sparringK9

vintage pit bulls

2012-01-23T14:54:00.001-08:00

vintage pit bulls, a set by e.e.reilly on Flickr.

Hawkward

2012-01-14T06:43:00.001-08:00

2012-01-05T15:49:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas

2011-12-20T15:30:00.000-08:00

Haiku Monday: Walk

2011-08-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

Gemini walker
umbilical tethered; Faith
in God and science

Steffan Dan / Glass Artist

2011-08-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

Resin in glass from Steffan Dan.

Jeff Deboer: a treat for LX

2011-08-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

click to enlarge

samurai siamese

Jeff de Boer is a Calgary-based multi-media artist with an international reputation for producing some of the world's most original and well-crafted works of art. With an emphasis on metal, he is best known for such bodies of work as suits of armour for cats and mice, armour ties and sword-handled briefcases, rocket lamps and pop culture ray guns, and exquisite high art, abstract works called exoforms.

tournament mouse

Tournament Cat

Gladiator Cat Helmet

More here: http://jeffdeboer.com/

The Absurdity Party

2011-08-08T05:45:00.000-07:00

MCW: TV to Film

2011-08-03T06:36:00.000-07:00

This game is to riff on Joanna Cake's given theme. Youre supposed to find a clip and tell about why you chose it.

For the TV-to Movie challenge, I chose the X-Files. It is a beautiful movie, although very dark. I really like how ideas are illustrated, for instance bees as the delivery system for the transmorgification of humans to alien food; to be warehoused in the north pole in hive like slots. Love the scene where the kid falls in the hole, and the alien schizz infects him and you see the eyes fill black; love how "they" take their minion scientist and seal him underground with the alien, which is very instructional (never work with the bad guys hoping to escape their wrath; i.e. "night of the long knives")

I especially appreciate how it illustrates the black hearted sociopaths that always seem to rise to power. But the best is this; which remarkably foretells the 9-11 scenario. Show date: March, 2001. Bonus points for coming in under 2.

I've always loved the "alien colonization" concept, but this movie sort of marries that idea with the most basic conspiracy theory that powerful people get together and plot out schemes that insure their hegemony. That's not science fiction. Happy MCW!

caption this:

2011-07-25T06:15:00.001-07:00

damn. jalapenos!

caption this:

2011-07-24T06:24:00.000-07:00

The Culture of Death Has it's Muse

2011-07-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

This is the muse for the culture of death; the fashion of eugenics, sterility, non-individualism, anti-humanity, disease, and resource depletion. Washed out, antiseptic, outfitted with rubbery gloves, and replacement face (grown on the ass of a pig no doubt) and a neck bound in ace bandage to hide the sutures of Dr. Frankenstein. A plug, like 300 million others to be inserted into a Lagerfeld designed socket. The clinical appearance is like the angel of death -no, the administer-er of death, John Holdren's frozen hearted minion; a walking hypodermic needle filled with poison but labeled as progress. Not post-modern. Not post-Gaga. More like post-pestilence.

I can just see this as Agenda 21's propaganda poster: "We fracked your farms and strip-mined your mountains. Why worry? Move to the Habitation Zone. All your needs will be met. Compliance will get you designer outerwear and a VIP ticket to the Kevorkian Club, the happenenest nightspot in the new industrial wasteland!"

Our Lady of Bio-hazard. or, TSA stasi: "next in line!" Restrained and hobbled in fashion. Straight-jackety burkaesque bullshit.

What is this? Xenu's condom? If you kill me, clean up will be a snap. An outfit to mimic dead filmy skin or discarded crustacean shells rotting on a corpse. What the hell did they put on her arms? Doll parts, eh Courtney? Whatever was real will be replaced with a hologram of what once was. Have you heard all this bullshit about merging with machines and longevity? Google Kurzweil.

At last we arrive at self destruction. The choke pose with uncle Ernie's Pedophiliac dream gloves. Fiddle about! Radiation head gear and goggles for the sulfuric skies. Google the Tilda Swinton W spread and read all the gushing tributes to the "sexy androgynous alien". You know what? Id never put those three words together. The art reflects the culture. There is great acclaim for the photographer and I have no quarrel with the quality of the photographs. Or even the arty styling -for a death culture spread its right on the money. But what it says about us is terrifying, and that the watchers are gushing alarms me.

happy 4th of July from the Obama Police State

2011-07-04T06:02:00.000-07:00

bustin' up the hive

2011-04-29T05:07:00.001-07:00

Moi Mwah Mwah! Happy Birthday

2011-04-26T05:55:00.000-07:00

10 Things I like About You:

1. You have a mature taste level. And I dont mean mature as in old, but well developed and sophisticated
2. Because of you, I smell like dirt.
3. You ain't no yes man.

4. We wouldn't compete for the same men. (This is my all time fave photo of Jack)

5. You'd be great in a foxhole. When TSHTF please pack your guns, dogs and husband and head south.

6. I notice shoes more because of you. Say, does Louboutin make a hiking boot?

7. You write roach dialogue like nobody's business, seeester.

8. Cross stitch roosters I will cherish always

9. You are a brilliant observer of the kulchur. Then you write about it...brilliantly

10. There will always be an edge to you -whatever age.

Happy Birthday MOI!!!!

have a terrific day. xo K9 and Chickory

MCW: Best Elizabeth Taylor Movie

2011-03-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

"If you existed, I'd divorce you" (Martha to George)

The time: 1966. The movie: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
A black and white movie with just 4 characters and confined (for the most part) to a single room somehow turns out to be more explosive than your average summer blockbuster. If you have ever been out with people who spent the evening trading barbs and veiled putdowns you know how awkward that can be. This movie makes you feel that only in a different way because the acting is so intense and wide open that you are spellbound in horror and recognition. Alcohol is the accelerant that turns a shit night on the George and Martha marriage front into DefCon 4, taking a small fragile relationship down with it.

I had thought about going with A Place in the Sun but that's Monty's movie. Its his story. Though I love Elizabeth in it for just sheer astonishing beauty, it is nowhere near the acting triumph that VW is. First of all, it was brave of her to play physically a chubby stuffed into her clothing alcoholic bitch. Raging at her real life husband Richard Burton in the movie, one wonders how real it might have been given the volatility the actual marriage had.

heres a favorite scene:

I know I will blog jinx this week. How could I not?

RIP Elizabeth. You were a true star. Happy MCW everyone!

MCW: Best Hitchcock Movie

2011-03-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

It's "The Birds".

Its by far the best of his work visually. Some of the best angles in all of his movies happen here, like the view of the fire at the gas station from above a seagull floating on wind...and thats all you hear is wind. In fact, there is no sound track in this movie. No music at all. But there is a ton of silence. The silence is a kind of minimalism that heightens anxiety; there is no clue to what may happen next.

The characters are not endearing. You have ice princess the de-facto Hitchcock chick, you have Man - a totally unappealing Rod Taylor, crazy clingy Mama ( how mrs. bates looked before her death and mummification one presumes) the little girl, a know it all ornithologist (a favorite character) and sultry suzanne pleshette the ex girlfriend. Nobody is really a good person here..they are all insufferable in some way or another.

Which means I am pro-bird every time I watch this. I love that the problem isnt insanity, mistaken identity or crazy demented killer, but a creature that is completely benign and around us always. And there is no definitive reason for their attack. Oh sure, people have all kinds of theories but just like in real life, nobody actually knows. And I dont need to know why. I dont care -I just let the action wash over me like an abstract expressionist painting.

And then there is this: The Birds edition of Barbie.
Is there a north by northwest eva marie saint doll? no. How about a Janet Leigh doll with plastic shower stall accessory? nope. The chick in Spellbound? nope. Norman Bates doll? nope.

Consider this, along with how often this costume turns up at Halloween and youve got proof of an enduring masterpiece that extends its visual power into all manner of pop culture.

The Birds also has one of my favorite dark endings. No guarantees, people:

Happy MCW!

Haiku Monday: Sleep

2011-03-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

a little like death

defenseless hemispheres wait

for birdsong alarm

according to the

circadian rhythm

siesta at two

anyone clan play Haiku Monday. This week's host is Czar. Go there, post your haiku. You might win a prize.

MCW: Best Drug / Drunk Scene in a Movie

2011-03-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

Interesting topic. Few things disturb me as much as addiction to drugs does. If you've ever seen it up close and personal and have been powerless to do anything about it you'll know what I mean. Its like sharing a universe with a bright sun flaring out spikes of bright highs and then watching it transform into an angry red unpredictable orb of destruction and chaos. The trail of tears left behind is a rutted path that you can still see etched across the landscape of relationships long after the addiction ends.

I couldnt watch any clips. Especially the one from Traffic where the girls boyfriend has her freebase heroin and then takes advantage of her; the scene in Pulp Fiction where uma thurman mistakes heroin for coke and has the mother of all confused freak outs (yes I found it more disturbing than the needle in the heart thing). Other memorable moments are the cemetery scene in Easy Rider and Ellen Byrnsten's "diet pill" addiction in Requiem for a Dream. Truth is, I avoid movies with drug scenes like the plague. I have enough anxiety as it is with just regular ol' basic life.

I looked through a few lists on the internet but didnt see the one clip I thought of that is tame and even sort of sweet in the context of these other movies.

Its the scene in Animal House where Pinto, Boone and Katie go over to the professor's house and smoke pot. I love love love the scene where the prof (played by donald sutherland) asks if anybody wants to smoke some pot, and then when they agree, the scene, as seen from Pintos eyes, when the Prof locks the door, pulls down the shades and sets the stage of apprehension and clandestine wonder. Its a sweet scene and about all I can take.

But then I saw Boxer chose the same thing which didn't surprise me. So then I thought I would take a different route and choose a drug scene as in drugged. Two that I like are the ones where in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom he is drugged by Lao Che and has to find the antidote in a crazy swirling room of ice and white balloons, show girls, while being fired upon with machine guns. I also like the scene in Casino Royale where Bond is drugged and has to make it to his car to get to defib paddles to live, and then returns to the poker game to the horror of his nemesis. Good stuff.

Best Drinking / Drunk scenes:

Karen Allen outdrinking the locals in Nepal in the first Indiana Jones movie
The guys in Jaws drinking and comparing scars.
Liz Taylor as Virginia Wolf ripping into her husband and challenging the integrity of her dress seams
Bad Santa drunk at work
Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday pretty much through the entire movie Tombstone.

Happy MCW everyone! I will be around later to see all the entries.

Haiku Monday: Pulchritude

2011-03-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

pulchritude. well, I had to look it up. Still not clear how to pronounce it. It means physical beauty and it is particularly used addressing the physical beauty of women.

now what.

I remember in one of Master Basho's lessons that it was better to NOT state the word that the haiku is about but instead address it by illustrating it with a time and place that can be understood and vicariously experienced by the reader. and if it indicates a certain season (without saying so) then so much the better.

If i am in error, I expect that Basho's earthly rep will correct me.

He flashed brightly
his scarlet and jet splendor
courting muted She

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Haiku Thursday is a weekly multi-participant game that anyone can play. Visit the Haiku Host to find the topic for the week, then post your haiku on your blog, and let the Haiku Host know that you are up. The Badge of Great Honor will be awarded and the winner may display that badge on his/her blog.

MCW: Best Political Thriller(s)

2011-03-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

My Top Five:

#5: Shooter: Marky Mark is an ex sniper who lives up in the mountains trying to have a chill life when Danny Glover and some other heavies show up and ask him to figure out how to stop an assassination. But its a set-up that frames him as the assassin. What follows is a nice cat and mouse routine, some delightful conspiracy theories, and a satisfying payoff at the end. Micheal Pena plays a bewildered FBI novice to perfection.

#4: Enemy of the State: Jon Voight is the head of the NSA who wastes a senator that wont vote to pass an oppressive security bill. Wildlife photographer catches it on film; it ends up in labor lawyer Will Smith's Victoria Secret bag and an epic chase ensues. The way that NSA technology is used to track and thwart him is a lot of fun. Neat interweaving of Mafia interests too. Gene Hackman stars as an ex spook who knows the score. Lots of fun.

#3: The Lives of Others: A good look at the Stasi in East Germany and what being a tool of an oppressive State requires of a man. In German, with subtitles.

#2: Hunt for Red October: cat and mouse game with subs. Sean Connery wants to defect. Or does he? Jack Ryan helps out. Its a good movie -very hollywood and fairy-tale like, but still. Chock full of great male actors; of course. Theres no wimmen on subs! (are there?)

#1: Salvador: a long time ago, Oliver Stone was an upstart guerilla director with a righteous point of view. Salvador is the very best of him. James Woods and Jim Belushi drive to Salavador in order to get great footage and story to salvage Woods' dying freelance career. It starts off as a alcohol and drug fueled road trip until our boys find out that inserting themselves between leftist rebels and military dictators can get real ugly real fast. John Savage, who is a very cool actor, plays a photojournalist with a much greater understanding of how things are.

I know, I phoned this one in. No clips today. Very Busy.

Happy MCW everyone!

