra in the Outer Hebrides..

Heligoland, an island in the North Sea.

How Privatefly’s contest describes the Barra Airport: ”Spectacular approach over beautiful islands, soft landing on the beach of white shells, taxiing up to the tiny terminal and then realising the whole island breathes to the rhythm of the tide, as you can only land at low tide so the bus, the post-office and the shops open after the plane has landed with mail, people and newspapers.”

Courchevel Airport in the French Alps.

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The quirky Ted Mccagg ponders Les Miserables, especially Wolverine, Russell, and Anne:

Thoughts as He Watched.

∞

Two Great Exports from Scotland: Shetland Ponies and Shetland Wool Sweaters.

The Man-Made Dogs of the American Kennel Club

How is it that there are so many reports of damaged purebred dogs these days? Something is badly amiss in the rarified world of AKC dog breeding. Actually, they call it a sport.

It is time for the 2012 Westminster Show in New York City once again and I am relieved and pleased to see on the front page of SportsSunday of The New York Times, February 10, 2013, the headline “Safety Concerns Stoke Criticism of Kennel Club.” It is about time. Here’s the full article.

Safety Concerns Stoke Criticism of Kennel Club

I will not repeat the atrocities, and that is not an exaggeration, of the descriptions of conditions in the breeding facilities of three well-known breeders, judges, and leaders in their chosen specialities. One of them is now serving a five-year prison sentence on 91 counts of animal cruelty and neglect. Multiply these cases by the thousands of puppy-mills that operate with AKC sanctioned litter registrations around this country. It is clear that the breeder inspection program of the AKC is token at best, and, when there were documented visits, the reports used phrases like “In Compliance” and “Acceptable” even though a few months later in one kennel 28 of the 34 Great Danes were confiscated. Between them, the three breeders were housing over 200 dogs in despicable conditions. And selling the unhealthy puppies from these kennels to the public. Many of the confiscated animals had to be euthanized. It was a kindness and a blessing to dying animals. Think of the suffering of the animals that are never rescued from places like these.

Today’s German Shepherds bred for a slope-back and exagerated crouch.

After last year’s Westminster Show I wrote a short piece based on the televised Westminster show. It really was about the man-made dogs of the AKC. Here’s what I wrote.
Look again at that German Shepherd that won the Herding Group at Westminster on Monday night. He is terribly damaged with unsound hind quarters. It shows clearly in the slow motion clips that spotlight the winner in the group results. His hind legs wobble and flop. He nearly slips trying to make the U-turn with his handler as they run up and down the show ring. Is this what dog breeding has come to? How long will this poor animal last with hindquarters this compromised. In the interview with the judge and the handler, the judge compliments this dog’s temperament and “confirmation”: he may be gentle but his future is not good with back legs so deformed by selective breeding for a built-in crouch. This has become a standard for this breed at Westminster. If you are not convinced of the damage to the breed, look at video of the German Shepherd group judging.

Westminster Dog Show 2012, 9 minute video

Every dog in the group is compromised in the same way. It is easy to see when there is a slow-motion clip. The hocks (the “elbows” on the dog’s rear legs) cave in; the legs wobble; the rear legs barely clear the ground when the dog runs; the handlers are constantly re-setting the rear legs into the crouch so that the right rear leg is nearly parallel to the ground from the hock to the foot pad. The exagerated sloping back looks abnormal. I wonder if these dogs are in pain. Now go the German Shepherd web site and read the breed standards. There’s lots about a strong gait pushing from rear to front to propel the dog, but nary a word about the man-made crouch, the sloping back, the wobbly hindquarters.

I was further struck by the silence that accompanied selection of the winning German Shepherd during the Herding Group’s appearance on Monday night. David Frei and Mary Cerillo were speechless with the sad presentation of the wobbly GS running with his handler who turns out to be a significant figure in his own right. Usually David is generous with positive comments about each dog. But then he is the voice of the Westminster Show every year and the paid one at that. And he could find nothing to say about this sad animal.

And now in Monday morning’s New York Times, in the SportsMonday section, there is an article about German Shepherd judging at Westminster. The judge in question is the same man, James Moses, who showed last year’s top German Shepherd, the wobbly slope-backed dog. He is in the

James Moses and the top GS from Westminster 2012
B. Silverman/The NYTimes

video above. He is a breeder, handler, and judge. The article, “Linked to Competitors, Judge Asserts Integrity,” shows how all these roles run together in the high stakes arena of dog competitions. Last year, he showed the top dog; this year he is judging the group and will pick the top German Shepherd. Moses is described as “a divisive figure” who “often plays favorites” and is the subject of conflict-of-interest accusations among breeders and owners. Here’s the article.

