Tag: Marie Antoinette

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They Listened to What I Said

The United States government finally listened to what I had to say.

Worth $100,000 in mint condition!
Inverted Jenny – 1918. Photo by SabreCEO (2006). PD-USGOV. Wikimedia Commons.

Effective 10 April 2016, the Post Office reduced its rate on first class mail from 49 cents to 47 cents. This was the first time they lowered the cost of a stamp in 100 years. Why? I have no clue. Seems stupid to me considering their financial condition. But hey, I’ll take a 4% cut in any of our expenses.

My Conversations With The Green Hills Post Office

I have a lot of interaction with the Post Office. I have a P.O. Box there to collect mail for Southeast Business Forums and Yooper Publications. One at a time and when requested, I mail my books to Amazon from the Green Hills post office (presumably someone has put an order in for a book). After Amazon conducts their quarterly inventory count and finds too many of my books are taking up shelf space, I receive the extra ones back. Happy Face!! Oh, I also buy my stamps from the nice folks behind the counter. Read More They Listened to What I Said

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The Court Painter Was A Woman

Self-portrait in a Straw Hat. Painting by Louise Élisabeth Vigée le Brun (c. 1782). PD-100+. National Gallery. Wikimedia Commons
Self-portrait in a Straw Hat. Painting by Louise Élisabeth Vigée le Brun (c. 1782). PD-100+. National Gallery. Wikimedia Commons

I wish I had the money and time to hop on over to Europe every time I see an exhibit, event, or happening that grabs my attention. One such event that I would fly across the Pond to attend is the current art exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris. This special exhibition is dedicated to one of France’s foremost artists, the self-taught portrait painter Louise Élisabeth Vigée le Brun (1755–1842).

The Grand Palais

Vigée le Brun or Madame le Brun as she was known, was a prolific artist painting more than 600 portraits and 200 landscapes. Madame le Brun commanded very high commissions—so naturally she was disliked by many of the male artists of the time (jealousy spilled over into some calling her “feeble and vulgar”). She also happened to be, at the age of 23, the official court painter for Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette. Read More The Court Painter Was A Woman