Observations from the Coffee Shop 5.16

Some random thoughts with no connection whatsoever. Life, art, sports, and than a quote ....

Over the past weekend I spent a few days at my dad's and heard a beautiful sound. I laid in my bed and listened to the sound of rain falling on the porch roof outside my old bedroom uninterrupted by anything but the far-off clap of thunder. No cat horns, squealing tires, or sirens so I spent most of the night awake, not tossing and turning but listening. It's a sound I didn't even realize I loved so much or missed at all until that moment but it suddenly became one of the great joys of my life.

I'm still in contact with my old boss and department head at PSU which is good because he also happens to be the guardian of my paintings. We traded a couple emails this week which tie into my post about the art market. In one note he mentioned how much he was struggling with the department's share of the state funding cutbacks and wasn't yet sure how it would play out. There aren't any good options that I can see and for now the front runner is a smaller course selection. I know this is only art but the cuts are everywhere in the system, repeated across the state, and across the nation. I don't see how we catch up with world leaders in science, math, and the like if we continue to cut back on education. Meanwhile the wars wage on, fully funded.

The Philadelphia Flyers season might have ended in a disaster but a couple days ago I found out something totally awesome. The Flyers will host the NHL's 2012 Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Phillies. The Winter Classic is the outdoor NHL game that has been played on News Years Day since the first game in 2008. An official opponent has yet to be announced but rumors say it will be the hated New York Rangers which is just too damn perfect. I'm writing this now in the hopes my dad sees it and gets started on his x-mas shopping early this year because I so better be there. This year's game will be played in a baseball stadium and on January 2nd due to an Eagles' game scheduled for the Linc on January 1st.

Finally an H. G. Wells quote from the opening credits of the following video. "If we don't end war, war will end us." It might not end us but it will surely bankrupt us.

Thirty Seconds To Mars - This Is War

5/17 update - Just watched that video again and just have to say how much I love Jared Leto's videos. I shouldn't even call them videos because they are more short films. Just an awesome ending, the proverbial scrap heap of history.