Channing Penna exhibit at the Boston Public Libary

With the way the economy is going, we're going to have to learn to live on the cheap for years to come. And one of the best deals is still the Boston Public Library. I've never been disappointed, and many times amazed, by the quality of the exhibits the BPL puts on. And the current one, Movingline, drawings by Channing Penna, ranks right up there as being one of the best I've seen.

This is a series of 68 extraordinarily detailed pencil sketches depicting the force and the power of nature, plus some of her earlier portrait work of local celebs and everyday Bostonians tagged on at the end, which I could have done without them because, for me at least, they undercut the majestic feeling I felt throughout the main part of the exhibit.

The focus of the exhibit is Penna's sketches that, while detailed, are not precise renderings; rather, they are the visual representations of how Penna feels for the three main subjects she portrays: ocean waves, birds in flight, and horses. Think abstract expressionism meets the Audubon. This is Penna's own personal world we're seeing, and that's underscored by the personal writings that accompany each work, giving Penna's thoughts and reasoning for and about each image. The personal backstory coupled with the images give not only a powerful visual experience but also critical insight into the creative process of the artist.

Here is a video of Penna explaining her work and the exhibit. You'll get a good idea of the exhibit from this. You'll be able to view Channing Penna's work at the BPL until November 30.

Today's Libra

From my horoscope on Facebook today, which as I've pointed out time and time again, doesn't mean squat...it's just a quick way to get something rattling around in my head.

Perhaps it's time to consider putting into effect the methods that you'd rather not use. You need some time alone but do not become too introverted. It is still necessary for you to interact with the outside world. Approach a long time project with a new angle if you want to get it done right.

Yes, I do need time alone, or rather, I need to get away. Just the other day I stood in the shower and realized after a couple of months it was great to stand there in the morning and not rehearse monologues. (Now all I have to do is memorize lines!)

But life is wearing on me. I haven't been away since last September when we went to Utah for a week, and that was the first time I got away in a couple of years. You don't notice it affecting you until you get away, but right now, nothing more than a spot next to the ocean with a chair and a book and a beer for a couple of weeks would be just grand. Just grand.

But I would never, never resort to methods "I'd rather not use." What are we talking about here?--invading Iraq?

We all end up on the same place, ultimately. What makes all the difference in the world is how we get there. And I intend to hold my ground and be that person I want to be. I don't always succeed. I guess truth be told most days I don't succeed. But I'm not going to do something just because everyone else is doing it.

Today's Libra

My horoscope today on Facebook...

Again, this is the horoscope for the six jillion Libras on Facebook, so yeah, this is so me...it's more a departure point for me to blather on on this blog...

John, Keep your intentions out in the open where everyone else can get a good look at them. Where you once merely reacted, you are now in a position of control. Do not compromise and you will win the respect of others. Have faith that you have done the right thing in the past.

If I've learned anything in the past few years, is just keep focused on my own values and wishes. It's my life, and I can do whatever I want. I don't have to explain what I'm doing or how I feel, which is something I used to do all the time, trying to get my friends and people around me to understand me. It was so important to me that I was understood and liked. (Well, I am a Libra; we do like to be liked.) But that's all changed now. If you don't like me, well, get in line, because there are a helluva lot of people in front of you. I think that happens after you've lived a certain amount of years. You can't please everyone all the time, and after a while it just gets darn tiring.

And just throw everything out there for all to see. People are going to judge and criticize anyway, there's no changing that so don't hide it. I can't change how someone feels about me or what they think of me. You can for the short-term, but for the most part people are who they are and are going to judge and think and feel based on their own experience, and nothing you can do or say can change any of that.

And I do have faith in what I've done in the past. I've never wavered from that. I don't live my life frivolously, and I've never concertedly done something that I thought was wrong. I'm not like that. Not like that at all. You can thank the nuns for that one. They taught us (taught us?--hell they beat it into our heads) that you can even break one of the Commandments if you think, deep in your heart, that it's the right thing to do. Baxter told me there's even a name for that. He would know. Of course, I've forgotten what that word is.

Today's Libra

John,
Buoyant with confidence, you embrace the moment even as you throw yourself into the uncertain future. Everything you do today will be part of a learning curve. Accept it for what it is and keep from letting it bring you down. Consider finding a new territory if you want to make a fresh start.


Uncertainty? I'll take it. It makes life interesting...

Today's horrorscope

Here's my horoscope today on Facebook. It's not that I take stock in this stuff. I actually really believe in real astrology. I mean, peeps, how can one randomly generated horoscope be right for the gazillions of Libras. But it's still nice to get something that's a bit optimistic. I bit of flotsam to hang onto in the big sea of despair.

Coincidentally I'm having lunch today with an friend who is an astrologer, and I'm sure astrology will be a big topic.

Anyway, here it is for today:

Social and technological change is at work in your life in a big way now. New ways of making money are becoming apparent to you now. It is time to get your financial situation more stable. An unusual job opportunity may be the answer you have been looking for.

Copley Square or BPL...you decide

They're at it again. The brass at the Boston Public Library are lobbying to get the name of the T stop there changed from Copley to Boston Public Library or Copley/BPL or some such malarkey. This is promotional hooey at its worst, in the same family with the idiotic, unmemorable corporate names sports stadiums are given around the country.

Citing other stops like Symphony, MFA, and Aquarium, Bernard Margolies, the library systems' president, was quoted in the press as saying that you can see all the important institutions in a listing for T stops. The Aquarium's an important institution? Well, I guess it is if you're a penguin.

Listen, those stops are named that way because tourists go there. Sorry, (and I love the BPL) but tourists don't go to the library. Given the BPL's argument, it would make just as much sense to name the stop, Trinity Church. Or isn't that a prominent enough institution, you arrogant bunch of intellectuals?

And think about the cost of updating maps and signs and schedules and everything connected to a name change. That would be money better spent on improving the T's service. Library officials have told the MBTA they would be happy with a name change, and for the MBTA to change the maps and info later. Oh, there's a really good suggestion from the keepers of facts and truth in our society. So the name of the stop is BPL, but on the map it says Copley? Great, just what we need around here: more lost tourists.