List-making, an National Obsession

Bookstore and Cafe in Beiing, China with floating candles and a draped ceiling.

The Bookworm is an English language Bookstore and Cafe in Beijing, China, with floating candles and a draped ceiling. Photograph from Flavorwire.com

Is it just an American thing to overdose on lists? The World’s Most Beautiful Bookstores, Letterman’s Top Ten, Favorite Crock Pot Recipes, Top Lies of the 2012 Presidential Campaign, Top Baby Names of 2012. I find new ones on my Xfinity home page every day. They are everywhere, especially at the end of the year. The Best of the Best List on The Daily Beast collates annual best books lists from many sources. There’s even a site called Ranker that has been “putting things in order since 2009.” Watch the 2-minute video that explains this very complicated site and add your own lists to the mix. Don’t expect anything too sophisticated here.

The Amateur Gourmet calls this kind of writing “Listicles.” There’s a nice variety on the A.G.’s list of the 10 best dishes he ate in 2012.

Here is Emily Nussbaum’s blog and her take on Top Ten Lists. She is the television critic for The New Yorker, and she hates Top Ten Lists, but her editor demands one every year. She has two clever pieces that satisfy her editor and herself as well.

As best I can determine, and let me do this in a list, the reasons for list-making in popular culture today are:

1. Readers are often loathe to take the time to read an entire paragraph, much less an essay or article. Bulleted bits are quickly absorbed. No burdensome pros and cons, no elegant prose, bang, bang, bang, and you’re out of there. Move on to the next one. Actually, this is way too long and violates the rule. The first sentence is sufficient.

2. Writers are often loathe to take the time to write an entire paragraph, much less an entire essay or article. Internet bloggers adore list-making. It seems productive and takes less effort. Actually, this is way too long and violates the rule. The first sentence is sufficient.

Grand Prize Winner in National Geographic’s 2012 Photo Contest. Busaba, an Indochinese tigress, dries off after a dip in her private pool. She lives in Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo. Photograph by Ashley Vincent.

3. A collection of heart-warming or beautiful photographs is just like a list but even better. Who can resist pictures of magnificent wild animals or a Key West sunset? Or the winners of the National Geographic’s annual photography contest. Often there’s no text at all.

4. If you contribute just 2 or 3 factoids to a conversation, you can pass as an authority on the subject at hand. Somewhere along the way you have surely encountered a relevant list of items to cull from. Top 2012 money-saving tax tips. 20 hot new unspoiled vacation destinations for 2013, etc. etc.

Hand-dyed silk ribbons at M&J Trimmings at 6th Ave. and 37th St.

Hand-dyed silk ribbons at M&J Trimming on 6th Ave. at 37th St., NYC. Photograph by Linda Wilson.

5. To tell the truth, a really, really original list is priceless. Absorb it all. 10 Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Looks After a Certain Age. Here’s #1: Start with your eyebrows. And, Under-Visited Treasures in New York City. (Look for my personal list [with a little help from my friends] on this topic later on.) Here are two of my favorites: the ribbon stores in the garment district and The Gubbio Studiolo at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Studiolo was commissioned by the Duke of Urbino for his palace in the town of Gubbio which is near Perugia and the Appinine Mountains in Italy.

The Studiolo was commissioned by the Duke of Urbino for his palace in the town of Gubbio near Perugia and the Appenine Mountains in Italy. The technique is called intarsia and uses millions of tiny wooden pieces to create the illusion of open cabinets along the walls of this tiny study which reflects the Duke’s interests and passions. Photograph from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Next Time: I will gather up all the goodies I never got to in 2012 in a quick and dirty summary post.

Lee and Reacher

The latest Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child.

Are you a Lee Child fan? If not, there’s still time to become one, and if you already are a fan, you are perfectly placed to pester everyone around you to read at least one Lee Child novel so everyone can understand just who the real Jack Reacher is. He cannot possibly be Tom Cruise, no matter the five o’clock shadow or the bulky padded pants and jacket he has been dressed in for the movie. It will be a tragedy if people come to mix these two up. We can prevent this from happening despite the looming December 21, 2012, release of the film Jack Reacher.

A Wanted Man, the 17th novel in the series, is a good place to start. The books can be read in any order according to Lee Child, and this one has Reacher doing what he always does, going after some really bad guys, avenging several grisly deaths, and slaying any number of the evil-doers by himself. Then he moves on. Reacher, and he is always known as just “Reacher,” is hitchhiking cross country and is caught up in a bad situation that requires his full attention. The extent of his personal belongings and luggage: a toothbrush and a passport. Reach doesn’t bother with clothes, credit cards, an address, and certainly not a car.

