PapaMarshall

Day 4 – 1/28 – Huntington Day 2 and percussion

Up, breakfast, pick up Billie and Steve and head back to the Huntington.

We spent the morning in the library, gazing in wonder at really old and significant books.

Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
A Shakespeare First Folio
Ptolemy’s World Atlas
A Gutenberg Bible

A Wycliffe New Testament (in English)

A Tindale Bible (also in English)

Even a note from Abram Lincoln

Being lunch time we returned to the Chinese Garden and enjoyed a light meal at the noodle shop there.

Following lunch we split up – I back to see more European art, Cheryl to check out the American Art building and Steve and Billie to wander.

Cheryl tells me the American collection is great.  We’ll be back, I’m sure. I found a few gems as well:

There are several “Diana of the Hunt” sculptures around the grounds.
Portrait of a Young Man by Ghirlandaio
Portrait of a Young Woman by Ghirlandaio
Virgin and Child with St. John, early 16th century, attributed to Granacci
Virgin with Child from about the same time.
I included it because of the use of the clear orb the baby is holding. I think the use of a transparent object of this type is unique to painting of the period.
Moonlit Canal with a Windmill by van der Neer
An amazing french candle holder from about 1750
A Country Auction by Edward Bird

Cheryl and I met up for a brief visit to some of the science displays in the library and then bet Steve and Billie for a little refreshment before we returned to the house…

where Rob and Dawn loaded us into their van and drove us out to a high school gym somewhere west of town.  There we got to see a preview show of a couple of percussion ensembles, one of which their son Zack is playing in.  This is really interesting.  Before DCI corps fire up in April there is an “indoor season” where drum lines compete with each other (up to and including a “nationals event” in Ohio).  So this was just percussion and the pit.  However, the choreography was amazing.  I’d love to add video (or even photos) but they were (understandably) squeamish about posting that kind of thing.  Here’s a link that gives some info about the group and shows some movement kind of like we saw today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB8mqmOQo8Y&feature=youtu.be

Then it was on to dinner (take-out Thai), a rousing game of Shut Up Orville, and back to the hotel to read and blog and eventually to sleep.

I understand that tomorrow is a shopping day early before we head up the hill to the Mt. Wilson observatory for a lecture on Rocketry at Cal Tech.  With any luck Howard Walowitz will be there.

Till then, Sleep well.

R