Guns & Ammo to Pass the Time

I found myself in the unfortunate situation of having to sit in a Pep Boys' waiting room while a tire was being rebalanced. Ordinarily, I would not mind a half-hour of down time to deal with emails and to indulge in reading a novel on my Kindle app. However, for some stinky reason or no reason at all, my phone was not in my handbag. So, there I sat on a greasy chair under the blaring television in the Pep Boy's "customer lounge."

Laying on the chair next to me was the most recent issue of "Guns & Ammo." Always open to the chance to learn something new, I spent my tire-rebalancing-wait-time reading the magazine from cover to cover. So much of it that I understood, that is.

Only one page into it, an advertisement caught my eye. It was an ad for pistol wear. The dominant photo was of a trim woman in lululemon-esque workout clothes, stretching her quads. I could totally relate to that. I had done the same stretch earlier in the day at my gym. The ad told me that for only $47.95, I could get a model PT-2, "the preferred holster for seniors." 

Cool. I turned a few pages. The next ad that caught my eye said, "Pick your Plinker!" Not knowing what a plinker was, I kept reading because I saw at the bottom of the ad, there were three attractive options of colors to choose from. I could get mine today at galleryofguns.com.  The Mark IV 22/45 (whatever that refers to) Lite comes in three exclusive colors: Blue (what's so exclusive about that?), Red (ditto...not very imaginative) or...and this is the one I would pick if I were choosing... Olive Drab Green.

Finally, just before my time was up, I skimmed through the letters to the editor. One person commented on the idea of "Gun Free Zones" and said "they restrict my ability to defend myself and my family if I enter...they must not need my business so I do not enter."  I was glad to read that. I doubt that person and I will go into the same places. And I'm perfectly happy to let that person spend as much time as they wish in the Pep Boys' customer lounge. I will gladly stay away.

Purchasing from Portugal Close to Home

Bem-Vindo on the door means Welcome

Fall River, Massachusetts claims the highest concentration of people with Portuguese ancestry in the United States. Almost 50 percent of Fall River's population have Portuguese heritage.

I had heard about the new Portugalia Marketplace, a supermarket of sorts, specializing in products imported from Portugal. I went to see for myself what the buzz was about. Was it worth a detour from Providence or Newport, Rhode Island?

Sem Duvida! (that means without a doubt in Portuguese). It's set up like a market, sort of like Eataly, with separate counters for bread, meat, cheeses, olives, etc. Vats of grains and nuts line the entrance. 

There are isles and aisles of wines, oils and other Portuguese products. I love it that the aisle end caps are decorated with azulejos (tiles). 

There's a separate section for the business of drying and exporting the salt cod fished off the shores of Fall River and New Bedford. The cartons marked "Bacalhau" are shipped all over the world.

Kara Walker's Fons Americanus Deserves a Close Look

An artist named Kara Walker created a sculpture on display in London that's a "do not miss".

Well, you can't miss it if you go to the Tate Modern because the sculpture is 13 meters high (or 42 feet, for Americans like me who freeze at measurements in meters).

The work is called "Fons Americanus". It's on display in the Turbine Hall in the former power station. 

But size alone does not make the piece. It's a loose copy of the sculpture that graces the circle in front of Buckingham Palace. 

The Queen Victoria Memorial was unveiled in 1911 in honor of her after her death, and glorifying Britain. The elaborate sculpture was funded by gifts from across the British empire---from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

African-American Sculptor Kara Walker was inspired and angered by England's celebration of its holdings spanning the globe. As a descendent of African slaves, she refashioned the slant on British history. Her work showcases different symbols. Calling her version "Fons Americanus," the symbols decorating her memorial include a noose, sharks cruising the waters in search of slaves, and water spewing from the fountain of a severed head. 

The New York Times called Ms. Walker's work a "countermemorial," celebrating the uncredited proceeds from West Africa. 

Unless visitors look at the images, the imposing sculpture can blend into the background like any other giant memorial. People eat their lunch at its base and kids on a school trip look in the other direction.

Bored kids sitting under noose and sharks, not even looking at it

Antony Gormley Tangles with the Royal Academy of Art in London

I was drawn in to a temporary exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts in London open until December 3, 2019. Having to climb through spirals of wire to cross a gallery looked like fun.

