Author Archives: Stephen Futterer

Oddly enough, my grandmother, herself a docent at the National Portrait Gallery, much enjoyed the gritty works of George Bellows. Reserved and genteel by nature, she didn’t shy from controversial or grotesque art. Maybe it was the novel combination of a crudely impressionistic technique and harshly realistic urban scenes. Palpably raw but also smart. FrozenContinue reading ““Devils in the Details””

The window features are certainly evocative of some sort of flag. And it turns out that many African flags use the trio of red, yellow and green. According to the pocket guide Complete Flags of the World (DK Publishing), “Pan-Africanism is the concept that African countries should embrace their mutual bond as Africans. Red, yellow,Continue reading ““Huh, Baltimore…??””

“Stay close to me…” “Don’t let me be alone…” “It’s tearing apart…” “My blue heart…” “Red, red twine, you make me feel so fine You keep me from coughin’ all of the time Red, red twine, you make me feel so grand I feel a million dollar when you’re just in my hand.”

Interviewer: “Tell us what you like about Jack Black Turbo Wash.” Me: “It has a nice consistency and washes off easily without leaving a film. It works well both as a body wash and shampoo — though I’d advise a conditioner. And it smells really good.” Interviewer: “Okay. What about Kevin Murphy Free Hold StylingContinue reading ““What’s in Your Dopp Kit?””

AMANZING (adjective): informal variation of “amazing” (causing astonishment, wonder or surprise) that attempts to blunt the dulling effect of overuse and cliche’. A wordjuvenation. A bibliosuction. The younger generation seems stuck in the A’s when picking superlatives, often settling on “amazing” or “awesome,” if not both (as a lone exception, you might also note howContinue reading ““AMANZ-ing GRACE””

(From Wikipedia) Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) was born a slave in Talbot County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. In September 1838, he escaped slavery by boarding a northbound train in Baltimore, MD (not far from where we currently live!). It comes as little surprise that he did it all for the love of a goodContinue reading ““Go, Baltimore…!!””

(From Wikipedia) Oumuamua is the first interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System. It was discovered by the Haleakalā Observatory (Hawaii) in October 2017 on its egress. The planetary system of origin is unknown (perhaps it is a giant space turd born of a colossal celestial being). The name is the Hawaiian word forContinue reading ““Oumuamua’s Tendinopathy””