3/D Painting

Part of the process.
Make It Simple
Here are the "so-called" Democrats who failed you by voting against a filibuster.
Akaka, Hawaii; Baucus, Mont.; Bingaman, N.M.; Byrd, W.Va.; Cantwell, Wash.; Carper, Del.; Conrad, N.D.; Dorgan, N.D.; Inouye, Hawaii; Johnson, S.D.; Kohl, Wis.; Landrieu, La.; Lieberman, Conn.; Lincoln, Ark.; Nelson, Fla.; Nelson, Neb.; Pryor, Ark.; Rockefeller, W.Va.; Salazar, Colo.
Vote 'em out next time.
Forget about the Republicans. They all failed you.
Your Opinion
Feel like giving your opinion or just like taking polls. Go HERE.
You very likely will not win An iPod Mini but someone will.
Right Thinking

"It's like saying, you know, 'You're breaking the law.' I'm not... But also - and we - look - I said, 'Look, is it possible to conduct this program under the old law?' And people said, 'It doesn't work in order to be able to do the job we expect us to do.'"
-- George W. Bush

MacDries says, "Define sophistry."
S.C.O.T.U.S. R.I.P
Republicrats succeed. Scalitomas swears. Bush gloats. Your daughter bleeds. Everyone loses.

MacDries says, "What is boils down to is: The Democrats lack the courage to accept their power, even when they have it. If all the 42 who claimed to disapprove of Alito had voted to filibuster, Scalitomas and Bush would have been defeated. Eat your lunch boys and girls, you paid for it. You don't deserve to win."
Coretta Scott King, R.I.P
Dignity personified.
Nam June Paik, R.I.P

One of my personal favorites, the poet of Art has passed away.

As Expected
Filibuster defeated. All show. No go, for Dems, as usual.

MacDries says, "Score another for the forces of evil. This is the country that is supposed to be the leader of the free world. Word: The path leads into hell."
The Shrub's Democracy
Headline: Bush Refuses To Support The Duly Elected Hamas In Palestine.

MacDries says, "So, if you don't like an elected government, you just pretend they don't exist. Or, perhaps, like in Haiti you help remove them. If all else fails, hell, just invade them."
In The Booth
Bless me father, for I have sinned. It's been almost forever since my last confession. I've never owned or listened to an album by Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, or AC-DC. And that's just the beginning. I sorta like the Stones but hate the Beatles. John is the biggest phony of the bunch. Yoko sucks. I don't mind The Beach Boys but think Pet Shop Boys is a piece o' crap. I hate the Byrds and Crosby Still & Nash but I love Neil Young. I love Eric Clapton but don't think much of Cream or The Yardbirds. And ya' know what, you hear all about this recent generation discovering Tony Bennett? Never have cared much for him but I've always loved Frank. Rap is not hip, mostly pose, but I rather like Eminem. And don't get me started on all the current polyester "country" music. To my mind you better not get too far away from George (Jones, not Strait), Waylon, Willie and Merle. Steve Earle is awesome and Emmylou cuts the deck everytime. Dwight's OK and Suzy Bogguss is on the mark. Dale Watson is real. Gram Parsons is a legend but it was a good career move to die like he did. I love the blues in almost any form. There is little hype in the jazz world; good is good but that Marsalis guy couldn't hand a mute to Miles. Etta James keeps getting bigger every day and Etta Jones is easy to listen to as well. Give me Ray anyday. And Bob is still on the job; a troubador, touring after all these years with his peers, Willie and Merle. A day may go by when I don't listen to Coltrane but never a week. And then there's Satch and Sarah and let's end with the woman I love. Billie.
So send me to hell father. I'm not a Christian but Aretha almost makes me one. I'm not a Jew. Not a Muslim. Nor a Buddhist. Don't believe in much, except music. So, call me a Musician. My penance is all the noise I hear in the air. And I'm convinced you can get ear cancer from listening to Mariah Carey.
Here's An Idea
Let's have the Dems swap Ben Nelson or Joe Lieberman for Lincoln Chafee. Better yet, give them 2 for 1 and call a spade a shovel.
Back In The Day

Done with punch cards and a CalComp plotter at Washington University before I escaped the academic world. A larger version was done that went up to 100 interations.
Headline
Cruise Employee Charged With Attempted Rape

MacDries says, "I thought this was more hype about Tom. Turns out it was a Royal Caribbean guy."
Stupidest Ad Campaign Of All Time

No surprise, coming from the dorks at Microsoft.
Another California Winter Day In NYC
And I don't mind at all.
Lord, Lord
Give me one day with out an Oprah story in the papers.
Overslept
After a fitful night, battery ran out on my clock, Mom out and gone early, Emma and I overslept. I need a nap.

Add Yourself To The Order Of Succession

Only 18 people are specified to succeed The Shrub (and 2 are ineligible). You can add yourself to the list.
Go HERE.
WlfSng
I've mentioned WlfSng many times. He sends me stuff all the time. Well, he also goes by the name of Glenn Anderson and we went to Art School together many years ago. He and his wife raise dogs to be trained for use by the blind. If you share his interest: Go HERE.
Or you can contact him: WlfSng914(at)aol.com and he'll send you stuff.
Back In The Day

NYC street scene circa 1966.
For Emma
Most people on Earth call this the Year Of The Dog.
Damn! That's Purty

Today's Junk Mail Poetry
Winn Darrin - mvjhauw@usnews.com is today's poet.

teach leave turnon
he study fall
night try run
I stand believe
My ask reply
use play ask
My comb buy
learn reply think
no cancel spell
true learn count
it study accept
Yesterday's Photo
The one of the Columbia explosion is a fake. See below.
Sorry, I may have actually done that before. It seems familiar.

I Like Ike
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed; those who are cold and are not clothed."
And...
"Japan was already defeated ... dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary. I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion."
-- Dwight David Eisenhower
WlfSng Sent This to Me
Want to test yourself on a politcal/economic compass. Go HERE.
Somebody Sent This to Me*

Supposedly the Columbia explosion from an Israeli satellite in space .

*MacDries says, "It's a fake. Go HERE."
We Gonna Have To Pay
It's 57 degrees here today. February is gonna be a bitch, I bet. I'm outta here.
Junk Mail Poetry
Got the following from one Rushing, Henrietta ghwpxedlrt@montevideo.com.uy
If you can translate it, please tell me.

A hear wait
second forget finish
Which learn dance
you turnoff study
I fix fly
It dance sit
school begin open
me wakeup try
Is lose shut
second borrow do
As learn wait
Today's Chore
Got to put a fresh coat of polyurethane on the second half of the floor today. Then clear out cuz that stuff is rank to breathe and will kill you.