Haiku Monday: Peace

2011-02-28T06:21:00.000-08:00

do not search for it
it's not a destination
its a decision

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Haiku Thursday is a weekly multi-participant game that anyone can play. Visit the Haiku Host to find the topic for the week, then post your haiku on your blog, and let the Haiku Host know that you are up. The Badge of Great Honor will be awarded and the winner may display that badge on his/her blog.

MCW: Overrated Oscar wins

2011-02-23T06:34:00.000-08:00

Well its that time of the year. Oscar time, which just reminds me of my deep hatred of hollywood and the status that actors enjoy in this country. I suppose in a once free country without a dictator (yet) lowly everyday people gotta serve somebody. Ticket sales for movies are just a small drop in the bucket. The big money is on the schwag that goes with it: the products, the perfumes, the clothes, the toys, the overseas sales, DVDs and QVC skin care lines. I just heard on GMA that the white dress drug addict and thief Lindsay Lohan wore to court is flying off the selves. Basically americans finance a class of people who live in a fantasy world who then turn into goodwill ambassadors and experts on foreign policy who lecture us endlessly on what ignorant intolerant jerks we are.

Lex Luther had it right: drop a bomb in the san andreas, break california off and send that bitch to sea.

Today, instead of doing the assignment I decided to treat you to some good art that rips the s**t out of celebrity culture. At least i chose subjects who have either won or been nominated for an Oscar. All art is from the big talent over at Gallery of the absurd. Just think of this as my oscar special. Enjoy, and happy MCW!

Love this: Tom Cruise: the last supper of the church of Scientology. But where is Xenu?

No this idiot never was nominated for and Oscar but I had to add this one ripping on celeb products.

Haiku Monday: Fragrance

2011-02-20T09:47:00.000-08:00

its a time machine
coconuts and salty skin
teenager in love

me concentrate on
readin' writin' rithmatic'?
cant! i smell yeast rolls.

And the Winner is........

2011-01-11T04:49:00.000-08:00

This weeks theme was on the word "crescent" which brought many fine entries examining both personal and universal meanings. Master Basho's ghost would be most pleased with the effort and thought that went into each haiku. The mighty K9 also thanks you for participating here in the dog pen while Troll is out in the wilds of Florida hunting.

Our Judge, Alicia Griswold, teaches creative writing at the Art Institute in Atlanta. You can read one of her poems on her blog "sending pages out to dry". Thank you, Alicia!

**Alicia's comments:

Fun read!

I, too, love the moon.

The winner is the 16-syllable haiku by Boxer:

Waning or waxing
hanging low in the sky
my lantern tonight.

Before anyone objects to this, let me say, the panicky revision with added “night” merely repeats “night” (see “tonight” in third line) to no advantage. It may follow the rule but makes for an awkward scan and detracts from the best line, which I love: “my lantern tonight.” A missing syllable does less harm than a clumsy word.

Might you consider including either the word “moon” at the start of line 2 or “so” after “hanging” to get that needed syllable? I liked the simplicity of language and the image of man humping home. Lantern, because it’s familiar and yet anachronistic, feels timeless to me.

Honorable mention (can I do this?): MB’s Ghost #2

“Both grain Towers fell.
Those that lay sleeping. Throats cut.
Envied by captured.”

Would also love to see Peurile Waites’ comment turned to haiku…

“I am wondering why you walked

back from the mountain.

Was it more dramatic that way?”

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Congratulations, Boxer! Display the badge-of-great-Honor on your blog. You have the awesome responsibility of selecting next week's haiku topic. You are also the winner of a virtual $800 gift certificate to Joe Bob's Gun and Ammo shack, and 3 practice sessions at Nephew's outdoor firing range. Enjoy and well done!

Haiku Monday for 1.10.11: Crescent

2011-01-07T16:57:00.001-08:00

*Hosting for Basho's Ghost and Troll this week*

Today I walked back from the mountain in late afternoon. The heavy clouds churned and moved like film sped up, and every so often, a glimpse of crisp deep blue. The wind was so strong I felt like Auntie Em calling for the dogs and searching the horizon.

The last open sky I saw contained a crescent moon: faint because it faded in the sunset. It hung in the sky with tremendous weight, its arc like a bowl tilted north. Then it was gone.

Illumination.

the sun beneath your waxing

orion above

Mississippi flows

beignets and chicory fill

french quarter morning

From Master Basho's blog:

The winning haiku will be 5-7-5 mora format and appear in the comments section below. Along with the Badge-Of-Great-Honor and other hypothetically fabulous prizes. The winning haiku will be judged by a local and professional poet this week. Your entries will be emailed and one will be selected. Post your entry here or at your own blog. Be sure to link back. A winner will be announced Tuesday. Play on!

Movie Clip Wednesday: Best Movie Set in Winter or Snow

2011-01-05T14:59:00.000-08:00

I am late to the party today, but it gave me a chance to check out every one else's picks and avoid a blog jinx -and there would have been one (or two) too, but more about that later.

My admiration for the movie "The Shining" is well known by longtime K9 readers and I believe I have written about it before for MCW for the "best horror" week, but it is the best movie that takes place in snow. Like space horror, snow horror is interesting because of the hardship the environment presents. And in the horror category, snow makes a lovely contrasting canvas for blood spillage.

Thinking about blood and snow naturally led me to think of Fargo, eh, but Boxer already snagged that one so that was out. Next I thought about Dr. Zhivago, but Aunty chose that one. I would have focused on other aspects of the movie, not the tragic love affair between Lara and Zhivago, but the very instructive glimpse of the Bolshevik Revolution. Dr. Z is at first enthusiastic about the revolution but surprise! I never works out they way they say. A scene that stands out is Dr. Zhivago senior coming back to his own home to find that several other families had been moved in and he was now relegated to one room. And if he didnt like that, he could be shot instead. So the younger Z and his bride flee to the country house to try and escape the oppressive super-state. The scene where they arrive by sleigh at the house which is completely iced over inside and out is a truly gorgeous piece of celluloid. It's too long though and I would have only chosen it because of the snow.

Let's see...Ice Station Zebra? The Thing? already taken. what to do what to do?

K9. Trust the force.

Thirty years ago, there was a rare Hollywood occurrence. A sequel as good as, and possibly better than, the original. That movie was "The Empire Strikes Back" which features one of the best snow battles ever. Filmed at Härdangerjøkulen Glacier in Finse Norway, the winter and snow backdrop allows for some innovative scenes: Luke being kept from freezing to death by being inserted into the warm guts of a fileted Tauntaun and of course, the incredible battle with the Imperial Walkers:

Thank God some fanboy "maked a speeded up battle just for fun" because the battle of Hoth is actually10 minutes long. Enjoy, and Happy Movie Clip Wednesday.

MCW: Most Overrated Film

2010-12-15T06:33:00.000-08:00

The English Patient. I hated this movie with the intensity of a thousand dying suns. It won a lot of Oscars. My "friend" took me to see it -she had read the book, loved it and really oversold it. I kept looking over at her saying "really?'

A bunch of aristocrats are in Cairo mapping the desert during WW2 when a lust affair breaks out and basically ruins everyones life (including mine for 3:10 hours) Handsome Hungarian count with bad accent burns up in a plane trying to return to his great love he left in a cave to die. He recounts the story while wrapped in a mummy costume to a pretty nurse whos in love with a Sikh bomb diffuser. Willem Dafoe hangs around as a drug addicted deserter too. Fun! I didnt give a flip about one person in this movie. All of them selfish pricks. I liked the Sikh actually. Mostly because he was a man of few words.

People talked about the sweeping grandeur of the cinematography. I say a poor imitation of David Lean. You want english people mixing it up with the locals in the desert? I give you Lawrence of Arabia or National Geographic.

Because the embed was disabled, i couldnt show 1:40 minutes worth of the most insufferable jealousy scenes ive ever been embarrassed to be in a theatre with. Follow this link, watch it, and read the pitiful commentary to follow. I guess the women who find this romantic are the ones who think the Police song "Every breath you Take" is romantic as well. If you like being stalked! Possessive controllers arent sexy, okay? Other candidates for finding this sexy are the kind of dipshits who take up with men, bring them home to be a live-in boyfriend only to end up killed, and to have boyfriend and 12 year old daughter run away and finally be caught after being seen panhandling at a Wal-Mart. That's hot.

I hate Ralph Fiennes. He calls himself "Rafe". In what language does RALPH equal RAFE? Ive tried it out a few times. If your mother smoked crack when you were gestating or have a speech impediment, I can sort of see it.

Rafe makes me want to Ralph.

My clip is a scene from Seinfeld where Elaine pretty much mirrors my response to the movie:

happy MCW!

What happened with The Shirt

2010-12-13T06:07:00.000-08:00

Some of you have asked what happened when i wore the infamous TSA protest shirt. Well, i burned the iron-on when applying the statements on the back of the shirt so there was an ugly brown cast beneath the words that somehow took away from the righteous indignation of the sentiments expressed. in other words, it was ugly. but you could read it. I did a better job on the front although the iron on had a stiffer plasticey texture than the shirt which made the shirt even more ill-fitting than it already was (which is why it was slated to be ironed on in the first place) causing some unflattering puckering at the boob line. V immediately pointed this out as i presented the final product to him and my niece, also traveling the next day, but not nearly as concerned about the growing american police state as manifested in TSA xray scanners and pat downs as i was. I was pleased that she knew the upside down flag was not a dissing of the flag itself, but the universal symbol of a country in distress. i was confident others would know this too.

I wore a jacket over the shirt, but you could see the upside down flag and the TSA: Training Submissive Americans part. On the MARTA train down to the airport i had a few curious glances but i could not compete with the fella who had stapled his own protest cardboard sign to a mesh ball cap which raged on about the "leo day care center". When, in a foolish attempt at rebel camaraderie, i asked him what his hat meant he said he didnt know, glared at me, and got up and moved to another seat.

"very nice, peanut" commented V as he jiggled along deeply focused on his iphone screen.

At the terminal most people were engrossed in their own pitiful lives so my shirt did not draw any looks or comments until we reached the security gates. then it got more interesting. there were 3 nekkid body scanners installed -but all of them were cordoned off. so - i wouldnt have to opt out after all, which was fine by me, but now i was worried that my shirt was too much for the occasion. would i be pulled out of line and subjected to a search by the lady prison warden from the movie "seven beauties?". When i took off my jacket and the burnt statements of ben franklin, thomas jeffereson and bob marley were exposed i began to hear comments behind me.

"look at that shirt" was about the extent of it.

there was a trio of girls behind me that i could hear talking about it so i turned around and showed them the front.

"do you agree with this?" said i, as i watched their eyes finish the last of the statement.

"yes!" they replied emphatically which meant they agreed or were scared to not agree with ms. crazytown.

I beamed with triumph. V smirked and gave an amusement snort.

the TSA goon who waved me through the scanner either:

a. did not read my shirt
b. was not offended by my shirt
c. had an IQ of 72

Later I had several people give me the thumbs up or say "right on" or whatever. On the tram ride to my terminal a lady studied my shirt for a long time and then looked at me and frowned. i winked at her and gave her an air kiss. she looked away quickly. Later, on the plane as i was buckling in, someone tapped on my shoulder and asked me if they could see the shirt -having not been able to get it all as i walked down the isle to my seat. I stood up, stretched it out from my body so it was more readable, and what followed was a healthy discussion on "what this really is". I was sad that a few of the people in the conversation actually think this degree of intrusion is acceptable to keep us safe -whatever "safe" is.

When we arrived at our motel -and it was an old school motel -not hotel (which i could write an entire post on V's dissatisfaction with the accommodations) i threw the shirt in the trash. V was relieved. I warned him not to be too excited because it wouldnt be the last of my protest shirts, but i was determined to find a more artful and professional way to execute it. screenprinting. thats the ticket.

As might have been expected, on the flight back, we were delayed on the tarmac for almost 40 minutes. each passing second of recycled plague air ramped up my general anxiety over getting a cold and dammif i didnt get a freaking cold! And i am pretty sure i have a fever too because i just woke from a dream where i lived in a high rise apartment with a trio of women (was it the gals from the security line?) who had pink hair that looked like the recent icing swirls i had piped onto to devils food cupcakes and shiny white go-go boots. for some reason, we were using those metal fire escape stairs to get to our apartment. the girl in front of me had something ironed on to the ass part of her string bikini pants. my brain was in overdrive trying to make out the image while also making sure to not take a misstep and fall 12 stories down to my death. finally it came to me. It was the face of the ugliest guy on the old show F-Troop - though it was hard to make out due to the repeated washings the panties had endured.

Burning bright before you i swear this is true.

MCW: Best Detective Movie

2010-12-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

"I want more life, f*cker"

Made in 1982 and set in LA circa 2019 (nope! way too early, Ridley), Detective (Blade Runner) Decker (played by Harrison Ford) hunts a renegade band of Replicants who have escaped an off-world slave camp to return to earth and find their creator, Terrell, to reverse the programing that has their android DNA shut down before they are ready:

Classic Frankenstein set up: Creator destroyed by the Creature. Like many detective movies, our hero's journey is to not only solve a mystery, but to find humanity in himself and in his quarry. Stylishly dark, this is a favorite of mine because it has parallels for the now; the folly of GMO and hybridization of species; the dehumanizing effect of an over-technological world; virtual replacing actual; and isolation in a crowded world.

