"Everything is a miracle. It is a miracle that one does not dissolve in one's bath like a lump of sugar. ” - Pablo Picasso

Humanitarians,

Today we discussed one of my favorite artists ever, Pablo Picasso (if you are keeping track at home, the top 4 of my top 5 have now been discussed: Caravaggio, Picasso, Goya, Bernini). While we tend to just think of Picasso as a Cubist (which is super important since he and the oft-forgot Georges Braque invented the movement), but Picasso is a painter whose work spans generations and movements and is a true work of genius. I've always been particularly fond of his blue period, and in the interest of full disclosure, seeing Guernica in person made me weep like a big ole baby. I highly suggest seeking it out if you're ever in Madrid.

All geniuses love cats, duh

three of my favorite things: Edgar Allen Poe, Pablo Picasso, and puns

Soon we will also look at some literature that is inspired by the ideas/things/creativity driving Picasso and others working at the same time. Just as art has been doing its own thing, so has literature...prepare yourself for some stream of consciousness! 

NO SCHOOL MONDAY! It's President's Day, which is a holiday for you fools. Don't rub it in too much, we have to work. 

On Tuesday, it's back to the grind; we are jumping straight back into art with pages 567-69 out of the humanities book due. It's about to get surreal up in here. Oh Dali. 

On Tuesday, your humanities experience is also due, so make sure it's turned in and ready to go by the beginning of class! Also, next Friday (2/19) is the LAST DAY of the six weeks. Many of you have reading checks, TFA quizzes, and essays to make up....GET ON IT! YOU ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME.

Today's civil rights activist/artist for the day for black history month is Yvette Marie Stevens, more commonly known by the name she received from the Black Panthers and which she used as a performer, Chaka Khan. 

Chaka Khan was born in the Chicago area. In the late 1960's, Khan attended several civil rights rallies with her father's second wife, Connie, a strong supporter of the movement, and joined the Black Panther Party in 1967. While a member, she was given a name change to Chaka Adunne Aduffe Hodarhi Karifi by an African shaman. In 1969, she left the Panthers and began to perform in small groups around the Chicago are with a group called Lyfe, which included her future husband Hassan Khan. 

In 1978, Khan released her first solo album entitled Chaka and included I'm Every Woman, which is considered to be her signature song. Khan struck platinum again with the first single and title track of her 1984 I Feel for You album. In 2011, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

And finally, social media to follow today. 

Check out @meredithtoreing on instagram. She is the international director of the Morning Star Project, which raises money and pays for live saving heart surgeries for babies in China and Africa. She lives/works in China and posts 10000000 adorable baby pictures, plus this is an excellent charity if you have some money to burn. :)

And finally, enjoy your Valentine's Day this weekend. Wear all the pink and tell someone you love them. 

- cbg out