Venting: The Media
I'm so disgusted with this country's political stance and the hopeless nature of it ever changing into a tolerable state of affairs. I may have to just stop reading the news. I still open each day hoping something will change for the better... but it's been so long. Like never.
Sorry.
Fatah, Hamas, who cares. It's the Palestinians' country. And the Israelis can bite me. Did Sharon ever die?
And Oprah's still milking the "I was so betrayed" tit that it gets a bit silly.
And the mountain still has a broken back.
That's it.
Luckily, Kate TiVoed (new verb) Austin City Limits with Ryan Adams so I can kick back tonight. Eat a pint of Rocky Road and a (small) bag of Doritos Nachos for dinner.
As I was typing this Ryan Adams came on iTunes Party Shuffle.
Just ordered the new George Jones CD and an older Etta James. I know it's a sickness, I have so much music I can hardly keep up with it.
Not sure I mentioned the fact that Kate got her first college acceptance: U. of Michigan. So she is in good humour, finally, after all these months. She was very impressed when she and mom visited last summer. (She's applied to about a dozen.) I'm still keying in on U. of Texas. I know, I know, that's just down the pike from Crawford but Austin is very kewl town and not all Texans are ass..... My bro "Derb" (Daryl) and his babe LaVerne, live there for two. Ann Richards used to be Gov. Ya got'cher Willie & Waylon and Townes and Steve Earle contingent, Buddy Holly, Joe Ely, Guy Clark and crew, plus Dale Watson plays every Thursday night at Jennie's Little Longhorn and then there is The Broken Spoke too. I could live in Austin very easily but no one else in my immediate wants to move there.
Go Tejas.
Very Funny Ann
"We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens' creme brulee," Coulter said. "That's just a joke, for you in the media."

MacDries says, "She also said that the crack cocaine problem has pretty much gone away. That must be her personal problem she speaks about."
The Republicrat Senators
Byrd, Nelson, Landrieu, Lieberman, Inouye, Pryor, Salazar and Johnson. These are the guys who will doom the chances of a filibuster.
Plus, you can add "Leader" Reid and Biden and Clinton, both running for Y2K8 and don't want to muss their hair (implants in Biden's case).
Todays Chore
Since all the girls are leaving town for the weekend I'm taking the opportunity to paint 1/2 of the floor today. Other half tomorrow.
Meanwhile, as predicted the wimpy Dems are not following Kerry's lead in filibustering Scalitomas.
So pathetic, this living under a dictatorhip.
Which Is The Male*

Your guess is as good as mine.
*via Grupp

Go Kerry
Kerry is going to shoot for a filibuster of Scalitomas, it's doubtful to succeed but worth a shot.
I Hear That
WlfSng says, "I went into the 7-11 gas station today and asked for five dollars worth of gas. The clerk farted and gave me a receipt !"
Sells Books
Does anyone really care about James Frey? Or Oprah's agony for that matter.
What The Stones Require To Perform These Days
Go HERE.
$100 Laptop
The United Nations has lent its support to Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop per Child program which aims to sell to governments at cost for distribution to school children and teachers. Negroponte wants to start shipping the laptop, which is to have wireless network access and a hand-crank to provide electricity, later this year.
The idea is to have governments or donors buy them and give them to the children.
Negroponte, long time chairman of the MIT Media Lab, has said he expects to sell 1 million of them to such countries as Brazil, Thailand, Egypt and Nigeria. The laptop is expected to run on Linux which is also free and open source.
The devices will be lime green in color, with a yellow hand crank, to make them appealing to children and, supposedly fend off potential thieves.

MacDries says, "Huh? Thieves don't like bright colors?"
Latest Painting
Paint on print.
Letter To Dr. Ruth
Thanks to Grupp.

Kaleidoscope Machine
Go HERE to make your own.
Y2K8 Lineup
So far, these are the lameoids running for Prez.

Republicans/ Facsists
Pataki, Guiliani, McCain, Romney, Bloomberg, Frist, Gingrich, Hagel, Allen

Democrats/Weenies
Feingold, Clinton, Warner, Richardson, Spitzer, Edwards, Kerry, Bayh, Biden, Gore

MacDries predicts: McCain vs. Clinton. Next Prez: McCain
IRS? Bite Me
Time to sort through two large envelopes of receipts. Fun.
Via WlfSng
WlfSng joins a similar support group. Just wish JimiJet would also sign on.

Coming Soon From Pixar
Cars. Go HERE for the trailer.
Demme Does Neil
New film by Jonathan. Heart Of Gold was filmed at Ryman Auditorium, the old Opree House.
The first half is his new album Prarie Wind and the second is a bunch of hits.

MacDries says, "I'm there."
Go HERE for the trailer.
Something To Look At
My Ship. 16" or so. One of the India Birds.
Don't Interrupt My Soft Porn
Go HERE.
Closing The Barn Door
Headline: West Virgina Passes Mine Safety Bill

MacDries says, "Politicians. Gotta hate 'em."
News Ain't New
Alito recommended, now on to the Senate for more blather & bluster. Hillary's still running. Bush is still protesting and snooping. Bunker City is still noisy. And when will they ever finish building this town? Disney's gonna suck up Pixar and I hope they don't drain it as well. Bush caught in flagrante with Abramoff.
So, whuzzup?
Amtrak 10:25 To Penn Station
Back to Bunker City.
Train only 1/2 hour late. Make that an hour.

Modem
How did we ever exist when modems were 14.4. Even now at 56k I can't stand it. My pages take forever to load and I'm fed up.
Winter Wonderland
Woke up to 7-ish inches of fluff this morning.
The Righteous RomDog R.I.P
Fred "RomDog", the muse and alter-ego of Fred K has passed away. It was in October last, after almost 19 years, but I just heard about it. Fred knows I'm not a pet person, but he is so it hurts a lot for him. Sorry Fred.

