Artzoobilee: Masai Mara

A closer look at...










Animal: Masai Mara
Artist: Suzanne Ellis
Sponsor: Reynolds Transfer and Storage

Wild Chicory

Thursday Thirteen 163: Music Play List

Most people do these play lists by cuing up the ipod and listing the first random thirteen songs to play. Not having an ipod or other such personal music device, I instead turned to the local radio station I listen to most often. They play a nice (if eclectic) mix of music, old and new, and spanning a few different genres, but no rap/hip hop, which I cannot stand. Here are thirteen songs heard while listening one night this week.


[*] denotes new music


1. Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode
(They've been playing this one a lot lately. Good thing I loike it!)

2. Summer Day* by Sheryl Crow

3. I Shot the Sheriff by Eric Clapton

4. Home* by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

5. Wonder by Natalie Merchant

6. New Morning* by Alpha Rev

7. Crazy by Gnarls Barkley

8. She Talks to Angels by The Black Crows
(A song of theirs I actually sort of like)

9. Tiny Light* by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

10. Heaven by Los Lonely Boys

11. Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve
(You may know it from the Nike commercial)

12. From Above* by Ben Folds
(Really liking this new one, and it's so new, I couldn't find an actual video, so this will have to do!)

13. Life Design* by Parlotones




LINKS TO OTHER THURSDAY THIRTEENS:(Please leave your link if this is your first visit!)
Stephanie Bennett * Rachael * Alice Audrey * Elise Logan
Adelle Laudan * The Islander * Shelley Munro * CountryDew
Darla M Sands * Colleen * Jennie * Paige Tyler * Anne
Tatiana Caldwell * Divaa Divine * Jana * Janice Seagraves
Jill Conyers


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Artzoobilee: Fancy Bird

A closer look at: Fancy Bird

Artist: Sandra Bacon / Sponsor: Pepsi-Cola
Part of the Artzoobilee exhibit at the Henry Vilas Zoo, Madison.

Teaser Tuesday 45: Scandal Sheet

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read.
* Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


READ: March 2010

"We're in a moving ride, surrounded by the most annoying tune known to man, sung by a bunch of talking dolls, carrying a woman's ashes around in a Buzz Lightyear soda bottle. I'm pretty sure we passed dignity at least two harebrained schemes ago!"

(pg 253)

Scandal Sheet by Gemma Halliday is a current RITA finalist. The RITA Awards will be handed out this Saturday at the end of the annual RWA conference, which is being held in Orlando, FL this year. Though appropriate to the locale, this teaser was chosen before the conference had to be relocated from Nashville to Orlando due to flooding. Yes, I wish I could be there--especially for Wednesday night's literacy booksigning. Who could resist hundreds of great authors all in one location? *Sigh* This is the first in the "Hollywood Headlines" series (book two is out August 24), and would be a great book to enjoy at the beach or poolside!


Book Blurb:
Gossip columnist Tina is stopped in her tracks when she learns one of the celebrities she's reported on wants her dead. Teamed with an oversized bodyguard, a bubbly blonde, and an alcoholic obituary writer, Tina sets off to find out which juicy piece of Hollywood gossip is worth killing over.



(ETA: This book did NOT win the RITA, but one of my favorite books of 2009 that it was up against, The Lost Recipe for Happiness, did!)

Up On the Roof

When this old world starts getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space

On the roof, it's peaceful as can be
And there the world below can't bother me
Let me tell you now

When I come home feelin' tired and beat
I go up where the air is fresh and sweet (up on the roof)

I get away from the hustling crowd
And all that rat-race noise down in the street (up on the roof)
On the roof, the only place I know
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Let's go up on the roof (up on the roof)

This metal statue has been perches atop of a downtown building on Main Street, across from the Capitol, for as long as I can remember. Lyrics from The Drifters' song, "Up on the Roof," written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King.

On a roll...

Whoo-hoo! Just found out this evening that I have won a third book from Goodreads, The Pindar Diamond by Katie Hickman. That's two historical fiction and one historical romance in eight months. Apparently, the PTB agree with Adelle and think there's enough mystery in my life, since I have absolutely no luck winning anything in that genre. Actually, though this falls into the genre of historical fiction, it is also a bit of a mystery, so I guess it does (sort of) count. I'm looking forward to receiving it!



Here's the blurb from GoodReads:


In a small town on the Italian coast, a mysterious woman washes ashore. She is crippled, mute, and clutches a bundle to her chest—a baby the townspeople insist is a real-life mermaid. It can only bring bad luck; they pay a troupe of acrobats to carry mother and child away.

In the bustling trade center of Venice, merchant Paul Pindar is the subject of his colleagues' concern. Since his return from Constantinople, they have found him changed; raging over the loss of his beloved, Celia, he has gambled away his fortune at the gaming tables. But when a priceless blue diamond surfaces in the city, Pindar recognizes the opportunity to regain everything he has lost—including, perhaps, the woman he loves.

A celebrated writer of history and travel books, Katie Hickman has always been a master of evoking time and place. With The Pindar Diamond, her follow-up to The Aviary Gate, she brings early-seventeenth-century Italy vividly to life, and also demonstrates her maturity as a novelist. A tale of love and avarice, with a touch of the mystical, The Pindar Diamond is rich with historical detail, and unfolds with urgency and grace. It is accomplished, wholly satisfying historical fiction.