Deep psychological wounds from the past have committed him to a life lived in the present. Two titles in the series, The Enemy and The Affair are like prequels and have Reacher working as a military policeman before the events that changed his life.

Odd how formulaic the plots of these books are, but Lee Child’s ability to bring his readers deep into complicated narratives that turn on a dime makes these books irresistible. Every book feels fresh. The chapters are short and punchy. You are loathe to put the book down. You simply must keep going like Reacher himself.

Reacher is quick on the draw literally and metaphorically with sophisticated powers of observation and interpretation that enable him to see what is coming just around the corner and out there in the dark. He knows about everything and it comes in handy, let me tell you. Attribute these skills to his native intelligence, his ability size up a situation, and his MP work in the past.

Lee and Reacher both love numbers, mundane, elegant, or meaningless including the number of rounds left in a Glock; the number of bad guys still concealed in the dark who need killing; the number of minutes it takes Reacher to shower, shave, and change into his new Dollar Store set of clothes (remember, he is unburdened by personal possessions). And one little parlor game: speaking for a full 60 seconds without using a single word containing the letter A.

About midway through A Wanted Man, there’s as good a physical description of Reacher as Lee Child has ever written. A smart and sympathetic female FBI agent observes Reacher stuffed in a flimsy metal lawn chair with his arms hanging over the sides, his knuckles dragging the ground. Does this sound like Tom Cruise to you?

For more details on Reacher and his background, go to Lee Child’s web site. It is all there down to the length of Reacher’s inseam. But there is an omnious sign on the website: “Coming Soon: Reacher Gear.” Will there be souvenirs for sale, a line of Jack Reacher clothing? Since Reacher doesn’t own anything, what could be the idea here? Lee may be going seriously Hollywood on us. And it is clear that the film is aiming to launch a Reacher franchise like the Bond movies.

S. Estrada for The New York Times

On his website you can find links to revealing interviews with Lee Child that deal with his career, his devotion to his character and to his readers, and the Tom Cruise problem. Look for a long Playboy piece and a Chicago Public Radio video taped in September, 2012.

And next to the novel in bookstores I have noticed a peculiar little item titled Reacher’s Rules. N.B. This provides a lesson in how to write a book without actually writing a book. There is no author, no table of contents, and worst of all, no index connecting the quotes to the title of the book they came from. The website describes Reacher’s Rules this way:

Timeless advice from Jack Reacher. Hand-to-hand combat, Traveling Light, Handling Weapons, Conquering your deepest fears, Understanding women.

Finally, Lee Child’s novels make for great listening. The vocal interpreter of Child’s work is the gritty and gruff voiced Dick Hill. He sounds like the real Reacher looks. And nobody does a bad guy or a sleazy female better. He has a way of huffing out sentences on the end of a long breath, nasal and nasty as all get out. You do know that you can check out audiobooks from your public libary’s online catalog and download them to your listening device for free.

God help me if I end up falling in love with Tom Cruise in the film Jack Reacher. I do love a good thriller on the big screen, but first do yourself a favor and get to know the great character that Lee Child created in print. The film releases December 21, 2012. Reacher would approve of the urgency the deadline demands. It is the kind of standard he sets for himself. You know, like a rule.

Beloved Water Monsters

Concept and photographs by Seth Casteel

Are you a dog lover and looking for the perfect gift for yourself or for a fellow canine aficionado? Here it is from the creative mind of Seth Casteel. Because he is shooting the dogs head on, they do tend to look unusual. Just remember, each one is somebody’s baby. It is not clear if Seth is underwater too or if he has just trained the dogs to dive in a shallow pool for a tennis ball with a hole in it so it fills with water and sinks. If you can still find a real book store to patronize, buy your copy there. Or buy it online through his site. He also has calendars for sale.

Find Seth and the dogs at his web site: Little Friends Photo; Lifestyle Pet Photography by Seth Casteel. You can learn their names and breeds there as well.

Photographs by Seth Casteel

Celebratory Post-Election Mormon Potluck Dinner

Compliments of our Mormon Friends, enjoy some recipes from the Utah Jell-O Corridor on the Food and Cooking Page.

Funeral Potatoes. Photograph by Evan Sung for The New York Times

The Pancake Post

With a dash of powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice

The question is not: Is there nothing sacred? The question is: Is everything sacred? I would like to say no, absolutely everything is not sacred, but I am re-thinking this stance since discovering the essay In Search of Lost Pancakes, by Karen Karbo. Unlikely things can be very sacred, especially if you have lost track of them for a while and unexpectedly come to a delicious edible epiphany.

