Category: Create

Shogun Night

We’re slowly making our way through Shogun (2024). Tonight we watched episode 7 (of 10) with Dwight fast-forwarding through the commercials. I appreciate the show’s high production values, how it sheds light on events leading to Japan’s Edo period (in fictionalized form), and how it resists the white savior trope.

Perspective

Bill Charlap Trio at the Dakota this evening. American Songbook, Gershwin, Sondheim, … . Perspective for earlier in the day when the focus was on being randomized into a clinical study.

Sunday Afternoon Concert

This afternoon, a relaxed chamber music concert highlighting members of the Minnesota Orchestra in smaller ensembles. The program was a mix of old and new, with a modern socially conscious American piece by Kevin Puts, Credo (new to us), sandwiched between works by Rossini and Brahms.

Kilohana (Best, Excellent)

Hula, a tradition that tells stories passed down for generations, was banned in the 19th century by missionaries who dismissed Hawaiian culture as heathen. Today, we watched Hawaiian hula performers who had participated in an annual international festival of performers from across Polynesia.

Butler’s Blues

Jonathan Butler, the world-class South African performer, was the artist. However, the sound quality was poor, so we left because sunk cost is a poor reason to stay. A relaxed nightcap on our balcony wound down a good day.

Multiple Viewpoints

Took in a lovely Hockney exhibition at the Honolulu Museum of Art, filled with the artist’s humanity. Bonus: Hokusai prints from his final (1839) series, One Hundred Poems Told by the Nurse, a small sample from James Michener’s gift of thousands of significant Japanese prints.

Echos of the Alhambra

Visited Shangri-La, the former home of tobacco heiress Doris Duke, which is now a museum showcasing rare and beautiful Islamic art and architecture. At times I was transported to the grandeur of the Alhambra. Tickets go fast, so I booked this visit the day tickets became available a few weeks ago.

Unwinding the Mystery of Strandbeests

Dutch kinetic sculpture artist Theo Jansen’s wind-powered strandbeests are the inspiration for my next LEGO project. From 1990 onwards, he has taken these strand (Dutch for beach) creatures through twelve periods of evolution. Inspired, I want to build thematically similar creatures using LEGO.

Pillsbury A Mill: Supporting Creativity

Walked down the alley behind the former Pillsbury A Mill. Completed in 1881, it was once the largest flour mill in the world. The reinforcements visible on the right were added to address the vibrations from the milling machines, which threatened to shake the structure apart. Today, the building has been transformed into a community of residential artists’ lofts.