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Thursday, June 30, 2016

THIRTY DAYS HATH...

June 30, 2016
Well.. June's kaput.. almost.  Noticing the days hurrying by..  blah blah blah.. 

Free form association can be like watching paint dry.  In fact, I reviewed a play years ago before Drama-Logue fired me that was a little like watching paint dry. I used that analogy in my review.  The up side was that it was fascinating. An actor moving down stage almost imperceptively... references to the Magritte painting of the man in the bowler hat with an apple in front of his face.. or was it his face.. Cannot remember the name of the piece. It was down at the Hudson on Melrose.  The Fire Marshall could have found a dozen infractions, including it being impossible to move once all the invitees had been crammed into place.  It was hot and tight and truly fascinating.

That brings me to 'art.'   Truly, there is no accounting for taste.  I have no idea how my 366 images of the other side of Adams Hill will be perceived, if I am actually successful in completing the project.. How it might be received.  I can see the changes in the trees. Of course, the sky is different daily partly because I have not been dedicated enough to take the photo at the same time each day..  The shadows change.. the day changes.. 

I visited a friend in Denver several years ago.  Her view from her living room window was Union Station and the easterly horizon.  Awake way too early, the sun was just coming up but had not crested the horizon.. that space to the east where the Great Plains stretch divided by Nebraska and Kansas.. all flat.  I propped myself by the window and did not take my eyes off of the horizon until the sun had ... eventually.. it took a long time.. come up and was shining like anything on the cold Colorado morning.  Why do that? Why watch a pot until it boils?  Maybe just to say that I've done that?  Who really has time to attend to a pot of water or the sunrise?  What is life really about? Part of it, to me, is paying attention to the simple things that most folks would never attend to.  

I reviewed a play at the Whitefire .. a one person play.  No dialogue.  Realistic set: single apartment. Lonely woman going through her after work routine. No pets.  Once you got it that it was in real time and was the chronicle of lonliness, it was fascinating, as was the Magritte thing, as was the Colorado sunrise... but totally without theatricality.  Totally focused and sad. 

One thought blends into another thought.. Bleeds?  In my dream last night I was at a house where I'd never lived, but the dream made me think that I might have and had just forgotten about it.  I think my mother was in another room and her mother in another.  The familiarity of the situation was, at once: comfortable and unsettling as some dreams are because they seem so real at the time.  

I am really tired of all the bashing of the Orange Man and the Lady.  The recent fusillade of insults hurled by the Scots at TOM, who may single handedly destroy the United States, (if he is not doing so already!) is not without some appreciation, but the energy expended to come up with stupid insults might be better spent on figuring out how to prevent a nuclear war.  We are most naturally defensive beings, I guess.  And, by allowing those negative vibes to permeate our daily lives, how can we not come away a little grimy?  I had a friend who has colorful language. Sometimes his epithets just stuck in my memory, as one emerges right now.. and it in no way makes today any better.  Trying to forget is a silly exercise.  Is forgetting effortless?
Oh well.   

To me, the only pathway to peace is to become peace.  Warmongers and paranoids will always prevail unless we find ways to breathe deeply into the present and behave in a peaceful way.  

Now..  uh oh.. The War of the Worlds directed by Byron Haskin with SFX by George Pal pop into my head. The minister with his Bible in tow approaches the Martians reciting the 23rd Psalm!  
Vaporized!  Gosh!  So much for my theory, eh? Remember 'sword drill' in Vacation Bible School? 

A question on Jeopardy! the other night spoke to that: the  King of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus' cousin Sigismund reportedly rode into battle without armor secure that his belief in God would protect him.   Did that work out?  Nope. 

A plea for peace in the face of insanity may be a fool's errand.   There's no reasoning with the unreasonable.. which brings me right back home.  When one makes every effort to be in good communication and others either ignore the effort or casts one off discourteously (thanks to Greensleeves), all one can do is stand still and send out good vibes... if we have the patience for that.  Sometimes, the effort may be what gets in the way? 

The Last Day of June  2016
michaelsheehan

 

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

WHERE DO THEY ALL COME FROM?

June 29, 2016

Conspiracy?  Is there a conspiracy to somehow catalog folks who may be at home during the day and so harass them that, eventually, they cave in to some 'charity' solicitation or to accept an offer for a free estimate?  Recently, I  asked a telephone solicitor if they would ever respond to a cold call. They hung up on me.  Today, the phone has rung over five times. The first time there was someone actually there.  When I asked him to please remove my number from his calling list, he responded that he'd call me every day.  At least I'll have the illusion that a real person is actually calling.  The other four calls (so far) today were by robots with nothing to say.  Gaslight?? 

