Thursday, July 31, 2008

Museums, Celebrity Cats and Surrealism


Me in front of a favourite Marcel Duchamp "painting/sculpture".

Stagg on balcony of MOMA>

It really cracks me up how much Europeans like the animals in North America. This squirel was a star and he posed for pics. Most European countries killed all their bears in the Middle Ages.

So...we got into New York very early the other morning. I couldn't sleep in so we caught a 6 o'clock bus from D.C. We were going to meet up with an anthropologist for an interview.

I had tried to find some place QUIET in NYC for an interview. HA! I tried a major venue...after one of the managers offered a space. I won't say who...but they cancelled the night before. I started calling...and I thought wait...what about the Algonquin Hotel. Well a fabulous manager , named Jenna, helped us out and arranged at the last minute for the Oak Room.

This is the hotel where Faulkner stayed. Where Dorthy Parker and her pals had lively repartee. I was thrilled. So I woke up early. We had an amazing afternoon in the legendary hotel where room service took great care of us. We also saw the house hotel cat...so cute I took video. We had a greasy spoon breakfast first thing off the bus. We walked with our suitcases...and the coolers for dozens of blocks through Times Square.

(yes, I pack coolers of food, basically breakfast, like yogurt, rye crackers, cream and swiss cheese, olives, grapes and peaches...saves the hassle of finding breakfast or leaving the room...and a few bucks every day on breakfast) (this is low budget film making at its best folks...ok I'm ghetto!)

We had an amazing visit at the MOMA yesterday. The museum had a special exhibit of Dali and films. The best part of the blockbuster show was a room from Spellbound by Hitchcock. There was a huge matte repainting from one of the dream sequences and several oil paintings made by Dali for dset design for the film. Outstanding!


Dali loved the Marx brothers especially Harpo. To show his affection he sent Harpo a harp strung with barbed wire. In return Harpo sent Dali a photo of himself with bandaged fingers.

I have been craving soup. No seriously, I've been in heat no less than 95 degrees (305 celcius) and all I'm craving is soup. I've had French Onion soup four times this past week.

Last night we went for a manicure/pedicure...and I had a facial. Ouch. I haven't had a facial in ages. It felt liek small razors slicing my face. But today...I look ten years younger. I can not recommend strenuously enough...go for a facial once a month!!! Do not procrastinate like I did. Oh, it feels heavenly today.

We were sitting in a cafe patio having a pint at W.4th and Jones when Stagg says, "Candy, it's Steve Earle". I turn around..."For real.". We stayed cool...but Steve passed by us close enough for us to tug on his T-shirt. He was giving a tour around Manhattan with three Emos.

Swag and Bears


D.C. Swag...

See, there is a museum for everything in D.C We found a forestry museum with Smokey the Bear! I got all kinds of stickers and a Woodsy Owl fan..."give a hoot don't polute!" I made Stagg pose with Smokey...he talks too, I mean Smokey...

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Washington, D.C.


A very tired Stagg after "riding the dog". We were able to hook up with my Brother in law, who is a national reporter for CBC and working here this week. We have had a great time so far!

View outside our hotel room...that is the Potamac River in the distance near trees and bridge.

Thats Stagg walking near a really awesome sculpture in the National Museum...it is made out of coat hangers, the kind you get from dry cleaners!

Stagg, and my brother in law, Greg inside the Jefferson Memorial...


Stagg and Greg on the steps of the Washington Memorial. It is really beautiful. I didn't think anything could compete with the Vietnam Memorial or the Lincoln Memorial, but this was beautiful. It is set on a tidal basin.

Question what is the tidal basin in Washington D.C. is it like a brine? Is it from the ocean?

Also...last night I really really wanted to go to the Watergate Hotel for a drink. We walked all around the site, and it is super cool design. As we approached the bar...there several window tinted security style SUVs. Four secret service agents were standing outside the bar entrance. Inside a conference room with a glass door were a dozen "suits". We wondered...who was in there? I will send a small painting to the visitor who guesses who I saw at the Watergate last night...

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Welcome To D.C.

Got into Washington, D.C. last night after a long milk run on the bus, but we survived.

Wow, if you are a young straight, single man...D.C. is the place to find women. I expected to find a dusty bar with suits playing Syrianna. No, Georgetown is swarming with gorgeous mini-dressed flip flop sporting sexy young women. There were tons of families and many international visitors in D.C.