And it was. It could have just as easily been barbed wire in a prison. But instead it was welcoming--bordering on joyful. If the attached youtube launches, you can hear the wires clanging as people climb through.

British sculptor Antony Gormley's work, "Clearing VII" reminded me of Ai Weiwei, the Chinese artist who peddles in bicycles (pun intended). 

I first noticed Ai Weiwei's work in the lobby of the Mr. and Mrs. Bund restaurant in Shanghai in 2013. A slew of bicycles hung from the ceiling.  

Not long after that, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston hosted an exhibit of Ai Weiwei's bicycles. Different bikes. Same medium. Tangles of metal that couldn't be used as intended. 

I wrote a blogpost about Ai Weiwei's two bicycle installations. https://worldgrazer.blogspot.com/search?q=weiwei

All of these works took me back to my roots in Philadelphia, where Marcel Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel is in the collection of the Museum of Art. It isn't much of a leap from Duchamp's stool to Weiwei's bikes to Gormley's wire in Clearing VII. 

I'm no art historian, but I'm seeing a theme. Things are not always what they were meant to be. And when they're not, they can puzzle. And they can delight. 

It Takes a Tractor to Wine-Taste at this Napa Vineyard

When you visit Napa Valley, it’s a safe bet that you will visit a vineyard or two. However, honestly, I do not like lengthy lectures around vats in noisy production areas. This one was different. It offered a twist. And it was terrific.

Our visit to Cimarossa winery started with downloading and printing out detailed driving directions to the location on Howell Mountain in Angwin, near Calistoga. The GPS does not work on the mountain for part of the trip, we were warned. The vineyard is small, with limited distribution and few visitors.

We wound our way up the hill, carefully making sure to keep “small gated olive grove on left” and to bear right at a certain fork and left at another unmarked road. After about a half hour drive from Calistoga’s town center, we arrived at the curlicue-gated entrance to Cimarossa. The gate swung open silently, allowing us through.

A red barn just over the crest of a small hill came into view and a friendly young woman named Michelle pointed out where to leave our car.  “Hop in,” she said, inviting us into a 4x4. 

She drove us through rows of vines as we ascended dirt paths to the tasting room perched on top of the knoll. Originally built as a hunting lodge, its rough wood walls and stone fireplace make for a cozy feeling.

The dining table in the center of the room was set with ten sparkling wine glasses for the two of us, along with a scrumptious lunch. Michelle tossed a delicious arugula salad with pecorino and olive oil, but it was hard to get beyond the truffle potato chips. We tasted but didn’t come close to finishing the charcuterie platter of meats, cheeses and olives. All delicious. Macarons from famous chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon bakery in Yountville were for dessert.

The wines are named for their grapes’ orientation on the hillside. Our favorite was the western facing (Riva di Ponente – where the sun sets).

After we had our fill and heard the history of the place, Michelle drove us through the olive trees and grape vines, back to our car. The descent from the mountain was as easy going down as the delicious wines and lunch.

Ridin' the Rangoon (Yangon) Rails

One of the scavenges in the Global Scavenger Hunt was to board Yangon's Circular Train at Central Station and ride it for at least two stops.

We went to Yangon's Central Station and tried to figure out how to buy a ticket. I stood in line at the ticket window. The man who had been working there left his position behind the cage, walked around to the front and then pushed his way through the crowd. He jumped up onto the counter and squatted so that he could use his blue marker pen to write updates on the board.

Way up in the upper left corner of this photo, the small blue sign says "Warmly Welcome and Take Care of Tourists." Unfortunately, that sign is a rare specimen of any information not in Burmese.

Bought the tickets

Checked the Map

Waiting for the Train

Excellent People Watching

"Brimming With Optimism"

Riding the Train

The blue "Air Conditioned" sign over the doorway is a joke (and it's not funny)

One stop we didn't get off at

Trainman gives the "all clear" signal, waving a green cloth flag out the window

Which Buddha is the Real Buddha?

Which statue is the real Buddha?  I'll never know.
These photos are from just one day's visit to eight temples in Old Bagan, Myanmar. We saw all of these Buddhas. And many more.

It's hard to believe they are all the same person.