Wildly Interesting Books

  • Adam's Task by Vicki Hearne
  • Anything by Colin Cotterill
  • Auguries of Innocence by Patti Smith
  • Big Box Swindle by Stacy Mitchell
  • Darwin: A Life in Poems by Ruth Padel
  • Gehry Draws
  • Human Smoke by Nicholson Baker
  • Out of Our Heads by Ava Noe
  • Stylepedia: A Guide to Graphic Design, Mannerisms, Quirks and Conceits
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson
  • The God of Small Things by Arundahti Roy
  • The Long Fall by Walter Mosely
  • The Martin Beck Series by Maj Sjowall and Per Waloo
  • The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
  • The Wrecking Crew by Thomas Frank
  • Vermeeer in Bosnia by Lawrence Weschler

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Don't Let School Make You Feel Small

Needle Sized Art
Very incredible story! Not only is this mans art cool but he got a ton of cash for it!

Friday, November 07, 2008

New IVAW Coffee House Near Fort Lewis


http://www.givoice.org/

This is my anti-war organization. Please consider donating to IVAW at www.ivaw.org. It's all 100% tax deductable. As they like to say "Please support our troops."

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Nader Arrives at the Middle East While His Great-Nephew Plays the Accordian


It gets real dark once we go inside the restaurant. I'm still learning how to shoot film with my little digital camera

Nader's People on the Road

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Suzanne Bas Davis is Painting Again

Amazing dry brush technique seen especially on the lid of the pot. Suzanne is taking Janet Hobbs's watercolor class this semester and it's paying off.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Sock Creatures Replicate Selves in Various Forms at Art Nite










Okay, only a few forms other than the original so far. Here's the first one by Thomasin. It's the eponymously named sock dog, Thomasin, standing on the remote controls.

Thomasin hangs out with the suddenly appearing
"Rabbit"by Fionna

Elephant showed up but stood apart for the attention.

Local Store Does Not Know What It Is


Doorway to Identity-less Store. Note welcome mat. But welcome to what??

Welcome to eerie cacti in various states of decay!

Close up of, uh, things.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Amy Goodman Speaks Out

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/23

Friday, October 17, 2008

Ketchup is a Vegetable

Harvey's been busy at Art Nite


Gotta love this one.




Study for a painting. Harvey likes this better than the painting. I think both are good.

I love the dry brush technique on the grass. Ths is done in acrylic gouache.

As theStock Market Continues to Plunge and Millions lose their Retirement Savings...




We can take comfort in keeping our house in order. Here's the answer to a question that must have been plaguing most of us for decades.


Question:How do you keep hangers from making marks in the shoulders of shirts? And how do you keep clothes from falling off hangers?
Lorna Lover
Indian Rocks Beach, FL


Answer:Use only padded, wooden, or plastic hangers. And use felt circles to keep clothes from slipping onto the floor.
Go to RealSimple.com to stop getting hung up on your hanger worries: http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/content/0,21770,1850470,00.html?xid=askrsnews

Thursday, October 16, 2008

IVAW Member Trampled by Police Horse at Debate

You can watch footage of this on Democracy Now! at http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/16/15_arrested_outside_presidential_debate_in
Please consider making a donation to these folks for Nick Morgan's medical bills or legal fees.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Super Large Sculpture by Malcolm Cummings




Here's a partial assembly drawing of the glider design. it's beginning to take shape.....


Here's a view of the inside of the fuselage of the plane, showing the cockpit, landing gear, camera (big cylinder) and lots of boxes representing various equipment. We're using layouts like this to see how things fit together and for finding center of gravity.
I think we could all do with a bit of finding the center of gravity---Jeanne

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Veterans For Peace Band







Playing at the anti-war thingy on the Common Saturday, October,11, 2008

Follow My Blog

See that thing up there? (on the upper left,under the RSS feeds) Click on it, where it says 'Follow this blog'. Yezzir!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Rebel Sheriff of Cook County

Above: Seventy foreclosure orders that will not be served in Cook County

Monday, October 06, 2008

Today's Lesson

October 6, 2008Tricycle's Daily DharmaKnowing What To DoI like that the point of convergence of liberation theology, Islamic mysticism, and engaged Buddhism is the sense of love that leads to commitment and involvement with the world, and not a turning-away from the world. A form of wisdom that I strive for is the ability to know what is needed at a given moment in time. When do I need to reside in that location of stillness and contemplation, and when do I need to get up off my ass and do whatever is needed to be done in terms of physical work, or engagement with others, or confrontation with others? I'm not interested in ranking one type of action over the other.
--bell hooks, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review Fall 1992 from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Iraq Vets Against War




Some of you may know that Fionna and I are supporting and planning on becoming active with Iraq Vets Against War (IVAW). I feel strongly that these men and women, along with Vets for Peace (VFP) who are mostly Vietnam vets, are the backbone and soul of our anti-war movement today.The link above will take you to the events page. Please take a look and see if IVAW is hosting an event in your area and seriously consider attending one of these. If you haven't seen Winter Soldier, you will be profoundly moved by the transformation of these soldiers through their experiences in Iraq and Afganistan. Not only is the organization deeply principled and highly organized, it is a stunning manifestation of the Buddhist concept of 'Metta'...the notion of loving kindness. IVAW embraces the idea of community and is constantly building its capacity to reach out to all Iraq and Afganistan vets and to the rest of the anti-war movement.


