January: Decades of Music

The Bee Gees kicked off their Saturday Night Fever success with "How Deep Is Your Love"

I stopped writing the old "Monthly Dance Party" posts a while back because of two reasons. First, although it's fun to look at different musical trends over the decades, contrasted in five-year intervals, I didn't feel as if my writing was giving anything special to the topic. My posts were little more than a couple pictures and a list of videos.

Second, I got lazy. Feeling as if these music posts were just list-compiling drudgery, I couldn't muster up the energy or enthusiasm to write about the songs or my experiences of the music. Yeah, with a little effort, I could have addressed my first concern, but that very problem broke my morale and sapped my will, creating a vicious cycle of negative feedback. My posts were vapid and that drained my enthusiasm, which, in turn, kept me from improving upon my posts.

That's kind of stupid, but that's how it went down. But, with a new year, I'll try to start the project up again and try to make things more interesting. We'll see.

Artwork for Duran Duran's "Ordinary World" from the interior of the Wedding Album 

This month, I went easy on the selections with nothing too far from the mainstream. I didn't hit many Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers, but they all probably made good chart positions. Sure, I could have dug a bit deeper into the music, turning up forgotten gems, but there's nothing wrong with mainstream music.

After all, we're here to have fun. ;-)

When the Sun Sets

Twilight descends upon the land, as the last rays of sunlight glow red upon the horizon.

The grind of days keeps on wearing me down.

Even the beauty of the sunset, with the last rays of light stretching across the horizon in shades of crimson and orange, brings me no happiness or comfort, only a distant aesthetic appreciation. The moon, so full and near in the winter night, has no charm for me right now. And it has been so very cold, at least by our local standards.

I know that this current malaise will pass. Yet, the moments seem to drag with excruciating slowness. I feel like I'm in some annoying Existentialist drama, waiting for Godot or some other Sisyphean futility. And I freakin' hate it!!!

Yeah, I know this doesn't make for interesting reading. Don't worry. This angst shall pass. For now, just look at the photographs and forgive me for the weepy prose.

Enjoy!!!

Fallen Leaves and Barren Trees

The branches, nearly bare, stretch up into a turbulent sky.

Yeah, another photo blog. I don't have the energy today to write about anything really cool or exciting. Like these trees, I'll have to wait for a warmer time to show a proper flourish.

But I'm keeping up the daily output, even through these difficult times. That's something about which I can be happy. There are many wonderful things around me; if only I could rally my spirit, there would be an overabundance of writing. ;-)

Yet, for today, we'll look at these poor fallen leaves.

Dry and discarded, the fallen leaves rest upon the green grass.

Maybe tomorrow. . .

Monumentality of Everyday Objects

The Flashlight (1981) by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen
Campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Height: 38 ft.; Weight: 74,000 lbs.

Last year, I had the opportunity to visit Las Vegas. Being a Claes Oldenburg enthusiast, I absolutely had to visit a couple of his sculptures in the area.

First, I went to visit the Flashlight at UNLV. It's an interesting experience viewing this work, seeing it at a distance but not realizing the full height of the piece until you get right up to it. Approaching from the nearby stairway and ascending to its base level, the full monumental quality is impressive. It may be a giant flashlight, but the scale makes it transcend mere commonality; like a Roman column or Egyptian obelisk, this sculpture has a commanding presence.

Then, I headed over to the City Center to see the Typewriter Eraser (Scale X). Although not as imposing as the Flashlight, this piece was more humorous, more dynamic. Amid the towering hotels and bustling crowds of the Strip, the Typewriter Eraser seemed at home, colorful and whimsical.

Typewriter Eraser, Scale X (1998-99) by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen
Las Vegas City Center
Height: 19 ft.; Weight: 4 tons
1 in an edition of 3

Fun stuff!!!

Morbid and Bizarre

Detail of The Innsmouth Look by Russ Lukich

I recently had the opportunity to visit CoproGallery's current show, "Conjoined III: The Final Chapter," a group exhibit curated by Chet Zar. It was a ghoulishly good time.

I figured that I would share a few images with you all.

H.P. Lovecraft's Hound of Tindalos by Dave Grasso

Yeah, there were a few Lovecraftian-inspired works on display, plenty of occult imagery, and more Pop Surrealistic visions than you'll find with a full flask of adrenochrome. ;-)

Detail of Weird Science by Mike Regan

This exhibit runs until February 9, 2013.

Living Foodstuffs

Sophie the Pink Lemonade Ice Pop and Vampire Candy Corn from the World of Mr. Toast

Well, we've been looking at various toys over the past few weeks. So, let's check out a few plush dolls from the World of Mr. Toast!!!

You might be wondering why anybody would want to have dolls of drunken carrots or smiling ice pops. You might not find comics of sentient and mobile foodstuffs engaging in absurd behavior, minimal though it may be, to be of great interest. Well, there are some out there that enjoy playing with their food. ;-)

And, anyways, how can anyone dislike a fanged and winged candy corn?!!

Joe the Egg and Shaky Bacon

Fun stuff!!!