Being in trouble is no fun.  Uh oh.. Unknown caller with a fax tone three times in a row.   Keeps me on my toes but ... it's more annoying trouble. 

Of course, if the people who programmed the robots could ever be reached, they might even apologize and take my number off of their calling list.  As we fail more and more as commuicators, this is unlikely to happen.  Meanwhile, I still feel in trouble with people whom I love and admire and unless they are willing to find new paths to communication, then angst and discomfort will prevail.  

Today, evidently, is the birthday of Antoine de St. Exupery.  His book, "The Little Prince" is a favorite of mine.  I was first turned on to it by a woman I met when staying up in the Lake Arrowhead area.  I'd never heard of it. Went to the local library and read it in one sitting.  (Well, it's not very long.)... The essential message is one that I truly believe.  "It is only with the heart that one may see rightly..."  Not everyone agrees.  

///

Conrad Janis played the father of Mindy on Mork and Mindy.  An interesting take on the thread of the show has guests at a birthday party for Tom Poston's character sharing 'regrets' with the party goers.  Conrad tells a very heartfelt story of being a soldier in the Korean War. After a severe shelling, he was charged by an enemy with a fixed bayonet.  Conrad is regretful that he had to defend himself: to pull the trigger of his rifle, killing the attacker.   In the midst of this bevy of comedy genius, this story brought the reality of life to me a little.  We do what we must to survive.  Of course, it's not always as simple as reacting to an attack.  Should we be glad for that?  What can one do when a door is slammed in one's face or even worse when our efforts are simply ignored? 

June 29, 2016
michaelsheehan

 


Tuesday, June 28, 2016

DOUBLE, DOUBLE, TOIL AND TROUBLE

Jeune 28, 2016
Bonjour..  c'est va?  Non?  

Well,  I can relate.  It's a really terrible feeling to be 'in trouble.'  Even worse to be misunderstood .. which, of course, leads to being in trouble.  

If any of us make what is perceived by someone else to be a mistake, should we apologize?  Or, should we attempt to find a way to communicate? I make mistakes all the time.   The only apology I ever expect is from someone who deliberately wants to do harm.  That can happen in the heat of the moment with an unkind word or worse.  What makes us feel the need to hurt other people? Get back at them for perceived slights or error?

I guess this entry is about forgiveness.  Can we forgive other folks whom we care about who have been mean or angry?  Does it matter if we have done something that is perceived as provocative? Do we dismiss other folks without an opportunity to make things right again?  Should we apologize even if the intent was not to be mean or do harm?

A few years ago a good friend ignored my telling him that he was being unreasonably mean.  It was just teasing to him, but I felt really hurt by his abuse.  I don't think he thought he was being mean, even if I kept asking him to lay off.   I'd love to be pals with him again, but requests go begging.. I wouldn't even expect an apology.

Are there some people with whom we just can't be friends for whatever reason?  In my perfect world, we'd all find ways to communicate when the relationship is important.  Alas, divorce happens every day.  That is even more sad than the loss of a friend.  But, even divorced folks find ways back to... at least.. detant?   
Sad Day.. 

June 28, 2016
michaelsheehan


Monday, June 27, 2016

UNTITLED

June 27, 2016

Yesterday, this post came up in sans serif for reasons that only the cyber gods may know.  Sometimes the computer has a mind of its own.  

This will be short.  No real reason.  Nothing much to rant about or worry about, I guess.  This photo captures a moment in the kitchen. Reflections.

 June 27, 2016
michaelsheehan

Sunday, June 26, 2016

FLEETING JUNE

June 26, 2016

My "uncle" Bill Henderson was a graphic artist of the old school.  He was married to Aunt Flo for a while and was the third of my Uncle Bill's. I think of him this morning because of today's image of the "Hill."  I remember him painting a Coca Cola sign that featured that vintage jolly Santa chugging a Coke that was left for him in a colorful living room he had just dropped into.  The way Uncle Bill created the image was with a grid that helped guide him to get proportions right.  He was a master graphic artist.  He also painted a special sign for my cousin, Spank.  Both Spank and I attended Greeley High School. Our mascot was the wildcat!  The sign read: Wildcat Den!  I wonder what happened to that sign?  I inherited it from Spank, 

The "powers that be" in Greeley decided that it was important to change the name of our alma mater when other schools were built in Greeley.  I do not recognize the new name and did not graduate from there. 

