I am exercising - Blogging is hard workJanuary 11, 2008
Will someone please tell my well-intentioned sister-in-law, that I am exercising? Blogging is hard work.
Can someone run to the frig and get me another Arizona Green Tea with ginseng and honey so that I may have my beauty and taste revived. I’m kinda exhausted over here…
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09/05/07 By Kevin E. Dayhoff
There is a certain unexplainable enigma that draws folks back again and again to ponder the mysteries of Edward Hopper's "American Scene" paintings.
Perhaps it is Hopper's peculiar way of depicting the stark existence of the human condition in such a simple "language" which begs for questions ... yet offers no answers.
Both questions and answers are welcome when the first major Hopper exhibit in
The theme of a sophisticated confrontation with psychological tension and isolation is evident in Hopper's most famous work, the 1942 "Nighthawks."
That painting, according to Hopper himself, is of "a restaurant on
"Nighthawks" is a painted storyboard for a film noir movie on the late night lonely lives of four mysterious characters. It is left to each viewer to provide the plot and dialogue.
The painting shows no visible entrance or exit. The characters appear trapped and highlighted in the glare of the artificial light.
Hopper died in 1967. According to the diaries of his wife, Josephine Hopper, he always explained that the "Nighthawks" painting depicted "three characters." He also admitted that he painting was "unconsciously ... painting the loneliness of a large city."
But perhaps the best explanation of the painting came from A. E. Housman, who once wrote about being "a stranger and afraid. In a world I never made."
On a recent trip to Boston, I leaped at the opportunity to see the genius of Mr. Hopper, considered by many art historians to be one of the most influential -- if not one of the most popular -- artists of the 20th century.
The exhibit at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, included much of his often overlooked earlier works, such as "New York Corner," one of his earliest oil paintings from 1913; "Two Trawlers," a watercolor from 1923-24; "Gloucester Mansion," 1924; "Box Factory, Gloucester," 1928; and "House of the Fog Horn I" from 1927.
In pieces such as 1929's "Chop Suey" -- a favorite for many Hopper aficionados; as well as "Rooms for Tourists," 1945; "
After being exhibited in
In addition to the
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News Clips
August 27, 2007
STATE NEWS
Triathlon organizers win use of county roads
Group will pay an undisclosed fee for an increased police presence Sept. 9
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.triathlon26aug26002635,0,2390475.story
Organizers of Annapolis' first triathlon, who first struggled to win over some angry downtown merchants, have climbed over another obstacle: the possibility of the race being kept off county-owned roads. The Annapolis Triathlon Club last week agreed to pay
Mayor Ellen O. Moyer, a vocal proponent of the event, said s he had asked state Sen. John C. Astle and Speaker of the House Michael E. Busch, who both live in
Ulman hopes state funding cuts will be 'reasonable'
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-ho.politics26aug26,0,2234346.story
With General Assembly leaders talking about local governments sharing the pain of the state's $1.5 billion projected revenue shortfall next fiscal year, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman knows his next budget could take a big hit -- up to $40 million -- despite Gov. Martin O'Malley's promise to keep local governments in the clear.
The final decisio ns won't come until next year's General Assembly session is nearing an end in the spring, but Ulman is saying he is not likely to raise county property taxes to compensate for any state cuts.
"If anyone thinks we can easily raise revenue, they're mistaken," he said. "We're at our maximum on the piggyback [income tax]. Raising the property tax is not something I would consider lightly. People need to be prepared that these are cuts that will not be backfilled with local taxes." But
Craig backs camera plan
County executive supports putting surveillance tool on Edgewood streets
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/harford/bal-ha.crime26aug26002635,0,3502240.story
A crime-fighting tool that has paid dividends when put to use in Baltimore and Aberdeen now is the focus of Harford County officials looking to turn back the tide of crime in Edgewood. The use of surveillance cameras, the topic of frequent discussion in the community in recent weeks, took an important step forward last week when County Executive David R. Craig offered his support for the plan."This won't happen overnight, but I have asked the sheriff to look into the cameras," Craig said Friday.In Aberdeen, two surveillance cameras have been mounted in the town's higher-crime areas. The cameras rotate 360 degrees and are monitored from the city's police station.
