something old, something new, something borrowed...

... but nothing blue!

Well, except for the rainy day exhibit at the Jepson Center. But that was fun! I was in control and could have a storm lashing and thunder crashing one minute, then birds singing and a perfectly blue sky the next. Supercool! It was part of the Rafael Rozendaal exhibit, "Looking At Something".

I also played with the toilet paper roll.
That's right, it was also interactive!
These PULSE pieces are meant to be touched...
and we KNOW I like touch!
So, I unspooled the paper...

... until only a few pieces of remained.
I didn't want to take the last piece!
LOL!
Then I rolled it back up for the next person.

Now that I had the touch urge under control, I could visit Marilyn again.
Some of the pieces here show such a vulnerable side of her, whilst others are rather whimsical.
I especially enjoyed the video interview with the photographer who captured that famous shot of her in the white dress, over the subway grate.

There were several of her quotes scattered throughout the exhibit, stenciled on the white walls. I thought this quote was particularly poignant.
Perhaps she decided she didn't want to know herself?
Perhaps the public image became too difficult to maintain?
She was only 36 years old when she died.
If she had lived, she would be 88 years old in three days.
Would the world have accepted her growing older in film and on stage, as it has for Betty White?
Or would she have resigned from public view, like Brigitte Bardot?
Both women are her contemporaries. If Marilyn had not been frozen in time by death, she would be a white-haired octogenarian now.
I guess this has been a serious line of thinking for my birthday, but it's also appropriate. Aging is a natural part of life, a part I have been learning to accept of late. After all, only the dead can stop the aging process and remain stuck in time into perpetuity.
Me? I'd rather stay young at heart!
The Helen Levitt photography exhibit, next on my list, was filled with black-and-whites of children. Titled "In The Street", the shots were mostly candids, taken when folks were unaware a camera eye was watching. They reminded me so much of the photos I had seen on Sunday in the film about Vivian Maier. Vivian was a nanny who left behind hundreds of thousands of candid photos taken during her life, mostly of strangers. Her camera, slung on a strap at waist level, allowed her to look someone in the eye while snapping her flashless shots, almost surreptitiously. Perhaps that is the reason she kept the photos to herself, knowing she had "stolen" these images of people. Or, no doubt aware of the older woman's work - and possibly inspired by it - she may not have thought her work was up to those same standards.
I'm a pretty avid protographer, too, as my blogs will attest. As I had watched the posthumous documentary about the nanny, I was startled by a realization. When you take someone's photo, and they are looking at you, they are acknowledging YOUR presence. They see YOU. They verify YOUR existence.
I certainly do think about that almost every time I use my camera now.

Contessa is only too happy to verify my existence any time!
I had sushi with her and Chloe prior to my foray to the museum.
I had to be sure to give her my lap and my hands for at least 20 minutes before she would allow me to dine.
My attempts to share some salmon sashimi with her failed. She only eats nasty-smelling fish, thank you very much.
(smile!)
Before calling it a day, I attended the 2014 SCADemy Awards tonight. That was definitely something new to me. I had not expected to know any of the films and I did not. I managed to catch the entire presentation.
Yeah. I don't think I will be doing that again.
Well, maybe I will if I have some kickstarter projects that get nominated. But that was not the case this year, as I did not do much investing with kickstarter last year.
However, this program felt nearly interminable and the Trustees Theatre was absolutely freezing. The only reason I stayed was the promise of the screening of the award-winning films after the awards were said and done.
There were seven videos that evening. "The Pinewood Man" chronicled the exploits of a go-kart maker, trying to win his son's love. "The Black Elephant" was a documentary about black Republicans. I liked the music video, "Saralinah"! "The Neighborhood" followed three young adults around, while "The Gold-Bug" paid homage to Edgar Allen Poe's short story. The funniest movie was "Red, White, and Screwed", a political farce in a high school setting. The screening concluded with "Southsouthwest", a touching antibullying anthem, which was a good note to end with this evening.
Next year, I'll pay better attention to the SCAD offerings. I would have liked to have seen the entire slate of student films. Those are typically screened for two days in late May.
Next year for sure!
Now, though, time for this birthday girl to call it a day!
G'night, all!

