Talent

The reason I like so many different artists, musicians, dancers, etc. is that I just really enjoy when someone is exhibiting talent. Here are some of the things that make me smile.

Skinner - Time Lapse

Birdy - 1901

I wanted to put a link to the three roommate poppers that were on last night's So You Think You Can Dance but I can't find the video anywhere. You need to see them. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of shit.

Alberto Vargas

Chet Baker - Time After Time

Breakdancing

The Beach Boys - I'm Waiting For The Day

Robert Bowen - Magnanimous- That part at the end about him rarely smiling is so not true.

That's all I got for now. I haven't been sleeping for shit this week and I have zero energy so I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda phoning it in these last few days. Hopefully next week will be better. :)

Movies for February

Here are a few of the movies I watched in February that I really loved:

Drive
This movie is not in any way about what you think it is from the previews or the synopses. I really enjoyed it. If you can get past the pretty terrible music in it, you'll be all good. Same fella that did this also did Bronson, which is another favorite movie of mine. I watched it again with a friend who hadn't seen it. Great movie.

Caged Heat
Really bad 70s chicks behind bars flick. It has Eric Estrada in it!

Rachael Getting Married
I was actually surprised I liked this one. Anne Hathaway does an unlikely character for her, and she does it quite well. Also, this family should make you feel like yours isn't quite so dysfunctional.

Mutant Vampire Zombies From The Hood
With a name like that, who could resist? Not a good movie, but a so bad it's kind of good, and definitely amusing movie.

Feed
About a serial killer who feeds obese women to death. Also about the fetish of feeders and their caretakers. Totally bad acting and a horrible ending, and I make everyone who comes over watch it. It's that bad/good.

I Saw The Devil
Really great foreign thriller. Thanks for the recommendation Pickleope.

I watched a ton more but that's all I got for now. I leave you with a great song, and my happy picture of the day: Deerhunter - He Would Have Laughed

Painting given to me by a friend 'cause it scared her children. I can see why.

Tattoos

I love them. I love each and every one that I have, and I plan on getting tons more. I know they're not for everyone, and I have a ton of respect for those who know they don't ever want one. But now, for a creepy picture post in to my soul. Because I don't have any tattoos that don't represent a little part of who I am, who I was, or who I aspire to be. There is nothing worse to me than someone covering themselves in tattoos that mean nothing to them.

What? You didn't think I'd have a tattoo of a spork? PISH! Then in the middle that's my sobriety tattoo. If anyone lives near New Jersey there's a fantastic artist there that did several of my pieces, including that center one on my chest.

These are my cupcake and lollipop tattoos, which are behind my ears. They are to signify my hidden sweetness. Say it with me now, "Awwwwww."

The second tattoo I ever got was a Charles Bukowski quote on one wrist, and an At The Gates quote on the other. I consider all tattoos gotten in one sitting to be one tattoo. That's just how I roll.

The first tattoo I ever got. An om symbol, in the tramp stamp area. Oh, the irony.

I love hideous yard decor so I got the lawn gnome and pink flamingo together. Then I decided I needed to signify my metal roots. I don't listen to metal that much in my older age, but that's pretty much all I used to listen to was guitar riffs and people screaming about random shite. I got the metal hands because I kept seeing girls with cherries, and ribbons on the bottom of their legs, and I thought it would be funny to get metal hands there.

If you whine near me I generally will whip out the finger teardrops. Far superior to the finger moustache, and twice as useful.

I heart Hedwig. Some friends of mine did a local production of Hedwig And The Angry Inch. They were all going to get the tattoo and my friend said, "I'll pay for yours if you get one." That's pretty much all the convincing my hungover ass needed. Foot tattoos = ouchie. My tattoos started out having meaning, and attempting to be powerful. Then I realized who I really was was a goofball, so the tattoos needed to represent that. I don't regret any of them. All are definitely a part of who I am. My next one will be see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil with Mr. Potato Heads (one has the eyes pulled out. One has the ears missing. You get the point). After that I'm getting Audrey Hepburn followed by a montage of things from her movies that will eventually be a 3/4 sleeve. Then I'm getting John Hughes movie images on the other arm, starting with Long Duck Dong hanging upside down from the top bunk. Tom Selleck will get his face in there somehow. So many tattoos I need, so little money.

Art

It's a totally subjective thing. A lot of art that most people like, I do not care for. I like low brow, and street art the most. I like some of the classic folks like Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dali, and MC Escher. I like photographers like Diane Arbus, Julius Shulman, and Irving Penn. I respect all art where I look at it, and I feel like art chose the person, not the other way around. The one thing I've noticed is that the art I am most drawn to, when I meet the artist they totally lack pretention. They do what they do because they love it. Most of them are downright humble and don't know how people love what they do. Those folks to me, are the true artists. If you like street art and haven't seen this documentary yet, I highly recommend it: Beautiful Losers

I went all the way to Fort Worth, so I could see his stuff in person: Article by Bored Panda, on Ron Mueck

I am truly blessed to have friends who paint stuff for me: Robert Bowen

This is the cabinet he did for me.

This fella is more an acquaintance than a friend, and he's so busy I wasn't going to ask him to do a cabinet, but we hung out last new year's and he was like, "Where's my cabinet door?" So he got one. Skinner



I of course have to give respect to the nerd side of the force.



And I kinda love me some carnival mirrors.



My friend Hilary sent this one with a whole description how this man was selling hearts, in case yours got lost or broken.



I'll go ahead and stop here. I could do a whole art blog. It really does brighten my day and make me happy. This morning as I got out of my car there was a homeless man who was yelling, "I don't have to listen to you! You have the mind of a killer! I don't have to listen to people who rape me in the penis, then stab me in the back, literally!" All I could think was, "If this guy was at Luna's coffee shop, sporting an ironic moustache, people would be clapping and snapping for this man's poetry. But as it is most will walk across the street to avoid him, because he's a schizophrenic street dweller."

It's Official: I'm Moved

I went to a movie screening last night. It was called Infinite Space, and focused on the architecture of John Lautner. I have long been a fan of his work, but the camera shots in this movie took my appreciation to a whole new level. Now, it’s no secret that Howard Roarke is one of my favorite literary characters. Say what you will about Ayn Rand, but she writes some really strong characters. You can hate her politics, and that her books are pushing objectivism pretty blatantly, but if you can get past that and just focus on story, some of the aspects of her writing are absolutely brilliant. Of all her characters, Howard always hit me close to home. A talented architect who refuses to change for anyone, and will only take on projects he believes in. To me, John Lautner is as close a personification to Howard as anyone will ever be. The way that he uses the environment, then blends his structures to fit the space, is nothing short of miraculous. Instead of drawing up a sketch and putting whatever he wants on a lot, he first visited the lot and took sketches of the curves and natural formations, then he would build the structure accordingly. It’s the way I think all architecture should be, and really forces you to see that architecture truly is art.

He of course received a ton of criticism for doing what he wanted, and some went so far as to call his architecture cheap looking. Well, I don’t know what buildings those people were looking at.

Source

He was commissioned for 22 public buildings, none of which was ever built because of the controversy surrounding his name. It’s a crying shame if you ask me. He did build one small school in Southern California which is still used as a school. His most famous structure is this stunning building in Acapulco, the Arango house.

Source

Well, people have been bugging me for years to get started on my art project ideas, and this film finally pushed me over the edge. I’m going to buy some canvases and an easel and get to work. Thanks John Lautner, you’ve been an inspiration. And thanks to all the folks who have bought his homes and restored them back to their original beauty, instead of trying to “improve” them by adding second floors and added space.