#miriam frank

[firefly-creepy]

"Mon ami le cachalot" by Miriam Frank

[nataliesplatalie]

Miriam Frank, MONDAY-OFF-MANDRILL, c. 2023

Acrylic and pen on wood

[sirlancenotalot]

[super-who-locked-me-in-here]

Top 10 characters from Hannibal I'd want to play but it's all for whore reasons that get more and more deranged as the list goes on:

1. Hannibal Lecter - I will get held half-naked in Laurence Fishburne's strong arms and get to kiss Gillian Anderson and Caroline Dhavernas and get straddled by Hugh Dancy and Gina Torres will slap me

2. Margot Verger - I gets to kiss and have intimate scenes with Hugh Dancy and Caroline Dhavernas

3. Will Graham - Mads Mikkelsen is gonna lovingly caress my face and my hands and hold me up by my hair and call me a cunning boy

4. Antony Dimmond - I wanna be the awkward third between two people so bad and you're telling me he got to insinuate that with Gillian Anderson and Mads Mikkelsen? I'd die for that cause.

5. Francis Dolarhyde - I get to kiss and have intimate scenes with Rutina Wesley and I can throw Hugh Dancy across a room and Mads Mikkelsen will rip my throat out with his teeth

6. Freddie Lounds - I just think I wouldn't resist if Hugh Dancy stalked towards me with murder eyes and a knife and tried to pull my hair and implied he was going to eat me especially if I got to see his dick later

7. Frederick Chilton - Listen the way it happened in the show was wild but I would not be opposed to Suzy Izzard rearranging my insides

8. Neal Frank - I just don't think dying with Gillan Anderson's beautiful hand shoved down my throat is the worst way to die

9. Winston - Maybe I also want Hugh Dancy to give me a bath and affectionately dry me off and pet me a lot and train me

10. Miriam Lass - Being trapped in Hannibal's hole 👀

[pharrell-the-formation]

Forgot to post this here. Some thoughts about marriages of the main characters.

[mariocki]

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

"Miriam? He really... isn't here, is he? Just now, I thought I heard... sometimes at night, when I wake up, it seems as if he really is here. Don't turn on the light. It's not real when it's light. It's only real when it's dark - dark and still."

[trulyatessfan]

This is my contest entry for @anxietyfluffy ‘s contest! :D One of the Karen’s design is from @lackadaisiluz ‘s AU so it’s his design!!

[abs0luteb4stard]

W A T C H I N G

(DIRECTOR'S CUT)

[anxietyfluffy]

Some Daisy & Laura sprites I made, along with their whole fam!

Laura is into both reptiles and mortuary science, while Daisy is into engineering and maths. Daisy acts a lot more like her mother, while Laura acts more like her dad. Daisy also has a heart condition, which is why she tends to get sick more often than her siblings.

[mercerislandbooks]

A Double Dose of 50 Years of Island Books: Rachel Linden / Martha Brockenbrough

Rachel Linden is a novelist and international aid worker whose adventures in over fifty countries around the world provide excellent grist for her writing. She is the author of The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie, The Enlightenment of Bees, Becoming the Talbot Sisters, and Ascension of Larks. Currently Rachel lives with her family on a sweet little island near Seattle, WA where she enjoys creating stories about strong women facing big challenges, travel, food, and second chances at love. She promises her readers a happy, or at least very hopeful, ending and infuses each of her stories with a touch of magical realism. Her newest novel, Recipe for a Charmed Life, comes out in early 2024.

Miriam: Welcome, Rachel. Let's start with your first visit to Island Books. Where were you in your career then, and what stood out about the store?

Rachel: When I think of Island Books, I feel I can sum it up best in the word "inviting". I first visited Island Books when my second novel, Becoming the Talbot Sisters, was about to release. If I remember correctly, I came bearing homemade cookies my husband and son had made, and an advanced reader copy of my new book. I was hoping to meet some of the staff and see if they'd be interested in stocking my book. I was instantly charmed by the special Island Books vibe. I love independent bookstores and feel so fortunate that we have so many in our area. Island Books has always been one of my very favorites because of the wonderful, friendly and knowledgeable staff (with fabulous owner Laurie at the helm), the inviting places to sit and stay awhile, and such an excellent and extensive selection of books. They were so warm and welcoming to me on my first visit, and I continue to greatly enjoy and appreciate their enthusiastic support and care for local authors like me! I love every chance I get to be at Island Books because I always feel so welcomed. It's an inviting, enjoyable space with true book lovers, and for a bookworm like me, that's basically my definition of paradise!

Miriam: Rachel, you can't drop a teaser about bringing cookies to Island Books and not share the specific recipe. When many of us think of you, we think, foodie book club, mmmm.....Will you share which cookies you brought to that first event here on the blog? We can make them official "Rachel-Linden's-Take-a-Trip-to-Island-Books cookies" or something. 

