Autumn Pals
Aug/10/2011 13:52
Autumn is a glorious epoch of swirling, richly-colored leaves, clear (if cold) blue skies, invigorating winds, and semi-mixed emotions. (Or maybe that’s just us.) It’s a period of extraordinary transition – the start of the school year, end of the summer, and most importantly of all, the beginning of the holiday season. Goodbye summer, hello Thanksgiving and Christmas!
Autumn is perfection. The weather is deliciously cool; the air is crisp and breathable; the colors are magnificent. Autumn is the ideal season to end the year. It is calm. Reflective. Mellow. And paradoxically, outrageously joyful and alive. In the words of George Eliot, “Delicious autumn! …If I were a bird, I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”
See the new Autumn Pals globe at Gumps!
Two playful dogs romping in a pile of leaves.
Colorful autumn leaves fall to the ground.
A cardinal in the tree is amused by their antics.
Autumn is perfection. The weather is deliciously cool; the air is crisp and breathable; the colors are magnificent. Autumn is the ideal season to end the year. It is calm. Reflective. Mellow. And paradoxically, outrageously joyful and alive. In the words of George Eliot, “Delicious autumn! …If I were a bird, I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”
See the new Autumn Pals globe at Gumps!
Two playful dogs romping in a pile of leaves.
Colorful autumn leaves fall to the ground.
A cardinal in the tree is amused by their antics.
Santa's Seceret Get Away
Dec/20/2010 10:58
Now there’s a sight that you don’t see every day – Santa kickin’ back in Paris with a good book and a glass of Paris’ best. It’s the refreshing, more selfish side of Santa. The poor guy really gets a raw deal. Would you like to be out in a convertible on one of the coldest nights of the year just to give people things? And not only in a convertible, but in a convertible at altitudes where you can’t breathe because firstly, there’s less oxygen, and secondly, it’s even colder than on ground level?
Yeah, I didn’t think so. But we expect Santa to ride around in zero degree weather in just a sleigh and some furs with a boatload of gifts for us in the driving snow. That’s just an accident waiting to happen. And maybe a nice case of pneumonia. Mrs. Claus must have her hands full the day after Christmas.
So when I see Santa lounging about in Paris, I’m happy for him! Let’s give the guy a break – he deserves it.
Yeah, I didn’t think so. But we expect Santa to ride around in zero degree weather in just a sleigh and some furs with a boatload of gifts for us in the driving snow. That’s just an accident waiting to happen. And maybe a nice case of pneumonia. Mrs. Claus must have her hands full the day after Christmas.
So when I see Santa lounging about in Paris, I’m happy for him! Let’s give the guy a break – he deserves it.
Siddihartha and Serenity
Dec/20/2010 10:43
The Buddha snow globe that was designed exclusively for Gump’s looks, at first glance, like one of Big Trike’s more dramatic globes. The complete disparity between the vivid gold of the Buddha and its pedestal and the black ground is very forceful. The swirling glitter surrounding the Buddha only adds to the globe’s vividness.
The reason that I like this globe is because although it looks pretty dramatic, color and image-wise, it’s not. It contains a Buddha that looks like what a Buddha should be – I’m not a big advocate of those stubby, chubby, cheerful-looking Buddhas. This Buddha looks mysterious and benign – both characteristics that are apt descriptions of Buddha,
Just looking at the Buddha globe makes me feel relaxed and kind of…zen. And isn’t that, after all, the point?
The reason that I like this globe is because although it looks pretty dramatic, color and image-wise, it’s not. It contains a Buddha that looks like what a Buddha should be – I’m not a big advocate of those stubby, chubby, cheerful-looking Buddhas. This Buddha looks mysterious and benign – both characteristics that are apt descriptions of Buddha,
Just looking at the Buddha globe makes me feel relaxed and kind of…zen. And isn’t that, after all, the point?
Epic Battles Over the Holidays
Nov/24/2010 15:42
The Nutcracker. The ballet that has become synonymous with Christmas, which is synonymous with lengthy vacations, swirling snow, lovely decorations, massive dinner parties, and all things good. The delicate chiming music of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies brings expectant and ever-so-slightly greedy looks to the faces of millions of children around the world. The Nutcracker definitely qualifies as one of the top five nostalgia-producing pieces, and I absolutely love it.
For someone who presumably had a life filled with personal turmoil, Pyotr Tchaikovsky certainly produced a work that was beautifully whimsical. Nowadays unrest and confusion produces Eminem; back then they got Tchaikovsky. (I’m thinkin’ that they got the better end of that deal.) Incidentally, I’d like to take a moment to give a shout out to George Balanchine and co. Tchaikovsky may have composed the ballet, and kudos to him for that, but Balanchine popularized it and synonymized it with Christmas. (Is that a word?) And let’s be honest, what is Christmas today without The Nutcracker?
