tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51017470832311499652024-03-19T07:26:43.898-04:00brilliant lightjohnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-51646392268520207482011-02-25T23:28:00.004-05:002011-02-25T23:36:59.048-05:00I'M DEAD i'm dead, i'm dead....While googling my name to check if my website is finally launched...<br />I uncovered a grizzly secret....<br /><br />I DIED ABOUT 21 YEARS AGO!!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.prairiesouls.com/A.%20Lamont%20Cemetries%20on%20Line/Lamont,%20AB%20-St%20John%20Baptist%20Cemetery/Mycemetery-65.htm">CHECK IT...</a><br />Somehow this seems appropriate listening whilest contemplating this unnerving fact:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKRJfIPiJGY&feature=related">HERE...</a><br /><br />No wondered I am so tired....johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-13374305884864157632011-01-09T21:19:00.003-05:002011-01-09T21:41:00.955-05:002011<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCU3OGb15nS6skOgruRohlBuVytyHtcIGe6_ZZa77eE3y_SiFeHwUkVMu3t1jvs9xYz6fJvxn6IIW6RmU2HGNWZpQGd5XqOrwnkLeMZ-jvBnPQhve5EijRy_ISXO3K73qAOV0HTkmT7JKK/s1600/blogger+004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCU3OGb15nS6skOgruRohlBuVytyHtcIGe6_ZZa77eE3y_SiFeHwUkVMu3t1jvs9xYz6fJvxn6IIW6RmU2HGNWZpQGd5XqOrwnkLeMZ-jvBnPQhve5EijRy_ISXO3K73qAOV0HTkmT7JKK/s400/blogger+004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560377007805018962" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Sunday the 7th....already a week into the new year...and FINALLY a chance to come up for air after the holidays...I havent really had a moment to myself until now...to plan for the coming year...I EVEN wrote some resolutions down....<br /><br /> I used to dismiss this practice in the past, but I just turned 39 this December, and as I get older I am starting to see the need for SOME sort of plan if only for the illusion of "direction".<br /><br /> (What those resolutions are is really for my sake only, but suffice to say I preferred to address things I wish to DO rather than things I need to STOP doing...)<br /><br /> Last Sunday...after working New years eve and day...I went out to the nearby branch of Powell's bookstore and bought a copy of poems by Charles Simic...a new favorite...it was a crystal clear cold day with an etched blue sky....a good day to bring home some new poetry...<br /><br /> I found this poem in another anthology and hunted down his work....it is very appropriate when contemplating time and a new year...<br /><br />THE ALTAR<br /><br />The plastic statue of the Virgin<br />On top of a bedroom dresser<br />With a blackened mirror<br />From a bad-dream grooming salon.<br /><br />Two pebbles from the grave of a rock star,<br />A small, grinning wind-up monkey,<br />A bronze Egyptian coin<br />And a red movie-ticket stub.<br /><br />A splotch of sunlight on the framed<br />Communion photograph of a boy<br />With the eyes of someone<br />Who will drown in a lake real soon.<br /><br />An altar dignifying the god of chance.<br />What is beautiful, it cautions,<br />Is found accidentally and not sought after.<br />What is beautiful is easily lost.<br /><br />-Charles Simic<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht7jgmRLeoCFTqYfjN_EvINsZDLCzWJKdr9TE5AF1QqTQA9J8G8Xt9xT9ZY_YOPcpDslV-HgHDAORHqkTKsV9ltDY1tnAPUvYrcFvoGNxoA9YFZeMRH8riXB1CwFExfVSi0JTJbS-Jm-c3/s1600/blogger+001.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht7jgmRLeoCFTqYfjN_EvINsZDLCzWJKdr9TE5AF1QqTQA9J8G8Xt9xT9ZY_YOPcpDslV-HgHDAORHqkTKsV9ltDY1tnAPUvYrcFvoGNxoA9YFZeMRH8riXB1CwFExfVSi0JTJbS-Jm-c3/s400/blogger+001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560381054990385058" /></a><br /><br /><br /> Here's hoping we all appreciate what we have, and make things happen in this fresh new year...johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-83512922239800097232010-07-19T02:15:00.008-04:002010-07-19T02:38:23.078-04:00100TH POST:up and coming<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7blrTOwPahlAoVyuyjs40m5235ByLtL_HU3l_B40nnL_IXBeCEpMbbvEKUCGcuYJeX9Q8kxmXjJPpAa6VbPJq6ke84tvEpid8vMPWocGIBjjhNp0NEEWppLpbCA6-gQSFP7-OlXJrhx3N/s1600/flickr+040.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7blrTOwPahlAoVyuyjs40m5235ByLtL_HU3l_B40nnL_IXBeCEpMbbvEKUCGcuYJeX9Q8kxmXjJPpAa6VbPJq6ke84tvEpid8vMPWocGIBjjhNp0NEEWppLpbCA6-gQSFP7-OlXJrhx3N/s400/flickr+040.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495501885870987682" /></a><br /> <br /><br /> The beginning of a series a started in NYC but had to scrap <br />because of my move: some site-specific guerilla art....<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZmHndLq6OnDx_TCWjhf_lPP9q7HuI9ooVXw1mXr3Er91azb3UytiNJ67zGln_tE_ZUosd5F5eDYK5P34SAHBqebCpioCkhgaNuswgTXN2Aaqj_fMC1s50sPaUCwVGiMW8qya7lYVjZlf/s1600/flickr+008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZmHndLq6OnDx_TCWjhf_lPP9q7HuI9ooVXw1mXr3Er91azb3UytiNJ67zGln_tE_ZUosd5F5eDYK5P34SAHBqebCpioCkhgaNuswgTXN2Aaqj_fMC1s50sPaUCwVGiMW8qya7lYVjZlf/s400/flickr+008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495501889066873794" /></a><br /><br /><br />...let's just hope this stump stays "in situ" while I slave <br />away at putting this project together...as it is very <br />labor intensive.....<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATpkeZl2ZWOAlAhlfxO7cxksI-_E419HZOyryxAon9arbhXkt3tV_C_fs0LA4oWqMGj74VDWBSNpLA1aephP3M7aBTmBHSXmN16HgA7XzndNEMO-6d9MRj9HulHPhKifqdrbqosrRWxiz/s1600/flickr+010.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATpkeZl2ZWOAlAhlfxO7cxksI-_E419HZOyryxAon9arbhXkt3tV_C_fs0LA4oWqMGj74VDWBSNpLA1aephP3M7aBTmBHSXmN16HgA7XzndNEMO-6d9MRj9HulHPhKifqdrbqosrRWxiz/s400/flickr+010.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495501898354442946" /></a><br /><br /><br /> I wouldn't have it any other way.....<br /> (I am lookin forward to the sekrit late-night reveal....<br /> ..if you behave i might invite you...)<br /><br /> STAY TUNED!!!johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-39524677561941546192010-05-18T19:53:00.011-04:002010-05-21T00:25:52.050-04:00The dust that hides the glow of a rose....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyjXPQJEMbgwASt46Qak4CAIHOb657f0dvJ6F72iky_kMrMGa3F0-6dI5zcjDn6BkzsKYR0VUCeHMklf19DflxZE3CgsxSKrT3yde0LeRhbuHv-HjdXiw8w82OhWlh4GesXZy4Ljmq8R0/s1600/flickr+004.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyjXPQJEMbgwASt46Qak4CAIHOb657f0dvJ6F72iky_kMrMGa3F0-6dI5zcjDn6BkzsKYR0VUCeHMklf19DflxZE3CgsxSKrT3yde0LeRhbuHv-HjdXiw8w82OhWlh4GesXZy4Ljmq8R0/s400/flickr+004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472777139414055570" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Last weekend I went to a cheapie movie theater and finally saw SHUTTER ISLAND....Definately not the most origional plot for a film....worn slightly thin in parts, but overall a beautiful movie with a pretty stellar cast (Leonardo DiCaprio is pretty impressive with his sustained intensity)....visually beautiful...and with an awesome soundtrack....<br /><br /> I have this thing where from a young age, I HAVE TO stay in the theater until just about the final moments of the credits rolling up the screen...kind of a religious ritual....when you begin to return from the place a film has taken you...like shaking the sleep off ones frame....talking to those beside you about what you've just seen....<br /><br /> Lucky for me I did....For alot of people sprinted for the door the moment the credits appeared...only hearing the opening strains of the final music....a lowing cello....The beginning of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Richter">MAX RICHTER'S </a>piece "On the Nature of Daylight"....and then a female's voice joins it: the Queen of Blues: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinah_Washington">DINAH WASHINGTON</a>....and I couldn't move until the final credits rolled by and I could uncover who's haunting voice I was hearing....<br /><br /> Turns out that Dinah Washington's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=judyCgN2daA&NR=1">origional version </a>is alot more in keeping with the time when she was alive...She was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in August of 1924...just weeks before <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Otis">Clyde Otis</a>...who was born on September 11th, 1924 in Mississippi...who went to war and later moved to NYC to try his hand at song writing. He ended up writing "This Bitter Earth", which Dinah Washington recorded in 1960, just 3 years before her early death at age 39. She was married eight times (one can easily project all this into her voice as she sings about the hardships of being alive..), and it was her last husband, NFL player Dick Lane, who discovered her dead beside him on December 14th, 1963...she had mixed two different barbituates together in a deadly combination....