Go Flyers !!!!

Last year I gave you the gorgeous Lauren Hart. This year I give you .... I'm so sorry.


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Some background. The whole thing with Hulk Hogan began when a Hulkster look alike Penguins fan was dancing around Scott Hartnell behind the Flyers’ bench during a game a couple weeks ago. Hartnell gave Corbin the “I can’t hear you” salute. A photo of Hartnell mocking said fan was than featured on the back page of the April 2^nd edition of the Philadelphia Daily News. The Flyers saved this video till today's game was almost over than played it to, yes, thunderous applause.

The Flyers are up three games to none in their best of seven series with the Penguins.

4/17 update - The Flyers-Penguins game on Sunday afternoon pulled a 2.3 overnight rating, making it the most watched non-Stanley Cup finals playoff game in more than a decade.

Observations from the Coffee Shop 4.12

Yesterday a good friend of mine sent me the link to a new book by one of her fav authors Christopher Moore. The book is called Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art and is a novel about art, the color blue, and van Gogh. My life, my color, and my artist all in one book. My friend knows me too well. Moore wrote in the prelude, “Blue is glory and power, a wave, a particle, a vibration, a resonance, a spirit, a passion, a memory, a vanity, a metaphor, a dream. Blue is a simile. Blue, she is like a woman.”

While I was reading the reviews I remembered a famous letter van Gogh had written to his brother Theo in April of 1888. What I didn't realize was that the letter had actually been written 124 years ago to the day,
April 11, 1888.

Karma.

"My dear Theo,
It’s awfully good of you to have sent me the complete order of colours, I’ve just received them but haven’t yet had the time to check them. I’m so pleased about it. Today has been a good day too. This morning I worked on an orchard of plum trees in blossom — suddenly a tremendous wind began to blow, an effect I’d only ever seen here — and came back again at intervals. In the intervals, sunshine that made all the little white flowers sparkle. It was so beautiful! My friend the Dane came to join me, and at risk and peril every moment of seeing the whole lot of it on the ground I carried on painting — in this white effect there’s a lot of yellow with blue and lilac, the sky is white and blue. But as for the execution of what we do out of doors like this, what will they say? Well, let’s wait and see..." Read the entire letter here.

The painting he was working on was The White Orchard.

Observations from the Window 4.11

Jay Hayes is the senior captain of the men’s volleyball team at New York University who organized and directed this "It Gets Better" video featuring the coaches and athletes of NYU. Jay is also gay. This is only the second in the It Gets Better campaign done by a major university’s athletic program, the other is Northwestern University.

What the fuck Penn State?

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Observations from the Window 4.9

It may be a bit late but first I want to wish a Happy Easter to my peeps. Hopefully you found many golden eggs under your tree. For me it was a totally mellow weekend, took some pics, visited Vinnie, had some ribs, and banished politics from my mind. So here I give you some boring fluff from my scribbles.

I was going through some boxes of CDs that I never really unpacked just looking for some to rip. I have at least a thousand CDs so it's easy to lose track when they are stacked in the corner. What I did was re-discover Sheryl Crowe whose music I always loved but who just got lost in that corner. She looks totally stunning in the pics for c'mon, c'mon.

Than, keeping with the same line of thought, there is Anne Hathaway whose Love and Other Drugs was the featured attraction of a VQ movie night. In my dreams Hathaway is the girl I run off to Paris with. What we do there while not roaming the Louvre is a story for another time. There is a scene in the movie, a movie which is actually quite good in a fluffy kind of way, where she is stretching and smoking at the same time, to die for. Her naked breasts are a very, very, prominent part of this film which may explain why I like it. Utter perfection.

There was a good article in the Sunday Times about Ralph Lauren's niece Jenny. Her jewelry is awesome but what grabbed me was how the writer described Lauren's style which she said was "more eclectic artist than all-American, accessorized by the chipped nails and pallor of a type A creative sort who works mostly at night." That just sounded so familiar.

You know I can't totally stay away from politics so also in the Times was a good column by Maureen Dowd about Augusta National still not allowing women membership. In it is an awesome quote by President Obama as he spoke to a women's forum at the White House. "Women are not an interest group. You shouldn’t be treated that way. Women are over half this country and its work force — not to mention 80 percent of my household, if you count my mother-in-law. And I always count my mother-in-law."

