KATE : The Woman Who Was Hepburn

It's still Friday, but just wanted to mention that the most recent book I'm reading is KATE: The Woman Who Was Hepburn by William J. Mann
So far, this is turning out to be a fascinating read. If you're a Hepburn or classic film fan like I, you'll enjoy this book tremendously.

Ick.Ick.Ick.

McDonald's latest slogan ( "it's what i eat and what i do" - actual insipid lack of correct capitalization) , takes on a macabre new meaning with the perfect Halloween twist when you read the following story...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/10/26/cowboys.rat.salad.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

PINK KICKS ASS!!!

I have always been a fan of Pink. Now I am simply in awe of her. Please, listen to this song. By the way, I have been a SUPER fan of The Indigo Girls since my Athens, GA days back in the 80's. SO pleased to have found this hard hitting and mega-insightful song. Enjoy.



Get music codes at Bolt.

Olbermann's Special Comment on GOP Fearmongering

My new favorite Olbermann video.

Rainy Friday and the death of habeas corpus...

It has been a week since my last blog entry - I have been very busy, enough said.
I will also state that I had been in the middle of a wonderful new blog posting just moments ago when the freakin' browser crashed destroying everything that I had been working on for the last hour. I am still fuming. So, just read or listen to the ever brilliant Keith Olberman excellent commentary on the death of habeas corpus instead by clicking here:

Your words are lies sir...

You'll find it much more enjoyable than my prose about having to take out the trash and the recycling this morning in a cold, drenching rain because I completely forgot about it last night as I was deeply entrenched in watching Dick Cavett interview Katherine Hepburn on Turner Classic Movies.

A K.I.S.S. (keep it short and simple) Friday...

Idiots.

Melting, melting...

Here's my favorite new headline...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2546110&page=1

Don't you just love the word "withers"? That's what the Wicked Witch O' De' West does in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy splashes her with a bucket of water.



Well, now it's time for the Wicked Witch of the West Wing to do the same thing, and this time it's the newly awakened American Public holding the bucket!

Bravo Keith Olbermann!

Keith Olbermann is a brilliant, brave knowing man and a true Patriot! Click here to read his words, or listen to them by watching the video.

A little dance and then Six Reasons Republicans Can't Win The War on Terror

I tried all day yesterday to get this highly freaky video posted here. I think this will do the trick now. It is just much too surreal for words. And of course, I'm just a sucker for the maniacal grin plastered on the face of a shirtless break-dancing Indian little person with the ability to statue-freeze when the music stops and a weakness for the smokes...

---

Now I found this online and am happy to repost it! It was written by RJ Eskow

Six Reasons Republicans Can't Win The War on Terror

October 4, 2006

Six Reasons Republicans Can't Win The War on Terror

The reports are in and the debate is over: The Republican Party, that bastion of hard right ideology, has fumbled the war on terror. The question is no longer whether conservatives are failures in the national security arena. What's important to understand now is why they've done such a poor job. While many factors contribute to their dismal record, there are six key reasons conservatives are ill-equipped to protect our nation.

First, a quick review of the facts: It's now clear that they ignored the flashing red lights warning of an imminent terrorist attack in 2001. We'll never know if 9/11 could have been prevented, but the evidence demonstrates that they failed to do their jobs properly to avoid it.

What's happened since then? Worldwide terrorist incidents have skyrocketed in the last three years alone. They've grown exponentially - from 165 in 2003, to 655 in 2004, then exploding to 11,111 in 2005. Holy Katrina! That's a lot of incompetence.

The President has declared a "Global War on Terror." The result is the global collapse of antiterrorism.

The Iraq war has spawned a lot of anti-US hatred and created quite a few new terrorist recruits, as many predicted. Even so, Iraqi incidents only accounted for approximately 30% of the 2005 figure.

Officials defended themselves by explaining that the definition of a terrorist act changed during this three-year period. That's true. But under the new definition, there were 3,192 attacks in 2004 vs. over 11,000 in 2005 - a nearly fourfold increase. That staggering number reflects four years of GOP mismanagement.