Living in the 20th Century is more and more problematic as the 21st barrels onward.  Technology is changing daily.  I just heard that a good friend in Colorado tried to send me a photo on my phone.  My cell phone!   I refuse to become one of these people who are in constant touch (literally.. they are just touching and sweeping and fascinated with the little icons and such) on their phones. Some even watch movies or video on these little things?  Why, I declare!!

I don't consider myself a Luddite.  I do like the idea of being in touch for emergencies, thus, this little cake of soap that I make calls on.  I wonder if I'm like the folks who couldn't understand the telephone at all and even one installed in the country store seemed like a nuisance? To those hunched constantly over their phones.. probably, yes.. 

Being on an 'electronic leash' is okay, I guess, if one really needs to be in constant touch.   Will the New Age subjugate us.. if it hasn't done that already.  Is Soylent Green next? 

Nope.. what's next is this big old project.  Can  you decipher this? Actually, the photo is upside down.. hmm.
 

June 26, 2016
michaelsheehan

Saturday, June 25, 2016

SATURDAY IS SATURDAY IN GLENDALE

June 25, 2016

Today is warm in Glendale.  An 'arts' fair was held down in Glendale's Central Park with a score or so of vendors.. artists.. jewelry makers and a guy with a cooler hitched to his motor scooter reading a book in the afternoon sun.  Chatting with folks who have forked over a hundred bucks or so to participate was nice.  All sorts of art from a very talented woman artist whose work may rival Wayne Thibeault to an asian watercolorist whose western themes were idiosyncratic as he was guy from San Gabriel who joyfully hawked his wares.  Timothy, the husband and CEO of his wife's jewelry business in Big Bear (he "carries everything out!" ) taught me about 'reticulation'... a technique that takes sheets of sterling silver and by heating and cooling them, creates unique rippling patterns on the silver. 

I was most impressed with the work of Adriana Guidi, an artist whose work reminded me of Thibeault's.  It's a tough gig to hawk  your own wares with visitors barely stopping to enjoy the work or have a chat.  She does pet portraits (she'd even do a lizard!) and cars and her portraits of an old VW bus and a neighbor were favorites.

The  dirt area directly adjacent to the park is almost perfect for petanque play.  If I could get the City to contribute a little decomposed granite and do a bit of grading, three or four terrains could be played on at the same time.  I met a security guy from El Salvador who seemed interested in playing.  My energy for continuing to ask for the City to help is waning.  Being ignored is worse than being turned down. 

Murder and mayhem show up daily on the TV news.  What lives we lead with all the rancor in the air.  

Work on my piece for  the LAMAG Open Call proceeds slowly.  Life goes on.  

July 25, 2016
michaelsheehan

Thursday, June 23, 2016

TWELVE HOURS LATER

June 23, 2016

What a difference twelve hours make.  This entry is heavily edited.  I have been feeling heavily criticized and in trouble.  At this time of life, it's no fun to be in trouble.    Life goes on. 

// 

 I think of your family every single day. every single one.  Your decision to behave the way you are behaving is a mystery to me and I don't like it.  A combative attitude is not the best idea, but I want you to know that I am sick and tired of walking on egg shells.

// 

Does your heart rate go up with frustration or anger? Mine does.  It happens when  a rude telephone solicitor invades my space or my own inability to find a way to communication with folks I consider friends fails.  It all turns on me, evidently, though it would be nice to lay responsibility on circumstances or other people. 

That opening line was, thankfully, culled from a frustrated email that will never be sent.  If the person to whom I was about to send it sees this, I hope they realize that being mean and uncommunicative is more a reflection of who they are than anything.  When someone want so much to be helpful or at least to be in satisfactory communication with someone else and they either ignore you or indicate that they really don't care, that's a lesson that leaves me feeling crappy.  Important relationships deserve to be fixed. Period. All anyone has to do is to communicate.  If the situation is irreparable, then, at least the reasons should be clear.  

I ended a friendship with an actor pal whose behavior became bizarre.  It became emotionally impossible to deal with him.  I still feel awful about this, but he, as creative and funny as he probably still is...  totally ignored my attempts to have clear communication with him.   If folks want to be friends, then there must be a way to harmony.  However, if 'harmony' includes being treated like a door mat or a whipping boy, then, the exit is clear.  Some people stay in abusive relationships.  That's sad, but maybe it's the only relationship available and being alone is an option that they just cannot face.  That's pretty sad.

