Wednesday, May 17, 2017

The Star Maiden


 

When famed sculptor A. Sterling Calder was given the job of either sculpting or commissioning statues to be placed throughout San Francisco's Panama Pacific Exposition, he probably didn't anticipate the controversy one of his statues would stir up. No, it wasn't the statue's bare breasts that angered people; after all, classical statues had been featuring nude women for centuries. It was Calder's decision to include multi-ethnic features on his statue. He envisioned a future where people from around the world would freely marry whoever they wanted to regardless of race. This idea was far ahead of its time and the statue would be exiled to Oakland after the Exposition, becoming part of the Oakland Museum's collection. In the 1980's, Citibank would commission a bronze casting of the statue, which it would place in one of its San Francisco buildings. The Star Maiden would find her way back home.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

The HP Garage


 

The famed Palo Alto garage where HP was founded in 1939.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Saint Margery?


 

Margery Kempe was seen by some in her lifetime as being a Saint. The Catholic Church never made her one, but the big reason why some thought she was one had to do with her annoying habit of openly weeping. On a pilgrimage to the holy lands, Ms. Kempe was such an annoying presence that her fellow travelers abandoned her, leaving her open to the roaming marauders, killers and rapists who swarmed over the countryside at the time. (That's why travelers went around in groups at the time.) When Margery showed up at the next town untouched and with all her valuables, the others began believing her to be a Saint. They chose to let her tag along with them afterwards, learning to live with her constant weeping. One could say that they qualified as saints after dealing with her annoying nature.