Bits by Slavito (page 8)

If the idea of covering the 800-year history of Russian art in one day of serious museum hiking sounds appealing to you, New York Guggenheim's "Russia!" exhibition has been put together with you in mind.

Read the rest of: "Russia! At! The! Guggenheim!"»

Something you might want to consider this Saturday if you're in Montreal and are into electronic music, video, and freebies: a free performance at the National Film Board where one of my friends will be VJ'ing.

Read the rest of: "Nuit Blanche 2005"»

Ok, I am kidding. No revolutions. Just abstract sculpture with a hefty price tag.

Nevertheless, if you're curious to see what all that buzz is about, come and see "The Gates" in Central Park during the next two weeks. Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the two people behind the project (artistically and financially) say that once it's gone it's really GONE!

Read the rest of: "New York's Orange Revolution"»

On my last trip to Buenos Aires, I was pleasantly surprised with the book-shopping scene there. Walking the streets of downtown B.A. was like traveling in a time machine - this must have been what New York City was like in the 1970's: crowded, polluted, with lots of small bookstores...

Read the rest of: "Book Shopping in Buenos Aires"»

¡Feliz Año Nuevo desde Madrid! By the way, this is Madrid's Puerta del Sol on New Year's eve (right around midnight). Did you know that Spaniards eat grapes instead of drinking champagne during the countdown? You're supposed to eat exactly twelve during the last minute of the year - that works out to be one grape every five seconds, if my degree in Mathematics was worth anything at all. If you linger or hesitate then it's bad luck. All grocery shops around Puerta del Sol sell seedless grapes (is that cheating?), neatly packed by the dozen.

The Buenos Aires neighborhood of San Telmo is known for many things - for example, it enjoys the reputation of the world center of tango music. Perhaps, a somewhat lesser feather in its cap is San Telmo's title as the home of the Sunday flea market.

It took me a while, but yesterday I finally overcame my dislike of flea markets and people in general and took a stroll south in search of some good shots and possibly a deal or two. None of that materialized, of course, but the atmosphere I found was reasonably festive.

Read the rest of: "Sunday Flea Market in San Telmo"»

The Associated Press reminds us that The Berlinische Galerie of modern art will reopen for the first time in its own space on Saturday.

The museum is housed in a former warehouse. It features hundreds of thousands of artworks including pieces by George Grosz, Otto Dix and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.

P.S. The illustrative collage shows two pieces by V.Lewandowsky (left) and O.Dix (right).

My sister and I arrived at Hotel Mar de Frente (Los Caños De Meca, Costa de la Luz, Andalucía) almost by accident (or, to put it bluntly, by virtue of not being able to back our stick-shift rental coche out of a driveway). All in all, I must say it was a happy accident.

Having left the stubborn car in the care of a friendly parking lot attendant, we inquired about available rooms at the hotel and briefly surveyed the beach below. The results of both inquiries appeared to be satisfactory.... We checked in...

Read the rest of: "Hotel Mar de Frente (Los Caños de Meca)"»