Something To Look At
For J.S. Bach/
Brain Dead Days
It's one of those no ambition, no good ideas, fully rested so I can't even take a decent nap kinda days. Plus I woke up with a back spasm that shoots right up my spine and into my brain. I need a good traction belt with some weights to stretch me a bit. This damn modem is so slow I can't even surf the web for amusement.
Last nights' viewing was the second half, 1st season of Curb Your Enthusiasm plus Clean & Sober with Michael Keaton. Keaton is way underrated as an actor and to where did he disappear? Excellent movie.
Tonight I have Boiler Room which I've seen and Proof Of Life which I don't even recall selecting nor do I know who is in it.
Snow coming tonight. Up to 7 inches, perhaps, which will please Ann and My Sparkler who want to ski this weekend.
I'm heading back to Bunker City on Tuesday.
People Are Pigs
Made my daily run to town and at the bottom of the drive just past our property line someone tossed two large stuffed garbage bags. Critters have since torn them open and scattered the contents around. Some of it frozen into the leaves and twigs. Nice.
I drove back up and got two bags, one for re-cycleables and one for garbage and spent an hour sorting and stuffing someone's half eaten junk food into the appropriate bag for disposal.
Another Sunny Day
Sunday ritual NYTimes.

Movie Of The Day
Fell asleep watching March Of The Penguins last night after watching 1/2 of the first season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. So this morning, waiting for a prospective tenant who didn't show, I tried again because My Sparkler was raving so much about it.
Amazing!!! Both the damned penguins and the idiots who spent the time down there filming them.
The very fact of the penguins' life cycle makes one pause to seek a deeper meaning to life. Screw Darwin, screw Intelligent Design. What exactly is the point of a penguin's existence?
Huddling together in earth chilling temperatures? For what? So their chicks can do the same damn thing?
Seems like hell on earth to me. The fires of hell seem like a cozy ski lodge in comparison.
I'm sure there are countless species living similar horrendous scenarios but these little creatures are so obvious it makes the Freudian problems of our species seem comical in comparison.
I'm looking for an explanation here. This is not what de Chardin was talking about.
Waking Up
Not much going on yet.
Later in the day. Prowling through the woods. Found the pin markers for the NE and NW corners and caught a nice thorn in the eyelid/brow area from a wild rose bush. Clouding up now and rain/snow is coming. Boo. Picked up a half/dozen beer cans along our road. Checked out the new Ace Hardware; better than ever.

Weather Report
Sunny and in the 50s. My kind of winter day. Californians would be moaning.
Went into town and discovered my Ace hardware had shut down without warning. I felt bereft until I drove on into Chatham and discovered they had only moved a couple miles down the road. Whew!!!!
Watched Cinderella Man and In Good Company last night. Russell Crowe was good as usual and the usually odious Renee Zellwegger was kept in check pretty well. She always looks like she's just smelled a fart. But the guy who played killer Max Baer was the scene stealer.
The Buderis
The Buderis is the BMW of furnaces and it came with our house. It has a circuit that shuts the temperature down 15 degrees at night or when we leave for a period of time. The electricity went off in the past couple weeks while we we gone and caused an error between the thermostatic sensor and the chip. Like most computer driven instruments based in ROM, that are not working properly, it only required a re-set. Turned it off and re-booted it. Voila!
X#$$$ saved.
Another Recent Painting
Paint on embossed print- 20" x 16"

Wilson Pickett R.I.P
No more Mustang Sally, In The Midnight Hour.
Jens In Good Form
Yes Mert he's still kinda beautiful but I see a bit of grey in his goatee. I forget how long I've known him and he was just a kid of 19 back in the day. We made it up the Taconic in good time, got to 20 Acres and unloaded, went to lunch and took a hike up to the top to view the Catskills. Brisk day but not a bit of snow on the ground. It's been raining lakes for days so the ravine is raging and the pond is spilling over.
Power was out at some point so all the digital clocks and the answering machine was off and needed resetting. What is worse the thermostat was blinking and the manual was no big help. Got a call in to the plumber and cranked up the Vermont Casting with a few logs. Should be toasty warm in a few minutes. Jens went back cuz he had to work tomorrow. Yadda yadda.
Paul is suppose to come tomorrow (or Monday) to put a window in the apartment.
Another Recent Painting
Paint on cardboard- 20" x 16"
On The Road Again
Check ya later when I get up to Ghent.

Recent Painting
Paint on cardboard- 20" x 16"
ACHTUNG! New STD
The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of Sexually Transmitted Disease.
The disease is contracted through dangerous and high-risk behavior.
The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim and pronounced "gonna re-elect him." Many victims contracted it in 2004, after having been screwed for the past four years.
Cognitive characteristics of individuals infected include: anti-social personality disorders, delusions of grandeur with messianic overtones, extreme cognitive dissonance, inability to incorporate new information, pronounced xenophobia and paranoia, inability to accept responsibility for own actions, cowardice masked by misplaced bravado, uncontrolled facial smirking, ignorance of geography and history, tendencies towards evangelical theocracy, categorical all-or-nothing behavior.
  Naturalists and epidemiologists are amazed at how this destructive disease originated only a few years ago from a bush found in Texas.
Orion Nebula
Closest view. Go HERE.
Damn Diane! We Thought We Could Count On You
Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) plans to vote against the Scalitomas appointment to the Supreme Court. But she will not support a filibuster. Feinstein, a lifetime supporter of women's reproductive rights, called the anti-abortion Scalitomas "clearly qualified" and said she was "very impressed with his ability to maintain a very even demeanor during this entire thing and his ability not to specifically answer any questions."

MacDries says, "I'm thinking this last reason, by itself, ought to justify a filibuster. What say you?"
First, Do More Harm
Paul Krugman on The Shrub's upcoming State Of The Empire address. Go HERE.
Up Country
My pal Jens and I are taking a load of stuff & junk up tomorrow and I'll probably stay a few days for R&R. Haven't been there since the end of last year. On the modem so blogging may be slim. Sorry about that since all you new folks have been logging in. You'll have to deal with it from time to time just as the long termers have. Except for a few close friends, I still have no idea who all y'all are.

FYI: The email link above is not a clickable link because all those nasty search engine worms key in on the @ sign and then I get all sorts of junk mail. Feel free, however, to type it in and send comments.
Headline
Laura Bush Speaks Out On Women's Issues
That is, in the mideast, not the U.S. of A.

MacDries says, "Watch your ass Laura. Your husband and father-in-law were both against the ERA."
FREE LONG DISTANCE On Your MAC OR PC
A FREE program called Skype is available for download. Try it. What do you have to lose. I have it but only know two people so far, who use it, both local.
Go HERE.

Headline
House Republicans Unveil New Ethics Plan

MacDries says, "That may be the funniest joke I've read in years. Just do the right thing guy. Forget the plan."
Art Underground
In the subway, that is. A list of who did what. Go HERE.
Artist Of The Day
Mikey Sklar, a UNIX engineer presenting at dorkbot for the second time, demonstrated how he had a $2 chip surgically implanted into his left hand - and why he did it. The Radio Frequency Identification tag under his skin uses the same technology that the E-ZPass system employs to identify cars on toll roads. Mr. Sklar, 28, said his tag unlocks his computer and accesses news feeds as part of an art project. "This is a pretty crude attempt at becoming a little more cyborg," he explained to the audience, only half joking.
Go HERE.
Santa Cruz Students Lead The Way
Students Against War at U.C. Santa Cruz, shouted "Racist, sexist, antigay, hey, recruiters, go away!" as the miltary arrived for a job fair.