D.C. as a hot spot destination for people on the make, players and families ansd Europenas is likely due to the good position of the Eoro and the safety of tourist locations in Washington.

It's bloody hot here and we are crashing with my brother-in-law. He is working here and we are going to the Spy Musuem today. Then probably find a pation for a beer and maybe go see The Dark Knight.

I'll try to get some more interesting photos ha! Oh shoot...I am having trouble loading pics right now...I'll keep trying...

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Knoxville Videos


This video I am calling Travels With Wes. How do I explain these clips. Well, we are die hard fans I guess. The first 2 minutes of this video is Wes, Paulo, his wife and I crawling to the area under a bridge where a character named Harrogate lived in the novel Suttree. Then a little of Paulo talking about translating the novel. Then people I don't know, actors...perhaps bordering on stalking or b&e. The names have been changed to protect the guilty. I don't know who they are or why they are skulking down a driveway to look at a house that Cormac McCarthy's family once lived in and a setting for The Road. They must be nuts.


Here you can see Wes strumming a wee bit. We visit a bookstore in the old city. There was a massive hatch of cicadas in Knoxville. They are not in Lisbon, so our visitors from Portugal were fascinated. Well who isn't fascinated with cicadas!? They hide during prime number years, 11, 13, 17 to avoid predators. There were so many they had quite a different chorus than I am used to n Toronto or Chicago. Also in this series of clips we visit The Time Warp Tea Room and hear a local band called Music Therapy play. They are awesome.


I call the above video The Mountain. We check out the flora and fauna outside Knoxville in the mountains. In fact, we climb a 5000 foot mountain. I also was really into all the mushrooms in the area. The Smokies are gorgeous. There is a sculpture in the city aat the end of this video that surely must have been inspired by Suttree.

Having dinner with Rick, his son, and our tour guide, Wes, at King Tut's in Knoxville, I call this one, Weird America.

Obama Mamas


I got these buttons (and bumper sticker) in downtown Knoxville. I love the AC/DC button!

Website for Democrat, Obama buttons.

13 Things About Knoxville



1) Knoxville downtown is mostly Democratic and the surrounding rural area is Republican.

2) I couldn't find an internet cafe in Knoxville, appparently there isn't enough of a demand. I did use an internet cafe last year in Asheville Tn. Meanwhile the coffee shops did have Wifi.

3) Famous writers from Knoxville include Cormac McCarthy (Suttree, James Agee (A Death In The Family), and Alex Haley (Roots). All three of those books have been highly inspirational and influencial on me.

4) Johnny Knoxville (comic), Quentin Tarantino (film director), Dolly Parton (singer/songwriter, actress), Patricia Neal( actress), Polly Bergen (actress), Dave Thomas (Wendy's founder), Tina Wesson (winner of Survivor) and Brownie McGhee (blues musician), Everly Brothers (pop folk singers) and Hank Williams (classic country singer), are all from Knoxville. Not only was Hank Williams from Knoxville, he spent his last night there, before his fatal accident.

5) Knoxville is home to the The Body Farm, considered to be an birthplace of modern forensics. The Body Farm (Anthropology Research Facility of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville) is an outdoor facility used for researching the decomposition of human remains in varying environmental conditions. It provides crucial information to law enforcement investigating murders and provides a real life instruction to Forensics Anthropology students and researchers.
In other words, they stick a lot of dead bodies out in the woods and see what happens to them.
Now, isn't that an ideal destination for a old school goth like me? And a CSI fan! We drove by the facility one day in our travels. I know it's sick, but I was pretty thrilled, got a neck cramp from craning my head to gawk.

6) For the past several years an award-winning listener-funded radio station, WDVX, has broadcast weekday lunchtime concerts of bluegrass music, old-time music and more from the Knoxville Visitor's Center on Gay Street, as well as streaming its music programming to the world over the Internet. I will post a picture of a lunch time performance I saw, later this week.


