the first star

in honor of tonight's oscars, i thought i'd share asta nielsen's very racy dance (shockingly so for the time) from the abyss (afgrunden), an early danish silent film from 1910. did you know that asta nielsen was the first person to be called a film star? the term was coined about her. this film, plus a couple of others where alternate sad endings were made for the russian market (russian audiences wanted everyone to die or be ruined in the end), were all i knew about denmark the first time i visited. both film and i have come a long way.

from home to mars

aahhh, now THAT's how to start off your morning. a steaming pot of 2/3 earl grey-1/3 lapsang suchong. even better if it's made in a bright cheerful teapot that at least reminds you of the sun (since you doubt it will ever shine again). although the sun isn't shining, the special nordic spring light is coming back. it's most noticable early in the morning, which i suppose will change once we make the switch to daylight savings time.

we live on the edge of town. across from our house is a soccer field and a park where half the town walks their dogs and a little stream with a little footbridge over it. and small grove of tall pines that sing in the wind. but it is still in town. which is why i was so surprised to see that we have a daddy and two mommy pheasants living in our back yard. and even more surprised to see the male pheasant sitting rather high up in a tree:

the pheasant is the state bird of SD, where i grew up, but i seriously have never in my life seen a pheasant up in a tree. he looked awfully pretty with the evening sunset rays shining on him a couple of days ago (hey, that's proof of sunshine!).

i'm trying to appreciate my last week of hanging out around the house. over the past year, as a consultant with a fast consulting gig, i got to be at home a lot, since much of my work could take place here. it was such a privilege and i feel so grateful for the opportunity. i'll still get to work some from home, since i'm working in a different country from the one in which i live, but i will also have an office to go to here in denmark. i'm looking forward to being around other adult people. i'm ready for it. but i am trying to savor these last days of being at home. the kitchen is the room (other than the studio) that makes me happiest:

part of the happiness undoubtedly stems from the fact that it's clean, thanks to the wonderful aelita who comes every friday. which in turn reminds me of this 1924 silent film from soviet director protazanov--aelita queen of mars:

funnily enough, the music someone has put on this version is by the cleaning women

thankfully, our aelita has shown no signs of being from another planet:

tho' frankly, i would rather like dressing up like that. maybe we'll have to have a protazanov/mars themed party. it's just so charming to see a 1924 futuristic vision.

whoa, how did i start with my teapot and end on protazanov? that was quite a leap this morning here on moments of perfectly clarity. but, i never really know where the writing will take me. thanks for coming along for the ride.