MacDries says, "Does this mean that 18 year olds might actually lean left one day? Don't get your hopes up."
The Right To Die With Dignity
The Supremes say 6-3 that you can do it in Oregon. Roberts, Scalia & Thomas (doh!) think you can't. That means even with the new twit Scalitomas it would be 5-4.

MacDries says, "Chalk one up for yourself, if you live in Oregon."
Remember The Sago Dozen*
Some stats:
In the last two years the Sago Mine has been hit with more than 270 safety violations, 120 of which were deemed "significant and substantial." In 2005, nine were issued for failing to implement a proper ventilation plan, seven for improper "pre-shift" safety examinations. One inspector cited a "high degree of negligence... an unwarrantable failure to comply with a mandatory standard."
The incidence of injuries at Sago was twice the national rate. Last year, parts of the mine were closed on 18 occasions for extensive safety problems, including many roof collapses. Tony Oppegard, a former state prosecutor on mining issues in Kentucky, told USA Today that this was a far higher closure rate than normal and should been "a red flag." As one journalist wrote, if Sago "was a plane, the FAA would have grounded it."
Instead, in the two years before the explosion, the owners of the Sago mine were fined a grand total of $33,600, of which they paid $23,896, merely the cost of doing business in an industry that generates hundreds of millions in revenues. Indeed, USA Today discovered, "The nation's coal mines have been required to pay only a fraction of the federal fines imposed after deadly accidents since 1999... The Mine Safety and Health Administration has levied $9.1 million in fines in the past seven years against companies cited for safety violations following mine fatalities. About 28% of that amount has been collected."
*Thanks to Michael Winship

MacDris says, "Refer back to Sago Owner's statement in blog of January 6th."
Kid Wisdom
A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, "Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run in to it, and I would turn red in the face."
"Yes," the class said.
"Then why is it that while I am stand ing upright in the ordinary position the blood doesn't run into my feet?"
A little fellow shouted, "Cause your feet ain't empty."

Electron Microphotos
Go HERE.
Gimme A Break
ABC Headline: Sharon Twitches His Eyelids. Remains In Coma

MacDries says, "Yeah, and a chicken will run around the yard after you cut off its head."
Venus Sucks Down Under
Venus out in the first round of Aussie Open. Serena almost busted too.
Latest Painting

Email From Apple Chief
In 1997, shortly after Steve Jobs returned to Apple, Michael S. Dell, was asked what might be done to fix Apple.
"What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."

Yesterday Jobs sent his staff an email: "Team, it turned out that Michael Dell wasn't perfect at predicting the future. Based on today's stock market close, Apple is worth more than Dell. Stocks go up and down, and things may be different tomorrow, but I thought it was worth a moment of reflection today." -- Steve
Last June, Dell said that he would consider putting Apple's OS X operating system on its machines if Apple ever decided to sell it separately from its hardware.

MacDries says, "Don't count on that Mike. Steve's on a roll and besides, your machines suck, besides being butt ugly."
Martin Luther King Day
İRobert Bosch Go HERE for more domino art.
Go HERE for "I Have A Dream:" speech.

15 Years Ago, Seems Like 2
11" x 9", paint on wood. This is one of 200 panels in a work called Synapse Shots (1989-1991). For more: Go HERE.
Election 2006 Begins
"It's one thing to have a philosophical difference -- and I can understand people being abhorrent about war. War is terrible. But one way people can help as we're coming down the pike in the 2006 elections, is remember the effect that rhetoric can have on our troops in harm's way, and the effect that rhetoric can have in emboldening or weakening an enemy."
-- George W. Bush

MacDries translates, "So, keep your mouths shut all you traitors, there is a war going on in case you've forgotten and the dead Americans are on your hands now."
Bubba Forgives Or Forgets
Bill (say anything) Clinton gave a eulogy to Eugene MaCarthy yesterday. Much as he did for Tricky Dick a few years ago.
Bubba apparently forgot that "Clean Gene" had previously called for Clinton's impeachment. Or he forgave the fact that McCarthy supported Ronald Reagan in 1980.
He also claimed that McCarthy started the process of stopping the Vietnam War.
As if.

MacDries says, "Many people still delude themselves that our protests actually stopped that war when in fact it went on for 7 years after 1968. Nixon is still lauded as a great foreign policy wonk and Henry Kissinger still walks the land a free man."
Case In Point
Eminem and Kim re-marry after five years and many vitriolic songs about "the bitch".

MacDries says, "Does that negate all those songs? Are they now un-true?"
Fiction? Non!
The literary world is agog over this recent best seller by some guy named Frey. Purported to be a memoir; it turns out much has been invented. The literati seem a bit disingenuous, to put it bluntly. Much ado about nothing.
Years ago a writer wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning "memoir" wherein she purportedly lived out in the wilds ala Henry David Thoreau. Truth is, I'm told, she was actually living in a tract house in the suburbs for most of the time.
Writers often discover that putting memories to paper can be a dangerous thing. Put into words, the memory fades and memoir becomes fiction. Some experiences, on the other hand, are so traumatic that individuals deny them for years until something triggers the recollection. And witness the fact that recollected memories of, say, child abuse are often doubted and difficult to prove.
The so-called pathological liar will often hear someone's story and later repeat it as if ones own. Such a case is not necessarily malicious. It is often merely a lack of the literary gene. Plagiarism, however, is the willful theft of another writer's words without attribution. And that is a no-no.
What is important, aside from the issue of legality or ethics, is the quality of the story and who cares if it is true or false if it has verisimilitude. Angela's Ashes is an excellent example. It rings true but the incredible wealth of detailed memories is impossible to believe.
The writer does not swear an oath to tell the truth. And the reader should always be a bit sceptical. Especially what is read in newspapers and magazines. Opinions are not facts and "history" is always open to interpretation.
Last Of The Irish
Gallagher opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He quickly phoned his best friend Finney.
"Did you see the paper?" asked Gallagher. "They say I died!!"
"Yes, I saw it!" replied Finney. "Where are ye callin' from?"

