Friday, April 24, 2009

Jean Fragonard The Bathers

Jean Fragonard The BathersThomas Gainsborough Mrs SheridanSandro Botticelli Venus and MarsJean Beraud La Rue de la Paix
good,” said the Bursar, beaming happily at nothing.
“Why’s he gone so stiff?” said Magrat.
“We think it’s some kind of side effect,” said Ponder.
“Can’t you do anything about it?”
“What, and have nothing to cross streams on?” “Call again tomorrow, baker, and we’ll have a crusty one!” said the Bursar.robe and began to screw it up in his fingers. “We all went to see this Entertainment, you see. A play. You know. Acting? And, and it was very funny. There were all these yokels in their big boots and every-thing, straw wigs and everything, clumping around pre-tending to be lords and ladies and everything, and getting it all wrong. It was very funny. The Bursar laughed at them a lot. Mind you, he’s been laughing “Besides, he seems quite happy,” said Ponder. “Are you a warrior, miss?”“What?” said Magrat.“Well, I mean, the armor and everything ...”Magrat looked down. She was still holding the sword. The helmet kept falling over her eyes, but she’d padded it a bit with a scrap of wedding dress.“I... er ... yes. Yes, that’s right. That’s what I am,” she said. “Absolutely. Yes.”“Here for the wedding, I expect. Like us.” “That’s right. Definitely here for the wedding. That’s true.” She changed her grip on the sword. “Now tell me what happened,” she said. “Paying particular attention to what happened to the others.”“Well ...” Ponder absentmindedly picked up a cor-ner of his torn

Thursday, April 23, 2009

John Collier A Devonshire Orchard

John Collier A Devonshire OrchardCao Yong Red UmbrellaCao Yong GARDEN BEAUTIESCao Yong Freedom
with squares of deep shadow.
Magrat ran from It couldn’t have been done from life. In the days of this
queen, the only paint known locally was a sort of blue, and
generally used on the body But a few generations ago King
Lully I had been a bit of a historian and a romantic. He’d
researched what was known of the early days of Lancre, and light to shade, light to shade, down the endless room. Monarch after monarch flashed past, like a speeded-up film. King after king, all whiskers and crowns and beards. Queen after queen, all corsages and stiff bodices and Lappet-faced wowhawks and small dogs and—Some shape, some trick of moonlight, some expression on a painted face somehow cut through her terror and caught her eye.That was a portrait she’d never seen before. She’d never walked down this far. The idiot vapidity of the assembled queens had depressed her. But this one . . .This one, somehow, reached out to her.She stopped.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Paul Klee Park of Idols

Paul Klee Park of IdolsPaul Klee Park bei LuzernPaul Klee On a Motif from Hamamet
Terry Pratehett
the occasional ping and ricochet from distant parts of the room, and a small tinkle as an oil lamp was smashed.
Granny Weatherwax lay on her bed, still and cold. In her blue-veined hands, the words: I ATE’NT DEAD . ..
Her mind drifted across the forest, searching, searching...
The trouble was, she could not go where there were no eyes to see or ears to hear.
So she never noticed the hollow near the stones, where eight men slept.
And dreamed ..., it was wearing a helmet. Admittedly it had been designed for a human head, and was attached to the much larger troll head by string, but there probably wasn’t a better word than “wearing.”
“What’s up?” said the Bursar, waking up.
“There’s a troll on the bridge,” said Ridcully, “but it’sLancre is cut off from the rest of the lands of mankind by a bridge over Lancre Gorge, above the shallow but poisonous-ly fast and treacherous Lancre River.The coach pulled up at the far end.There was a badly painted red, black, and white post across the road.The coachman sounded his hom.“What’s up?” said Ridcully, leaning out of the window.“Troll bridge.”“Whoops.”After a while there was a booming sound under the bridge, and a troll clambered over the parapet. It was quite overdressed, for a troll. In addition to the statutory loin-cloth