<br /> It was 3 more years before Max Richter was born in Germany in 1966....who would go on to write On the Nature of Daylight, which would later be remixed with Dinah Washington's voice to create such a beautiful piece that I have already listened to it at least 10-20 times today (and cried just about every time I did...hey, I DID tell you before I am a BIG SAP)....Clyde Otis would go on to live until 2008.<br /><br /> There is something so beautiful to me about the artistic process, and the nature of collaborations as well, that an artist can be years in the grave and continue to live amoung us...literally collaborating with others, inspiring them and pushing their talents higher and higher...that a song writer can write such beautiful words...and a singer can bring them to life...and a composer can lift them even higher...and enrich a film....long after some of those participants have gone from this earth.....you really can live forever inna way....<br /><br /><br /> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXHGoaEtmFM&NR=1">ON THE NATURE OF DAYLIGHT/THIS BITTER EARTH</a><br /><br /><br /> <strong>for Dinah:<br /><br /><br /> Blessed be the candle that burns half as bright... <br /> <br /> For in burning, burns twice as long... <br /> <br /> And the brighter light knows only night...<br /><br /> But the lesser may live to glimpse the dawn...</strong>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-74496274230577214672010-05-11T01:56:00.004-04:002010-05-11T02:11:03.207-04:00LONG time gone.....Someone I knew...long time ago....when I first moved to Seattle almost 20 years ago now...(eek)...played this song for me...and it has HAUNTED me since then....I have always wanted to hear it again....<br /><br /> Tonight upon arriving home from work...I somehow managed to think to look it up correctly...and was able to find this site where I could hear it in it's entirety<br />for free.....<br /><br /> It is still very bit as beautiful as I remember...<br /><br /> I have to qualify this by saying that I do not care for alot of Irish traditional music...(though I just found out this band is actually from Scotland....perhaps part of why it was so hard to find...? I find it, as a genre, too sentimental...if that means anything...forgive me.....(though I will also say, that WAKING NED DEVINE, the Irish film, has gone A LONG WAY to turning my sentiments on that issue...AN AWESOME FILM...see it right away...)<br /><br /> Anyway....listen to it and judge for yourself...I think this song is utterly beautiful....<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.we7.com/#/track/Braw-Burn-The-Bridges!trackId=1978654">THE TANNAHILL WEAVERS: (CULLEN BAY album), Braw Burn the Bridges</a><br /><br />(click on "PLAY BUTTON" icon in top left corner, and select "play full song"...you'll need to wait a few secong before prompt will appear...)<br /><br /> Can't understand the lyrics? <a href="http://www.tannahillweavers.com/lyrics/1108lyr9.htm">Read them here</a>...I think I wanna learn these by heart, so I can sing this at the top of my lungs whilst stumbling home drunk in the future: I tend to wanna sing when really ripped at times...)johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-36495246283564241322010-04-29T14:14:00.006-04:002010-05-06T14:15:49.174-04:00all by myself with RACHMININOFFI have been neglecting my classical music education for a while so I picked<br />something at random from the library shelves...<br />2 Russian heavy-hitters...Peter Tchaikovsky and Rachmoninoff....while listening to the 2nd movement of ROCKY'S 2nd piano concerto I was suddenly havin deja vu.... (right at 1 minute and 50 seconds....listen to the reed instrument solo....):<br /><br /><a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gesnsp4XOvo">LISTEN TO IT HERE:</a><br /> <br /> And now listen to this.....<br /><br /><a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf9txfsMhU0">SOUND FAMILIAR?</a><br /><br /> <br /> HILARIOUS.johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-1099805141586507622010-04-21T16:21:00.005-04:002010-04-22T02:25:40.722-04:00the TRASH heap: POSTSCRIPT<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV48YA-ab_EjuqZwsw4QSsHLbg7bihSk4HOHv-D1XUY0lmZRkA2MhyiGmb1AIQeauU3B40Treb5PL0sCtCNLKkUbhV2gkQfnppcOSlsEPrKwdu53tmCMx3_PAZQtgztqEOWPwGl6L28eNT/s1600/BLOGGER+007.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV48YA-ab_EjuqZwsw4QSsHLbg7bihSk4HOHv-D1XUY0lmZRkA2MhyiGmb1AIQeauU3B40Treb5PL0sCtCNLKkUbhV2gkQfnppcOSlsEPrKwdu53tmCMx3_PAZQtgztqEOWPwGl6L28eNT/s400/BLOGGER+007.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462694629444195506" /></a><br /><br /><br /> <br /> Who knew that on my latest trip to the G-WILL that I would also discover it to be a conduit for soul searching...which is apparently what I have been doing alot of on a subconscious level....<br /><br /> This poem was hiding amoungst the frames on the shelf...and usually I am buying the frames for future art projects...not for what is in the frame...usually cliche or amatuerish...(again, Not being a snob...)...But there is was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiderata">DESIDERATA</a>: I had thought it was part of the teachings of some wiseman...Plato, or the writings of some medieval monk....<br /><br /> Turns out it is the work of an attorney turned philosopher from Indiana....written in the 1920s...though ironically, a rumor was widespread that it was discovered in St Pauls Church in Baltimore, Maryland...and had been written anonymously in 1692...around the time the church was founded....not, as in fact the case, by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Ehrmann">MAX ERHMANN</a>....who knows why this happened....<br /><br /> ...but there it was...And I had seen it before...written it down in fact, from some source I had forgotten....I had no idea my soul was in such a quandry, but when I saw it again it was a shock....is if some force had been reading my mind....and knew it was what I was crying out for...it is hanging on the door in my room now...and has been giving me strength for days now....<br /><br /> Goodwill: land of second hand goods, and sustenance of the soul....<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPe7yQCmrrntGjtIAhdOnMi-AhjbK54NfGLnndF7z7Hm0nzBf0wgEnbGtcyUvuTDcKT9aW4EERSjYSbdO4JUClUzQPes3p1k0LVggRXFdyNYzKnoXr2U5kMuJDvgXgCSD2GEejJXsmshmp/s1600/BLOGGER+005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPe7yQCmrrntGjtIAhdOnMi-AhjbK54NfGLnndF7z7Hm0nzBf0wgEnbGtcyUvuTDcKT9aW4EERSjYSbdO4JUClUzQPes3p1k0LVggRXFdyNYzKnoXr2U5kMuJDvgXgCSD2GEejJXsmshmp/s400/BLOGGER+005.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462694617158182210" /></a>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-32153385877176549792010-04-21T14:40:00.009-04:002012-03-30T23:54:08.894-04:00DON QUIXOTERecently, I saw the movie <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fott1zyqMs">LATTER DAYS</a>. It is the story of the intersecting of lives of a gay L.A. partyboy and a Utah Mormon missionary on his two-year mission.<br />Though not 100% perfect, it is a beautiful movie, (and makes me wish that Jaqueline Bisset was my friend)...I feel that gay films are finally becoming contenders in the cinama mainstream (not discounting the earlier HEAD ON and THE SUM OF US to name a few...), and addressing the life of homos in a more balanced light...and can be seen as films and not just GAY films....though of course this is coming from a liberal city-dweller homo....<br /><br /> There is a song strung through the film by the band <a href=" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toad_The_Wet_Sprocket">TOAD THE WET SPROCKET </a>that has completely overtaken me...and I have already listened to it at least 30-40 times....In the mid eighties, as an awkward, shy, dorky, closeted teenager, I was really into the absurdity of Monty Python, and this is perhaps why later, in the early ninties, when I became aware of TOAD that I discounted them (the band's name comes from a Monty Python skit...), assuming it was goofy and dorky, like the kid I wanted so desparately not to be any more....