NAMA-Bloch Building- Cited for Beauty

NAMA's Bloch Building - Cited for Beauty

Among the World's Most Beautiful Buildings listed by Travel + Leisure - February 2011, you will find The Bloch Building expansion to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, designed by Steven Holl.

What are the other most beautiful buildings?
Here's a list:

• Sagrada Família, Barcelona
• Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE
• Institute for Sound and Vision, Hilversum, The Netherlands
• Design by Neutelings Riedijk Architecten/Photo by Scagliola Brakkee
• Institute for Sound and Vision, Hilversum, The Netherlands
• The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India
• National Congress Hall, Brasilia, Brazil
• The Guggenheim, Bilbao, Spain
• The Chrysler Building, New York City
• Mont St. Michel, Normandy, France
• ICMC at Brandenburg Technical University, Cottbus, Germany
• Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai, Thailand
• Akron Boys and Girls Club II, Akron, AL

Better yet, see a slide show with a picture of each beautiful building.
http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-most-beautiful-buildings/1

Karrie Jacobs, who wrote Travel + Leisure says, "So are we consistent? Nope. But however capricious our choices may seem, we don’t take beauty lightly. After all, the ongoing search for beauty is what travel is all about. It’s certainly the best reason we know to leave the house." I can't argue with that.

For more about Kansas City's, and NAMA's Bloch Building expansion, go to Travel + Leisure Names Nelson-Atkins' Bloch Building One of World’s Most Beautiful

Bad Boy: An Inspector Banks Novel

Book Review by Reader Maid

My friend Reader Maid based this review on a copy provided by the publisher through an early review program.

Bad Boy: An Inspector Banks Novel - by Peter Robinson

DCI Alan Banks, on leave from the Major Crimes Unit of the Western Area Headquarters in Eastvale, is thoroughly enjoying his visit to the United States, so he isn't there when his former neighbor, Juliet Doyle, arrives at the police station seeking his help over what to do about a gun she has found in her daughter's bedroom. Instead, DI Annie Cabot interviews Mrs. Doyle and that, as they say, makes all the difference.

Jaff McCready, the titular bad boy of this story, is the son of a wealthy Englishman and successful Bollywood actress. He desperately wants to be a player in the organized crime operation headed by "The Farmer," who sees him as a possible to successor to his empire.

Jaff has been dating Erin Doyle, the childhood friend and current roommate of Banks's daughter, Tracy. When Erin catches Jaff kissing Tracy on the dance floor, she decides to get even by stealing a gun from Jaff's apartment--a gun Jaff was instructed by the Farmer to destroy--and hiding it in her old bedroom at her parents' house where she has retreated to lick her wounds.

Once her mother discovers the weapon and reports her daughter to the police, all hell breaks loose beginning with a botched police raid on the Doyle's home. Jaff takes Tracy hostage as he flees both the police and the wrath of The Farmer, who wants the drugs and cash Jaff has taken returned and Jaff silenced. When Banks arrives back from America, he finds the entire police force trying to locate Jaff and Tracy. He must use all his mental and physical resources to try to save his daughter.

Whether or not you have read any previous Inspector Banks novels, you will thoroughly enjoy "Bad Boy," Peter Robinson's latest offering in this popular British crime series. Banks makes a sympathetic if somewhat flawed hero--unlucky in love, sometimes too wrapped up in his job, and not afraid to break a few rules to get results.

Tracy also comes across as real--the "good girl" who wants to be noticed and loved by her father. Although the constant drip of brand names seems a bit too obvious at times, the various music titles and artists mentioned make for a silent but interesting soundtrack to this great read.

A Small Death in the Great Glen: A Novel

Book Review by Reader Maid

My friend Reader Maid likes to read international crime fiction, and I like to read her reviews.

Reader Maid feels international crime authors provide insights and perspectives into their countries yielding societal, cultural, and artistic information that you don't find in a travelogue.