Ultimately, we are, each of us... alone.  I wish I was more social.  Life goes on.. and then, it doesn't.  

///

I had intended to start this brief entry with "As our government implodes..."  and it is imploding  .. it really is.. if half the country falls in love with ideology that reflects the worst in human beings, will the dictatorships of the thirties be re-visted in the Land of the formerly Free and no longer Brave?

It's pretty depressing to see no clear light at the end of a dark, dark tunnel.  Harmony turns on accord.  With political leaders now staging a sit in in the Halls of Congress about 'gun control' I want to add my plea again for intelligent leaders to finally figure out that the gun situation is exacerbated by bullets.  Without a bullet, a gun becomes a fancy  stick: a club.  Certainly, it is a weapon, but no longer a weapon of MASS destruction.   People seem to think that this issue can be mitigated quickly. Of course, it cannot. It has taken years and years to get to the point where an 'ordinary' person can walk into a store and purchase an AR15 automatic rifle but all the bullets they can carry with no restrictions.  I've seen men in camouflage jump suits leaving a gun show dragging hand carts with thousands of rounds of ammunition.  Chilling.

I'll continue to advocate for restrictions on ordnance: Bullets. Ammunition.  By treating bullets the way dangerous drugs.. like narcotics, alcohol and nicotine..  are treated, with taxes and regulations by the ATF and FDA: the Bureau of  alcohol, tobacco and FIREARMS with an annual budget of over a BILLION DOLLARS.. (the FDA's budget is four times that figure!!) might begin to DO SOMETHING TO HELP.  

With oversight and taxing and regulating the purchase of bullets and explosives, we begin to mitigate the damages.  Of course, it will take years and years and terrible, terrible days of other crazy people creating massacres... but winnowing out the tools of destruction .. the bullets.. is a beginning.  

June 23, 2016
michaelsheehan

 

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

WHEW..


June 22, 2016

What? Cancer?? Already?  

I am not much into astrology, but I've been comparing notes with a friend who does charts and understands the planets and stars. We compare the personality traits of a couple of people who share the same sign and it may not be 'remarkable' but interesting that similar traits show up.  They are taciturn until turned on, then.. on and on and on and on..  they go.

I sent a parcel off to my friend, Jill Bell, yesterday.  Learned that the Staples store also now handles USPS mail as well as shipping UPS. That saved a few bucks.  What happened with the parcel was my being unschooled in the use of spray adhesive and having some sticky residue on the outside of the package.  I used corn starch to mitigate the stickiness and really liked the visual. 
Jayme Odgers' Art
 I'm using a lot of cardboard in the work that will go into the Open Call at LAMAG in August. Today will be about figuring out Braille as part of the project. 

Watching The Price is Right is a pleasure for me as I wade through my AM routine.  I keep the sound off to practice lip reading.   The contestants are becoming more and more bizarre. It must be a surreal situation to find yourself on television with a shot at a new car or thousands of dollars in cash.  Boy! The cash is flowing like anything.  I'm remembering 'earning' what amounted to a year's salary on a game show called "Showoffs" many years ago.  Ah.. Show Biz.  

I'm embarrassed for the young woman with a shot at a MiniCooper.  She may be an actress looking for an agent?  She wins the car! She might just get that agent! Very cute and over the top! Acting!

Free association.  Time to work on something.  Off to the Elephant soon.

June 22, 2016
michaelsheehan

 

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

STRAWBERRY MOON?

June 21, 2016

The moon last night.. the "strawberry moon" was welcome.  I see the moon and the moon sees me. Even with the intrusion of my streetlight, I had the wonderful thought that the moon connects us all, when we make time to think about it.  I like that connection. 

I'll be really happy when I come to a final decision about this art project.  Thank goodness the screen door is only warm to the touch and the house is still cool.  I set the thermostat for sixty eight degrees, but it really doesn't do much good unless you actually have air conditioning.  