Re: Charles Shultz Quote 1-7-06
"The more I like people in general, the more I dislike them in particular."
Fyodor Dostoevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Also a French unattributed phrase: J'adore l'humanite, c'est les gens que je ne peux pas supporter.
What I Don't Know
I recently saw Charlie Rose interview someone for the first time and realized (man he's smarmy) how little I know about Media Monsters. I've never seen Oprah Winfrey's show, nor Larry King, nor Bill O'Reilly, nor Judge Judy, nor that Springer guy. I've seen pictures of them all and mentions aplenty but no actual eyes-on knowledge. My lack of inquisitiveness is huge.
I also don't know who Jessica Simpson is or Paris Hilton and all those others ad infinitum. Nor do I care to. Plus I know way too much about Brangelina and Bennifer and Jennifer.

MacDries says, "Call me ignorant."
Pardee!!!!!
Go HERE.
Grotto Of Redemption

When I was a kid, my Uncle Bud used to take each of my dad's kids on a field trip to this place. Somehow the tradition ended before my turn, so I never saw the place.
Go HERE.
Happy Birthday ♥ ♥ ♥ Solveig & Linda
Solveig passed away last year but it's still her birthday.
Irish Again
Father Murphy walks into a pub in Donegal, and says to the first man he meets, "Do you want to go to heaven?"
The man said, "I do Father."
The priest said, "Then stand over there against the wall."
Then the priest asked the second man, "Do you want to go to heaven?"
"Certainly, Father," was the man's reply. "Then stand over there against the wall," said the priest.
Then Father Murphy walked up to O'Toole and said, "Do you want to go to heaven?
O'Toole said, "No, I don't Father. The priest said, "I don't believe this. You mean to tell me that when you die you don't want to go to heaven?"
O'Toole said, "Oh, when I die, yes. I thought you were getting a group together to go right now."

I Repeat, With Emphasis (& Bile)
We call for the death of the scumbag who invented Styrofoam peanuts. Go HERE for someone who agrees with me.

MacDries says, "What's wrong with crumpled newspapers?"
Remember The 2000 Election
Go HERE to see it from Dr. Suess' perspective (sort of).
Like Weird???
Go HERE.
Some Other Oldies
4 of 100 unique silkscreens with crayon, ink & watercolor. Image approximately 20".
Bob Glancy Sent All These
Walking into the bar, Mike said to Charlie the bartender, "Pour me a stiff one - just had another fight with the little woman."
Oh yeah?"said Charlie "And how did this one end?"
"When it was over," Mike replied, "she came to me on her hands and knees.
"Really," said Charles, "now that's a switch! What did she say?"
She said, "Come out from under the bed, you little chicken shit".
Ryan Adams
I've bought or have been gifted almost all of this kids' albums thus far, beginning with Whiskeytown and up to his 2005 double massive attack with The Cardinals. And I recently had an all day Ryan Adams session.
I have to say, he is the only one around who can possibly claim the Bob Dylan crown. The difference is: Dylan usually speaks to the Universal. Adams speaks to a rather sad but not cynical personal experience. Kate says, "Yeah but his personal is pretty Universal".
I have to agree when he penned Anybody Wanna Take Me Home?

MacDries says, "We shall see."
Friday The 13th
OK, no Pogo jokes today. Good luck.

Another Oldie
72" x 72". This one has never been stretched and is still in a tube since 1969. I have no idea what is the current condition.

MacDries says, "I've been cleaning the studio after new windows were installed and the mess was extended. Thus no new work for days."
Bush Sees Dramatic Change In Gulf Coast
Doh!!!!!! The flood has receded. The hookers are back.
M.A.D.D.
The message is: if you drink and drive you will lose your girlfriend to your best friend.
Go HERE.
Interpretations
ABC says Scalitomas is headed for confirmation. And he would try to follow O'Connor's example
NYTimes says Scalitomas resists making a comparison to O'Connor and Dems harden their oppositon.

MacDries says, "Who ya' gonna believe? He was pretty slimy and will slip right on through with a token opposition. I predict 70-30. Shit to follow. Judges can be impeached, can they not?"
Baysbool In Manipur
This just in from Somi Roy.
Go HERE.
Bad News
PHOENIX, Arizona - Fetuses do not count as passengers when it comes to determining who may drive in the carpool lane, a judge has ruled.

MacDries says, "There's a precedent that ought to shake up those so-called "pro-lifers" Wonder if they'll ask Scalitomas if he agrees.
More Irish
An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut. The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest's breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car. He says, "Sir, have you been drinking?"
"Just water," says the priest.
The trooper says, "Then why do I smell wine?"
The priest looks at the bottle and says, "Good Lord! He's done it again!"

Even Perverted Priests Get To Heaven
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit revealed that he was abused by a priest 60 years ago.
"As often happens in these cases," he said, the priest would invite him and another boy to a weekend cabin. "At some point, he would start wrestling with one of us. Then he would be putting his hands into your pants." "I don't have any animosity for him. I hope he's praying for me in heaven,"Gumleton said.
Uff Da...
...is a perfectly polite Norwegian expression which may be used in place of various vulgarisms employed to evince displeasure. One wag has observed that in Norway, Charlie Brown says, "uff da!" instead of "Good grief!."
  It is an analogue of such words in other languages as "oy vey" or "carumba.

MacDries says, "I recall our dear Solveig using the expression often. And it was always obvious what it meant."
Go HERE for some Ole & Lena jokes.
Don't Mess With Her
Go HERE.
An Irish Joke*
Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place.
Looking up to heaven he said, "Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey".
Miraculously, a parking place appeared.
Paddy looked up again and said, "Never mind, I found one."

MacDries says, "There are whole sites devoted to Irish Humour. You could Google it."
Poor Poor, Pitiful Me
Got to go have a wisdom tooth yanked so I guess I won't be as wise when I return.
Turns out he yanked two teeth and it was not fun.

Funny
If you check out BBC news, the Alito business is relegated to a deep back burner. Go figure.

