Once a month I highlight a piece of art I have created and posted on my Fine Art America site. This one is titled Vase and Sun, from the Abstract Art Collection. It is chalk pastel and marker on paper.
Vase and Sun
Month: May 2019
Charles Bukowski
Mickey Rourke is one of my favorite 1980’s actors. When I saw him in the movie Barfly I thought his performance was mesmerizing. I had never heard of the real life poet and author he was playing a version of, Charles Bukowski. Several years later I came across Bukowski’s name again and a reference to Barfly, and decided to learn more about him. Bukowski lived from 1920 to 1994, much of that time in Los Angeles. He worked odd jobs, was a letter carrier for a while then a clerk at the post office. He wrote poetry on the side, getting published in avant garde magazines and by small presses. Eventually he gave riotous poetry readings and wrote a newspaper column. Black Sparrow Press gave him his big break, publishing his writing from 1969 on. I have read four of his novels and lost count of how many of his poetry collections I have enjoyed. Trying to sum up why I like reading him so much is hard, maybe because you have to admit you have enjoyed living vicariously in his slobby, drunken, violent, wasteland of a world. At the same time you are treated to such honesty, beauty, longing and tenderness in his writing that the contradictions almost seem impossible to be contained in the same man. He claimed he would have to wait for the muse to come to him and inspire his writing. “Don’t try,” was his advice on creativity. It is the epitaph on his tombstone.
The Roundup
I subscribed to the Taste of Home newsletter just a few months ago and I have been overwhelmed by recipes and cooking ideas. When they bundle a type of recipe to include in their mailing it will have 10 to 100 varieties. (example: 55 Chicken Skillet Recipes) You can use the recipes as is or cobble together your own version from the many they offer. A site worth your attention.
“The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. We are a community of learning and the opener of doors. Join us on a voyage of discovery in person or learn and explore online.” I have been a reader of their excellent magazine for years. You can subscribe to their free newsletter here.
Artcyclopedia is searchable database of 9,000 listed artists, 2,900 indexed art sites and 160,000 links to other sites. You can search by name, artwork title or art museums.
I think I remember reading some movie reviews years ago by Joe Bob Briggs, but I had not thought of him since then. Somehow I recently rediscovered him and have really been enjoying his writing. He offers much more than that on his offical site.
Have a good weekend!
Camping Checklist
I first went camping as a small child in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s with my parents and siblings, but I don’t remember much. A good friend and I picked it up as adults in the early 1980’s, learning most everything from scratch, slowly assembling needed equipment. By the time my wife and I began camping with our kids we had all of the basics, but continued to add and upgrade. A camping checklist became a must for us for planning and packing, and the list was refined and revised multiple times over the years. The following is the basic, early version of the list. Other lists we use today are very detailed and run several pages.
Camping Checklist
—-FOOD —-TENT —-SLEEPING BAG —-BACKPACK/DAY PACK
—-MATCHES/LIGHTER —-BOW SAW —-CHOW KIT —-CLOTHES
—-COOLER —-HUNTING KNIFE —-POCKET KNIFE —-HATCHET/AX
—-FISHING GEAR —-COOZIE —-MAPS/TRAVEL INFO —-LANTERN
—-FLASHLIGHT —-CAMPING STOVE —-FIRST AID KIT —-BAIT
—-BUG SPRAY —-COOKING GEAR —-BANDANNA —-HAT —-SOAP
—-TOILET PAPER —-TOOTHBRUSH & PASTE —-WASHCLOTH
—-DEODORANT —-TOWEL —-RAIN GEAR —-PLATES/CUPS —-BODA
—-FOIL —-CHARCOAL —-STARTER FLUID —-ARMY SHOVEL
—-RADIO —-CAMERA/FILM —-BATTERIES —-BINOCULARS
—-FOLDING CHAIR —-THERMOS —-COFFEE/POT —-COMPASS
—-FIRST AID KIT —-WATCH —-SWIMSUIT
With the exception of “Camera/Film” it is still a pretty solid list to build from. Get outside this weekend!
The Buck List
I started a blog in September of 2008 named The Buck List, about saving and making money. Blogging was a new experience, one I had to figure out as I went along. I assumed the pseudonym of Buck Weber, because I was not brave enough yet to use my real name on the internet. The name came from making or saving a Buck, on the Web. I eventually developed a writing schedule, and stuck to it, modifying as the blog continued. I monetized the blog, learned about SEO, keywords, and so on. I commented on other blogs and websites, featured other sites, hosted guest writers, entered blog carnivals, and in general engaged with my niche internet community. I had a great time, thinking up new angles on subjects, creating series, linking here and there, and writing regularly. Gradually the burnout crept up on me and by June of 2011 I was done writing within the self imposed confines of personal finance. I was not enjoying it anymore and I decided if I would ever undertake this kind of thing again it would be more wide ranging; I would write about whatever I wanted.
So check out the old blog, I think there is some good stuff there. And I hope you return to this one, because there is much more to come.
