The presidential portraits are awesome, except for Eisenhower's. He looks more like Don Rickles in "Casino." I look forward to the discussion next year.
Ha! Grok has an annoying habit sometimes. With certain faces, it makes them identical every time. So I got dozens of perfect, photorealistic smiling Ike’s. “Ike by Picasso” yields perfect color photos of Ike on a vaguely Picasso background. This one gave me a good Picasso background. Lettering that was appropriate. And a weirdly Picasso-esque face. But it doesn’t look like Rickles. It looks like the elderly Picasso. And my wife said that’s appropriate, because people doing portraits often subconsciously make the portraits look like themselves.
A good example of what your wife was talking about can be found in Bill Mauldin's memoir. He did not realize until it was pointed out to him that his famous two WWII infantrymen, Joe and Willie, had his own face and that of his father.
Alanna just sent me this: "Portraits of famous people tend to look like the painters because the artists were all simply depicting themselves, according to new research. ... Computer-aided comparisons made between a series of portraits of British monarchs and the self-portraits of the artists who painted them prove that there has always been a hidden agenda in top-level portraiture, argues the art historian Simon Abrahams. ... He believes it is clear that many portraitists, painters who were often doing this kind of work just for money, chose to assert themselves by reproducing their own facial characteristics within those of their powerful sitters. ... The practice, which Abrahams has called 'face fusion', is evident as early as the 1600s in the work of Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver, who both painted Queen Elizabeth I, and it continues to this day. He even offers visual evidence that the portrait of the current Queen completed in 2001 by Lucian Freud bears more than a passing resemblance to Freud himself." https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/sep/07/art.heritage "
Another eclectic and talented post. Love the images of Alexandria- a place our family lived briefly while I was in the Navy. Happy New Year to you both! Looking forward to more great woks in 2025.
Had Hogmanay to you, too! A friend used to throw a great one, as her house had plenty of space for sleeping bags and incredibly soft carpeting. She and I used to have all the haggis to ourselves until people figured out we weren’t trying to fake them into eating it but actually enjoyed it.
This afternoon, I joined the San Francisco St. Andrew’s Society in toasting the new year on BST. Mmm, Stilton with port drizzle, mmm.
:). I like haggis…if it’s well-made. First time I had it was in Yorkshire, and it was delicious. I had never heard of it and didn’t know you’re not supposed to like it. I got back home and told an English co-worker about it. He was horrified that I enjoyed it.
Only an Englishman would say you’re not supposed to like haggis. I’m looking forward to having some at the local Burn Night supper in 3-1/2 weeks. Happy 2025!
I was happily eating chicken livers when one of my dinner companions -- who had spent an academic year or two in Scotland -- made a snide remark about my choice of entree. Told him I wouldn't take criticism from someone who had eaten haggis. Since I found out more recently that one of my great grandparents came from Caithness I've acquired a taste for single malt Scotch, and hope to try haggis someday....
Haggis is highly variable. So if it doesn't work the first time, try it elsewhere. As for single malt, I recommend the Balvenie 12-Year Double or the Balvenie 14-year Caribbean Cask.
The presidential portraits are awesome, except for Eisenhower's. He looks more like Don Rickles in "Casino." I look forward to the discussion next year.
Ha! Grok has an annoying habit sometimes. With certain faces, it makes them identical every time. So I got dozens of perfect, photorealistic smiling Ike’s. “Ike by Picasso” yields perfect color photos of Ike on a vaguely Picasso background. This one gave me a good Picasso background. Lettering that was appropriate. And a weirdly Picasso-esque face. But it doesn’t look like Rickles. It looks like the elderly Picasso. And my wife said that’s appropriate, because people doing portraits often subconsciously make the portraits look like themselves.
I can see that, now you mention it. And that's the kind of discussion I look forward to.
A good example of what your wife was talking about can be found in Bill Mauldin's memoir. He did not realize until it was pointed out to him that his famous two WWII infantrymen, Joe and Willie, had his own face and that of his father.
A wonderful example! She loved it.
Alanna just sent me this: "Portraits of famous people tend to look like the painters because the artists were all simply depicting themselves, according to new research. ... Computer-aided comparisons made between a series of portraits of British monarchs and the self-portraits of the artists who painted them prove that there has always been a hidden agenda in top-level portraiture, argues the art historian Simon Abrahams. ... He believes it is clear that many portraitists, painters who were often doing this kind of work just for money, chose to assert themselves by reproducing their own facial characteristics within those of their powerful sitters. ... The practice, which Abrahams has called 'face fusion', is evident as early as the 1600s in the work of Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver, who both painted Queen Elizabeth I, and it continues to this day. He even offers visual evidence that the portrait of the current Queen completed in 2001 by Lucian Freud bears more than a passing resemblance to Freud himself." https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/sep/07/art.heritage "
Not sure if it pings you with subsequent responses, but be sure to see John Olson's comment below (re: Mauldin), and my response to him.
Very nice. Thank you and happy New Year.
You, too.
Another eclectic and talented post. Love the images of Alexandria- a place our family lived briefly while I was in the Navy. Happy New Year to you both! Looking forward to more great woks in 2025.
All the best!
Had Hogmanay to you, too! A friend used to throw a great one, as her house had plenty of space for sleeping bags and incredibly soft carpeting. She and I used to have all the haggis to ourselves until people figured out we weren’t trying to fake them into eating it but actually enjoyed it.
This afternoon, I joined the San Francisco St. Andrew’s Society in toasting the new year on BST. Mmm, Stilton with port drizzle, mmm.
:). I like haggis…if it’s well-made. First time I had it was in Yorkshire, and it was delicious. I had never heard of it and didn’t know you’re not supposed to like it. I got back home and told an English co-worker about it. He was horrified that I enjoyed it.
Only an Englishman would say you’re not supposed to like haggis. I’m looking forward to having some at the local Burn Night supper in 3-1/2 weeks. Happy 2025!
I was happily eating chicken livers when one of my dinner companions -- who had spent an academic year or two in Scotland -- made a snide remark about my choice of entree. Told him I wouldn't take criticism from someone who had eaten haggis. Since I found out more recently that one of my great grandparents came from Caithness I've acquired a taste for single malt Scotch, and hope to try haggis someday....
Haggis is highly variable. So if it doesn't work the first time, try it elsewhere. As for single malt, I recommend the Balvenie 12-Year Double or the Balvenie 14-year Caribbean Cask.