After looking at the events page, take a look at the rest of the website to see what they stand for.

Namaste,

Jeanne

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Art Nite Gets Edgy

It's Kirk and he can't be stopped. We tried.

Glue Gun Gone Wild

He did it! Frightening!!!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Thank God Someone's Paying Attention to What Matters in America Today

From Real Simpleton Magazine
Question:What is the best way to store multiple curling irons, hair dryers, and flat irons?Ann MarksKirkland, WA


Answer:Invest in a plastic or wire organizer that mounts to a wall or inside a cabinet door.
A place for everything and everything in its place. That’s the ideal, right? Take a step in the right direction by organizing your collection of hair tools.
Although this issue is important, I still believe it takes second place to the story last year about the woman who didn't know how to organize her jewelry

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Tom's Got a Thing

Here's a Tom Canel original cartoon in progress. But you can see lots more on his blog/website at http://.bligblug.blogspot.com

Harvey Works in Acrylic Gouache




In the top photo we see Harvey's layout for his painting..and a photo of his dinner! Wow! The bottom picture is the first pass at a painting. Lots of Yods. Don't know what a 'Yod' is? Stay tuned.

The Paper Sculpture by Fionna Lafferty





The first picture is of some of the materials used. Next we see Fionna Laying out her project...and then...Voila! Who doesn't want one of these on their wall?
t

Rose Works in Collage







Rose weaves her magic in collage. Sorry the last piece is a bit fuzzy. My shaking hands and the camera setting to blame. But seriously, Rose is an up and coming collage artist and let's hope to God she keeps it up.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Iraq Vets Rock


Hey, here's how you can support the troops. Buy this book by Iraq and Afganistan Vets against the War.(IVAW)
And visit their fabulous website: http://ivaw.org/

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Sam Thompson's Watercolor Class, Peaches


Sam Thompson's classes are like the Zen Meditation Center where the monk comes around and hits you with a stick. Just the ticket to get back into the fray. Suzanne D. and I went up there and got whacked around a bit and came home exhausted but happy. It's Sam's mission in life to not let you overwork a painting. We left the twittering mind behind.

Monday, September 08, 2008

Real Simpleton


Have you ever seen this magazine, Real Simpleton? What a void this publication has filled! Who will ever forget the stirring article about the woman who was distraught because she couldn't organize her jewelry collection? Or the online help topic: Help, my shoes squeak? Another popular feature of the magazine is taking ordinary household items and finding other uses(called the 'Aha! use) for them. I won't go into this now. But I myself, dear reader have found an 'aha' use for the mundane devilled egg platter.

If you like to use ceramic for your watercolors (plastic makes the paint bead up) and the palattes at the art supply store are too small for larger works, or for working on multiple paintings at a time, the lowly devilled egg platter could be just the thing for you. Stephen Quiller makes a huge square ceramic palatte which is totally groovy, but it's almost as large as my art studio and weighs 40 pounds. Not so the devilled egg platter, which features nice, deep wells perfect for washes and mixing large amounts of color.

I might mention that it's perfect for fluid acrylics. the color can be allowed to dry up in the deep wells and peeled off so you can re-cycle appropriately instead of throwing it down the sink into our drinking water.

Unfortunately, the devilled egg platter has no discernable effect on the quality of your paintings. I'm working on that one.

Monday, September 01, 2008

Monday, August 25, 2008

Dig it!!



Veno-Paraguayan Communist Conspiracy Revealed! In Dorky Music Form



As if you needed more proof that Latin America was backsliding into the "dark nights of tyranny" or whatever, this SHOCKING VIDEO has emerged showing Hugo Chavez and Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo singing about their plot to "change the world" at some shadowy leftist karaoke hoedown last weekend. "Enjoy."


from borev.net

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Out of the One Dimension and...(the drive home)

into the 89 dimensional universe of the big whopper.

Can anyone tell me what the above is all about. Is this one of those things that everyone but me 'gets'? Am I headed for the Laughing Academy?


But why pay good money to a psychiatrist when this sign (and a few others like it) can explain you to yourself and to others? I'm off to make a bun out of meat. I'll be up all night until I get it just right.


Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Is Spam Poetry Real Poetry?

plan captaincy roast emit bimodal


provocation maul decreeing? provocation, elicit mongolia.emit maul vaccinate friedman primitivism difluoride, hearkenfallacious depreciable hearken paragonite wine.
vaudeville laurent roast
terrapin oedipus thyratron? edith, provocation maul.oedipus primitivism elicit riggs captaincy occasion, hearkenaeschylus decreeing est stearic paulette.
laurent mongolia riggs
occasion snowflake bob? stearic, occasion snowflake.
emit emit

Kirk Davis-who has been know to insert spam into his own poetry -sends this item received from one Hank Whitley

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Entry Into One Dimensional Environment Explained

As the first "entrant" into the one dimensional house, I want to urge everyone out there NOT TO TRY IT. It has left me exhausted; still recuperating. It took me months of training to perform the feat (feet) that I did, Voluntary Intra-planetary Body Molecular Compression and Alteration (VIMBCA). It is a dangerous practice, and must be studied under strict supervision. The initial "entrant" into a one dimensional environment experiences all the shear, Z-Forces, Cramp Convulsions, and Pre-frontal Cortical Lunacy (PFCL) that are the greatest hazards of this brave quest. Once the initial entrant (IE) has paved the way, so to speak, all other entrants (AOE's) can move in with little or no harmful effects. So, unless guided by an experienced VIMBCA Certified Specials (VCS), please, please, do not attempt to negotiate the dimension they dare not call by name.
Thank You.
Jim Calandrillo

For more on this riveting topic visit jim's blog: http://laperduttagente.blogspot.com/2008/08/one-dimensional-living.html

Friday, August 15, 2008

Geoff Smith Makes It Into One Dimensional Cabin



And makes it back to town for the gig at Razzy's. This Saturday night. August 16th. See http://www.deososmusic.com/

And the new EP will be available there for a mere $5.00. It's getting great reviews

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Painting finally takes shape

This took about one half hour. Finding my watercolor brushes took two hours.

Magical Cantaloupe Cures all Ills


The nostrum that addresses all disorders. tomorrow morning, by eating the second half of the cantaloupe, sainthood will be conferred upon the final diners. More on this tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Monday, July 07, 2008

Something to "think" about

An Undesirable Thing

If the basic project of mainstream Buddhist practice is to unmask the ego illusion for what it is, one of the main prongs of attack is directed against desire. Desire gets a very bad press in the Buddhist scriptures. It is a poison, a disease, a madness. There is no living in a body that is subject to desire, for it is like a blazing house.
Now, desire lives and grows by being indulged. When not indulged by the application of ethical restraint and awareness, on the other hand, it stabilizes and begins to diminish, though this is not an easy or comfortable process, for the old urges clamor for satisfaction for a long time.
This kind of practice cut directly against the main currents of modern consumer society, where desire is energetically encouraged and refined to new pitches and variations by the powerful agencies of marketing and publicity. But it also cuts against the more moderate desires – for family, wealth, sense pleasures and so on sanctioned in simpler, more traditional societies, including the one into which the Buddha was born. We can never be at peace while desire is nagging at us.
John Snelling, Elements of Buddhism

much better than my last rant.

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Cripple You Yoga


Larry the Fish does not need expensive classes to make him a fish. He's a fish.






Arrgh! The search for enlightenment is over the minute you think it's a search. I'll admit that it's not so easy to discover that you are sitting on a gold mine of peace and enlightenment, but it's gonna be a long way off if you're trying to 'buy' it. Get up and out the door, folks This is America. There's nothing they won't 'sell' you. Don't be mystified (except in the best sense). It's all free. Acceptance is the beginning of the end of all striving. Can we just be? It costs nothing. No one can package and sell it.



Listen. We used to work. We used to do our own work. We walked to work. We were farmers. We worked in the home. We don't walk to work anymore. We aren't allowed to plant and harvest anymore. Big Agro does it for us. Laugh if you want to, but going down to the river to beat the clothes in the stream was a better workout than you can pay for today. And it was a community experience. In the old days we worked our bodies hard. It was a hard life, too hard. But now they tell us that life is not hard. Well it is. It's bitterly hard. Our communities are gone and we don't(for the most part use our legs or our muscles to do work. So we have to pay for a gym or sign up for yoga classes. This is not cheap and not within the reach of most people.



Instead, for the poor, we have television. For all of us we have television. I stood on line at Dunkin Donuts with a huge T.V. in my face while I waited for four minutes for my iced coffee. Four minutes, I can't live without T.V.



Apparently people have T.V. sets built into the seats of their SUV's.



Why not just sew the T.V. onto your head?



Okay, so I'm ranting. But what else is a blog for? Healing, mediation, enlightement,it's all big business in the USA. Mail order mystics, as Chris Smither calls them. Go out, friends, and do your own work. Don't pay people to teach you how to move around. We were born knowing how to do that. Turn on the music and start dancing.



Best of luck,


Jeanne



This could be my last post

If I'm caught putting this stuff....

into this dumpster.

It will probably be just fine since no one knows where I live. And, by the way, that is not the Lorem Ipsum Bookstore across the street in the photo.

Look for me, or don't look for me wearing the black ski mask in the dead of night.

Friday, July 04, 2008