The Nutcracker snow globe by Big Trike strikes a nostalgic, wistful chord for me, and probably for anyone out there who’s ever been to the NYC Ballet productions around Christmas time. It depicts Marie and the Prince, in the middle of a dance, standing out in the winter under the snow-laden evergreens. It’s reflective, somewhat longing, and sweet, and it brings to mind all things Christmas-y.
And who doesn’t love Christmas?
And now, for our exclusive (just kidding) Big Trike Christmas tidbits - NYC Ballet fun facts for you, and an animated computer Nutcracker story. Definitely worth a looksie – check it!
For someone who presumably had a life filled with personal turmoil, Pyotr Tchaikovsky certainly produced a work that was beautifully whimsical. Nowadays unrest and confusion produces Eminem; back then they got Tchaikovsky. (I’m thinkin’ that they got the better end of that deal.) Incidentally, I’d like to take a moment to give a shout out to George Balanchine and co. Tchaikovsky may have composed the ballet, and kudos to him for that, but Balanchine popularized it and synonymized it with Christmas. (Is that a word?) And let’s be honest, what is Christmas today without The Nutcracker?
The Nutcracker snow globe by Big Trike strikes a nostalgic, wistful chord for me, and probably for anyone out there who’s ever been to the NYC Ballet productions around Christmas time. It depicts Marie and the Prince, in the middle of a dance, standing out in the winter under the snow-laden evergreens. It’s reflective, somewhat longing, and sweet, and it brings to mind all things Christmas-y.
And who doesn’t love Christmas?
And now, for our exclusive (just kidding) Big Trike Christmas tidbits - NYC Ballet fun facts for you, and an animated computer Nutcracker story. Definitely worth a looksie – check it!
Joys of Small Birds
Nov/02/2010 09:28
There’s nothing humorous or comical about this particular snow globe. This digresses from my general world view, in which the comedic aspect can be found in anything and everything, but there ya have it. This globe personifies pure, natural loveliness, from the twining branch of the tree to the intensely hued red of the berries that the chickadee is perched on, to the feathery, plump delicacy of the chickadee herself. This snow globe certainly falls under the “moment-capturing” category. Its sophistication and intensity lies in its utter simplicity – a moment frozen in time, in a Matrix-esque instant of cold air and snow hanging, immobile, in the air.
The quote on the base of the snow globe by Jean Paul Richter is very apropos for this frozen moment. “Joys are our wings.” For this gentle, joy-filled instant brimming with vibrant colors and the expectant potential directly prior to the chickadee’s flight, nothing could be more true.
.
The quote on the base of the snow globe by Jean Paul Richter is very apropos for this frozen moment. “Joys are our wings.” For this gentle, joy-filled instant brimming with vibrant colors and the expectant potential directly prior to the chickadee’s flight, nothing could be more true.
.
Halloween Scares at Gumps
Oct/18/2010 22:58
Halloween! That creepy, pseudo-magical time of year in which symbolism, tradition, and widespread superstition run rampant, between the jack o’ lanterns, mass consumption of such essential Halloween paraphernalia as toilet paper and eggs, a remarkably sudden fear of black cats and ladders, and my personal annual screening of E.T.. (In my opinion, a MUCH better Halloween movie than Freddy vs. Jason.)
Yes, holidays are all about the tradition. Halloween is rife with them. The tradition of scooping out the pumpkin pulp and carving out the angry (albeit somewhat confused) pumpkin eyes. The tradition of treating (and yes, sometimes tricking). The tradition of decorating both yourself and your home.
I’ll admit it: I’m not of the ilk that discusses the origins of Halloween or gads about looking for history lessons. I like Halloween because it’s fun. And nostalgic. It’s a moment-capturing day.
That would be why I am a fan of the Big Trike Halloween globe. Actually, the “Big Trike” name says it all. I may be an adult, but I might still want to ride a tricycle. And yes, to go trick-or-treating. And dress up in costumes, and make myself quite ill due to copious consumption of candy. I want to go back to being led around by the hand to try and scare neighbors in my daunting, spectral three-year-oldness. (“Three-year-oldness”? Is that a word?)
The Big Trike Halloween globe portrays a mama cat and her itty-bitty little baby cat trying to frighten a jack o’ lantern. It’s adorable, and it completely encapsulates the entire Halloween in that one brief moment. The black cats; the jack o’lantern’; the swirl of bats flying in from above. All of it is, definitively, “Halloween”.
Yes, holidays are all about the tradition. Halloween is rife with them. The tradition of scooping out the pumpkin pulp and carving out the angry (albeit somewhat confused) pumpkin eyes. The tradition of treating (and yes, sometimes tricking). The tradition of decorating both yourself and your home.