<br /><br /> It has some great lines: "I spend too much time seeking shelter", and "take the darkest hour, break it open...water to repair, what we have broken..". I get the chills just listening to it, and it makes me feel so vulnerable and exposed...naked....to think about things that I have been trying to ignore.. It's a pretty powerful song that can do that...And reminds that the most productive times are when you are forced/force yourself to go places outside your comfort sphere... I can already tell this will be one of those songs 20 years hence that will still be able to root me to the spot when I hear it...<br /><br /> <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDuHvcNJeg4">LISTEN FOR YO'SEFF </a>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-83210512861601371352010-04-20T03:06:00.005-04:002010-04-20T03:12:54.248-04:00onna GOOD day....onna BAD day....TWO great songs with simular video concepts...<br /><br /><br /><br />One for when you <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIH_CV1tMpw">KRANKY</a>....<br /><br />One for when you ready to save the world with yer <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So93Iny2HWI">GROOVINESS</a>....johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-30852213157619093312010-04-19T02:36:00.021-04:002010-04-21T17:21:08.423-04:00the TRASH heap<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJ3ruypySEXd2qRciDESU5mRfmak4CSuGy9oRl8u37Rw-XBzyRvRibXwy3eJksiedREMuD_UuejixQdreKpUoursrVcR_XU6D63n2H5UQRfNdpOQRYR0wZr_8lzQtJLxotXnbQmUsObho/s1600/flickr+031.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJ3ruypySEXd2qRciDESU5mRfmak4CSuGy9oRl8u37Rw-XBzyRvRibXwy3eJksiedREMuD_UuejixQdreKpUoursrVcR_XU6D63n2H5UQRfNdpOQRYR0wZr_8lzQtJLxotXnbQmUsObho/s400/flickr+031.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462684808495392066" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Its natural to establish routines, and rituals...especially when you moved to a new town. It's a way of slowly carving some order outta the big block of chaos it can be....but that's part of the fun...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> One of my rituals is my weekly Tuesday visit to the Goodwill in far flung southeast Portland. I jump on the bus and ride out there to poke around, see what I can see, and get a little inspiration from out of the chaos of crap on the shelves.<br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> I love wandering the aisles, scanning the crowded shelves, on the alert for the unique, and unusual...the odd...the priceless (and for such a low price...).<br /><br /> It reminds me constantly of a scene in the movie RETURN TO OZ, when the young Dorothy must wander through the rooms of the Gnome King's underground palace...looking for objects that may be the reincarnations of her friends...recently transformed for the purposes of a cruel game...and hidden<br />amoungst his formidable tchochke collection: there are amazing things hidden in the vast huddle of detritus, if you only pay attention.<br /><br /> I always manage to find things that leave one marveling: <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrrL_q5ujI3ziv4gBDnJl1IL1VQipPI1l-rkU48s78n-QV1wH0ynhJMIpqlmJk8begAoeWxGlMlhElPXgWDeKQIxr5an3QnZafDPDvXSTYTiCtK1KlQERbn-8C77EZ1A2yXBSRQDAyxfp8/s1600/flickr+026.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrrL_q5ujI3ziv4gBDnJl1IL1VQipPI1l-rkU48s78n-QV1wH0ynhJMIpqlmJk8begAoeWxGlMlhElPXgWDeKQIxr5an3QnZafDPDvXSTYTiCtK1KlQERbn-8C77EZ1A2yXBSRQDAyxfp8/s400/flickr+026.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462684637689828066" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />"WOW, Someone actually thought this thing into existence.."<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ZTGsfvJcSbh-8laaaxxZP98wuV8HuO1g7fPFD2cv6tUAgNBAzTexSY6Z5ksMCnzhSpSNjt8njP6__8FRCx9vP6K5w17Mv6jU_PXyFsXgXjukMdBCB5PHzdyN2VPJ59uM1YqwumrOCtCL/s1600/flickr+028.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ZTGsfvJcSbh-8laaaxxZP98wuV8HuO1g7fPFD2cv6tUAgNBAzTexSY6Z5ksMCnzhSpSNjt8njP6__8FRCx9vP6K5w17Mv6jU_PXyFsXgXjukMdBCB5PHzdyN2VPJ59uM1YqwumrOCtCL/s400/flickr+028.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462684799289305970" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /> I have two special weaknesses: <br /><br />1. Homemade ceramic projects (banished to a goodwill shelf possibly because it's creator was embarassed at their lack of artistic prowess... or the receiver of this piece felt they had held onto it long enough- I am not being snarky or snobby by-the-way..),<br /><br /><br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjHmeJDq-2CqBVa_LyxGTGyXjkNgwvmGx4WkiLD3qYDFyV1W59xWP9GrK1k26cVFV1Q8EfDBC_g55N153uiBGivCXpG92tYwkD1Y-v255vz9qCYHF69HrgcuRH-5IvRH_YSgYuTMOGv6cx/s1600/flickr+037.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjHmeJDq-2CqBVa_LyxGTGyXjkNgwvmGx4WkiLD3qYDFyV1W59xWP9GrK1k26cVFV1Q8EfDBC_g55N153uiBGivCXpG92tYwkD1Y-v255vz9qCYHF69HrgcuRH-5IvRH_YSgYuTMOGv6cx/s400/flickr+037.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462684620600072498" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWT5lgcU8AMvJMh17hpFRp8AE-yn2IiOsBJYfRMkqEWOa9SHwMA0Hdd23inbC4VAmldcCJmc9TW4AxIYTxEXP_Udmnj_YklvoyUQuBi_WQugSY1-nalpzNqM4a6cgEzPx6ELbSpQaahug/s1600/flickr+038.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWT5lgcU8AMvJMh17hpFRp8AE-yn2IiOsBJYfRMkqEWOa9SHwMA0Hdd23inbC4VAmldcCJmc9TW4AxIYTxEXP_Udmnj_YklvoyUQuBi_WQugSY1-nalpzNqM4a6cgEzPx6ELbSpQaahug/s400/flickr+038.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462684629682796018" /></a><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br />2. Fascinating CANDLES: you would not believe the objects out there with a wick spouting off the top....(someday I am going to start a collection, because someone needs to get them all into one room...).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp1mi5dPjXXYGKiyHYFMwR7mBlYfxLnHJqsRyKRBYoO_BeMeRtUVh-tNKx3l7Yd5xQWCFNboby5EoZvtJ9LJEz_3l2YE6dPxRi9nzO8PuF_Jt2RvfFSm3DGmPRq2TOF_J19hW6M_YzS3Rx/s1600/flickr+024.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp1mi5dPjXXYGKiyHYFMwR7mBlYfxLnHJqsRyKRBYoO_BeMeRtUVh-tNKx3l7Yd5xQWCFNboby5EoZvtJ9LJEz_3l2YE6dPxRi9nzO8PuF_Jt2RvfFSm3DGmPRq2TOF_J19hW6M_YzS3Rx/s400/flickr+024.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462684612608070210" /></a><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /> It takes discipline to be focused, and be able to single out objects in the chaos, and yet, remain relaxed at the same time:<br /><br /> concentrating, but out of the corner of one's eye...<br /><br /><br /> I love seeing a mate to a coffee cup or vase, seen (possibly bought) in another store, hundreds, even thousands of miles away in another state...like running into family.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQrTU2dS-NXLVPZ7busuieM0SWvm41hMklmdw-r8xh8eyefBWYfYlaDSna_0p85Ny7rXJgHwt4laLI8dFw2etZg1ZxCUrYbkEJE9Pxy4HOtjyI4KUh47A6WoxdnXBH9AjS16ybGXwjyLi/s1600/BLOGGER+004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQrTU2dS-NXLVPZ7busuieM0SWvm41hMklmdw-r8xh8eyefBWYfYlaDSna_0p85Ny7rXJgHwt4laLI8dFw2etZg1ZxCUrYbkEJE9Pxy4HOtjyI4KUh47A6WoxdnXBH9AjS16ybGXwjyLi/s400/BLOGGER+004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462683995130350802" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Or the juxtaposing of different lives...different religions brushing up against one another....<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZiMhlFHs7VriKXURqE_23IrANHzjyy3Mro4xBiB5eGLRJCYeAOAngR8cgM33wx-9GLJhLbwsdPgagnQffGCPy7lexO93wuB5ZpsIFr7FT3CpyXkoETYYDYS2jZpJVCsUKpEXz30ZP_HF/s1600/flickr+033.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZiMhlFHs7VriKXURqE_23IrANHzjyy3Mro4xBiB5eGLRJCYeAOAngR8cgM33wx-9GLJhLbwsdPgagnQffGCPy7lexO93wuB5ZpsIFr7FT3CpyXkoETYYDYS2jZpJVCsUKpEXz30ZP_HF/s400/flickr+033.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462683957953555922" /></a><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqF8Ccfu_HZkyh-vOaVWxvdQsKxmR3bzxTEaqDYTH6fSQf3cnRWoS5lq02JVV97O4RfCWdQYIHOoyhwXnYpFJ2k5uyF27ZmaKoMOJ7Jl8wAGohig43pwVVDmtqWd3S9Co16ALOMBlbkRBy/s1600/flickr+039.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqF8Ccfu_HZkyh-vOaVWxvdQsKxmR3bzxTEaqDYTH6fSQf3cnRWoS5lq02JVV97O4RfCWdQYIHOoyhwXnYpFJ2k5uyF27ZmaKoMOJ7Jl8wAGohig43pwVVDmtqWd3S9Co16ALOMBlbkRBy/s400/flickr+039.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462683975759909618" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />...the shelves lined with endless milkglass flower vases send me back in time to catholic grade school...the bouquets of roses in those vases in front of a painted ceramic statue of the virgin mary were in every room...never far from your sight...