Observations from the Edge 4.2

Not to repeat myself but I have been saying for some time that it would be an interesting year. Anonymous joins the May Day protest.

The fine folks at American Thinker would like to warn you that Occupy Wall Street is inciting violence on communism's, yes they said communism's, favorite holiday. "Our federal government stands by silent, as forces such as OWS and the New Black Panthers openly encourage vigilante justice, riots, insurrection, and obstruction of elections. Barack Obama has a lot to answer for, but the encouragement provided to OWS and the NBP, not to mention SEIU, in lawless intimidation will  be remembered by history as an attack on civil society and law and order."

For a round of sick entertainment I would suggest you browse the comments to the above link. The following one is my personal fav. "Therefore, as you go into the voting booth, just think of what OWS has given America: Democrat rapes, Democrat murders, Democrat drug dealing, Democrat vandalism, Democrat anarchy, Democrat public defecation, Democrat rat infestations, Democrat public masturbation, Democrat hate, Democrat racism, Democrat flash mobs… do voters really want that sort of country?"

Hide the children, the drug dealing rats are defecating in public! The person, I awesome it's a person, who wrote that comment has no profile but has managed to post 233 comments to American Thinker.

And some dare argue against birth control.

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Observations from the Window 4.1

I found this video lurking in my drafts where its been for some time. I totally forgot about it and thought I would post it before I did again. I think I would add ...
Je vais vous rejoindre bientôt.

EF - Live The Language - Paris from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

Observations from the Window 3.31

Sometimes I read my horoscope in the morning, sometimes. I don't often mention it because there people out there that think the habit is just another nail in the coffin of my sanity. The thing is I read it yesterday morning and it said that I was in need of an attitude adjustment. Well actually it said an attitude adjustment could change everything, what everything it could change was not specified.

Google Chrome and I have been at war as I tried to sync my bookmarks on two comps and I thought maybe that's where my attitude needed adjusting because I was totally geek pissed. As the day went on I found I actually was adjusting but not in the way the stars seemed to mean. I fell into one of those death spirals of emo arrogance that Ash so subtly describes as being bitchy. I have no idea what the lesson to be learned is here but I'm sure there is one. Maybe it's just that sometimes the stars are wrong even when they are right.

But anyway I'll just dwell on those little bits of happiness that make the mood go away. Page 280 in the new issue of Vogue. The dress on the back cover of the Express flyer that came in the mail today, a must have even though I don't wear dresses. The buy three and get three free sale at one of my fav stores. Paris Amour, Coconut Lime Breeze, Black Raspberry Vanilla, Midnight Pomegranate, Black Amethyst, and Into The Wild. You can guess the store.

Finally, as I look at my print of "Almond Branches In Bloom" hanging on the wall, I want to wish Vincent a belated Happy Birthday. Wherever he is I'm sure he is creating a masterpiece. The man may have been insane but he was a total genius.

And the rain begins to fall.

Observations from the Edge 3.29

With the warm temperatures of March, unreal, the Occupy crowds have been getting larger and the main center of operations has moved uptown to Union Square. This move is very helpful to me as I can check on things and go the the Green Market in one trip. All roads seem to lead to the May 1^st general strike and the summer political conventions beyond.

Spring is here so one can't be totally serious though the video
does get serious towards the end.

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Observations from the Window 3.28

Every now and than I read something I just have to post here in its entirety because it's just so totally perfect. Perfect for the moment or just perfect in my warped state of mind. This is just such a thing from one of my fav blogs, Wonkette.

"Nice Mississippi Republican Has Black Representative
Escorted From House Floor,
Because ‘Rules’

Oh look, this African American Congressman from Illinois, Bobby Rush, would like to make a speech for the House commending the young people for speaking out against racial profiling in the wake of Trayvon Martin’s shooting while donning a hood himself, to show solidarity: ““I applaud the young people, all across the land who are making a statement about hoodies, about the real hoodlums in this nation, specifically those who tread on our law wearing official or quasi-official cloaks.” Very good. Now, is there a white Mississippi Republican around to order him thrown out of the chamber? There is? Great!

Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS) had Rush escorted from the chamber, because “no hats allowed in Congress.” Of course, a hoodie is not so much as a “hat” as a “head covering,” and know what else is a head covering? A toupee! Are those banned from Congress? Not that anyone needed to, since of course no one in Congress wears a toupee. What if it were a yarmulke? Can you wear a yarmulke in Congress? Probably, right, because First Amendment? (Not just for K-Lo anymore!) Anyway, good job, Gregg Harper, worrying about the decorum of the House (hoodies) as the Republic burns."

A little background on Bobby Rush. Rush, 65, is a former Black Panther who has been a Congressman from Illinois since 1983. The district he represents has the highest percentage of African American voters in the nation. In 2004 he was only the second sitting member of Congress to be arrested while protesting human rights violations outside the Sudanese Embassy. He is also a good friend of former President Bill Clinton.

Gregg Harper has been a Congressman from Mississippi since 2009.
He has done nothing else of note in his life.

Way to go Gregg.

Observations

During the early morning hours of March 11^th , two weeks ago today, United States Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales killed, no murdered, seventeen civilians in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan. Bales has been described as deranged or insane, three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan had taken an awful toll. If Bales had been an Afghan who had known nothing but war his entire life only one word would have been used to describe him. Terrorist.

It is long past time to end America's longest war.

An anonymous footnote to all the talk of what the murders have done to American relations in the region is the fact that these were living breathing innocent people. Four men, four women,
two boys, and seven girls.

Mohamed Dawood son of Abdullah
Khudaydad son of Mohamed Juma
Nazar Mohamed
Payendo
Robeena
Shatarina daughter of Sultan Mohamed
Zahra daughter of Abdul Hamid
Nazia daughter of Dost Mohamed
Masooma daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Farida daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Palwasha daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Nabia daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Esmatullah daughter of Mohamed Wazir
Faizullah son of Mohamed Wazir
Essa Mohamed son of Mohamed Hussain
Akhtar Mohamed son of Murrad Ali
(one name has yet to be released)

May they all rest in peace and be remembered.

Observations from the Gallery 3.24

This is never going to morph into some sort of travel blog but I wanted to mention a few stops I made yesterday. I'll start with a bit art history for you and finish with cocktails. Pretty much a normal day for me.

The Luxembourg & Dayan Gallery will soon be showing 15 of the absorbed and abstract paintings of Italian realist painter Domenico Gnoli. I went to see them yesterday not because I'm a fan, I'm far from it, but because his work is so rarely seen in public. Gnoli didn't create a large body of work, only some 80 paintings, of which most is held in private collections.

Born in 1933 to an art historian father and artist mother Gnoli was a successful illustrator and set designer who turned to painting full time late in life. He created large canvases that featured close-up details of dress and hairstyles, pearl buttons on a woman’s chemise, the pocket of a man’s trouser, long raven locks. He also made black & white renderings of chimerical beasts in everyday settings such as sitting on a sofa, or in the back of a limo. His work vaguely reminds one of Pop Art, but the feeling is still mostly surreal. Gnoli passed away in 1970 just months after his first solo show at the Sidney Janis Gallery in New York. This is the first show of his work since than and officially begins later this month.

Later my bar tour of the island continued as Ash and I played Soviet for the night and stopped at the Vlada Lounge in Hell's Kitchen. The bar, owned by Russian expat Vlada von Shats, has a mix of gay, lesbian, drag, and hopelessly outnumbered straight clientele. The main draws here, besides the self proclaimed 'nice guy' von Shats, are the DJs, the thirty foot ice bar, and most of all the house infused vodkas. I was told the menu changes with the season but always has well over a dozen flavors and last night they ranged from plum to garlic. Personally I had a few too many sips of the pomegranate version, just awesome.

You haven't lived till you have heard Lady Gaga dubbed in Russian.

Observations from the Edge 3.23

The world we live in ....

AFP photographer Patricia Melo was covering a general strike in Lisbon yesterday when she was attacked by Police for no other reason than that she was a photographer. The photo was taken by Hugo Correia for Reuters.

Such A Waste

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Observations from the Coffee Shop 3.19

My notes, along with my mind, are such a clutter right now that I find myself trying to remember what I did last week and failing. I thought I would dump some thoughts here in a sort of spring mind cleaning post. Perfect time as I'm sitting outside, it feels like a summer day, and I can see tulips blooming. First a few belated messages starting with Happy St. Patrick's Day. Than a happy six month anniversary to Occupy, though I would't use the word happy to describe one having one's head smashed and being thrown in jail, which is what happened Saturday night.

In no particular order some non-art related memories from art week. The Crosby Street Bar is a spot I have to remember, huge bar, gorgeous garden, and a patio to die for when it's finally summer. A proverbial oasis in the city. My first ever taste of absinthe at the same bar, quite possibly my last. The visiting freckle faced vq and her amazing knowledge of German vampire movies. My new unofficial gallery title, the reveur.

To my utter amazement I found myself agreeing with Ann Coulter a few days ago. “I think our party, and particularly our movement, the conservative movement, does have more of a problem with con men and charlatans than the Democratic party,” Coulter told a crowd in Florida. Nobody in the Republican Party is running for President for love of country but simply for themselves. Willard, who turned 65 a few days ago, has all the money a man could ever want but is just bored with it. Willard is running because he has nothing better to do. It seems Santorum is running for god and church, Santorum isn't running for President of the United States but to be Pope. I won't even bother with the other two.