But the best thing about it is how it looks. It's pre-CGI; which gives it the lush and plausible look that you dont see in say, an Avatar-like movie. It's not too slick which is perfect for visualizing a messy future.

Happy MCW!!

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Movie Clip Wednesday is a game that is open to all. To Play, visit Milk RIver Madman to find each week's assignment, then post your entry by wednesday.

gettin' on a plane tomorrow

2010-12-02T18:21:00.001-08:00

This one's for you, Janet.

So. The T-Shirt I made for my travel day tomorrow. It reads:

Training
Submissive
Americans

and then it says:

preparing us to accept police state america

on the back:

"Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one" -Benjamin Franklin

"Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God" - Thomas Jefferson

"Get up. Stand up" - Bob Marley

MCW: Best Sports Movie

2010-11-24T07:03:00.000-08:00

Finally an opportunity to insert Burt Reynolds into a MCW. Because, let's face it, he's not likely to come up in any "best ofs" unless the category is "best compound bow kill shot of creepy country inbred buggerer".

I would be excommunicated out of the Peach State if I didnt choose "The Longest Yard" as my best sports movie. It was filmed at the Georgia State Pen - a former cotton farm prison down in Reidsville - with an awesome opening scene car chase filmed in Savannah and Brunswick. Actual prisoners in the Pen were used as extras to be on the Mean Machine team, headed by Burt, a former Florida State football player.

It's the classic set-up: corrupt warden (played by Eddie Albert of Green Acres fame) offers prisoner early release to throw football game between convicts and prison guards. The hero finds his soul along the way and trades freedom for integrity.

This clip, coming in at a merciful 31 seconds, shows how our disgraced point shaving football "hero" starts off a string of bad behavior that lands him in prison to begin with: roughs up girlfriend, steals her car (which he says he has earned it, presumably for putting up with her shite) drives car off bridge, and beats up cops.

It's just a good old fashioned violent, extremely un-PC movie from a time before the movie industry, and the US in general, became a bunch of over-groomed geldings. Enjoy and

Gobble Gobble!

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Movie Clip Wednesday is a game that is open to all. To Play, visit Milk RIver Madman to find each week's assignment, then post your entry by wednesday.

MCW: Worst Sequel

2010-11-16T21:39:00.000-08:00

Morpheus prepares to blow away Joel Silver and the slags at Fox

Surprise, surprise. This is something Hollywood excels at: damaging original works of art with sequels in order to capitalize on stupidity. McDonald toy tie-ins, DVD's, t-shirts, action figures, posters, and cheap schwag of all manner fill the isles of Wallyworld et al with tributes to bad cinema. If you don't know what I am talking about think "Twilight"; Hell there is even Twilight lipstick now. And when sequels alone arent bad enough? Then its on to 3D!

Good Movies that had Bad Sequels:

Jaws
The Sting
Rocky
Wall Street
Blues Brothers
Halloween
Nightmare on ELm Street
Men in Black
Grease
Lethal Weapon
Caddyshack
and my pick for most damaged movie:

The Matrix.

I won't be posting a clip from any of the lame ass sequels which i think i may have tried to watch (on TV, for free) but apparently slumped into a coma while doing so. The Matrix was a darkly gorgeous allegory for the increasingly oppressive state in which we find ourselves. It ended correctly; the heros triumph happens in the same way it has gone down in myths through the ages. Sequels remind me of dogs that return to their own puke: a slimy poor relation of a once delicious meal. Nuff said.

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Movie Clip Wednesday is a game that is open to all. To Play, visit Milk RIver Madman to find each week's assignment, then post your entry by wednesday.

MCW: Best Buddy Movie

2010-10-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

It's the best movie i've seen in years. It's an unusual buddy combo, but it is exactly that. The dynamic between Vincent (Tom Cruise) and Max (Jaime Foxx) flows very naturally. It's the only movie where I've actually liked tom cruise other than his cameo as les grossman in Tropic Thunder. (And if you havent seen that dance, you really need to que up the last 4 minutes / credits of tropic thunder) The soundtrack is spectacular, if only for the inclusion of "Spanish Key" by Miles Davis, which i recently treated Moi and Boxer to while speeding toward the ATL superhub. But theres a million great tracks from Groove Armada to Audioslave. AND it was directed by Micheal Mann. And there was this quote that I loved:

while Max (Foxx) freaks out over the first target Vincent (Cruise) hits, this conversation follows:

Max: I can't drive you around while you're killing folks. It ain't my job!
Vincent: Tonight it is.

Vincent: Okay, look, here's the deal. Man, you were gonna drive me around tonight, never be the wiser, but El Gordo got in front of a window, did his high dive, we're into Plan B. Still breathing? Now we gotta make the best of it, improvise, adapt to the environment, Darwin, shit happens, I Ching, whatever man, we gotta roll with it.

Here's a delightful clip coming in at an economical 34 seconds!

This movie gets a 5 rottie howl rating. happy MCW!

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Movie Clip Wednesday is a game that is open to all. To Play, visit Milk RIver Madman to find each week's assignment, then post your entry by wednesday.

MCW: Best Foreign Actor: Toshiro Mifune

2010-10-19T13:30:00.001-07:00

I don't know what modern Hollywood would have done had there not been an Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, my choice for best foreign actor. With feudal Japan as a backdrop for the rise of the warrior class, the samurai (specifically a masterless/ronin samurai) personified an archetype very familiar to us: an outsider with his own code of ethics; like Han Solo, or Eastwood's Man with No Name. The character Eastwood plays in A Fist Full of Dollars is essentially the same character Mifune plays in Yojimbo, the quiet stranger that rolls into town and unleashes some epic badassery where it is well-deserved. I can't watch Kill Bill without a million flashbacks to classic Mifune moments: sword fights in the snow; dealing with (literally) insane rivals, fights against impossible odds; betrayals by dragon ladies and so forth.

Here we have a neat little compilation (2:12) a fan made with clips from "the Sword of Doom" where Mifune's character (entering the clip at :22) battles the crazy as hell Ryunosuke (played by the excellent Tatsuya Nakadai) in a series of clips that will show you, definitively, where Quentin Tarantino developed his style.

Not only were these samurai movies big to Tarrantino, but George Lucas has said that the Hidden Fortress was a huge influence on Star Wars IV. The funny thing is how often Kurosawa, the best director paired with Mifune, drew upon western literature for his films - especially Shakespeare.

Epic struggles remain the same in every time and in every language. If you have never seen a Toshiro Mifune film, start with Yojimbo. Like all great art, it remains as cool now as the day it was made.

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Movie Clip Wednesday is a game that is open to all. To Play, visit Milk RIver Madman to find each week's assignment, then post your entry by wednesday.

Movie Clip Wednesday: Favorite Black and White Movie

2010-10-06T16:13:00.000-07:00

I could've gone with TO Kill a Mockingbird, Dr. Strangelove, A Place in the Sun or even Manhattan; but i chose a film with themes that extend all the way into my here and now. Oh how many times have i referred to places and situations as the "Village of the Damned"! Whats worse than a band of platinum-blonde-group-think-laser-eyed kids? Implanted into the women of a small town, the children of this village are weird and scary smart even as babies. They never had the terrible twos -they were already plotting some unnamed evil. They can crash planes, or make a guy kill himself just by looking at him.

I had this friend growing up who had a cool basement at his house and a movie like this, or say, House of Wax, would play on saturday afternoon. A bunch of us would watch and it was great fun. But later, when i was alone, I was kind of scared riding my bike home. in broad daylight. Grrrrrrherhahahahah

OBAMA!

2010-05-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

O Baa Baa Baa, O Baa Baa, OBAMA!

congratulations barry on ya winnin' the election!
thanks to an infection of media protection
though i am truly proud to have a black president
my problem with you bro is the ideas you represent

how can you sell us on ya great humanity?
when ya financin' the flushin' of the very least of we?
im worried bout your playbook, yeah the one by 'ol Alinsky
and the red devil whispas from your homie Brzezinski

O baa baa baa ,O baa baa, OBAMA!
every time i look at you it cause a little trauma
63 million says you'll bring us liberty
but i think you are the front man for the global tyrannyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

yeah, W sucked, fukka stabbed us in the back
that coup the bankers pulled gave us all a heart attack
but damn if you dont answer to the same 'ol dirty bosses
you be talkin' up their game while we rackin' up our losses

washington aint nuthin but eruptions of corruption
it's only true function is it's freedom stealing suction
you'll ask for carbon taxes to allay the global warmin'
and apply a fairness doctrine until everyone's conformin'

O baa baa baa, O baa baa, OBAMA!
every time i look at you it cause a little trauma
63 million says you'll bring us liberty
but i think you are the front man for the global tyrannyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

*scratchy record break here*
*with a few classic rottie dance moves*

i gotta tell ya, brutha, it makes me kinda nervous
whenever you start talkin' 'bout "collective common purpose"
we better off with our own sovereign nation
i dont wanna sharecrop on a UN plantation! NO!

coconut, lemon, sweet potato pie
pie out of yo' ass and pie up in the sky
you always dronin' on about that fukken piece of pie!
we aint neva gonna get no slice so dont you even lie.

O baa baa baa ,O baa baa OBAMA!
every time i look at you it cause a little trauma
63 million says you'll bring us liberty
but i think you are the front man for the global tyrannyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
hee heee heeeeeeeeee yeah, boyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
OBAMA!

The History of K9 Part 3: The Poetry Duel

2009-10-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

As K9 developed his rotty persona he ranged far and wide on the internets leaving his fragrant steaming hot browns in unsuspecting blogger's com boxes. sometimes starting trouble, sometimes making friends. finally, and fatefully, he landed one evening on the blog known as Maydens Voyage in the middle of a duel between two poets; the flowery victorian kind. their old school vocabulary and gestures of chivalry cried out for a dark horse fly in the ointment type. so in typical K9 fashion, the dog inserted himself, uninvited, into the duel.

K9 threw a challenge down to the other poets with this rappery:

(this is what we do to poets 'round here)

why i make this post? let me be real clear:
i found myself a MAYDEN
and a nordic one at that
but i found her fire fadin'
so im preppin for combat

with a duo in a duel
yeah some men of poetry
so I'm throwin' down a jewel
of niner rappery

yeah im the dark horse in this race
and there aint no greater cause
to protect my mayden fair of face
from their literary paws

if ya'll be mackin' on my mayden
i'll be sneaking her away
like the bar-b-que you grilled
on independence day

she gonna choose a suitor
on their words alone
so im singing out my rap
with a bark of baritone

i don't need no learning
or thesaurus thickened book
i'll sway her with my yearnin'
and my nanny-killin' look

i'm turning maydens head
with my juicy rap ebonics
so what if you well read?
you jus suckin' on ya phonics!

to the poets i say:

i ruled ya, i drooled ya, flipped ya over and i skooled ya
i left a steamin brown, flipped you back and put it down
i floated and i stinged, left you peak-ked in da ring
i was bad; i was pretty
ya'll left town
feeling shitty

cause the dog sneaked in
before this dress rehersal
now its too late for the wedding
'cause i "pinged her universal"*

/howl

* pinged her universal refers to a comment i made about successful art

well, percival, who's blog no longer exists, (but i think is a guy named Paul) wrote this reply:

O vile Pretender!

Thou art - here me well good man, and tremble - thou art, verily, the George W. Bush of "dogs!"

Affecting a clumsy incoherence, it is clear from thine metrical skills that thou art well acquainted with Keats, Yeats, Teats, Tipsy, and the rest...

An English major I well suspect, who has been putting on the dog of a down-home act.

As the sun goes down on Monday, the sun also sets for thee. Ask not for whom the bell tolls. And seek not to break the rules and ask the Mayden's indulgence by saying, "the dog ate my homework."

In other words, Sir, I publically remind you that the Lady's rules stipulate including something about that darned "Lee Kennedy" dude, which I really found the hardest part of the whole thing...

Ping her universal? Think not even to arrive at the outermost vestibule of her galaxy.

O, unsavory Chameleon!

Cherished praise from this strong competitor Percy. Also in the mix: one J. Cosmo Newberry who i believe can still be seen lurking about at ladies' blogs such as Here is My Heart. My friendship with Xdell developed at this time and he set the odds for the dog at 5:1. in many ways he refereed the games. Mayden made the rules: the winning poem had to have two components: it had to address the concept of "fidelity" and it also had to include a mention of a man in australia known as "Lee Kennedy". The prize was that mayden would turn her full blog attention to the winner of the poetry duel for 30 days.