7) Native Americans settled in Tennessee around 12000 years ago . The first humans to live in what is now Knoxville were of the Woodland tribe, a group of hunters and trappers driven south from the Great Lakes region by climatic changes, probably about 1000 B.C. Their culture eventually gave way to that of the more sophisticated mound builders, whose influence was felt throughout most of the South. The Shawnee and Creek briefly occupied small areas in the state, but little archaeological evidence has been found. By the 18th century, the only native peoples living permanently around what would later be Knoxville were the Cherokee. The Cherokee people called this area Shacomage, or "Place of Blue Smoke." from here

8)With the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933, there arose an immediate concern for the thousands of prehistoric and historic Native American sites that would be inundated by reservoirs along the Tennessee River and its tributaries. In 1934, the University of Tennessee (and the University of Alabama) entered into agreements with TVA to conduct archaeological surveys, investigations, and excavations in the reservoir areas to be impacted, prior to their inundation.

From 1934 to 1942, ten reservoirs were constructed on the Tennessee River and its tributaries, and archaeological work was conducted in nine of them -- Norris, Wheeler, Pickwick, Guntersville, Chickamauga, Watts Bar, Fort Loudoun, Douglas, Cherokee, and Kentucky Reservoirs; no archaeological work was done in Cherokee Reservoir. Hundreds of sites were recorded, and archaeologists from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, exposed and excavated more than 1.5 million square feet of prehistoric and historic Native American occupations. From McClung Museum web page.

CEDAR LOG STEPS (1934).
Excavations at the Cox Site in Anderson County, Tennessee, exposed cedar log steps leading to the summit of a Mississippian Period mound.


9) Every hour in Tennessee, a child is abused or neglected. Every 35 minutes, a child is born into poverty. Tennessee ranks 36th in the nation for children living at or below the poverty level with 45% enrolled in the Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Programs. In Knox County alone, 365 students are homeless, living in shelters, in cars, or on the streets. Among Tennessee fourth graders, 74% read below grade level, and 76% score below grade level in math. Only 60% of high school students in Tennessee graduate. from The First Baptist Church of Knoxville

10) Knoxville area has a fascinating history with the TVA. From Wikipedia: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly impacted by the Great Depression. The TVA was envisioned not only as an electricity provider, but also as a regional economic development agency that would use federal experts and electricity to rapidly modernize the region's economy and society.

11) Knoxville was settled in 1791.

12) Knoxville used to be known as "The Marble City" because it had a number of quarries mining pink marble. Other nicknames are K-Ville, 865, Knoxvegas and it's population is 173, 890.

13) Knoxville's Secret History by Jack Neely. I was lucky to meet Jack Neely last October in Knoxville. He writes a weekly article in MetroPulse.

Thursday Thirteen is fun way to meet other bloggers. Please leave your URL address in comment: Visitors who comment will be linked here:1) You're first!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

The Atlantic Monthly has an article asking the question Is Google Making Us Stupid?

I don't think it is, actually, I think it might be a key to world peace.

All the arguments, urban myths and disagreements are often eased by being able to surf the net...what do you think?

Monday, July 21, 2008

Knoxville Moments...


From left, Paulo, Alexandra and Wes, under a quote from one of McCarthy's novels at the Preservation Pub in Market Square.

Rick and his son, at King Tut's restaurant with our ginormous Greek Salad.
I have taken lots of video...and these pics are taken with my cell phone.

Inside Blount Mansion, looking at the Declaration of Independance. Paulo is translating Suttree into Portuguese. His wife, Alexandra, came with him to Knoxville.

Crossing the Gay Street Bridge with Paulo and Alwexandra, Monday July 21, 2008.

Suttree Gang


Photo by Peter Joseph.
Here we are standing above where Suttree lived on the river. Our host Wes, Barb, Paulo, translating Suttree into Portuguese, his wife Alexandra, and me.

The next day we climbed a mountain to see a spot from the novel. When Wes said mountain, my snobby rockie attitude assumed he meant "hill".

Here are our three posts later at the mutual bookclub "The Cormac McCarthy Forum":

Tennessee in July? Candy Minx 7/19/2008
Yo yo yo, it is late after an intense day. Paulo and his wife convinced me to extend my stay in Knoxville and I am so glad I am/did. Wes tried to kill us today taking us to the top of a mountain where the children's cemetary is sad, beautiful and secret.

I had no idea Wes was an elite athlete and I bow to his stamina and knowledge of the Knoxville area.

I would go google how high this mountain was to report our hike...but frankly I am just too tired to go to google.

:) In a good way tired!


