Graceland Cemetery 8/2020

Mrs. Q says: Just when you might have thought to walk thru Graceland cemetery which is full of history & haunting, since you are a little bored due to C-19 & would not have to worry too much about masks/social distancing, etc. Well, not so fast.   The Uptown cemetery could be closed “for a very long time.” Famed Graceland Cemetery Closes after Storms cause “Severe & Extensive Damage.”

Chicago Remains to Be Seen - Inez Clarke

Inez Clark (1873-1880) died at the age of six. Her parents commissioned a life-sized statue, which was completed a year later by a Sicilian sculptor, and placed over the grave. Later, a transparent plexiglass box was added to protect the likeness from the elements.
According to local legend, a night watchman, making his rounds during a storm, came across Inez’s grave and saw that the box was empty. He fled, never to return. The next morning, the statue of the little girl was back in its usual place. Others have claimed to have briefly glimpsed a small child in 19th-century dress wandering through the cemetery.
Inez’s grave remains popular today, perhaps due to the high quality of the likeness. The image remains in nearly perfect condition thanks to its protection from the elements.
The Strange History of “Eternal Silence,” Graceland's “Statue of ...
Eternal Silence
Does it get much creepier than a monk with a blackened face as your final resting spot? Maybe if the artist also named the statue “The Eternal Silence”. And, maybe, if you consider that local lore says that bad things happen to anyone who attempts to take a picture of Dexter’s final resting place. According to legend, your camera might break or you will find a blurry photo if you try to capture the monk’s solemn visage. Another tale? If you look directly into the monk’s eyes, you will see a split second vision of your own death


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The High Note 7/2020

Set in the dazzling world of the LA music scene comes the story of Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross), a superstar whose talent–and ego–have reached unbelievable heights. Maggie (Dakota Johnson) is Grace’s overworked personal assistant who’s stuck running errands, but still aspires to her childhood dream of becoming a music producer. When Grace’s manager (Ice Cube) presents her with a choice that could alter the course of her career, Maggie and Grace come up with a plan that could change their lives forever.

Q-tips say: Yes, see it. A good diversion for the weekend, a movie to kick back with, listen to some music and have a good time. Mrs. Q says: I had no idea that Tracee Ellis Ross had such a wonderful voice. You might have seen her in “blackish” the TV sitcom.

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American Tragedy 8/2020

April 20, 1999 Columbine High School was under attack by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Sue Klebold, Dylan’s mother, attempts to reconcile how the son she thought she knew, the son she loved could willingly be a school shooter. “If love could have stopped Columbine,” she says, “Columbine would never have happened.” What would real prevention look like? Is it possible? Is America ready?

Q-tips say: Yes, watch it. A movie every parent should watch. Any parent could find themselves in the shoes of Sue Kiebold. The movie demonstrates the struggles kids go through and how parents don’t always see the signs. A real life drama highlighting the need for more focus on mental health…particularly with our kids. An eye-opener that all parents should see. Can be a bit slow at the beginning but is a must see for all.

Mrs. Q says: During these C -19 days one has to wonder if our children need more attention. How will parents work & school their children. What about the “special needs children?” Most parents are not teachers though they may have many degrees but not teaching degrees. Sometimes schools catch different problems – child abuse, hunger, mental issues, & how are some children interacting with other children/people, etc. Parenting is not always an easy job but hopefully we do it with love & kindness .

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Art Institute -Chicago

159 E Monroe St., Chicago, 312-443-3600 http://artic.edu

Q-tips say: Yes, go and enjoy! So much to see, you probably can’t see it all in one day. The El Greco exhibit is scheduled till Sept. 7, 2020 unless they extend it. Yes, you need to make an appt. & wear masks & do “social distancing.” They have sanitizing machines to use & indoor eating areas are closed. Mrs. Q says: she was thrilled to see the El Greco exhibit & many of the other Museum Highlights like Ancient Roman Art, Indian Southeast Asian Art, Impressionism, International Modern Art.. Afterwards, the Q’s went to Shaw’s Crab house for a bite.

Mrs. Q asks: Do you know what Oxidation Painting is?

Answer: The “Oxidation Paintings” is a series of “paintings” done by coating canvases with wet copper paint and afterwards urinating on them, urine which oxidizes and changes color. In most cases, the urine does not belong to Warhol, but to his friends. Warhol once said: “It’s a parody of Jackson Pollock”, alluding to Pollock’s legendary emission into Peggy Guggenheim’s fireplace.

Special exhibit: El Greco – This major exhibition charts the career of the artist known simply as El Greco. Over 57 works from across the world trace not only the development of his distinctive style but also the astounding ambition that drove him to relentlessly pursue success.

Paris exhibition to cast El Greco in new light | The Art Newspaper
The Assumption of the Virgin
El Greco, Adoration of the Shepherds (video) | Khan Academy
The Adoration of the Shepherds. You can spot
an El Greco painting across the room due to his
use of elongated figures. 




ANCIENT ART | Roman sculpture, Roman art, Ancient art
Ancient Roman Art Exhibit
Meditation, Relaxation, Calm, Peace
Asian Art Exhibit
Best Impressionist Painters From Claude Monet to Edgar Degas
Some of the best artwork from Monet, Degas, Renoir.
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Love on the Spectrum 8/2020

Love on the Spectrum follows seven singles, who have different levels Autistic tendencies, as they take their first steps into the world of dating. As well as help from their families, experts provide the love-seekers with practical skills to help them navigate what can be a confusing experience for anyone, giving them the confidence to begin their journey on the road to finding love.