The dog had many helpers and supporters -im sure the others did too (NOT!). There was a lot of back and forth taunting between the poets and it was a very lively time on the blogs. I cannot tell the whole story as critical parts are missing. But in Maydens and K9's archives there stands (like a monument grrrherhahaha) a record of the most entertaining and interactive blogging season this dog has ever had. and the comments were priceless. Many friendships were forged in this time and the dog's earlier days as a troublemaker seemed to be forgiven.

finally the deadline arrived and K9 submitted this entry:
** the morse code and chemistry is the part that addresses the required component of the blogger known as Lee**

was it
nutmeg psychosis
or
morse code neurosis:

-.- .---- -.- .---- -.- .----

(dash dot dash, dot dash dash dash.
dash dot dash, dot dash dash dash.
dash dot dash, dot dash dash dash.)

hallucination
or
sweet equation

1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-
β-D-fructo-furanosyl 4-chloro-4-deoxy-
α-D-galactopyranoside

(almost)

the aussie man lee
and fidelity
the detective and the post

the niner of K
the den of may
the voyage and a boast

gloves thrown down
photos and browns
a discussion of what is true.

silly bros
erudite foes
its what dogs were built to do

-.- .---- -.- .---- -.- .----

(dash dot dash, dot dash dash dash.
dash dot dash, dot dash dash dash.
dash dot dash, dot dash dash dash.)

/grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

well i was called fidelis from my very first day
i dogpaddled here to bark it out and have my say
id never let a digger do a dig on my lady
wouldnt let 'em dis her or imply that she were shady
id protect her virtue with my K9 high karate
and channel-surf her chakras like a bodisatva rottie

a spectral force unseen just in case shes ever scared
a poem for her pleasure with my inner dog laid bared
but when she falls alseep tonight the canine ranges on
to form a fragrant steamer for another blogger's lawn.
though i can't stay a month in her digital abode
anytime she needs me she can telegraph my code

-.- .---- -.- .---- -.- .----

(dash dot dash, dot dash dash dash.
dash dot dash, dot dash dash dash.
dash dot dash, dot dash dash dash.)

-.- .---- -.- .---- -.- .----

(dash dot dash, dot dash dash dash.
dash dot dash, dot dash dash dash.
dash dot dash, dot dash dash dash.)

mayden
i'm fadin'
but true to you i'll be

m' lady's voice
the niner's choice
of sound fidelity

sound fidelity....
sound fidelity...
sound fidelity................

/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

my most cherished comment came from the bird which hinted at my very unfair advantage: that of being a "lady" masquerading as a rottweiler. grrrrrherhahahaha

bird's comment:

..."i felt that percy's flow (given his genre) was pretty good - in fact, ALMOST, but not quite, rivaling yours (and certainly superior to cosmo's - whose composition i found rather boring.)

but you in, addition to the superior flow, have produced a unique composition - it provides the unexpected: morse code, equation,

and, here, i'm trying to recall verbatim how i phrased it over at percy's place, in your composition, you express some values that are most endearing to the female heart - though you are a rogue of sorts, you offer both protection and freedom - no woman can pass up that combination - it's perfect!"

of course, the dog won the day. However, instead of having Mayden's 30 days of attention, K9 chose to do a series of posts with her as a muse - channelling the art of other artists; for example

/bark bark bark
(basquait)
/grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

/bark bark bark
our lady of perpetual bloggers
/grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

In this time, a beautiful friendship between K9 and Mayden was born. and it would be put to the test in the final chapter: The Islamic War: a massive blog dogfight.

still coasting on others work: I love this

2009-10-07T14:47:00.001-07:00

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrherherherherherhahahaha! at 1:38 (amputation "boop")

the ever expanding universe of american banality

2009-09-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

This is a post for my beloved Troll, who thinks ive had my head spun around by my friendships with leftists, conspiracinistas and artists. Over on Fishy's blog, we got into a bit of a debate on restaurant franchises, Wal-Mart, europe, the war, and the american "way of life". And i think the Troll challenged me to a dogfight. as a rottweiler, i cannot refuse a challenge. So in this post i will present my point of view and argue that it is not only not "leftist" but far more conservative than the argument Troll makes.

Why O'Charleys and Walmart suck

You're right Troll, when you say that there is nothing wrong with an individual choosing to open an O'Charleys (from now on OC) or an individual to choose to patronize an OC. You're probably right too, in noting that a franchise restaurant has a better chance of surviving the Obama anti-small business economy. But i am making arguments on two principal fronts: aesthetics and culture, and local economy.

In the united states, you could be plopped down in any city and be confronted with slabs of road lined with one box restaurant after another: taco bell, McD, long john silvers, longhorn, chilis, OC and all the rest. the familiar sameness feeds into an american psyche of a never ending smorgasbord in the land of plenty where cheap food and goods are our national birthright. the blandness of the offerings and the predictability of them anesthetize the senses in the same way our collective 8 hours of television dulls the mind. I think of franchises (and Wal-Mart) as carpetbaggers, they come into a community and they take money out of the local economy and put very little back into it, while also destroying the unique character and flavor of the community. and it's ugly.

Even if a local businessman opens an OC, he is going to be somewhat constricted by the corporate mandate of menu. They are also going to benefit from big budget advertising in endless repetitive loops: "come put your big american ass in our booth and we'll give you 5000 calories of bread before you even order! yay!" These ads show how little regard the corporate pitchmen have for us. our function is to consume and then, when have have consumed too much, we can take Lipitor! and yes, in a free nation we have every right to choose this soulless path, but Troll, your argument was i wrong to be disgusted by it, and wrong to blame "the people" for their choices having something to do with independent businesses failing.

Meanwhile, as in Fishy's scenario, a local restaurant has more freedom to buy local produce, offer seasonal menus and in general offer something unique and stimulating. These one of a kind establishments are the ultimate in american freedom because every decision that is made by the proprietor is free of a monolithic corporate overlord. But they havent survived. I am questioning a culture that does not see why supporting local is in everyones best interest . there is nothing more conserative than preserving local economies. the less centralization there is, the more freedom and choice there is for individuals. for every job that an OC or walmart offers....the absence of these chains offers greater opportunities for not just jobs, but individual life and spirit sustaining businesses that will develop to meet the community demand. i can, and do, blame "the people" for the short sightedness of not patronizing local businesses.

during the seattle summit, one of the highlights was when Boxer took me and shamy and moi to "Top Pot" a famous doughnut shop. It was a destination, we walked for what seemed miles with wild anticipation of the goodies at the end of the trail. This would not have happened if we were going to say, a dunkin donuts. we can get that anywhere. this was an event because the destination was unique to seattle. OC is not a destination -its always going to be there and so is therefore, not special. That is my problem: the non-specialness of "its always going to be there" and how that attitude is a blight on the american way of life and thought. It breeds indifference and taking abundance for granted which we can not afford at this juncture in history.

The fact that i find europe delightful because of the way each region has its own character based on the environment and/or history does not equal i think america should be like europe politically. but i do think they have some things right: that cheap goods and expediency do not trump authenticity. how is it that in 200 and some change years this nation is a collection of strip malls and jiffy lubes and yes, OC's while european cities have retained their local character for far longer? shouldnt we care about the quality of our experiences at least as much as how cheaply and quickly it can be delivered? because while we are on our way to making a pile of money, or whatever it is that defines american life, we have to fill our time with LIFE. how do you want to live it?

On to Wal-Mart. yes Wal-Mart offers low prices and that is helpful especially in this economy. but in the long run there is serious damage done to the communtiy; and im not even going to cite the fact that they keep the hours of employees under 40 to avoid health benefits while at the same time partnerning with the Center for American Progress to support a law that would legally obligate employers to pay for their employees' health insurance - small businesses that do have full time employees. or that they have bribed their way into to communties where they are not wanted.

my argument is this: once you allow the big box of cheap goods to run every alternative out of business because they cannot compete with the prices, then that big box is now your primary provider of goods. and then you have corporate tyranny. what did you trade for your cheap plastic from china, america? you traded away choice for a kind of serfdom -only the king in this case is a corporation. all that money spent in wal-mart? it leaves the community and goes to sam waltons familys vault. which is fine for them, they built the business. but when local businesses receive money for goods in their shops it is not going to be shipped out of the community, it is going to be spent with other businesses in that same community. The most conservative way of life is to stay as local as possible in business and commerce.

to sum it all up:

Wal-Mart: a single entity that provides for all your needs. what does that remind you of? and how has the acceptance of that arrangement primed the american psyche for exactly the situation we find ourselves in on a far larger scale?

Mute Monday "80's"

2009-09-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

join us! Mute Monday is a weekly multi-participant group project that visually addresses reader suggested themes. Click here to learn more, and be sure to visit the troll report to let everyone know you participated.

the History of K9: Part 2; K9 and the Ladies

2009-09-23T05:09:00.000-07:00

at "the possibility of fire" blog, where the dogfight began, i met who was to be my greatest advocate and blog mentor; vanille. * please see vanille's comments on the history of K9 part one below. she is the last two* she was alternately harsh and tender to the dog, administering sharp raps to the hip (see above drawing) with a rolled paper now and then. In one of our early dogfights she wrote that if i wasnt so boneheaded, she would "do me". and i replied that i would "rather dry hump my plush ottoman". i think this really sealed our friendship as this line launched her royal title "Contessa Vanilla Bitch of the Ottoman Empire" and a million jokes between us that followed.

I was very fond of all the women i met at POF and many of them migrated to my newly minted blog, sparringk9. Our first big argument was over the anti-abortion rap i wrote "Are You For Eighty-Six?". It must have seemed odd this presumably male dog making the case for something that did not affect him directly. but over the months they came to accept the dog even though he seemed a right wing nut to them. I liked to fuss over the ladies with drawings and little "rapperys" in their comment boxes. here's how i imagined some of them:

Aunty Belle with a glass of iced tea, and a portrait of her husband, uncle A, the poark rind magnate

i did a few drawings for "bird"; as the teacher, and writing for her blog:

flap and swoosh warping on with the little birdies

boyed up late writing erotica

then there was this for the one we know as the bipolar faery "one part daffodil and one part cold fury. mix well. stand back." it was a difficult road for the faery and K9 and it still has fits and spurts, but somehow we have maintained a friendship through it all.

I came to realize that to talk to them in the way i wanted to, i really needed to be happy in a relationship and not appear to be out on the blogs horn-doggin' around. there would be the occasional double-entendre (which can be found in my archived posts comment boxes if you are bored out of your mind and want to read) and flirty talk, but for the most part K9 was sweet and supportive of the ladies while maintaining a gruff attitude towards some of the males.

So i created the cool analytical Freya to be the counterpoint to K9. She was the perfect girlfriend: the light to his dark the reserved to his hotheadedness. Freya was a Dutch white wolf, who wrote in a hybrid of broken english and dutch and wrote on existential matters with black and white photochoppys to illustrate them.

This is what Freya's art was: always black and white and always laced in melancholy. This piece was titled: "ik ben verse besnoeiing!" translation: I am Fresh Cut!

I think with Freya, i had a glimpse into what blogging could be artistically -as a living and interactive art piece. I think this story, Freya Lecht and Dark, is the best thing i have ever written. she was a lot of work; i was spending lots of time on alta vista translators and working to stay in character. Freya had blog loves of her own; they were Bogshond and Mister Q and Ben.

The first blogger i ever met in the real was mister Q. He was a favorite of ALL the women, not just Freya. and, he was a good friend to K9. So we picked a place and time to meet. I knew what he looked like, but he did not know what I looked like -unless he was looking for a rottweiler. I watched him come in the door and sit at the bar. He was looking hard at all the guys and i could tell he was wondering "which one is K9?" I had these business cards made up with K9's photo and my blog address on them, and i slid one across the bar to him. The look on his face was priceless. He was so not expecting me. So i know that he too thought i was a man, although he told me he thought i was going to turn out to be a "proud redneck biker type". He told me that it was a complete bushwhack and that it didnt happen to him very often.

After it was revealed that K9 was a female, i think it was Foamy who wrote what was to be a great compliment and astute observation. She said that it all made sense that K9 was a woman because of all the time "he" spent encouraging her to build a studio space for herself; the time he put in on poetry and drawings. she said it was unlikely a real man would invest that much effort when there was no chance of "return" grrrehahaha. do i have that right foam?

not entirely true though. /t is known for his artistic generosity. and he really IS a male. grrhahehaha

next on the History of K9: Part 3: the Poetry duel

the History of K9: Part 1

2009-09-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

Over at the Troll Report today, BuzzKill asked:
"As an aside, I think it's a panic that you have K9 listed as "Angry Black Guy" on your side bar"

and Troll said:"There's an amusing story about K9's status as a black man that pre-dates her employment as a Troll Report correspondent."

and then Karl asked:
"Praytell what is the story regarding K9?"

K9 with his muse, the mayden he won in a poetry duel

well, what IS the story of K9? i've been asked before, touched on it very briefly at the seattle summit and have alluded to it from time to time. the scope and scale of it is epic, with an unlikely scrappy heroic rottweiler (grrrerhahahaha) who burst onto the scene January 2005 on a blog by WCH called "the possibility of fire" which sadly, no longer exists, or i would send you there to see how the dogfight began.

