Quotations by the Woman Who Took England by Storm

Sadly for those of my young generation, or perhaps sadly for me alone, the first time I heard of Margaret Thatcher was in a movie preview featuring Meryl Streep:

This is not your average Bridget Jones movie about a British girl with whom American audiences become infatuated. No, this is far from it. Margaret Thatcher, the "Iron Lady" of England played a defining role in British History especially in British Politics.

Thatcher is credited with reviving the economy and the nations foreign policy. She most notable dealt with the controversial problems of the Falklands and the ensuing war.

Most notably, however, was her fearlessness to be a female leader. She was the first female Prime Minister of England and held one of the longest serving times ever.  She was not afraid of the fact that she was a woman, in fact she embraced it. She believed that she could make a difference, and make a difference she did.  The movie, "The Iron Lady" emphasizes how she did not let her gender get in the way of her passion for politics. She is seen arguing in parliament, insisting that she be allowed to wear her pearls and explaining that she could not sit by and let other people control politics. 


For more on Thatchers full biography, click here.

Read some of her wisest and wittiest quotations below: 

"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't."

"If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman." 

"Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy." 

Introducing Pop Art: A Soup Can Etched in History, and More

Andy Warhol (Andrew Warhola) made an irreversible mark on the history of art.  Warhol is famous for his innovative use of colors and dimensions resulting in what is modernly known as Pop Art. Since he pioneered the movement he is known as the Prince of Pop Art. Though he started as a commercial illustrator, Warhol is known worldwide for his Pop Art paintings, such as 32 Campbell's Soup Cans pictured below.

Campbell's Soup Cans, 1962

The work was composed of 32 Canvases which each measured 20in x 16 in. They hung on a wall and were supposed to represent how they would be on a shelf in a grocery store (sounds similar to Ginsberg's A Supermarket in California, no?)  Each canvas was made using a printmaking technique. See an individual canvas pictured below.

This exhibit was a hit when exhibited in 1962, but, as one newscaster put it, Warhol's 15 minutes of fame is not over yet. Last month, Campbell's released a 50 year commemoration. Target will be selling cans inspired by Warhol's exhibit:

Target's Collection of 50 year anniversary Campbell's Soup Cans 

Warhol's fame extends far beyond 32 Campbell's Soup Cans. You may recognize, his 1962 portrait of Marilyn Monroe,his 1964 Jackie Kennedy, or his 1965 painting Atomic Bomb. 

Portrait of Marilyn Monroe, 1962

Jackie Kennedy, 1964

Atomic Bomb, 1965

Currently, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a collection of Warhol's work. His work will be on display from September 18th 2012 - December 31st 2012. The exhibit will juxtapose Warhol's paintings against other painters to demonstrate Warhol's vast influence on the culture of art. The exhibit is made possible by Morgan Stanley. 

Check out Andy Warhol's work for yourself and you'll see his amazing contribution to Pop Art, American Art and art worldwide. 

The Black Ruby

In November of 1960, Ruby Bridges walked into a formerly whites-only public school in New Orleans and made history.


Norman Rockwell, one of the most famous American illustrators of the 20th century, immortalized that moment in his painting Problems We All Live With in 1964.

In this painting Rockwell captures the racial tensions from the height of the Civil Rights Movement. On the wall behind this beautiful little girl is the racial slur "nigger" as well as the initials KKK which stood for the Ku Klux Klan. She is guarded on both sides by security personnel.  The painting is done from the perspective of the white onlookers. Though we can't see their faces or hear their taunts in this painting, we know what that day was like in New Orleans:

Watch from 7:00-8:00 to see the movie's portrayal of Ruby Bridges entering the school.


Last year, Bridges was honored with the opportunity to meet with President Barack Obama to see Rockwell's painting on display in the White House.

Read more on the topic here.

SOMETHING WITTY.

SOMETHING WITTY?
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xoxo ,
L & K

The New Beatles

The Beatles was the band of the 1960s. Without a doubt. No contest. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were royalty. Literally. Queen Elizabeth II appointed the four to the Order of the British Empire in 1965. But, all good things must come to an end. And after their last song release in 1969, people were left with a void, listening to albums over and over, nostalgic for the band that changed the world.

Fast forward to 2007. England yet again produces a band that changes the world:  Mumford and Sons, a notably "indie rock" band made up of Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane.



In 2009, the band released its first studio album "Sigh No More" which went four times platinum in the UK and twice platinum in the US. Listen here (and feel free to read more about the band's discography as well!)

Mumford and Sons, pictured here in 2012

This summer, the band released their new album "Babel".  According to E! News, the album has already topped billboards for one of the most popular album releases of the year.  Listen below:

Comparing Mumford & Sons to The Beatles actually goes much further than the fact that both are made up of four British males. Statistically, Mumford & Sons have done something that has not been done since The Beatles. The band placed six songs on the Hot 100 list, the most songs by one band in one week since The Beatles.

Their 2011 Bonnaroo performance was outstanding, and American's who didn't make it to the festival are left now feeling pretty sad. Mumford and Sons will be touring this year, though not in the United States. Tour stops include Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the UK.

When food came from The Jungle

Yum!

Perhaps we take for granted where our food comes from. We walk into our nice, clean supermarkets, stroll down the aisles with our shiny carts, pluck colorful, carefully packaged goods from the shelves, and plop them onto a moving belt where we hand over our money and trot along on our merry way home without a second thought.

Where does your food come from? Yes, a supermarket. But where did the supermarket get your food? You don't know? You don't care? In this day and age, we don't need to worry very much about where our food came from - with so many regulations and rules, there's not much cause for concern. 

Back in the day though, in the early 1900s there was cause for concern. Like people nowadays, people back then didn't think much about where their food came from but there were no regulations - and that was scary. People had no idea what they were eating until one man came along and changed everything.

That man, was Upton Sinclair.

THANK GOD FOR THIS GUY

Let me cut to the chase now. The food industry - mainly the meat industry was disgusting. Why? Because money > health. Those in charge of the meat industry were not concerned with the conditions of their factories or what went into their products, only that their products went out and were bought by everyday, naive Americans.

Well, one day a man named Upton Sinclair went to check out one of these factories and decided to write a novel about what he saw.

The novel, The Jungle, revealed to Americans that the nice pretty packages their meat came in was just a facade. Also, that what was in those packages probably contained more than just pork or beef. They probably also contained rats, rat droppings, dirt, bugs, and maybe an actual worker thrown in for good measure.

I'll have the human sandwich, hold the rat poison please.

Needless to say, the public were shocked with what they read. Even the president at the time, Theodore Roosevelt, had trouble believing such things were true, so he sent an investigator to a factory only to find the same unsanitary conditions - meat in piles with rats running over them, meat being picked up off the filthy floor to be thrown in a grinder, and more mouth-watering ways of making food!

In response to these findings, Congress passed the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act which set regulations on the food industry, implemented inspections, and cleaned up factory conditions.

 The Meat Packing Industry was no longer a Jungle and the Food and Drug Act ended up controlling other products in the food industry, such as eventually removing cocaine (yes, cocaine) from Coca Cola. 

I think it is safe to say that Sinclair was a very important man in American history and we should be very grateful that he found and exposed the horrors of meat factories and as he once said "I aimed at the public's heart" (the original intent of the book was to describe the working conditions for immigrants) "and hit its stomach".