Craig unveils plan for new school
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/harford/bal-ha.elementary26aug26002635,0,5851205.story
An open house at the county's first new high school in 27 years gave
Lawmaker wants to remove Md. assets from Iran, North Korea, Syria
http://www.examiner.com/a-898459~Lawmaker_wants_to_remove_Md__assets_from_Iran__North_Korea__Syria.html
State retirement and pension assets would be removed from companies doing business in Iran, Syria and North Korea, under a bill an Anne Arundel County lawmaker plans to bring back for the General Assembly's next session.
Delegate Ron George, a Republican, said lawmakers have a responsibility to divest about $1.7 billion
O'Malley faces tough choices Taxes , transportation, slots are challenges
http://www.capitalonline.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/08_26-38/TOP
Tax bills will be going up while spending goes down, slots at destination locations near Maryland's borders could become an issue, and nobody should expect a new span for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge as long as Gov. Martin O'Malley is in the State House.Leading the state is a much different task than taking over Baltimore, the governor said, especially since the city was going "code blue" and Maryland is strong. Mr. O'Malley - who has a fiery reputation - said the State House has to have a more patient leader to forge compromises. The governor has taken heat from Republicans and Democrats alike for not trying to solve the budget deficit last session, but Mr. O'Malley saw the 90 days of the General Assembly session and the months afterwards as a time to build partnerships.
Leggett's Strategy On Slots: Hushed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/25/AR2007082501174.html
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett has been quietly urging local lawmakers to take a low profile in the statewide debate over slot machine gambling even though polls have shown repeatedly that county residents are the state's most ardent opponents.Leggett's decision to lower the decibel level on slots marks a new approach for Montgomery Democrats in a debate that for years has divided state political leaders. The payback, Leggett hopes, would be a state budget package that plugs an estimated $1.5 billion shortfall without making
Rail Projects at the Mercy of U.S. Agency
Federal Guidelines, and Funds, Direct Plans for Dulles, Purple Lines
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/26/AR2007082601189.html
The key decisions about Maryland's proposed Purple Line -- the route it takes, the type of rail cars it uses, the possibility of tunneling underground -- will be determined not by public opinion or political pressure.
Rather, a single agency that controls the limited federal money set aside for transit projects will shape the rail or bus line that could eventually link
The Federal Transit Administration, which helped sink plans for a tunnel through Tysons Corner and is demanding further cost accounting for the proposed Metro line through Dulles International Airport, will likewise dictate what any new transit line through suburban Maryland would look like and when -- or whether -- there will be money to build it.
"It's the driving force behind the planning process," Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari said of the competition for federal money. "You can have the best conceived transit project in the world, and it's not going forward if it doesn't qualify for federal funding."
EDITORIALS/OP-EDS
Keeping up
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-ed.transpo26aug27,0,585401.story
Since 1971,
Under new schools CEO, reason for optimism amid the challenges
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.alonso27aug27,0,5381120.story
I'm excited about the new school year in
Get politics, therapy out of classrooms
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.hanson26aug26,0,1907705.story
Last week I went shopping in our small rural hometown, where my family has attended the same public schools since 1896. Without exception, all six generations of us - whether farmers, housewives, day laborers, businesspeople, writers, lawyers or educators - were given a good, competitive K-12 education. But after a haircut, I noticed that the 20-something cashier could not count out change. The next day, at the electronics outlet store, another young clerk could not read - much less explain - the basic English of the buyer's warranty. At the food market, I listened as a young couple argued over the price of a cut of tri-tip, unable to calculat e the meat's real value from its price per pound.
As another school year is set to get under way, it's worth pondering where this epidemic of ignorance came from.
