The by-line of this article from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston says it all. A creative, spunky, and totally useful list of information for taking care of yourself. Print it out, hit . . . → Read More: A Practical “Survival Kit” for Grown-Ups]]> Or: “29 Things to Buy or Do (So You Don’t Have to Call Your Parents) When You’re Sick”

The by-line of this article from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston says it all. A creative, spunky, and totally useful list of information for taking care of yourself. Print it out, hit the drugstore, and be prepared.

Thanks to my dad for sending this link my way!

>> Link: Health Leader – Survival Kit for Grown Kids

How cool would it . . . → Read More: Air Force One over Sepulveda]]> For all the traffic disruptions that President Obama’s visit to LA caused about two weeks ago, one of the cooler redeeming mementos of his visit I’ve come across is this shot of Air Force One landing at LAX (click on the picture for a huge high-resolution photograph):

How cool would it have been to be traveling on Sepulveda, look up, and see Air Force One a few hundred feet overhead?! Awesome.

Thanks to Steven for calling my attention to the picture!

>> Link: Photos: Boeing VC-25A 747-2G4B Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

For those of you in LA/visiting LA soon, I highly recommend checking out the Arshile Gorky retrospective at MOCA (the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art).

The museum has put together a great collection of beautiful and compelling pieces. Until I visited, I’d only been roughly familiar with Gorky’s . . . → Read More: Gorky Retrospective at MOCA]]>

"Agony" by Arshile Gorky

For those of you in LA/visiting LA soon, I highly recommend checking out the Arshile Gorky retrospective at MOCA (the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art).

The museum has put together a great collection of beautiful and compelling pieces. Until I visited, I’d only been roughly familiar with Gorky’s work–the color, the amorphous shapes, and haziness of form. But up close, there’s a depth to the paintings that you don’t appreciate from books and lithographs. The paintings are worth a trip to MOCA. Plus, you can check out many of MOCA’s pieces from their permanent collection which are on indefinite exhibition!

The Gorky retrospective exhibition runs through September 20th.

(FYI: Thursdays evenings from 5-8pm admission is free at MOCA!)

>> Link: Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective – MOCA

Pamuk, who lives and works in Istanbul, features Turkey and his home city prominently in his writing. While many of his stories are very much about . . . → Read More: Orhan Pamuk’s Nobel Lecture]]> Having just finished “Other Colors: Essays and a Story,” a collection of essays by Nobel Prize recipient Orhan Pamuk, it seems like a good time to recommend his work.

Pamuk, who lives and works in Istanbul, features Turkey and his home city prominently in his writing. While many of his stories are very much about Turkey, the ideas at the core of his work are universal. (The mark of a great writer, of course)

The final essay, “My Father’s Suitcase,” was one of my favorites in “Other Colors.” Extremely touching, completely heartfelt, and very thoughtful. “My Father’s Suitcase” was also Pamuk’s Nobel Lecture, which he delivered upon receiving the Nobel Price in Literature in 2006.

Luckily the Nobel Lectures are freely available online, so you can read “My Father’s Suitcase” without buying the book:

>> Link: Orhan Pamuk – Nobel Lecture – “My Father’s Suitcase”

>> Download: PDF version of the lecture for your e-book reader

The short (2-6 page) essays in “Other Colors” make for excellent bedtime reading. You can buy the book here: