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Monday, October 31, 2016

OCTOBER 31ST! BRRRR.

October 31, 2016
A gorgeous day. Halloween.  A dust up with a cousin (danged politics!).. The play I saw last night was a big disappointment and it hurts me a bit to write a really bad review.  Three out of four really fine actors.  A bad script.  A big sigh.

I've written to a friend to ask for help with finding out about another friend who is now pretty much out of touch unless I initiate a call.  It makes me sad to make these calls and all I can do is hold a good thought for him and maybe brave making a call later.   

This post is obscure on purpose.  Nothing much to rail about except the jury summons trip which will become fodder for another day. 

Be kind to your local goblins and ghosts! Boo!

Halloween 2016
michaelsheehan

Sunday, October 30, 2016

DARK SHADOWS

October 30, 2016

 Kathryn Leigh Scott was my neighbor for many years.  She played Maggie Evans and a host of other characters on the celebrated gothic soap opera, Dark ShadowsThis year Dark Shadows celebrates its fiftieth anniversary.  I think there is or has been a gathering to celebrate.  It seems appropriate that in this Season of the Witch that the soap opera that turned daytime television on its ear should be replaying now.  The charm of the show, which started as a black and white live-on- tape project, is dated now with camera shake and style. According to Kathryn, Jonathan Frid was an actor about to just bail on his acting career. He played the vampire Barnabas Collins for the run of the show  from 1966 to 1971.  Cue the theramin.  "Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production...." 

The day before Halloween is time to find a punkin to carve and then off to the theatre.  Review to follow. 

Listening to Norman Lear discuss the development of All in the Family and other important socially significant sit coms from the late sixties on NPR yesterday was enlightening. 

October 30, 2016
michaelsheehan

Saturday, October 29, 2016

CLOUDY SATURDAY

October 29, 2016

There is an idea afoot for a group conceptual art installation next year that may be curated at The Brand Galleries in Glendale.  It's been four years plus since the julyfourthproject for the Gas Station here in Adams Hill and almost twenty years since I was fortunate to have my first art installation at the Brand. 
Interested?  

One day a diatribe and today.. nada.. 

October 29. 2016
michaelsheehan 






Friday, October 28, 2016

JURY SERVICE II


October 28, 2016
Wow..  this is the first image from my porch with a bird!  Thanks to the avian community for supporting art! 

///

The threat to fine me $1,500.00 for failure to respond to a jury summons came from Darrel Mahood, Director Jury Services Division.  Here's his email address: dmahood@lasuperiorcourt.org

 The following link  was written by a very educated person and goes on for a while.  I have not vetted the citations in this long post, but the reasoning works for me.  The last line in this post references the 13th Amendment.  It is very clear:

"13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865) Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
 

////
Had I not been in a situation where the police had actually attempted to frame me and had I not been mistreated by the court system in the past, my attitude might be a little more cooperative.

I have written  to Darrel Mahood asking to be excused from jury service. I'll expand on my experience as the drama unfolds.
 //
October 28, 2016
michaelsheehan


Thursday, October 27, 2016

JURY DUTY?

October 27, 2016

I have a small mailbox. Upright, not the Quonset hut version that one sees by the street. Mine's upright and on the side of the railing by my front steps.  I've no idea how long this small post card languished in my mail box, but I have been threatened by the Director of Juror Services Division, Darell Mahood, to call or be subject to a $1,500.00 fine!  Who is this guy and why is he threatening me?  I've tried to serve on juries in the past and they did their best to make me feel like a criminal. 

It's a shame that this system makes it difficult for anyone to get a 'fair trial' because the jurors mostly don't want to be there.  They are treated like dirt. If we had a pool of schooled professionals that made even minimum wage, choosing a jury would be a much more pleasant experience and might be very helpful to the entire system.

Meanwhile, I'll have fodder to expose the system from within!  

October 27, 2016
michaelsheehan


Wednesday, October 26, 2016

COUSIN LYNN

October 26, 2016

I cannot remember how long ago I found my cousin, Lynn, on FB.  Today, she responded to my 'friend request!'  FB is a little wonky and I can't read all of her message to me, but I'm happy to hear from her.  She and her brother, David, live on the Western Slope of Colorado and I hope to be in touch.  