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwPxtOD6YjCBJbk6Ibbrmei4B8G-xHF2Jux403jbgxRxX68nVwVXwIBJBAHGbRcC0BOOKkvUZtYehqmPXZudou-xsdoh8MwGNE_lw4Kt7-jeMD28bLQh4wFRU-r1RUYmeExOfyf35npwvw/s1600/flickr+023.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwPxtOD6YjCBJbk6Ibbrmei4B8G-xHF2Jux403jbgxRxX68nVwVXwIBJBAHGbRcC0BOOKkvUZtYehqmPXZudou-xsdoh8MwGNE_lw4Kt7-jeMD28bLQh4wFRU-r1RUYmeExOfyf35npwvw/s400/flickr+023.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462683982730551026" /></a><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> There can also be something sad and depressing about it: the unnecessary purchases, the things that MUST be had, only to be discarded. The mementos of trips embarked upon, t-shirts from amusement parks to remember the occasion by only subsequently to realize it ain't really that worth commemorating...<br />How fickle and frivolous we all are...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPAUZt7nsw30bm6vDbzyeieba21bHcU3d9LcfiuaLulaRkPFRhjT3dUHo69rkAECtmILHilEnl7qleV0E5fQWRGdR4OWAorbuf4OG9MguPhGtvEW1ZlfmsMRFmEg2sQ2WK0nc158hrzmv/s1600/flickr+035.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPAUZt7nsw30bm6vDbzyeieba21bHcU3d9LcfiuaLulaRkPFRhjT3dUHo69rkAECtmILHilEnl7qleV0E5fQWRGdR4OWAorbuf4OG9MguPhGtvEW1ZlfmsMRFmEg2sQ2WK0nc158hrzmv/s400/flickr+035.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462684642247643826" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />POSTSCRIPT: Someone needs to tell where this obcession with owls comes from? Why they are represented in almost every material, and not just from the seventies either...and why they all seem to gather at goodwill...? Does the OWL represent something to the human subconsciousness...?<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKV5pnv-Ovn06CIpdeHyA6msLFv14vH62htB49aC7wpMsQX9kQktsgk0R6KdNKdpYwC5Bace_4bTr-A21kjEJPHmQuLBNAajRQywdrNH_No1yAr7_zfqjkLZ9FxAP43p74XjOwQYFnOqSC/s1600/BLOGGER+002.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKV5pnv-Ovn06CIpdeHyA6msLFv14vH62htB49aC7wpMsQX9kQktsgk0R6KdNKdpYwC5Bace_4bTr-A21kjEJPHmQuLBNAajRQywdrNH_No1yAr7_zfqjkLZ9FxAP43p74XjOwQYFnOqSC/s400/BLOGGER+002.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462683957027594194" /></a>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-3927011298591296982010-01-27T20:07:00.005-05:002010-01-27T21:03:48.560-05:00PEARLS before swine<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLODVeyebgwMGfwfeFiwwULuk0GH7UNQ9haNOS1FP6GPdbkr0u10aL3yyqnQZ9mg3oT7-N4ervTJF3x3xdUkskt3NtH88mvimgXxgwvxSvPomXuvfVceInwgbr0BY6kdhoI5BaOtBEh3L/s1600-h/DSCN4027.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLODVeyebgwMGfwfeFiwwULuk0GH7UNQ9haNOS1FP6GPdbkr0u10aL3yyqnQZ9mg3oT7-N4ervTJF3x3xdUkskt3NtH88mvimgXxgwvxSvPomXuvfVceInwgbr0BY6kdhoI5BaOtBEh3L/s400/DSCN4027.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431600142584428898" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIvdXLWkJRgycr9dbOkzlh0K2oGH50duzevloSuIz-VWZwKy-1h1efjeadjQ2V4iDPIo-kMm_vfTZjvhX5ky8RK8PxDBMtik3iN_dLnj9v-3oVFzoufJG3jIxfcNs7xTr8sOJFCrvRgBB/s1600-h/DSCN4031.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIvdXLWkJRgycr9dbOkzlh0K2oGH50duzevloSuIz-VWZwKy-1h1efjeadjQ2V4iDPIo-kMm_vfTZjvhX5ky8RK8PxDBMtik3iN_dLnj9v-3oVFzoufJG3jIxfcNs7xTr8sOJFCrvRgBB/s400/DSCN4031.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431600133744600322" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDgRNDC5S0LN5PmotMwYQJbvWmd8YqbOL4St5mbtnx9efyZ5b0iS3HW2BAJuN26Rx-9Xrtg1SkhxpIYdCab7-NQWoMhWnOr45FI9QZVRdRvbcdLxg6kwUuVzYXQbdH_7podedmTMJFJh4/s1600-h/DSCN4032.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDgRNDC5S0LN5PmotMwYQJbvWmd8YqbOL4St5mbtnx9efyZ5b0iS3HW2BAJuN26Rx-9Xrtg1SkhxpIYdCab7-NQWoMhWnOr45FI9QZVRdRvbcdLxg6kwUuVzYXQbdH_7podedmTMJFJh4/s400/DSCN4032.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431600127091208642" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />For those of you kids who don't know, I just got a show at COFFEHOUSE NW here in Portland....<br /><br />I usually write off coffeeshop shows....perhaps a bit of snobbery, but I've seen to much bad and overpriced art in them...and also bought into the notion too much that valid art is only seen in galleries....But with my embarking upon finally trying to establish myself in the art community (upon arriving in NYC) I started to question even galleries as really "fertile" places to present work: The whole notion that this is the only acceptable model for artists....to slave away on work and then you get to hang it on four walls and wait for the fish to bite....and the people who visit tend to be artists or those who love them....just seems short of the mark somehow.<br />I don't want to trivialize or thumb my nose at other peoples' accomplishments, but it just seems a shame that alot of good art is hidden away from where it might play a more active role with the larger community.<br />I am, finding myself more interested in site specific work....or public art and I am excitied to see where this may lead in the future of my own personal work.<br />BUT, for now, I am working on this show. I saw this big wall, from the street on Burnside, and started thinking about implementing a large wall paper cut-out "mural" and this got me going, and a whole show has grown up around the idea....<br />I am thinking about ellaborating on a smaller piece (more on that later), and trying to come up with a cohesive theme...and have started thinking about fables and fairytales...both my own personal mythology, and the larger cultural one.<br /><br />This morning I started thinking about that great PIETER BRUEGEL painting in which he depicted a whole slew of NETHERLAND PROVERBS (of the time), some of which are still in use to this day.....My dad had a reproduction of this painting in his office, and I used to stare at it all the time, trying to figure out what all these odd people were doing....it looks like a gaggle of nutters from the local looneybin have escaped and wrecked havoc upon some small unsuspecting hamlet....animals run wild...nothing is as it seems...and others simply seem to cower in the safety of their houses from this surreal onslaught<br /><br />So I looked it up on WIKI...and they have a detailed explanation of what is going on in that painting...finally a small part of my perplexing youth has evaporated and I can breathe a sigh of relief....<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlandish_Proverbs">CHECK IT HERE</a>.....and stay tuned for more developements in this project and the show, sometime in SEPTEMBER....johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-77795642063621144322010-01-23T23:07:00.009-05:002010-01-24T01:46:58.214-05:00happy as a KING<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3IhjtfjwFFz2ZumseWzQXTQjqHhSU77V9Rys_vMFR7dq9uTFOLPY9pZK2qFT4BjacUnWa1ghhE63emUe-R9fVSKwOq_8ldPKpf6ny_RS0r7NrGg-UtyXVIcbT6acKbhgMbMG9C-zBkHNJ/s1600-h/DSCN4655.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3IhjtfjwFFz2ZumseWzQXTQjqHhSU77V9Rys_vMFR7dq9uTFOLPY9pZK2qFT4BjacUnWa1ghhE63emUe-R9fVSKwOq_8ldPKpf6ny_RS0r7NrGg-UtyXVIcbT6acKbhgMbMG9C-zBkHNJ/s400/DSCN4655.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430153464588874306" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />....alot of people don' know what a<br />SEKRIT SAP I can be.....<br /><br />...I luv this song: I first heard it while watching<br />the awesome BBC Television production<br />of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDOe7Npinl4&feature=related">DENNIS POTTER'S "THE SINGING<br />DETECTIVE"</a>......with the ever amazing<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1aQfox1F20&feature=related">Michael Gambon</a>.....<br /><br />....there's a montage where the writer<br />remembers his sad childhood...a sunday after-<br />noon spent about his disfunctional family....with<br />all the tensions of parents who no longer know<br />how to be happy with one another...if ever they<br />did...<br /><br />...I'd be whistling and it would just spring to my<br />lips...where ever I walked.....<br /><br />I associate it with happier things though....<br />...walking in a park under an achingly blue sky....<br />or laying about with some one<br />you dig.......or floating in a hot tub of water...<br />a cold beer nearby...watching the sun beams<br />fluttering about the ceiling.....