Last Wednesday, when I returned home from my half-day at work, Mark wanted to go to the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) because The Moderns exhibit was ending in a few days. Ok, to be honest, at that moment I was not into it. I kind of wanted to loaf around the house for the rest of the afternoon. But then I said to myself, "Self, go to the museum and get outta the house!" So, that's what I did.

I really enjoyed the exhibit, and I'm glad I caught it before it closed. I especially liked Mainie Jellett's portraits,

Eileen Gray's furniture and architecture,

and John Millington Synge's photography.

Walking home, we decided that museum wandering is thirsty work, so we stopped at a pub on Parkgate Street called Nancy Hands. We ordered Paulaners, which was exciting because not many pubs sell it on draught. The only other people in the pub at that early hour were two American tourists from Colorado. We had a nice chat with them, though we probably would have been ever so slightly happier talking amongst ourselves about the art we'd just seen, but we left feeling lighter on our feet and happy to share our Irish know-how with our fellow Americans (though there was one touchy moment where it seemed that we didn't have the same politics and I had to veer away from that particular topic).

We figured that on the way home we'd stop by Lilliput Stores to pick up some special ingredients for a nice dinner. But on the way there we noticed an art opening next door at The Joinery. More art! And complimentary wine! The artist, Colm Rooney, has created these fantastically tiny but magical paintings.

So, after having a good gander at the paintings, we splurged next door on some pizza dough, cheese, and balsamic vinegar and then went home to cook some delicious pizza.

I can't help but think it was a nearly perfect day.

Jeezum I guess it's been a while! I still feel busy, even though of course I haven't gotten a job. I've been doing layout for the annual magazine that RAG puts out, which entailed teaching myself how to use InDesign. If I had known how relatively straightforward it is, I would have taught myself a long time ago and would have probably been able to get a better job back in Boston. Anyhoo - I think it's going to look fantastic, and I hope that the women in my group thinks so too. It's the fourth issue of the magazine, and they seem to get just a little better each time.

So, catching up, back on the 19th, Mark and I went to the art space called The Joinery to see a documentary about Bow Street. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was part of the Fringe Fest. Here's the description of the movie, aptly named Bow Street, by Tadhg O'Sullivan: "Shot and recorded over a month on a narrow Dublin street of bustling barristers, bowed street-drinkers, box-ticking tourists, proud and shamed seekers-of-a-free-lunch at the Capuchin day centre, Bow St. is a film and exhibition that hurries and slows to the criss-crossing paces of a hundred passers-by. The camera traces the movements and pauses of everyday lives; voices drift in and out with personal stories, musings on life and love, fuck ups and forgiveness, holding on and letting go. A unique look past the assumed anonymity of our urban lives."

It was a voyeuristic view of the street, at times funny, but mostly sad. I guess I felt odd watching this documentary in an artist gallery, being all hoity toity while the people on the screen were in such rough shape. I liked the way it didn't have a voice-over the way a traditional documentary does, but at the same time, sometimes they would put captions on the screen to highlight what people were saying, yet they didn't caption every word. This meant that only certain phrases came up on the screen, taken, in some cases, out of context. On one hand, it drew your attention in an interesting way to things you might not have taken notice of, but on the other hand, I sort of resented the fact that my attention was handed to me on a plate like that. Visually, there was never a dull moment in the film.

I had never been to the Joinery before, and I really enjoyed the space. Out front was a photography exhibition, which consisted of stills from the movie along with headphones for each photograph. When you put the headphones on, you felt suddenly like you weren't looking at a still, but a moving picture. The movie was shown in a back room lined with couches and chairs. We brought a couple of beers and drank them while we watched the movie. It was quite comfortable (though maybe would have been more so if we'd have gotten seats!).