10.26.2008

# Art # Paintings

Home Sweet Home and I've Been Tagged


B and I arrived home from England a few days earlier than planned and I must say it feels great to be home. We had a fantastic time while there and I want to thank everyone for your well wishes while I was away!

Now, on to more important business... I have been tagged by the lovely Jenavira at Scent of Abricots. I also got an honorable mention from my favorite blogger to make me smile, Scentscelf over at Notes from the Ledge, so here I go!

When tagged, one must:

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write six random things about yourself
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

For my six random things…

1.My favorite poet of all time is Dorothy Parker. Her reputation as the wittiest woman in America was well deserved- her poetry was always delivered with a sharp edge of satirical humor. Here’s one of my favorites:

The Flaw in Paganism
Drink and dance and laugh and lie,
Love the reeling midnight through,
For tomorrow we shall die!
(But, alas, we never do.)

2. My favorite living painter is David Stoupakis. His paintings are very haunting- gothic, yet modern. Every time I look at them, I can’t help but be affected by them for hours or even days to come. My favorite painting of his is “The Day the Frogs Rain Down” (above).

3. If I were able to invite any three people in the world to a dinner party (I love fantasizing about these things), I would ask Tim Gunn, Oprah Winfrey and Alexander McCall Smith- partly because they would make for fantastic conversation and company, but also because they are each connoisseurs in their own right:

I love Tim Gunn (as a lot of you know). To me, he is the ultimate connoisseur of quality, taste and style.

Oprah Winfrey, because she is responsible for introducing me- via her talk show and her XM radio “Soul Series”- to many of the spiritual concepts I have incorporated into my life.

And Alexander McCall Smith- one of my favorite authors of all time. His No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series warms my heart and provides an excitement in me that I haven’t felt since I was a child. I also love his 44 Scotland Street series.


4. My favorite cuisine is French, swiftly followed by Japanese…

5. I try to meditate every day… “try” being the operative word. Sometimes I sit in my meditation corner and do nothing but think about my “to do” lists, and sometimes I am really able to just be still and send my hectic thoughts away…

6. I’m currently writing my first novel… a mystery.

Now, as I am at the tail end of this tag party… most of my favorite blogs have already been tagged (please see “my blog list”, right) so I am listing only three below…

Rose at A Rose Beyond the Thames- This is a fabulous blog about life in London…

Lauren Elkin at Maitress- I love this blog about literature and culture in Paris, the city of light…

Marjorie at My Inner French Girl- I am new to this blog and am loving it so far...



Image of “The Day the Frogs Rain Down” courtesy of: http://www.phantasmaphile.com

19 comments:

ScentScelf said...

Hey, you're home! Welcome back.

I love that graphic. And I am glad that Jenavira tagged you, so that I got to read your "six things" and learn that much more about you.

I think I'll set me up with a suitable Parker cocktail, learn a bit more about this artist you have introduced me to, and appreciate all the writers who bring a smile to my face or thought to my day.

Here's to you! :)

CashmereLibrarian said...

I just found your blog and I love it. I used to live in Santa Monica and I miss it so much!

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Thank you Scentscelf! Yes, the David Stoupakis graphic is haunting... He had a showing in Los Angeles a couple of years ago and this was for sale (very expensive)- we wanted it so badly but couldn't justify spending the money... and the next day it was sold :(

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Cashmere Librarian- Thanks for your kind comment and welcome to my blog! Santa Monica is such a lovely place to live- I feel really grateful to be here.

I've checked out your blog as well and it looks wonderful and right up my alley... you've been linked!

vicki archer said...

Thank you for stopping by French Essence - I am so happy you did and I look forward to lots of Daily Connoisseur, myself xv.

Divina said...

Welcome back!! *hugs* All of the tag posts I read were interesting and fun, but yours will be the most memorable for me because almost every point made me think. I was not aware of David Stoupakis and I am very grateful for the introduction - now I am gonna go looking for images of his work, cause the one you chose to accompany this post is so interesting, precariously balancing between what is modern and what is classic as well as being so interesting and provoking. I love it! Thank you, dearest.

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Hi Vicky- I'm loving French Essence! Thanks for the kind comment...

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Thanks Divina- That is so kind... If you are interested in seeing more of David Stoupakis' work, you can visit: www.davidstoupakis.com

He has galleries of all of his past collections up. Some paintings are kind of disturbing but they always make you think! My favorite is the one on this posting and another one called "balance" where a woman is balancing tea cups during a tornado lol!

Thanks for your kind words... xo!

Unknown said...

Daily you are so well read and I love the surprise I knowing that you are writing a mystery.

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Thanks Jenavira- I love reading and when I find an author I like I must not stop until I've read everything they've written lol!

Josephine Tale Peddler said...

Hello
I found your lovely Blog through Vicki's mention on her French blog I adore that image! It reminds me a little of the works of Remedios Varo with its quirky sense of humour. I also love mysteries. I do write crime and mystery as well. Good luck with your writing. I'll come back to visit you! x

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Primrose- Thank you so much for your comment and welcome to the blog! It's great to meet a fellow mystery writer- I would love to hear more about your books- I am always looking for new authors to read...

Rose said...

Hi Daly, I have filled in my questionnaire now. Thanks again for tagging me- hope you find my answers interesting.

It's so exciting that you're writing a book- it's one of my ambitions. Great that it's a mystery too, you know how I like Agatha Christie!

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Hi Rose- yes, it's been one of my life's ambitions as well to write a mystery... ever since I read my first Nancy Drew book (and, of course, Agatha Christie :)

Here, There, Elsewhere... and more said...

This is a fun meme - I love D Parker too!
No idea how I ended up here; I'm glad I did though - I'll be back for more (+ we all love a good mystery..!) - thanks for sharing..:)

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Here and There- Thanks for commenting and welcome to my blog! Glad to see another Dorothy Parker fan... I don't come across those too often!

I've just taken a look at your blog and it looks great- very poetic... am glad to have found yours too!

Josephine Tale Peddler said...

Hello
I'm not published in the US but I've had six books published in the speculative fiction genre. I've also written several crime pieces for anthologies and I am also writing a mystery as well. If I ever get published in the US (a hard market to crack) then I will let you know! I love mysteries - I'm a big fan of all English mysteries and crime. Wishing you all luck with your novel. x

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Primrose- That is so impressive- I really admire your drive. Best of luck with your mystery too.. you must let me know when it is published in the US (because I'm sure it will be!) xo

Here, There, Elsewhere... and more said...

I know Christmas is a long way off; but, I just couldn't wait...

I'm in the midst of gift-wrapping an early, early Christmas present for all my delightful favourite bloggers - it'll be ready this evening if you'd like to pop by my blog and pick it up..:)