Altered the Color of My Mind

Detail from a painting by Patricia Chidlaw, part of the Cityscape Show III at George Billis Gallery

Well, let's allow our mind to dissolve away into the madness of night, with dreams both dark and bright, images both forlorn and hopeful to drive us into another precious day.

And, let's celebrate the birth date of Emily Bronte, born on this date in 1818, with an appropriate song. ;-)

"Wuthering Heights" by Kate Bush

Enjoy!!!

Something Good Is Going to Happen

Detail of Chromasonic Field (Blue/Green) installation by Johannes Girardoni

Although there have been a few "downs" to counter my "ups", I'm feeling moderately good about the direction of my creative development. Certainly, there are still kinks to iron out and the constant grind of self-improvement, but things are looking positive.

Moreover, I've been doing things that I love, like visiting art galleries. The photo above is from my trip to Nye and Brown in Culver Gity. Hopefully, I'll have time to share some more art related photos with you. ;-)

But, for today, let's wrap this post up by celebrating Kate Bush's birthday.

"Cloudbursting" by Kate Bush

Enjoy!!!

Ride the Wooden Horse

Jumping Carousel Horse (c.1890) by the Dentzel Carousel Company, with Hindu Processional Horse (late 19th century) behind, on display at the Mingei International Museum

And, as that image settles into your mind, let's celebrate Juliana Hatfield's birthday with a song. ;-)

"My Sister" by Juliana Hatfield

Enjoy!!!

It's Quiet in Here

Empty desks at the El Segundo Public Library

Do you ever have that weird feeling of being alone in public places? Have you ever spoken aloud but no one seemed to hear? Are you troubled by a sense of alienation, as if the you're somewhat out of synch with the rest of the world?

Yeah, me neither. ;-)

"Creep" by Radiohead

Enjoy!!!

Craving the Sweets

Delicious cupcakes!!!

I haven't very much to say right now.

It's a muggy, heavy day that is grinding down my energy and enthusiasm. Although I have a dull headache, the main thought dominating my mind is an intense desire for sugar, chocolate, and milk.

And, if I don't get some sweets mighty soon, there's going to be trouble!!! ;-)

Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal (2012)

Well, here's a video that doesn't quite capture my mood, but it has an appropriate title.

"Sweet Tooth" by Marilyn Manson

Enjoy!!!

Reddy Kilowatt Says. . .

It's Reddy Kilowatt flying a kite!!!

Sometimes one comes across a couple random sights that synch up perfectly for a blog post. It's a rare situation, but, when it happens, sharing is so much fun.

So when I came across this reproduction of a vintage "Reddy Kilowatt" ad, I was filled with enthusiasm. Just a few days previously, I had spotted a warning sign at some electric powerlines. Although I took a photo, it seemed to be the type of image that would go unused. The image didn't have enough narrative or aesthetic voltage to justify even an "Image of the Day" type of post.

And then Reddy and his kite saved the day!!! ;-)

Danger! Danger! High Voltage!!!

ZZZAAAPPP!!!!!

Hot Days in LA

Hollywood sign, viewed from the Griffith Observatory

Wow!!! It is almost unbearable out here in the Southland. Even the beaches are scorching hot!!! And you can't get anywhere because there are constant collisions on the freeways, due to people getting overly aggressive in the heat.

It is miserable.

Yeah, I understand that there are places in the world that are hotter. The people who have to live in such hellholes certainly have my sympathy. However, in the US, the "Sun Belt" cities are built with the expectation of infernal Summer heat; Los Angeles is not. Therefore, when the temperatures climb towards the triple digits with high humidity, the infrastructure is not there to help us adapt to it.

It is miserable.

"Los Angeles Is Burning" by Bad Religion

Enjoy?!!

In Darkness

Lights in the kitchen, on a cold, dark night

Last week, I played around with the concept of the fear of heights. This time around, I'm considering fear of the dark. This isn't a phobia that I personally have, but I do have empathy with it. After all, who likes fumbling around in shadows, attempting to get somewhere or do something that requires precision? With a few exceptions, everything that we would like to do is probably done better in the light.

Darkness transforms familiar locations into dangerous unknown realms. Take the simple walk across a familiar room. With normal lighting, it is such a quotidian task that we don't even spend a moment thinking about it. In the dark, stepping on something discarded upon the floor or banging a foot against a newly moved piece of furniture are commonplace missteps. (Yes, I have sympathy for the parents of young and energetic children.)