Osborn’s Checklist
AF Osborn originated brainstorming, and created this checklist to help with the process.
The Checklist:
Put to other uses? As it is?… If modified?..
Adapt? Is there anything else like this? What does this tell you? Is the past comparable?
Modify? Give it a new angle? Alter the colour, sound, odour, meaning, motion, and shape?
Magnify? Can anything be added, time, frequency, height, length, strength? Can it be duplicated, multiplied or exaggerated?
Minify? Can anything be taken away? Made smaller? Lowered? Shortened? Lightened? Omitted? Broken up?
Substitute? Different ingredients used? Other material? Other processes? Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice? Someone else?
Rearrange? Swap components? Alter the pattern, sequence or layout? Change the pace or schedule? Transpose cause and effect?
Reverse? Opposites? Backwards? Reverse roles? Change shoes? Turn tables? Turn other cheek? Transpose ‘+/-‘?
Combine? Combine units, purposes, appeals or ideas? A blend, alloy, or an ensemble?
A Kiss
A Kiss
A kiss
Runs to my lips
Who is it looking for
What does it want
Does it know
Where it is going
Has it been anywhere
Is it happy
Or sad
Or some place in between
A kiss
Is ready to leave me
It might win
Or loose
It might not care
A kiss
Is coming
Are you ready
(2000) By David Jacobi
I began writing poems as a kid, and have enjoyed creating them, off and on, ever since. Poetry is hard to appreciate, or even read, because it is the jottings of people who are out of their minds. Not crazy, there is a difference. Many people can not lose themselves, get out of their minds, because the many distractions of life don’t allow them much free time. Poets make the time to wander, wonder, ponder, lose themselves and go out of their minds. I am going to share one of my poems a month. Most of them are pretty short, and they can’t compare to the works of the good poets that made a living out of writing poetry. I like to dabble here and there while occasionally going out of my mind.
Van Morrison
When I was younger I would try to convince others of the worth of a musician, artist, actor, poet, writer, etc by force of argument and debate. No more. Now I will recommend something and then stand back, getting out of your way if you want to pursue, but not badgering if you don’t. I really don’t remember when I discovered the music of Van Morrison. It probably happened with the heavy rotation of “Domino” and “Brown Eyed Girl,” which continues to this day on oldies radio stations. If you didn’t know anything else about the man you would suppose those were the only two songs he sang.
In the 1980’s I went to stay with a cousin in Omaha for the weekend and I was teased relentlessly for being a Van The Man fan. He was into obscure punk stuff, which was fine by me but you can only go so far with punk before it wears you out and you are begging for something with a melody that does not make you want to bang your head against a wall. And that’s when you put on some Van Morrison. His music ranges from contemplative to danceable, and incorporates Celtic, blues, jazz, folk and rock into an easily recognizable style. If you are not familiar with his music I recommend trying the album “Astral Weeks.” If after listening to that you are intrigued to hear more just jump in anywhere, from “Moondance” to “The Prophet Speaks,” and welcome to the club. If not, you can always try GG Allin.
The Roundup
Shelly joined Ibotta in 2014 and has made almost $3,000 since then getting cash back on purchases. Click here for details.
Gimp, a free alternative to Photoshop “is a cross-platform image editor available for GNU/Linux, OS X, Windows and more operating systems. It is free software, you can change its source code and distribute your changes. Whether you are a graphic designer, photographer, illustrator, or scientist, GIMP provides you with sophisticated tools to get your job done. You can further enhance your productivity with GIMP thanks to many customization options and 3rd party plugins.”
Check Unclaimed.org to “Conduct a free multi-state search by going directly to MissingMoney, the NAUPA-sponsored search engine, or search state-by-state on individual unclaimed property programs by clicking the appropriate jurisdiction on the map or drop box below. You should search in every state where you have lived.” Worth checking, you never know.
C. S. Lewis “was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day… Lewis wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. C. S. Lewis’s most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics in The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.”
Have a good weekend!
Sticks, Twigs, Branches and Limbs
Before we could mow the grass on the acreage for the first time this year we had to pick up the wood debris that had been blown down by the fierce winter winds. The majority of the trees here are white willows, a beautiful tree that sways in the wind, until it breaks. We are nearing the end of this chore, begun several weeks ago, and totaling dozens of large garbage cans and totes full of twigs and sticks, while the larger branches and limbs are tossed onto the brick foundation where a corn crib used to be, to be cut down to size with a miter saw or a chainsaw. We have been having fires in our outdoor hearth and our stone campfire ring to get rid of the excess wood. Once the containers are empty we fill them back up in the next couple of days from a different section of the yard and have another fire. And another. When we lived in the city I carefully maintained several boxes of dry kindling in our small garage for our fires in the hearth on our deck, never dreaming that we would someday have such a surplus of wood we could have roaring fires several times a week. An embarrassment of riches, but I have followed my old habits and put up many totes of wood in the shed, and stacked wood close to the fire ring for future use. There is nothing else to do with the rest, so we have been enjoying more spring campfires than I think we ever have before.
Off The Back Porch 