A Small Death in the Great Glen - by A. D. Scott

It's 1950 in the western Highlands of Scotland. Little Jamie Fraser has gone missing on his way home from school and Joanne Ross's daughters, Annie and Wee Jean, were the last ones to see him alive: "We saw him," she [Wee Jean] explained, "me and Annie, we saw this great big black hoodie crow. He opens the door, all of a sudden like, an' he spreads out his wings . . . and he picks up Jamie in his wings and takes him . . . ." When Jamie is later found dead in the canal and the coroner determines the boy was "interfered with" and murdered, Joanne and her coworkers at the local newspaper wonder--Do the girls actaully know something, or is it just their imaginations trying to make sense out of the death of a friend?

"A Small Death in the Great Glen" is Scottish writer A. D. Scott's debut novel in what looks to be a very promising new series centered around a local newspaper in Inverness, Scotland during the 1950s when the scars of World War II were still red and raw. While the plot of the story turns on the murder of the young boy Jamie, the theme revolves around abuse--child abuse; spousal abuse; alcohol abuse; the abuse of power and position, both civic and religious--and the community's silent acceptance that enables such abuse to continue.

The narrative juggles multiple plot threads that are woven into and around the hunt for Jamie's killer. There's Joanne, a part-time typist for the Highland Gazette, a job of which her husband, Bill Ross, greatly disapproves. Their marriage is one of constant mental and physical tension but divorce is not an acceptable option 1950s rural Scotland. Also, there's Joanne's Italian friend, Chiara, whose family has settled in Scotland after fleeing Italy during the war and now owns a successful cafe in town. She's engaged to Peter Kowalski, a Polish imigrant. Then there's the Polish seaman who jumped shipped hoping to find asylum. Not everyone is eager to embrace those from outside their country's borders. And when Jamie is murdered, the natives naturally look to the outsiders for the killer. The seaman makes a very convenient scapegoat for Inspector Thompson who doesn't see the reason for looking any further when the solution is so obvious. Add in the Tinkers, Scotland's roving band of gypsies who aren't anxious to come forward with their knowledge of events, and the Gazette's editor-in-chief, John McAllister, who has his own mystery concerning his brother's suicide to solve, and you have a constantly shifting flow of action and perspective with a meanwhile-back-at-the-ranch quality that keeps you thoroughly engaged.

While there are some abrupt shifts between storylines that can be somewhat jarring, "A Small Death in the Great Glen" is packed with plots, personalities and all the drama of a close-knit community struggling to adjust to a post-war world. Yet the story never loses sight of the central plot and ties off all the seemingly loose threads neatly in the end. I'm very much looking forward to the sequel that is due to be released in the summer of 2011.

Kung Fu Panda 2 - Zoo Naming in Atlanta

The Zoo Naming: The only Giant Panda cub born in North America in 2010 will be named on February 15, 2011, in an extraordinary event unlike any other ever hosted by Zoo Atlanta.  The baby giant panda is the son of Lun Lun and was born on Nov 3, 2010.

Baby Panda born on Nov 3, 2010. Photo courtesy of Zoo Atlanta

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The 100 Day Giant Panda Cub Celebration will feature a surprise appearance by a major international celebrity as well as the following guests: Governor Nathan Deal, Chief of Staff Candice Byrd, Raymond King (President and CEO, Zoo Atlanta), Dr. Hayley Murphy (Director of Veterinary Services, Zoo Atlanta), and Dr. Rebecca Snyder (Curator of Mammals, Zoo Atlanta).

Zoo Atlanta, 800 Cherokee Avenue, S.E., Atlanta, GA 30315

The Dreamworks' Kung Fu Panda 2 Tie-in:

Synopsis:     In “Kung Fu Panda 2,” Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, the Furious Five.  But Po’s new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu.  Po must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.

Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda 2 will be released in theaters nationwide THURSDAY, MAY 26th, 2011, featuring the voice talent of: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong, Gary Oldman, Michelle Yeoh, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Victor Garber

If you can't attend in person:

Sattelite Coordinates:

KU-BAND:                                                               
SATELLITE:  Galaxy 17 KU BAND @ 91 DEGREES WEST
TRANSPONDER: K-24 (twenty-four) SLOT F, DIGITAL 
UL FREQUENCY: 14487.5 HORIZONTAL
DL FREQUENCY: 12187.5 VERTICAL
FEC:  3/4
SYMBOL RATE:  6.1113V

C-BAND TURN:
SATELLITE: GALAXY 28 CBAND @ 89 DEGREES WEST
TRANSPONDER:  C-15 (fifteen) ANALOG
UL FREQUENCY:  6225 HORIZONTAL
DL FREQUENCY:  4000 VERTICAL
AUDIO:  6.2   6.8

*Technical trouble, contact:
  Carolyn Smith 323-533-3051

"Ferment" Coming to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in April

Yesterday's post showed Jason Edward Kaufman embraced by giant shining tree branches on the roof of the Museum of Modern Art. The artwork was "Maelstrom," affectionately called "Roxy on the Roof," and created by internationally acclaimed sculptor Roxy Paine.