In the beginning, i was "gone native" and i had a little blog that nobody read about the forest and art. it was the precursor to Chickory. One night i made the decision to click on the tab at the top of blogger that says "next blog" and i arrived on a page with this tremendous rant about how horrible america was. It was after hurricane Katrina and it was a nest of liberals blaming racism for everything wrong that went down in the aftermath. (some things never change)

i came out swinging as "anonymous" and busted up the place pretty good; and the bloggers in there freaked out and demanded that i "show myself". actually, it was the women who came to this guys defense which intrigued me. so while in the heat of battle i had to develop an identity. and i couldnt go in as "gone native" because i sure didnt want these haters coming back to my sweet little nature blog.

i always liked rottweilers, (and had one briefly: another story for another time) and in particular loved the rottweiler in the movie "the omen", hence the tag line of "the rotty with the nanny killing stare", so i got on google images and found a rottweiler that had been in a dogfight and was at the pound. not a beautiful dog, but a scrappy dog, and i chose "him" for my avatar and went back. and i called myself the "sparring K9" because thats what i was. and i was despised. seriously. hated.

now. somewhere along the line, because of the fact i was a black dog, and that i said something to the effect of "people cross the street when they see me coming" an assumption was made that i was a. black and b. male. and i never did anything to correct them. in fact, i made an amazing discovery: that my point of view was received in a way the point of view of some random white chick never would have been.

i had a lot of fun with it. i started calling WCH, the one who wrote the "america sucks" post the "teacup poodle" and set a goal for this game. and the goal was to steal his women away.

Every time i made a comment, it would start with /bark bark bark and end with /grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. FInally my guest appearances resulted in an offer from WCH to write on his blog as a point/counterpoint kind of thing. I refused (you'll see why in the repost) and decided to build my own page. his "ladies" felt i should apologize for refusing to post with him! some of the players are still around and i invite them to add to this tale should they be so inclined, to correct my memory if need be, or to add whatever they want to this tale.

*in the interest of time, i have put the salient, and classic, K9 comments in bold type. just read that if youre in a hurry*

Who the Hell is Ad Hominem?
/bark bark bark

Looks like I got back just in time to prevent my sock puppet from writng checks I have no intention of cashing.

It was the emotional exhibitionism of WCH that fueled the angry first post. My response is not all that different from what Mr Q is saying in his used car salesman post about Bono. I call it compassion fashion. I found the tone of his writing to be condescending and narcissistic and those irritants were compounded by too many words. Same words over and over. You know why I lIke BogsBlog? He's economical. Get in, make your point, and get out.

These are legitimate points. I think fair play means I say what I want and fair play is also that you can disagree, clean my clock, ditto or ignore me altogether. Just because I didn't roll over and decorate my belly with the warm golden pillar does not mean I have not made an attempt to be a gentleman, acknowledge my rotten behavior and move on.

I said in his yard I was sorry, and I gave him props for being my Dr. Frankenstein, the creator of this creature in a manner of speaking. I say straight up, first post, this blog was created for WCH. And yesterday, through my sock puppet post, I have given him the ultimate praise. I think these things are BETTER than apologies.

This blog is called SPARRING K9 not "Channelling Alan Alda" so I refuse to go touchy feely on this. WCH ought to write me a thank you note for creating a situation where a bunch of alpha chicks wade in and start swinging in his defense! Talk about a bounty of good fortune!

You know, I was cool until I really starting thinking about his offer, you know his post called barkbarkbark? The offer was to do a blog together; a point counter-point bit. As I read on, that mad dog feeling came all over me again. Why? Because before I even knew what I was in, this guy had it titled, with my own barks no less, packaged and had laid out a list of rules for me to follow before you could say Jim Dandy. There is something of a liberal mind set to WCH's "containment" approach.
Bogs got it right. I won't be tethered to another's leash.

A conservative dog, like myself says no thanks I'll take my chances, and if it doesn't fly than that is MY failure. And if it does fly it is MY success. Maybe I don't want to talk about what WCH does. Maybe I have my own game plan. Maybe Im not a nice doggie.

And if the price I have to pay for not making ANOTHER apology is to be not read, then so be it. That is the free market system. If the market does not support my product then this blog will die as well it should. This is a capitalist canine mini manifesto. No further apologies will be made.

/grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

next up: K9 realizes he needs to create a "girlfriend" for himself, and fast.

2009-09-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

what does my card do? it liquifies into Round-Up™ you sanctimonious twit.

vampires and their twits

2009-09-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

obama is a vampire
that sparkles in the woods
libs they are the chicks that say
"he's misunderstood!"
if you dont drive a prius
or screw a spiral light?
you don't get to fly with him
into the twilight night

only smart and special girls
come under his protection
he doesnt suck their blood
or poke them with erections
he saves these lucky girls from other
blood sucking creatures
he will never ever hurt them
(until the second feature)

"i'll drink the bad guys dry
and i'll give you the blood
you can count on me
your communistic stud
those peasants who oppose me
with their pitchforks and their torches?
i'll silence them for real
with my special homeland forces"

you try and tell those girls
he's the same guy as before
they will say "he's elegant.
your reason is a bore"
one thing to remember girls
your vampire? he's eternal
once he's fed on "haters"
he'll be hauntin' your nocturnals

2009-09-06T12:01:00.001-07:00

2009-04-27T23:11:00.000-07:00

im eating a sack of oreos
i can't see a reason not to
cellulites not a worry
in the summer of bird-swine flu

my cookies, they are laced
with terminator seed
a chocolate subsidy
in the epic age of greed

i washed the cookies down
with milk of lipitor
and stuffed my ears with lead
so i dont hear you snore

i dreamed i was so fat
my carbon footprint killed
my oil it oozed like lava
until the rivers filled

you looked on in horror
and i laughed with delight
im eating a sack of oreos
each and every night

whatever

2009-04-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

*** The conversation continues.......
* artwork by: "Mortiz Rrr" courtesy of Eva Keppel Gallery, Dusseldorf

the interview

2009-01-21T19:00:00.000-08:00

What follows is question #1 of 5 that MOI of bite the apple gave to me as a part of a meme that's going around. i never expected such an interesting and difficult group of questions. Moi should have been the one to replace Tim Russert; no weasel politician could squirm out from under her questioning. anyway, this interview was like preparing for a term paper or something. So complex are the questions that i am posting them one at a time.

question #1:

You are organizing a rock band and must pick three other musicians – all currently alive and kicking – to make up your quartet. Who are they, what kind of music do you all play, and what is the name of your band?

I started building my band with the drummer cause that was easy. That'd be Neil Peart of RUSH. i still get chills when i hear the drums on Tom Sawyer.

i love his big echoey sound and tempo change ups. his work is complex like nobody's business. and he is 56 years old putting him in the right age group for my band. he's the PhD of drumming i dont think anyone can touch him even if i raised the dead.

runner up? there isnt anybody. There is only Neil. and frankly, everybody pretty much agrees.

i would be the base player, just cause realistically speaking i could probably handle that.

My guitar player? this was tough. real tough. do i choose a virtuoso? a rock God? mr or ms popularity?
I couldn't believe it when my best friend took me to the Prince concert a few years ago. He did all the expected hits - but then he sent everyone off stage and did 15 minutes of just wailing. when he stopped there was about a 20 second moment of silence before the stadium erupted into a mixture of ecstasy and disbelief.

if you have never seen the video where all the guitar greats play on stage in a tribute to george harrison and then Prince comes out and smokes them all, you really need to see his royal badness show 'em how its done

the cool thing about choosing Prince would be that we could share clothes. im pretty sure he could roll with my gold sequined mardi gras pants. and the platform boots!

There were so many i liked and considered but in the end, i chose someone who's world view i understand; someone i agree with on many levels and again, of the right age group.

That would be the motor city madman; the one, the only Ted Nugent.

I like ted. He gives liberals fits. he's not one of these guitar players that instructs us on how shitty america is every time he opens his mouth. Hes also not one of these tedious self important doofuses like that punk from Green Day who i can't stand and fronts a three-chord band anyway. and he likes it out in the woods, as do i. Ted threatened to run for office because he said he couldnt find a candidate who respects the U.S. Constitution and our sacred Bill of Rights enough to suit him.

at a concert in california he famously invited barbara boxer to suck on his machine gun. in these days where rock and rollers are spokes punks for every possible crisis that results in limitations of individual freedoms, or talking about how war is a drag (no! really?) nugent seems to be one of the last rebels standing. he doesnt give a shit what the liberal media thinks of him and i like that. is he the best guitar player of all time? probably not. he aint' bad either. and if i should require my band mate to hunker down in the survival loblolly post-apocalypse; hell, i couldn't fare better than with bow-hunter Ted Nugent. That's me: always looking for the worst case scenario contingency plan.

runner up: angus young of AC/DC. a scottish bad ass in a school boy's outfit topping out at 5'2" - whats not to love?

speaking of AC/DC, i could live with Bon Scott as my front man but alas, like so many other of my top picks, he's otherwise engaged in his eternal dirt nap. also wouldve chosen jim morrison, freddie mercury and janis joplin. i never really understood about janis until i saw the monterey pop festival footage. holy hannah she was smokin' hot. i get it now!

lets see...chris cornell of soundgarden? what. a voice. i love him. and he looks good too.

but something a bit more intense and alive is what i have in mind. is IGGY still alive?

how about alice cooper? still not quite what i had in mind....anthony keidis? getting closer.....how about the dude from rage against the machine? too leftist. and possibly not quite active enough loud, but not active enough physically...maybe Run DMC - i dont know whos who - i mean who is run and who is DMC? either way, like their stage presence a lot. George Clinton? a good possibility.

i really love corey glover of Living Color. and i almost chose him. That is a bad-ass band. but still i searched and finally, i arrived at the all important front man. and i am ready and willing to endure the ridicule for my choice- just like i did when i said young Burt Reynolds in "deliverance" is as hot as it gets. that is ALPHA my friends. not these eyebrow waxing prius drivers.

for my front man? i going with david lee roth. Ol diamond dave. im sorry, i expect to be ridiculed but IMHO he was everything a front man should be: egomaniacal, clownish, energetic, athletic (how bout those jumps in "jump?") and a decent singer. you think he sucks? well without him van halen sucked. even a guitar god like eddie cant roll without DLR -and forget sammy hagar and whoever that last guy was. in Atlanta, there is an all female Van Halen tribute band called "She-ruption". i just gotta get out and see this. sounds like a opportunity for a video blog post dont it?

What kind of music do we play? i will call it "rip rock". It will be very loud, lots of fun and i will also have it re-mixed for clubs so you can dance to it - kind of like how the Cure did with their remixes. i will soup up neil's drums so you feel like you are having a heart attack - low end in a good way. and our light show would rival Pink Floyd's. we'd give out free CD's just like Prince does and stick it to the record companies and corporate music dictators.

the name of the band? "Atticus Flinch" - kind of a take/homage on the greatest depiction of manhood ever laid down on celluloid - the flip side of alpha Burt but every bit as compelling and powerful. and distinctively southern.

for those about to rock. we salute you.

trout in the kitchen

2009-01-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

a little ditty for BBC

2009-01-10T06:18:00.000-08:00

my policy has been
that i let anybody in
no controls or censorship
say what you want
let er rip

but i got a report
that you creeped out my niece "short"
so youre done, youre through
it's time to say adieu
cause she privated her blog
to keep you out, you stupid slob!

youre a bitter vulgar chump
who is dumber than a stump
a loud and snorty snore
the biggest bore of bores
look, i dont mind a fight
but i insist my foes be bright

so if you comment here
your hateful words will disappear

and chickory? stay away
i let you have your say
you are jealous of my creek
you infantile antique
so add me to the list
of the blogs that have you dissed
your nature's always pissed
and your dark spirit wont be missed

grrrherherhahahahahaaaa!
by the way, did you read what Lady Dame wrote to you?
you really should read it chump.