Just now, I reminded myself of John Irving's book A Widow for One Year.. actually, the movie made from it called The Door In The Floor.  I changed a punctuation mark in my review of the terrific show currently playing at The Falcon Theatre here in Toluca Lake  / Burbank.  In The Door in the Floor, Eddie O'Hare, the summer intern who has an affair with the author's wife (Gorgeous Kim Basinger as Marion Cole) is asked what his work is like.  Eddie reports changing a semi-colon to a comma or something like that.  Most of us shy away from colons and semi-colons.  I was taken to task years ago for using one in a review I wrote.  As a former English teacher, I have a bit of a handle on that stuff, but if a punctuation mark makes someone uncomfortable, I can do a re-write, just to keep peace in the family! "Eats shoots and leaves" //  Eats, shoots and leaves. Pesky punctuation!

I know that I'm now in trouble because I've spent five minutes discussing punctuation.. all the while the San Gabriels are on fire and we all may be going to Helena Handbasket!

Tuesday, November 8, 2016 is Election Day in the United States.  That date is one day before the 78th anniversary of Kristallnacht, where in 1938,   German Nazis burned synagogues, destroyed Jewish homes, schools and businesses and killed as many as one hundred Jews. History reminds us what hatred can do.  Will history repeat itself? Are we on the pathway to derision, division and death to those whom we demonize?  Brrr. 

Often, I wonder where these disparate thoughts bubble up from?  I don't think the USA is ready for dictatorship and will be very curious to see what will happen if a dictator is elected.  Brrrr again! 

 June 21, 2016
michaelsheehan



Monday, June 20, 2016

SUMMER SOLSTICE 2016

June 20, 2016
My home faces to the rising sun.  As I took this photo earlier this morning, I opened the aluminum screen door which was really hot to the touch. Summer's lease starts today: no foolin'.  

Working on the project for the Open Call at LAMAG yesterday I devoted the whole afternoon to building.. well. installing.. a canopy that will protect the work/installation table from birds and what seem to be tiny droplets of moisture coming from the tree.  After the whole thing was up, I realized that I could have almost doubled the coverage if I'd know what I was doing!  I make this stuff up as I go along, learning as I go.  Might rebuild to get more coverage later.

 It's hard to see the Braille images on the top of this model.  The idea is that this puzzle will be manipulated by visitors to the show to expose the different sides of the blocks.  I've been experimenting with stuff to put inside the blocks to make sounds when they are moved.  It'll all shake out in time for the delivery date in about a month.

Beat the heat.  Happy Summer Solstice! I'm remembering the Dulcimer Gathering at the Summer Solstice Ducimer Festival at Greystone just now.  I really miss the beautiful connection that I made at that show. Ah, the days of diatonic dulcimers. Eschew the six point five!  Really.. please..  pop those suckers out.  

June 20, 2016
michaelsheehan

Sunday, June 19, 2016

FOR THOSE OF YOU WITH FATHERS


June 19, 2016
Condolences to my friend, Paul Linke, who lost his dad just a few days ago.  He was well into his nineties: 98! Quite a guy! And, follows another great, Janet Waldo who preceded him by a week or so at the age of 96. We should be grateful for our fathers. My dad died when he was 44.  I really didn't much know him, but through memories that are either my remembering or incidents that have been told to me, maybe more than what I may actually remember, I got the feeling that my dad was a pretty good guy. I don't know if he was married before he met my mom.  He was getting into middle age when I came along.  Mom HAD been married before, but I only found out because I am a snooper.  Never got the low down on her first husband.

But..  Fathers' Day is only on the radar for a brief time and thanks to Facebook, all the folks with fathers who are alive or those who are dead, will honor their fathers with a photo or a blurb. I envy them a little, as my memories of Dad are few.  How my life would have been different had he been around as I grew up, I cannot imagine.  Really. It's so hard to come up with a scenario. I won't try to plot it now, but I am sure that I'd not be sitting here with an inkling of speculation or a thought like this. I'd be somewhere in another land.. another situation.. another 'here' and not be wondering about these unimaginable things.  Imagine that?!!

I had a long chat with an old Faire friend today: Judy Cory.  She's an actor and artist whom I met when I was doing the Renaissance Faires with CapriTaurus long ago.  She taught me things that no other person has ever taught me and I am grateful. She is an enthusiastic listener and conversationalist.  She is bright and present.  A nice woman.  She got all excited about my upcoming installation at the LA Municipal Art Gallery and encouraged me to get into working on it today.  I was in the middle of a dream that included my dear friend, Ken Rugg when the phone rang.  I was trying to find him in a strange tiered lecture room where, I think, percussion was either being played or discussed.  When I finally saw him across the room, chatting with other students? were they students? who were they?? Rugg had dark hair, so that was a long time ago.