<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVoN-xmVtNA&feature=related">THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU</a>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-84636439179965028012010-01-23T01:09:00.006-05:002010-01-23T01:23:58.921-05:00the night before xmas........a number of years ago....back, when my older brother was still in art school..<br /><br />...we had his then girlfriend staying over...most of the family had run off to midnight mass<br />that christmas eve (back when attendance was still somewhat "enforced")....maybe we were supposed to meet them all there, or we had all finally fallen out with the Catholic religion for good...but we stayed home...just the 3 of us I think.....<br /><br />...our big old house was quiet...but pregnant with the excitement we still managed to conjure up for the holiday....and we were huddled 'round the television watching IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (a film I can STILL watch and never get sick of.....)....<br /><br />....for some reason we flipped to the Los Angeles public t.v. station and this amazing little ditty of a film was on....we all held our breath in awe....the house totally still...the snow falling inside the t.v. set seemed to expand to include us there in it's wintery umbrella...huddled around it's glow....breathless....<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSrl7i7Rc0w">PART ONE</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-qhMQs7ii0&feature=related">PART TWO</a>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-27415756870652953352010-01-22T04:14:00.004-05:002010-01-22T04:17:13.351-05:00twilight ride......<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQE7cZgR7BtYuMqAT5DGloWKFOFsMdFOc_gkvfd5q0X5CkJkFgYMdICOBwDCrLpORxRG47-NGq8QpZIxBdwyCUdW9MH8UThdpWZyqNINm5e2ddInpo5UR33dGrMdhuaOrF3-2LWF8CtoU4/s1600-h/DSCN4643.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQE7cZgR7BtYuMqAT5DGloWKFOFsMdFOc_gkvfd5q0X5CkJkFgYMdICOBwDCrLpORxRG47-NGq8QpZIxBdwyCUdW9MH8UThdpWZyqNINm5e2ddInpo5UR33dGrMdhuaOrF3-2LWF8CtoU4/s400/DSCN4643.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429490242782037122" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> .........the Moon in a paling sky<br /><br /> a cheshire grin.johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-71955621308668519562010-01-06T21:20:00.005-05:002010-01-06T21:33:27.399-05:00more fun stuff....I luv pretty much any pop/rock outta the skandinavian countries....<br /><br />ROYKSOPP is definately up there....<br /><br />they also tend to have great accompanying vids....<br /><br />here are a few....<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmcPeuf5aXo&feature=related">HERE.</a>..<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLpkXtM-VI8&feature=related">AND HERE</a>.....<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl4rwMZWATs&feature=related">ALSO HERE</a>.....<br /><br /> ..........<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBvaHZIrt0o">oh yah, and HERE</a>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-49649024788558519332010-01-05T01:40:00.004-05:002010-01-06T21:20:19.285-05:00X it OFF the list.....Sometimes I think about the point in history, If one had the where-with-all, when one could have read ALL THE ACTUAL PRINTED BOOKS IN EXISTENCE....(though when I think about it...this may have been even BEFORE Guttenburg invented the printing press in the 1400s...back when manuscripts were written out by HAND...by monks....)...<br /><br />Granted you would have had to exert some sort of power, or otherwise have access to those books, ...been from some sort of priveledged class....(been able to read Latin etc.)...but it could have been DONE.<br /><br />Nowadays, just the sheer magnitude of magazines published is enough to occupy one...assuming you wanted to read half the crap they contain....<br /><br />We grew up around TONS of books....my Dad was constantly going to library sales and dusty old book stores...it pretty much cemented my love of the printed word....so that, even though I KNOW it is impossible to read all there is out there...I often seem like I am giving it a shot....sometimes I am reading 3 or four at a time...and I ALWAYS write down any recommendatons on a scrap of paper...<br /><br />As if to start the new year on a good note...I FINALLY crossed one of those books off my list...that scrap of paper has been following me about for a couple of years (literally from the west coast to the east coast and back again....)..<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9xxN1mR7VGIP77GXUfZymH255wb8nM0K8578l6pvctB3tjKwulgWng0dkxD5zNux_379dt1q4zcIiAEuUUgmMEqNOdSq0rOlUMr29P6n6E8-Id1uqEJsmcO3rmSdj0BVYyZh6tQ0Vm-V/s1600-h/DSCN4604.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9xxN1mR7VGIP77GXUfZymH255wb8nM0K8578l6pvctB3tjKwulgWng0dkxD5zNux_379dt1q4zcIiAEuUUgmMEqNOdSq0rOlUMr29P6n6E8-Id1uqEJsmcO3rmSdj0BVYyZh6tQ0Vm-V/s400/DSCN4604.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423142544795274018" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />It is called THE OUTER EDGES, BY CHARLES R. JACKSON....and my Dad told me I should read it a while ago...(It's the same author who wrote THE LOST WEEKEND that was made into a black and white film ages ago....)<br /><br />It's about a really horrible murder and the way it effects everyone who comes into "contact" with the tragedy....If you have seen the lost weekend...or read any books written back in the 30s and 40s, they can come of a bit "melodramatic"....perhaps it is because the way people acted in movies back then or just the way people talked, period, by today's standards...Regardless, Charles Jackson not only makes his characters believable, but he really understands the motives behind peoples' actions....<br /><br />.... Perhaps this is understandable, because on reading up a little on him, I discovered that Charles Jackson had had a bit of a hard life himself....a hardcore alcoholic (THE LOST WEEKEND is loosely veiled autobiography I think...), he ended up comitting suicide in the late 60s while only in his 50s....<br /><br />They say "the sick oyster gives the pearl"...and while Mr. Jackson ain't around, this great book is...put it on your list if you have room...or not....see if I care......I am glad I finally got around to reading it.....sigh..............<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZkNPnFlG9L-i7XsWIXfthXqWfqQ5OLEZZsfgtDFFIfWJ0SgQmxfcRlYGwPJ5MBfwCGpnBofAwdoGVr1PfTChFKImymjNSyqFP67kssgoNby34fF6V4lqmjEgpRDj7LKBFqJa_zId_Aay/s1600-h/DSCN4592.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZkNPnFlG9L-i7XsWIXfthXqWfqQ5OLEZZsfgtDFFIfWJ0SgQmxfcRlYGwPJ5MBfwCGpnBofAwdoGVr1PfTChFKImymjNSyqFP67kssgoNby34fF6V4lqmjEgpRDj7LKBFqJa_zId_Aay/s400/DSCN4592.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423142535128922162" border="0" /></a>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-34104992542047991742010-01-04T04:53:00.006-05:002010-01-04T15:30:00.686-05:00I'm thinkin that, what with all the INTROSPECTON everybody be doin right now, that we need tunes to put us in the mood....<br /><br />Here's a lil <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbxnnC22gwY&NR=1">ARVO PART</a>....(just as much for the cool archive footage this person spliced together to go with it...it really enhances something in the music...all that old yellowed, saturated color....like angels are watching all those sad confused human beings scurryng about...ala WINGS OF DESIRE...)<br /><br /><br />(OKAY, as an afterthought, had to throw in this one too....is a new favorite <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eSz2J3nS2o&feature=related">ARVO</a>)johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-57589374890466972412010-01-02T19:00:00.003-05:002010-01-02T19:10:51.535-05:00don't stop the beat<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27XbKMZrzVDAa8Gq6Op0M9kpWp5bs6YCc1Yz0nTx4dHjAtcr7IP1tP_WkN_q8voU_oYZGc5XfyGeovqiHdsc2GmrCKMES1F46JLWcFr7K5M_CXkOOKxiWqwn589QZA-uchQ65cDD_yyIS/s1600-h/DSCN4584.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27XbKMZrzVDAa8Gq6Op0M9kpWp5bs6YCc1Yz0nTx4dHjAtcr7IP1tP_WkN_q8voU_oYZGc5XfyGeovqiHdsc2GmrCKMES1F46JLWcFr7K5M_CXkOOKxiWqwn589QZA-uchQ65cDD_yyIS/s400/DSCN4584.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422298102193400162" /></a><br /><br /> A good pop song is like junk cereal...one bowl just won't do....<br /><br /> Here's a new (for me anyway) JUNIOR BOYS song I cannot stop listening to....<br /><br /> <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PhSpJppLu4"> LISTEN HERE....