2008: the rotty review

2008-12-31T19:11:00.001-08:00

...........bad asses of the year: the somali pirates........best religious performance: rev. jeremiah wright "americas chickens are coming home..to ROOST!" sermon......person i most want to take a baseball bat to: Lori Drew, the 49 year old mom who posed on my space as 17 year old "josh", who first flirted with, then tormented 13 year old megan meier for weeks even saying "the world would be better without her in it" until megan committed suicide by hanging..........pundit of the year: dennis miller......worst live performance: kanye west on SNL......second worst live performance: kanye west on GMA..........election fraud that mysteriously didnt bother liberals at all: ACORN.......best picture: "the preview" from PNW pictures........

sign of the year: beer as cold as your girlfriend's heart (grrrrrrherhahahahaha)

art story of the year: damien hirst bypasses the dealers and goes straight to sothebys netting 95 million.......most repulsive male: al franken...........most pitiful martyr wife: mrs. elliot spitzer..........dumbest blonde: kim zoliak from "the real housewives of atlanta"...............overused vapid nebulous meaningless word of the year: "change"............ thief of the year: frankin raines...........super chumps of the year: chris matthews and keith olberman.............best antedote to the propaganda channel for hollywood, aka "entertainment tonight": TMZ..........

most devastating realization: our once sovereign nation is now a debtor's prison run by global bankers.........most annoying voice: bonny fwank...............best long overdue justice: OJ simpson goes to jail...........idiot of the year: maxine waters............biggest putz of the year: scott mclellan.........

person most likely to extend the bush doctrine into 2009: barack obama..........worst fashion in the news: the chicks of the fundy mormon ranch.......worst liar: casey anthony: the chick who killed her kid in orlando......winner of the "how does he sleep at night" award: bernard madoff.......dog of the year: trout.............hen of the year: (tie) mean dovey cooledge and red.............

best show i saw this year: frida kahlo at the san francisco museum of art..........phrase of the year (condensed): bitter xenophobes clinging to guns and bibles.......completely superfluous entity of the year: the US media.............unpleasant side effect as a result of obama's election: susan sarandon and tim robbins are staying in the USA.............scariest movie: the world according to monsanto (watch it on you tube)..............heartbreaking story under reported: the mass suicide of indian cotton farmers who were fucked over by monsanto.............

best crochet of the year: the TV dinner

hypocrisy example of the year: john edwards , back-door man..................song i hope i never hear again: mercy by duffy.................quit while youre ahead award: bret farve..................best lesson from the NFL that should be applied to corporate america: bad season = "you're fired!".................miracle of 2008: suddenly, all those diebold voting machines are no longer "rigged"!......................most demoralizing evil that must be endured: commercial air travel...........spectacle of the year: bejing olympics opening...........poster boy for chicago politics: blago.................

slogan of the year: "buy my idea and i won't kill you" ..........show that should be cancelled: the view...................not too bright award: football player plaxico takes a bullet to his thigh when the glock in his sweatpants (!) drops and fires..................hag of the year: madonna. retire. seriously. stop...................ooops moment of the year: dropping critical tools while working on the space station.............event that has changed my entire outlook for good: the bailout

refuge of the year: the forest................supercreep of the year: richard fuld, ceo of lehman bros...............best controversial tv ad: the one where Mr T fires from the back of a pick-up truck, a tommy gun loaded with snickers candy bars at the ass of a ghey race-walker.................most irritating tv ad: all car ads that use old rock songs and the zyrtec "time in a bottle" ad graaaaaah!...........................worst noise in 2008 and every year: leaf-blowers.............best website run by democrat: "hyper-educated uppity woman"..............most ubiquitous video game: guitar hero...................animal of the year: squirrel............biggest enemy to our freedoms as individuals: corruption.............scam of the year: carbon credits to offset global warming...............best entertainment: podcasts............

best vintage poster that sums up 2008: see above.............dumb teenager story of the year: girlfight in tampa is videotaped and put up on you tube.........best divorce: the one over the husband committing virtual adultery on "second life"...............worst guru of the year: deepak chopra.............

final comment on 2008: good riddance!

happy new year

Merry Christmas: CD's for everyone

2008-12-19T14:11:00.001-08:00

first, start the music. it's at the top of the sidebar. click images for larger view and merry christmas!

4 ornaments and a fifty year old

2008-12-03T08:53:00.000-08:00

candy cane bug ornament 6" ball

snow wolf ornament 6" ball

polar monkey ornament 6" ball

evergreen bug ornament 6" ball

last night i was inducted into full blown hagdom as my friends who are already in their 50's welcomed me into the fold. predictably i have a bit of a hangover even though i barely drank (gimlets). i actually turned the big five-0 on thanksgiving day which was a lovely day with several generations of family.

iamnot said i was a coward for not posting my real picture on the mute monday "all about me". so here i am, full frontal in my messy-ass princess room. moi, these are the harley davidson boots that look like those Fryes you like. thanks to all for the birthday wishes and a special shout out to mayden and vanille. thanks grrrrrrrrrrls.

have an excellent Thanksgiving!

2008-11-25T11:39:00.000-08:00

K9 santa's workshop.
i wish everyone a very happy and thankful thanksgiving. enjoy it because next year is going to be ruff. grrherha! and now for your holiday entertainment, the Christmas CD's from 2007 and 2006. it's a tradition at sparringk9! I have already started on the 2008 edition.

2007:

2006:

Mute Monday: "P(h)"

2008-11-23T18:13:00.000-08:00

Pho Kid's Phish Photograph

join us! Mute Monday is a weekly multi-participant group project that visually addresses reader suggested themes. Click here to learn more, and be sure to visit the troll report to let everyone know you participated.

grrrrherhahahaha

2008-11-20T18:39:00.000-08:00

the real housewives of atlanta

2008-11-17T11:22:00.001-08:00

this one is for a.b. and moi and the big shamu : a little ditty to celebrate the end of the atlanta housewife train wreck for this season:

it's a ho-down! a showdown!
tonight they gonna throw down!
the real atlanta housewives
contrive to thrive
but thats just jive

i heard from a lil bit-tay bird-day
that miss Kimmy the Kat
she of platinum dreads
(that shyt up on her head - i mean it is hard to conceive of so dreadful a weave)
has been DUMPED by her married indian developer boyfriend
big poppa
whatta show stoppa!
a stunning revelation
for this vacuous abomination
you caint sang grrrrrrrrrl. you cant!
and then you rant
on NeNe's little ditty bout how you
think you is so damn pretty and that aint all thats wrong
you aint never ever ever gonna record that song
with Dallas
meanwhile, not to be callous but how about
sheree
dear God people. her. time. is. worth. something.
she is known for fashion
and i offer this in all compassion
damn, not really
your clothing line was silly and

seriously
when you demonstrated that spread eagle
move on the pole
i swear it touched me in my soul
you really ARE the classy one
the sassy one
the face as long as lassie one

she say:

"kim's the white me; we both so pretty
and thats what drives the other women "kitty"
they haters! thas all
they jealous and enthralled!"

on each others egos they feast
constantly feeding that hungry beast
that's why that friendship is strong
this we have seen all along

btw
what in the hell is wrong
with
deshawn?
that girl aint got it goin on
of all the five she brings the yawn
her lips is frozen
and she cant say "jewelry"
thats probably why there was no flurry at her
JURRY show
nothing sold! an embarrassing flop
*sorry honey* 'bout that
thirty thousand i dropped!

desahwn, now
c'mon
why not just give the money
directly to them girls?
cuz there aint no glory! no fanfare! no
ME ME ME ME ME
and no picture in the pages of society
ya chunky too
and your child shrieks for pancakes like a little tyrant

but Nene's the one who is defiant!
her song on Kimmy was oh so correct
"a hot tranny pageant show reject"
(okay she didnt sing that; that one was mine
but hey i needed to put in that line)

and lawd! curtis is not your father.
dont ever bother
going to a country ass tarot reader
for God's sake Ne Ne!
let your "ont" be your leader
leave it alone
them cousins just want a piece of your home
remember a third is not
a lot - it certainly isnt a half
that was last weeks favorite laugh

now for Lisa
the energizer bunny
nothing about her is remotely funny
she stable and perky and cute and quirky
but i heard a rumor just this day
how ol stable lisa done give away
and lost control on the reunion day

guess who she hit?
and who's gonna sue?
is lisa the shit?
dunno
i think the dark side
has made its debut
i like ed
i do.
i liked his speedo movie
i think the date nights at the house
are really kinda groovy
but i do have a little dig for all of ya

you dont live in atlanta.
none of yall do! ya live in
DULUTH!
that is the truth.
admit it poseurs.
and there aint no trees at any of yall houses
so naw, we aint jealous.

Mute Monday: "N" New World Order

2008-11-15T15:15:00.000-08:00

enjoy this classic, on me! "the key word is survival on the new frontierrrrrrrrrrrrr"

join us! Mute Monday is a weekly multi-participant group project that visually addresses reader suggested themes. Click here to learn more, and be sure to visit the troll report to let everyone know you participated.

michael kenna

2008-11-12T17:51:00.000-08:00

there is a terrible beauty to this work. the soundtrack in my mind when i look at them is white noise. it looks like a neutron bomb went off here; the kind that saves buildings and neutralizes people. and the painterly quality to the manipulation of value and light is exquisite. best find today.

at robert mann gallery

Mute Monday: "M"

2008-11-10T09:47:00.000-08:00

design picks for your home

2008-11-06T06:17:00.001-08:00

for a.b. the squid chandelier

the laser cut ethereal room divider by Tord Boontje

the wet red paint table at geekologie

the icebear rug at birkiland for moi's icelandic getaway

the flying alarm clock. at the set time it launches one of its little flying wheels into your room. it never shuts up until you get up and find the fly wheel. grrherhahaha you'll never oversleep again find it at the Gadget Shack

a car hood coffee table for troll by Joel Hester. he takes vintage car hoods and works with the oxidation on steel - polishes it up and voila! for Freya the glow trophy for her ice chalet

forgot where i found this. can't wait for the al franken toilet seat!
the living stones lounge. perfect for rug rats.

the raven coat hanger at birkiland for me

the linear chandelier.

el dia de los muertos party

2008-11-02T17:54:00.001-08:00

of all the party preparations, making the altar was my favorite part of the process. the table was so large that the party food was laid out on the shrine which was a great way to have a captive food eating audience discover the tiny vignettes hidden within larger displays.

when i wanted to get away for a moment to a quiet place i would get in my friend's restored 80's era limo - complete with flat black astroturf with tiny pile for its exterior paint job. when this limo drives by it looks like a black hole going down the street -it reflects no light except for the underglow of green. inside he had rigged up an old laptop to control an elaborate light show with sync'ed playlist and shimmying hula girl. he has taken us on many adventures in this ride.

my RL friends seemed to tolerate Mayden okay. grrrherhahaha. not only was it a treat and joy to have her come, but she was absolutely invaluable in making the party run smoothly. thank you grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl.
here's a wide shot of the altar. our blogger a.b. donated a killer print of one of her brother's paintings to the cause. i made it the central building block of the altar backdrop. Its the image of the skeleton lovers sitting on a couch watching TV.

my best friend wore an orange satin dress with the names of people who had died this year written on paper and pinned to a black scarf. her hat was a marvelous netted and feathered thing. her beloved had boney hands that lit up red on the tips and a mask from Venice.

i set up a little paper cemetery lit with votive candles. a basket of blank gravestones awaited guests to fill with the names of those loved and lost. as you can imagine, many were dedicated to pets or famous people but some were quite poignant like the one to all our fallen soldiers and one that simply said "good-bye, i loved you dearly".

two of my dearest friends in the world dressed as the "two fridas", a painting by frida kahlo the mexican artist i have written about often. we had seen her show together in san francisco since we all adore her work. these two won the costume prize. they spent all day saturday searching out elements and constructing these outfits. its amazing how much they looked like the painting. where did they ever find those amazing rubber human hearts!

it was one of the highlights of the evening to have my friends put that kind of effort in dressing up for my little party. that's love in action. when they walked in i was thinking "who are these chinese ladies coming in"... grrherhahaha i was so blown away when they got close enough for me to see the two fridas! thank you grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrls.i phoned my frida kahlo costume in by pencilling in my unibrow of crow and throwing on a mariachi jacket. but everybody gave me a pass since i had the altar to do. friends are creative AND generous.
this delightful trio of witchy wonders are my partners in dance crime. its too bad the Big Dog had to leave the party to play a gig downtown. he would've loved this girl. she was a great photography subject. this is the only photo of hers i could show. i didnt post a photo of the band because they all look the same. and besides, i didnt have time to take pictures until the end of the party.
today was the clean up and i actually enjoyed it. i got to taste all the things i didnt have time to eat last night, and leave the boys in the band a good stash of leftover mexican beers. amazingly, there was no leftover tequila. ;-)

2008-10-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

halloween countdown #4:

2008-10-28T17:50:00.001-07:00

kitsch kills ( mute monday: K )

2008-10-26T13:06:00.001-07:00

halloween countdown #2: the devil dog

2008-10-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

guest post with mean dovey cooledge

2008-10-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

2008-10-06T20:22:00.001-07:00

today is a good day to become a subsistence farmer

2008-10-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

does Google have a right to my creative property?

2008-09-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

LINK IS FIXED!
This is most recent illustration i've made for the cover of a local catalogue. but unless i register it at $30 dollars, its fair game for google.

Bloggers, you are all creative people. i see that many of you have copyrighted your entire site. if you are not already aware of how endangered your creative work is, you need to read this post and follow the provided link.

Because of the scramble on the bail-out bill, the Orphan Works bill was passed in the Senate under the radar. It's about our copy rights for visual artists, writers, photographers and songwriters...anyone in the creative field. If this Orphan Works bill passes through the House , we artists will be obliged to pay Google, directly or indirectly, $200 for each piece, song, image, etc. we create in order to protect our copyright.

At this time, all we have to do is sign our work, put the date and the"circle c" and we have a copyright. If we want more protection, ie. from court costs on infringement issues, we can send our images and $30 to the Copyright Division of the Federal Government, and then we are registered.

