Malvina Hoffman

Malvina Hoffman was a brilliant sculptress whose work delved into anthropology. One of her most well known collections is 'The Races of Mankind'. In the 1930's Hoffman was commissioned by the Chicago Field Museum to travel the world and create over 100 bust and sculptures. The collection is currently housed at the Field Museum and the Cedar Rapids Museum. She initially took over 2,000 pictures of her models and then worked from there.

I've just bought her first book, Yesterday & Tomorrow. While some of it is mired in the prejudices of Hoffman's time, the book provides an excellent account of her experiences. Visit the museums and read more about Hoffman.

Fleeting Childhood?

This week Newsweek published an article called 'Generation Diva', discussing how girls in the US [but the trend can probably be extended to a few other Western countries] of increasingly younger ages are feeling the pressure to look beautiful. Now adolescence is over faster than ever and children are catapulted into their 'tween' years, not the Tolkein definition but today's marketing defintion [the ages between 10-12]. This emphasis on the exterior leaves little time to develop mentally and emotionally. Furthermore these girls are likely to grow into women whose sense of self is limited to their looks.

One quote stood out to me the most,
" 'When you have tweens putting on firming cream"—as was revealed by 1 percent of girls in an NPD study—'it's clear they're looking for imaginary flaws,' says Harvard psychologist Nancy Etcoff'".

Are you kidding what in the world would a child need this for?
Who's fault is all this? The parents.

If we keep it up at this rate childhood will be compressed to birth through age five. Wait, that's all ready the case with the 'reality' show Toddlers and Tiaras.

Another Birthday Dinner!

So today we hosted our third birthday dinner this month. This time for my godsister. She requested this new pork recipe I made a few weeks ago that includes a nice amount of sake, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. Lamb is always a favorite so I made that along with the usual chicken. For sides we decided on rice pilaf; pasta with Parmesan; a vegetable mix of mushrooms, bell pepper,broccoli, and cabbage; and a romaine salad with tri-colored peppers. As usual I enjoyed the preparations, cooking, and the best part-seeing everyone enjoy the food. But one thing is beginning to be even more important, having help. For years help has been offered but refused. Simply put the kitchen is my domain and trespassers faced a wrath that was non too pleasant. But in the past month after negotiations I've found that it is okay to share the kitchen, and furthermore it is nice to have help. So today I left the rice, vegetables, and salad in the capable hands of my parents and sister. They will be welcome to help anytime, with my supervision of course.

The picture is of today's birthday cake. Described on the pastry shop's website as: Cheese Cake Duet - A chocolate brownie bottom layered with a delicious cheesecake & topped with chocolate ganache. I'm not allowed to put the actual picture of our cake with the birthday girl's age on it so I took the stock picture from the Sweet Dreams Pastry Shop site! They have the some of the most scrumptious desserts around.

A New Era of Honesty?

An interesting article called 'The Radical Honesty Movement' was published in the Daily Princetonian today. It discusses the idea that we as a society might be moving into an era of honesty after all of the lies and deception that were connected to our economic crisis. It's an excellent question and if this is true how can we maintain honesty on a long-term basis? Maybe we start by holding ourselves to higher standards that we can then extend to those in our personal and professional lives.

Birthday goodness

Fall and spring are my favorite seasons. Spring in particular because of the sense of renewal, the turn of crisp cold to invigorating warmth. And I'm not the only one, everyone stops wearing their winter drabs and dons vivid and exciting clothing. Flowers start to bloom and the sun stays out a bit longer. Besides all this, my birthday comes just after the beginning of spring. March as a whole is the birth month of of a lot of people in my family including my mother. So birthday celebrations lively birthday celebrations are in order.

This year we'll have a few birthday dinners and of course lots of delicious cake. Most importantly I'm humbled by the wonderful people in my life. I woke up to birthday emails from friends all over the world and throughout the day received phone calls as well. Life isn't perfect but it is joyful and with all these great people I feel a bit spoiled!

We started celebrating on Sunday at a chain burger restaurant and a lovely cake from our family friend. Yesterday the family surprised me with dinner and a cake from one of our favorite pastry shops. Mom was so worried about cooking for me! She said that it was a bit nerve wracking to cook for someone who cooks to the extent that I do. Of course she had nothing to worry about-the food was excellent. Besides the fact that there is nothing like having someone cook for you, she has the skills-after all Dad taught us both!

