Hacker Artists :-)

Yeah, that's why I'm good at picking stocks too...



Just in time for April Fools Day...

Yesterday in the car Andy brought up his opinion that Lynyrd Skynard's "Sweet Home Alabama" is a racist song. I always liked the song and to an extent the band and never thought the words were specifically racist, but there is the bit about the govenor (George Wallace)...so I searched Google for the lyrics and read them. They are not as cut and dry racist as Andy believed them to be, they are actually a bit ambiguous.

In Birmingham, they love the gov 'nor; boo, boo, boo.
Now we all did what we could do.
Now, Watergate does not bother me,
Does your conscience bother you? Tell the truth.


And then at the very end there is this mysterious line:

Montgomery's got the answer.

Which brings to mind Dr. Martin Luther King's famous civil rights march. The most interesting results came up when I added the word "racism" to my search. Apparently some racists believe the song to be for them, but I still don't buy it. The story behind the song involving Neil Young is pretty fascinating too.

And because some ignorant people like the song because they think it is racist, it's funny that the big and popular African American singer on American Idol sang it. Just like when RuPaul sported a dress made from the Confederate flag, I loved it.

We all have something in our past we'd rather forget, and the same holds true for my favorite on American Idol. I used to love The Smoking Gun, but lately it's seemed like just one step up from the National Enquirer, maybe because it's been bought by a media conglomerate.

Okay, this blog is so not for politics. Yesterday is the last time I write my mind about world events. I tend to get emotional and say things not as clearly as I'd like. For instance it could be misinterpreted that I meant the soldier was stupid for writing to the Dixie Chicks...which is actually not what I meant, I meant that generally e-mail forwards are stupid (although I've been known to send my share). And almost always they are fake. But I still feel bad for the Dixie Chicks.

So let's just leave it that I'm freaking out every day a little bit about the war. I saw some US soldiers on 60 Minutes last night and was just amazed by them. Maybe they were picked just for this reason but I was taken with the sand encrusted charm and sexiness of many of them. There was one with these crystal clear green eyes and a split lip that will probably end up with his face on the cover of every magazine, ay caramba!

Feeling a bit better today, trying to teleport comfort and love to the POWs instead of crying about it. Andy thinks I have PMS. My sister Jessica tried to join the army about a year ago, as did my sister Christi's best friend. Thankfully neither of them made it. They'd be in Iraq right now.

And I wish everyone would just leave the poor Dixie Chicks alone. Today I got an e-mail forward, "An American Soldier Tells Off the Dixie Chicks" or some such stupidity. It's not like they criticized the troops, for God's sake, they just said something about Bush that agrees with the way many other people in this country feel. I would be totally embarrassed if he was from my home town too! I don't even like the Dixie Chicks' music but I feel bad for them right now. With the crazies in the world you can bet they are getting their share of death threats, etc.

A beautiful retrospective of one of my favorite artists and certainly a major inspiration: Vargas.

So we are at war. It took a while for it to sink in with me, but the ah ha moment was definitely when I heard about the American soldiers being taken prisoner and displayed on Arabic television. All the ridiculous beliefs that this invasion would be over easy and quick were pretty much smashed at that point, and probably never should have existed in my mind in the first place. So now whenever I am sitting there, totally content for whatever reason--company, weather, life in general--I think of these kids who are at the same moment having God knows what done to them in the name of war. Everyone's worst fear: torture, and it just so happens to be Saddam Hussein's specialty. All of the MIAs are younger than me, maybe signed up for the military because it was their family way or because they needed money for college. Several of them are girls, they could be my sisters, or me. And now. And Bush is asking Congress for $76 million to cover the war for the next six months. There will be more prisoners, more deaths, more confusion on my part. I envy those that know for sure what they believe is right.

I wish I could afford a big bottle of this, the rumored holy grail of skin care. For now I like Pond's facial wipes, I think it's the chamomile and cucumber plus the absence of alcohol. I'm such a beauty product junkie, yet I wear makeup maybe twice a month.

I completed a new painting yesterday. I can't say too much about it because it's a surprise gift for someone who might be reading this blog. I will say it turned out to my satisfaction, partly by accident which seems to be the case more often than not. Happy accidents, as my blue eyed African American art education teacher used to call them.