I don't think any of us want to further enrich an huge and very wealthy company and make it easier for them to catalogue and use artist's work without their consent. As we have seen, especially in the recent weeks, the corporations (and the government in cahoots with them) have not served well for the ordinary US citizen. And, for most of us artists, our copyright is one of our most valuable assets. If we have no protection unless we pay, what for most of us, is big money for each creation, then we have no way to make a living.

orphan works act petition

since we are in activist mode (and thank you to anyone who called congress to say NO to paulsons shakedown) Please take the time to sign the petition and call your congressman or woman as well. 202 224 3121 (i bet you know that by heart, don't you? ;-)

Please click on the site provided...there is a form letter there and it's easy...send it out and help yourself and/or your artist friends.

2008-09-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

** the shake down excuse has been posted.*
bail out bill

A MUST WATCH FOR LOVERS OF LIBERTY

2008-09-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

****************************************************************

ByJohn Batchelor posted on September 25, 2008 at 6:36 PM

Dick Shelby of Alabama Strolled Out

Late this afternoon, after the markets closed, after the big pow-wow at the White House called by President Bush to confront the market crisis, Dick Shelby (R) strolled out onto the White House portico (right, bad weather) to the waiting media mob of cameras, mikes, cell phones, open feeds, bloggers, and blinked at the lights. “I guess you were expectin’ bigger fish?” Mr. Shelby meant the two candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, who slipped out the side door to their limos and entourages. Dick Shelby then went on to give the news. “No deal.” He produced a document that he said was signed by five hundred economists who asserted that the Hank Paulson deal was bunk. That there is no credit crunch on Main Street. That Wall Street is running a panic game. That the deal the president spoke of last night, and again today, is not going forward.

GO SHELBY

******************

added 4:50 pm

John Boehner (R) Ohio direct line 202 225 6205 call him. tell him thank you for holding the line. the demoncrats are saying they cant vote for their bill with out the republicans. not true, they can. they just dont want to be responsible for it alone.

comment of the day

2008-09-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

i am sorry for all the cut and paste but there are some damn interesting comments out there. i have been worried about this NorthAmericanUnion for the longest time. friends of this blog (reverend X, aunty, american hillbilly, xdell) who have directed me to various links and shows in the past are way ahead of me on this particular idea. I would like to know what all of you think about this:

************************************

from "bear 1909" off a comment section on the bailout at Michelle Malkin
only one group of politicos and capitalists in this country are responsible for the decapitation strike on our economy using foreign labor as their battleaxe:
G-L-O-B-A-L-I-S-T-S.
They have set the stage for a massive shorting of the Euro. And it will be followed by a rise in the dollar, a temporary fix to reinflate valuations of real estate, for the purpose of drawing down more dollars from the Bailout Trough. Then it will be time to re-short the dollar, deflate values of those of us still holding our own paid for properties (please tell me you are not holding a mortgage that is less than 2 years old), and reset our currency into some “guaranteed” new fiat currency that allows the national economic border to disappear altogether.

They have already conditioned us at the “Monkey Mind” level to accept a new currency by changing the look of the American currency. If you are not headbutting your Monkey, you will be in for a real surprise to find that when the currency changes to reflect a North American Union economic block, you will hold only 50 per cent of the net worth you hold today. Values will be reduced downward after a major surge upward. You have approximately 18 months.

If illegal immigration is a problem for our financial system, then the Globalist solution will be to change the economic sovereignty of the USA to accomodate it. The TransNational Highway land grab is nearly complete north to south, east to west in the Central belt from Texas to Canada. The Globalist Agenda is a done deal: protect your wealth now. Changing politicians minds is a foregone conclusion. They are all on board.
I repeat: “….and hell followed with him.” Take your pick of either ticket. The only difference is where we will be fighting IslamoFascism- here in the USA or where they live overseas. Everything else: Globalist Agenda.
Bear1909 out.

***********************

grrrrrrherhahahaha. i love this reading this stuff.

medication time / bail-out update

2008-09-23T17:01:00.001-07:00

ALERT**************

they are adding student loans and car loans to the bailout!
but the phones of all the reps are ringing off the hook - no bailout is the consensus of the american people.
they are trying to terrorize us with a threat of a depression. its extortion. did you know that Lehman Brothers took 2 billion dollars and set it aside so that bonuses could be paid even though they are asking for a bailout? i would rather take my chances with a natural crash than a managed crash that benefits the oligarchy. how about you?

if you havent called do it now.

202-224-3121.

***********************************
what might happen if there isnt a bailout?

this is how one anonymous poster put it:

are enabling the wrong guys, but you have to understand what a collapse of liquidity and credit markets may mean:

Take out your wallet, and remove the cash. Throw everything else away. The cash you have in your hand is what you can count on to live on for the next few years.

You may not be able to cash or write checks (remember, checks are a form of credit), you're credit card may not work, your debit card may not work. You may go to the bank to withdraw your checking or savings account in person, and find the bank doesn't have the cash to cover your withdrawal demands. And in an all cash economy, the FDIC could be overrun with claims, causing a huge delay in processing, and at the worst, a cut in the benefit.

Small businesses will have to pay employees in cash. They will have to pay for inventory up front. And on. And on. And on. The consequences for business could cause unemployment to spike up to and exceed 20%.

Unless you have your savings under your matress, youwill be hurt, and hurt bad.

Now is there a guarantee that it will get this bad? No. But their also isn't a gaurantee that it won't. I can gaurantee that it will be some shade of bad.

**********************************************

i am willing to endure almost anything to get the SOUL of this country back. accepting a harsh outcome while making a stand against our government could be our greatest defining moment. remember a bailout does not address the root problem and that is congress. the resignation of those who enabled wall street would be a good start toward a real correction.

call your reps TODAY

2008-09-23T07:36:00.001-07:00

PLEASE read this

i stole this from someplace i am sorry i cannot give the writer credit but it is very good:

Welcome to the Zimbabwe solution.

American has feasted and splurged on personal/business debt for decades, with globalization taking away our jobs and means of production.

Do you think the US-consumer and Rest-of-the-World-producer is a sustainable model? Why should other people ship us goods, when we give them nothing in return but dollars?

See, John McCain is DEAD WRONG. The WEAKEST fundamental of the economy is the American worker. The American worker serves fast food, implants fake boobs, tattoos, we're like a bunch of baboons picking fleas from each other, getting bananas from the zookeeper. I'm not saying we're not working hard applying acrylic nails and taking care of old folk in nursing homes; I'm saying there is not enough actual production of GOODS that other countries want to buy to sustain our lifestyle. The rest of the world is our zookeeper bringing us our daily bananas.

Forget housing bubbles, forget Lehman Brothers, that's is the fundamental flaw with our model. The only thing we have been exporting is money. We are profoundly indebted to "zookeeper." We have to pay; and we have little to trade.

Well, what can we trade? Scary answer coming up.

Our army. Protection.

Think about it. Our army, our sons and daughters, is going to whore itself to foreign interests. We will wage other people's wars for smack money.

The consequences of our foolishness is systemic robbing of our purchasing power through mega-inflation, and wages lagging far behind.

say NO to the bailout.
how to reach your senators and congressmen

Mute Monday: DA DA! ("D" is for)

2008-09-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

welcome to Amerika

2008-09-20T10:10:00.001-07:00

i want my life to be as free as possible. and so in politics i have tended to vote with the Right because they are less idealistic than the Left and therefore one is left freer than one would be if encumbered by the idealism of the left. I always thought, for me, the Right does the best with a bad job. - Franics Bacon (the painter)

and so i agreed with Bacon up until yesterday. When congress decided to create a situation where mortgage lenders and banks could make loans to grossly unqualified people and risky schemes i thought this is idealism out of control and seriously detached from reality. somewhere along this path it was decided that home ownership was a right, and it keeps on expanding: health care is a right, college is a right; no body should ever struggle or have a moments discomfort. and while the politicians set up their futures by creating gigantic giveaways naturally the false system made corruption the logical outcome and now we have this massive bailout. CEO's that ran companies into the ground have ejected out of the crashing jet and onto their private island. the rest of us are stuck here in a debtors prison: the US of BROKE ASS A. Damn i hate horizontal stripes!

mean dovey cooledge was right when she said "we should let the motherf***er BURN!"

i can't distinguish the political parties from one another. they all need to be turned out. I would vote for a candidate who would stand up today and say "no bailout, and its going to suck and suck bad for a while. and people will hurt. and there will be job losses and cuts, but we are americans and we will weather the storm and on the other side of it we will have a sound free market economy" sadly, that person did not make it to the Show.

think Obama is different? Think again!

* Obama adviser, Franklin Raines, who reaped millions from Fannie Mae and gets a guaranteed lifetime pension of $110,000 per month after he left amidst a huge mismanagement scandal and, according to the Washington Post, “perpetrated ‘extensive financial fraud’” at Fannie Mae.

*Obama, who’s only been in the U.S. Senate since 2005, is the #2 recipient out of 354 lawmakers of lobbying monies from Fannie and Freddie (not to mention Lehman Bros. and AIG)

*Obama’s bosom buddy Tony Rezko who enabled Obama to buy a mansion he couldn’t afford in exchange for Obama passing on millions in government housing contracts and state pension funds that Rezko defaulted on. Never mind the rat infestations, the broken plumbing that spewed sewage through the kitchen faucet, or no heat for MONTHs in the winter in the housing projects that Tony Rezko “managed” and “renovated.” The sole interest of Barack’s best buddy Tony was to make big bucks off taxpayer money. The only difference between Rezko and Obama’s current set of advisers is that, unlike Jim Johnson and Franklin Raines, Tony Rezko is going to prison.

let the MFer's BURN

im building a playlist to commemorate the dying republic. got any song suggestions? so far ive got:

the backstabbers/ o-jays
welcome to the machine / pink floyd
cruel to be kind / nick lowe
wont be fooled again / the who
highway to hell/AC/DC (american hillbilly)
lawyers guns and money/warren zevon (troll)
dazed and confused/Led zepplin (anonymous boxer)
rat in a cage/smashing pumpkins
same old song and dance/aerosmith (foamy)
sleep now by the fire/rage against the machine (moi)

what else?

Mute Monday "C"

2008-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

click it for larger view

ya say want SQUIRRELS?

2008-09-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

dear BigShamu and Moi, i made squirrels today instead of doing the illustration for the ONLY paying customer i have left in Atlanta. grrrherhaha. I will still make deadline tho'. One has BIG brown eyes and ears that sit up high; the other has smaller eyes and ears on the side of his head more like a real squirrel. both have big chew up your attic teefs. one has white fur on his head, the big brown-eyed one has fur on his ears. grrrherhaha. what do you think? which is the better squirrel?

trout: my Etsy staging assistant

2008-09-12T03:29:00.000-07:00

black cats for sale

K9 readers, if you want a cat let me know. cheap cheap for ya'll. 12 dolla' plus shippin' for the 4" ball.

i apologize in advance for this self promotional place holder. i want to write about charlie "existential threat" gibson's interview with Gov. Palin last night but have a slam packed day.

My website is *finally* up. not finished, but up. i am open to suggestions, criticisms. whatever ya got. andecook.com happy friday!

Mute Monday: Things that make you go "B"!

2008-09-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

frostBitten Buck

Blooms in the Basilica

Bugs Blotto in the Bathroom

Birth of a Biter

Boa on the Breast of a Babe

Bambi Beleaguered By Bullets

Brother with a BoomBox

Babe with a Boston Bull Terrier

BaseBall with chewBacca

Bills and Buildings

Brown aBstraction on Board

BamBaataa Banging the keyBoard

Bucket of Baby Birds

Belugas Below

Baptism By the Best

we interrupt this blog hiatus for a PSA

2008-09-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

contrast and compare sara palin vs barack obama
(in a hurry? scroll down for your pet issue. at sparringK9 were all about serving our fellow bloggers!)

Office being sought:
Sarah: Veep

Barack: POTUS and leader of the free world

Full Name:
Sarah Louise Heath Palin

Barack Hussein Obama II

Nickname:
Sarah barracuda

Barry, the one, the messiah

Age:
Sarah: 44

Barack: 48

Children:
Sarah:5: two sons, three daughters

Barack: 2 daughters

Religion/Church Attendance
Sarah: Evangelical Christian;attends Juneau Christian Center when in Juneau and grew up attending Wasilla Assembly of God

Barack: Attended Trinity United Church of Christ for 20 years, a "black liberation theology" church formerly led by Rev. Jeremiah Wright

Current Job:
Sarah: Governor of Alaska

Barack: Junior Senator from Illinois

Executive Experience:
Sarah: Governor for 2 years; Mayor for 10 years

Barack: none

Foreign Relations experience
Sarah: Governor of state that borders two foreign countries ( Canada and Russia )

Barack: Chaired Senate subcommittee on Europe but never called it into session; once gave a speech to 200,000 screaming Germans

Military Affairs experience
Sarah: Commander in Chief of Alaska National Guard; Son is enlisted Infantryman in U.S. Army

Barack: none

Private Sector Experience
Sarah: Sports reporter; Salmon fisherman

Barack: Associate at civil rights law firm

Speaking ability
Sarah: Beautifully executed initial stump speech in Dayton , OH hockey arena without a teleprompter

Barack: An enter...wait--did you say without a teleprompter??