Smart man that Obama.

Observations from Amerika 4.7

So you think you don't need to vote. It doesn't matter, it doesn't count. It's raining, snowing, cold, you don't have time, the voting location is out of my way, they all lie anyway. If that sounds like you watch this clip from Thursday's Rachel Maddow Show. Or, if it's too long for you, just read the transcript of the last few minutes that is just below it. After you do please, seriously please, leave me a comment explaining why you don't need to vote. I need to know.

I'll be drinking a beer while I wait for the Reichstag to burn. Google it.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"On Monday, a county judge issued a temporary injunction ordering Michigan House Republicans to follow the law, to follow the constitution, to let the minority vote even though the minority are Democrats. The court put on hold several bills that Republicans have passed using this kind of technique. Passed what appears to be illegally, including about that one about the grad students union.

Republicans are appealing the judge`s ruling. Their arguments boil down to, A, they say no court can interfere with the legislature, and, B, they say this is dog bites man. This is standard operating procedure. There`s nothing to see here. This is totally normal. Keep moving. This case has implications for what happens in Michigan over the next few months and to some extents what happens nationwide. Michigan Republicans are now considering a law that would make it much harder to register to vote in the state. If that passes, under immediate effect and goes into effect right then, that will become a factor in 2012 race in Michigan.

Also, Michigan voters voting on a bill that makes it harder to get a referendum on the ballot. That could affect the current drive to put the Rick Snyder emergency manager law up for appeal. Do you think Rick Snyder and his fellow Republicans would like repealing his law to be a harder thing to do? And does anybody else get a say in that? The 2010 elections ushered in a lot of radicalized Republican legislatures and governors across the country and have done a lot of radical things. Scott Walker is famous for a reason.

But what`s happened in Michigan is the most radical thing Republicans have done anywhere in the country. They have eliminated democracy. They have eliminated voting rights at the local level in their state. They have tried to eliminate Democrats` voting rights in the state legislature. Whether you`re on the left or you`re on the right or you`re in the center or if you don`t particularly care about politics, if all you care about is that we have a form of government in this country called democracy, we vote. If you care about the idea that we still use voting here, we still use democracy, if you care about the Constitution -- frankly ...

Michigan ought to have a flashing red light siren on it right now."

*link to video

Observations from the Edge 4.6

"Help defend women's rights and pursuit of equality. Join Americans all across the United States on April 28th, 2012, as we come together as one to tell members of Congress in Washington DC and legislators in all 50 states, "Enough is enough!" UniteWomen.org strongly supports diversity and welcomes men and women of all ages without regard to their race, color, creed, political affiliation, disability, religious or spiritual beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity, education or income level, marital status, employment status, or immigrant status. Everyone is invited to join, plan, and rally as we unite to demand that every person be granted equal opportunities, equal rights, and equal representation."

UniteWomen.org

More to come ....

Observations on the 2012 Election

And so after all the negative ads, all the carnage. all the political blood letting of the GOP primary season, it will be Willard after all. A far different Willard than the one I always thought would be President Obama's toughest challenge. This Willard is but a shadow of his former moderate self and a full fledged member of the war on women and the blitzkrieg of the middle class. I just can't wait for the full campaign to begin because Willard is already such a fool. Having given up on labeling Obama a Muslim he now says he fears Obama is a secret atheist. My main fear is we all aren't. He also said Obama is "out of touch" with the American people. I that an argument he honestly thinks he can win? If so he may just be out of touch with himself.

Sadly all this means Bishop Santorum will soon have to return to Pennsylvania and the marcellus shale he crawled out from under. After leading by a wide margin in his home state Santorum and Willard are in a dead heat in most polls of primary voters. What I totally don't understand is that Santorum leads Willard among Pennsylvania women who consider themselves conservatives. It boggles my mind but evidently some women want to be second class citizens. Santorum guarantees a victory in Pennsylvania which goes to prove the man has a very short memory.

Finally did you happen to see Sarah Palin hosting Today on Tuesday? For years the Queen of half term governors has raged against the msm and their anti conservative bias. Guess it doesn't mean a damn thing when the pay is good.

As Napoleon said, “In politics, stupidity is not a handicap."

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.