But we haven't been hit since 9/11, comes the conservative response. That's like driving with your eyes shut and bragging that you haven't hit anything yet. Let's look at the facts: Our ports are no safer. We're only inspecting a tiny fraction of cargo containers coming into the US. And for all the theatrics at airport screening locations, the government has yet to respond to two reports that indicated their TSA efforts have made us no safer we were on September 10, 2001.

If this crowd stays in power, it's just a matter of time until the next attack.

That's the what. Now for the why. Here are the six reasons why the Republican record on national security is one of failure:

1. They don't believe in government.

National security is a government initiative. It requires an interlocking network of well-functioning agencies, led and staffed by the most competent people available. The Republican Party has been hijacked by extremists who, with Grover Norquist, want government small enough that "you can drown it in a bathtub" -- or the floodwaters of New Orleans.

It's not an accident that I refer to last year's hurricane. Giving leadership of FEMA to a political crony was a typical Republican act, and organizations like FEMA have a critical role to play in protecting the American people. The GOP believes that government posts are favors to be given to their political pals, and contracts are candy to be given to their friends. (More about that later.)

Most Americans understand that government has a role to play. This crowd doesn't. Their hostility toward the institution of government itself weakens their ability to use that institution to protect the American people.

2. They help their contractors get rich off the American taxpayer, at the expense of the public.

The Republicans have run the country as their private piggy bank, with favors to be dispensed to their rich friends. The Iraq war's been one such get-rich-quick scheme, and some of our soldiers have lost their lives so that Republican cronies can get rich. (See this report on faulty bullets, then read about how the guy who sold defective body armor for our troops spent $10 mil on a party for his daughter.) America's coffers have been plundered by GOP-aided profiteers.

Don't believe me? Then ask yourself why Sen. Patrick Leahy's anti-profiteering bill has been defeated by the Republican leadership over and over, ever since the Iraq war started.

Still don't believe me? Then read this story on how the hiring of TSA screeners turned into yet another get-rich-quick orgy for contractors, complete with anecdotes about charging the government $1,500 to rent 14 extension cords for three weeks. (They also paid $5.4 million to hire an executive for nine months to do "event logistics" - I wonder which party gets his contributions.)

3. They wear ideological blinders.

People who use buzzwords usually aren't thinking. People who think in terms of old-fashioned ideological terms, like equating the anti-terrorist struggle to past world wars, are truly the ones with a "pre-9/11 mindset." The Republican Party is so infatuated with pie-in-the-sky think tank mentalities that it can't see reality. That's why Cheney thought we would be "welcomed as liberators" in Iraq, or why they thought we wouldn't need a post-war military presence. They've read too many papers by flaky right-wing professors.

They need to take off the rose-colored glasses and take a cold, hard look at the real world - but they won't.

4. Their "moderates" aren't moderate.

The extremist ideology of the radical right has hijacked their party from top to bottom. The party's so-called "moderates," like John McCain, are themselves deeply in thrall to extremism. (The recent cave-in on basic American principles regarding torture and habeus corpus demonstrates that.)

Even those Republicans who haven't yet drunk the Kool-Aid can't win or keep elective office without bending their knee to the cultists. That means that, when it comes to stepping outside their comfort zone and reaffirming our values, they won't do it. And, in the end, our Americanism - honored and respected worldwide - is our best weapon in the anti-terror fight. Sacrifice that, as they have done, and you've made us immeasurably weaker.

5. They're "flip-floppers" - about everything except their own power and influence.

Tragically, you can't take a Republican at his word when it comes to the fight against terror. Take Bill Frist. He was "for fighting the Taliban's supporters before he was against it." The GOP was against the Department of Homeland Security before it was for it. They wanted to kill Bin Laden before they outsourced the job at Tora Bora, then they didn't care whether they got him or not. And on and on and on ...

