Monday, October 13, 2008

A fountain and a tax plan


A couple of quick things before I head out to the garden.

Joann wanted to see inside the book of the Columbian Exposition. Ask and ye shall receive, my dear!

This is a picture of the MacMonnies Fountain. From the Paul V. Galvin Library at Illinois Institute of Technology:

THE COLUMBIAN FOUNTAIN - Frederick MacMonnies [a sculptor from Brooklyn] was entrusted with the design and construction of the central fountain at the Fair, and $50,000 were placed at his disposal for the purpose. Of this amount, it is said that the ardent lover of sculpture actually expended fully $48,000 in bringing his great conception to successful completion. The fountain shows Columbia sitting aloft of the Barge of State, heralded by Fame at the prow, oared by the Arts and Industries, guided by Time at the helm, and drawn by the sea-horses of Commerce. The prow of the barge is ornamented with an eagle's beak; its sides are bordered with dolphins in relief; and horns of plenty pour their abundance over the gunwales. The pedestal on which Columbia sits, bears a national shield in front, and the throne is supported by four kneeling children, who also bear heavy garlands. A torch at rest is in Columbia's hand. The rowers on the right are Music, Architecture, Sculpture and Painting; on the left, Agriculture, Science, Industry and Commerce. Time has improvised a helm by using his scythe. This barge stands in the center of a circular basin, one hundred and fifty feet in diameter, which at its eastern periphery flows in circular cascade in many falls to the surface of the Grand Basin of the Exposition, twelve feet below. In the basin of the fountain, four pair of sea-horses, mounted by riders who represent modern intelligence, draw the barge. Near the semi-circular balustrade which guards the rear of the fountain, dolphins send streams upward, and mermaids and tritons at various places add to the fleecy display of high-thrown water. The general effect of the MacMonnies fountain was marvelously beautiful, and thousands of visitors gained their chief enjoyment in sitting near by and enjoying the principal scene. It was said to be the largest fountain in the world.

Myra commented that I've written before that my sister Diana is kind of strange. Ha ha! I'm pretty sure Di would take that as a compliment, as would I! I can assure you that Di is one of the kindest people you could ever meet, and one of the funnest as well. Di has a good time pretty much wherever she is or whatever she is doing, and has a joy for life that you rarely see in people. Yeah, she's a bit of a nut...but I think she might have figured out that the key to happiness is a slight dose of nuttiness!

Finally (for now), I found this chart in Parade magazine, the one that comes with the Sunday newspaper. I thought it was fairly interesting. I don't know about you guys, but we're not close to those upper levels. It makes sense to me that millionaires should pay a little more in taxes, rather than less. Sorry it's kind of tiny--get out your magnifying glass, Sherlock!

12 comments:

  1. I saw that too about the taxes.
    Yes, the rich should pay more!

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  2. That just confirms my opinion of who to vote for...rich do get richer; maybe we can change that.
    Karen

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  3. What about those under $19,000? DSK

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  4. The more you earn the more tax you should pay

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  5. I'll skip commenting on the tax, lest I ruin the lefty-loosy flow of your comment area ;)

    The Columbian Expo book is cool, btw.

    0n a style note: it's very hard to determine where your post headings are. I read on through for half a paragraph before it registered that it was a seperate post. Just mentioning it, thought you'd appreciate the feedback.

    Any idea how to better center sidebars too? Mine's much too close to the post area.

    Have a good one!

    Dan

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  6. I'm definitely on the lower end of that scale.....

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  7. I certainly can attest that nuttines runs in the family :o)

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  8. wow, I would save with McCain :)

    interesting info; thanks for posting it Beth

    betty

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  9. Diana sounds like my sister Dennice (Dee). She's gets joy out of everything and is definitely a nut!

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  10. That is quite a difference is tax savings. I didn't see this before, thanks for the info.

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  11. I cut out that exact table of Obama and McCain from Parade and sent it off to a friend. XO

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I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you?