Thursday, April 26, 2007

WTF??!! Thursday



I am so sick of the never ending torrent of bullshit that flows from every nook and cranny of the White House. It's become nothing but a brothel for a tired looking collection of corporate whores each battling to become the next madam.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3082076

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Flickr Fav Wednesday

I ran across this advertisement on flickr.com today -



It's for Swift's Premium Table Ready Meats and it tells the story of Bill coming home for furlough. This inspires Mom to whip up a batch of Furlough Fixin's, which, ultimately is a plate of cold meat arranged about a grouping of "carrot flowers" which has been added to "glamorize the meat platter". Mmm - meat platter and carrot flowers. No wonder sis enlists as well before the end of the story. You should click here to see and read the large version - LARGE version

One very odd addition to the ad is this:


What the hell does that mean? Perhaps this is something that only folks who lived through WWII can relate to. It seems macabre to me.

In any event, I would like to post more here on several other topics, but I must get back into the studio. I finished this work yesterday -



But I have so much more to do. I will say that I fell in love with this cool news story this morning...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/04/25/habitable.planet.ap/index.html

It's very exciting to me and can certainly be the stuff of some great sci-fi. - an earthlike world where only half of the planet lives in light. Oooooo. What, pray tell, lurks on the dark side?

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Self-Portrait Tuesday, April 24, 2007



Here I am looking very early 1960'ish with my retro glasses and shirt. What fun. I love time travel.

Last Sunday afternoon, I found my thoughts suddenly preoccupied with a friend of mine that I haven't heard from or seen in over 10 years. Last night, as if by magic, I found a message from her waiting in my myspace in-box.

I love the way the universe works. Just send thoughts out there and wait for it to respond.

Have a great Tuesday.
Always,
M

Monday, April 23, 2007

Monday and Calla Lillies...

Hey - it's Monday April 23. It's also been 10 days since my last blog entry. There were several reasons for the absence and it's rather difficult to pick one out over the other in terms of importance. I will state that one of the reasons that I wanted to stay clear of the blog is that , in my opinion, it would have been odd not to have mentioned anything about what occurred at Virginia Tech. I felt like processing that terrible event in my own manner. At the same time, there was so much media coverage about it, that it was overwhelming. So, I took a little break from the blog.

Besides April 16 being the date of that terrible event, it also would have happened to have been the 70th birthday of my now deceased father. In fact, I have more than one friend that share that same birthday.

I managed to have a rather productive week artistically and am almost finished with my latest work. The weather turned absolutely beautiful last Friday and it remains the same. So, before I spend the rest of this lovely day in the studio, I'm going out to plant these...

Friday, April 13, 2007

Have A Great Weekend


Have A Great Weekend, originally uploaded by sprouseart.

It's Friday. Go have fun.
Always,
M

Thursday, April 12, 2007

WTFF??!! Thursday



It's raining like mad on this chilly Spring Thursday morning. It's raining enough that I think that there is a strong possibility that the run off may seep underneath the heavy metal door of my studio. That means that I will have to battle with the cumbersome wet-vac for a bit today. What fun!

It also happens to be WTF??!! Thursday - and here is my WTF??!! for today. It seems that important (and more than likely incriminating) emails from White House staffers have "potentially been lost". You can read the details in the story from ABC news, but it is infuriating, in my opinion, to say the least. Infuriating, and also pathetic.

The current administration in the White House has created, and perpetuated, such abundant lies that it is practically impossible to know when they are, or if, they are ever speaking the truth about anything. This latest trick only exposes more of the sliminess and chicanery.

Article here : http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3032600&page=1

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Flickr Fav Wed. - CraniTonic Hair-Food, 1903


CraniTonic Hair-Food, 1903, originally uploaded by Gatochy.

I ran across this on flickr the other day and was floored by it. Your really have to click on the image, follow the link to flickr.com, and then click on the magnified view to see how amazing the imagery is here. This advertisement is 103 years old folks!
Amazing!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Self-Portrait Tuesday: 4-10-07


Self-Portrait Tuesday: 4-10-07, originally uploaded by sprouseart.