Why the flippety-flops? Because today's GOP has shown that it will say or do anything it needs to do to stay in power. Guys like that will never lead a consistent and effective fight against terrorism. Their half-assed management of the Afghan war (a country from which we were attacked), proves it. Sadly, so do the results.

6. They've politicized the war on terror.

This is the crime for which today's Republican leadership will forever stand in disgrace. America's national security has never been a matter for partisan political gain. The nationwide unity after 9/11 was unprecedented. But the Republicans saw the opportunity to rescue an already-failing Presidency, and they jumped on it.

The result was spectacular success in political terms, but profound failure in national security terms. Their relentless effort to exploit every circumstance for their own gain led to blunder after blunder. The most recent example is the British investigation into possible hijacking plans from that nation. Published reports indicate that British intelligence was disturbed by US interference in the case, and by our government's insistence that they move to make arrests before the investigation was complete.

The infamous manipulation of "orange alerts" during the 2004 campaign is another such example. By using our national security apparatus as a political dirty trick, they undermined national confidence and unity at a critical time.

That's more than just a disgrace. In my book, it's treason. Loyal Americans of both parties need to throw this Congressional regime out of power in November. Its executive cabal - a syndicate that's deeper and more permanent than whoever happens to occupy the Oval Office - needs to get the boot in 2008.

Then, and only then, can we begin to rebuild our national security apparatus - and the principled and idealistic America it's designed to defend.

RJ Eskow
10.03.2006
www.huffingtonpost.com

Tell Me Why I Don’t Like Mondays...

It’s the end of Monday. It’s been a perfectly lovely Monday for me, but obviously not for some. One of my favorite 80’s songs was “Tell Me Why I Don’t Like Mondays” by the Boomtown Rats.



The lyrics become hauntingly synchronistic in comparison to today’s tragic events.
It seems that our current American culture is just so freaking tainted with blood that I’m surprised that there’s not a river of it running down the streets. That would be followed quite closely with a flod of fear and hatred.
I, personally, point the finger of justice at these bastards:
www.gop.com.

If you don’t happen to like that opinion, I would suggest that you do the following
1: Wake up
2: Get Bent
3: Leave the pages of my blog and never, ever, return

Welcome Ocotober!

Today is Sunday, October 1st, 2006. I love the month of October and I have for as long as I can remember. First and foremost because of this...

Glorious Halloween! With out a doubt, one of my favorite, if not my favorite Holiday! There are a few different parties that we’ll be attending though I have yet to decide what costume to wear.

Today also happens to be the 71st birthday of actress Juile Andrews.

This fact I happened to discover during a fit of insomnia after waking at 3:30 AM to discover Victor/Victoria on television (which happens to be one of my favorite films.) I couldn't believe that the film was in it's 25th year (which did much to make me feel quite old at while sitting and staring at the screen bleary eyed at 3:30 AM). I began to wonder how old Julie Andrews was when she made the film (47) and that’s when I discovered that today is her birthday. That is probably why the film was being run in the first place. I personally think that Leslie Ann Warren steals every scene that she’s in, but the entire cast is perfect and the film is a comedy classic.

Now, according to Myheritage.com Face Recognition software and this photograph, I most closely resemble Kiefer Sutherland. Hmmm…

Here it comes....

Be afraid folks, be very afraid...

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/42255/

TEQUILLA

Wow - what do you know. I turn my back for a minute and six days have flown by. Well, clearly Autumn has begun. I am so very fine with that. Somehow I managed to mis the news of the passing of no other than Danny Flores. Who was Danny Flores you may ask. He was the composer of the mega-huge 1958 hit "Tequilla". One online article described it as a " classic instrumental" which "featured Flores' instantly recognizable saxophone line and his periodic growl of the sole lyric – "Tequila!". It has to be one of the most famous songs of al time with that classic "ba dum budda badum bahdum - ba dum budda badum buhm ...tequilla!" Unfortunately, its states in the article that he sold the rights to the song for a pittance.