TV news reports that the Hollywood Walk of Fame star for the republicant has been vandalized early this morning. The report shows the actual footage and shows, too, that reports are faulty.  One report said the vandal used an 'ax' ..another reported a sledge hammer.  The tool is a "pick  ax" and it's the pick that's doing the damage.  Ironically, there are LADOT saw horses set up to make the work look legitimate.  Evidently, authorities have the name of the perpetrator! Reportedly, he said that he wanted to sell/auction the star material to help the women who claim to have been 'abused' by the candidate.  

I've speculated that this was another of the candidate's attempt at free publicity.  No evidence, of course, just a suspicion.  The vandal is in an official looking hard hat and orange vest. Interesting that he had someone along to shoot video or that someone else was on Hollywood Boulevard at 5:45 in the morning!  I'm particularly embarrassed that this tribute had been placed between Orange and Highland.  How this person gets that kind of placement instead of more off the beaten path up or down Vine should be explained by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.  Who chooses? How much does the recipient pay? Or do they?

Now that I've gone and mentioned it, I apologize for even participating in the report.  Two weeks to go.  I just want the election to be over.

On a "Moore" positive note, Michael Moore, has pointed out that voting in Democrats to the Senate and Congress is very important.  Donations to Democracy for America can help to do that. 


 End of political posturing. 

Here's a Lucky Buddha for ya.
Lucky Buddha / Carlsbad, California
michael sheehan
October 26, 2016


Tuesday, October 25, 2016

WAX ON / WAX OFF

October 25, 2016
Million Dollar Plinko? The Karate Kid? Halloween Spooks? 

Started six art projects yesterday all on finding a bit of cloth.  Film at eleven.

Meanwhile, California folks.  Check out your voter guide and check the "tone" of the ads touting or untouting (I made that word up?) each of the propositions.  I pay attention to the attitude of the commercials a lot.  The people hired to vote to keep the Death Penalty seem to be appealing to conservative voters with an attitude that killing the worst offenders is the right thing to do.  I may repeat myself here, but it's important to me to remind us that we are living in a supposedly civilized society.  That can't be said for the entire country, yet, but ideally we are a civilization.  Civilized folks don't kill.  We don't torture.  We find a way to remain civilized.  Don't we?

Please vote for Laura Friedman for California's 43rd Assembly District . She wants to move up in the land of politics and has been a responsive leader here in Glendale. 

On TV I see the debris of a pet shop fire with a sign in the window sign that indicates an "A" rating as a restaurant.. oh wait.. it's a similar rating for stores that sell animals.  Whew.  

October 25, 2016
michaelsheehan
Four calls this AM. One actual person trying to sell house painting. Three ghosts?  Sheesh. 

 

Monday, October 24, 2016

HENRY DARGER / NO!! ON M (IN CA) YES ON 62

October 24, 2016
"No on M"..   I judge!  Yes..  judgemental moi.  We all judge, actually.. but use the term "judgemental" as a pejorative.  In fact, to survive we have to make judgements all the time.  The tone of the Yes on M campaign,  heavily advertised on local TV, touts more light rail and bus transportation, tagging on "expanded freeways."  Driving up the 405 last night, it was crowded a bit and slowed at the junction of the 101. Not bad for a Sunday.  My contention, however, with all of our LA freeways, anyhow, is that if we keep it up, ten lane freeways may become a reality?  Keep our freeways the way they are now and add more incentives for taking public transportation, sez me. And, educate drivers starting at an early age with playground games to facilitate traffic so that the guy in the far left lane realizes he has nine lanes to cross in about fifty yards (okay. poor planning). he can cross the lanes of traffic via the courtesy of the more awake other drivers!  (like that will happen!?)

The chilly "tone" of doom in the TV ads I am seeing, especially for the "keep the death penalty" faction, is enhanced by people who are tough and a little scary!  If Californians vote YES on Prop 62, we eliminate the death penalty.  If we are a 'civilized' society, we won't kill anyone.  I have not vetted this, but it's been said it's more expensive to execute a criminal than to keep him incarcerated for life.  (Citations are welcome.)

