Figured out Flickr this morning, and posted a bunch of pix from that Madrid trip. Enjoy.
Home!
Made it! It’s an extra hour of air-time because of headwinds, and the flight was loaded with chattering, chair-reclining Spaniards, who have ascended to the top of my ranking of pushy people. I know everyone says Americans are the worst, but these sons of bitches really took the cake this week, right up to pushing past me at the security check-in.
Anyway, I realized I did sell the Prado short. There are a bunch of great pieces in it that I’ll try to write about when I get settled, but there were SO many crucifixions and virgin-and-child paintings that the overall vibe kinda numbed me.
But I’m home! For 40 hours! Then it’s on to Nashville, where I hope they speak English better than they did in Madrid!
El Sueno De Jamon Produce Monstruos
Went to the Prado today, but it was pretty boring. There was a TON of religious (Christian) art, and it got tedious after a while. On the plus side, I got to see Bosch’s Garden of Delights triptych, which is mindblowing. And Goya’s “black paintings” were in their own section. I’d never really seen Goya’s paintings (just some of his etchings), and this collection was fantastic. His religious art was dull, in my opinion.
The Prado has a single Rembrandt, Artemisa, which sucked ass. Fortunately, the Thyssen-Bornemisza had much better stuff in general, and its Rembrandt self-portrait was much better, too. I realized that I’ve become a little bit of an art-snob, but having the Frick & the Met so close by, and having spent a day in the Louvre, I realized that Madrid’s art-offerings aren’t all that.
Anyway, I’m heading home tomorrow, so I doubt I’ll post again before then. Next missive may be from Nashville, scary as that sounds.
Things are different
Walking through an electronics store here in Madrid yesterday, I noticed that the face on the box of the NBA Live 2K6 videogame is native Spaniard Pau Gasol.
The clerk told me that Gasol actually helped design this year’s version of the game, now, when the score is close in the 4th quarter, it crashes.
Update
Sorry to be outta touch, dear readers! The internet connection at the hotel is dodgier than I thought. Plus, I’ve been working at the conference and then dining with clients in the evenings.
But the conference is all over, so it’s time for sightseeing and souvenir-shopping! Pictures will come when I’m back in civilization, and not this poor-service, non-English-speaking backwater!
Mad About Madrid
Went a-walkin’ for a few hours, down to Atocha station and that modern art museum. Took more wonderful pix, but you’ll have to wait, unless I can get my Flickr account up and running one evening.
I spent time with the Picassos, Miros, and the Dalis, but the postwar painters left me cold/bored. Similarly, the contemporary exhibit was just disastrous, but helped reinforce my belief that most contemporary art is crap.
Next three days, I’ll be at the conference, but I hope to get to the Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza on Friday. Or I’ll take a day trip to Toledo.
Hola!
Made it into Madrid safe & sound, dear readers! Event-free flight, made even less eventful thanks to a dose of Xanax.
Took some great pix yesterday, but my hotel has no wireless net access, so I won’t be able to post any of them for a while. I’m hoping to get down to Centro de Arte Reine Sofia today, and to avoid the Museo Del Jamon, where we had a late-night drunken stop yesterday.
I was built on water and my walls are of fire
I tellya, if I wasn’t about to head out for Madrid for the CPhI/ICSE conference, I’d be all over ChillerFest here in NJ. I mean, where else would I be able to see Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman, Karen Allen, Elvira, and a bunch of extras from Night of the Living Dead? Honestly, the guest list for this convention is hysterical. I mean, it’s an intersection of splatter flicks, old sitcoms, pro wrestling, b-movies, science fiction, and, um, Pete Best?
Oh, well. I’ll be in Madrid, as I said, then off to Nashville for the AAPS conference. I’ll try to post some good pictures during the next week. I can’t guarantee anything from Nashville.