I can not possibly put into a few words how this week has been like, to not only meet people who have engaged a part of my imagination and reverie for years but to also find oneself climbing into Harrogate's old house to wander alley's Suttree did or woods and to enjoy the knowledge and stories of so many fellow readers.

I have no idea how to thank and/or express the enthusiasm and fun of meeting with Wes, Paulo, his wife, Rick and his son, Peter J, and his wife, the people of Knoxville who often shared stories and great service, to meet Glass/Peter etc etc. (But today I took as many pictures of mushrooms Glass that I possibly could and will post on YouTube later this week...you were on the mountain with us!!!!)


I took some photos maybe they will help when I get a chance to post them.

I am on some kind of high only the imagination and awesome company could support.

We do not have internet acess but we found the mercy of a hotel who let us come in and use their office for a few minutes and check in with you all here at forum.

Later sportsfans!

Tennessee in July? wesmorgan 7/20/2008
On Saturday, tired of urban Knoxville, the remaining hard-core members of the ad-hoc McCarthy Conference (Candy Minx, Paulo Faria and his wife, and somebody else) decided to head for the mountains. They planned to follow the route taken by the father and child in THE ROAD from the father’s (and McCarthy’s) family home in South Knoxville to the 5,000-foot gap in the mountains. Paulo wanted to borrow a grocery cart to push along the highway to increase the authenticity of the experience but was overruled by the others because of time constraints. They traveled through Sevierville (of Lester Ballard fame) and Pigeon Forge where they temporarily had their world view turned upside down by one of the tourist traps along the roadside. They passed around the tourist town of Gatlinburg and entered the Great Smoky Mountains National Park where they (well-practiced as they were by this time from their Knoxville experiences) once again inspected the underside of a bridge and admired the CCC’s handiwork without becoming impaled on any steel rods. After a brief pit-stop at the Park Visitor Center they proceeded up the mountain highway to Newfound Gap where they looked out over the road to Cherokee, NC from the (filled this time) parking lot and the site of FDR’s dedication of the Park.

They then changed their direction (and novel) and returned to Gatlinburg to seek the site of the children’s cemetery that Sut found and visited during his 40-or-so days in the wilderness. Led by a long-legged, elderly local mountain hiker, they set off ignoring the high 80-degree temperatures, high humidity and ozone warning and set off in search of the cemetery. The four-lane road they were traveling quickly was reduced to a two-lane paved road, then to an unpaved road that was single lane wide in places. After crossing three small single lane bridges they took off on foot in search of an old, unmarked and unmaintained mountain road (trail) that led up the mountain and into the woods. The trail went ever upward sometimes accompanied by impressive rock fences 3-feet high and nearly a 100-yards long. Despite their hunger, they passed by any number of inviting mauve colored mushrooms along the trail and elected to sample the wild blueberries (very tasty) instead. As they toiled onward, the trail became ever steeper and narrower and the temperature ever hotter. As an added incentive, Paulo promised to recite an Oscar Wilde poem when the cemetery was reached. With this encouragement and plenty of spring water all eventually reached the cemetery site and were struck with forlornness of the sight of the three children’s graves. The original tombstones had been replaced within the last twenty years, but some fragments of the original stones remained. These were carefully excavated, cleaned and photographed for posterity. After a brief visit to the old Barnes family homesite and fields, Paulo duly recited “Sonnet On Hearing The Dies Irae Sung In The Sistine Chapel” in fulfillment of his promise. Spontaneous applause erupted among those other hikers not still in severe oxygen dept.

The return trip down the mountain seemed strangely easier than the ascent suggesting the operation of some important physical law. The hikers believed Paulo had become so excited about this discovery that he broke out into what appeared to be a some kind of Portuguese tarantella or mountain buckdance only to find out later that he had stepped upon a yellowjacket nest. Such are the strange ways of foreign lands. The group eventually made it back to their auto for the return trip to Knoxville with most the hikers that they started with. All-in-all it was a very enjoyable and successful excursion.


Tennessee in July? Candy Minx 7/20/2008
Ah!!!! 5ooo feet!!! No wonder. How pathetic, I was almost as bad as Sandy Hill Pittman.