I’ll admit it: I’m not of the ilk that discusses the origins of Halloween or gads about looking for history lessons. I like Halloween because it’s fun. And nostalgic. It’s a moment-capturing day.
That would be why I am a fan of the Big Trike Halloween globe. Actually, the “Big Trike” name says it all. I may be an adult, but I might still want to ride a tricycle. And yes, to go trick-or-treating. And dress up in costumes, and make myself quite ill due to copious consumption of candy. I want to go back to being led around by the hand to try and scare neighbors in my daunting, spectral three-year-oldness. (“Three-year-oldness”? Is that a word?)
The Big Trike Halloween globe portrays a mama cat and her itty-bitty little baby cat trying to frighten a jack o’ lantern. It’s adorable, and it completely encapsulates the entire Halloween in that one brief moment. The black cats; the jack o’lantern’; the swirl of bats flying in from above. All of it is, definitively, “Halloween”.
Peter Arno Globe Paints Fall Colors
Oct/18/2010 22:58
Autumn hath arrived! I think Albert Camus put it best - “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf’s a flower”. That fresh crisp air…crunching crisp leaves…crisp blue skies…everything crisp, crisp, crisp, gorgeous, colorful, and so vivacious. I love it! And every year at this time, the same thought crosses my mind: “Oh, you poor Floridians.” (Of course, my seasonal superiority lasts only until about mid-January, when I go running south for two weeks. So there ya have it.)
Anyway…back to autumn…
Nothing crunches “Autumn” like Peter Arno’s iconic 1926 New Yorker cover which depicts the whimsical image of a man, holding a rake, patiently awaiting the descent of the last leaf on a tree. And that, therefore, is exactly what is portrayed in the Big Trike Autumn Snow Globe – Peter Arno’s classic cartoon ablaze with all of the seasonal colors of autumn – swirling leaves of golden, orange, and red hues, the gardener looking expectantly up at that Last. Stubborn. Leaf. And the bare tree, almost shivering, tenaciously holding on to its last bit of warmth for the next few months.
I can breathe the raw freshness right now.
Anyway…back to autumn…
Nothing crunches “Autumn” like Peter Arno’s iconic 1926 New Yorker cover which depicts the whimsical image of a man, holding a rake, patiently awaiting the descent of the last leaf on a tree. And that, therefore, is exactly what is portrayed in the Big Trike Autumn Snow Globe – Peter Arno’s classic cartoon ablaze with all of the seasonal colors of autumn – swirling leaves of golden, orange, and red hues, the gardener looking expectantly up at that Last. Stubborn. Leaf. And the bare tree, almost shivering, tenaciously holding on to its last bit of warmth for the next few months.
I can breathe the raw freshness right now.
New globe for the Metropoitan Opera
Oct/18/2010 22:57
I remember the first time I attended an opera at the Met. It was in 2007. Lucia di Lammermoor was opening the season that year, and they had their annual open dress rehearsal, as they do every year. (Hence “annual”.) And despite the crowds of the very obvious demographic that the dress rehearsal was catering to (*cough* Senior citizens! Think “early bird special”), it was, as the inimitable Billy Crystal so aptly put it, “mahvelous”.
It was, in fact, much more than that. The entire experience was magical, from the moment I placed my foot over red, plush-carpeted threshold of the edifice ("building" somehow doesn't suffice), until the very end when Natalie Dessay rolled down the treacherous flight of stairs, laughing maniacally, deep in the throes of her madness. And everything in between – the Chagall murals; the spiraling staircase and their deeply colored, polished brass balustrades. The delicate, powerful chandeliers modeled, seemingly, after snowflakes. Everything.
Magical indeed. And unforgettable. Why would I buy a Met snow globe? Probably for the same reason that patriotic tourists from Kentucky buy those commemorative silver spoons at the Statue of Liberty.
When I turn the lights on in the snow globe, the Chagall murals glow with a gentle luminescence, and the fountains sparkle under the blanket of silver glitter that is falling from the “sky”? Every time I look at the snow globe, Natalie Dessay, the starburst that is the Met chandelier and that subtle feeling of hushed luxury warm me up all over again. I’ve heard it called “the warm fuzzies”. I prefer to call it happiness.
Magical indeed. And unforgettable. Why would I buy a Met snow globe? Probably for the same reason that patriotic tourists from Kentucky buy those commemorative silver spoons at the Statue of Liberty.
When I turn the lights on in the snow globe, the Chagall murals glow with a gentle luminescence, and the fountains sparkle under the blanket of silver glitter that is falling from the “sky”? Every time I look at the snow globe, Natalie Dessay, the starburst that is the Met chandelier and that subtle feeling of hushed luxury warm me up all over again. I’ve heard it called “the warm fuzzies”. I prefer to call it happiness.