I caught an intriguing film on Tuner Classic Movies last night. It was titled "Death of A Cyclist" though it seems to have had several different titles including "The Age of Infidelity" and "Egoisti". Though it seems to have been panned during it's initial release, the film has aged well and I really enjoyed it. Here's how the NYTimes describes it "Originally titled Muerte de un Ciclista (Death of a Cyclist), it is a Spanish-filmed guilt trip with overtones of social upheaval. The young wife (Lucia Bose) of an older industrialist inaugurates an affair with a university professor. While driving from their trysting place, the adulterous couple runs down and a cyclist. They can't go to help him without exposing their affair, so the cyclist is left to die on the side of the road. The consequences of this act destroys the lovers' lives -- but not before director Juan Antonio Bardem has illustrated the shallow upper-class lifestyle that has fostered the woman's amorality in the first place. Shorn of its sociological implications (which incurred the wrath of the Spanish press), the plotline of Age of Infidelity was later cannibalized for innumerable American TV dramas, and for the 1965 Theatre Five radio playlet "Ride to Nowhere."
There is one brilliant and visually riveting scene where the leads are visiting a flamenco club together which makes the whole film worthwhile in my opinion. Also, you can't help but be entranced by Lucia Bose (Ms. Italy 1947), is stunningly beautiful and seductive in the lead role.

Lucia Bose circa 1952

Here is my latest work which I finished yesterday:


"Eyewitness"
36" x 48"
acrylic on canvas

Now, it is time to begin my new work for my friend Randi Rhodes, who has commissioned me to paint her portrait.

Try to remember...

Ah - the joy of returning home. Last night was the first night that I have spent in my usual bed for over a week. Though I had every intention of documenting my mini-road trip through the south, it just didn't come into being. I was easily distracted from my Mac for a variety of reasons. I had a wonderful time - met some new people, visited with some old friends and family, and managed to sell two paintings as well. The states that I traveled through ( Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland) are geographically beautiful.



I only wish that I had taken more photos. Like the computer, it somehow got left in my bag during my adventures. Which, actually, is fine. Somethings are just meant to live on in the memory and no where else.

Today also happens to be the first day of autumn.



It often plays around annually within a few hours, but more or less, September 21st is the day. It was also on this day 5 years ago that my father died joining my mother who had died in 1989. Anniversaries of this nature naturally cause one to reflect. But, these are interpersonal thoughts that I will keep in my mind and free from this digital forum.

Superman vs Wig-Wam Village

Surprise Surprise I have been up since 4:00 AM. Perhaps that's what afternoon naps are for. Well, at least I was able to witness and digitally capture a particularly spectacular sunrise over the bay.



I saw the film Hollywoodland last night. I was on the list of films that George and I wanted to see. We both thoroughly enjoyed the film. I found the whole did or did George Reeves not commit suicide story rather compelling.


Photo of Noel Neill ("Lois Lane") and George Reeves ("Superman")

Based upon stories that I have read from the case, the film stay pretty true to reality. There is one particularly edgy scene where a little boy dressed as a cowboy shows up at a publicity function and wants to bounce bullets off of Superman's chest. The only problem is that the kid has a real gun loaded with real bullets.



This is also supposedly based on an actual event. The entire cast was spectacular, but Adrian Brody really was amazing and I would be surprised not to see an Oscar nomination for him.

The same can be said for Diane Lane and of course, Ben Afleck as well. After watching the film and based upon my own reading of the case, I have to believe that he was murdered. There are just so many oddities connected to his death that night that would rule out suicide. You can read more about George Reeves, his life and career as well as this intriguing case here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Reeves

My new musical obsession is the Polyphonic Spree.

I was first turned onto them about 3 years ago ( it may have been longer) when they were featured on an NPR segment. They slipped through my memory banks however until I ran across them online last night. They are very conceptual ( with 20 plus multi-colored choir robe wearing band members) and I find their music brilliant. I purchased their latest EP on ITunes this morning for 5 bucks. It may be the best 5 dollars I've ever spent. Check out their visually compelling website here: www.thepolyphonicspree.com.