Artzoobilee: Rocky and Song of Turtle Mountain

Rocky
Artist: Don Spencer and Linda Moore





Song of Turtle Island
Artist: Dawn Dark Mountain

Thursday Thirteen 163: Artzoobilee

This summer, there is a special event taking place here at the Henry Vilas Zoo, Artzoobilee. More than 30 fiberglass animals are on display around the zoo through September 26. In October, animals will be auctioned, with proceeds benefitting the American Family Children's Hospital and Henry Vilas Zoo. Sadly, a few of the animals were already off display and visiting the "animal doctor," as some people refuse to control their kids and prevent them from hanging off the animals—this despite signs posted throughout asking patrons to treat animals "gently" and not climb on them. Touch them, take pictures of them, but remember that they are works of art.

Below are thirteen of those my sister and two nieces (cousins, not sisters) saw during a recent visit to the zoo. I posted two other animals earlier this week, and will post more throughout the next couple months. Some of these animals are so amazing that you really need to view them from different angles, so please do come back if you'd like to see more. Click on any image to enlarge.


You Are What You Eat (with youngest niece)
Artist: Alicia Rheal


Ty the Tiger
Artist: Kayla Proctor


Tiwanaku
Artist: Tom Kelly


Out of Africa
Artist: Ronna Duckowitz


People Watching
Artist: Alicia Rheal


Ham Radio
Artist: Kathy Armstrong


Fleming
Artist: Kari Fisher


Masai Mara
Artist: Suzanne Ellis


Fancy Bird
Artist: Sandra Bacon
(They really need a cordon like this around Fleming!)


Shere Ly-Khan
(This is the Madison skyline, looking across Lake Monona)
Artist: Dan Gardiner


Bo the Basketball Bear
(The UW men's basketball coach is Bo Ryan)
Artist: Dan Gardiner


Rosie (and youngest niece)
Artist: Aaron Wilbers


Melman (with another niece)
Artist: Stripe


LINKS TO OTHER THURSDAY THIRTEENS:
(Please leave your link if this is your first visit!)

Mama Zen * Kristen * Alice Audrey * Shelley MunroElise Logan * Adelle Laudan * Janice SeagravesTatiana Caldwell * Darla M Sands


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Puzzling

Animal: That's One Long Puzzle

Artist: Brooke Chullino

Sponsor: American Family Insurance

Artzoobilee.org

Teaser Tuesday 44: Dead in the Family

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read.
* Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


READ: June 2010

I love spring for all the obvious reasons. I love the flowers blooming (which happens early here in Louisiana); I love the birds twittering; I love the squirrels scampering across my yard.

I love the sound of werewolves howling in the distance.

(pg 37)

As with the other books in the series, this was a fun, fast read.

BLURB:
Sookie Stackhouse has finally settled into a relationship with the Viking vampire Eric, and her errant brother Jason seems to have his life in order, too. But all the other people in Sookie’s life – Eric himself, her former lover Bill, her friend and boss Sam – are having family problems. Eric’s maker shows up with Eric’s ‘brother’ in tow, the ailing Bill can only be healed by a blood sibling, and Sam’s brother’s marriage is about to take place... or will it? The furor raised by the coming out of the two-natured has yet to settle; some people are just not ready to sit down to dinner with a man who turns into a dog. And Sookie herself is still recovering from her last ordeal. She’s definitely improving, physically and mentally, but she’s always going to have some dark moments now. The werewolves tell her that there have been strange and ominous passers-by in the Stackhouse woods; now Sookie is about to come face-to-face with one of her more distant relatives...

Looking For Their Prince

The nieces, taken at Artzoobilee, Henry Vilas Zoo, Madison, WI.
More on that to come!

Peaches!

I saw these beauties during Friday evening's walk. I won't even mention how many times I've been past this house before and failed to note that the trees drooping over the entrance of the front walk were peach trees. All I had noticed before were the legions of cone flowers seen in the background.

RASPBERRIES

Wild Strawberries

Mmm...almost ripe!

Thursday Thirteen 162: Art Fair

This past weekend, July 10 and 11, was the annual Art Fair On the Square and Art Fair Off the Square here in Madison. The former features around 450 artists from across the country, while the latter is Wisconsin artists only. It was extremely hot up town this weekend, but despite that and the fact you can't afford any of the wares for sale, it's always fun to walk around and look at all the different media, including: ceramics, fiber, glass, wood, jewelry, painting, photography, sculpture and graphics. I've denoted those who are from Wisconsin, the medium, and included websites where I could. Enjoy!


Some of the ceramic bowls displayed near the High School Clay Coalition booth. All products were made by students from East High School and West High School in Madison.


Scarves in every color!


Pretty gourds. Sorry, I missed who these were by.


Stoneware by Wisconsin artisan Carolina Niebres.


Stained glass.


There be dragons here! Love the whimsical metal sculptures by Brady Lueck of Wisconsin.


Fiber/Leather. Gotta love the look and smell of this booth, Roche Leather!


That frog can jam! Steel/Outdoor art by Wisconsin artist James Sauer.


I don't think I need to explain why this was one of my absolute favorite booths. Alas, they are far outside my meager budget, but sooooo pretty to look at. Check out Mychal Mitchell's website to see more, or to place an order.


I love the way these woven wire sculptures by Michael Gard seem to float on the air.


These cow paintings by Sue Skowronski made me smile.


This photo and the next are by the same artist, Mark Sijan, who was Best of Show in 2009. He works in Sculpture and 3D Media. You have to check out his website!






LINKS TO OTHER THURSDAY THIRTEENS:
(Please leave your link if this is your first visit!)

Nicola O * Stephanie Barnett * Deb * Alice Audrey
Rinkly Rimes * Erin Jeany * Shelley Munro * Hazel
Adelle Laudan * Chef Dennis * David Bridger * Kristen
Elise Logan * Harriet * Journeywoman * Janice Seagraves
Paige Tyler * Tatiana Caldwell * Darla M Sands
Sasha Devlin * Inez Kelley * Jana * Jill Conyers * Colleen
CountryDew * Jennifer Leeland * Brandy


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