Here tis - Tuesday morning already. That means that it is Self-Portrait Tuesday. I'm going to spend the day focused on my art. I have to start this morning preparing my latest work to ship to the gallery in Richmond. Then, the rest of the day is mine to spend in the studio working away on my latest painting.
I'll share imagery of it at some point soon.
Oh, and by the way, just when you think that the current administration couldn't get much more slimy, you read something like this:
White House unofficial e-mail accounts draw scrutiny.
Filthy pigs - the lot of them.
Always,
M

Monday, April 09, 2007

NO MORE JUNK MAIL!

Junk Mail

I hope that everyone's holiday weekend was a lovely as mine. Though the weather was (and still is I'm afraid) more winter than spring temperature wise, I still had a thoroughly enjoyable time, even if I didn't get to see one single easter egg.

I did, however, happen to notice a rabbit in my backyard Sunday morning as I was preparing my special Easter Breakfast of Blueberry Lemon Buckwheat Pancakes and Rosemary Garlic Turkey Breakfast sausages as for George and myself. It was the first time that I have seen a rabbit in my yard at all since moving here a year and a half ago, so it was appropriate that he make his appearance on Easter morning.

One thing that I also began to notice after moving to this part of Southern New Jersey, was the overwhelming amount of junk mail that I receive on a daily basis here through the tiny mail slot in my front door. I really do believe that it is the largest amount of unsolicited junk mail that I have ever received in any location that I have ever resided. Though I do recycle all of it, I would much rather have none of it to begin with. So, as I was surfing the web this AM, I ran across this posting on the Ideal Bite website.

Is your mailbox a junk mail graveyard?

I found several useful tips there that I am hoping will work. Especially this one, which appears to be the junk mail equivalent of the "national do not call" list. Check it out here -

https://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Happy Easter


Happy Easter, originally uploaded by sprouseart.

Have a great holiday folks!
Always,
M

Friday, April 06, 2007

Have a lovely Easter....



And don't forget...

Thursday, April 05, 2007

WTF??!! Thursday


It's Thursday, almost the weekend. It's also WTF??!! Thursday, and here it is.
I found this story so tragic. Click on the link below to read about how the director of that wonderful Holiday classic "A Christmas Story" was killed along with his 22 years old son early Wednesday morning when they were hit head on by a drunk driver speeding the wrong way down the road. After I first read the headline, the inital shock of it had me uttering, WTF??!!

'A Christmas Story' director, son killed in crash



Yesterday, I put the finishing touches on my latest work and sent an image to the gallery director in Richmond. He already has a potential client for it. That's not a bad way to start off the end of the week.


"Due Sorelle", 36" x 36", acrylic on canvas. © Michael Sprouse

Always,
M

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Flickr Fav Wednesday

So, I missed the last several days of blogdom. I've had quite a bit on my plate with deadlines and what not. At this very second, it's 5:32 AM and I am listening to a Doors tune that I've never heard before called 'Runnin' Blues". It's very odd, but I dig it. I've been floating in and out of a insomnia cloud the last few days and have been up this morning since 4:45 AM. It will pass.
I found the above photo on flickr.com just a bit ago and it struck my fancy, so here tis - posted for my new sprouseart blog addition, Flickr Fav Wednesday. I know I skip around on these things, but, hey it's 5:30 AM.
Enjoy.
Always,
M

Friday, March 30, 2007

A Message From Clucky...

It's Friday and I am in a Friday mindset. That means that I don't want to sepnd a great deal of time on this blog today. In fact, the only thing that I want to spend a great deal of time on at the begining of the weekend, is the begining of the weekend.

I have decided that from now on, every Friday, I will let Clucky the Talking Chicken greet all fans of this blog with a Happy Weekend Message. While his message will more than likely stay the same, I'm sure that his quirky imagery will remain in flux.

Enjoy



Always,
M

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Popularly known as "Yeomanettes"

I found this story about the obituary of Charlotte Winters rather amazing...

Last Surviving Female World War I Veteran Dies (Charlotte Winters)

109 years old - What a life she must have had!


"Yeomanettes" at Portsmouth Naval Yard, Kittery, Maine. Oct. 1918

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Past Life or Pasta?

A lovely Spring morning is dawning here. I have my windows open, and from where I sit, I can hear the voices of little children conversing with their mothers as they walk to school intermingled with the sounds of chirping birds and the muffled roar of an occasional jet as it passes overhead. It's a comforting sensation and I've not once yet been tempted to turn on the XM Satellite Radio. I listen to the 40's station, usually, in the mornings as I slough off my morning somnolence with each sip of coffee. though, I prefer the sounds of Spring this morning.



