GimletBlog

With a ten-year gap between kids, it can be a challenge to think of something new to do that both can enjoy. Thing One needed to visit an art museum to finish up a scout merit badge, so earlier this week Bestemor suggested we make a trip to the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) in Volunteer Park.

Volunteer Park is an Olmsted-designed park, named for volunteers in the Spanish-American War and completed in 1912. The art museum, a striking Art Deco building, was built in 1933. It used to be the main SAM until the downtown museum was built. Now the Volunteer Park location displays collections from China, India, Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries.

Thing One studied Asia in last year’s social studies class, so he had some idea of what he was about to see. The museum’s small size and mid-week lack of crowds made it a good choice for Thing Two, since we were unsure how long he would put up with a place where he couldn’t run around and touch the pretty, shiny objects. We decided to confine Thing Two to his stroller; as long as he was moving, he wouldn’t complain and would be less inclined to grab. Our group split in two: Bestemor took Thing One around the exhibits and talked to him about the art, while I took Thing Two on a long, roundabout stroller ride through the museum, not stopping too long or looking too closely at any one display.

One gallery showcases a fascinating exhibit of intricate mulberry-paper stencils, should any locals care to check it out. If you can’t get to the museum (or if lingering is not an option, as was my situation), take a closer look at the stencils from the Bowdoin College Museum of Art exhibit.

The Volunteer Park outdoor sculptures are always a big hit with kids; almost every Seattle native of a certain age has memories of climbing on the giant stone Ming Dynasty camels who stand guard in front of the art museum. The original camels have been moved to the downtown museum and are now off-limits, but SAAM’s concrete replicas sport plaques encouraging children to play on them. The fountains on either end of the museum’s front also invite little hands to splash and cool off.

If the kids can tear themselves away from these attractions and turn around, across from the museum stands Black Sun by Isamu Noguchi. This black Brazilian granite sculpture, created in 1969, measures 108″ in diameter. We have always called it “the donut” for (hopefully) obvious reasons. From certain angles one can see the Space Needle through the center.

Thing Two loved riding the camels, playing in the fountains, and checking out the donut, but then it started to rain and he didn’t like being rushed off to the car. Nevertheless, we thought we’d try visiting the conservatory before going home. The Volunteer Park Conservatory was built in 1912 and was modeled on London’s Crystal Palace. The five houses showcase bromeliads, cacti, palms, ferns, and a seasonal display. The conservatory is also home to an Amorphophallus titanum (corpse flower). Thing Two was fascinated by the plants, flowers, and the pipes and valves which keep the conservatory watered. He stayed close to Mommy, keeping his hands to himself, for about five seconds. Again, Bestemor and Thing One had a very nice time together looking at all the plants, and waved through the glass as we waited outside, Thing Two struggling to run either through the flower beds or out into traffic.

Even with a toddler meltdown at the end, it was a fun morning. Visit the new GimletGallery album to see all the photos. SAAM is a nice little choice for introducing older kids to art museums, and the outdoor attractions keep their toddler siblings busy and happy. The conservatory has been around for a long time, and will no doubt still be there when Thing Two is ready for it. And as always, grandmas have great ideas!

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A delightful post by Ardis Parshall on the Times & Seasons blog chronicles the literary and dramatic phenomenon of Corianton. Today he’s best known as a minor Book of Mormon character, but in the late 19^th century his brief mention in scripture inspired two novels. When these novels came to the attention of Orestes Utah Bean, a thespian with more self-confidence than ability, the result was, in the words of one critic:

“He thought it might have been an Elks Club initiation, he said, but the Elks denied this, saying that [they] would not require anything so rough.”

The saga of Corianton is a funny and sad reminder that some things never seem to change, particularly as regards LDS cinema. Nevertheless:

Its intrinsic merits may be such that it deserves to lie in obscurity. However, “Corianton” deserves an honored place in our history as the first popular Mormon stageplay, the first Mormon dramatic work presented to a curious if unimpressed non-Mormon world, and the first commercial Mormon movie.