So. I'm off on my mini-road-trip to the South today. I intend to have a great time. This time of year is particularly lovely in "Kentuckasee" and I'll be able to visit with some close family and friends - and maybe even be able to take in a roadside peculiarity or two...

Lovely Tuesday

Wow - Tuesday already. My whole weekend and the Monday that followed flew by. I spent a large part of my weekend in NYC. I was there to visit my friend Randi Rhodes who has comissioned me to paint her portrait. She held this great little gathering at her place and we had a total blast. I haven't laughed so much in a long time. Great people, great friends, great conversation. I also smoked enough cigarettes (which I rarely do anymore) to supply Hong Kong and drank enough martini's to keep Las Vegas afloat for a few years - but we had a blast.





I'm on the road again starting tomorrow. Going down south for Art Business. I'll be posting from the road - so check back if interested.



Peace, love and light,
Michael

Crazy...

On this day in 1932 was born country music icon Patsy Cline in a little town in Virginia. Where I grew up in Kentucky, she was legendary. I have always had quite the soft spot in my heart for her songs, especially her soulful ballads which were tinged with hue of wistful melancholy, like all great country and folk music. This is a digitally enhanced image of her that I created. It is from the last known photograph taken of her before her tragic death.



The original can be found here. http://images.soundclick.com/05/pro/album/3/82803_10.jpg

Steve Miller band's "Wild Mountain Honey" just came on over my XM satellite radio. This makes me want to say "Hello, Sandy, wherever you are!". Anyone who knew me then when that reference would make sense, also knew Sandy and her strong affection for that song. And if any of them are reading this entry, they are smiling too.
Peace, light, and love,
Michael

Cocoa Paint...

Wow - I never want to drive through heavy rain again. 90% of my ride back yesterday to Philadelphia consisted of my maneuvering through, according to the weather channel, the remains of Hurricane John. Is that true - I don't know. I spend most of last weekend watching the remains of Ernesto swallow the beach only to battle John on the way back. I thought John was in California. Where ever it came from, it created a white knuckle driving experience of driving through what seemed like a 2 hour high-pressure car wash in my little VW Bug while being sandwiched between two semis. Sounds like fun, no?



After surviving the deluge, I spent most of the day yesterday on the phone speaking to the Art Director from the high-end design group (McCartan) that had selected prints of my work for the lobby of the famous Cocoa Exchange in NYC.


(3 large scale fine art reproductions of my work grace the lobby of the above building)

It's also the lobby where the photo for the August/September issue of Trader Monthly was taken.

I also spent some time in the studio cleaning up water that had gotten in. So, overall not a bad for a Tuesday.

What I found of interest today is that the photo that I posted on flickr.com of Steve Irwin has become somewhat of a flickr.com internet homage of sorts. I didn't really mean for it for that reason. Well, sort of. But, I'm just amazed at how popular he was and still is. As of right now, the picture has been viewed over 850 times and has had over 30 comments and 25 people have called it a "favorite". That's a new record for photo I've posted I think. I wonder what, if any, effect all of that energy may have on the soul energy for someone who has passed into that dimension. In any event, I've had a good studio day today and am looking forward to getting in some time tomorrow as well.

In Memoriam...

It's Labor Day 2006. I must begin by saying that I was a bit heartbroken when I read about the unfortunate and unexpected death of Steve Irwin aka "the crocodile hunter".



Though I had only seen his programs on a few occasions, he had a definitive charisma and charm connected to his work that made him fascinating to watch. He would get as excited as a kid at a candy store and some of his scenes practically would crackle with excitement as he would draw uncomfortably near a particularly dangerous creature. He died doing what he loved.

In Memoriam...
Steve Irwin
22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006

September...

September once again. Frankly, after a particular topsy-turvy summer, I have never been as willing to welcome autumn as I am now.
I love autumn and it's glorious color and crisp air.

With that said, now this, since I am in between the ages of both - and they are born on this day, I say

Happy Birthday Keanu (42)



and Salma (40)