Monthly Archives: October 2009

I didn't set out to become the champion of great sex in the city…

…but that’s what has happened. Yes, even when I’m wiped out with a nasty case of bronchial-wahatsits, loopy on high doses of steroids and antibiotics, and just generally drooling on myself I can find a way to get myself neckdeep in…something. Or, at the very least, spur others to action. There’s a blogpost brewing about all of this, but it’s too important to be dashed off in a hurry so it probably won’t appear until Monday.

Plus, today is a major holiday, and I think I deserve the day off from thinking Deep Strategic Political Thoughts, don’t you?

Plus, tomorrow is the start of National Novel Writing Month and I don’t have a clue what I’m going to write. I don’t even have any extra character names floating around the top of my head. This may be the year I write about homicidal artists…

Plus, I have to pace myself. I might actually have two outings today. I bought bloodred/black dahlias at the farmer’s market this morning and I’m going to meander over to fiberspace to work on my malabrigo scarf for a little while (and then it’s naptime). I lead a life of great excitement and danger.

IMG_1382

Plus, tonight we have to give out candy to the small, cute trick-or-treaters. Once they finish (or we run out of candy) we’ll shut off the lights and hide. It’s a strategy that works well for us.

On an unrelated, yet adorable, note, our fence has made us rockstars with the little kids in the neighborhood. They’re in awe, it’s only 4 feet high but that’s gigantic to them. Little girls blow me kisses now as they toddle by with their parents. I’m so used to my very presence making them cry that I just don’t know what to do!

photo-1

Back to Halloween. Halloween is serious business in my neighborhood. A few streets away the neighbors got a permit to close the street to accommodate their Halloween festivities. I don’t know how they’re going to top last year’s mock executions, but they’ve promised to give it a try.

On an unrelated note, last night Dr. Birdcage and The Amazing Phil stayed over after the opening of Phil’s new show at Irvine Contemporary. Phil’s new work is very cool and I’m hoping to own one of these captivating images.

IMG_1360

The awesomest part about hosting Dr. Birdcage is that she always leaves the guestroom neater than she found it. Next time she’s here I’m going to see if I can’t get her to stay in the laundry room. That place is a wreck.

Phil Nesmith tonight at Irvine Gallery

Tonight is the opening of Phil Nesmith’s new show at Irvine Contemporary. The show runs til December 12th and you don’t want to miss it. Phil’s work is amazing and terrific and all of those overused, yet utterly appropriate, adjectives. Awesome, even. Go, go, go!

The Washington Post weekend section highlighted tonight at the Gallery Opening of the Week.” Get there early, it’s going to be mobbed.

Phil’s opening is 6-8, which leaves you time to go to the costume party at Flashpoint that’s part of Andrew Wodzianski’s House exhibit.

Tomorrow night is techArts Spooky Union, which is co-sponsored by Artomatic, that nifty little arts group all the kids are talking about.

Tomorrow night is also the 3rd annual Offrenda event put on by Art Outlet. This year, Art Outlet has partnered with the Torpedo Factory to present a parade, performances, a masquerade ball, and, of course, cool art. There’s no cover and there’s a cash bar. There’s some sort of sugar skull activity and performances from 3-6 and then a parade at 7 from City Hall to the Torpedo factory. Then the ball lasts til midnight. I don’t have any other info but I do know that anyone can join in on the parade or place art or objects on the shrine. Check the Art Outlet website for details.

Acorn

The oak trees in my neighborhood have produced a bumper crop of acorns and the falling acorns have gone from minor nuisance to hazard. Compounding the problem, I’m pretty sure the squirrels in my neighborhood actually fling acorns at pedestrians. They are wiley bastards and I put nothing past them. The squirrels, not my neighbors, that is.

Mike Licht over at Notions Capital was kind enough to send me a link to a recent post of his that contains links to some amazing stories.

Despite billions spent on homeland security, the Obama Administration is Bush-league when it comes to defending America’s vital power grid from home-grown terrorists. Known to experts as Sciurus carolinensis, these sly, suicidal saboteurs infiltrate transformer stations at will, denying thousands of loyal Americans their God-given right to power up their Chinese-made flat-screen TVs.

Go check it out. You won’t look at those rodents the same way again.

(I really do read Mike’s site, but we all know how forgetful I am so I always appreciate it when he brings a good squirrel or meat related post to my attention. Thanks, Mike!)

I see dead people

No I don’t. But I do see a lot of bad, bad art. Terrible, horrible, painful art. You may like it, and that’s fine, but every time I see some of this art a little part of my soul dies. But I don’t get to point fingers in my blog, because that would get me in all kinds of trouble. So, if I don’t have something nice to say, I don’t say anything at all.

If I did, I’d have a meltdown and it wouldn’t be nearly as cogent as Philip Kennicott’s review of the “Art for Obama” book that starts with the sentence, “It isn’t meant to be a gloomy or creepy book.”

Point is, when it comes to local art, I only blog about work that I like or otherwise find interesting. I miss a lot of art that I’m sure I’d like, so silence doesn’t mean that I dislike work, it just means I haven’t seen it or I forgot to blog about it. (Equally likely occurrences). I have no problem telling someone to their face why their art simply isn’t my cup of tea, but it would be unseemly, unprofessional, and other words that are prefixed with -un to make fun of them.

But I digress…

Etsy, in addition to bring a world of awesome into our lives, also brings us a world of wtf??? Thanks to regretsy, I can get all of the snark out of my system vicariously.