Our presidential candidates sense the danger of this dumbing down of American society and are arguing over the dismal status of contemporary education: poor graduation rates, weak test scores and suspect literacy among the general population. Politicians warn that
Leopold stands up for the law
http://www.examiner.com/a-901298~Editorial__Leopold_stands_up_for_the_law.html
Law-abiding businesses with
Unlike Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, who earlier this month "forgot" to file tax forms for his housekeeper until days after firing her for being an illegal immigrant, Leopold showed symbolic courage in signing the executive order. Just because everybody else may be ignoring the law does not make it right nor good policy. County executives across the state should reaffirm their local government's commitment to its own laws by issuing similar orders. If it's OK to flout one law, it's a slippery slope to governments choosing to enforce only those laws they find palatable.
Budget to deflect O'Malley's key issues
http://ww w.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070827/METRO/108270041/1004
Maryland's budget problems are likely to push aside many of the special interests that dominated Gov. Martin O'Malley's first General Assembly session. "There's a buffet of issues to keep the voter and the taxpayer angry," said Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley, Frederick Republican. "I think the trick will be to see how the legislature and the governor fill their plates and hope to be rewarded in 2010. There will be a lot of bitter food." Mr. Brinkley said it would help to hold a special session to close the deficit before the next session, which convenes in January. But he expressed little optimism that House Speaker Michael E. Busch, Anne Arundel Democrat; Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.,
NA TIONAL NEWS
Gilchrest swings by Lower Shore
Stops on the congressman's agenda today include Crisfield dock, Salisbury fundraiser
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070827/NEWS01/708270306/1002
U.S. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-1-Md., plans a firsthand look at a Crisfield dock in need of a complete overhaul today during stops in all three Lower Shore counties. He will tour the 97-foot dock at the end of
Poultry farmers fall under plan for terror watch
http://washingtontimes.com/article/20070827/METRO/108270037/1004
Poultry growers are protesting proposed Department of Homeland Security regulations that would label propane gas a "chemical of interest" and require anybody with 7,500 pounds or more of the fuel to register with the agency. At that amount, poultry farmers who use propane to heat chicken houses would have to fill out the forms. British police last month thwarted a terrorist plot in which two vehicles were loaded with nails packed around canisters of propane and gasoline, then set to deto nate. In
"Given the serious threats that are currently facing our country and the limited resources of the Department of Homeland Security, please explain why this initiative is a good use of federal dollars," the senators wrote earlier this month.
CyberAlert
Monday August 27, 2007 (Vol. Twelve; No. 148)
1. Shields: 'Overkill' by 'Right-Wing Radio' Will Help Hillary "Overkill" from "right-wing radio," in criticizing Senator Hillary Clinton, is her "secret weapon" that will "transform her into a figure of sympathy by a majority of people" -- and presumably help elect her President -- syndicated columnist and PBS NewsHour political analyst Mark Shields contended Friday night. On Inside Washington, a weekly panel show produced by ABC's Washington, DC affiliate which airs it on Sunday mornings after it first runs Friday night at 8:30pm on DC's PBS affiliate, WETA-TV channel 26, Shields argued: "I think the secret weapon for Senator Clinton, if she is the Democratic nominee, is not simply Rudy's shortcomings, the perceived shortcomings of her opponent, I think you'll see on the part of right-wing radio -- conservative talk, however you want to call it -- such overkill that it will make her, transform her into a figure of sympathy by a majority of people." NPR's Nina Totenberg then chimed in: "That happened in her first Senate run."