For that matter what does the GOP stand for today? Not for voter rights, gay rights, women's rights, minority rights, or even the right to be healthy. Seems it's now not even for the Violence Against Women Act  if that violence is committed against women who happen to be in the country illegally. All I can think of that they actually stand for is the right of the wealthy to get wealthier. Maybe you can help me out with that.

Final note, In April J&J CEO William Weldon plans on retiring at the old age of 63. The value of his retirement package? $143.5 million.

Observations from the Road 3.18

The official beginning of spring is still a week away but yesterday I decided to declare the season early with a spur of the night before Saint Patrick's Day road trip to my dad's. I hadn't seen my sis since she left for her new school and with her spring break coming to an end I thought it would be a good time to catch up. That and sometimes I just have the urge, hell the need, to get out of the City if only for a couple days. I feel it in my blood, just climb in Foxy and drive before I totally lose it.

Now I find myself in Rick Santorum's Pennsylvania, or is it Governor Tom Corbett's now? The Tom Corbett of "just close your eyes" during your pre-abortion ultrasound. I swear between the two of them it's getting to be so embarrassing to admit at all you're from Pennsylvania. Yes the state that gave you Gertrude Stein, Grace Kelly, and Governor Ed Rendell now gives you Santorum and Corbett. Sad to say the very least but this isn't a political trip so fuck em.

I've missed spending time with my family and what's fun is as we get older the news seems to get more interesting. Over a dinner of barbecue we all discovered that the baby of the family has, unlike the beer drinking rest of us, developed a taste for red wine. At times I might be accused of acting like the baby of the family but for now that title still belongs to my sister. The sis likes her new school, her political science major, and it seems now her red wine. I still think the girl has the brightest future of all of us but I have to get that camera back in her hands sometime soon.

Than you have my environmentalist brother who spends his days mapping wetlands in the wilds of northern Pennsylvania. He loves what he is doing but in the end he is paid by a contract with Shell Oil and it's fracking operations in the state which he doesn't love at all. I know, a total contradiction, but he is doing something he wanted to do and I'm happy as hell for him. Before I leave the kid promises to show me why he is so totally into HBO's Game of Thrones. We might need to have two TVs on because my dad has some NCAA basketball watching planned too.

As luck, or karma, would have it Occupy returned to Liberty Square last night a thousand strong. Sadly NYPD returned too.

Spring is in the air.

Observations on the 2012 Election

Before we get too deep into this election year I best post a small disclaimer. When it comes to this presidential election I'm far from an impartial observer. I was an Obama volunteer in 2008 and one just never knows what I'll be doing this time around. Stay tuned.


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"Five years ago, we started a movement for change."
Donate © 2012 Obama for America

Observations

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Observations from the Coffee Shop 3.14

With the closing of all the major fairs on Sunday, and our little Salon on Monday, art week came to an end. I have yet to write about anything I saw during the week but I did get some well needed venting out of the way. That's always a plus, from my side anyway. I still have some posts started that I want to finish and hopefully I'll get to them over the next few days.

One thing I was excited about was the number of women artists having prominent places this year shows and not just at the Salon. The number of solo shows by women hopefully is a trend that will lead to women artists finally catching up with the men in the art market. When I first moved here I was amazed at the number of buyers, men and women alike, who would say point blank that they wouldn't buy a work by a women. At that point Ash normally took over the discussion. I'm seeing less of that now and actually more interest in female artists. Gwenolee Zürcher, who thought up and organized the Salon, said she did so because in her opinion there are too many good artists who don't get enough the attention they deserve simply because they are women. This is one of the topics I want to get back to.

This was the third Art Week since I moved to the Village. The first I barely noticed at all but I had just moved and was busy getting myself settled into my new world. Last year I was more into it all and even though I had been at the Armory Show before it still felt a bit new. I felt more like I was a part of something rather than just a visitor. This year's edition at times felt more like work than play, it was hectic, I was busy, but it was still totally fun. It's something that shouldn't be missed if you love art and happen to be in the city.

One thing I have learned over the years is I'm no big fan of neon in art, maybe I should say neon as art. I still have nightmares about last year's glowing neon fence by Ivan Navarro. This year it seemed every gallery at the Armory Show had a neon sign glowing and humming somewhere in their booth like some kind of psychedelic humming birds from a Tim Burton movie gone terribly wrong. I've never been to Vegas so it all just reminded me of a bad night on the Wildwood boardwalk. Maybe that's been my problem with the neon all along.

And one final thing, iPad art. If Rick Santorum isn't enough of a sign of the coming apocalypse iPad art surely is.