</a>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-60265914093485386862010-01-02T02:38:00.014-05:002010-01-04T04:34:07.603-05:00MILES TO GO.....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPzWd8tqDdbLO5iLy9KM8XJ6-N5NJBS9_Gy6AhXEQo9asmyUB7w8RISTtVmlO-7kET47BK2KlKCTMUsPpr3eHgrdDJEOUbxg8dNRVoGigkBZvhboyaZXB1cjWET_6K3O4GbSOwYXW0jyRW/s1600-h/DSCN4527.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPzWd8tqDdbLO5iLy9KM8XJ6-N5NJBS9_Gy6AhXEQo9asmyUB7w8RISTtVmlO-7kET47BK2KlKCTMUsPpr3eHgrdDJEOUbxg8dNRVoGigkBZvhboyaZXB1cjWET_6K3O4GbSOwYXW0jyRW/s400/DSCN4527.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422063091473086658" /></a> <br /> <br /><br /> It has been almost TWENTY YEARS since I abandoned Los Angeles....town of my youth....for the Pacific Northwest... <br /><br /> It was a last minute decision...only a handfull of days to go before my second year at college, and I walked away from it....taking the long ambling drive up the most gorgeous highway in the US: highway 101....me and Brother Tom were to look after my parents new home while they sold our childhood home in San Pedro...(There are few points in my life that I can return to and really view the actual CROSSROADS of an important decision....how different my life would have turned out if I had decided to remain in Los Angeles....moving to a new place really allows you to REINVENT yourself....)<br /><br /> When we got there we drove out into the overgrown grass and conifer woods outside of Oly...there was a meadow with an old collapsing red barn ..(now long gone...)...the air full of the seed pod fluff of some plant or other....like a shot from the beginning of Ridley Scott's LEGEND....<br /><br /> During that summer it was idylic....wandering through the endless woods of Fort Lewis...the local army training base...over 30000 acres....exploring Olympia, overrun with self-righteous Evergreen College hippies (a.k.a. "greeners").....<br /><br /> One day I came down the road with our dog Luke (also long gone now...) and saw a van driving down our road slowly....seemly sinister....Back then there weren't as many nearby houses and so you didn't see many folks on that road...When the driver pulled up and rolled down the window, I asked if he needed help...more as if to ask him what he was doing there than to actually assist...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxR6pJOV3aiPczCaIYh-5NeQGnWBohiOmpoMIyDvTg7qqEM-fnKz7miEj3_A1ffvzJ6iLf16mpgAZMabQQbGFBYwRNRHlK1UneCYoedggGfZlwdDzuUbnuE6G78w-_RIN8QelPn0mdtMU/s1600-h/DSCN4499.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxR6pJOV3aiPczCaIYh-5NeQGnWBohiOmpoMIyDvTg7qqEM-fnKz7miEj3_A1ffvzJ6iLf16mpgAZMabQQbGFBYwRNRHlK1UneCYoedggGfZlwdDzuUbnuE6G78w-_RIN8QelPn0mdtMU/s400/DSCN4499.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422059029964303682" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> He said he was just visiting..that he had lived in that very area of the Evergreen Valley some 20 years ago...(this would have been in the 70s shortly after/before? I was born...), and just wanted to see the old place again....he now lived up in Whitehorse in Canada...possibly owned some inn or hotel?...I forget.....<br /><br /> He also went on to tell me that when he had lived in the area, that there had only been himself and 2 other people in the whole stretch of forested lands...(!!!)...I marveled at the image..like something outta Laura Ingels Wilder's time.....I have thought about him from time to time since....through that first winter...when my brother returned to Cali for a bit, and I spent a month or two secluded in that house...through all the ENDLESS rain ...ALL BY MYSELF..(it was heaven....coming from a family of 5 kids...)...every so often going into town, but mostly wandering about the country...through those woods...getting to know them intimately...it really did feel like a second childhood in a lot of ways for me...<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Dfe_8xxnZ_BocUnWYQQQjDKprGuKwrTQg2HtWeLyiNaZKSZGC3aG7LMwLSZGg2AdfKLLTDR_fyXvlotVxmPzy7e5lBfG6k8R8_08w8KIqr0jkzIwgaireh3rghdW3MYYQxYLtEXNgPn9/s1600-h/DSCN4506.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Dfe_8xxnZ_BocUnWYQQQjDKprGuKwrTQg2HtWeLyiNaZKSZGC3aG7LMwLSZGg2AdfKLLTDR_fyXvlotVxmPzy7e5lBfG6k8R8_08w8KIqr0jkzIwgaireh3rghdW3MYYQxYLtEXNgPn9/s400/DSCN4506.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422059024685834114" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Later I moved up to Seattle with some of my siblings who had shown up on the scene, and went to art school there...and then on into the thick of life.....<br /><br /> Recently, I was back at the ol' homefront for the holidays....walking down TUCKER ROAD as I had a million times since that beginning, and I thought about that guy again as I looked up to the ridge over the shoulder of my folks house across that field...now sans barn...there was a house now up there in the trees where once I had roamed without any thoughts as to whose property it might be....just wandering through thick untamed woods...once discovering an old auto mobile from the 30's or 40's ...sitting there in the trees long after any road that might have brought it up there to that spot had vanished into stinging nettle and wild buttercups.... <br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> Alot had changed since way back then...more and more people had moved into the area....sections of trees had been chopped down in that endlessly frustrating cycle wherein people move to the country and slowly forget WHY they moved there in the first place and try to TAME IT...thus completely changing it from the sprawling countryside...all lazy and scruffy...to a miniature golf course....go figure....<br /><br /> And here I was almost 20 years later....feeling that time gone and now it was my turn to step into that man's shoes....who would remember if not me...what this place had BEEN...after the cranky old gal nearby and her husband had died...and the kids divided up the property and sold it off and scattered to the wind...?<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgUBqgjH2sUqmkR1njm_CsKPKYkpjpwcL527F-8PjowuQ20uTRdRd1subNFlizS5QGwlPDL24-5MRQ6HA1kIytubMnecaib1yMi6DQytppUJuddHUlZiFzZejBoRUei_XUqC4RTRoIwbc/s1600-h/DSCN4503.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgUBqgjH2sUqmkR1njm_CsKPKYkpjpwcL527F-8PjowuQ20uTRdRd1subNFlizS5QGwlPDL24-5MRQ6HA1kIytubMnecaib1yMi6DQytppUJuddHUlZiFzZejBoRUei_XUqC4RTRoIwbc/s400/DSCN4503.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422059036125015922" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> I wondered what this area would be like in ANOTHER 20....and where I'd be THEN? <br /><br /> Somehow it was all very appropriate to be thinking about as the new year closed in for the kill....I imagine it will haunt me like that guy did driving down the road...is he still around?...still in Canada?....Where will I be in another 20? Alive? Will I come back and drive down this road? Will I like what I see...?<br /><br /> HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you.....here's to a new year with lots of good things in it.....<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJNR0NXI7OgWysL3u6Q5raLRhnUepwaILOUDi46onjRlIyPMRva4FXcKkBbO1yYUBxm63ZXLkAFocqtrmzf7lcVMoeu-la0cjBDticS3vGzuXMW2AF8i9Vp7xv_tJ-6eOiYsokoyGFHkY/s1600-h/DSCN4510.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJNR0NXI7OgWysL3u6Q5raLRhnUepwaILOUDi46onjRlIyPMRva4FXcKkBbO1yYUBxm63ZXLkAFocqtrmzf7lcVMoeu-la0cjBDticS3vGzuXMW2AF8i9Vp7xv_tJ-6eOiYsokoyGFHkY/s400/DSCN4510.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422063083389585538" /></a>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-23511658367576926072009-12-10T02:07:00.009-05:002009-12-12T02:40:31.938-05:00TOO HOT to hold...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJVNqePrwcNcT139k7HvhjleImLP17naoQ_E7L6X5wPPJa23lUF7YifkyHQwIEfRW-FQVw-InuKy_48M7R_UNIZLe4_6xCjNRxqAu5RvxkPiPhu1OAfn9CW69U66QmvhiQxFBrOej3SBN/s1600-h/DSCN4463.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJVNqePrwcNcT139k7HvhjleImLP17naoQ_E7L6X5wPPJa23lUF7YifkyHQwIEfRW-FQVw-InuKy_48M7R_UNIZLe4_6xCjNRxqAu5RvxkPiPhu1OAfn9CW69U66QmvhiQxFBrOej3SBN/s400/DSCN4463.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413501081712250626" /></a><br /><br /><br /> Today....while up in SEATTLE....finishing a sign for an old employer...I got to witness a big learning lesson for my lil nephew....