I knew there was a reason why I try NOT to listen to network news.
Paying any critical attention, at all, to what’s put out there as being newsworthy is enough to raise anyone’s blood pressure and, with my job, I don’t need any other excuses to raise my BP to stroke level - thank you very much.
Watching the Today show this morning however, it was the juxtaposition of the programming, as much as the content, which pushed my buttons.
Did you see it?
After showing us several minutes of moving testimony from parents who lost children to gun violence during the gun-control hearings - followed by the Second Amendment/NRA talking heads pontificating about why they would work hard to see that every proposed measure failed because it somehow infringed on their ‘rights’ to own an Uzzi - the segue way to a piece about counterfeit NFL merchandise was enough to induce whiplash.
Nice to hear that Federal Prosecutors are going after the sellers of bogus t-shirts to protect us from showing up on ‘Super Sunday’ wearing an oversized shirt of whatever team we’re rooting for where the profits from the sales aren’t going directly into NFL coffers.
Clearly we can go about our lives more safely today knowing that our legal system has its priorities in order.
We can’t seem to do a ‘sting’ on gun shows to get the gun sellers and manufacturers who sell to the mentally deranged with no background check – but by God we can pour our resources into getting the sweat shop owners who produce T-shirts with no NFL tags!
Nice to know.
And, if I hear one more story about the ‘love triangle’ between the Polynesian football player, the stalker with the unpronounceable name and the pretend girlfriend, I think I’ll scream.
Really, he’s an example of the best education Notre Dame can provide?
The guy can make the Deans List of a supposedly prestigious university – yet he can’t distinguish between reality and make-believe?
What’s wrong with this picture?
Obviously, he’s a perfect example of what too much blunt force trauma to the head looks like!
Just as obviously, it’s time for me to turn the TV off again – and go back to just listening to my music in the morning!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Artists garrett
OK, so he's not starving ...
but his current living space is 5,000 sq feet
on the top floor of a warehouse.
Actually his living space, studio,
studio space for two of his friends
and a small shared gallery space
are all in the warehouse.
Such a change from the environment in which he grew up -
and I still live.
It suits him though
and I love to browse around
when I visit
and take in the sights...
from the entry way
(through a wood shop on the ground floor of the warehouse)
to his bedroom
studio
kitchen/living room
and even bathroom,
I gave up,
a long time ago,
trying to make sense
of what they mean
or represent
Trust me,
it's easier
to enjoy them
that way!
Christmas presents
which neither of us wanted to chance
in the mail
were also exchanged.
Commemorative plates (of our Jersey shore vacation)
made by him for us
and a lamp made for him
by my nephew
from an old gear
and a truck filter...
all are perfect
for the intended
recipient!
Maybe not your typical gifts,
maybe not your typical lives,
but accurate reflections
of who we all are!
I wouldn't have it any other way!
Monday, January 28, 2013
Everything's up-to-date in ...
come on... you know it... at least you do if you were a fan of Broadway (or MGM) musicals in the 50's!
Straight from "Oklahoma'... every-thing's up to date in Kansas City!
Why is it I can't visit that place without that refrain echoing repetitively in my head?
It's not like I didn't have other words competing to be heard - and expressed.
A wonderful, albeit all too short, visit with Art Boy - filled with much to see, hear about from him and discuss. Lordy, I raised a deeply intuitive and expressive guy!
And I kept my promise of not having him 'pose' for any pictures this visit -
probably why he agreed to at least look at the camera while dining at Bo-Lings.
(Their eggplant tempura is to die for BTW!)
Spring was in the air with the unseasonably warm weather they've had - which felt totally out of sync - since when I left the Lou there was a coat of ice on my deck and street.
A visit to the Nelson was good for a visual pick me up...
yup; this is a painting. The artist totally nailed wood grain, right??
And, the 'amentities' cracked me up...
not ONE woman's bathroom -
The choice was a Mens room - or a Family room!
What???
There are some things that are just 'too' up date to suit me!
Guess I'm just not sophisticated enough for KC!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Road trip
A rainy, gloomy, winter day -
perfect for
a)
staying inside with a book by the fire
OR
b)
watching the miles
pass by
as you listen to music,
process your thoughts
in private,
weep,
sing,
re-write entire conversations -
to your best advantage
and with the desired outcome,
of course -
as you get nearer
and nearer
to someone you love.
