20:1.20 GIVEAWAY FOLLOW UP

It was so nice of Roxana to send me this photo as a little follow up to January's giveaway. I calligraphed "thank you" on the paper and Roxana followed up with a personal note. Apologies for the radio silence. I've been in Canada for the last few days celebrating the life of Ray Walker with the incredible women he left behind. So grateful for this time to reflect.

24:1.24

I picked up a copy of Blue Heron's most recent album after reading Alex Ross' review. I'm always looking for Baroque classical music to calligraph to (a habit influenced by the persuasive KG). Do you have any suggestions?

Lam Tsueng Wishing Tree

I am spending the day working at UPenn's Fine Arts Library, the glorious Frank Furness building in which I get nothing done because I am too busy gaping at the surrounding beauty. In the lobby there are slips of yellow paper, called bao die, tied to two cardboard trees in celebration of Hong Kong's Lam Tsueng Wishing Tree tradition. On each is written a wish. Pictured above are some of my favorite. The last reads "I want to be an honest man and a good writer," which is about all many of us could wish for.

23:1.23

Gratitude in verse. Thank you to J. for giving us a reliable vehicle after saying goodbye to our dear, beloved, 1986 Saab.

22:1.22

 

And the cinematography:And the contrast-- the softness of the curtain and pink dress and robin's egg blue room with the black leather of her shoes.Have you seen the movie Bright Star? I can't remember the last time a movie made such an aesthetic impression on me.  Amy, may I entice you to please do a "Living In" about this movie? Although the beautiful details are beyond acquisition. When Fanny embroiders the pillowcase with the tree, when she snips her the yellow ribbon on her sister's dress to tie up a care package, when she decides to start keeping butterflies in her bedroom. So, this letter goes to costume and production designer Janet Patterson -- thank you for your boundless talent.

(You can find such envelopes at legal stationery stores. They are intended to keep wills, trusts, etc.)

21:1.21

Thank you to A. & M. for VIP tickets to a recent event. The feeling was not unlike being told that the airline would be upgrading you to first class. And so fun to catch up amid the din of the band.

The Romance of the Postage Stamp, Egypt & Valentines

I've been reading Gustav Schenk's book "The Romance of the Postage Stamp," which Julie kindly gave me. Written in 1959 it is, as the jacket promises, an absorbing history of this paper currency. These two passages came to mind. The first, in light of the events in Egypt:

That a person's communication - in other words, his active contribution to the world, his real and genuine freedom - could travel from London to the Scottish Highlands for only a penny was remarkable enough...; but behind the economy in money and time lay a still greater triumph - the confirmation of the sovereignty of the citizen. It was an unlimited penny freedom for the middle classes, a total victory for liberalism.

And the second, in honor of Valentine's day (within a discussion of the adhesive agents used at the time):

A Frenchman, however, a great epicure, held an entirely different opinion. A love-letter of his from the 1850s has been preserved.: 'The stamp, O love of my life, which you placed on your letter, I swallowed with delight because I knew that you, my angel, had licked it!"

Which reminds me of the story told by author and illustrator Maurice Sendak who received fan mail from a young admirer, replied and, weeks later, got a note back from the boy's mother thanking Sendak for the postcard which her son, so overcome with excitement, ate.

Valentine's Day

This year, for the first time I can remember, I've dropped the Valentine's Day ball. It's my "everyone I love gets a card" holiday (like Christmas, New Year's, etc.) and, save this one, captured for a client in a triangle of mid-afternoon light, time didn't allow. To next year, and to sending love in spirit.