Here in Chicago, we're lucky to have a wealth of world class museums to visit. Several of them, including the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium, are clustered in a group next to Soldier Field known as the "Museum Campus". As a student, I made numerous trips in from the western suburbs to visit each of them years before I could appreciate what local treasures they are. Fortunately, I'm part of the Chicago Urban Sketchers, a group open to artists of all backgrounds and training, who are interested in sketching in a live environment, and our regular sketching meetup this month took us to the wonderous Field Museum of Natural History. Here are some of the sketches from that trip: This one is of a Peregrine Falcon, which has recently been upgraded from "endangered" to "threatened", thanks to the efforts of wildlife conservationists. This is a sketch of a Black Hat Dancer's costume worn by Buddhist monks in the ritual of the Cham dance, which is considered a form of meditation and an offering to the gods. This is the Field Museum's most famous resident, Sue, sketched during an earlier visit. She was acquired in 1997 and is, to date, the largest, most complete, and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered. Here's a sketch of a pair of fighting African elephants who, along with Sue the T-Rex, are featured prominantly in the main hallway of the museum. These elephants are one of the first specimens displayed by the Field Museum in 1909. Here's a fun video about the people & taxidermy involved in bringing the pair to life. And finally, here are a few more miscellaneous sketches of various exhibits throughout the museum.
The Wind is Coming: Trump's House of Cards
“Democracy is so overrated.” -Frank Underwood , House of Cards (Season 2, Episode 2)
In a recent New York Times interview with Donald Trump, the subject turned to energy policy, specifically alternative energy solutions. In typical Trump fashion, his response was meandering and full of vagaries. When pressed on a meeting he had with Brexit leaders regarding windmills and how they might detract from the views on his Scottish golf course, he came up with the memorable line, "The wind is a very deceiving thing." From there he rambled on about how windmills are made in Germany and Japan out of massive amounts of steel that "goes into the atmosphere"(?) and "kill all the birds".
This is a man to whom we're entrusting the future of our country and in many ways the world. His decisions will no doubt effect every one of us, whether we live in the US or not, for the next 4-8 years and likely much longer, especially in terms of the environment and Supreme Court appointments. For those who haven't read the interview and still say we should give the man a chance as we have all previous Presidents, I challenge you to read the interview in its entirety and NOT conclude that Donald Trump is mentally unbalanced and has absolutely no business anywhere near the Oval Office.
Already his cabinet nominees read like a who's who of corruption, many of whom have expressed opposition and even taken legal action AGAINST the departments they'll be heading . It's amazing that the numerous charges of sexual harassment against him and his admitted sexual assault, disturbing as they are, are not even the most worrying of his corruption. Neither are his countless business conflicts of interest, which he's done nothing to eliminate and stands to profit from BIGLY.
Now Trump and his cronies' well documented ties to Russia are finally coming to light, conveniently AFTER the election. Whether Trump himself was unaware of the Russian hacking of the DNC emails, he now seems indifferent and even resistant to uncovering the truth. And now, he's continuing his crusade to discredit all major media outlets and specific reporters who aren't firmly onboard the Trump train.
In three days, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, an event considered unthinkable and I even took part in lampooning just a year ago. And just as surely, some day, either before his term is up or after, the full extent of his corruption will be exposed and his house of cards will come tumbling down.
2016 review: One bright nugget
OK, so we've had better years when looking at the total picture. Beloved celebrity deaths, war, division, contentious elections, etc., etc. But, at least for Chicagoans and even many non-Chicagoans who have never been to Wrigley Field, the 2016 World Series provided a much needed sense of hope & joy. The Cubs are supposed to be as good or better in 2017, but it's hard to imagine the magic and drama of this year's World Series can ever be repeated.
May 2017 bring hope, heath, and much happiness to all of us. Best of luck in the New Year!
Summer's End: Farewell Cicadas & Walnuts
Fall has definitely arrived to the Chicago area, and with it the end to the summer's familiar ambient buzzing sound coming from the native cicada. This year's brood was the annual cicada, which according to Wkipedia, are also known as the dogday cicada or harvestfly, though I've never heard them called either. I've taken some artistic license and depicted the orange eyed and wing tipped 17 year cicada (aka. the periodical cicada) who, according to the "Chicago Botanic Garden website", aren't expected to emerge until 2024.
As for the walnuts; our next door neighbor’s grand & glorious walnut tree has branches which extend over our fence, towering far above our driveway. Throughout the later summer months, the sound of squirrels cracking open the hard shells can be head clearly and constantly across the back yard. The falling nuts striking the metal garbage can lids from 20-30 feet act as a warning gong for anyone passing beneath. They're fairly substantial and a direct hit on the head could lead to hospitalization or, at the least, a nasty bump.
Like cicadas emergences, walnut tree production can vary greatly from year to year, and may be on an “alternate bearing” schedule, producing nuts one year and reserving their resources the next. As it happens, this was a very bountiful year for our neighbor’s walnut tree, with a sea of green, nearly lime-sized walnuts dotting the rear part of our driveway. Later, those that remain after the squirrels have had their fill take on the familiar wrinkled, brown look of dried walnut shells. As a bonus, I’ve discovered that disabling the electric eye on the garage door results in a powerful nutcracker.
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Trump & Putin: Really Into Each Other
"I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma." -Winston Churchill, 1939
What to make of Donald Trump's relationship (or lack thereof) with Vladimir Putin?
A sampling of Trump's contradictory quotes only makes things murkier:
Donald Trump last week: “I never met Putin. I don’t know who Putin is.”
Donald Trump in 2013: "I was in Moscow recently and I spoke, indirectly and directly, with President Putin, who could not have been nicer, and we had a tremendous success.” Donald Trump in 2015: “I got to know (Putin) very well.”
Donald Trump yesterday: “Just so you understand, he said very nice things about me. But I have no relationship with him. I don’t...I’ve never met him. I wouldn’t know him from Adam except I see his picture, and I would know what he looks like.” And Donald Trump is (just barely) seen as the more "trustworthy" candidate.