Similar to, but unlike the death of my dad, meeting Rugg was a moment in time that really did change my life. It propelled me into theatre and a life that is working out pretty well.  That one moment  I treasure because had I not been in that specific moment, chances are I'd not be sitting here, either!  Life. 

As I think on it.. for LA locals and adjacent by traveling,   The Tennessee Williams / Impro Ensemble show at The Falcon Theatre in Toluca Lake is really wonderful.  I'll be recommending it over and over again.

Yesterday, I was telling a friend whom I know from the screenings at the DGA about this, my 366 photo project .. see image above.. and she could not see it in her imagination.  She wanted the photos to 'be about something' instead of just daily images as I have done here every day since the Winter Solstice.  She doesn't 'get it' that the subtle changes are what the project is about.  She did have a wonderful idea, though.. to mount the images in a huge 'zoetrope' animation device that would spin and one would see the changes in my photos in an animated way.  It might take a device about 180 feet in circumference.. that is a diameter of about sixty feet.. Wow.. Now, I like her idea. How to create the zoetrope and set it up.. on a parking lot or field??    Wow.. I get distracted..   That's a project for another time.  Another way to do it is to set the zoetrope up and have folks ride bikes or skate around it while observing the images .. uh oh. the images would have to be bigger.. arrrg.

So! For those of you with fathers:  love the guy with all your heart and know that if it was not for him, we would not be having this conversation!  

June 19, 2016
Michael Sheehan
John's son. 



Saturday, June 18, 2016

TOO EARLY

June 18, 2016

I seldom get up this early.  The art project has me in revision and creation and revision and creation and... mode... and.. so the view from the porch is pretty neat.  Warm temperatures predicted again. Off to the air conditioned DGA for Lewis Carroll's Through The Looking Glass initially penned by Linda Wolverton whom I met years ago in Long Beach. Tim Burton produces, but is not at the helm with the original actors back for a second term. 

We went to see Impro Theatre Company do their version of Tennessee Williams last night at The Falcon.  I'll review the show at onstagelosangeles in a few minutes since I can't get back to sleep.  For theatre lovers, this is A MUST SEE!!  AND.. if you can ever make it to the opening night at The Falcon, Garry Marshall pulls out all the stops for a buffet that is never ending and simply wonderful. "Eat?  Eat!!"  he smiles and is the best host ever. 

The deck is full of my art project for the LAMAG and I need to figure out a canopy for it now that birds and what appears to be tiny droplets of moisture keep depositing on the deck are plaguing. I'm hoping that the moisture is just dew coming down. The birds, thankfully, are not all that poopy. 

Doing a sharp turn in memory ...  Toby Sue is a little Hahn's Macaw whom I shared with Lee Arnone.  She was an amazing pet who became like a daughter to me. She was, perhaps, the most honest creature I have ever met. If she was happy, she was very happy.. If she was upset, there was no mistaking it! It was lightning fast and there might be blood!  I have not seen her for many, many years, but parrots are long lived and I hope to meet her again.  

Now, Garrison Keillor's admontion comes to mind: "Be well, do good work and keep in touch."

June 18, 2016
michaelsheehan
NORTON AND CURSON Hollywood, California

Friday, June 17, 2016

WHEN IS A BLOG NOT A BLOG?

June 17, 2016

The trees leaning in over my neighbor's home change very subtly.  The prediction for a heat wave really didn't happen yesterday when I hapred on about staying well hydrated.    Today, TV news crews raise the heat warning flag and interview kids at a playground. One little girl responded, "It's cool and it's warm," when prodded by the field reporter with the condescending nasal whine who prodded her to remark on the heat!  

Some days are loaded with angst and energy and some with lethargy, if one can be loaded with a lack of something.   A friend of mine called for a million like minded folks to join the NRA to make our voices heard.  Then, we learned how the NRA is funded!  Their joining fee is $25.00 a month, paid regularly by new members until the $1,000.00 initiation fee is met.  I'm not sure about the membership fees after that.  NRA boasts Five Million dues paying members.  Do that math!  The sad news is that the internet reports that those five million people represent only about six to seven percent of American gun owners. I imagine that the millions and millions of others find the stance of the NRA to their liking?  (How folks take these surveys is a mystery.)

If a million people who actually understand what the Second Amendment means actually did join the National Rifle Association and then, did contribute Three Hundred Million Dollars a year to the organization (at $25M a month).. How long would it take as the one in five minority to bring common sense to the other five million members?  It was a noble idea.  Thanks, anyway, Roger.  