Rachel: Absolutely! I can't remember exactly which cookies I brought the first time I visited Island Books, to be honest! But here's a recipe for some amazing lemon bars that I know I brought along with an advanced reader copy of The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie!  These delicious lemon bars are super easy and super yummy! I enjoy this recipe from one of my favorite baking sites, Sally's Baking Addiction! I amended it slightly, but mostly it is her recipe. 

Rachel-Linden's-Take-a-Trip-to-Island-Books-Luscious-Lemon-Bars

Ingredients

SHORTBREAD CRUST

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour 

optional: you can add a bit of the zest of the lemon to the crust for added lemon flavor

LEMON FILLING

2 cups granulated sugar

6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

6 large eggs

1 cup lemon juice (about 4-5 large lemons)

powdered sugar for dusting over the top of the bars when cooked and cooled

optional: add a bit of the zest of the lemon to the filling for an added kick of lemony flavor 

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Carefully line the bottom and sides of a 9×13 glass baking pan (do not use metal for these bars) with parchment paper, leaving the paper hanging over the sides so you can easily lift the finished bars out. This is an important step and makes cutting the bars much easier!). 

Make the crust: Mix the melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the flour and stir to completely combine. The dough will be quite thick. Press firmly into your prepared pan, making sure the layer of crust is nice and even with no holes. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until you see the edges of the crust are lightly browned. Remove from the oven. Using a fork, poke holes all over the top of the warm crust (careful not to poke all the way through the crust). This helps the filling stick and holds the crust in place. Set crust aside.

Make the filling: Sift the sugar and flour together in a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs, and then add the lemon juice (and zest if using) and stir until completely combined.

Pour filling over the warm crust. Bake the bars for 22-26 minutes or until the center is relatively set and no longer jiggles. (You can give the pan a light tap with an oven mitt to test that the filling is set.) Remove bars from the oven and cool completely at room temperature. It is recomemnded to cool them for about 2 hours at room temperature, then stick in the refrigerator for 1-2 more hours until fairly chilled. 

Once cool, lift the parchment paper out of the pan using the overhang on the sides. Dust the bars with confectioners’ sugar and cut into squares before serving. Enjoy! 

Miriam: Thank you! Okay, one last question, now that I'm thinking about The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie. One of the big messages in that book is that instead of looking backward, we should make the best of things and focus on the road ahead. With that theme in mind, as we head toward our store's 50th anniversary, what do you think the road ahead looks like for indie bookstores?

Rachel: Looking forward, I believe indie bookstores will continue to thrive because of the amazing connections they provide between people and great stories. In an increasingly digital world, to walk into an independent bookstore, talk to smart, book loving booksellers, and walk out with amazing stories in our hands...that personal experience cannot be replaced. For authors, independent bookstores offer wonderful opportunities for us to make personal connections with book lovers—both bookselling professionals and readers. I think Island Books does this so beautifully, and what they offer will continue to be valued by readers and authors alike. 

Miriam: Thanks so much for stopping by our blog, Rachel. We always love hearing from you.

To our community—if you make Rachel's Lemon Bars, send us a picture! In the next installment of Island Books, I'll be talking to...

50 Years of Island Books: Martha Brockenbrough

Martha Brockenbrough (rhymes with broken toe) is the author of Frank and the Masked Cat and more than twenty books for young readers, including YA fiction and nonfiction, picture books, a middle grade mystery, and a chapter book series. Her next nonfiction book for teens, Future Tense, will hit shelves in 2024.

A faculty member at Vermont College of Fine Arts, she's also the founder of National Grammar Day (every March 4), and she's written game questions for Cranium and Trivial Pursuit.

The former editor of MSN.com, Martha has interviewed lots of celebrities, including the Jonas Brothers and Slash. Her work has been published in a variety of places, including The New York Times. She also wrote an educational humor column for the online encyclopedia Encarta for nine years. 

She lives in Seattle with her family. Her favorite kind of food is Indian, although Thai runs a close second. Besides writing, she likes dogs, cats, cooking, weight-lifting, and laughing.

Miriam: I'm so excited to have you here, Martha, especially because my 10-year-old twins LOVED To Catch a Thief and we are big fans of yours. Let's start with your first visit to Island Books. Where were you in your career then, and what stood out about the store?

Martha: That makes my day! The book is set in a slightly distressed Seabrook—if you ever go, the kids will recognize some of the sights!

Meanwhile, I can’t even remember the first time I went into Island Books. I’m a Bellevue native and only a few years older than the store. So let’s just say I have no memories of life without Island Books. As an author, though, I think one of the first events I attended was for the wonderful Jennifer Longo debut novel, Six Feet Over It, inspired in part by her life growing up at a cemetery. My first event with Island Books was a King County Library fundraiser—Garth Nix and I were in conversation with each other. I really love his writing and it was so much fun learning more about how he thinks about storytelling. 