MacDries says, "I guess everone else in the world just takes the U.S.Of A. for granted. That is: We'll just keep on doing the crap we've been doing forever."
Billy Crystal Blows It
C'mon Billy, revealing that you were, supposedly, begged to do the Academy Awards, right up until the day Jon Stewart was asked, was really sleazy.
You used to be cute. Now You're just a smart ass guy/gal with a bad face-lift. Like Joan Rivers.
Except you're usually funnier than Rivers.
The Academy might also explain why Whooppie is the only woman to ever hostess the show and she sucked as usual. But there is the truly funny Lilli Tomlin, and how about Rosanne, or Ellen DeGeneres. Not to mention Lucy, back in the day. And how about Pigmeat Markham? Huh?
Too late for Richard Pryor.
Bottom Line
Are there any Republicrats who have even intimated they would vote against Scalitomas? No.
Are there any Demopublicans who have indicated they might vote for Scalitomas? Yes. 5 or 6, probably Lieberman too.
Will the Dems have the cohones to pull off a Filly Buster? Don't think so.
Scalitomas is slimy, slippery and doesn't make the Bork mistakes of actually saying something. Hate to credit Bork for much except he slit his own wrist.
64 Year Olds
MacDries, Dick & Lynne Cheney, Muhammad Ali, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Jimmy Hoffa, Julie Christie, Richard Gephardt, Spaulding Gray, Maureen Reagan, Jesse Jackson, Trent Lott, Beau Bridges, Wilson Pickett, Paul Simon & Art Garfuckle, Richard Speck, Twyla Tharp, Ann Tyler, Martha Reeves, Eric Burdon, Charo, Mama Cass, Chubby Checker, Ann Margaret, Bernardo Bertolucci. It goes on... Google: Born in "Your Year".

MacDries says, "My generation. OMG!!!!!!! Dick & Lynne. Fahgeddaboutit. Bob and Beau and Julie & Wilson, Spaulding, even Speck. OK. But not Dick & Lynne. Include me out.
Weird Headlines
Sharon Moves Left hand
Mummified Body Found In Front Of TV
Face Transplant Patient Making Gains
New Face Woman Feels Nose
Newborn Calf Found Buried Up To Its Nose
Williamsburg

A walker in Williamsburg.
Graffiti Lit
Go HERE.
Some Other Oldies

I was once given an 8000 sq ft studio in exchange for a bit of consulting on a youth art program in St. Louis. The studio allowed me a blank slate to do a lot of experimental art that I would never have done otherwise. I called it The Rhythm Step Matrix because that was what was printed on the side of the former Johnson-Stephens- Shinkle shoe factory. After a year or so the building was torn down and all the work was exhibited at Webster College and then thrown into a dumpster. Good times.
Both Richard Serra and Joan Jonas used the space briefly to produce video tapes while visiting the city.
I often wondered if the factory was the one where Tom in The Glass Menagerie supposedly worked.

Here's An Idea
Let's have The Shrub nominate a (wo)man, to replace O'Connor, one so inept that the right wing can target her and shoot her down to show their strength.
OK.
Then we'll nominate the real right wing (man) who's already been approved to the appeals court 15 years ago when no one cared who this little Reagan clone Sam Alito was.

Mac Dries says, "This sounds almost as ingenious as the Dan Rather scam*. I say both schemes smack of Evil Genius Karl Rove. And I can't wait to see Fitzgerald indict the fat fuck."
*In case you've forgotten: Produce a fake document based on accurate negative Shrub information, release it to a substantial journalist and then reveal it is fake. Journalist is discredited and thus negative info is deemed positive.

Smug Sam, I Am

Here's A ?
If we are a Republic based on separation of church and state, why do Presidents and Supreme Court Justices and Congresspersons swear an oath on the Bible? And further, if a Jew ever became Prez would he swear on the Talmud and by extension a Muslim Prez or a Buddist or an Atheist (not that an Atheist could ever be elected)... yadda yadda.
Scalitomas 2
Just listened to Sam plead his case and he jerked all the chains, properly humble, poverty, immigrant, struggled to get an education, loving family, public service, examples of elders. Pretty smooth. Unshakeable? We'll have to see.
Teddy
Looks like the Senior Senator from Massachusetts has finally gotten his weight in some thing like control. And his mind is still working pretty good so perhaps he has his consumption of Scotch in control as well. Or perhaps it was always overplayed.
Scalitomas
Just watched 2008 Prez candidate, Feingold (D-WI) read the end of his opening statement to the Senate Judiciary committee. The camera on Scalitomas revealed an upturned jaw and unblinking eyes upon Feingold for three or four minutes. Must be Hellishly difficult to do that. Then the pundits came on to tell us what we all just saw. Thank you Jeff & Jeff.

MacDries says, "I can't help but think that after weeks of wrangling, posturing, strutting and fretting, by both Dems & Reps, the jerk will still be confirmed. Bush will go on his dictatorial way and Congress will go on its toady road. I'd be willing to bet that not 1-10 Senators has yet to make up his/her mind. Denial all around."
Yet Another Oldie

6' x 12". Enamel on anodized aluminum.
More Doctors
Off to my cardio guy for my quarterly cardiogram and blood-sucking. He'll say I'm OK but watch my sugars. I will and won't. It's too boring. w/e as Emma says in her blog.
Start the day with this:
"I love mankind. It's the people I can't stand."
-- Charles Shultz

The Resurrection
Healdine: Doctors decide to awaken Sharon.

MacDries says, "Gimme a break. Saint Ariel used to be called 'The Bulldozer'. Infamous. Now he is The Peacemaker. Journalists are sluts and headline writers are their Madams. Anything for a story. He's old and overweight, he's gonna die. R.I.P."
Oh, Frank, You're Rich
"I'm still amazed that so little has been made of this curious sentence in the Starr report: 'The longer conversations [between the President and Monica Lewinsky] often occurred after their sexual contact.'
Is there another man alive who talks more after sex than before?
-- Frank Rich, NYTimes

MacDries says, "I'll bet Keneth Starr doesn't even admit that he has sex. Or, next day, he says, 'I must have been really drunk.'"
Yet Another Oldie

40" x 46". Collection: Carl Alf Grupp
Mission Still Accomplished
Black Hawk Helicopter down, 12 Americans dead.
RomDog @ The Beach

Looking grumpy. Won't say why.
This Just In...
...from Grupp.
Go HERE.

Muffin Top
New definition: The bulge of flesh hanging over the top of low-riding jeans.

MacDries says, "If there is a more tiresome look than the 70s polyester flair bottom slacks it has to be all those chubby belly-buttons poking out at us. Jennifer Aniston deserves to show hers. All the rest of you chubbos can tuck it in. Please."
Scalitomas
The debacle begins on Monday. A lot of showboating all around and then an up/down vote. It remains to be seen if there is actually any resistance to the right wing extremists left in this country. Philly Buster? I don't think so.