changing the tv channel

Seriously.
I think the changing of the television channel at The Distillery has flipped some kind of friendship switch into the "off" position for Hai.
Not for me. Just for him.
The day had gone well. He was without a car still (his had been wrecked), so I had picked him up about 5:30 and we headed to the Jepson Center. In celebration of the Marilyn exhibit, they were screening "The Misfits", a film I don't recall every seeing before. It was a western, of all things, and starred Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, and Montgomery Clift, in a screenplay crafted by Marilyn's husband, Arthur Miller.
It was a rather dark film, with all of the characters being damaged goods. In particular, the aging, alcoholic cowboy which Clark Gable played bore an uncanny resemblance to my middle brother. (Perhaps because that brother bears a likeness to the actor and has been bestowed with the nickname "Clark Gable" by Mr. Willie? Possibly.)
At any rate, I was a bit subdued after the film.
Hai was not. He was chomping at the bit to get to the eatery. Hungry? No.
You see, tonight they were featuring one of the breweries in their upstairs area. As a member of their loyalty club, he would be able to get some swag from the featured brewery.
So, we hopped on over there.
That's when the trouble began.
As soon as we arrived, he had to stop and chat with two fellows out front. The chat became extended, but he did not introduce me to them.
Fine, whatever.
Then, as soon as we entered the place, he jetted upstairs, with no fare thee well or anything. Just sprinted up the wooden steps as though they were giving away cash money and he was missing out.
Rather rude, right?
But he's a friend, not a boyfriend, and a rather young friend at that, so I would just let it slide.
I was hungry and thirsty, so I asked to be seated by the hostess, letting her know there would be two, eventually. I had noticed that "The Terror of Tiny Town" was on a couple of the huge tv sets and asked to be seated such that I could watch the movie. The hostess led me to a table with a great view of one of the bar tvs and all was well.
Briefly.
I placed my order and texted Hai to let him know what I was doing.
After all, The Distillery is one of his favorite places. I wanted to let him know all was okay, that they even had a fun movie to entertain me, instead of all the sports on the other ten thousand televisions there.
So, that's how things fared for about 15 minutes. Just long enough for me to get my iced tea and the hummus platter, still with no Hai in sight or responding to my texts.
But he responded to this one.
Damn. Some idiot just had them change the channel to THE SAME BASKETBALL GAME THAT IS ON THE OTHER BAR TV. Damn.
Seriously, the two tv sets are EACH at least five feet long and are set along the back of the 14-foot bar. What blind fool was unable to watch the game? What idiot of a bartender didn't bother to point that out or cut off the blind drunk?
I asked the hostess, my waitress, and another waitress to please have the tv channel changed back to the movie.
Nothing happened.
Both of the bar tvs continued to show the EXACT SAME GAME.
Then the waitress came and she had my order wrong. She had brought the sandwich when I had specifically asked for the salad.
Eventually, as I said, Hai showed up, his pockets stuffed with beer glasses.
Not beer mugs. Not beersteins.
Just regular-sized glasses with beer logos on them.
Ooooh. Aaaahhh.
Did he ask them to change the channel for me?
No.
No, he acted like I was somehow at fault and that I was going to sully his regard for the place because I was unwilling to be ignored and disregarded.

Sigh.

We left shortly after we finished our meals.
I even tipped the bad waitress well, so as to not mess up his mojo there.
Somehow, I don't think I need to have bothered.
I think his switch has flipped to "off".

That will be very sad.
We have certainly had some grand adventures these past few months.

Marilyn, Robert, and Mister Willie

As I told the bfe, Hai, and that first niece of mine, tonight I dined with Marilyn Monroe, danced with Robert Cray, and even got to see Mister Willie!
No, not that Mr. Willie! I'm talking about the old man I sit with at the Gnats' games!
Hahahaha!

This evening, the Jepson Center featured
a lecture and reception as a prelude
to the grand opening tomorrow of the
"Marilyn: Celebrating An American Icon" exhibit.
The lecture concerned not so much Marilyn,
the person, of whom we all know the basics,
but Marilyn, the muse,
as perceived by various artists of the world.
Very interesting spin,
full of comparisons of the diverse works,
even contrasting the subsequent creations
with the original images upon which they are based.
I haven't yet visited the exhibit,
but it is said to contain the works of more than sixty artists!
After the lecture, "Marilyn" arrived by black convertible and sang to us - and flirted, too! - feeding our senses of sight and hearing while the reception slaked our senses of smell and taste and touch!
I do so enjoy these free parties the museum throws for us members!
Free wine for those of age, free lemonade for those who are not, and fancy food for all!

As you can see,
the sushi is beautifully presented,
as are the "Marilyn" crab cakes.
Get it?
There were other little puns
on the names,
but that is the only one
juicy enough to get stuck on the fabric of my brain.

I had to leave before the party ended, as I had a "date" with Robert Cray, bluesman extraordinaire, and his fabulous band, courtesy of the Savannah Music Festival. I've had my dance ticket since November, patiently waiting, waiting, waiting, for this evening to arrive. I haven't seen him since March of 2007, in Las Vegas, so this was going to be a treat!

Where were we meeting, you ask?
At the finest venue in town! That's right: the Lucas Theatre!!!
I had made sure to buy my ticket in the "dance" section, too.
Oh, yeah!
And dance I did, the entire time the man played! Sure, there were lots of new songs I didn't know, but all you have to do is listen to the beat of the drums and MOVE. But he also regaled me - oops, I mean the audience - with songs from "Strong Persuader", like "Right Next Door" and "Smoking Gun" and "Nothin' But A Woman". Wow!!!
Almost two hours later I was off to the ball park, to see if I could catch the last few minutes of the first home game of the season for our South Atlantic League champions. That's right, I said it: champions!!! My boys of summer did well last year, did very well indeed!
And I did catch the last two at-bats in the bottom of the ninth. The Sand Gnats may have lost this game, but we, the faithful fans, still were rewarded with FiREwORkS!!! Woohoo!!!
All in all, a truly fabulous evening!
I even got to visit with Mr. Willie, and the Foam Finger Girls (aka Laurie and Lynn), and ran into some other folks I haven't seen for a while.
Oh, what a night!