2. Kristol Astounds Lauer by Rejecting Media Touting of Warner & NIE Matching the theme of NBC Nightly News from the evening before, the Today show on Friday morning portrayed Republican Senator John Warner's call for 5,000 troops to return home by Christmas as "a major defection" and "sharp rebuke" to President Bush, but to the astonishment of co-host Matt Lauer, who described Warner as "a pretty heavy domino" falling against Bush, guest Bill Kristol rejected the media's presumptions about the importance of Warner's stand. Andrea Mitchell trumpeted "a major defection from the most authoritative Republican Senator on all things military. It is a sharp rebuke to the President" from "the Senate's most influential Republican on the Armed Services Committee." When Kristol made clear he didn't think Warner's comments were such a big deal since he remains opposed to a pull-out timetable, Lauer argued: "What about the signal it sends to moderate Republicans in Congress? You know everybody talks about some sort of large scale defection. Isn't John Warner a pretty heavy domino?" Kristol countered: "No, because it hasn't fallen. He's not going to vote against the President in September, that's the more important thing." Turning to the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on
3. Newsweek's Michael Hirsh Ridicules 'Harsh' Vietnam Aftermath In a "Web-exclusive" commentary posted Thursday, Newsweek Senior Editor Michael Hirsh ridiculed President George W. Bush's warning that a precipitous pull-out from Iraq could lead to the humanitarian horrors that followed the American pull-out from Vietnam. Recalling a trip he made to
4. CBS: Mass. Health Insurance Mandate, Subsidy Don't Go Far Enough A year and a half after the CBS Evening News celebrated the then-upcoming Massachusetts mandate requiring everyone to buy health insurance and the state subsidizing it for those with lower incomes -- "Imagine this: Virtually everyone guaranteed health insurance coverage. It's happening in one state, and it could be a model for the rest" -- Friday's newscast found it has come up short. Anchor Katie Couric teased the upcoming story on how the law didn't go far enough in providing subsidies, "Universal health insurance: It is supposed to mean everyone is covered. But in the only state that has it, hundreds of thousands are not. That story next." Reporter Wyatt Andrews highlighted how state-subsidized coverage saved one man's life, trumpeting that as "the state's achievement. Out of 400,000 uninsured residents last year, around 170,000 now have insurance." But, he continued, "the gap that remains is huge. It includes some 130,000 young adults, most of them middle income men who have to pay their own premiums. They either don't want insurance or can't afford it." For expert advocacy, Andrews turned to the head of a liberal group, Health Care for All: "Health care advocate John McDonough praises the state for a good start but says that gap in affordability has to be filled."
5. CNN's 'God's Warriors' Reflects MSM's Bias Against 'Big 3' Faiths Christiane Amanpour's six-hour "God's Warriors" mini-series first aired Tuesday-Thursday nights last week on CNN reflected less of the reality of "fundamentalist" monotheists -- Jews, Muslims, and Christians -- and more of liberals' attitudes about these faiths. It is clear, given how CNN and Amanpour covered each faith, that they have sympathy towards Muslims in the
6. FNC's Fox News Watch Shows MRC Home Page with CyberAlert Headline You saw it here first. FNC's Fox News Watch on Saturday set up a segment, on a Pew Research Center for the People and the Press poll on how Americans distrust the media and see it as biased, by showing screen shots of the home pages of a couple of media watchdog groups, including the Thursday CyberAlert headline on the MRC's home page, "Networks: Bush's Vietnam Lesson Hypocritical & Invalid."
A usually-daily report, edited by Brent H. Baker, CyberAlert is distributed by the
The 2,475th CyberAlert. Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
11:15am EDT, Monday August 27, 2007 (Vol. Twelve; No. 148)
Saboteur: he may ride forever 'neath the streets of August 27th, 2007
A reader, "Grim Sherman Eagle Saboteur" writes – (in reference to my column which will appear in the Westminster Eagle this Wednesday, August 29, 2007):
i have to assume you already know this, but as i too have heard the old adage about what happens when one assumes, i thought i would pass this along.
in reading your
M.T.A. Lyrics
From The
Date: 07/01/1959
Spoken:
These are the times that try men's souls. In the course of our nation's history, the people of
(Eight bar guitar, banjo introduction)
Well, let me tell you of the story of a man named Charley on a tragic and fateful day.
He put ten cents in his pocket, kissed his wife and family, went to ride on the M.T.A.
Chorus:
Well, did he ever return? No, he never returned and
his fate is still unknown.
(What a pity! Poor ole Charlie. Shame and scandal.
He may ride forever. Just like Paul Revere.)
He may ride forever 'neath the streets of
He's the man who never returned.
Charlie handed in his dime at the
When he got there the conductor told him, "One more nickel."
Charlie couldn't get off of that train.
(Chorus)
Now, all night long Charlie rides through the station, crying, "What will become of me?!!
How can I afford to see my sister in
(Chorus)
Charlie's wife goes down to the Sculley Square Station every day at quarter past two, And through the open window she hands Charlie a sandwich as the train comes rumblin' through.