As much as I love to prepare dinner parties, I wish someone would pay me to come to their home and put one on for them. But I don't think I could make much of a living at that, unless I did it in a French (freedom?!) maid's outfit and then only bachelor parties would be interested. My other idea for a cool business has been to open a paint your own pottery studio in Palm Coast, where it would go over really well. But I don't have the capital or enough passion for it at this time. I do love to make pottery at those places though, especially functional items like these:



We use this as a bountiful fruit bowl. The design is similar to what I want to paint on Julie's guitar.



I've begun collecting various pasta bowls in sets of two so I thought I'd make some to add to the collection. Pasta bowls are my favorite kind of plate, they are so useable. I'd love to get my hands on two of these pasta bowls.

Last night I made dinner for Lisa and Pete at their house while Andy fixed her computer. I love to cook dinner for people, have dinner parties, just making people feel good with food makes me feel great. I'm also an awesome cook...not to brag but I really am. And it's not just the creativity of cooking: it's also the timing and the instinct fo what goes together that makes a meal turn out right, I seem to have inherited that from the gifted cooks in my family. Of course there is the occasional fuck up, like the time I made this horrific Indian chick pea spinach thing and another time when I attempted to put together potstickers with disastrous results. But last night went off spendidly: a first course of French (freedom?!) onion soup; followed by the main course of chicken with grapes, homemade macaroni and cheese, and salad; ended with fruit pizza for dessert. I had never made the fruit pizza before, only had it when my mother made it, but it turned out really well and a little different from hers because I globbed on a lot more strawberry glaze than she does. Lisa took a photo of it.

Cooking makes me happy, this whole war thing makes me sad. I almost started crying in yoga class this morning when the teacher wished for peace all over the world during our final meditation. The first tenet of a yogi is not to harm. I don't have a strong leaning either way right now, for or against, it's all grey area to me. For: we may be removing the next Hitler from power...against: it's all about that black gold and all the money the Bush cronies will make. As usual I find myself wishing that women could take over the world and stop this territorial pissing and needless killing. We taped the Dune miniseries off the Sci Fi channel and one of the most provocative ideas of the Dune world is that the women share the power using mysticism and supernatural abilities. If only.

The Sci Fi channel is becoming my favorite channel on television--last week they were showing Battlestar Gallactica...oh, how I love Starbuck:



Now if only they would show Buck Rogers. My favorite character was without a doubt, Princess Ardala. I think I need to do a painting of her.

Most likely one of the best blogs on the Internet. Thanks again for the inspiration, reverse cowgirl.

Yesterday when Andy was immersed in work I went to see Frida. It was an incredible movie, full of stunning images and vibrant colors. Salma Hayek looked exactly like Frida, except her mustache never seemed as dark. But she pulled the whole thing off really well, the movie was like her paintings come to life which was obviously the intention of the filmmaker. I was familiar with some of her art but I was amazed at how many things I had never seen before, so I definitely need this now. The thing about Frida was that even though her art was graphic and gory at times, it was always feminine in its expression of her own deep emotional states and situations. And how brave of her to constantly incorporate her own image into her work...you'd be amazed how many remarks one gets when they often paint or photograph themselves: "You really like yourself, don't you?", etc....that kind of nonsense. I imagine she probably heard that bullshit too but as the movie made you realize she really didn't care too much what other people thought. The most beautiful scene was also the most disturbing, when Frida was injured in the streetcar accident and in the process was showered with the gold leaf that another passenger was carrying.

It appears that our local movie theatre has begun showing good second run movies, which is a very cool development here in the cultural desert. They are supposed to have The Hours and The Pianist soon and I will be all over those. Yesterday during Frida there were these two horrible elderly women talking through almost the entire film, I was this close to confronting them but I didn't. Neither did anyone else though, and I was sitting the farthest from them so they must have been bothering the other people more. Or maybe others are not as sensitive as I am about having a silent viewing experience where I can be totally submerged in a movie, without the nagging comments of some rude idiot to bring me back to reality.