I had a great day in the studio yesterday and feel that I will do the same today. As I was winding down my painting day a wonderful friend of mine that I hadn't seen in weeks, Marnie, slowly drove by with a beep of her car horn and stopped in front of my open studio. She parked, came into the studio, and we had a great visit. Shortly before she stopped by, I had just finished inviting Michael and Karen over for a simple dinner and some wine. I haven't seen them in a bit, certainly not since they both shaved their heads for the St. Baldricks group that raises money for kids with cancer.

After they arrived, we all sat in the backyard and had great conversation over wine and scotch. Eventually I threw together a very nice pasta dish with Kielbasa, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, artichoke hearts and more.

Now, because we ate later than I usually do, and also probably due to the Scotch, I feel rather quickly into a deep sleep after I went to bed. But one of my dreams last night was particularly compelling. I think it may have been a past life dream.

It was so vivid and different and it certainly took place in the past. I wish I could remember more of it, but what I do remember is very acute. In the section that I do remember, I have traveled with another man to an immense stone bridge just outside of a large village/town. There were several other military men there and everyone was dressed in very colorful military garb with swords, long robes, and metal helmets. I knew that they were there to meet with and quite possibly kill the man that I was there with. I could tell that he knew this as well.

One thing that I do distinctly remember was that the man that I was with was Asian, quite possibly Chinese. Also, the group of men that we were meeting were definitely not Asian and were more than likely European. Again, I don't know where we were, but I did feel that I was somewhere in Europe, especially Italy. No one, including the fellow that I was with, seemed to take notice of me. It was as if I was some sort of silent observer.

Though the majority of the men by the bridge were on foot, some were on horseback. There was a distinct air of tension and the fellows by the bridge were stony faced to say the least. Though I do remember the Asian man looking somewhat bemused with a slight smirk on his face. I remember thinking, "How can this man look so relaxed? Surely, he knows that he is about to be killed!" This didn't seem to phase him in the least. He, too, was dressed in highly ornamental clothes and was carrying at least two swords, on on either side.

What happened next was like a scene from a Martial Arts film. About 4 or 5 of the men in the group began moving towards the Asian man threateningly. You could see that they were intimidated, but they came forward anyway. The Asian fellow, suddenly began moving like the speed of light. In my dream, it was actually stunning. Though I would normally be repulsed by witnessing such a thing, in the dream I simply witnessed without judgment. It was fascinating. Within seconds the men that had approached the Asian fellow lay dead or dying on the ground. This also stunned the men on horseback because they literally fled after witnessing the same scene.

The next thing that I was soaring above the village. I could see every detail beginning with the Asian man who was know cleaning his sword of the blood of the dying men around him, to the countryside, to the cityscape of the town in all of it's medieval glory and on and on. It was as if I were a helium filled balloon rising with great speed into the air. It was so exhilaratingly! And then I awoke with one of those "sit straight up in bed" type of awakenings.

So, to tie all of this into an even more uncanny experience for me this morning was what happened after I came downstairs to have my coffee. I was checking my email still somewhat groggily, and I noticed that I had a request on myspace to add a new friend. I was checking out this person's page, and they had a song streaming by a group called Melee. I really liked the song ( entitled "Built To Last") and I wanted to know more about the group. I opened Wikipedia and put their name into the search engine. I expected to find a page about their group but was given this instead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melee


I was reading the entry and thinking, "Wait this sounds like my freakin' dream!". I then noticed the image that the entry had posted was even more astounded. It looked like a illustration of the scene that I had just witnessed in my dream! I clicked on it to get a larger view and saw this -



The similarities between my dream and the image above simply floored me. So, now I'm not sure what to think. What was my dream and why would I have such a strong visual reference to it in my waking world less than an hour after having awakened? Is there some message that I haven't caught onto yet? A Past Life regression? I'm going to think about this for quite some time and try to piece the puzzle together. Any help would be appreciated.
Always,
M

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Self-Portrait Tuesday, Bacon and Open Windows

It's Spring and time for new things. Thusly, I changed the image that had been in my banner at the top o' this page and in the thumbnail to the right, to the new image that I took this AM for S.P.T. Here tis -