For today,
I'll take option b, please!
With a camera in hand -
as icing on the cake!
be back all too soon!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
A break
Headed out to see the oldest man-child -
an artist who knows more
about living on the margins-
in service to your passion-
than anyone else I know.
One night
when bitching
when bitching
and wishing
that I knew
how to draw
or paint,
he laughed
and said
"Mom, it's not rocket science;
draw lines,
then add color.
Lose the fear
and
have some fun
with it."
A loving eye roll accompanied
his
'breakin' it down and keepin' it real'.
And the wonderfully freeing thing is...
when you have no set 'style'-
and no inherent talent -
the possibilities for play
are endless!
Even when you know
your particular 'gift'
lies in another
arena entirely!
Go ahead and take time off from your self-doubt for the weekend.
May the break be so freeing that you decide to make it permanent.
Emily Freeman
Emily Freeman
Friday, January 25, 2013
FRIDAY!
Gonna try to be in a better mood!
A friend
offered to loan me
his camera body
so I don't have to buy a new one
(duh... never thought to ask for
a loan
since most of my friends
use their cameras
every day too!)
Things are looking up!
Thursday, January 24, 2013
I'm still here...
trying to remember how I entertained myself before my camera!
Can I just say how much I HATE being without it???
The quality of my point and shoot just isn't cutting it for me...
I feel like a total wuss complaining about it...
trust me, I'm not used to feeling like such a First World Princess!
I found an unused gift certificate
for our local 'art store'
and will be treating myself
to more supplies this weekend.
I've also decided on a road trip to see Art Boy in KC -
he always inspires me -
not to mention they'll come take away
my Mother of the Decade award
if I don't see him soon!
Besides, I currently hate my job -
though I love and am grateful every day
for the folks I work with -
and desperately need a break!!
I'm running on empty.
OK, I'll admit it,
I also am fairly close
to deciding to get
a back-up camera body
while my first one is
gone for weeks...
first world problems
call for
first world
solutions!
Besides...
think of all the money I no longer spend
on hair products, coloring etc
since I shaved my head 2 years ago!
If I was worth L'Oreal,
I'm worth a back up camera!
That's the trouble with us Americans,
we can always justify our behavior -
at least
to ourselves!
at least
to ourselves!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Here's hoping!
Look at the facts of the world.
You see a continual and progressive
triumph of the right.
I do not pretend to understand the moral universe,
the arc is a long one,
my eye reaches but little ways.
I cannot calculate the curve
and complete the figure
by the experience of sight;
I can only divine it by conscience.
But from what I see
I am sure it bends toward justice.
1857 sermon
by Theodore Parker, a Unitarian minister
later admired by Martin Luther King, Jr.
You see a continual and progressive
triumph of the right.
I do not pretend to understand the moral universe,
the arc is a long one,
my eye reaches but little ways.
I cannot calculate the curve
and complete the figure
by the experience of sight;
I can only divine it by conscience.
But from what I see
I am sure it bends toward justice.
1857 sermon
by Theodore Parker, a Unitarian minister
later admired by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Bereft
Yup, that's me.
I'm also sick,
but that makes me like most of the rest of the country.
And, when you're sitting,
day after day,
at Ground Zero
(the ER of a pediatric hospital)
it's also to be expected.
Fluids and Kleenex...
that's what my life has been
reduced to.
But, here's why it feels like I've lost an appendage...
My 'good' camera got dropped.
No names, no stories to make the guilty party feel even worse but it was a significant enough jolt to warp the lens release mechanism, rendering it impossible to get the lens that's currently on the camera body off! It also screwed with the calibration of the lens and created focusing problems.
The only solution is to send the camera body with lens back to the factory - a process that takes 4-6 weeks!
I have a point and shoot... I can use it as a fill-in.
I realize this is totally a First World problem -
but I miss my Canon!
For 3 years, I've taken pictures every day.
t's been my therapy and my salvation...
it's going to be a long couple of weeks.
This idea would totally have rocked
with my 'other' camera!
A Salt with a deadly weapon.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Question -
don't worry; it's an easy one.
Is there anything
more exquisitely beautiful
than a rose?
The correct answer
is
NO.
Bonus points for anyone
who can hook me up
with Jackson & Perkins
as their in house
photographer.
Yes,
I'll relocate.
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