Round Up

Past Reclaimed

I was rummaging around in the studio yesterday and came across a little box inside a box that I had packed when I moved my studio back in 2006. My old studio in Ashfield was way out in the country and over-run with mice, so when I packed up a box, I sealed it and got it the hell out of there before Mickey and Minnie could get in it and leave all their turdy calling cards. Anyway, the little box within a box that I found contained artist postcards I had collected over a period of time and a few small mementos that I kept around the studio. One of those things was a framed card I had received from my dear friend and drinking buddy, Ellie, now long dead.

This card meant a lot to me because this is what my mother should have said instead of a lot of other instructions she gave me, such as, "Sit like a lady," "Don't use that F word", etc. So I was glad to find the card - although I did not realize I was missing it.

Progress Report

I'm still plugging along on that Rothko book. It feels like a life sentence, and only now is it starting to get a little interesting, about page 195 or so, where New York has taken over from Europe after WWII and started to be an art center and all the museums are being established. Rothko still hasn't started making the abstractions he became renowned for, but he's getting there. This author analyzes and describes in agonizing detail nearly every painting Rothko made in his Expressionist and Surrealist phases. Man, I hope nobody ever does that to my work. Reading those descriptions is usually when I nod off. How soporific!

Cable Ready

Yesterday we had an outage of the Verizon internet system, and that finally prompted me to make the switch to cable internet. I'm not so sure that it's all that much faster - although it's supposed to be - but at least it will work after a power outage without me having to reset it as I did with Verizon.

But, the good news is that I went for the expanded cable television. OK, I admit it, I'm a TV junkie. Just set me down in front of that box and I'm hooked. We've been struggling along with basic cable since shortly after we arrived, and we only had 10 or 12 channels. And of those, about five were worthless, so it's basically been the three networks, two public TV channels and the local access that airs Gay USA News when it remembers to turn on the feed on Friday nights. Now we're back again with all those expanded choices so we can see:

Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, on Food Network

Rachel Maddow on MSNBC (but with glasses, hair and makeup)

Cesar Millan (left) and Daddy (right) on National Geographic

And, of course, Jon Stewart, on Comedy Central.

Wow, how have I stood it this long? Don't look for much art coming out of the studio. You'll find me, feet up, munching bon-bons on the couch, and eyes glued.