But beyond the hazards of toys and tables, there is the insidious play of the imagination. Our minds detest a void. When a strange sound comes to us through the darkness, there is an irresistible impulse to visualize how it was made. Was a creak the result of an intruder's footstep upon the stairs? Was that rustling a monstrous vermin? Was that moan something more than the wind? In the brightness of day, a glance towards the source of the bothersome noise sets our minds to peace. But, in a murk of night, the source is unconfirmed, unresolved, and our imaginations may provide disquieting images to match the sound.

Darkness falls, transforming the familiar to the foreign

So, it makes sense that this is one of the oldest and most enduring of human phobias. Heck, if some prehistoric beast preyed upon my little community of hunter-gathers, I'd also be freakin' terrified of the deadly dark. Next to the fire, keeping it well fed and bright, that's where I'd be to hold the nighttime horrors at bay.

Anyways, I have plenty of fears, but I'm really happy that the darkness is not one of them.

March: Decades of Music

Image from the video of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean

We've got our monthly selection of music again, right under the wire. I always hate running late on this enjoyable feature. It seems stupid celebrating the sounds of one month in another.

Over the decades, the month of March has been full of good and interesting music. In fact, it was a bit hard winnowing my selections down to just nine songs. Some fun music was left to the side. So, we'll have to pass up on Snow's "Informer" from '93 and Will Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" from '98. Maybe we'll listen to them next time, in five years or so. ;-)

Another funny point about this month's post is that it would have been very easy to make it totally focused on Dance music. The whole reason why I changed the post titles, in January, from "Monthly Dance Party" was because it was too tough to put together a broadly enjoyable collection while just focusing on that genre. Well, it's all for the better; I can now honestly choose whatever sounds and videos catch my enthusiasm.

Interior art from Evanescence's album Fallen

Well, that's enough blather. Let's get to the music!!!

Lunacy and the Worm Moon

The first full moon of Spring, also called a Worm Moon, Crow Moon, or Paschal Moon.

It's been a while since last I posted. That seems to be how I start each blog post nowadays. Pretty soon, I'll set up a ritualized opening, something like "Forgive me, father, for I have sinned. It has been x days since my last confession." ;-)

Well, although I've been away from here, I have not been idle. I've got works in motion, new ideas, and innovations to my approach to blogging. Yes, we're getting experimental again!!!

In any case, we've done this routine a few times before, mostly to middling results. But this time will be different!!! I'm a changed man!!! I've got a foolproof plan!!!

Detail of Maita in Gold Dress (2010) by Priscilla Monge

Trust me. It'll be awesome.

February: Decades of Music

Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" was one of the hits of February, 1998.

It's that time again, when we take a stroll back through the years and listen to various hits from over the decades. This month, our selection is eclectic, ranging from instrumental to hip hop, but it's predominantly mainstream. I didn't go looking for off-the-beaten-path songs. Diverse though they may be, these were all chart toppers.

For all the criticism that can be lobbed at popular musical tastes, it's kind of nice seeing how different styles and sounds gain prominence over the decades. Any list that includes such varied music as from the likes of the Bee Gees and Queens of the Stone Age, Toto and Alicia Keys, is a list that can be appreciated. These songs capture the quirkiness and trends of their day.

Alicia Keys' "Like You'll Never See Me Again" made its mark in 2008

Well, let's listen to some music.

Prickly

The Desert Garden at the Huntington, with more than 5000 species of desert flora in 10 acres

Here are a couple more photos from my trip to the Huntington.

I'm not big on desert flora. Having a slight case of trypanophobia, I try to stay well away from needles and other such spiky, piercing objects. The shapes and colors of these desert plants are certainly interesting, well worth viewing, but it's a tense experience for me. Nevertheless, I'm happy that I overcame the phobia long enough to appreciate a part of the garden that I rarely visit.

And the desert flora is easy to compose into interesting photos.

More cacti and diverse succulents

As long as there are nice and wide garden paths, these weird prickly plants make for good viewing, but you will not find me scampering among their piercing presence in a wild terrain any time soon. The lily ponds and camellias were welcome sights afterwards. ;-)

This Could Take All Night

Long Beach Harbor on a gusty winter twilight

Again, my blogging time has slipped away from me.

Although I'm doing a decent job of putting up a daily post, I would like to write more things with actual substance. I don't think that I'm totally failing at this goal, but I can do better. Nevertheless, we make the most out of the time available, doing our best with the situation in which we find ourselves.

Therefore, tonight's post will consist of a few photographs, images that I've taken over the past few days that caught my fancy. Outside and inside, any location presents interesting sights. ;-)

The claustrophobic trail through the library's book-laden shelves

And, to celebrate the birthday of Dave Grohl, let's listen to some music.

Stop the Clocks!!!

 Triple stop!!! Within a puddle, the stop sign is reflected.