Autism – These are some of the characteristics of ASD:

  • problems with social interaction with others. …
  • unusual interest in objects.
  • need for sameness.
  • great variation in abilities.
  • under or over reaction to one or more of the five senses: sight, touch, taste, smell, or hearing.
  • repeated actions or body movements.

Q-tips say: We did enjoy the 5 episodes. It becomes clear that people on the autism spectrum deal with many of the same problems that people without autism deal with everyday, especially when it comes to dating. Though autism can make dating a little more difficult, the series shows that autism doesn’t automatically mean people on the spectrum are incapable of expressing emotions or feeling love. Reality dating shows are a dime a dozen, but few of them feel as genuine and eye-opening as Love on the Spectrum. By following a group of Australian singles on the autism spectrum as they try to find love, we get a glimpse into the lives of those who have constantly been portrayed as a challenge to overcome or a disability that only comes with woes.

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The Weight of Gold

2020 Gold Medal - 1.75" Academic Award Medallion - Shining Achievement Medal by Jones School Supply

7/2020 – The Weight of Gold is an HBO Sports documentary exploring the mental health challenges that Olympic athletes often face. The film comes during a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has postponed the 2020 Tokyo Games — the first such postponement in Olympic history — and greatly exacerbated mental health issues.

In a typical year, more than 3.6 billion people around the world tune in to watch the Olympic Games. What most of these viewers don’t know is that just like one in five Americans, many of these Olympic athletes similarly face serious mental health challenges and struggle to find the necessary support and resources. In THE WEIGHT OF GOLD, Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympic athlete of all-time, shares his account of his struggle, along with other high-profile Olympic athletes including Jeremy Bloom, Lolo Jones, Gracie Gold, Bode Miller, Shaun White, Sasha Cohen, David Boudia, Katie Uhlaender, and, posthumously, Steven Holcomb and Jeret “Speedy” Peterson as shared by his mother, Linda Peterson.

Q-tips say: Yes, see it. Mrs. Q says: Being a winning Olympic athlete is not all Gold & Glimmer. The athletes are candid, personal and, in some cases, in considerable pain as they talk about their struggles. Weight of Gold remains essential viewing.

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The Babushkas of Chernobyl

7/2020 – For nearly 30 years a community of unlikely heroines have lived in Chernobyl’s post-nuclear disaster “dead zone.” Stylish and stubborn, these fascinating women have survived, and even thrived, on some of the most toxic land on Earth. They are the last survivors of a community who refused to leave their ancestral homes after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. But the babushkas aren’t the only risk-takers: scientists, bureaucrats and even young men and women called “Stalkers” (who break in illegally to pursue their video game-inspired fantasies) explore the dystopian Zone and seek out its radioactive grandmas.

Q-tips say: Yes, see it. Enjoyed the old Ukraine village gals who said screw it to wherever the Soviets sent them after the nuclear plant meltdown and returned to live out their lives, mostly by themselves but with support from one another, in the contaminated zone they’d always called home.

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Radioactive – Madame Marie Curie 7/2020

Banish the dull images of test tubes and musty lecture halls when considering Radioactive (available on Amazon Prime starting July 24th). The biopic traces the career trajectory of Madame Marie Curie (a magnificent Rosamund Pike), the Polish immigrant born Maria Salomea Skłodowska who became  the first person — and the only woman — to win two Nobel prizes. She shared the first in 1903, for discovering radium and polonium (named after her native country), with her French husband and fellow physicist Pierre Curie (Sam Riley). And the historical drama would be a dutiful thing, indeed, if it merely ticked off a list of Marie’s accomplishments, including being the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.

The movie whizzes around from present to future to show the major benefits of isolating radioactive isotopes to treat cancer. Such experiments came with risks: Marie died of exposure to radiation in 1934 at age 66.

Q-tips say: Good movie only if they would have just stuck to the scientific facts & her accomplishments. However, the movie finds time to show the destructive force of radium in the bombs that fell on Hiroshima in 1945 and the lives lost due to the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. Marie could never have known of these events, and some have faulted the filmmaker for dragging them into her story and breaking the narrative flow.

Q-tips say: Shameful to bring in the destructive issues into the movie.

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Vivarium – 7/2020

Tom and Gemma (Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots) are looking for the perfect home. When a strange real-estate agent takes them to Yonder, a mysterious suburban neighborhood of identical houses, Tom and Gemma can’t leave quick enough. But when they try to exit the labyrinth-like housing development, each road takes them back to where they started. Soon, they realize their search for a dream home has plunged them into a terrifying nightmare, in this taut thriller filled with white-knuckle suspense.

Q-tips say: One of the dumbest movies we have ever seen. Dumb, Dumb & Dumber. Don’t waist your money or time on this stupid movie.

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Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center

9603 Woods Dr. Skokie, IL 60077 – (847) 967-4800 – ilholocaustmuseum.org

7/15/2020 – A special exhibit on display now.

RBG Exhibit is worth seeing. The Q-tips went on the first day the Museum opened during C-19. It was FREE this one day only. On arrival they take your temperature & ask you to use the “hand sanitizer” & “wear your mask” & you are asked to practice “social distancing.” It was not very busy the day we went & they have their own free parking lot. There are sanitizer stations for you to use & there is an elevator for those who need one. RBG is a great exhibit along with the Holocaust exhibit.

Q-tips say: Yes, see it.

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