Paulo, his wife Alexandra and I are on our way to the river for a paddleboat float, then Blount Mansion, after a brief stop in the library to read Wes's account. Thanks Wes, perfect! We have tried some regional food such as chicken fried steak with sausage gravy, fried green tomatoes, onion loaf, fried okra and turnip greens, some catfish. We have seen two signs that said "see rock city"...which Wes had the very good idea would make a great name for a band! We also ran into a small print making company owner who was wearing a T-shirt that had delicate spiral print with the word "Suttree". Her brother named his band after their favourite character...and we hope to find access to their T-shirts.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Stagg Shopping.

Behind the Scenes of Blood Meridian

For Underground Baker, Mister Anchovy and Portuguese translator, Paulo....

There is an awful lot of material about the southwest and I read over 300 volumes over a period of 3 or 4 years when I was working on Blood Meridian. The first person accounts were the ones that interested me............all of these books are packed away. I'll just jot down a few titles as they come to me...... The Texas Santa Fe Expedition - Kendall..... The Doniphan Expedition -Hughes....... Adventures in Apache Country... Browne...... On the Border with Crook.... Adventures in Mexico (a classic) .... The Border and the Buffalo - (cook)... Savage Scene- Mcgaw....Lt Emory's Notebooks.... Gregg's Commerce iof the Prairies... Life Among the Apaches- Cremony... Bartlett's Account of the Boundary Expedition.... Wildlife in the Far West by? ... There is an account of Glanton in a book called Led and Likker; another in Yuma Crossing..... If you want to read about the Judge, read Chamberlain's My Confession, but with a grain of salt."

Saturday, July 19, 2008

For Behzad.


Taken April 27, on a walk with Anita and Behzad.

Moving On

"None of us in those days heard a single outburst against the Americans on the part of the Japanese, nor was there any evidence of a vengeful spirit. The Japanese suffered this terrible blow as part of the fortunes of war ... something to be borne without complaint. During this war, I have noted relatively little hatred toward the allies on the part of the people themselves, although the press has taken occasion to stir up such feelings. After the victories at the beginning of the war, the enemy was rather looked down upon, but when allied offensive gathered momentum and especially after the advent of the majestic B-29's, the technical skill of America became an object of wonder and admiration."

Trinity Atomic Website

Friday, July 18, 2008

Why Meditate?

Richard Davidson's research created a stir among brain scientists when his results suggested that, in the course of meditating for tens of thousands of hours, the monks had actually altered the structure and function of their brains.

Richard Davidson, 54, is at once a distinguished scientist and an avid spiritual seeker. He became fascinated with meditation in the '60s. As a graduate student at Harvard, he channeled that interest into the study of psychology and neuroscience. In his spare time, he hung out with Ram Dass, Timothy Leary's former LSD research partner turned mystic. Davidson traveled to India for a meditation retreat, then finished his doctorate in biological psychology and headed to the University of Wisconsin, where he now directs the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior.

The Dalai Lama learned of Davidson's work from other scientists and in 1992 invited him to Dharamsala, India, to interview monks with extensive meditation experience about their mental and emotional lives. Davidson recalls the "extraordinary power of compassion" he experienced in the Dalai Lama's presence.

A decade later, he got a chance to examine Tibetan Buddhists in his own lab. In June 2002, Davidson's associate Antoine Lutz positioned 128 electrodes on the head of Mattieu Ricard. A French-born monk from the Shechen Monastery in Katmandu, Ricard had racked up more than of 10,000 hours of meditation.

Lutz asked Ricard to meditate on "unconditional loving-kindness and compassion." He immediately noticed powerful gamma activity - brain waves oscillating at roughly 40 cycles per second -indicating intensely focused thought. Gamma waves are usually weak and difficult to see. Those emanating from Ricard were easily visible, even in the raw EEG output. Moreover, oscillations from various parts of the cortex were synchronized - a phenomenon that sometimes occurs in patients under anesthesia.

The researchers had never seen anything like it. Worried that something might be wrong with their equipment or methods, they brought in more monks, as well as a control group of college students inexperienced in meditation. The monks produced gamma waves that were 30 times as strong as the students'. In addition, larger areas of the meditators' brains were active, particularly in the left prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for positive emotions.