Voting Yes on the Pot Bill, Prop 64, legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, I hope it will mean not incarcerating more thousands of folks who were sent to jail for minimal amounts of the weed.  If we can contain alcohol, even with the issues we have with it, it seems to me that the literally billions in taxes that will be reaped, as in Colorado, can outweigh the negative issues.

//
   I had a nice chat with an actress who needed to chat last night.   It made me think this morning about Henry Darger.  The art world is a better place because of Henry's unintentional contribution.  From all accounts Henry was probably "on the spectrum" living in Chicago into old age and his death in a small apartment owned by Nathan and Kiyoko Lerner.  When Henry died, Nathan and a friend went to clear out the cluttered room where he had lived for many years. They discovered literally a ton of stuff that became 'the collection' reflecting among the clutter, Henry's chronicle of an imaginary war between fictional factions (probably based on the Civil War) with illustrations taken from coloring books and odd other sources, all created from his meager salary as a custodian at a Catholic girls' school.  

Nathan Lerner has passed away now. Henry's estate is administered by Nathan's widow, Kiyoko, a concert pianist. She has optioned Henry's story a time or two to movie producers. I've not heard if a project has been 'green lit.'   A wonderful book, "In the Realms of the Unreal" by John M. MacGregor and a documentary by Jessica Yu that gives insight to Darger's obsession, are both worth a look.  I've lost touch with Kiyoko, but hope that a new producer will lasso Dustin Hoffman and make a spectacular film.  Maybe you know Dustin? He should produce this one!  Refer him to me and I'll put him in touch with Mrs. Lerner. If Robin Williams was still around, his take on Henry would be amazing, too... using techniques like Vincent Ward used in "What Dreams May Come."  Darger's work is pure and focused.  I don't think he ever intended to share it with anyone.. it was his true passion.  

// The rains have come!  It's a start.  Made changes on my pebbles! 

October 24, 2016
Michael Sheehan
Two new reviews for onstagelosangeles!






Sunday, October 23, 2016

FAKED OUT!

October 23, 2016

My little stacks of stones (and m&ms) changed this AM.  I was amazed that some critter .. a bird or the squirrel?  had been able to extract the m&m from a delicately balanced stack of pebbles. 


Evidently, there was a tiny earthquake on my porch only disturbing that one m&m!  it's on the roof of the garage! 


 I still need to figure out the focus on this new Canon.  

October 23, 2016
michaelsheehan


Saturday, October 22, 2016

GOOD DAY

October 21, 2016

What about potassium? 
  
October 21, 2016
Michael sheehan

Addenda:

 
I was going for  Edward Hopper  here. Artwalk at The Brewery.  Don't know how to put the two images side by side. Oh well..  I like the contrast of the dark and the shifted images in the lighted studio.

Eugenia's Studio // The Brewery  Los Angeles
 
This is the space where Eugenia Butler lived and worked for several years.   She was one of the most inventive and original people I've ever met. When I walked into the studio, there was no one there.  Then, a warm voice, "Welcome to the studio..." I'd fallen for the art there before falling for the artist.  When we lost her in 2008, she left a huge gap in the art community here in LA. Her ideas inspired a multitude of artists, carrying on her mother's legacy and carried on today by Corozon Del Sol, her daughter.  It's always a bit nostalgic to walk by the space where I met Eugenia.   

The Brewery Art Walk was buzzing today.  Somehow, the creativity I used to feel there was lacking.  Llyn Foulkes' Church of Art was not open. (I'd hoped to share my dulcimer with him today.. nope..) One guy had some interesting tapestries printed on silk/cotton fabric that was like gossamer. I was not much interested in the designs but the technique was really fascinating. Machine printed: about 4' x 8'..   I've seen photo blankets advertised for $45.00.  Hmmmm.