(Chorus)
Now, you citizens of
Fight the fare increase! Vote for George O'Brien!
Get poor Charlie off the M. T. A.
(Chorus)
He's the man who never returned.
He's the man who never returned.
Ain't you Charlie?
Mrs. Owl and I sing this song frequently when we are trying to follow the map or driving direction as we are traveling… We were known to have sung this song several times while we were in
20070827 Saboteur: he may ride forever ‘neath the streets of boston..
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Carroll County Maryland Arts Council plans trip to Edward Hopper ExhibitPhoto: The Boston Museum of Fine Arts where I had the pleasure of seeing the Edward Hopper exhibition on August 19th, 2007 www.kevindayhoff.net
Posted Monday, August 27, 2007
On Tuesday, September 25th, The
Passengers will also have time to visit other parts of the museum or that National Mall. The bus will depart from
Advance reservations are required and can be made by calling 410/848-7272.
_____
I saw the Edward Hopper exhibit in
In a piece I submitted to the Westminster Eagle the other day, I mention the Carroll County Arts Council bus trip. I spoke with the editor earlier today it will not run in this Wednesday’s publication due to space constraints.
So we can look forward to the article running in the September 5th, 2007 edition of the Westminster Eagle.
See also a post on www.kevindayhoff.net on Saturday, August 25, 2007: “20070822 Edward Hopper: Poet of the ordinary.”
Art and artists, Carroll Arts Center
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Posted Saturday, August 25, 2007
My Tentacle column for this past Wednesday, August 22, 2007 is on Edward Hopper: Edward Hopper: Poet of the ordinary
On a recent trip to
Although shows in recent years have featured portions of his work, it was the Whitney in 1980 that put together the last major comprehensive retrospective show of his work, “Edward Hopper: The Art and the Artist,” took place at the Whitney. That show also toured
In 1999 an exhibition of fifty-six watercolors from 1923 until the mid-1940s debuted at the
Seventy of his paintings toured
[…]
The voyeuristic stark world of American Scene realist artist Edward Hopper was recently on view at the
While the exhibit ranges extensively from Mr. Hopper’s early prints, watercolor landscapes and scene paintings, to his iconographic oil paintings, the exhibition focused on a 25-year period of peak artistic expression from 1923 to about 1948. The show distributed about 100 pieces of art, in chronological order across 8 gallery-rooms, including 12 prints, 34 watercolors, 48 oil paintings, and two of his “ledger” notebooks containing his sketches and notes.
Art from 39 public and 13 private collections has been brought together to give visitors the opportunity to listen carefully for the “poetry” of Mr. Hopper’s otherwise famously spare, mute landscapes, blunt geometrics and austere interiors in which the beauty is in the common place, the unexpected, and the unexceptional.
[…]
The Tate restates that one of the many reasons Mr. Hopper remains relevant today is that he has “inspired generations of artists, writers, and filmmakers including David Hockney, Mark Rothko, Alfred Hitchcock, Todd Haynes, and Norman Mailer.”
Coinciding with the National Gallery of Art show will be yet another Hopper-inspired work of art - an opera, “Later the Same Evening: an opera inspired by five paintings of Edward Hopper,” by renowned composer John Musto and librettist Mark Campbell.
The opera will be performed November 15-18, 2007 at Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD, and December 2, 2007 at The National Gallery of Art
Additionally, the artistic impact of Edward Hopper’s work is the subject of a new documentary film that accompanies the exhibition.
It is narrated by actor, writer, and Hopper art collector Steve Martin and produced by the National Gallery of Art. In the
Read the entire column here: Edward Hopper: Poet of the ordinary
The Carroll County Arts Council is sponsoring a bus trip on September 25 to experience this must-see event in this year’s fall art calendar. Call the Arts Council at 410/848-7272 for details.
Mr. Hopper’s art may have been relatively mute in its spare commentary yet it continues to inspire the viewer to lend their own story to each enigmatic piece and artists in other media continue to add an interpretation of their own. The National Gallery exhibition is a must see event in this fall’s art and culture calendar.