MacDries says, "I'm betting, NO! Anyone wanna give me odds."
We've All Heard Voices
"LSD spoke to me. He came to me and said, 'You must find me.' He told me, 'Donıt give me to the pharmacologist.'"
- Albert Hoffman, father/inventor/discoverer of LSD

MacDries says, "I always thought GOD invented LSD just to mess with us."
Go HERE.
A Dem With Cojones
MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) - Governor Jim Doyle on Friday vetoed a bill that would have forced doctors to tell women seeking abortions after their fifth month of pregnancy that their fetuses could suffer pain.
Doyle, a Democrat, said there is no evidence conclusively proving when a fetus can feel pain. The Republican-controlled Legislature should not be allowed to decide scientific fact.

MacDries says, "Wisconsin seems to produce true Democrats, decent beer and good cheese. The German Dries clan also first landed in Wisconsin back in 1860."
Latest Painting
Second in the Sitler series. Sorry Ruth.

Lazy Day
Blogwise, I've been busy knocking some paint off a few pieces of old decorative cast iron that Ram left behind. It's more fun than keeping up with whuzzupness.
DeLay Is Over
Republicans called for new leadership in the midst of a congressional corruption scandal. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., said there was no room in the leadership for DeLay.

MacDries says, "Written on the wind. heh, heh!"
Ram Rahman
It's a sad day on South Street. Ram is moving out today after 26 years. They're upstairs right now doing some sort of official ceremony, handing off the keys, etc. Fred (RomDog) was forced out two years ago. I was mostly happy to see the Fish Market leave but I now wake up each day feeling bad, sad and somewhat pissed that Ram was forced to move. It was legal but that doesn't make it right. I'm protected somewhat by the "geezer clause" in the rent stabilization law.
Ram (& George Shakespeare) moved in 2 weeks after I did, in August of 1979 and we both built our lofts at the same time. I had my shower operable before them so they used mine and we swapped tools and helped each other with all these first time lessons in construction. (RomDog was our tutor for most of these skills.)
One day I came home from painting some Yuppie's apartment and needed a shower bad. I stripped and tossed the shower curtain aside: Sorry, it was filled top to bottom, front to back with 6-paks of Heinekin.
I had to drink a few as I unloaded the shower but I didn't mind. Ram and George joined me for a few.
Ram threw large and rowdy pardies in the early years. Halloween and New Years especially, the joint was rockin'. And in my single days it was always easy to meet new girls upstairs. Easier still to invite them downstairs to "see my etchings". Never the uncomfortable, "my place or yours" conversation. And I can recall watching the sun rise over the Brooklyn Bridge on a few New Year mornings.
After a few years, the Halloween party had become infamous. The place was filled with 3-400 revelers in costume and drag. After 1-2 AM, I met Ram by the door and he said, "Do you know anyone here?"
I had to confess that, No, not a single person other than the usual suspects.
That tradition ended but new ones began. Ram came and went back to Delhi every few months. And so it went...
Now it's over, but I can't imagine Ram will stay away for too long. And I've been thinking about visiting India for 26 years. Maybe I'll actually do it one of these days.
Take That, Marcel
PARIS Jan 6, 2006 - A 76-year-old performance artist was arrested after attacking Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" with a hammer. Duchamp's 1917 piece, an ordinary white, porcelain urinal, was slightly chipped in the attack at the Pompidou Center in Paris. It was removed from the exhibit for repair. The suspect, a Provence resident whose identity was not released, already vandalized the work in 1993 by urinating into the piece when it was on display in Nimes. The man claimed his hammer attack on Wednesday was a work of performance art that might have pleased Dada artists.
A 2004 poll of 500 arts figures ranked "Fountain" as the most influential work of modern art ahead of Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," Andy Warhol's screen prints of Marilyn Monroe and "Guernica," Picasso's depiction of war's devastation. "Fountain" is estimated at $3.6 million.

MacDries says, "I think it was a better performance when he pissed in it. Yin Yang, y'know.
As for that list, I'd rank Les Demoiselles d'Avginon way ahead and forget about Andy's Marilyn."
Harry Potter #7
J.K. Rowling, has said she will soon start working on the seventh and final Potter novel, not yet titled.

MacDries says, "Kate & Emma are gonna be miffed. Dinner conversation the other night was mostly about what she will write after #7."
"I hope she doesn't write an adult novel," says Kate.
Why? we wanted to know.
"Because all they are about is married people having affairs."
MacDries didn't know that but he's been thinking about exceptions ever since.
Obviously Not
"I believe that the mine was fundamentally safe. Oh my God. It's the worst week of my entire life."
-- Wilbur Ross, Owner of Sago Mine

MacDries says, "Patently wrong, Mr. Ross. Luckily, you're week is over and you can take a breather in Palm Beach or The Hamptons or just hole up on 5th Avenue in one your homes. 12 miners' lives are over and their families have to learn how to go on without them."
Yet Another Oldie
40" x 40". Actually sold this series of 15 to Security Pacific Bank in L.A. for about a 1000 $$. I wonder which closet they are stored in now.

He Really Is The Terminator
SACRAMENTO, California - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has ruled out a clemency hearing for the state's oldest death row prisoner.
Clarence Ray Allen, 75, is scheduled to be executed on January 17 for ordering three murders while serving a life sentence in prison. He is blind, deaf, and confined to a wheelchair.

MacDries says, "I'm soft on the issue of the death penalty. This means that I think pedophiles (and Hitler) ought to be dead. Bush/Cheney/Kissinger and an endless list of other politiicians ought to be in jail. Beyond that, this old geezer sounds a bit dirty and if he really did what they say he did, I say, I don't care if they fry him or drug him or shoot him. But Arnold, I think, has an agenda and a rep to uphold and that too is dirty, dirty, dirty. And criminal."
Father Of Motion Pictures
Eadweard Muybridge
Eldar Djangirov
Eldar is not yet 20 years old, born in Kyrgzstan, (former Commieland) but he plays like a combo of Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans. His eponymous debut CD is available from Sony Classical. Damn, it's amazing how talented some kids are. He defines the term prodigy.
Kickback Mountain
The lobbying that dare not speak it's name.
Go HERE.
Hard Core Troubadour
Reading the bio of Steve Earle (The Life & Near Death Of Steve Earle), which got me to listening to everything I own of his. I've always liked him since Guitar Town back in 86 or so but he keeps getting bigger. We're lucky he's still alive. Just finished his book of short stories called Dog House Roses and now he has a play here Off Broadway about capital punishment. Check it all out.
Moon Lite In Maryland
ROCKVILLE, Md. Jan 4, 2006 - A Montgomery County judge ruled Tuesday that the act of mooning is not illegal in Maryland, clearing a man accused of indecent exposure after showing his buttocks to a neighbor during an argument.
"If exposure of half of the buttock constituted indecent exposure, any woman wearing a thong at the beach at Ocean City would be guilty," the judge said.
Oscar Meets Little Jon
Jon Stewart will be this years host for the Academy Awards. To do this, he'll have to come out from behind the desk and everyone will see how short he really is.
"As an avid watcher of the Oscars, I can't help but be a little disappointed with the choice," Stewart said.
Another Oldie
65" x 48". Graduate school, 40 years ago. OMG, I'm old.