In April, 2011 NAMA will be getting its own beautiful silver tree.  Kansas City's 56-foot stainless steel sculpture of a leafless tree will be permanently installed in the Kansas City Sculpture Park at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. "Ferment" was constructed at Paine’s studio in Treadwell, NY and will be transported to the Museum. It will be installed at the site over a period of two weeks. The Museum will record the installation of Ferment in real time, and visual updates will be available at www.nelson-atkins.org.

Roxy Paine, American (b.1966). Drawing for “Ferment,” 2009. India ink on paper, 41 x 33 ¼ inches (104.14 x 84.46 cm). Purchase: acquired in honor of Martin Friedman and his critical role in the development of the Kansas City Sculpture Park through a gift from the Hall Family Foundation, 2010.54.

"Ferment" was commissioned by Martin Friedman, Hall Family Foundation consultant for the Museum’s Sculpture Park for 20 years, and was funded by the foundation.

Read more about "Ferment" at
http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/45857/

Roxy Paine talks about his art at
http://www.jamescohan.com/artists/roxy-paine/video/

Jason Edward Kaufman | In View

This is Jason Edward Kaufman who is concerned about the fate of the Whitney Museum’s longtime home on Madison Avenue. The Whitney plans to open a new flagship in the Meatpacking District in 2015.

Jason Edward Kaufman

Kaufman's latest culture bulletin proposes a re-purposing for the building. He would be delighted if the Whitney's landmark building designed by Marcel Breuer became home for the International Center of Photography (ICP). He also proposed that New York City should help it make a return to Museum Mile.

Whitney Museum-designed by Marcel Breuer-photo by Gryffindor-Wiki Commons

Read Kaufman's article at http://blogs.artinfo.com/inview/

If you would like to receive a gratis subscription to the twice monthly IN VIEW bulletin go to http://jasonkaufman.info to sign up.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Stars Name a Lion Cub at Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Today 20th Century Fox and Walden Media presented a monetary gift to support the National Zoo’s great-cat conservation, research and public education. Actors Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes from the new motion picture Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader joined Zoo Director Dennis Kelly and lion keepers to name one of the Zoo’s seven lion cubs Aslan after the majestic lion in the movie.

“We are grateful to 20th Century Fox and Walden Media for their generosity and proud to name one of our cubs after the character in the beloved books by C.S. Lewis,” Kelly said. “The fictional Aslan is wise, fearless and regal. The real-life Aslan will play a key role in conservation as an ambassador for his species.”

Aslan is one of three lion cubs born Sept. 22 and one of seven cubs born at the Zoo this year. The two litters are the result of years of careful research and observation and the first for the Zoo in more than 20 years. Aslan was born to female lion Nababiep and male lion Luke. The other cubs will be named by keepers, Zoo supporters and through a naming contest open to everyone. Early this morning, Henley and Keynes met Aslan.

“We are very excited to be a part of this very special event,” said Henley. “The fictional Aslan and his world have been such an important part of our lives for the past several years.”

Keynes added: “It’s wonderful to see how he’s inspired these important conservation efforts.”

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader opens in theaters everywhere tomorrow, Dec. 10. In this motion picture event, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie (played by Keynes and Henley), along with their cousin Eustace, are swallowed into a painting and transported back to Narnia and the magnificent ship the Dawn Treader. They join King Caspian and a warrior mouse named Reepicheep for a mission that holds the fate of Narnia itself. The courageous voyagers overcome their own greatest temptations as they travel to mysterious islands, have fateful confrontations with magical creatures and sinister enemies and reunite with their friend and protector, the “Great Lion” Aslan.