E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com
His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com and Winchester Report.
Quote of the day – Courage
Friday, August 24, 2007
Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I'll try again tomorrow."
Maryanne Radmacher Writer and artist
Thanks TC
Quote of the day – Gravitate
Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
Responsibilities gravitate to the person who can shoulder them.
Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915) Writer and publisher
Thanks TC
Wall Street Journal: Karl Rove to Resign at the End of AugustKarl Rove to Resign at the End of August
By a
August 13, 2007 4:00 a.m.
Karl Rove, President Bush's longtime political adviser, is resigning as White House deputy chief of staff effective Aug. 31, and returning to Texas, he said in an interview with Paul Gigot, editor of The Wall Street Journal's editorial page.
(See related editorial.)
Read the editorial by The Wall Street Journal's editorial page editor, Paul Gigot, on his interview with Karl Rove.
Mr. Rove, who has held a senior post in the White House since President Bush took office in January 2001, told Mr. Gigot …
Read the rest of the article here: Karl Rove to Resign at the End of August
The Wall Street Journal published the interview Monday.
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Bush Invokes Executive Privilege
White House Won't Rule Out Eventual Pardon for Libby
House Democrats Issue New Subpoena
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118698747711695773.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
July 11th, 2007
My Tentacle column is up on the web site.
Writing this column was rather poignant for me…
The jarring juxtaposition of visiting the United States Military Academy at West Point and seeing the dedication and sense of service and sacrifice on the hallowed grounds and then to read, on the same day, the sanctimonious twaddle of the New York Times editorial last Sunday, “The Road Home” was enough to make your head spin and spew pea soup…
I had wanted to write a simple “travelogue” of
Especially since there is a profound disconnect in reading about the successes, efforts and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform in harms way from the military blogs and what is being reported in the mainstream media.
"90 Seconds" by Kevin E. Dayhoff, July 11, 2007
It was nothing short of cruel irony that I happened to be on a guided tour of the
The editorial, "The Road Home," opened with this: "It is time for the
We live in an era where irony rules, the truth is illusory, paradox pervades and the 90-second difference between reality and perception continues to become "curiouser and curiouser."
To witness the impressive grandeur of West Point and the omnipresent homage to past graduates who have fought for our way of life and the freedoms we have come to take for granted - just days after the 4th of July - and then to read the New York Times, just 90 seconds after leaving the post, was mind boggling.
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See Also:
Click here for other posts on Soundtrack about: Military Army United States Military Academy (USMA) West Point
20070711 "90 seconds" or click on http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2007/07/20070711-90-seconds.html
Click here: 20070610 The United States Military Academy at West Point for a number of pictures from my recent visit to
20070627 Davis Library part 1
Library is at the center of the bookshelf of Westminster history
Davis Library part 1
Westminster Eagle
June 27th, 2007 © by Kevin Dayhoff (669 words – as filed)
Plans were recently announced for the renovation of the 27-year-old Westminster branch of the Carroll County Public Library.
This news prompted some discussions of the history and origins of the library in Westminster. Of course, the history of the library in Westminster, like most successes in Carroll County, is the history of a tradition and heritage of private – public partnerships, great leadership, and selfless philanthropy from community leaders.
Writing for this paper, Katie Jones noted, “Two years ago, the Westminster Public Library celebrated 25 years of service” in its present location. She also noted that the “students of Medora Lynn's school of ballet, The Ballet Slipper,” put on a recent benefit performance to help raise money for the renovations.
The current site of the library on Main Street is the fulcrum point of old traditional Westminster and is steeped in history. It was preceded by several different church structures for the St. John Catholic Church community dating back to 1789 when four acres were donated to the Catholic community for a cemetery and a church.
However, in those days, the church property was not in Westminster. It was in an outlying area which was laid out in 1812 as the town of “Bedford.” The town of Bedford comprised the area between Main and Green Streets, from where Longwell Avenue is now, to near where Bond Street currently exists.
On the other side of Main Street was the “Town of Winter’s Addition to Westminster,” which was recorded with the Frederick County clerk on December 5th, 1815 by John Winter and John Winter, Jr. It is the area between Main Street and Winter’s Alley.