Phredley/Raphael Saadiq Concert Review + Susie & my concert days

Yesterday night I returned home totally intoxicated. I was giddy from one thing and one thing only-a good concert. There is something that a live performance does to you. The energy of the performers and the crowd fuses together into this almost spiritual vibe. Phredley followed by Rapahel Saadiq and his crew were the performers, and an intimate group of a little under 500 people was the crowd. Susie, my concert buddy for 10 years now, and I were apart of that crowd.

Phredley, an up and coming artist, is hard to categorize, he's acoustic, soulful, raw, and full of energy. In a way he's sort of like a younger male India Arie. This is a young man to keep your ear out for. Phredley connects with the audience, has a beautiful voice, strong lyrics, and can play that guitar with passion. He played some original tracks and one cover. Soon after his session ended Rapahel Saadiq's band hit the stage.

The six piece band started with a soulful rendition of 'The Age of Aquarius' while the two background singers-one woman and one man-came on and started dancing; the vibe went from excited to electric. Next Saadiq himself came on the stage and played his guitar a little. Saadiq and his singers had some fabulous dance moves. All you could think was how fantastic their voices were and how smooth the dancing was. Talk about a workout! The band and backup singers played off of each other, Saadiq, and the crowd. The theater was so intimate that wherever you sat you had a wonderful view. Sue and I were seated on the right and five rows back-absolutely divine.

While Saadiq and crew played songs from his new album he also played songs from his Tony! Toni! Toné! days like 'It's Our Anniversary' and 'It Never Rains in Southern California'; Lucy Pearl days 'Dance Tonight'; and previous solo work 'Be Here'. I would say my favorites from the latest album are: '100 Yard Dash', 'Staying In Love', and 'Oh Girl'.

There were two special moments of the evening besides the music. Saadiq discussed his heartfelt appreciation of working with Paul Riser the renowned Motown arranger, one of the Funk Brothers, and Stevie Wonder. Riser was present and Saadiq introduced him to the home crowd in Motown. Saadiq also invited a young man on stage who proposed to his girlfriend. To the cheers of everyone in the room, the young lady thankfully said yes!

Saadiq had one encore with a musically upbeat, but lyrically meaningful song he wrote in remembrance of Hurricane Katrina, 'Big Easy' and then rounded up with a refrain of 'The Age of Aquarius'. I felt it ended all too soon and would have enjoyed another hour at the very least. I'm still feeling ecstatic and energetic!

The pictures above are: Saadiq's wonderful backup singers;Me & Susie; Saadiq on Guitar; and Me & Phredley.

Thoughts upon thoughts-->Musings

So I haven't blogged a lot this week not because I've been tremendously busy or for a lack of ideas, in fact I have a variety of ideas. Including:

Creativity & Artistry
Confidence & Humility
Concerts
Travel
Childhood/Growing up

I'm developing an essay discussing my childhood and of course it includes things about my sisters because we, especially my older sister and I, grew up together. Baby sister came 12 years after me. For years my older sister and I have reflected on how our parents raised us-it borders on the extraordinary; Mom & Dad are revolutionary yet traditional. We were quite privileged but knew that it all stemmed from hard work and being good people. Being a good person isn't simple but it isn't really hard either it just means taking care of yourself, family, community, and having morals that you try to follow. Mom and Dad are truly some of the best people I've ever met. And believe me I've met a lot of folks.

A typical Saturday for my older sister and I was spent volunteering in the morning, studying or finding books at the library in the afternoon, followed up by shopping and dinner. Weekdays we went to school and some days we had an afternoon activity like horseback riding, swimming, tennis, or golf. Horseback riding wasn't for me though-the cute horses frightened me! At our private school in the city, some of our classmates accessorized their uniforms with expensive coats and Gucci or Coach purses while our mother took us to Hudson's, Kmart, and Big Lots. When my older sister's classmate mocked her for going to Big Lots, she asked our mother if we could buy expensive clothes. Our mother, who studied fashion design and knows the value of clothing, told us we could either spend money on expensive things or take after school lessons. Needless to say my sister and I continued with the lessons. Funnily enough, one day my sister spotted that classmate who mocked her at Big Lots as well!

When we moved from the city to the suburbs we weren't phased by the homes, cars, clothing, etc.... We saw those same things when we lived in the city because we were surrounded by a variety of people who had [financial] wealth and showed it; those who didn't have wealth and acted as if they did; people who had wealth and didn't show it; and people who didn't have wealth at all. Many experiences I've had from childhood until know have proved that wealth is far more than financial although healthy finances are a good thing!]. Wealth also stems from experiences and ideas. The reason our parents exposed us to a variety of activities and people was to broaden our minds and to teach us what life is about: care/love, people and growth.

More to come..............................