Dare I?

I have the opportunity to attend a phenomenal late night Inaugural After Party at a very exclusive nightclub in Washington, DC from 11:00 PM - 4:00 AM which will truly be packed with Hollywood celebs....
Hmmm...

Your followers...

Just when you thought I may never appear here again, it is I, after a 3 week hiatus. To be fair, there has been much on my plate as of late keeping me busier than usual. I found this online this morning and felt the need to share it - make of it what you will.




I think it would be fun to have seen the original. The bucolic scene surrounding Jesus and his companion present lush rolling hills of some rural area, dare I say, possibly, somewhere south of the Mason Dixon line. Of course, they could also simply be strolling about the countryside of some Midwestern locale deep in the heartland. In the background to the left is the hint of either an old farmhouse or church. More likely than not however, it is a church - at least in my opinion. I mean, really, Jesus is there strolling about with his much shorter friend.

While the chap on the right is smartly dressed, he's certainly no style match for Jesus. There is a very popular and chic salon here in town where a man's haircut costs $32. Last week, I was almost certain that I caught a glimpse of Jesus ducking in the spot trying not to be noticed, now I'm certain it was him. His stylist does a fine job in any case. In fact, he looks like a strapping combination of Charlton Heston, Mel Gibson, and Al Pacino.

I must admit that I am a great fan of this type of humor, though I'm not sure what it's called. It's Monty Pythonesque in the sense that an image is manipulated and then used to convey an entirely new meaning, usually humorous and ironic, as is the case above. In fact, this reminds me of my very first post in this blog a few years back which documented a very odd encounter I had at a local tire repair shop:

http://sprouseart.blogspot.com/2005/04/let-he-who-have-no-tread.html

I'll have to research a bit and see if I can discover the name of this mode of humor.

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Socks the Cat

Socks the Cat's Cancer Battle



Poor Kitty. Somewhere out there there is a photo of me holding Socks taken during a private tour of the White House that I was invited on during the Clinton administration. At that time, he was a big and friendly act that leaped into my arms and purred.

Party Machine

Shake Your Tail Feathers baby!

Another cool discovery...

Have any of you noted as of late all of the great archaeological finds that have been discovered recently? I, for one, find all of this very exciting...

4,300-year-old pyramid discovered in Egypt
2,000-year-old gold earring found in Jerusalem
New Bamiyan Buddha find amid destruction

Gotta love this!

For those of you who have been concerned that I may be abandoning my blog, fear not. I've just been busier than I have ever been in my life working with several new visual and performing arts projects connected to my work. I'll still be posting, but probabbly not on an every day occurance. Though - I'll do my best.

With that being said - I ran across this new item online which brought a smile to my face...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081110/ap_on_re_us/wwii_photo

It's the day after Halloween

It's the day after Halloween. I had a big night last night.
I now feel like 14 hells.
I just can't party the way I used to anymore.
Alas.

Happy Halloween Folks...

NRSC = Freaks

I am not from Minnesota nor have I ever been there (though I would love to visit one day and probably will as I do have friends there). I know that there has been a rather heated campaign between Minnesota senate race between Republican Norm Coleman and comedian Al Franken
raging throughout the state which I have been following somewhat from a distance.

I also want to state that I have been a fan of Al Franken for many years. I was first introduced to his unique comedy when he would appear on SNL in the late 70's as part of the Franken & Davis show. Years later I watched him as a celebrity contestant at a taping of Jeopardy and found him not only hilarious but articulate and very intelligent.

Then, several years after that, I became hooked on his radio talk show that aired for a couple of years on Air America Radio.

SO, you can imagine my disgust when I read about the recent low-down low-brow smear tactics that the National Republican Senatorial Committee has taken in a pathetic attempt to bring him down.

See for yourself here:

http://www.americablog.com/2008/10/norm-coleman-mails-rape-comic-book-to.html

And thus begins a new chapter...

It's an early Monday morning in late October.

In synchronistic fashion, yesterday afternoon was the very last day that I will ever set foot in my previous house in New Jersey while today is the day that I "officially" begin my new position as Executive Director of the Celebration Studios and Gallery here in Rehoboth Beach. I use the word officially in quotes only because I have been working more or less in the position for the last 2 weeks or so, but today is when it actually begins..."officially".

Of course, I'll still be responsible for many of the duties connected to my position as Associate Director of the Theatre for quite some time, the role has just been expanded into a wider scope of possibilities. I'm very pleased about taking on the new role, and the new work.

Make no mistake - there is much new work to be done. Much. But you see, this isn't so much a "job" as it is a life role that is played. It was the same way when I was the owner and curator of eklektikos gallery of art in Washington, DC for 10 years. The role becomes part of your psyche, thus, you are always "working", but it is more akin to always keeping the vision alive and prospering.

If you've ever been involved in similar projects, you know what I mean.

Perhaps that's an even better term, "project". Working on a "project" has always seemed more attractive to me than simply "working". "Working" seems mundane, rote, tedious, like an unpleasant necessity while working on a project seems creative, invigorating, collaborative, fruitful and pleasant.

So, with that in mind, let me reword my first paragraph—today is the day that I begin working on my new project—as Executive Director of the Celebration Studios and Gallery.

Here's to new chapters.