I noticed a big wet spot by the door of my VW bus when I left the event.  Someone.. or something? had peed on my left front wheel!  The nerve! hah.

endofaddenda
ms

Friday, October 21, 2016

FEAR FEAR FEAR

October 21, 2016

There's a big white transformer across the way that I've never really noticed before.  It's really odd how seeing the same view for ten months at slightly different times of the day reveal new things all the time.   That's what repeated similar but different images are about to me.  When we take time to look at the 'art' we begin to have revelations.  I have no idea how 366 images will be displayed. And, don't know if I'll include this text that I create daily.  

After watching the PBS series "Art21" I'm inspired by artists like Janine Antoni and Vija Celmins.  Celmins does perception work like duplicating natural stones with her own identical versions and displaying them side by side.  Antoni is an amazing conceptual artist who takes ideas to the limit.  Of course, it's the idea that starts the whole process of any venture. 

///
Fear?  I see a discussion on FB by a dear friend who 'can't vote liberal.'  She is a faith based woman and there's no reasoning with people so deep in their ideology that they are blind to reason.. or what we may think is reasonable.    One issue might be about ministers not discussing politics from their bully pulpits.  Of course, all churches should pay taxes!  Then.. then.. they might take to the pulpit to make political speeches?  Go figger. 

The other fear comes from recent headlines about earthquakes in California and the Great American Shakeout.. or is it California as we are the quake capital of the world?  "When the Big One Hits!" Brrr..  One ballot measure is about how other communities can dictate funding for other communities if there's a big old quake.  The special effects show downtown LA in shambles. Fear! Brrrr.

Of course, there has always been the threat of 'the big one.'  Certainly, it's a good idea to have food and water put away, just in case. But, the fear factor to sell earthquake insurance and this ballot measure play to our deepest anxieties.  So... being prepared is good.  However, to me, being in constant readiness is just a waste of  time.  
Be awake.. that's the best we can do.

Shakespeare tonight.  Yay.

michaelsheehan
October 21, 2016

Thursday, October 20, 2016

DUCK AND COVER




October 20, 2016 

My titles for this daily missive come out of the blue.  "Duck and Cover" of course, is what we were taught as kids to do when the atom bomb was exploding..  or maybe when the big old killer earthquake hits.  

Reeling from this darned political stuff which I do my best to avoid, I paraphrase Stephen Colbert from last night.  The republicant says, "No one has more respect for women than I do..."  Then, Mrs. Clinton makes a little crack about his avoiding taxes and he inserts himself close on the mic, "That's a nasty woman!"   I see on TV this morning that there are now T shirts referencing support for the 'nasty woman!'  

 It's a frightening time for the United States.  Not that the republicant is a loose cannon, but that there are supposedly intelligent U.S. citizens who really believe that this person would be a good leader of our country.  That some of them become apoplectic when discussing politics is terrifying! 

 I hate feeling sucked into this debate and really hate the feeling that almost half of the population of our country still thinks like folks did a hundred and fifty years ago!  And!!  I really don't like the word 'hate!'

new m&ms!

Still figuring out the focus on this new camera


 Wheee.. Thanks to John Langdon for inspired big rock balancing. I love the way that this idea is at the mercy of nature 

and critters.

Gloria Gunn is the inspiration for the yellow and green M&Ms.  We'll see how they evolve. That's   the beauty of the art.
///
I seem to be focused on gravity and time a lot these days: unavoidable attrition.  I just hope that the 'gravity' of our looming election leaves us all a bit lighter after the threat of doom and gloom is lifted just before 'The Holidays' and all the "comfort and joy" that they may bring?!

///

Funny.. I was not thinking about the Great California Shakeout when I decided on Duck and Cover for the subject of this post. Right now, on the Channel Five News, Lucy Jones, a seismologist  from Cal Tech, talks about swarms of quakes and we cut to kids cowering under their desks!  Serendipity!  Just have a week's worth of water and food stashed and hope for the best, sez me.  Where did I put that canned chili? Take a cue from Cormac McCarthy's The Road and fill the bathtub with water, too. Make sure the drain doesn't leak!

October 20, 2016
michaelsheehan


 

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

M AND M PEANUT



 October 19, 2016

John Langdon has been stacking big rocks .. balancing and making some interesting ephemeral sculptures.  I have little rocks and an M and M Peanut.