-How To Get Smarter, One Breath At A Time: Time Magazine
-Buddha On The Brin: Wired Magazine
-Scans of Monks Brains Show Meditation Alters Structure and Function: Wall Street Journal

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Grateful Dead Jacket



I painted this jacket for a friend about 20 years ago from the album cover of Greatest Hits by the Grateful Dead. The leather has seen better days by now.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The Science of Fiction




Click on the images to read the text.

From New Scientist

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Gonzo



Excellent. A documentary about Hunter S. Thompson by the director of Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room.

Hunter Thompson was like the evil beautiful uncle to William Burroughs wise nefarious grandfather to me.

A lot of how I think and feel was inspired by these two writers. Gonzo had terrific interviews, archival footage, revelations, (I had no idea of the depth of conspiracy surrounding Nixon's conspiracies!) and interviews with ex-wives, Jann Wenner, George McGovern, Ralph Steadman (these were especially charming) and readings by Johnny Depp.

A must see documentary. They don't make spirits like this very often.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Lift It Higher!

In the last couple months I decided to make an effort to start reading some new blogs as well as my very favourite blogs. I think it could be very easy to forget the initial rush of beginning to blog is in part about finding kindred spirits and finding blogs to read that challenge you or make you think. I miss doing the "20 Comments" challenge where I forced myself to go to 20 blogs once a week...often finding a new blog to explore.

So here are a couple of new blogs I have been following recently...

I had been reading many of the comments by Pjazzypar Traces Of A Stream on Malcom's Pop Culture Dish for the past year. I finally started following her blog and what an inspiration. Pjazzypar writes about many social issues with thoughtful in depth examination. I feel lucky to read her blog. Right now she has a compelling post on Marvin Gaye and his death, and on "one size fits all" jeans that expose the knickers!

And Malcom's blog I've written about here before...which I love because he writes about music classic tv, with such an understanding of it's iconic emotional narrative. I've been turned on to several great movies, thought about songs and tv that I hadn't thought of in years treated with respect. Malcolm not only understands the effect of pop culture as a positive force in his life but he seems to be able to tap into it's powerful narrative roots for us all. Plus, he has an awesome voting poll every week!

"Even Brothels Give Away Free Gas!" Predictably Irrational is a blog written by a economist who just wrote a book by the same title. Remember how much I love the book Freakonomics and their blog? Well this blog is written from a similar line of enguiry about human behaviour and money/cost/economics...if that makes sense. There are two realy fun posts there right now about "Even Brothels Give Away Free Gas" and "Gifts:Ridiculous Or Useful?"
When we make decisions we think we're in control, making rational choices. But are we? Entertaining and surprising, Ariely unmasks the subtle but powerful tricks that our minds play on us.


Living Oprah is about a woman who is trying to do all of Oprah's recommendations for a year. I know, how funny is that? As an Oprah fan, I still pick and choose what to read or look for after she makes recommendations for books or food: it would never have occurred to me to literally do everything Oprah features on her show. But this Chicago performance artist has decided to find out if living like Oprah has any affects on her life and to blog about such affects. I think her idea is a really terrific concept and I look forward to reading along. Some people really come up with great ideas for "concept blogs"!!! Congrats Living Oprah! Living Oprah got some publicity this week and you can read an interview with the blog writer here

I came across a totally compelling blog written by Jane. Jane has recorded several videos has an active YouTube page and her blog is journal of surviving and recovering from BiPolar diagnosis. This woman is a living breathing testament to hard work, positive thinking and research to heal oneself. I immediately enjoyed her posts because she talks about several aspects of healing that I believe are valuable to all of us, even if we haven't been suffering from emotional challenges. She says we must move beyond labels, diagnosis and fear for recovery and she never ever sounds like a whigner. I find every archive really an awesome reflection of her spirit and hard work. I think she is the future of healing in mental illness research! She writes steady and with responsibility here at BiPolar Recovery.

The X Factor has some of the most riveting posts on the mysterious and unresolved death of Sam Cooke. For fans of Sam Cooke, for crime buffs and for some of the best in depth blogging I've seen...check out "X Dell". He also has some awesome articles on many cultural mysteries like the covert governmental drug program "MK-Ultra", Marilyn Monroe, The Grail Legacy and Alien Abductions. His blog is a motherlode!

Steamboats Are Ruining Everything I just started reading today. I got turned on to it from a New York Times blog I follow called Paper Cuts.

Happy surfing and reading!

Bollywood Hits Prime Time! YEA!