Of course, we are on the slippery (my typo just now was 'sloppery'!!) slope of coming very late into a real examination of who gets to own heavy artillery.  The dark underbelly of arms traders and the gun shop proprietors who will sell an AR15 and an unlimited amount of ammunition to anyone with cash is fueled by fear and stupidity and cash.. Fear and Greed, then, ultimately, are the driving forces for the perpetration of military grade weaponry into the hands of civilians.   An AR15 was purchased recently by a TV producer for about $1,100.00.

We all experience this major sin: Avarice!  Even on the freeway, we may let one or two cars into our lane of traffic, but after while, even the most saintly one of us finds that tug of irritation.. anger? Wrath!?? when some jerk decides the he needs to get in front of us, too.  And, the joker didn't even signal!

Envy rears its head, perhaps?,  when your neighbor shows off his big new gun and you just have to have one, too.. just in case!? 

I guess I could go on and make analogies for each of the other Deadly sins?  Pride, Sloth, Gluttony, Lust... oh.. there's a good one.. Do the people who collect big guns get off, literally, on shooting big, big guns.. do they Lust for that power?  Certainly, the comparison to big guns (especially the lonnng ones) to impotent men could point to some sexual comparison.  "I got yer big gun right here, Honey!" ?? 

Silly?  Of course.  Gun owners are stable and intelligent people who just like to feel secure and have a little fun on the weekends.  It's a long way from my Red Ryder Lever Action Saddle BB Gun with a branded wooden stock to an AR15.  Somewhere along the line, though... some of us know when to stop.  

June 17, 2016
michaelsheehan  

I neglected to discuss "When is a Blog not a Blog?"  There is a slight tone of disdain when I hear some folks talk about a 'blog.'  Of course, it is not a 'website' that one maintains and pays for. Blogger provides this service.. as .. well, a service. It doesn't mean that the information in a 'blog' is inferior to any other fancy schmancy expensive site.. it's a Web Log.  I use this one to my share ideas and perpetrate what may become a year long art project. I write for the 'blog'  onstagelosangeles.blogspot.com to review plays.  It's a way to communicate.  So.  This may be a blog, but I see it as an 'information journal website' and should just stop being concerned about the tone of some folks when they say.. "Oh. You write for a blog... "
ms 

Thursday, June 16, 2016

TRASH DAY

June 16, 2016

My neighbor has little gatherings at his home now and then.  The other day the red Prius thought that she could park in the driveway where there was no room to park.  Frustrated, she tried to back up, missing a car parked on the street and nailed my brown trash barrel!  As it rocked back and forth, she opted to find an actual parking space down the street.  It's pretty boring reporting when you have to tattle on a woman driver who really didn't know what she was doing.

Moving forward with the art project for the LAMAG has me 'working' on aspects of it almost constantly.  
Family Portrait 32" x 32" x 8" print by  Posterdesigns.com

Awake at Five.. thinking.. reading to distraction..  really cogent and beautifully written reviews in The New Yorker.  I am a fan of Anthony Lane, for sure. 

 I'm really glad that I cancelled the Vanity Fair subscription!  The first issue came with a smelly page that had to be torn out and held at arm's length and tossed into the bush.  Why do people want to read a smelly magazine that is 2/3 ads?  I used to have a friend who liked Vanity Fair and would spend twenty minutes with a sharp knife excising the ads, smelly and just silly.  I was sucked in by a 'bargain' ad that I found in my New Yorker magazine.  They didn't make paying for the subscription easy, so I called to cancel.  The representative offered two more dollars off!  No thank you.

I see 'terror' attack describing the massacre in Orlando at Pulse nightclub.  We use the term 'terror' loosely these days. Is it important to keep the populace in fear.. in terror?  Of course, it's important to put alligators and murder and mayhem in perspective.  Today what folks in the Los Angeles area must take caution of is the impending heat.  It will effect millions of us. Caution in a heat wave is more of a threat than any of the above.  

Stay cool. Hydrate! Hydrate!! Hydrate!!!

michaelsheehan
June 16, 2016

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

BLAME OR RESPONSIBILITY?