Huh????
So, Ariel Sharon has had another stroke and they have posted armed guards outside the emergency room. I'm wondering why? Do they think body-bomb terrorists are going to break in and save him?

MacDries says, " I think Fascist repression has gotten out of control."
Wish In One Hand, S*** In The Other
My long departed Poppy repeated the above scatological wisdom on a few occasions I can recall.

"A lie can get around the world before the truth can get it pants on."
-- Mark Twain

MacDries says, "Apply either aphorism to whatever you can imagine.
The Fulton Fish Market
Now that the fish mongers have moved and change has come to our nabe, I recall a short story I wrote years ago when I first moved here. Go HERE to download a pdf.
Shrub Gives Back 6K
Abramoff raised at least $100,000 for the Bush-Cheney '04 re-election campaign, earning the honorary title "pioneer" from the campaign. But the campaign is giving up only the $6,000 that came directly from Abramoff, his wife and one of the Indian tribes that he worked to win influence for in Washington. The money is being donated to the American Heart Association.

MacDries says, "And I bet that 6K goes to developing a better defibrillator for Dick(head) Cheney."
The Sparkler
My Sparkler is out of school today with strep throat. Poor dear was hoping to have a second straight perfect attendance year but reluctantly is instead watching some Gilmore Girls on TiVo and reading the latest Harry Potter for the 3rd time. It turns out that vomiting, head and stomach aches can be symptomatic w/o even having a sore throat.
An Oldie

Acrylic on raw canvas - 65" x 65". Did this one 36 years ago.
Father Of Motion Pictures
Eadweard Muybridge
Dave Brubeck Quartet Do Take 5
Go HERE.
TV Theme Songs
Find your fave HERE.
Lose Weight While Web Surfing
Former neighbor Habib Wicks and his wife Jacqueline tell you how.
Go HERE.
Go HERE for an article.
12 Dead Miners
One miner in 13 survived in critical condition.

Follow The Money
We learned this from Deep throat during Watergate but here's a refresher course. Wanna know where the Abramoff money came from and where it went????
Go HERE.

MacDries says, "Shame on you Patrick Kennedy. Maybe we know now why his Daddy Teddy K has been so quiet on this issue."
Stolen From Grupp's Blog
The Charles Schultz Philosophy Quiz Part One:
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world. 2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners. 3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest. 4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer prize. 5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress. 6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

The Charles Schultz Philosophy Quiz Part Two:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school. 2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time. 3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile. 4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special. 5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with. 6. Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.
Scoring the Quiz: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care.

Go HERE to visit Grupp's blog.
1st Painting Of Y2K6
Primo Pentimento - 19" x 15"
Found a few framed paintings bundled up in street trash by a woman named Ruth Sitler. They are not much good as ART but I'm working on them and hope to improve the aesthetic level. Sorry Ruth, it's a bit depressing to realize how much art gets thrown out at the end of a life but I've also thrown out a fair amount as well and hope someone found some use for it.
Also found, in the same bundle a framed watercolor/goache by an artist named Stanley Bate and two framed woodcut prints of Wagner & Lizst by one Sotero Cosme both of whom I Googled. It seems both are actually known and have a small if negligible market presence. Anyone collecting these artists, please contact me. They are for sale even if they are not worth my time.
13 Miners
What could be worse than being buried alive? There are times when it would feel good to be able to pray and to believe that it actually does something. Sorry is the best I can do. Pray if you can.
Hit Me!
T. Monk WebLog averaged 320 hits per day last month. As Emiril always says, "Let's kick it up a bit" this month in honor of the new Monk/Coltrane CD released last year. Or, just for the hell of it.

Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
I know the iPod is one cool little chip with a single moving part (Kate has one, Emma has a Nano and Ann has a Shuffle) but Sir Jonathan Ive???????
I'll bet Steve's Jockeys are chaffing a bit.
The New Chief Supreme
"Diana" Roberts wanted the job bad and now, 3 months later, he wants more money. What an ungrateful wretch!
A whole bunch of us would be pleased as punch to live on 162k plus a whole packet of perks and expenses and speakers fees.
No, It's Not A Typo

For those who love spotting bad Engrish. (In case you missed this.)
Go HERE.
The Art Of Lying
"Any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so."
On Sunday, Mr. Bush said: "I was talking about roving wiretaps, I believe, involved in the Patriot Act. This is different from the N.S.A. program. The N.S.A. program is a necessary program.

MacDries says, "Is it possible for that Shrub to just tell the truth?"
New Blogger
My Little Sparkler has started her own blog.
Go HERE to check it out.
Coming Soon

The death of the laptop. Trouble is you need a desk and a wall to use it.
Go HERE.
Dread Season Continues
I discovered it goes on this morning when everyone slept late instead of getting up and going to work, school et cetera. Plus, I was told that the tree cannot go out until Wednesday, the 4th. So it sits by the door empty, shedding needles.
Don't know who decides these things but it is not me. Seems like the same old year to me.

I Know Not!
Larry David (sort of) explains why I have not and never will see that gay cowboy movie.
Go HERE.

MacDries says, "Give me Butch & Sundance, Joe Buck & Ratso, Roy & Dale (Dale wore the pants). It still breaks my heart to find out about Randolph Scott & Cary Grant."
Caution!
Word to the wise about using ear-buds constantly. Are you listening Kate & Emma?
Go HERE.
Happy New Year 2006

Got my Pacemaker, 6 years ago this month. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
So far.
Had a party last night and I'm assuming we all had fun and the food was good.
Our good friend Ram will be moving out on the 6th and going back to Delhi. It's a sad day. He moved in here 2 weeks after I did in August of 1979. And that was way before 9-11, 9-11, 9-11...
Ann and I made it past our 19th anniversary of meeting. Kate will be off to college this Fall. Emma will be into High School. And I am entering serious geezerhood.
Onward!
Go HERE to pop some balloons.

Back at'cha Shrub. You little twerp!
Go HERE to see the whole tape.

For The Latest Dries Art GO HERE
For The Latest CyberToonz GO HERE
I've never actually watched an episode of The Simpsons (I'm more of a Pixar kind of guy) butt...
*Dislaimer

Go To: MacDries Design

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