<br /><br />...we had a lil bonfire in the yard....burning some wood that was lying around...just the remedy for this FREEZING COLD....it was HOT...creating a lil bubble of warmth arounds us....Joe put a pail of frozen water near it to watch it thaw....and then lil J grabbed ahold of it...the fire had made it super hot...and he howled in bewilderment at the pain...thinking, somehow...it was the water in the pail...he howled and sobbed for over an hour...reduced to almost animal-like shuddering and babbling incoherently...his face a mucousy mess....he had never experienced this sort of throbbing agony....it was hard to see him learning these lessons...FIRE HOT...<br /><br /> After at least an hour and a half...he passed out from shear exhaustion...he slept for quite some time...and when his mommy came home he was just returning to some sort of normality...ready to laugh and goof about...maybe bolstered by her presence...that despite this horrible event...life could still go on the same...and us trying to make him laugh even harder..as if trying to erase any last glimmer of pain from deep in his brain...trying to reassure ourselves there were no permanent scars.....but his body had learned too...that really bad pain goes away...and life goes on...AMAZING how resilient kids need to be in the face of the infinite unknown experience...<br /> I don't remember experiencing that first pain...obviously the body needs to forget...thank god...so it was amazing to revisit that moment through his eyes....<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzjKZu8AUQ7XDmb5OS4GCB13ePeNy6TDWl0NtuCutQ2UWPz270kmP5j3VB6XOGP-ECW0A30CgT20AHclv3AIebQaqUOhkwhxkaR83-zLzwowGDsMEd0phJZcj03yVlRN_IcZNRGjIuZ3f/s1600-h/DSCN4459.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzjKZu8AUQ7XDmb5OS4GCB13ePeNy6TDWl0NtuCutQ2UWPz270kmP5j3VB6XOGP-ECW0A30CgT20AHclv3AIebQaqUOhkwhxkaR83-zLzwowGDsMEd0phJZcj03yVlRN_IcZNRGjIuZ3f/s400/DSCN4459.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413500805225641794" /></a><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzjKZu8AUQ7XDmb5OS4GCB13ePeNy6TDWl0NtuCutQ2UWPz270kmP5j3VB6XOGP-ECW0A30CgT20AHclv3AIebQaqUOhkwhxkaR83-zLzwowGDsMEd0phJZcj03yVlRN_IcZNRGjIuZ3f/s1600-h/DSCN4459.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzjKZu8AUQ7XDmb5OS4GCB13ePeNy6TDWl0NtuCutQ2UWPz270kmP5j3VB6XOGP-ECW0A30CgT20AHclv3AIebQaqUOhkwhxkaR83-zLzwowGDsMEd0phJZcj03yVlRN_IcZNRGjIuZ3f/s400/DSCN4459.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413500805225641794" /></a>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-33117346998378720932009-11-22T00:14:00.006-05:002009-11-22T01:31:08.257-05:00PICK A CARD<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc9-GMS8IeeQp_tHYNIUq0q63e8Ewj3jCHfX8t2FJF3HsmFxdKtGri6JzkY1Y6HGH8z2JstWoeYCBLavbfP2vr_YU3W0Gj-OFV_2c1R5Gz1dd5uIv5qv49KtoAEPxsFFD6qvjwSf9GC3pV/s1600/DSCN4363.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc9-GMS8IeeQp_tHYNIUq0q63e8Ewj3jCHfX8t2FJF3HsmFxdKtGri6JzkY1Y6HGH8z2JstWoeYCBLavbfP2vr_YU3W0Gj-OFV_2c1R5Gz1dd5uIv5qv49KtoAEPxsFFD6qvjwSf9GC3pV/s400/DSCN4363.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406807285847169810" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />HELLO.....KIDDIES...<br /><br /><br /> bEEN here in Portland....(when I ain't in Seattle pickin up shifts at my old job at the Paramount Theater...)...jUst tryin to find some steady work....and working on my art projects....<br /><br /> Lately....ths means looking around on craigslist for CALLS FOR ARTISTS and seeing if there is anything worth going for....just trying to build up the portfolio, learning to make deadlines, etc. etc...gives me something to focus on.....<br /><br /> I have already been in two lil tiny shows here...<br /><br /> ...including a piece for the <a href="http://www.audubonportland.org/support-us/fundraising-events/waf/waf">PORTLAND'S AUDUBON SOCIETY</a> ....the <a href="http://www.audubonportland.org/support-us/fundraising-events/waf/sixbysix">6X6 PROJECT</a> ...you pick up a 6x6 canvas free at Art Media and create anything on the theme of BIRDS....me and friend TER-TER...went to check it out today....was way better than I thought...and good exposure.....I also went because in my haste to meet the deadline, I had no time to document it....was hoping to snap a few pix...UNFORTUNATELY...it was one of those things where you buy it and leave with the piece right away....AND MINE HAD ALREADY been adopted...(or fortunately I guess..)...am currently in the process of huntng it down....<br /><br /> ...the other cool thang is that I got into THE PORTLAND PROJECT!!!<br /><br /> <a href="http://WWW.artinhandcards.com">(CHECK IT OUT HERE)</a><br /><br />they get a bunch of local Portland artists (that's me! barely...) to represent each of the cards in a deck of cards and do their own thang...it's gonna get produced and sold around town....and the proceeds go to artist non-profits....so a big hand to the folks who are making this happen.<br /><br /> I AM DOING THE KING OF CLUBS!!!<br /><br /> ...so I went on the wikipedia to get my brain going on ideas...I mean, what do I really KNOW about the origin of playing cards anyhow??<br /><br /> Here are a few interesting facts (or as verifiable as THE WIKI can be...):<br /><br />- the suits as we know them, went thru alot of changes.... IN GERMANY: the suits LEAVES(spades), ACORNS(for clubs), BELLS, AND HEARTS....The modern decks deriving their suits from MEDIEVAL FRANCE....!!!<br /><br />- ...later....in the 1800 Parisian decks, the royalty were represented by well-known Historical and mythic persons....MY CARD was represented by ALEXANDER THE GREAT...another big fag....<br /><br />- One possible reason why the ace (a term meaning the lowest..) changed to become the highest card,and the deuce moved into the lowest position, is because of the FRENCH REVOLUTION, in which the lowest class rose up against the royalty...usurping power....neat....<br /><br />- there is a small history as to how and why the reversible face cards came about...<br /><br />- and JACK as a term for the KNAVE was consider a peasant term, due to the lower class game it derives from, and therefore crude....<br /><br />- ...there are an unbelieveable number of card games you have probably never heard of....<br /> <br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_cards"> GO HERE TO FIND OUT MORE.....</a><br /><br /> aNYWAYS...It's good to be back....I'll keep you posted on this cool project...which shows the promise of some really good exposure....you know how i likes gettin naked....<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3oTRLijIwW4J_dLbb-IRSGZ58c-Wgp7e0ecLEvZsPgEisxwn-lwX-eNE_SV07C02PjifKn4us-YDeKCVHZeZv8WQlARRpkI49jRWJXQGMqFlZVCo_tEK9Y2JL_6u_pdMXtN2XWaMCOtAL/s1600/DSCN4361.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3oTRLijIwW4J_dLbb-IRSGZ58c-Wgp7e0ecLEvZsPgEisxwn-lwX-eNE_SV07C02PjifKn4us-YDeKCVHZeZv8WQlARRpkI49jRWJXQGMqFlZVCo_tEK9Y2JL_6u_pdMXtN2XWaMCOtAL/s400/DSCN4361.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406807295595887106" /></a>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-85456194993912947722009-08-15T17:10:00.003-04:002009-08-15T17:15:58.581-04:00still HERE....tO ALL YOU SWELL KIDS WHO HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING MY HUMBLE LIL STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS....<br /><br /> I am still here....<br /><br /> I have just yanked up ALL my roots and relocated to PORTLAND, OREGON. What a great idea: I cannot tell you how happy I am....I guess either NYC isn't truly a place for me, or it just wasn't the right time....But I can already tell you that Portland is just where I need to be...YES, it is ALOT quieter, and the weather is taking some readjusting, but it is a good place for the next chapter of my life to begin....<br /><br /> Please stay tuned to my posts...I don't have my own computer, and no money to get one right now, so It isn't easy to post posts, let alone photos, right now...I am usually limited to my ONE HOUR RATION at the library, which ain;'t conveinient, but so much more HEALTHY, I think....(My new roomies have offered the use of their computers, but I don't want to become the annoying roommate always asking for favors every few minutes...(there's that independant streak again...)).<br /><br /> I will post when I can, so for now: Thanks for reading, and stay tuned....johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-62614784325028121992009-06-29T11:51:00.005-04:002009-09-25T16:58:02.893-04:00BOWL OF CONFUSION: that's what the world is today....OKAY: FOR THOSE OF YOU who like to keep it clean...this link probably ain't for you....or if you are one of my parents...or the pope...or a friend of THE christian right....or a gradeschool teacher...actually...I know of few of those who could teach John Holmes a thing or two...so never mind grade school teachers...but the nice lady who lives down the street who has 20 cats and knows everyones children...watched them grow up and go off to college...maybe NOT her...