Spouse's name
Sarah's: Todd Mitchell Palin

Barack's: Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama

Spouse's occupation
Sarah's : Salmon fisherman; Former North Slope production supervisor for BP Oil

Barack's: Vice President for Community and External Affairs at University of Chicago Hospitals; former Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago ; former Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies;
former Assistant to the Mayor of Chicago; former associate at Sidley Austin law firm

Reaction to spouse's political success
Sarah's: Quit 17-year BP oil job when BP became involved in natural gas pipeline negotiations with wife's administration

Barack's: Promoted and given 160% pay raise by UofC hospitals within months of husband's election to U.S. Senate;
Employer received $1,000,000.00 federal earmark, requested by husband, after her promotion

Coolest thing about Spouse
Sarah's: Tesoro Iron Dog Snowmobile race champion (longest snowmobile race in the world);
In 2008, while defending his championship, was injured when he was thrown 70 feet from his machine. He was sent to the hospital but still finished in fourth place

Barack's: Sister of Oregon State University head basketball coach Craig Robinson

Most Courageous Moment in Public Service
Sarah: Resigned in protest from position of Ethics Commissioner of Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in order to expose legal violations and conflicts of interest of Alaska Republican leaders, including the former state Attorney General and the State GOP Chairman (who was also an Oil & Gas Commissioner), who was doing work for the party on public time and supplying a lobbyist with a sensitive e-mail.

Barak: Gave an anti-Iraq war speech to a crowd of anti-Iraq war demonstrators in Hyde Park in 2002; voted "present" a million times

In Current Office Because...
Sarah: Upset sitting Governor in GOP primary due to public support for her efforts to clean up corrupt government establishment

Barack: Republican opponent, who was leading in the polls, was forced to leave race after unsealing of divorce records exposed a sex scandal

Theme:
Sarah: Change and Clean Government

Barack: Hope and Change;
"Bringing Change from Outside Washington "

What they've done to live that theme:
Sarah: Replaced entire Board of Agriculture and Conservation because of conflict of interest;
Resigned from position of Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in order to expose corruption among members of own party

Barack: Selected 36-year incumbent Senator as running mate

Family Affairs
Sarah: May have removed State Public Safety Commissioner as part of effort to protect sister in messy divorce and child custody battle

Barack: Often says, "I am my brother's keeper"; Brother lives in a hut in Nairobi on $12 per year

Iraq and Troop Support
Sarah: Formerly (pre-surge) critical of apparent lack of long-term strategy for Iraq ;Visited wounded U.S. soldiers in Germany ;
visited AK National Guard soldiers deployed to Kuwait ; Son deploying to Iraq on 9/11/08 as Army infantryman

Barack: Gave an anti-Iraq war speech to a crowd of anti-Iraq war demonstrators; almost visited wounded troops in Germany , but decided to go work-out instead

Bipartisan/"maverick" credentials
Sarah: Married to a non-Republican; Exposed corruption within own party;
Campaigned for Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell against corrupt GOP congressman Don Young;
Called out Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK) to "come clean" about financial dealings that are under fed investigation

Barack: Talks about bipartisanship

Legislative Record
Sarah: Passed a landmark ethics reform bill;
Used veto to cut budgetary spending;
Prevented "bridge to nowhere" that would have cost taxpayers $400 million dollars.

Barack: Voted "present" over 100 times as IL state senator

How they dealt with corrupt individuals in home city/state
Sarah: Exposed legal violations and conflicts of interest of Alaska Republican leaders;
Campaigned against corrupt GOP Representative;
Ran against and defeated corrupt incumbent governor in GOP primary

Barack: Launched political career in home of unrepentant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers (and still refers to him as a part of "mainstream Democratic Chicago");
Purchased home with help of convicted felon Tony Rezko

Guns
Sarah: Lifetime member of NRA and avid hunter;
video can be found on YouTube of Palin firing an M4 at a military firing range

Barack: Worked to pass legislation in Illinois that would prevent all law-abiding citizens from owning firearms

Earmarks
Sarah: Opposed "Bridge to Nowhere" project;
Said Alaska should avoid relying on federal money for projects;
Campaigned against porker Don Young (R-AK) in 2008 primary

Barak: Secured federal earmarks for wife's employer and for campaign bundlers

Abortion
Sarah: Pro life; gave birth to 5th child knowing that it would have Down's syndrome

Barack: Pro-choice;
only IL state sen. to speak against the Born Alive Infant's Protection Act, which required medical care to be given to live infants who survived abortions

Energy
Sarah: Believes energy independence is a matter of national security; For drilling in ANWR, which is in her state

Barack: Says Americans should "get tune-ups" and "check tire pressure";
Says "we can't expect the world to be okay with" our use of heating and air conditioning

Environment
Sarah: Chair of Alaska Conservation Commission (2003-4);
Announced plans to create sub-cabinet group of advisors to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in AK

Barack: Talks about the environment a lot

Now add John McCain.

Demon-cratic leadership in a nutshell:

cares more about the welfare of enemy combatants than unborn children; is against waterboarding but will fight for the right to kill the "least" of us (and DONT WORRY abortion is not going away. so be happy, for once, libs) is all for free-speech: just as soon as they can shut-down talk radio; says that college is too expensive: colleges are overwhelmingly run by liberals; defines everyone by gender, race, and sexual preference and exploits the divisions;
never delivers on promises: witness post Katrina: the people it actually happened to? wised up and elected republican governor Bobby Jindal after 40 failed years of demoncratic representation; much more

final thought:

demon-crats are always talking about how they care: about africa, about iraqis, the poor, the military, children, etc. always abstract. but cannot show even basic civility to their fellow americans with whom they disagree and cannot even treat their OWN family with compassion. PHONEY ASSES!

DEATH TO THE AMERICAN MEDIA. KILL YOUR TELEVISION.

thank you. we now return to the blog hiatus. have a nice day.

be back soon

2008-08-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

* the september page from my illustrated calendar: the 12 labors of hercules*

the tent revival of art

2008-08-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

the charming bandit at fink

On friday night betty and i attended a tent revival of art; a reunion with a pantheon of southern saints and icons at the slotin folk fest.

Jesus, Elvis, Robert Johnson, Hank, the Devil, snake handlers (left: randy tobias pottery ), face jugs, penitentes, circus freaks and every stripe of wooden and metal creature are alive and well in this concrete cathedral to outsider art.

"outsider" now seems less about isolation and lack of exposure to formal art forms and training and more about savvy business people and freedom loving individuals who want to be independent of middlemen and at liberty to express themselves creativly in every aspect of their lives. there is an exquisite vibe of enterprising spirit here; people who have figured out that the journey is the art and the lifestyle its reward. i found the art, for the most part, to be more engaging than a years worth of scholarly art exhibits that have often left me indifferent and bored.

c.m.laster in his art shack

C. M Laster's art shack was the quintessential southern art shrine with art made from discarded housing materials, busted up toys, ouija boards, old signs, and whatever he could find. found this great shot of his dog in elvis drag at lasters art shack website and bookmarked my next bed and breakfast destination too; an art trailer in his back yard.

I bought this fine piece from the laster art shack, because one can never be reminded often enough of this simple truism. its nice to find that there is still one place left on earth where moral relativism hasnt crowded out all notions of sin. folk art hell is traditional; lakes of fire; devils. fine art hell is living in the oppressive state of america under the bush regime or not being properly celebrated for your vegan pubic hair installation.

at the red truck gallery booth there were some amazing quilted valentines by chris roberts-antieau to blues icons, boxers, hussies, as well as a series of circus poster like pieces by bryan cunningham constructed of canvas pulled and suspended with canned soda pull tabs over a box like construction.

i liked the lucha libre one featuring a wrestler with a snake man surface. the strings holding the image worked out well visually suggesting a wrestling ring. a friend of betty's told me about a great lucha libre book printed on cheap paper with pulpy illustrations...but that in the center were full color portraits of various luchadors posing in their living rooms. ive got to get that.

also at red truck was a case with an odd parade of sculptural figures including this elephant pulling a rolling tank of sea monkeys. i loved the mission statement of the gallery which was to define a group of artists that they really believed in, and to follow them for their entire career.

jeremy abernathy and jerry culum

i ran into atlanta art critic, fellow north florida native and poet extraordinaire jerry culum and new atlanta art critic and freelancer jeremy abernathy of Ghostmap outside of one of my favorite discoveries of the evening...the trio of canadian artists that are "minivan". looking at the work by Casey McGlynn i commented that in my own work i needed to relax the hell up, to which jeremy replied that was sound advice all the way around. jeremy, like many of us, is a beneficiary of the new egalitarian approach to publishing, though sorting out how one might make a living this way is still unclear.

casey mcglynn

McGlynn's work was highly personal: one was this painting of the initial rejection by his now girlfriend. the girlfriend was portrayed in this and all the paintings as the bird girl, and he, another interpretation of the bald everyman. the backgrounds were rich with expressive figures and sheets of notebook paper with red marks and personal symbolism.

i was really impressed with the paintings like the elephant below. they were an odd taxonomy of animals ordered in boxes and painted roadways; figures scratched and layered and layered yet again. sometimes i would discover another creature tucked in somewhere that was barely perceptible at first glance. the whole piece was very alive with movement. if i had money to burn, i would have started a bonfire here.

also at minivan was clint griffin who's mixed media pieces were dense with scenes of figures in these weird psycho dramas. one figure had a spiral on her head which looked like padded head gear. she appeared to kneel upon another figure while each covered their noses, a brushy head made of fire and an encounter with a cheerleader in a stairwell were remembered in the same space. there was more behind that even, which reminded me of the other pieces he exhibited. he had stacked bundles of found photographs about 3 inches thick and put an altered photo on top; edited by painting over sections to create another reality that seemed post biological disaster with its barren landscapes and noseless faces.

on the color front, Karl Mullen's drawings made with pure powdered pigments, wax and walnut oil were show stoppers. his process gave the surface of the paper an antique heavy feel but maintaining rich color and velvety surface. There is a ton of folk art that features these kind of hairless every-men with tent like bodies; in this case the figures looked like a series of self-portraits though the artist statement categorizes them as musicians, ghosts and whiskey kings inspired by irish poetry myth and folklore.

one of the drawings was a Klimtian riff on the woman cloaked in a decorative coat; now a balding king possessing a good bit more intensity than the *possible* inspiration. interesting that for all his linear vibrancy, this king was contained in a form reminiscent of a sarcophagus reminding me of egyptian kings trapped under glass in a museum.

anthony pack , a former creative at shoebox (hallmark) greetings had left that job behind and started urban folk art. all of his sculptures were excellent and filled with wit and humor. I loved the wreaths constructed of plastic toys and decorations surrounded by sunrays of cut and patterned tin.

I had a hard time selecting a character from anthony's wall of characters. i liked the freeze queen (far left) and the zig zag man but in the end i purchased the paprika man (left: hanging in my kitchen window) mainly because we dont have any damn shelves to place another object on.

i also bought this Randy tobias pot and wanted to get a devil too but just could not afford it. Betty had better discipline than i did, but she expressed non buyers remorse on the way home.

at fink i found an astounding array of products from 3 dollar drawings on sugar packets and plastic bottle caps to ten dollar tiny pieces of his soul:
he also got my attention because he had designed some toys and had them licensed which yielded him a monthly royalty check. he told me he had been self supporting on art for nine years and was having a great time at work each day. The piece Gus Fink is holding was a collaborative work made with his friend the art bandit.

I wanted to buy a piece by matt sesow represented by the alcove right here in decatur, an inside the perimeter neighborhood of Atlanta. both betty and i respond to these new school basquiat style drawings probably because our work is so precise and orderly. this drawing was similar in content to the randy tobias piece i had just purchased, and to several other grimacing characters in the show. they all reminded me of pee-wee herman's anxiety expression. this ubiquitous grimace suggested an amused southern version of the munchian scream; each specific to the makers experiences and observations but universal in capturing the zeitgeist of 21st century apprehension.

california in 2 (and some change) minutes

2008-08-04T15:16:00.001-07:00

* edited down to a short 2:15 from the original *

miracle in oaxaca

2008-08-02T08:42:00.000-07:00

feathers fell from queztacoatl
and formed into bleeding volcanoes
i scratched though the veil and sipped from the bottle
and i thought to myself si, bueno.

the spirit world squirmmed and came alive
like amoebas in the drink
sugar calaveras laughed in my face
it's closer than you think.

i climbed to the end of monte alban
the verde was far and wide
the pulque kicked in the journey was on
velasco was there by my side

resplendent and golden the sky
touched the earth and i lost my footing it seemed
i told the temporal world good-bye
the sun virgin burned and she beamed

"things are not as they appear
its enough that you are! just be.
you would be living except for your fear
the past is just psychic debris"

somewhere the sound of a horn exploded
and the bus it pulled away
el barracho was on sickly and loaded
but milagros were offered that day

still looking for a burning bush?
or a vapor behind the door?
i'll show you a miracle in my life
a hole in the rusted out floor

back came the pulque from inside to out
while riding with chickens and goats
bumping along on a dusty route
in a mexican town remote.