Lisa and Pete live in Deltona, which is about halfway to Orlando from here. Normally we would take 95 South to 4 West, boring highways. But one night coming home we got out the map and found a back way on 17/92 and 11. It's made the trip so much more enjoyable: open fields, fragrant orange groves, huge oaks with abundant Spanish moss framing the roads, mysterious signs declaring: STAY OUT OR GET SHOT. The biggest surprise was when we found ourselves in a darling little town called Deland which reminds me a lot of Annapolis except without the water, crowds, and commercialism. The town's bread and butter appears to be Stetson University, which is right there and would be my choice for graduate school if I ever decide to take that path. So yesterday Andy and I stopped for lunch in Deland and checked out some of the shops, including a great little record store called Steve's Downtown Music. Andy has begun collecting albums on vinyl so we picked up a few of these. I also got the rundown from the owner as to where the local original music can be heard so I think we'll be going back to check out some bands. Finding Deland was like stumbling upon an oasis in the desert.

I got my hair cut and colored by the new stylist and I liked what she did okay. She cut off more than I was expecting and even though it looks neater I still miss my long straggly locks. She colored it more of a gold than a red, which I'm not sure how much I like either. Lately I've been considering just giving up on salon color and putting henna on my hair occasionally. It's the natural way to go after all and I could do it myself.

I heard a snippet of the Rolling Stones' "Heaven" off Tattoo You and I bought the CD almost immediately. This is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. The guitar sound is so emotional you almost don't need words. I've got it on repeat right now:

Smell of you baby, my senses, my senses be praised
Smell of you baby, my senses, my senses be praised

Kissing and running, kissing and running away
Kissing and running, kissing and running away
Senses be praised
Senses be praised

You're my saving grace, saving grace
Nothing will harm you
Nothing will stand in your way
Nothing, nothing
Nothing will stop you
And nothing will stand in your way
No one will harm you
No one will stand in your way
No one will bar you
Nothing will stand in your way
Nothing
There's nothing

Good news: Andy found his wedding ring. We were sure it was lost somewhere on the side of 301 North on our way to Maryland but it turns out he had reached into a bag in the car and lost it in there. He was about to throw the bag away this morning and noticed the ring. I am so relieved and so happy. It was a lucky find. I was feeling like a cheapskate because I really didn't feel like spending the money to replace the ring but at the same time I missed it on his finger. He's getting it resized so there's no chance of it falling off again.

I am dropping the Latin Dance class. It's somewhat fun and I'm good at it but it's partner dancing and I'm not really into that. Andy is not interested and I don't really enjoy dancing with people I don't know. Dancing close with someone else has always seemed very intimate to me, especially with the eye contact which you can't avoid in Latin Dance. I could learn all the dances but then I wouldn't have anyone to do them with anyway. I'll just learn to play tennis instead.

I had a laugh today shizzolating my blog.

I called back to the hair salon, attempting to flush out more clues to try and track down the stylist who did such an amazing job on my hair. It turns out he did not move to a salon in Orlando, he moved to a rehab center in Orlando because he was arrested for his third DWI. His boyfriend, who also worked at the salon, is in jail for something related. I am really surprised, I never would have expected the two of them to be such dangerous party animals. They seemed kind of settled down like Andy and me. But there's really nothing fun to do in Palm Coast so I could see them having to drive all the way to Orlando or Jacksonville to find a good time, then having to drive home. Personally I wouldn't do it--and I've done my share of illegal/immoral things in my life but driving drunk always seemed really ridiculous to me.

Anyway, I made an appointment with another stylist at the same salon this Friday and I'm hoping it's not a disaster.

I think many of us have had times when we would like to do this. Reminds me of the brilliant scene in "Office Space" when the three fed up office workers kidnap the unreliable printer and beat it to death in a remote field, complemented by gangster rap and slow motion.

I'm going to try purchasing plants for the yard off eBay. I'm getting two blue hydrangeas for the shady side of the house, a magenta clematis vine for the mailbox and maybe another clematis for the big pine tree in the back yard, and two angel's trumpet for the back of our lot, one pink and one peach. I saw angel's trumpet for the first time on a drive down to Florida, we stopped at a rest stop in the middle of the night and there were the most amazing huge white flowers growing on a shrub there--the blooms were almost a foot wide. I've wanted one ever since then. There's also the devil's trumpet, whose blooms point upward while the angel's naturally point downward. All parts of angel's trumpet are poisonous, as are many of the things that grow well in Florida such as oleander and poinsetta.