At the time, Westminster, then “Winchester,” laid out in 1764,- was comprised of King’s Street (now Main Street) from Manchester Road to Court Street.
In between the town of Bedford and “Winchester,”, was the competing town of “New London,” which was laid out in 1765 by Captain John White.
New London included that area along King’s Street from Court Street to Longwell Avenue. On February 5th, 1819, “Westminster,” and the first annexation of the town, in 1788, of the area along Green Street from Washington Road to Church Street, plus “Winter’s Addition” and “New London” were incorporated as Westminster by the Maryland General Assembly.
“Bedford” was not a part of Westminster until a re-incorporation occurred in 1830 and the town expanded as far as “The Forks” where Pennsylvania Avenue begins at West Main Street. The area at “The Forks” and beyond was a rival thriving business area, parts of which were known as “Pigstown,” “Fanny’s Meadow” and “Logsdon Tavern.”
In those days St. John Catholic Church was a mission church of the Conewago, Pennsylvania parish. It soon became parish mission of Taneytown’s St. Joseph Catholic Church.
Construction began of the last of several church structures in 1865 (four years after the railroad arrived). On Thursday, June 19, 1952 at 4:45 in the afternoon, the steeple of that church was destroyed by a tornado and the church damaged. In 1968 the building was deemed unusable. In 1972, a new church was built on Monroe Avenue and the Main Street property remained unused until March 1980 when the current 40,000-square-foot library facility opened with a chilly parade – of sorts.
It was a “book parade” which followed the tradition of how the books were moved by schoolchildren from the old Westminster High School at Green and Center Streets to the then-new Westminster High School on Longwell Avenue on an equally cold Monday afternoon on November 23rd, 1936.
This time it was a cold Saturday morning when, according to published accounts, about 500 citizens hand-carried 60,000 books and other library items from the Davis Library building at 129 East Main Street to the new building.
The roots of the library in Westminster began during the Civil War, in 1863, at the other end of town, the Odd Fellows Hall, now known as the Opera House Printing Company at 140 East Main Street.
For now, bookmark this introduction until next week’s chapter.
Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.
E-mail him at: kdayhoff at carr.org
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20070627 Davis Library part 1
Carroll County Public Library, Dayhoff Art writing essays and articles, Dayhoff Media Westminster Eagle, History Westminster, Westminster Scrapbook Davis Library
Betty Blue
Posted May 30th, 2007
"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words." (Philip K. Dick)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xJrrHTos6P8
In the last several days I have run across several references to a evocative movie, “37°2 le matin,” or as it is known in the
The movie, released November 7th, 1986, was based on a novel, also by the title of “37°2 le matin,” by Philippe Djian. The movie version of the novel is directed Jean-Jacques Beineix, who also directed another one of my “all time favorite movies, “Diva.”
The music for the movie is by Gabriel Yared. The recurring musical theme is as haunting as the movie; a piano progression, which will remain in your head for the longest time…
In many of my old movie notes from many years ago – this movie is consistently listed in my all time top-ten movies…
According to several published accounts, “The film received both a BAFTA and Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986, as well as winning a César Award for Best Poster. In 1992 it was awarded the Golden space Needle of the
For those not aware of the movie, it is not a movie for the weak of heart. It is about a writer who gets involved with a woman who is psychologically disheveled but nevertheless somewhat socially acceptable at the beginning of the movie. The movie documents her precipitous quixotic psychological deterioration... The excellent use of a narrator was effective and affective...
Here is clip from the last scene in the movie:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BIaU1us81Ts
The Internet Movie Database has the following plot summary for “37°2 le matin:”
“Zorg is a handyman working at in France, maintaining and looking after the bungalows. He lives a quiet and peaceful life, working diligently and writing in his spare time.
One day Betty walks into his life, a young woman who is as beautiful as she is wild and unpredictable. After a dispute with Zorg's boss they leave and Betty manages to get a job at a restaurant.
She persuades Zorg to try and get one of his books published but it is rejected which makes Betty fly into a rage. Suddenly Betty's wild manners starts to get out of control. Zorg sees the woman he loves slowly going insane.”