Agreed! Luckily, BYU’s Special Collections has found a copy of the 1931 film, Corianton: A Story of Unholy Love, and digital restoration is underway. I’m looking forward to watching the finished product (and becoming acquainted with Bunny Welden’s Greenwich Village Dancers) .

ETA: I love on-line used book stores! A copy of the playbook, Corianton, an Aztec Romance. A Romantic Spectacular Drama in Four Acts, is on its way. Even the title needs editing. This promises to be fun.

Understandably, “Thing” is a loaded term at GimletBlog, so first we must state that there is no Thing Three on the way. (Thing Two is very relieved.) Today we’re introducing LibraryThing to the blog sidebar! As per their web site description, LibraryThing helps bibliophiles create an on-line catalog of their books. Users can meet and connect with like-minded collectors; read, write, and share reviews; receive reading recommendations, and more.

Click on a book cover to see its Amazon.com page. A random set of book covers from the GimletLibrary is generated each time you visit the blog (or refresh your web browser). Click on the words “my library” to browse through the our library, and scroll waaaay down the sidebar to the pink LibraryThing button to view Team Gimlet’s LibraryThing profile.

Thanks to Linda for introducing us to LibraryThing, and we hope to see you (and your books) there!

This year’s JASNA Annual General Meeting will take place early October in Vancouver, British Columbia. The theme is “Discovering Emma in Vancouver.” See JASNA’s web site for registration information, a list of lectures and tours, and more. British Columbia is one of Team Gimlet’s favorite (and easily accessible) getaways: our touristy plans include Granville Island, the UBC Museum of Anthropology, and at least one lunch at Mr. Pickwick’s. This will be my first JASNA AGM: with true newbie enthusiasm, the daily programs look very interesting and enough to stay busy. I’m also eager to meet other Janeites. New York City proved to be a large enough town to handle a pair of rabid Northanger Abbey fans, but will Vancouver be up to the challenge? (more…)

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Today most of the 6^th grade went on a school field trip to the Port of Seattle. First, we went to the Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center, near the cruise ship docks. I saw a plastic salmon statue, a Lego model of a cruise ship, and a model dam. There was more stuff at the museum but I didn’t see it because I was more interested in playing with the model dam, and some other students on the field trip were, too.

The model had a mountain where water came out, and there was a dam with square holes in it which could be opened and closed. There were 2 canals: one had blocks blocking the water, which you could take off and on. There were plastic stone edges and plastic stone islands, and orange and blue blocks to take on and off between joints below the dam to make floodgates. Then, there was a drain which took the water in (and probably took the water back up to the mountain) and a little dock, with toy boats mostly at that end, and also toy dolphins and sharks, a toy turtle and a rubber ducky with snorkeling goggles. We put up the floodgates and walls in the dam and closed the dam and put some of the boats and sea animals in the canals closed off, also from the dam’s water and then, let open the holes in the dams which made a big wave. The boats in the canals toppled over and the rubber ducky always fell off the boat he was on. We were at the museum for 25 minutes (I didn’t want to leave the museum).

Next, we went on an Argosy boat in which we toured around the Port of Seattle. After the harbor cruise we had lunch outdoors near the Seattle Aquarium and then went to the Port of Seattle Headquarters. We got to see a presentation about importing and exporting and “baby pictures” of the Port of Seattle and what they use to lift containers on train cars to take them across the United States. The presenter also gave us an interesting fact: the car garage in Sea-Tac airport is the biggest car garage under one roof in North America. Did you know that? After the presentation, we went back to school but we didn’t have to go to class because it was almost the end of school, and then we went home when school was over.

I think my cousins would enjoy the Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center, especially the Water At Work exhibit (the model dam). The museum’s web page has some games to play at home!