It would have been a bit humorous, after all the bold proclamations of yesterday, if I had failed to put up a post on the second day of the year. Fortunately for my pride, I made it under the wire with a nice “reflection” photo. There is something cool about looking at the world upside down in a body of water.

Anyways, I really thought that I had a bunch of time tonight to write up a full blog post, but somehow it slipped away. If only we could stop the clock, making the hours stretch until we can accomplish all those things that we desire. There are too many movies to watch, books to read, stories to tell, and delights to experience to fit into the leftover time of the day, after the daily grind in finished.

Well, we'll make it work out somehow.

Glimpse of Hidden Beauty

Even an ugly, old oil refinery can be transformed in a golden moment into a vision of Beauty


Feeling not so good right now. A bit depressed. A bit sick

Days have been ugly, overcast, cold. Trying to stay upbeat, positive, but bad sleep, coughing, and back ache. Makes me tired.

I feel like garbage. . .

Need comfort music. . .

Dance Party: August

Meg White as a Mexican prostitute in The White Stripes' video for "Icky Thump"


It's time for our monthly celebration of music. I know that many of my recent posts have been heavy on the tunes, but, whereas those other posts focus on a theme, the "Dance Party" is chronologically arranged. From 1967 to 2007, we've got some fine and fun songs to bring back memories from these bygone years.

It's a fine way to end a summer day, sharing music, like bringing gifts from far away. ;-)

And it's better than standing in line to see the show tonight. . .



Image from The Beatles' Yellow Submarine


Doesn't take much to make me happy. :-)

So, let's listen to some music.

Dance Party: July

Detail from Ultra Nate's "Free" EP (1997)

Comin' in just under the wire. ;-)

Well, we've got a goofy mix of music this time around, but lots to enjoy, admire, and appreciate for beauty, playfulness, or originality. The nine songs in tonight's post are all certainly evocative of the era in which they came to prominence. Yeah, there's a bit o' cheesiness that can't be denied, but, over the years, popular trends go from cool to kooky, poised to playful. And a whole lot of loneliness. . .

From tear-jerkers to trance, big hair to big butts, disco to emo, tonight we'll play out the month with an eclectic mix.

Cover detail from Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back" (1992)

Let's listen to some music!

Faraway Thoughts

Marriott Hotel in Torrance

Honestly, my mind just hasn't been up to blogging over the past few days.

But it's a passing state. ;-)

I've been spending too much time looking at the Olympics, reading, and just letting my concentration drift. Let's just say that I'm on vacation.

Some place faraway. . .

Baking Up Bright Ideas

Detail of Nota Prop (2010) by Arthur Henderson

Well, I haven't much time to write up something clever tonight. So, instead, here's an image that I saw at the Oh Nancy "Blank Land" show, which was on exhibit at the Torrance Art Museum. It was only a two day event, closing last Tuesday.

Overall, the show was really engaging, full of interesting pieces. But I was charmed by this piece, which reminds me of a supersized Easy-Bake Oven. ;-)

So, let's have a restful Sunday evening and listen to some music.

Dancing and Singing for the Muse

SZC Project performs a dance across the LACMA campus as part of the Muse Artwalk events

My friends sometimes ask me, if I have the normal member's free admission to LACMA's galleries, why would I attend the bustle and crowd of the annual Muse Artwalk? The answer is obvious: the performances. Certainly, I can visit the museum whenever I wish. Likewise, I'm no stranger to the Miracle Mile art galleries. But it is a rarity that I can view some engaging modern dance performances.

Moreover, the manner in which the choreography incorporates the unique features of the site absolutely cannot be replicated anywhere else. This makes for a "one time only" experience, an aesthetic moment that is transitory, constrained in time and space. For me, this limitation makes it a precious and much coveted art event.

Yeah, sometimes the throng of visitors might get annoying, especially if they have some rambunctious children with them. However, for the uncommon taste of performance art and dance, I will happily tolerate an occasional screaming babe. ;-)

Invertigo Dance performing in front of Chris Burden's Urban Light (2008)


Now, the hazy and humid heat might present another problem, but, if the performers can endure it, then I can do so as well. After all, it's not me jumping around, kicking and twisting and writhing, upon the hot concrete of the BP Grand Entrance. And that's a very good thing. :-P

A dancer from kDub Dance, constrained within the boundaries delineated by colored tape.


The performances were well worth the effort. I especially enjoyed SZC Project's performance upon the exterior stairway of the Broad Contemporary, but each dance brought something new and engaging. They really inspired me to make more of an effort to attend dance events. Every year, the Artwalk inspires me, but I rarely follow through. This time, I intend to hit at least three shows before next year's event.