Wikipedia says:
“Betty (Dalle) and Zorg (Anglade) are passionate lovers who live in a shack on the beach. He works as a handyman who does odd jobs to pay the bills. As the film begins, they have only been going out for a week and are in a very passionate stage of their relationship. Zorg narrates the story of their relationship via voiceover. He describes Betty, “like a flower with translucent antennae and a mauve plastic heart.” She yearns for a better life and quit her last job as a waitress because she was being sexually harassed by her boss.
Zorg’s boss asks him to paint the 500 shacks that populate the beach — a fact that he keeps from Betty who thinks they only have to do one. She attacks the project with enthusiasm that quickly turns to anger once she learns the actual number. In response, Betty covers the boss’ car with pink paint.
During a nasty fight, Betty accidentally discovers a series of notebooks that contain a novel Zorg wrote years ago. She reads it and falls in love with him even more. She then makes it her mission in life to type every hand-written page and get it published. Betty's freespiritedness and devotion to Zorg develop into alarming obsession, aggression and destructiveness, and the film alternates between comic and tragic modes.
Roger Ebert lists it on his top-ten “most hated films.”
Oh well. Mr. Ebert likes Michael Moore…
A reason Mr. Ebert may not like the movie is that he is frequently hyper-critical of movies that have “hypocritical agendas” such as “a confrontational film that is passed off as art, but is merely lurid and sensational; Ebert has levelled this charge against such films as The Night Porter and Blue Velvet.” [Cited by Wikipedia (although I have seen this in other published accounts.)]
Oh! – I finally found Mr. Ebert’s review. Read it here.
Oh my – he really did not like the movie…
[…]
“Now comes ‘Betty Blue,’ which opens with a shot of two people sideways on a bed, making love beneath a portrait of the Mona Lisa, while the narrator says: ‘I had known Betty for a week. We made love every night. The forecast was the storms.’…
[…]
She finds a manuscript he has written, determines that he is a genius, and types it up, tens of thousands of words. (Typists will enjoy the typing scenes, in which she makes typing errors, causing her to throw away countless copies of Page 1, and then has the whole manuscript typed in no time. This is the way typing is thought about by people who always use yellow legal pads themselves.)
What is Bieneix trying to say in "Betty Blue"? I am not sure. The behavior of the characters is senseless and boring. We lose interest in Zorg because anyone who could tolerate Betty Blue would scarcely have the discrimination to write a good book. One scene follows another senselessly, like in a soap opera, until Betty goes mad and we can go home.
And yet the movie has made millions in
[…]
Reviews have been written debating the movie's view of madness, of feminism, of the travail of the artist. They all miss the point. "Betty Blue" is a movie about Beatrice Dalle's boobs and behind, and everything else is just what happens in between the scenes where she displays them.
[…]
My word… Read his entire review here.
I saw the movie twenty years ago… Who knows, with my current sensibilities, perhaps I would see the movie again and not like it either… I do not remember the gratuitous nudity for which Mr. Ebert objects, although I have no doubt that there is a great deal of that in the movie…
The trailer is rated “R.” Although, curiously enough, the “R” rating for the trailer is because of the nudity of the male protagonist.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ueFTOS8FDfQ
I remember being fascinated by the portrayal of the artist–writer and his interaction with the madness of his companion. Sorta like a “Five Easy Pieces” on acid. (“Five Easy Pieces” is another all time favorite of mine. I will always remember that it opened on my birthday, September 11th, - in 1970.
Video de la canción Numb de Linkin Park.
Perhaps, just perhaps, both movies portray the reality of relationships of which many artists may identify… Just as I like the video of the Linkin Park song, “Numb.”
After all, as Philip K. Dick once said:
"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words."
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Interesting post script:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SJo-V1wip6g
casting de beatrice dalle betty
je
Et bonus video: Scène de danse entre Beatrice Dalle et Romain Duris, tirée du film dix-sept fois Cecile Cassard
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8nTryJX7cn4
Beatrice Dalle in "Pretty Killer"