I noticed by chance that this is my 101st entry into this blog.

I'm really happy that Trenyce got picked for American Idol. I have a feeling we are never going to see Frenchie again, unfortunately.

After finding the best hair stylist ever down here, he up and leaves the salon and all they will tell me is that he's in Orlando now. So I am going to call every salon in Orlando until I find the one Gabe is working in. He's a real artist.

Andy and I are both really busy with work, but it's nice to have the windows open for this:






Our good friends Erin and Grant have gotten married three times in the past three years: first just the two of them at the courthouse in LA, then the American wedding in Pennsylvania, and just recently the one in South Africa with all his family and friends. It was at the groom's favorite beach, Seal Island:

I wish there was a place like this around here. I really need the practice.

All of a sudden I've sold another painting, to our friend Rick Tepel. He bought African Daisies. I'm going to ship it to him UPS by the end of this week.

It's been raining off and on since we got home and is supposed to continue for the next week, with temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's. Not the best weather for Bike Week, going on right now in Daytona. It's supposed to clear a bit on Saturday so I might see if we can go to Universal and take advantage of our annual passes, which run out June 1st.

Other things I want to do: go to the First Friday Art Walk in Saint Augustine, go to Michael's to buy canvases, go to Pottery Barn to get the bigass silver framed mirror to complete our dining room.

I changed the background color of my art site to ivory, added all the new paintings, put up photos from the 49 West show, and added © information. I still think the site needs a total overhaul though. And this blog design really needs to be completely redone but I find the Blogger template to be impossible to change.

While hanging out in Brigette's apartment last week I watched "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" for the first time. I loved Terry Gilliam's vision and I got the impression Benicio del Toro and Johnny Depp must have had a blast doing it. I also watched "Reservoir Dogs" for like the eight hundredth time and was totally captivated yet again. I appreciate the fact that "Pulp Fiction" is better made but that's only because Tarantino had the budget by that point. "Reservoir Dogs" was much more groundbreaking for its time. It was interesting to note that the white LA gangsters in both films use much of the same vernacular as what you hear in hip hop.

Traveling to MD to pick up my paintings was like a much needed vacation since I didn't go to Bethesda for work this time. Brigette was out of town and invited us to stay at her apartment (which was once my place) and that made it even more like a vacation. It snowed on Wednesday for most of the day and the highlight of the trip was probably walking around downtown Annapolis that night in the fresh falling snow. I drank way too much alcohol on this trip and woke up with a hangover three times, the worst one being a result of the night before we left to come home when we saw Fidel play at the Clipper and met up with most of our very missed friends. I had an appletini, a cosmopolitan, and an amaretto sour and was really feeling it the next day for some reason. Andy says it's best to stay away from the sugary drinks and not to drink so many different concoctions in one night and he's quite right. I had so much fun that night though and hardly said anything stupid at all, and all of my toenails are still intact unlike the last time I got really drunk in Annapolis.

I sold four paintings total: Artemis II, Laeticia, Rolling Hills, and Day and Night. I broke even and made a little bit on top of that so the show was a success. My web site is desperately in need of some updating and new photos but I have a lot of real work to do also so it may be a while. I started sketching on Julie's guitar last night and I think I know what I am painting on it but I want to make sure she likes my idea first. Once the guitar is complete, I am going to start a new page on my web site for Painted Objects and include photos of Paul's dresser, the guitar, and the pottery that I've done. I'd like to get a photo of the armoire I painted at the house I lived in ten years ago but that will have to wait until I go back to Annapolis and that probably won't be anytime soon. Right now is one of the best times of the year in Florida and I am not leaving again for a long time. Actually I'll ask Christi to get a photo of it if she has a chance.

I'm going to be taking extracurricular classes everyday of the week except Fri, Sat, and Sun for the next few months. I'm signing up for Latin Dance, Beginning Tennis, Advanced Yoga, and then Andy and I will be doing Tae Kwon Do together again. So I will have an active spring.

I wanted to listen to Malvado acoustic on 98 Rock tonight but this is what I found instead.