Originally,  a few days ago this was an M and M Peanut.  We have had some rain and then some ants.  Evolution.. or shall we start with a new M and M? 

Into the Day! Stack your stones and smile at a stranger! 

October 19, 2016
michael sheehan 

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

CHILLY TUESDAY

October 18, 2016

A woman w/ dementia lost at LACMA going on four days!  An old pal falling into old age in Colorado. 
Gravity and time.. Gravity and time. 

The Ice Cream Issue expands with guidelines from the Federal Bureau of Weights and Measures that may take an attorney to interpret!  The rules are so detailed that I'll have to read them again to try to make sense of them.  When is a pound not a pound? When is a pint actually a pound? What is fluid measure vis a vis dry measure?  Does God actually make little green apples? How many in a pound?

The article about Leonard Cohen in this week's New Yorker magazine is expansive and insightful. The man is 82 and works like anything every day. He's still here.

October 18, 2016
michaelsheehan

Monday, October 17, 2016

BLUE MONDAY? RAIN? REALLY??

October 17, 2016

Rain! Nice. I wonder where that blue tarp is? 

The opening of the new show at the LAMAG was impressive though the signage is still not great to identify the works of art and the artists.  It's better than it was at the Open Call.

The day was gorgeous.  An odd thing happened as I arrived uncharacteristically late.  The big Park Policeman.. a sort of cross between a security guard and an LAPD officer, I guess.. stopped me as I started up the hill.  
"You can't go up. There's no place to park," he said. 
"What will happen to me if I disobey you and go up anyway?"
"You can't. All of the parking spaces are filled."
"But, what if I just go up anyway?"
"Well, you might get a ticket."
"I can find a place to park," I said and drove up the hill to park almost directly in front of the steps to the gallery.
Some folks still park parallel up there. One huge truck was taking up four spaces where ordinary sized cars could have parked.  grrr.

The view from Barnsdall Park of the Hollywood Sign and the Griffith Park Observatory was  great today. 





This new camera has a great telephoto feature!

Sunday, October 16, 2016

DISTURBING NEWS

October 16, 2016

The predicted 20% chance of rain did not occur in Glendale. Or, if it did, I missed it.  

Seeing a friend's short film at the East LA Film Festival yesterday took me back to Raleigh Studios, across the street from Paramount on Melrose. Two big memories emerge: Raleigh was where I shot my first on camera commercial and I used to have a photo of my dad in the back of a truck parked in front of the old Paramount Gate: the one we see Gloria Swanson drive through in Sunset Boulevard.  I've no idea what Dad was doing in the truck with a bunch of other guys and I have no idea where the photo is today.. lost to antiquity, but I can always see it in memory.  Nickodell's Restaurant was there directly on Melrose, too, an old Hollywood hangout.  Paramount has captured the entire street now, with mini arches at the west entrance.  Life goes on.

///

My disturbing Post Line today is about a post I just saw on FB.  An African American woman I don't know, Ashley Noelle, was spit at and threatened on her own street in 'midtown Los Angeles.'  I have African American  friends who live near there and seeing the photo of this blond man giving the finger to this woman in her car was disturbing.  She got a photo of him (click on it and it may get bigger, I just didn't want a big photo here) and a shot of the back of his big truck with a republicant sticker on the bumper.  The license plate is impossible to read, but it is obviously a custom plate with only a few letters or numbers, not our customary seven digits and letters.  

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS TRUCK IN LOS ANGELES?
                         
                 
If you know this area or see this truck, please send me a message. It would be very satisfying to have this man brought to bear for his attack. Scary. 
Even some of the FB reactions to Ashely Noelle's report are reactionary. 

I have, myself,  experienced angry behavior when driving my 1960 VW bus. It's really puzzling to me how this kind of hate just bubbles up in other people. I truly believe that we must not fight hate and anger with more hate.  Whatever made this man a racist continues to permeate our society and our world.  To me, the only way to stop it is to find a way to embrace the angry others and not let their fear and hatred poison our own love and understanding.  We have had enough of this crap. It is NOT okay to Make America Hate Again.