A pancake is a poor little thing at heart, but in the right hands it assumes magnitude and honor and respect must be paid. And after reading of Karen’s passion for oven pancakes, I am prepared to acknowledge that this is a time for genuflection. The beautiful GP, the German Pancake, the Dutch Baby, the oven pancake put on a pedestal where it belongs. I know where of this Karen Karbo speaks for I too have a beloved GP recipe. But first read her essay with recipes

My GP recipe first came to my attention in The New York Times in 1966 when Craig Claiborne presented it to his readers as a “Pancake Nonpareil.” Visiting in the home of his friend David Eyre in Honolulu, he says that with “… this delicately flavored pancake before us, we seemed to have achieved paradise.” It was an immediate hit with readers, some of whom testify that they still have the original clipping from the paper.

Amanda Hesser in her 2010 behemoth of a cookbook, The Essential New York Times Cook Book, Classic Recipes for a New Century, says David Eyre got the recipe from The St. Francis Hotel Cookbook published in 1919. And so we have the bibliographical meanderings of a recipe right down to Karen Karbo by way of Heart of the Home: Notes from a Vineyard Kitchen by Susan Branch. It is said there is no such thing as an original recipe.

N.B. Amanda Hesser’s book was not a best seller, I think, because it has no pictures, not a single one, very unusual for a cookbook today, but a brave choice on her part to put everything instead into the American culinary record provided by the Times’ 150 year-old food archive. She includes cooking notes of her own, period details, and readers’ comments. The book is a nightmare to lug around but I love it.

And now the genre of oven pancakes, no longer lost and forgotten, has resurfaced in my life with great specificity because of Tin House Magazine where Karen Karbo’s essay appeared. There are comparisons and contrasts to be made. Enough of this procrastination. I will shut down this machine and get myself off to the kitchen and begin my own survey of GP products tonight with one of the recommended recipes. It follows. And, Reader, I will eat the whole thing by myself.

The Best German Pancake in the World (according to Karen Karbo and Susan Branch)

An adaptation from Heart of the Home: Notes from a Vineyard Kitchen, by Susan Branch.

4 eggs

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 tablespoon sugar

4 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Beat the eggs, then add the flour slowly, whisking to incorporate until the mixture resembles pancake batter.

Whisk in salt, then pour in milk, vanilla, and sugar, and whisk to blend.

Dot the bottom of a cast-iron skillet with the butter and tenderly melt on top of the stove.

Pour in the batter and bake for 10 minutes at 425. Lower the temperature to 350 and bake 10-15 more minutes. You could carefully peek to be sure it is ready to pull out and immediately consume

Sprinkle with powdered sugar; serve with lemon wedges.

Best Word Ever Brackets

Ted McCagg’s Questionable Skills Web Site

“Say Something” drawn by Ted McCagg

A pleasant way to waste a little time during August and September was to ponder Ted McCagg’s Best Word Ever competition. I guess you should be a professional basketball fan to really appreciate this, but what he did was solicit his readers’ favorite words in English. He did 26 brackets by letters of the alphabet and 4 geographical brackets. Then he posted his results in categories like The Elite Eight and The Final Four in his own spidery handwriting rather than in some fancy pants graphics program with special effects. There are a few four letter words if you are the sensitive sort. Some results are mystifying and some you probably thought of yourself. He’s something of a cartoonist, but mostly he likes to make people laugh any way he can. While you scroll down to the Best Word Ever Brackets, take a look at Presidential Polling Data and Day Care Tasting for a better look at Ted’s sense of humor.

Re-Discovering The Paris Review

Image from The Paris Review web site

The Paris Review really would like you to subscribe for $40. a year, but they have a wonderful feature that anyone can take advantage of. You can access selected content from back issues by poking around in their archives for free. And you can buy back issues as well, although many are sold out.

Here’s an example: Philip Roth’s wonderful short story, The Conversion of the Jews, which appeared in the Spring 1958 issue, No. 18.

Discovering The Atlantic Wire

Image from The Atlantic Wire

Is it safe to assume that, like me, you completely missed National Punctuation Day? What a shame for us all. But Jen Doll writing for The Atlantic Wire has saved the day, actually the day was September 24, by posting three pieces on this event. There’s an example of James Joyce using the colon. Another is on the most loathed punctuation mark in America, and the third is titled “Writers’ Favorite Punctuation Marks.” Who knew punctuation posts could be so entertaining.

Who knew emoticons could be so elaborate? t(*-*)t Can you figure out what that means? Or this one? (3:^|)

Oh lord, am I doing this right? Bold type for emphasis? Comma after the date, although there is no year indicated? Titles of magazines in italics, but what about titles of articles? Does the period go inside the closing quotation marks at the end of a sentence?

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