So I'm waiting for my nail polish to dry sitting around watching some stupid reality show on TLC called Toddler in Tiaras.
Couple of observations:
First of all last time I checked TLC stood for The Learning Channel. There's not a snow-ball's chance this show is educational. This is borderline erotica for pedophiles.
The show follows kids - little kids - while they compete in beauty pageants. I've never been a big fan of pageants and clearly this show is skewed to show the most exaggerated position possible.
The fake tans, fake teeth, and fake hair. . .Are they necessary for a five-year old? I'm of the opinion no. If their mother's would rather purchase fake teeth and ridiculous costumes as opposed to saving that money for their education who am I to care? (Oh wait, when they become Miss America, surely they will get a scholarship and all of that stage-Mommy stuff will really pay off).
However, I can see that in moderation the competitions could help with self esteem and learning life lessons.
At any rate, here's what absolutely floored me. There was a judge or pageant host named Cheryl Powers discussing the swimsuit competition. (This isn't a direct quote but it's close enough) "We allow two piece suits. We allow full piece suits. We do not allow thongs. It's just really hard to pull off a perfect body in a thong."
Huh? Perfect body? Never mind the fact that these girls are FIVE YEARS OLD and have no business parading around in a thong!!!
September 19, 2009
Saturday's Adventures #175
Cast Iron Newfoundland Mascots of the Hayward, Bartlett Cast Iron Company. Canton and Sailor stood at Scott and McHenry Streets in Baltimore and another pair flanked the front door of a home on Carey Street in Franklin Square.
Saturday's Adventures #146
Embroidered bird on a crazy quilt in the Folk Art exhibit. Why doesn't my running stitch ever look that good?
Saturday's Adventures #135
d: "Why is there a statue from Mid Evil Times in the Maryland Historical Building?"
Saturday's Adventures #131
This one is worth enlarging to check out the details. Who knew? Bozo was the family dog. The whole circus is named after him.
Saturday's Adventures #127
This thing is wild. There are over 9000 little metal "people." According to a MHS staffer, there is pick pocket and at least two people throwing up in this crowd.
Saturday's Adventures #121
C: "Look at this guy. Looks as if they lost one."
(Guy is lying face-down just off the edge of the display)
d: "Hahahaha. It looks as if there was a murder at the circus."
Saturday's Adventures #111
C: "Ah, ha, ha, ha. . .The kids needed something productive to do while watching T.V.?"
Saturday's Adventures #108
The third floor also houses this. . .
I'm not sure my words can even do this thing justice. . .
Saturday's Adventures #102
Nearly the entire third floor display at the MHS is furniture! Scads and scads of historical furniture.
Saturday's Adventures #100
The MHS has a nice display of Maryland's role in WWII. Here is an ashtray - specifically an Anti-Nazi Belgium Resistance Ashtray "Manneken Pis" (pissing boy) statue collected by a Maryland serviceman during the war.
Saturday's Adventures #90
The Maryland Historical Society has a good collection of Peale Family art.
Saturday's Adventures #85
What good would a museum dedicated to Maryland's history be without a mention of H. L. Mencken? Often known as the "Sage of Baltimore," Mencken was also capable of tirades and outbursts.
Saturday's Adventures #79
John Smith made this Civil War Memorial Shadow Box in 1886. He was just 17 the day the Battle of Antietam was fought near his hometown of Sharpsburg. The shadowbox is constructed with debris he collected on the battlefield. Also included are the names of all the Union soldiers who died on the bloodiest day of the Civil War.
Saturday's Adventures #70
A painting at the Historical Society depecting the Battle of North Point (War of 1812 - Remember all that Fort Howard non-sense about a week ago?)
Saturday's Adventures #65
Mason-Dixon marker. The north facing side bears William Penn's crest. The south facing side has the crest of the Calvert family. The line gets its name from the surveyors: Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon.
Saturday's Adventures #57
I have never in my life seen anything like this. It's two dolls in one. How clever.
Saturday's Adventures #53
C: "What's this place?"
Turns out it was the Maryland Historical Society. One of the most quality exhibit spaces I've seen. The place is massive. I'll bet we were there four hours and still didn't really see everything in great detail. This is definitely worth checking out. And it's free. . .but a donation is always welcome.
Saturday's Adventures #51
I realize this isn't very PG. It was part of the Fax exhibit so I figured I'd post it in the name of art. . .But it also makes me giggle like crazy.
I don't get the artistic appeal.
It looks like something I would have written with my third grade friends while we were bored during indoor recess.
Can any one enlighten me?
Saturday's Adventures #46
So I believe the gist of this exhibit is to allow the fax to be a vehicle for influencing and transmitting art. Various folks fax their art and the art is put on the gallery walls with push pull pins.
That's it. Black and white, 8 1/2 by 11 inch art.
If there's a glitch in the transmittal and some of the pages get squished crooked or omitted, so be it. Whatever spits out of the fax gets posted.
Some of it was very creative and interesting. Some of it apparently required a more appreciative eye than my own. But that's what art is all about.
The nice thing about this exhibit is it's ever changing. It's at the Contemporary Museum thru Mid-December I believe.
Saturday's Adventures #35
What a great quote.
Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.
Frederick Douglas
Saturday's Adventures #31
Neither C nor I had been to the main branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. We went today to check out the architecture and the Poe exhibit. I'm not sure what I was expecting in terms of the Poe exhibit but. . .I didn't anticipate that it would be a couple of shelves in their annex hallway, wedged between the bathrooms.
Also, while I was looking at the display, I witnessed a man going into the restroom with a newspaper. Is it really ok to take periodicals from a busy library into the restroom with you? Is nothing sacred any more?!
Saturday's Adventures #26
We started out hungry. . .Never a good way to start. Parking was remarkably easy and we started wandering around looking for some quick eats. We stumbled upon the Mount Vernon Hotel and Cafeteria. I was intrigued. C thought it looked "sketch." Guess who won? Also guess who had minor gastro distress the rest of the day? Haha.
This is the cafeteria. The food was ok. The decor was very interesting.
Saturday's Adventures #22
The intent: Go to the Enoch Pratt Free Library Main Branch to see the E. A. Poe Exhibit and go to the Contemporary Museum to see the Fax Exhibit.
Here's the Washington Monument at Centre and Charles Streets. I didn't notice this at the time I was snapping the photos but what's going on in the lower left? It almost appears as if someone is emptying a homeless person's shopping cart contents into (and onto) their car. . .That can't be so?
Can it?
Saturday's Adventures #11
City Hall.
Did you know? Baltimore's Locust Point is second only to New York's Ellis Island as a point of entry for immigrants into America in teh mid to late 1800's? Got that little tid-bit from the Maryland Historical Society.
Saturday's Adventures
I had a 15 item to-do list prepared. How many items have been crossed off? Exactly two. Our Baltimore exploration was way out of control today. . .On thing just kept leading to the next.
Late Summer Sunset on the Harbor #7
To quote Jimmy Buffett: "The day drips slowly off the page. . ."
Late Summer Sunset on the Harbor #5
Spent a little time at work yesterday looking at the Baltimore Sun online. They had a feature of A. Aubrey Bodine's photography. He had a wonderful eye and clearly he loved Baltimore. I wondered if he ever thought about the impact his photographs might have? I'm sure he did. His dedication is obvious. He left a glorious legacy in all of it's Kodachrome wonder.
Late Summer Sunset on the Harbor #4
The sun sets in a hazy sky.
Thinking about the sun amazes me. . .It's massive and helps to sustain the Earth. It faithfully rises and sets with nearly miraculous predictability.
At least by me, the sun is taken for granted.
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