Zoom. Zoom.

Arrivederci New Jersey

Good morning. As I press down on my keyboard, it's a bit after 6:00 AM, E.S.T. I've been up since 4:51 AM, which, as of late, is quickly becoming the norm for me. But this morning has a rather odd aura about it for this is the last morning that I spend here in this particular house in New Jersey.

For a variety of reasons, each either too tedious or too personal to list, my partner and I listed our house here in New Jersey sometime around last May. To condense an extremely long story, we finalize the sale to the new owners on the 30th, exactly one week from today.

For those of you with absolutely much too much time on your hands, it may indeed be possible to research much earlier postings in this blog to discover that we purchased this home almost 3 years ago to the date. I remember moving in less than a week before Halloween and being concerned that I hadn't had time to pick up candy or carve a jack-o-lantern because of the chaos, a thought that, in hindsight, I now view as completely absurd.

Initially, I was very pleased with the decision. It was, and still is, a lovely old home a top a small hill looking over the quaint main street confines of a charming bedroom community of Philadelphia. However, as the months flew from the calendar like faded leaves from a branch, the events that I had envisioned occurring did not. I became disillusioned and ready for change.

Now, the change that I requested from the universe was delivered to be in abundance. Since moving back to the beach on a full time basis last May, my life has indeed taken on a new level of involvement that I find stimulating, challenging, rewarding—and most importantly—that allows me to enlarge my creative horizon on a daily basis.

So, it is not with sadness that I notice the fact that this will be the last 6:46 AM that I spend in the Butterscotch Castle. It seems that the older I become, the less wistful I become as well. The past is the past and I've learned that attempting to dwell in it, as well as regret it, is futile to say the least. Upward and onward with myself.

However, there is an oddness about knowing that one particular moment is the last moment. It's a tad bit haunting - the finality of it all, and as such, it seems that my morning is composed of a very long stream of final moments.

Halloween is just around the corner...

Gotta love it...

In Memorium...

To a brilliant talent and an amazing humanitarian...


Paul Leonard Newman
January 26, 1925 - September 26, 2008

Return of The Dame

Some of you may not know that the Nick Sprouse referred to in this article is my brother. He had been the talent buyer for the famed "Dame" in downtown Lexington for many years.

However, last June 22, the Dame was closed after its lease was bought out as part of a move to clear businesses from the block to make way for construction of CentrePointe, the proposed 35-story high-rise hotel and condominium tower.

That decision proved to be controversial to say the least and it left the future of the Dame, as well as that of my brother's career, in limbo.

I'm very pleased to learn this morning however, that a Phoenix has risen from the ash.

http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/523969.html

Funny

Busy, Busy, Busy

In case you were mislead by the title of this post, I have indeed been busy, busy, busy. The majority of the time that has past since my last post, has been devoted to my work at the Rehoboth Beach Theatre of the Arts and my exhibit which opens on Friday the 12th at the Philip Morton Gallery in Rehoboth Beach.

So, speaking as someone with little free time, I found this article of interest.

http://www.dbtechno.com/health/2008/09/09/study-shows-exercise-helps-people-beat-their-fat-gene/

Imus admit that I laughed aloud with a cynical guffaw when I read the last two lines which read

"Those in the high activity group who did around 3 to 4 hours of moderate exercise each day burned 900 more calories than the low activity group.

This shows that with exercise, you truly can beat your fat gene."

Huh??!! 3 to 4 hours of exercise A DAY?! What person has time for that? Say someone works an average 9 to 5 job, and let's say that they wake up on average around 7:30 AM to get their morning ritual underway. Now let's figure an average of 30 minutes to get to work and another 30 to get home. In order to have 3 to 4 hours of exercise a day, they would need to rise at 3:30 AM and leap into some exercise routine groggy eyed with morning breath, or exercise from roughly 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM each and every night.

Welcome to Fantasy Island...

Freakin' back pain...

Though I don't think that I have mentioned it here during this last week, I had one of my infamous "back throw out" sessions last Saturday night while at the "Almost Queen" show at the theatre. I can't really pinpoint any one thing that may have led to the "lumbar strain", but nevertheless it occurred.One moment, I was fine, the next - I was in severe pain and unable to stand up properly. Trouble is, here it is one week later, and I still have tightness and pain in my lower back. Not like for the first few days thankfully, but I have been experiencing some level of or pain ranging from mild to extreme for the last 8 days now.
And that doesn't make me feel like doing much of anything at all.

Refreshingly Honest...

After I left the theatre yesterday afternoon, George and I made plans to get together with our friend Michael, eat some dinner and watch a movie. Though as loosely made plans often tend to do, our schedule changed a bit when we all decided to dine at a local and hip little diner within walking distance from Michael's home.
We were in the mood for something "homey" food wise and once our server arrived the following conversation took place:
Michael K : "So, how is the meatloaf? Would you recommend it?"
Waitress : "No. Personally, I think it's disgusting. But if you're into that kind of thing..."
After a brief second of raised eyebrows and quick smirks, George than asks,
"Hmm. Well, what about the spaghetti and meatballs?"
Waitress: "You know, you're better off going to an Italian restaurant."

Thanks to her refreshing honesty, we all had Patty Melts.

And they were delicious.

Thank You honest waitress.