<br /><br />....then again...I've know some foul mouthed old ladies...thank god.....ETTA wouldn't mind this link probably....<br /><br />P.S.: HOW ANNOYING this country is....when I went back to this link after posting this..."FUCK" got changed to "DATE" in this song....What's the point of bein an adult if you are treated like a child!?<br /><br />P.P.S.: I FOUND ANOTHER "ADULT" VERSION!!! <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqdAZE8gTjY&feature=related">HERE.</a>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-3290193274142180682009-06-23T12:42:00.004-04:002009-06-23T13:07:10.043-04:00OUT DAMN SPOT....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0LSRXYRBhMgoigXB5f40KGWYskg3mHNVBupDJaY3dF42FAu8KXTr74dObYBy2IR_aCAvXY1oLZxwIaWQLhPEr3GJVh_IcL8lwdzQMmK3RnWrsgseBjo0xNwY9tTGhOpKTkE9H8sSGiCY/s1600-h/DSCN4004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0LSRXYRBhMgoigXB5f40KGWYskg3mHNVBupDJaY3dF42FAu8KXTr74dObYBy2IR_aCAvXY1oLZxwIaWQLhPEr3GJVh_IcL8lwdzQMmK3RnWrsgseBjo0xNwY9tTGhOpKTkE9H8sSGiCY/s400/DSCN4004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350565048456137266" /></a><br /><br /><br /> After sleepin in this morning...I jumped into my grubbys and strolled down to the river with my coffee to pick tomorrow's breakfast....<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9ZLLw3X-4RGRqHDJ5eJ33R93qS5eq2RITiWiymMrrRDOs_RZzDcbkiswspCJkw0MJ5tKk-O5gGYib6tQSWcwLG4PlLsmgGD3-MPec17iShhbWJPk2fAzbVK_dbUWeV6YzyoHN4Yw5cVM/s1600-h/DSCN3999.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9ZLLw3X-4RGRqHDJ5eJ33R93qS5eq2RITiWiymMrrRDOs_RZzDcbkiswspCJkw0MJ5tKk-O5gGYib6tQSWcwLG4PlLsmgGD3-MPec17iShhbWJPk2fAzbVK_dbUWeV6YzyoHN4Yw5cVM/s400/DSCN3999.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350565033126638290" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /> Last week as I was walking along I saw several people picking and eating berries from bushes that I assumed were just ornamental, since I didn't recognize them...and I wasn't gonna try 'em neither...you never know...BUT I stopped to asked both people what kinda berries they were....first gal didn't know but said she wouldn't be eating them if they weren't safe...and the father and son, who had been eating from these bushes for several years, told me they were "MULBERRIES" and "BOYSENBERRIES"...and that you can eat them if the birds are eating them....And I sure dont recall eating either...least of all FRESH....<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha9AaNPhQblDZAbkK2Rku9A3y6hTU8vr4p3BTSPpMIxs-C-huFPq3gFbjz3K8wrEik5ykoArD6infv76NPrKuxR3aLFWkGX_iPSFiOday4VvaXVBqBk95nvTVIo0GjYb2lO9msOSWQ4hAF/s1600-h/DSCN4003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha9AaNPhQblDZAbkK2Rku9A3y6hTU8vr4p3BTSPpMIxs-C-huFPq3gFbjz3K8wrEik5ykoArD6infv76NPrKuxR3aLFWkGX_iPSFiOday4VvaXVBqBk95nvTVIo0GjYb2lO9msOSWQ4hAF/s400/DSCN4003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350565043085830162" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /> Well so soon after reading the below mentioned book, it was exciting to be able to put some if it to practice...(being pretty broke these days, I cannot afford to buy fruit, let alone berries, at the market...and here was a bunch for free (several weeks worth..), and as far as I have seen "pesticide free"...<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWU0smPfcSytsI1b9_MB8P-WUDjKScowgKdZdUDJBV0wcNi9AAlikfKNFo1jRkw8PpHBXpVyAWAMUD4iXu2y5zlreQFnlk2_WPeq5V-Ke0NmWOAy3DaAR7FSIRFU8I8Bb2rerscBNztHm/s1600-h/DSCN4001.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWU0smPfcSytsI1b9_MB8P-WUDjKScowgKdZdUDJBV0wcNi9AAlikfKNFo1jRkw8PpHBXpVyAWAMUD4iXu2y5zlreQFnlk2_WPeq5V-Ke0NmWOAy3DaAR7FSIRFU8I8Bb2rerscBNztHm/s400/DSCN4001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350565035795714226" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /> The mulberries are like a less complex blackberry...and the boysenberry, like a fluctuating plum/ apricot/ almond paste flavor...depending on how ripe they are...<br /><br /> It's pretty cool to be stepping outside the loop produce-wise even if it is for only a week or so....and learning about new things to eat right here in my hood....<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dpRoSqyqoaQpLU5cU8vcrCiCtmUVr7ai5vuh8-Dl-lQT2ikgxWYKRu0gCcrj7WYhkCTcT9cPQ9ds4923ImpcaZXcW5R1w-8h0UBYYdK_59VAyPvHn5gorq1hCvQ_gHwrgS-dJvQnAqWQ/s1600-h/DSCN3998.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dpRoSqyqoaQpLU5cU8vcrCiCtmUVr7ai5vuh8-Dl-lQT2ikgxWYKRu0gCcrj7WYhkCTcT9cPQ9ds4923ImpcaZXcW5R1w-8h0UBYYdK_59VAyPvHn5gorq1hCvQ_gHwrgS-dJvQnAqWQ/s400/DSCN3998.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350565027571542482" /></a><br /><br /><br /> <br /> In "IN DEFENSE OF FOOD" Michael Pollan talks about how thousands of years of intuitive learning, and food culture have been robbed from us and replaced with this belief that only a scientist and/ or the FDA know what's best for us to eat....HAH!! In the old days...we learned from our community and all the experimenting...trial...and error (eeek!),AND FROM OUR MOTHERS what was good to eat...trusting our instincts...(if it's sweet and smells good), it's edible....THAT IS WHAT OUR SENSES ARE THERE FOR...right? <br /><br /> It's nice to get back in touch with that, a little bit anyway, today....the animal side of ourselves...which still knows these things...but needs to relearn these instincts....<br /><br /> Standing there along the bike trail reaching out with my grubbin fingers...stained with juice...putting them one after the other into my mouth...I felt kinda like a grizzly bear...getting ready for fall...johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5101747083231149965.post-72851400383489270422009-06-19T21:56:00.004-04:002009-06-19T22:08:55.225-04:00is THIS the world PAPA?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmmvRUhiz6kMOiC2NLbKZYmNZgNnXx2N0Ce_jBx2MeJyCIWGA_VboBc5RuSXK7pEkX3z3o7kP7DIPVDWh51l1f5XQZv6NrbVb-7IpXly9RTK07rCue-0Jk1i0FhLPmokND6PEADcHOtl20/s1600-h/DSCN3967.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmmvRUhiz6kMOiC2NLbKZYmNZgNnXx2N0Ce_jBx2MeJyCIWGA_VboBc5RuSXK7pEkX3z3o7kP7DIPVDWh51l1f5XQZv6NrbVb-7IpXly9RTK07rCue-0Jk1i0FhLPmokND6PEADcHOtl20/s400/DSCN3967.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349225151616112002" /></a><br /><br /> I have been trying to figure out what I am doing with these last few months here in NYC....I love this city, BUT I am glad to be va-moosing....<br /><br /> My friend Ryan...I used to work with him, bartending at the Paramount Theater in Seattle....invited me to be part of a migration outta frustrating big city life...(him in LA..)...<br /><br /> ...so I am also trying to plan for the future....<br /><br /> I just finished reading MICHAEL POLLAN'S: IN DEFENSE OF FOOD....<br /> It is slated to change my way of thinking about the world around me, the same way that 50 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO SAVE THE EARTH did when I bought it in junior high(?)..ask my siblings....i think I drove them crazy with all the eco-friendly info I spouted at them after that read....<br /><br /> ...this book has me planning a garden in my new town to be...visiting farmer's markets....etc etc...dinner's made from scratch for friends....<br /><br /> ...I have been trying to envision the next evolution of THIS BLOG TOO....not sure I want it to be so...VERBOSE in future...and more of a scrapbook..snips of image...scraps of dialogue...something more free-form and mutable...and EASY TO DO ON A DAILY BASIS....<br /><br /> ..stay tuned and see where I (we) go with this...and thanks for keeping in touch thus far....<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75Q6xR2zmAZfENxXDdwTL0Zb0N7Kz-6FfB4vpIkRCvW-tFpsw45IVA7sUdORV3h2yXgawbYCXyf8YdtP6GSiRPrse64Alqjt9FbBhiCoP9iopdyZQ2iOOO4eSF5v8vpduXodUTjDFLbxx/s1600-h/DSCN3976.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75Q6xR2zmAZfENxXDdwTL0Zb0N7Kz-6FfB4vpIkRCvW-tFpsw45IVA7sUdORV3h2yXgawbYCXyf8YdtP6GSiRPrse64Alqjt9FbBhiCoP9iopdyZQ2iOOO4eSF5v8vpduXodUTjDFLbxx/s400/DSCN3976.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349225149677694402" /></a>johnnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08610263767147735205noreply@blogger.com4