The previous image that I had been using was taken right before my 40th birthday. Well, I'll be 42 in May, so, out with the old and in with the new. Besides, it's going to be a lovely day weather wise here in ole NJ.
I had every intention of getting into the gym today, but with the weather so nice, I may just have to talk my power walk around my favorite near-by park. When the weather is so lovely, I have a hard time convincing myself that it is a better thing to be inside a giant gym on a treadmill with earphones and a wee little video screen in front of me. It seems so Orwellean. I'd rather have the sun and the "Springnesss" of it all - allergies aside.
Though, I haven't been to the gym in months and I battle with myself every morning about that. I do truly think, however, that had the weather been not as nice this morning, I would have made the trek to the gym.
Of course, right this very minute, someone in the neighborhood is frying bacon.



It's alluring scent is wafting trough my open windows and it is about to transform me into a ravenous wild eyed madman beating down every door to find it.
I hope they made enough...wish me luck.
Always,
M

Thursday, March 22, 2007

"Mafioso" and Alberto Sordi

Though I have a busy schedule this morning, I just had to pop in here to mention a wonderful film that I saw last night at the Ritz at the Bourse Theatre in Philadelphia last night. The title of the film is "Mafioso" and it stars the incomparable Italian Cinema star Alberto Sordi. It's a brilliant dark comedy with several existentialist twists.



From The New Yorker by Anthony Lane:
Antonio Badalamenti (Alberto Sordi) is every inch the modern Sicilian. He is organized and forward-looking; he is married to a blonde from Bellagio (Norma Bengell), and they have two blond daughters; he lives in Milan and works as a foreman at a Fiat plant. But the call of home is strong, and, when Antonio drags the family back to his native village for a vacation, the loyalties of the past rise up to consume him. “Mafioso,” Alberto Lattuada’s comedy from 1962, which was recently showcased at the New York Film Festival in a restored version that will play in revival at the Angelika and at Lincoln Plaza starting Jan. 19, clamors for rediscovery. Filmed in a hot and bleached black-and-white, it manages to swerve from culture-clashing farce to alarming suspense without losing control; admirers of the Corleones, or, indeed, of Tony Soprano, will revel in the fleshy, pontifical presence of Don Vincenzo (Ugo Attanasio), the head of the local Mafia. The small favor that he asks of the fawning Antonio is the movie’s big surprise; if you give it away, the Don will not be happy.


If you get a chance, and enjoy Italian cinema as much as I, you should definitely see this film during it's current re-release.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

HAHAHAHA - Incredibly funny, yet sadly true, video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM_MkWgbt3k

The above was sent to me by my dear friend JT. I love it on many levels. Whats so ironically funny is the TRUTH that it speaks while making you laugh until it hurts. That is - if you've enough intelligence to understand such concepts as comic irony. According to a recent Newsweek poll (http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm), only 30% of the American populace approves of Bush's job performance. I have seen even lower numbers as well out there. So, let's say that at least 70% of Americans who watch the video will enjoy it and better yet - understand it. You just have to wonder about the mentality of people that support the way that Bush is destroying our beloved country...







I think this little image from The Center For American Progress explains it quite well...


Now, the Republicans in Washington that support Bush, while clearly not under educated, are, in my opinion, motivated by greed, hate and fear. I am a Progressive and proud of it. One only has to open their eyes to understand what's happening in this country on so many levels to see how non-progressive rule is destroying it.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

SPRING 2007!!!!


photo by Derick Rethans

Let there be great rejoicing that Spring has arrived! A little after 8:00 PM EST tonight, Spring will officially arrive and that makes me a very, very, happy man! Enough of this Winter cold, snow, sleet, slush and more. I want bright skies and warm breezes, chirping birds and tulips, front porch swings and my ukulele.
Already, the depressing icy slush that formulated so much of the weekend is melting away like a grape Popsicle on a sunny summer's afternoon. I'm going to spend the rest of this glorious day in my studio with every door wide open right onto the street!

By the way, it's Self-Portrait Tuesday...




Oh, and one more thing, Dr. ML, I love you man, but if you text message me at 12:45 AM in the morning on a Monday night when I am trying to sleep one more time with another silly rambling, I'm going to jump on the next plane, show up unexpectedly on your doorstep, and introduce you to another use for your cellphone not currently allowed in public advertising. My best to your lovely wife and children.