Josh and Katie are perfect, just beautiful in this dance. My favourite dance of the season so far!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

How To Make A Video Projector Out of Your iPod!



Too hot? Hang a sheet outside and make a theatre with your iPod (website) or click on image to follow insructions!

Magic Wands

"Americans are concerned about high prices at the pump, and they're really concerned as they start making their travel plans, and I understand that. I wish I could just wave a magic wand and lower the price at the pump; I'd do that. That's not how it works." George Bush. May 16, 2005.

"I realize that gimmicks like the gas tax holiday and offshore drilling might poll well these days. But I’m not running for President to do what polls well, I’m running to do what’s right for America. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make gas prices go down, but I can’t. " Barack Obama June 24, 2008.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

E Mail

In the past year I sent 656 messages.

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

La Surprise


I still don't believe it.

It turns out that I may actually like the art critic, Jed Perl's perspective on contemporary art...even though I don't always agree with his examples. How did this happen...he drove me crazy a couple years ago with his naysaying about a couple of my favourite painters. Now I am excited to read his latest articles in The New Republic when they come out. I must remember to thank my friend Greg for turning me on to him. Thanks Greg! (who I wish would start a blog)

So when the real painting, which had been lost for 160 years, turned up--as the Times reported, "in the corner of a small sitting room in an English country house"--I felt as if I were in a story, perhaps by Calvino or Nabokov, and could not quite tell what was fantasy, what actuality. The very idea that this little masterpiece--a tiny thing, not much more than a foot high--was discovered in a dusty corner of a minor English country house is the stuff of fiction, at least of a Sherlock Holmes story, or perhaps one of Henry James's dark tales of art and inheritance. writes Perl about the discovery of a 160 year old missing painting...

A couple weeks ago, Perl wrote a brilliant article called Nihlism and Capitalism in The Art World for The New Republic, click the yellow text...for anyone who likes art...hates art...or wants to learn a little about it this is a must read.

The above image is Watteau's 18th Century painting La Surprise.

Monday, July 07, 2008

New McCarthy Based Movie?


Great trailer for Outer Dark movie of a Southern Gothic novel by Cormac McCarthy.

4 Muses


I made a big mistake the other night.

I went to see Sex and the City without a box of tissue.

Love, romance, cum shots. Perfect chick flick. For fans of the HBO series like myself, the movie was like a great big truck pulling into a loading dock. It delivers. If you like design and shoes and beautiful art direction the movie is worth it for those alone. The actors are wonderful as is the writing. I know comedies don't get Oscar nods very often but I hope Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, of the 4 Muses, and writer Michael Patrick King get noms come this spring. Four years after the series ended I wasn't expecting such an emotional rollercoaster ride. One minute I was crying only to see a sight gag so funny I almost choked on my organic carob bon bon. A conflict occurs between two characters that percolates under the plot and one particular tragedy adding a tension waiting to explode. The script and characters honor human relationships: vocalizing fear, loyalty and listening are exulted to become noble acts of love. Sharing emotions separates us from other species as gods and goddesses in Sex and The City. We're only as sick as our secrets. Maybe nobody knows that more than women.

The sex scenes are excellent and ofter a variety of responses including erotica, humour, aesthetical nudes and sentimental moments. Two shower scenes throw it down. One such scene is so sexy a mass suspension of breathing could be heard by a group moan rivaled only by Naveen Andrews when he flipped his wet shampooed hair in The English Patient. If you're a woman or gay you'll know what I mean. Soapy sud scenes have an unofficial ranking system based on Meryl Streep and Robert Redford in Out of Africa and this regenerating movie gives lots of money shots. Too bad so many men dislike listening to women talk. They will have missed a sexy, funny profound buddy movie.

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Creation Myth


Bill Reid's sculpture The Raven and The First Men, showing part of a Haida creation myth. The Raven represents the Trickster figure common to many mythologies. The work is in the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver.

* "In Northwest coast art, perhaps more than in any other art, there's an impulse to push things as far as possible."

* "Haida artists worked mostly within a rigid, formal system, but occasionally burst out and did crazy, wild things which out-crazied the other people of the coast."

* "They weren't bound by the silly feeling that it's impossible for two figures to occupy the same space at the same time."

Bill Reid

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Funny

Read this......especially if you're on a road trip...
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