I led here with the people, because in truth the writing and reading life isn’t lived only on the page. I love Laurie (and we share appreciation for a good Old Fashioned). I’ve known Lillian and Caitlin for years and through other stores, and I so appreciate people who make a life out of literature. The store itself is an absolute treat. It’s exquisitely edited and I find something I didn’t know I needed every time I go in. It’s also a place I love to shop for gifts, and not just books—the whole store is full of beautiful and joyful objects.

Miriam: We've been to Seabrook and yes they did recognize the sights, funny you mention that. I think that's half the fun of reading local authors who write about the Pacific Northwest! These are great memories, and for us it's all about the people too, so we love that. Tell me, I know we've offered special pre-orders of signed copies of your books over the years. Do you have any special memories of signing in the store?

Martha: Coming to Island Books is like a visit with old friends. Seeing Lillian and Caitlin at Island Books gathers all of those fond memories from other stores in one place—and it’s a testament to the deep knowledge that the stores booksellers have. They are in this work for life. I was a reader first, and truly I always will be. So to have my reader heart in such good hands means the world to me. 

Miriam: Thanks, Martha. We're so grateful for to have you and your books in our lives too.

To our Island Books community: In the next 50 Years of Island Books installment, I’ll be talking to author Elise Hooper about how she crashed a staff party the first time she visited our store, and why her underdog stories have a special appeal at Island Books.

—Miriam

[longlistshort]

Center sculpture by Claire Falkenstein- “Point as a Set #10, c.1962, copper

Large painting on the right- Bettina Brendel, “Particles or Waves?”, 1969, acrylic on canvas

Palm Springs Art Museum is currently showing Particles and Waves: Southern California Abstraction and Science, 1945-1990 a selection of abstract work created by Southern California artists influenced by that era’s scientific ideas and breakthroughs. These explorations are divided into sections focused on optical science, mathematics, color in motion, and space age abstraction. The exhibition also includes several experimental films created during this period.

From the museum-

Beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, scientists at institutions near Los Angeles including Mount Wilson Observatory, the California Institute for Technology, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, generated groundbreaking experimental research in astronomy and particle physics. During and after World War II, the region remained at the forefront of scientific inquiry in theoretical physics and its applications within aerospace engineering, industrial manufacturing, and communications technologies. Between 1945 and 1990, many artists in Los Angeles produced visually abstract artworks while closely engaging with scientific ideas, mathematical theories, and materials or processes derived from physics and engineering.

The exhibition unites several generations of artists working in diverse materials and styles to examine how subfields of scientific investigation inspired a range of non-figurative artworks by practitioners concerned with light, energy, motion, and time. By drawing interdisciplinary connections between the work of early abstractionists and contemporary practitioners, the exhibition considers abstract artwork from Southern California in a new way.

Below are a few selections along with information from the museum.

Claire Falkenstein, “Orbit the Earth”, 1963, Oil and metallic paint on nine canvas panels

Through both abstract paintings and sculptures, Falkenstein explored subjects inspired by astrophysics. In Orbit the Earth, she conveys a sense of motion through patterns of curved points in metallic paint and sweeping lines that reveal traces of the painting’s black background. The artist referred to her small gestural marks as “moving points” and explored how arrangements of these painted forms could express types of motion and energy in the universe. In her hanging sculpture Sun represents a dynamic celestial form that shifts in appearance as viewers move around the work. The sculpture’s open, webbed structure creates a continuum between the work and its surrounding space, parallelling interconnections between the Sun and other cosmic phenomena in the solar system.

Helen Lundeberg, “Untitled (Sectioned Planet)”, 1969, Acrylic on canvas (left) and Eva Slater, “Galaxy”, 1954, Oil on panel (right)

Oskar W. Fischinger, “Space Abstraction No.3”, 1966, and “Multi wave”, 1948, Oil on canvas

Hilaire Hiler, “Parabolic Orange to Leaf Green”, 1942, Oil on board

Inspired by the idea of enlivening artwork with electricity, Malina developed a range of kinetic paintings like Mitosis beginning in 1956. This work exemplifies the artist’s Lumidyne system of works where illuminated colors shift through cycles generated by an encased motor, rotating components, and electric light sources. A founder of Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1936 and a preeminent American specialist in rocketry, Malina turned to creating artwork in the early 1950s after relocating to France.

