Yellow Jacket

Hey blog friends...can you help me out? This is a friends band here in Chicago. I want to get their Youtube hits way up. If you have time would you consider playing this on your blog or Facebook page and also clicking "like" on the Youtube page? really appreciate it!

Moth?

 Look what Stagg found in the backyard. A ginormous moth thingie.

Hunger Walk

 I got up this morning at 5:30 to participate in a  huge fundraising walk for food pantries, and servies for homeless and struggling families. There were thousands of people and we had beautiful weather. Our friend Tony, who is in the band Yellow Jacket, and works in the West Side met up with me. I helped his group serve hotdogs to the people who had done the walk too.

 Here is Tony!

 And here is what we cooked up 200+ hotdogs and vegie burgers on=his home bbq! These are bbq bad boys!

After the event we took back the supplies to the shelter and Hey... Oh look...there is Tony's desk with a painting by Stagg. And there is the banner I painted for "Breakthough Urban Ministries" a couple years ago. (Stagg did the food illustration)

I Can't Believe She Said What?

 Joni Mitchell in 1970 and below, a performance artist/drag queen, John Kelly.

I totally missed this interview a couple years ago, but enjoyed reading it just now. The thing is...Joni Mitchell has said some pretty unbecoming things about other artists in many interviews I've seen in the last ten years. It makes me sad because I mean...no one can touch her she is the top, the cream...and I wish she didn't have to sound so bitter about other artists and performers...but I did laugh when I read the following...

But let's begin with Dylan. Mitchell was speaking to the LA Times as part of a joint interview with performance artist John Kelly, who has performed Mitchell's songs in drag. The Times interviewer referred to Old Nasal Voice in passing, citing his name-change from Robert Zimmerman to Bob Dylan. (Mitchell also abandoned her birth name, Roberta Joan Anderson.) Mitchell launched into an unprovoked assault. "We are like night and day, he and I," she scoffed. "Bob is not authentic at all. He's a plagiarist, and his name and voice are fake. Everything about Bob is a deception."

Cowed, the interviewer moved on to safer topics – such as Prince (apparently a Mitchell fan) and sex appeal. Yet Mitchell still had time to slag off Grace Slick and Janis Joplin (allegedly they were "[sleeping with] their whole bands and falling down drunk"), and Madonna. Railing against the "stupid, destructive" era we live in, Mitchell took aim at the Material Girl. "Americans have decided to be stupid and shallow since 1980. Madonna is like Nero; she marks the turning point." From here and here

And here is video of John Kelly doing Joni

Desktop Flotsam

 Isn't part of a Stacation getting stuff done around the house that just needles you and you keep putting off...saying when I have a couple days I'll do it? well, I've done a bit of that the week we had off. One was cleaning up the desktop. I've got stuff on here I've had for two years and think oh I should do something with this picture or that. I've wanted to blog, or not, then change mind or say next week i'll do something with something. So I filed a bounch of photos and resume stuff. Filed and cleaned up...but then I had these few odds and ends...so I am just going to randomly post them here. Above is a picture of a cactus that Tricia's mum got for me. It lives on air for a couple weeks. Now, I have planted it in a wee old porcelain dish. Below just seems self explanatory. I just loved that illustration of Lucifer Ronald as Jesus.

 This is a photo of two friends of mine in Canada. One is actor John Wildman and the other is model Jacinta MacDonald. They were both in one of my short films called "Poodle".

Okay...I love this picture. Its a photo of my friend Behzad in high school with his friends! Aren't they bad asses? 

Bulldogcatmarilynmanson, R.I.P

My daughters cat, and one of her best friends, passed away. He was part bull dog with his short almost non existent tail. He had two different coloured eyes and he was funny and friendly and a good friend to my baby. Happy travels on the otherside Bitz xxxooo

Wedding Day Congrats Toots And Staashu!!

Cool Band...Automajik

Some Language

Tiki Bar

 Weeeeellll...this post will also go under the file of "our neighbourhood" which I was writing about a while ago. We have a tiki bar in our hood. Well, it's 4.7 miles from our place but around here, thats close. Stagg used to hang out in this tiki bar years ago, like the 80s with all his school and art friends in bands etc. I went there for the first time to meet co-worker Tina while we talked about starting a blog. Here are some pictures of where I had to walk after taking a bus to the Hala Kahiki Lounge.

 So the other evening we had a going away get together for Michelle who I've blogged about before. she is the one going to the monastery in Canada. We met up at the Hala Kahiki and enjoyed some coconut based cocktails...yum yum!

 There she is the woman of the hour, Michelle. Michelle is going to blog about her experience and I can't wait to follow along. already her first blog entry was beautiful! I hope you will check out this new blog called Grounskeeper Michelle

 Here is our accountant for the school Meg and Michelle.

 This is the fabulous Tina. tina teaches Go-go dancing classes at Old Town School of folk Music and she works in thebar with me and is a beautiful clothing designer!

 Stagg, of course...

 Arrrgggghhh Michael and Michelle compete for swashbuckling pirate poses...Michelle used to work as a bricklayer. And Michael below...teaches music and art classes at Old Town, as well as working at the bar.

 Oh look...I like to tease Michael that he is our resident Supermodel. He posed for an advertising campaign for Old Town School of folk Music. The poster below was huge and in many bus stops around the city. Yes, he really does play banjo.

Some of the drinks on the menu have great descriptions like The Fog Cutter"A demons portion of a fine old concoction topped with sherry. Definately has the power of the Kahuna to raise the dead"

Rehersal!

 We had a great visit with the family at Rehearsal Dinner for Stagg's sister Kathy. There they are on alter thingie (its a church I'm lucky I didn't sizzle up and die when I walked in the door I don't know what these things are called being a pagan)

 There is Stag and behind him on the bench is his parents.

 Stagg's Aunt Judy and Cousin Linda.

 The Groom Staashu mum and nephew and niece.

 Kathy and her Aunt Judy.

 Dum dum dee dum....

 Out for pizza afterwards...yum! Stagg and Best Woman Donna and Best Man John (see I'm making sure here I remember their names)

Aww...there is Kathy aka Toots and Stan aka Staashu