I feel very sorry for the fearful and reactionary folks, some of whom are friends.  It seems to be tied to money and prejudice. One friend always mentions the monetary or social worth of others whom she may toss into a conversation that boosts her own worth.  She is a nice woman.  She is oblivious to her behavior. When we mention how much wealth we have or our friends have or their 'things' as part of how important they are, that's a sign of something sad.  

//

The movie I saw yesterday turns slightly on the theme of fear and anger.  Amy Adams stars as a brilliant linguist with interesting 'powers' in "Arrival" with Jeremy Renner.  Aliens have landed and of course, the military immediately takes a Dr. Strangelove stance. Combined with The Day the Earth Stood Still, we explore prejudice and fear as the rational college professor works to communicate with the visitors: "Abbott and Costello."  Time is the issue that will confuse many who see this well made movie.  The unmistakable stupidity of blowing up what we fear creates the traction for the film.  The point is that when we allow fear to cloud what may be good judgement, we lose.  We just lose. And, if we think that time is linear..according to the film, that may be a losing notion, too. I'm not so sure myself!

//  Finally, I want to boost "Buyer and Cellar" again.  It will run until November 6, 2016 at The Falcon Theater in Burbank.  Funny and poignant, it just works.   

Find the bigot in the photo and win a prize!

October 16, 2016
michaelsheehan 

On TV I just saw a Luke Skywalker costume contest with little Lukes brandishing light sabres.  It looked like the adults were egging the kids on to fight.  It's just playing, right?  That's still okay, right?   Sigh.


 


Saturday, October 15, 2016

THE INNATE DIGINTY OF WORTH..

October 15, 2016

In this speech by the First Lady: Michelle Obama. She closes with this line about America's Greatness... It comes from our ".. innate dignity of worth.."  This succinct phrase sums things up for me.   Finding ways to at least be dignified even in the face of unimaginable hubris is tough.  We don't have to forgive.. we just need to not respond in kind.  At least I choose to at least attempt to not do that.

I've suggested that folks write snail mail to the republican c/o his tower and just ask him to stop it!  One sentence: "Please just stop."  I imagined piles and bags of letters filling the lobby of the Tower like that courtroom scene in Miracle on 34th Street?

The depth of feeling in Ms Obama's speech is so well  presented.. it moved me. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/watch-michelle-obama-donald-trump_us_57ffc2b9e4b05eff5582381a 

Friday, October 14, 2016

ROCHESTER!

October 14, 2016

I love it that folks I know.. and maybe some I don't, read this stuff.  Watching TV as I field emails, respond..  make comments on FB.. whatever is on TV keeps me company.  I'm influenced.  Today, Jack Benny's sidekick, Rochester, showed up on Adam 12.  TV in the late sixties and into the seventies often cast actors who had had a time in the spotlight but may have faded. It's just a pleasure to see their faces.  Adam 12 and its predecessor Dragnet often used the same actors in different roles and some from Dragnet, notably, Kent McCord, were bumped up. Kent had a featured role on Dragnet and then landed his seven year stint as Officer Jim Reed.

I was pleased and surprised that my lauding the award of the Nobel Prize for Literature to Bob Dylan got comments on FB.  I still have not figured out how to invite  "followers" on this site.  My main goal is to collect these 366 images and then do something with them.  Writing every day is probably a good exercise, though. 
 ///
I read today that Teddy Roosevelt was shot by a crazy guy when he was on the campaign trail, asked the guy who shot him why he did it and then went on to make a speech! He credited  the fifty page speech he had in his coat pocket for saving his life! I wonder if an iPhone with fifty pages of text has saved someone's life yet?  

///

Helen Mirren called herself 'very old' last night in a brilliant Q and A after a screening of her movie Eye in the Sky.  At the age of 71, the woman is a fox!  May every woman embrace age the way she does!  I also met a gorgeous actress while standing in line for the screening who said she was 79.  She was a show girl in Havana pre Castro!  Bring on the foxes! 

michael sheehan
October 14, 2016