DeWain Valentine, “Vertical Section”, 1979, Laminated glass

Bettina Brendel, “Prisms”, 1982, Acrylic on canvas

Miriam Schapiro, "Computer Series #3", 1969, Acrylic on canvas

Bettina Brendel "A Numbered Universe", 1966, Oil on canvas

Lee Mullican, "Computer Joy", 1987, TGA file 512 x 428 pixels

In Computer Joy, repeated and overlaid sections of lines and geometric forms produce an all-over field of pixelated patterns. While teaching at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1986, Mullican explored the artistic posibilities of new computer imaging technologies. The ability to readily duplicate digital shapes using the computer complemented his long-standing practice of applying repeated striations of pigment into patterned arrangements in paintings like Source from 1981.

Lee Mullican, “Source”, 1981, Oil on canvas

James Turrell, “Afrum (White)”, 1966, projected light

In Afrum (White), a modified projector casts a rectangle of white light onto the corner of the otherwise darkened gallery, creating the illusion of a floating three-dimensional cube. The crisply defined area of light changes in appearance depending on how viewers move in the space. Through his precise manipulation of light within specific spatial environments, James Turrell creates opportunities for viewers to engage with nuanced processes of perceptual experience.

Man Ray, “Shakespearean Equation: King Lear”, 1948, Oil on canvas

While living in Hollywood in the late 1940s, Man Ray produced his Shakespearean Equations, a series of paintings depicting mathematical models that reference plays by William Shakespeare. King Lear highlights the aesthetic qualities of a particular form known in algebraic geometry as a Kummer surface with eight real double points. For the artist, the drips of paint on the mathematical form recalled the tears shed by King Lear after learning that his favorite daughter was killed, layering human emotion onto the geometric shape.

This exhibition, part of The Getty’s PST ART programming, closes Sunday, 2/23/25.

[bspoquemagazine]

Werkstattabend „Lange Schatten“ & 50 Jahre UDK Berlin

2025 feiert die UdK Berlin doppelt: 50 Jahre Universität der Künste und 50 Jahre UNI.T, das Theater des Studiengangs Gesang/Musiktheater. „Lange Schatten“ – Werkstattabend Studiengang Gesang/Musiktheater: 14. und 16. Februar, jeweils 19.30 Uhr Mehr dazu auf bspoque.com #linkinbio #kultur #oper #udkberlin #gesang #studium #kunst #berlin #bspoquemagazine

Am 14. Februar 1975 öffnete sich im heutigen UNI.T zum ersten Mal der Vorhang für den Operneinakter „Das Geheimnis des entwendeten Briefes“ von Boris Blacher. Genau 50 Jahre später feiert der Werkstattabend des Studiengangs Gesang/Musiktheater „Lange Schatten“ Premiere. Die Fakultät Darstellende Kunst hat sich für das Jubiläumsjahr entschieden, den atmosphärisch einladenden Theaterraum in seiner…

[gesray]

[lucidloving]

Mahmoud Darwish, Memory for Forgetfulness: August, Beirut, 1982 (trans. Ibrahim Muhawi) // John Keats, "Ode on Indolence" // Clarice Lispector, Near to the Wild Heart // Maggie Stiefvater, Call Down the Hawk // Misun Holdorf // Dear Icarus—Anna Miriam Brown // Louise Erdrich // Frank Bidart, "Guilty of Dust" // Mary Oliver, "Honey Locust" // Kahlil Gibran, "Defeat" // Mary Oliver, That Sweet Fruit John Clare // Brian Jekel // Katherine Mansfield, The Diaries of Katherine Mansfield // see 6 // Mary Oliver, Thirst // Yves Olade, Bloodsport // Marina Tsvetaeva, Poems for Akhmatova (trans. Michael R. Burch) // Galileo Chini, Icarus // Victoria Chang, The Trees Witness Everything

[athena-xox]

Okay so they are not all one friend group here are my hc of the older marauders characters (not all of them but whatever)

Ravenpuffs - Ted, Toby Gleaves, Marcelina Mina (M. Mina), Olivia Gleaves, Miriam Sprout, Maria Amorim (Mrs. Winger) and Aurora Sinistra (Andy joined this friend group in her later years

Chaos - Narcissa, Bella, Andy, Rita, Zoya Zabini, Florence and Alecto

The older gryffindors (idk 😭) - Frank, Alice, Gideon, Fabian, Esme Lima (E. Lima)

Yes they are all canon characters

Please someone ask me about my hcs.

Currently thinking about:

so we have the Marauders, (plus the Gryffindor girls who are like honorary members) and the slytherin skittles, but what about the kids slightly older than them? What about Ted, Andromeda, Bella, Rita, Narcissa, Alice, Frank, is there a name for them??? I wanna start calling them something lemme know suggestions.

[queerliblib]

It’s May Day

you know what that means. it’s also international workers day!

highly recommend picking up the following books from our collection!

Out in the Union: A Labor History of Queer America by Miriam Frank

My Desire for History: Essays in Gay, Community, and Labor History by Allan Bérubé

Queer Career: Sexuality and Work in Modern America by Margot Canaday