Monday, April 20, 2009

Leonardo da Vinci The Virgin and Child With St Anne

Leonardo da Vinci The Virgin and Child With St AnneLeonardo da Vinci Madonna With The CarnationLeonardo da Vinci Madonna with Flower
it, and so it arrives as premonitions, forebodings, intuitions, and hunches. Witches are good at dealing with it, and to suddenly find a blank where these tendrils of the future should be has much the same effect on a witch as emerging from a cloud bank and seeing a team of sherpas looking down on him does on an airline pilot.
She’d got a few days, and then that was it. She’d always expected to have a bit of time to herself, get the garden in order, have a good clean up around the place so that whatever witch took over wouldn’t think she’d been a sloven, pick out a left off:
. . . and to my friend Gytha Ogg I leave my bedde and the rag rugge the smith in Bad Ass made for me, and the matchin jug and basin and wosfname sett she always had her eye on, and my broomstick what will be Right as Rain with a bit of work.
70
LOR06 ft/YO Lft0/£6
To Magrat Garlick I leave the Contentes elsewhere in this box, my silver decent burial plot, and then spend some time sitting out in the rocking chair, doing nothing at all except looking at the trees and thinking about the past. Now ... no chance.And other things were happening. Her memory seemed to be playing up. Perhaps this is what happened. Perhaps you just drained away toward the end, like old Nanny Gripes, who ended up putting the cat on the stove and the kettle out for the night.Granny shut the door behind her and lit a candle.There was a box in the dresser drawer. She opened it on the kitchen table and took out the carefully folded piece of paper. There was a pen and ink in there, too.After some thought, she picked up where she had

Friday, April 17, 2009

Mark Spain Reflection

Mark Spain ReflectionMark Spain Pure EleganceMark Spain Only You
fact he'd packed his broom and his bonsai mountains and had gone by secret tunnels and devious means to the hidden valley in the central peaks, where the abbot was waiting for him. The abbot was playing chess in the long gallery that overlooked the valley. Fountains bubbled in the gardens, and swallows flew in and out of the windows.
"All went well.
"Er . . . you know the books say that Brutha died and there was a century of terrible warfare?"
"You know my eyesight isn't what it was, Lu-Tze."
"Well . . . it's not entirely like that now."
"Just so long as it all turns out all right in the end," said the abbot.
"Yes, lord," said the history monk.
"There are a few weeks before your next assignment. Why don't you have a little rest?" said the abbot, without looking up."Very well, lord," said Lu-Tze. "I had to nudge things a little, though.""I wish you wouldn't do that sort of thing," said the abbot, fingering a pawn. "You'll overstep the mark one day.""It's the history we've got these days," said Lu-Tze. "Very shoddy stuff, lord. I have to patch it up all the time-”"Yes, Yes-”"We used to get much better history in the old days.""Things were always better than they are now. It's in the nature of things.""Yes, lord. Lord?"The abbot looked up in mild exasperation

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Frida Kahlo Girl with Death Mask

Frida Kahlo Girl with Death MaskDouglas Hofmann midnight blueJose Royo Primavera
where others have not been, and bring back the truth of it."
-faster than the wind, its whole brain and body existing only as a mist around the sheer intensity of its purpose-
"I did not expect it to be Prophet and the Cenobiarch. He could have me killed just like that. Anything he does is right. Anything he says is true.
Fundamentally true.
"I have something to show you that may amuse you," said Vorbis, standing up. "Can you walk?"
"Oh, yes. Nhumrod was just being kind. It's mainly sunburn."this soon. But Om guided my steps. And now that we have the Cenobiarchy, we shall . . . make use of it."Somewhere out on the hillsides the eagle swooped, picked something up, and strove for height . . ."I'm just a novice, Lord Vorbis. I am not a bishop, even if everyone calls me one.""You will get used to it."It sometimes took a long time for an idea to form in Brutha's mind, but one was forming now. It was something about the way Vorbis was sitting, something about the edge in his voice.Vorbis was afraid of him.Why me? Because of the desert? Who would care? For all I know, it was always like this-probably it was Ossory's ass that carried him in the wilderness, who found the water, who kicked a lion to death.Because of Ephebe? Who would listen? Who would care? He is the

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Thomas Kinkade yankee stadium

Thomas Kinkade yankee stadiumThomas Kinkade ny yankee stadiumJuan Gris Violin and GuitarJuan Gris Violin and GlassJuan Gris Violin and Checkerboard
next to a crop of melons. Melons should have thinner skins. Remember that."
"Find a philosopher?"
"Right. Someone who knows how to think. Someone who can help me stop being a tortoise."
"But . . . Vorbis might want me."
"You're just . Every year they have a special competition, when they do a little redesigning. They vie with one another to see who can make his section even more deadly than the others to the casual wanderer. There's a panel of judges, and a small prize.
The furthest anyone ever got through the labyrinth without a guide was nineteen paces. Well, more or less. His head rolled a further seven paces, but that probably doesn't count.
At each changeover point there is a small chamber without any traps at all. What going for a stroll. No problem. And hurry up. There's other gods in Ephebe. I don't want to meet them right now. Not looking like this."Brutha looked panicky."How do I find a philosopher?" he said."Around here? Throw a brick, I should think." The labyrinth of Ephebe is ancient and full of one hundred and one amazing things you can do with hidden springs, razor-sharp knives, and falling rocks. There isn't just one guide through it. There are six, and each one knows his way through one-sixth of the labyrinth