Tuesday, July 3, 2012

A bachelor’s dinner; an Artsy-Fartsy Day


Okay, so I’m home alone in San Diego. There are a ton of Mexican restaurants around, so that would be a good place for dinner last night, si? NO! My mother raised me to be independent, and one of the skills she taught me was cooking. Suzanne had suggested I go to a nice restaurant to eat last night, but since I had already had a lunch out at Bud’s, I decided to make Ty’s Famous Chicken Enchiladas ™.  ;-)  They go very well with a Corona and lime. Seriously, we had been to a taqueria in Austin, Texas, that had the worst Mexican food we’ve ever had. I knew I could do better; this is one dinner that Suzanne’s mom Ruthie keeps coming back for. Or could it perhaps be because I greet her at the door with a margarita in hand? In any case, she has never complained. I enjoyed my enchiladas and frijoles on the picnic table outside (have I mentioned how perfect the weather is here in San Diego?).  

Today is a culture day; otherwise known as being  “artsy-fartsy”. I decided to go to world-renowned Balboa Park to visit the San Diego Museum of Art. The building’s façade alone is impressive; it was designed to fit in with the Panama-California Exposition of 1915. 






The permanent collection alone was worth the visit; works by El Greco, Goya and Murillo for the Spanish collection... other Old World masters like Giotto, Canaletto, Rubens and Van Dyck are also displayed. That's part of El Greco's The Penitent St Peter to the right. I needed a refresher on the reason for his penitence... he was distraught at having denied that he knew Jesus when questioned on the eve of the crucifixion. (Catechism class with Sister Mary Theresa was a few decades ago...)

I have to admit to being something of a Philistine... I have difficulty appreciating some (most) of the contemporary and modern offerings. I guess I'm not very enlightened... some of them actually make my head spin...







... and others make me want to ask, "What is that all about????
The highlight of my museum visit was a touring collection of statues from 5th-6th century AD Buddhist cave temples in Xiangtangshan, China. Photos of most of the collection weren't allowed, but the docent said my first shot was okay to keep...  one of the interesting Buddhist factoids I learned was that people called Bodhisattva seek enlightenment and progress toward spiritual goals, but choose to remain in society to assist others. Exceptional members of this group are described as virtuous and wise, and may be destined to become a Buddha. Another group, Pratyekabuddha, achieve enlightenment on their own, without the use of teachers or guides. 

Whichever path of enlightenment you are on, there was something in the San Diego Museum of Art for you. 

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