And Now For Something Different

This artist won the 'Ukraine's Got Talent' show (who knew such a thing existed?) with this sand painting. I've never seen anything quite like it.




Telegraph (uk): Sand artist Kseniya Simonova, winner of Ukraine's Got Talent, becomes internet hit

My Favorite Marathoners

I've seen many elite runners in the Boston Marathon, from Joan Benoit Samuelson to Johnny Kelley, but the greatest and most inspirational marathoners I've ever seen are the Hoyts. They'll be back in the race tomorrow & my friend Nancy and I will make our annual pilgrimage to watch. I remember watching them run the first year, when Dick was much younger and Rick was still at Boston University; now Dick is 68 and his wheelchair-bound son Rick is 47.The Boston Globe has two video clips on the father-son team.

Hidden Gems

Davis Museum, Wellesley.
That's the title of an article in today's Boston Sunday Globe with a review of some of the small undiscovered museums in this area. I particularly like the Davis Museum at Wellesley College which has a lot of contemporary art in a large, light-filled space, as well as the more expected collections of older art.

Boston Globe: Hidden Gems

Here are links to the museums mentioned in the article:

Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester

Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton (Admission is free until 2/25/09 due to installation of next exhibit)

Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown

Tufts University Art Gallery, Medford

Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton

Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley

Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham

Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover

Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester

Whatever Happened To....Jason McElwain?

Remember Jason McElwain, the autistic kid who hit 6 three-pointers the only time he ever played in a high school basketball game? McElwain made an appearance at a local high school yesterday. He wrote a book, and the Southborough 7th and 8th grade basketball teams read it. The coach invited him to the school's annual Student-Faculty game. The local paper has an article and a video.

Metrowest News: J-Mac thrills Southborough crowd

[Jason] McElwain, who works at a Wegmans grocery store during the day and is the program assistant for the junior varsity basketball team in Greece, said he dreams of becoming a head high school coach some day and to continue creating autism awareness.

"I hope more people will have a greater awareness about autism and disabilities," he said.

Daily Inspiration

BBC: A woman admires a New Zealand Maori Tekoteko, or house gable apex figure, at an exhibition in Sydney, Australia.

Daily Inspiration

I believe this little guy is the ancestor of Alfred E. Neuman:

Life: Pre Columbian Art
Photographer: Andreas Feininger

Compare and contrast:

Daily Inspiration

Telegraph (uk): Balloon twisting sculptures by Jason Hackenwerth

Daily Inspiration

yahoo: A visitor passes by Vitaly Pushnitsky's sculpture 'Son' displayed at an exhibition during an independent national Russian award in contemporary art Kandinsky Prize at the Central House of Artists in Moscow, November 6, 2008.
(Denis Sinyakov/Reuters)

Meet Charles Alexander

Inspiring story of an 86-year-old Obama volunteer getting to meet the man.

dailykos: Charles Meets Barack

We Love Lists

Ancient Americas: Colossal stone head, La Venta archaeological site, Mexico (1st millennium BC)
Photograph: Danny Lehman/Corbis

Guardian (uk): 1000 artworks to see before you die

Photo Gallery: 21 artworks from Volume One

Obama Inspires

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Slideshow, Barack Obama at "Change We Need" Rally in Richmond, Virginia, October 22, 2008

Obama: "We All Love This Country"

Obama is the anti-McCain. Anti-hate, anti-small thinking, anti-hopelessness. This clip from his speech in Richmond, Virginia today is inspiring.

At a defining moment like this, we don't have the luxury of relying on the same political games, the same political tactics, that we've become accustomed to. This slash-and-burn politics that divides us from one another... which the challenges and crises we face right now, we can't afford to divide this country. By race, by class, by region, by who we are, by what policies we support. Let me tell you something, because I know you've been hearing a lot of stuff lately. There are no real parts of the country and fake parts of the country. There are no pro-America parts of the country and anti-America parts of the country. We all love this country. No matter where we live. Or where we come from.

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I'm asking you to believe. Believe in yourselves, believe in each other, believe in the future we can build together.