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On the Saturday night before Christmas, Gimletblog HQ received a special guest. Santa has paid us an early house call ever since Thing One’s first Christmas. Thing One has always been okay with the jolly old elf, and we wondered if Thing Two’s fondness for soft things (i.e. Santa’s suit) would win out over his stranger anxiety (i.e. Santa), but in the end he reacted pretty much as we thought he would (i.e. he howled). The rest of us had fun, and Thing Two recovered his good spirits once Santa made his departure. Santa has long been a friend of our family and we look forward to his visit every year. The Christmas album in the gallery has several more photos.

For our family Christmas Eve party both boys wore traditional Norwegian festdrakter (everyday or “fantasy” costumes often worn by children, different from a region-specific bunad), and they looked very dashing if I do say so myself. Earlier in the year Thing Two had received a handmade festdrakt from one of Grandma’s cousins in Norway and we were able to find and purchase a costume for Thing One. I was able to wear a family bunad for Christmas when I was Thing One’s age so it was fun to see our boys all dressed up.

See the Husfliden web site (click the English Version link on the far right) for pictures of over eighty different bunads from all over Norway, and the jewelry and other ornaments worn with them. The West Telemark bunad I wore didn’t look exactly like the one pictured on Husfliden’s web site, but it was very close — perhaps a little girl’s costume is different from the grownup version.

We hope you and your families have had a joyous season, celebrating your own special holiday traditions, and wish you the best in the coming year!

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Today’s local paper features a photo essay by Erika Schultz of holiday images around the city. How could I have lived here this long without knowing that the Ivar’s dancing clams were available for seasonal photo ops?

Ivar’s, the institution responsible for this silliness, is one of those old-school Seattle experiences. We usually finish our trips to the aquarium with a walk up to Pier 54 for some chowder and fish and chips (Thing One and any visiting cousins love to feed the seagulls). In our experience, the Salmon House has been a fun place to take our tourists (try to get a table with a view of the lake and downtown). It’s also a good “first restaurant” for kids who are ready to graduate from takeout — it can be a little noisier than other places and Ivar’s doesn’t take itself too seriously; after all, they have a reputation to uphold.

Amidst the other traditions of the season, a trip to the waterfront is definitely in order. Thing Two versus a giant clam? You know you want to see it.

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In this part of the world, Halloween is usually the week of our first frost, so the Things wear the warmest costumes we can find. Team Gimlet attends the annual Trunk or Treat in the church parking lot, where the adults guzzle hot cider to stay warm while the kids run from car to car (some elaborately decorated, some not), collecting about one ton of candy each (You think I’m exaggerating?). The Trunk or Treat is always a fun way to socialize, catch up with old friends and contract hypothermia at the same time.

Thing One usually requests a homemade costume (once he wanted to be Spaceman Spiff; another year, StrongBad) but this time he wanted to use a previous year’s knight costume, perhaps in homage to the computer game he plays with his uncles. Thing Two was a frog, in heavily insulated polar fleece. Stranger anxiety is always an issue with Thing Two, and the strangers were especially strange Halloween night, so he spent the evening on the verge of tears. Truly it’s not easy being green.

After the Trunk or Treat, we put Thing Two to bed and let Thing One stay up a little later than usual to watch F.W. Murnau’s classic film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922). This unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula is justifiably praised for its use of imagery and unique portrayal of the vampire, Count Orlok. Werner Herzog’s very faithful 1979 remake is also one of my favorite films. Thing One was very interested in the special effects Murnau used to make the Count seem otherworldly.

Several editions are available; ours is distributed by Image Entertainment and features color tinting (blue for night scenes, sepia for day), a choice of two scores (organ or the eclectic Silent Orchestra), and a fascinating collection of production images and commentary by Lokke Heiss. A quick search turned up countless reviews and commentaries, and these two, by Jerry Saravia and the Silents are Golden web site respectively, are worth perusing.

Last, to finish off the holiday evening, I received a little treat in my email.

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