June 15, 2016  

I wonder if the Westboro Baptists will have something to say about the loss of a two year old child who was dragged into the water by an alligator in Orlando?  I wonder if the parents will be "blamed" or if the term 'responsibility' will be in play?  In our society, the loss of life is mourned on a sliding scale. We find our hearts touched by tragedies such as the terrible murders at Pulse in Orlando as well as the loss of an innocent kid who has been, probably...  eaten by an alligator.  Why the kid and an 'older sibling' were playing in the water at what was reported as about 9:30 at night may come to light, but that does not bring the baby back.  It's a tragedy no less than the murders, just heart rending and different. More personal? Innocence and responsibility in a world that becomes more dangerous every day are up for grabs.  As the media makes sure that we are 'informed' we must put into perspective the fact that even with fifty dead in a 'safe haven' gay night spot and the chances of being attacked by an alligator are still millions to one.  We mourn the families of both the victims of the murders and the devastated  family at the Disney resort in Orlando. They will, of course, forever, ask themselves "what happened?"  What happened was that in the case of the child in the water, the parents must, ultimately, take responsibility for what happened to their baby.  It must be unimaginable to even remotely consider going on with life after such a terrible and bizarre incident.  Congress will not regulate or ban alligators.  Disney will pay in some way.  Intelligent folks will understand that 'shit happens' and be sorry and cautious where danger ... like gorillas at the zoo or a playground where wild animals or sharks or snakes or ticks or cockle burrs:  threatening things may be lurking, but we should not, not, not..  cower nor have the thought that the boogie man or the killer or the terrorist is out to get us personally.  Wild animals want food.  Bad guys want attention; to wage their personal wars. It is vital that we put in perspective the 'danger factor.'  We must not be cowed to huddle behind bolted doors.  Perspective is so important. 

9:45 PM  Just heard on the news that the child has been found dead.  Evidently, the father was on the beach with the little boy and tried to rescue him by grabbing the gator, but was not successful.  It's a real tragedy.  My take on the parents leaving the children out alone was mistaken. Hopefully, this family can find solace somewhere.  This one is truly unimaginable.  So sorry.   

I loved Hill Street Blues.  It dominated my TV viewing in the eighties.  After the opening of each show: after dismissing roll call, Michael Conrad, the crusty Sgt. Phil Esterhaus would stop the cops as they headed out to their morning watch:  "Hey!  Let's be careful out there!"  As, indeed we all should, but not at the expense of our enjoyment of our lives.

//

On another note.  I briefly engaged a 'bargain long distance telephone provider' because my current service is calling it quits.  They sent a survey asking my reaction to the responses and exchange that I had with their company.  It was 'liked' or 'disliked' or words to that effect.  I sent back a note saying that 'black and white' was not a good survey.  Someone at the company responded and wrote, "Black and white never works for me, either!"  I think it was a good joke, but now..  ???

//

With the election still too far away and lots of work to do on my submission for the LA Municipal Art Gallery Open Call, I'm focused on my personal stuff.  My toughest problem right now is coming up with sound making devices to include in the sixteen eight inch cardboard cubes for this project.  Your ideas are welcome.  I already have wooden blocks and beads and BBs and glass marbles and other things.  I am looking for a small portable radio or battery operated toy that might wriggle or squiggle. Oh, wait! I have one of those.  Yes.. suggestions are welcome: directortv41@yahoo

Be careful out there. 

June 15, 2016
michaelsheehan 


Tuesday, June 14, 2016

FLAG DAY: HALF STAFF

June 14, 2016

As the world goes to Helena Handbasket, we mourn the loss of life in Orlando and slog forward with the Orange Man spouting hate and vitriol that too many Americans may buy in to.  I've tried to point out that it's the bullets that do the killing and have actually done a small part to keep fifty of them from ever entering another human being.  The naysayers will never understand about the bullets, evidently, and that's a real shame.  

Our society is on the brink of something and even though I've teased a conservative friend that Donald Duck could be the President and all would go along pretty much as always (okay I was wrong.. we got GW Bush and the OM is making big waves)... things are moving apace so quickly that the momentum of disaster may be upon us.  Reason is being trumped (pun intended) by fear and loathing.  The only thing that I can do is to stop being afraid and angry as best I can.  It ain't easy.

The rising tide of stupidity and anger is a sign of our times. Frustration leads to acting out.  We see it more and more.  Bad communication is the culprit and the only way to better communication, to me, is the desire to be better at it.  Ego and derision take center stage and we may see that more and more in the months to come.  We must be the calm in the eye of the hurricane as best we can, but, be ready if/when the storm moves through leaving tatters in its pathway. 

Wow..  where did that come from? 

Flag Day 2016
michaelsheehan