Friday Flowers: White Winter

Enjoy!!!

Dainty and Darling Dunny

Shadow Friend Dunny by Angry Woebots

Well, it's been another tough day for me, but this fierce little beastie lifts my spirit. Seriously, how can a snarling panda/bunny with a speared fish not bring a smile to your face?

We'll see what tonight brings. Maybe tomorrow. . .

But, for now, have a dunny. ;-)

Blah Blah Blah, Blah Balh

A random assortment of groceries

Sorry, folks.

I'm feeling terrible today. So, rather than doing something cool, I'll just offer you all an image of some foodstuffs. Yummy. ;-)

Enjoy!!!

2013 Weekly Wrap #2

Detail of Lost & Found by Eric Joyner, part of the Corey Helford Gallery's exhibit, Crucifixion

Yes, we have a flexible definition of "weekly" here at Paideia. Let's assign it a value of ten days plus or minus two. Therefore, a year at this blog will have approximately thirty-six "weeks." ;-)

I was hoping for a better production rate, but circumstances interfered. However, seeing as how I visited some galleries this weekend, my rate over the next "week" ought to be much improved. Moreover, I'm really getting into the whole photography blogging.

Of course, things within my personal life have ways of trumping all my blogging intentions. To be honest, things are a bit tough right now. Yet, writing these posts is a welcome way to take my mind off of the troubles of my daily life, a mental escape in which my whimsy can take flight. Unless I'm really too drained to write, it's fun to get away from the quotidian woes.

I hope my blogging gives you, my dear readers, a pleasant diversion as well.

Lawrence at the library, again

So, here's the Wrap:

We had a couple Friday Flowers, with a return to our old tradition of including poetry. First, we showcased a selection of beauties from the South Coast Botanic Garden, along with a poem from Emily Dickinson. Then we put the spotlight on some lovely roses, paired to a Shakespeare sonnet.

Regarding Art, there were two posts. First, we celebrated minimalism and the works of Tony Smith. Second, we reviewed the Corey Helford Gallery's exhibit, Crucifixion, which we thoroughly enjoyed. You can't beat Pink Ice Cream cones, robots, and Wicker Man sacrifices. ;-)

For Music, we had two posts, birth date celebrations. We listened to some Foo Fighters on Dave Grohl's birthday. Then, we enjoyed the sultry sophistication of Eartha Kitt on her birth date. It was purrfect!!!

Our one view of Cinema was another entry into the Hall of Shame, to which we consigned Leprechaun from 1993; just give him the gold so we can put an end to these horrible movies!!!! Then we looked at some Toys, various collectibles from the local retailer, Pop Monster, featuring some Tokidoki Unicornos and Kidrobot Dunnies. Good stuff!!!

And then we had three posts that primarily featured my photography. One was all about taking pictures of the sun, green retinal burns and all. Then we looked at some random photos while enjoying a few renaissance musical pieces. Finally, I demonstrated my love for vanishing points and linear perspective.

All in all, it was a fun batch of posts. I'm looking forward to next "week" and the diverse topics that we will be able to explore.

"A friend with weed is a friend indeed."

Enjoy!!!

Vanishing Points

Corridor through the storage units

Another day, another post. ;-)

I don't have much to talk about today, being distracted by various matters, both good and bad. However, I do have a few photos to share, images that illustrate my fascination with perspective and distance, specifically within architectural forms. I just love those lines converging in the distance.

I think that my photographic skills are improving, especially in having cultivated a mindset that keeps me alert to interesting subjects, the ability to mentally compose a picture from the chaotic forms that surround me. This is a long learning process, but I'm feeling good about my progress. When starting this blog, taking photos was just part of "content creation" and, to my way of thinking, a mere complement to the writing.

Although my prose is definitely stronger than my images, photography has grown into more than a side effort, meant to showcase my words. It is no longer a necessary chore, but an exciting pastime.

A blue dumpster at the end of the parking alley.

On a slow day like this, when my mind is too tired to engage in critical thought or witty reviews, it is nice having a reservoir of photographs to prop up my daily production while maintaining the distinct feel of this blog.

It is said that a picture is worth a hundred words. So, these images really inflate my word count. ;-P

Crucifixion Variations

Detail of Financial Sacrifice American Depress by Ron English

Over half a year has passed since last I wrote about an exhibit at the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City, which is an inexcusably long time, especially since they have had so many awesome shows on exhibit. Well, I made a trip over to see their current show, Crucifixion, which presents works by a selection of their artists on the topic of sacrifice and sacred iconography. The variations were extremely interesting.

Although the images ranged from the haunting to the humorous, the theme was tightly represented by the artists, each in their own unique way. So, Ron English delivers upon the theme of sacrifice, while keeping true to his distinct imagery of social criticism. Likewise, Buff Monster subverts traditional Christian symbolism with anthropomorphic pink ice cream cones, turning a scene of devotion into one of humor.

Across the board, this show presents the unique vision of the gallery, coherent in theme but so wonderfully diverse in implementation.

Detail of Stigmata by Ray Caesar

I highly recommend paying this show a visit.