Saturday, March 26, 2011

Goals by Margot Justes

Goals are set and meant to be accomplished, at least that is my understanding. I looked up the word in the dictionary. A goal is 'the result or achievement toward which effort is directed'

Simple enough, set the goal and achieve it-assuming the goal is realistic, it is all well and good, until life intervenes and set goals go out the window faster than hot air in winter.

Last week, I set goals to edit 50 pages of Blood Art, send out 3 query letters, and make a tiny dent in A Hotel in Venice. Not exceptionally difficult tasks and easily accomplished, or so I thought.

I did none of those things, and more to the point I have no idea where the time went.

One reason, I thought might because I'm on the CN RWA board, I get so many more e-mails, but then so do the other board members, and I won't even mention the Spring Fling committee, who are working incredibly long hours so that we can have a terrific 2012 conference. Well, maybe I will mention them after all, their efforts are amazing.

So where did the time go? I have no idea, but I thought about the catastrophe and incredible destruction in Japan, how many lives were lost? Will be lost, how many sacrifices will be made to secure the safety of the Japanese people? How many people will work in certain death to make sure that happens? How dare I complain I didn't meet a few writing goals.

That on-going tragedy in Japan really put things in perspective. Just what am I complaining about? I feel blessed and grateful for what I have.

Till next time.
Margot Justes
www.mjustes.com
A Hotel in Paris

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Traveling by Margot Justes

Celebrity Cruises altered the itinerary for my cruise in October. Alexandria, Egypt was cancelled. I suspect not because of the peaceful overthrow of the government, but the cancellation occurred after the religious conflict between Christians and Muslims broke out.

No one from the cruise line announced that was the reason, it's my own supposition about the timing of the cancellation, and of course there is the unrest in the Middle East as a whole.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. The Pyramids are still on my bucket list. The closest I've come is reading Elizabeth Peters' books and that just made the desire that much greater. Her descriptions are so vivid that you're right there along with Amelia Peabody and her celebrated spouse Emerson solving a mystery, amidst the archeological digs.

I cancelled the Celebrity cruise and went back to my old stand-by Royal Caribbean. Ashdod (Jerusalem) and Haifa, Israel are still part of the itinerary but now I'll also visit Kusadasi, Turkey, as well as Rhodes and Crete, Greece.

Egypt has been postponed until 2012. I sincerely hope that a solid democratic government will flourish, since that is what the general populace wanted when they peacefully toppled the old regime.

One can only hope for a peaceful resolution however tenuous the thread.

Till next time.
Margot Justes
www.mjustes.com
A Hotel in Paris

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Another Art Theft by Margot Justes

A Rodin sculpture was creatively acquired, in other words stolen, from the Israel Museum, now mind you this was bronze; heavy stuff, that bronze.

Yet, it was removed from the premises, granted this was not a huge piece by Rodin, the estimated weight was about 140 pounds and it was approximately 50 lbs but hardly something you can put in your pocket or under your clothes and walk out without someone noticing an odd appendage lurking about on your person.

How does a statue weighing 140 pounds disappear from a museum? It appears the Israel Museum was undergoing substantial renovations and probably sometime during the construction the statue disappeared. Pooh, it was moved and apparently kept on moving.

Some art experts fear that it might be sold for scrap. What a horrendous thought, an irreplaceable work of art, sculpted by a master and cast in bronze would be sold for scrap.
I hope the piece found a loving home somewhere, that is a much better alternative than reducing a glorious piece to scrap.

The only reason I say it was cast in bronze is purely for clarification, because I have been asked how difficult is it to sculpt bronze? Very difficult. In fact it is impossible. Bronze is always cast from the molding of the original work of art.

Till next time.
Margot Justes
www.mjustes.com
A Hotel in Paris