Tomorrow is Friday

Yeah, man. I just got my 88-key keyboard that hooks into my Mac.

And I'm drinking a 15 year old Scotch. Senecal suggested that I buy Glenfiddich Solera Reserve 15 year.

I sold another painting today...of course it is at the gallery...one more day to sell there...hopefully it will not!!! Not about the commission. More about reproduction. Eve is such a fluid piece. Well they all are, but that one in particular.

This scotch is making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Joy. Merry Christmas. By the way, I am well on my way to reintroducing "groovy" to the language. I heard it ten times today. Groovy is such a cool word.

Where Is My Mind?

You know, so many cool things come from Boston...

Dresden Dolls...
Liam Sullivan....
The Pixies.....
The Museum of Bad Art......
Boston Market and their creamy spinach side dish. YUM.
Chipotle...Oh, I just made that up. Plus, I have no idea if Boston Market is really from Boston.

So, my mind is on Christmas now...let the spending begin.

Bought a 88 key keyboard to mix music with Garage Band on the Mac today. Complete impulse buy. I was like, fuck it. I want it. Pain and suffering. Kelly's fucking rad.

So, I am trying to be a nicer person. I felt bad because today I made fun of someone in a completely inappropriate way in front of people who did not laugh at my flip comment. And it was funny...but no one laughed. Oh well!

By the way, Vanity Fair in hand, I am about to read about the Golden Suicides.

So...

Ready for vacation now.

FUCT

Yeah, you know what it means...

Belly Dancing

I have been taking belly dance lessons for over a year now. I still love it, although work has been getting in the way of it lately. It is starting to get in the way of my art, too. But, it pays for these things, so I guess I will have to deal with it.

So, the art supplier in MA called Ampersand to have my order rushed. I hope to get it soon. Seems strange that no one in North America has Aquabord in stock...

Since I am randomly rambling, I think I will just go to bed.

Here is a pretty picture to look at...

Happy Day of the Ninja

Hey,
Ninjas are awesome.



New Commission
Well, I have a new commission. It is actually repeating two of my existing pieces (The Devil's Breath and I Dreamt of a Kiss...) and selling two others (Autumn's Folliage and Infiltration). But, I needed to find 6x6 cradled aquaboard in order to complete the reproductions of my own works. I found a place in Massachusetts that carries it online. Just placed the order, but they did not commit to any ship dates and did not give me a choice to have it rushed. So, I hope to god it makes it here by the 15th.

Mysteriously Happy

I cannot pinpoint the source my current status of glowing happiness, so I guess I will just go with it.

It is not the fact that I went shopping today and bought lots of stuff...for me. I know!! It is Christmas time...I shouldn't do that!! Gasp. But oh yes, I should. Because now I am in the mood to shop and buy multitudes of presents for all the random childrens in my life. I shall go to the internets tomorrow and play a huge part in my country's economic recover. I'm a f'n patriot.

0|< |=u(|< U

UPDATE:Site is OK now. That worked. They had not hid a script on my site.

Okay, so here is the drill...the hackers got into my site through the ftp server/control panel. The exe that my virus software detected is not on my site...so they are sending it in from a different site...the one I talked about earlier. So, I had to change the control panel password. I also had them move me to a different server. If they have hidden a php script in my site, then this could continue and I have a bigger mess to clean up, which my involved deleting every file on my site. That would be fine. I am too tired to care.

I am scrubbing that site....getting rid of all the files anyway. I plan to phase it out. I will probably get my .com set up at the place Jimmie told me about. (Thanks, man) And then have the .net redirect, I guess. This is incredibly fucked up.

Viruses...yum

So, I am posting from my Mac. I am cleaning my PC. Installed a new anti-virus and am scanning the disks for little bugs...viruses and spyware. So far, so good. It'll be midnight before it is complete. LOTSA files.

Well, I am not sure how or why, but I have a hacker on my website again. Do not visit it. It is pulling something from or to damdskj.com. What is f'ed up about it is that I accidentally opened my site on my mac and saw that in the status bar at the bottom of firefox. "Transferring data from...that site". Thing is, the only things I am transferring in are from a couple of scripts that pull in data from my deviant database. I know that site is not in the javascript...I have looked at the script.

The worst is that the other day at the same moment I opened my site my McAfee detected a Trojan Horse virus. It was blocked. So, who knows what else. Like I said, I am scanning PC right now with the most up to date, highly recommended (thanks, Jimmie) antivirus.

As far as mac is concerned, I shut it down before whatever it was transferring could complete. It kinda locked up for a sec and then turned off. Seems to be OK now. I have run its updates, but do not know what to do about an anti-virus. I thought I had one on here, but then again do Macs get viruses?

So, my final step is to figure out how damdskj.com is hacking my site and why they are sending malicious programs through it. I need to contact Hostrocket and see how this is happening. I may just take down my .net and resurrect my .com via another server. I can't tell if this is my fault for not being up-to-date, or if it is my server space provider for not keeping their servers protected. It all started when they sent new password for logging into the site. I will deal with that bag o shit tomorrow. Also, I am contemplating signing into my site to get their code off of it for now. I think that if I only view the source code without the html in a browser to activate the programs I should be ok.

This is how I feel today.

This is a work by David Senecal called When We Were Happy.

So, it seems to me that there are forces in the universe that exist in order to suck the life out a person. I believe these forces are very well suited for management in corporations because they usually end up there. Actually they are not. I have only met two managers that have this trait. I am sure there are more out there, but I have been lucky enough to have two. They are both vortexes of ego and inefficiencies.

I go home at night and want to paint, but my hand hurts. It is numb and it hurts at the same time. I spend some time trying to see if I have the range of motion that I use to have. I do not.

Time to go to work.

And That's the Way It Is In Oklahoma homa....

Dig it. I need to rip this song to put on the Omnibucket site with the Amanda Palmer interview...

OH yeah, by the way, Kelly is in this video, betch.

The Walking Dead

Kurella talked me into reading The Walking Dead, a graphic novel, and I have to say it is really very good. It explores how humanity would cope with surviving a zombie infestation. It never really tells how it begins. They use a common plot element for the zombie genre...The main character wakes up in a hospital from a coma. I can think of two other ones right away...Resident Evil and 28 Days Later (never ever to be confused with 28 Days). But in those stories, one knows how it begins. Anyway, I highly recommend the books. I am on Volume 5 of 7. I am passing them along to Senecal...may never see them again because he has hinted of a trade. He better make it a worthy trade. I am sure he will.

More on The Walking Dead...
The Walking Dead Wikipedia
By the Issue

Spam is awesome! It's like free porno...

"Dear, pmintun. Large muscular rods make women go wild!!"

Awesome! Oh, the entertainment never ends in my spam folder.

Speaking of porno...softcore. I took my new calendar down to my family yesterday...gave one to mom and my sister...Hold on! I know what your thinking. No, my calendar is not full of porn. My point is, one of my images is a very simple abstract nude. Well, my other sister made it a point to repeat over and over again to everyone that I am painting smut. She is a republican, so this sort of behavior is kind of expected, but come on. Silly republican!!!...
Here is the pic...



And the calendar...

Upcoming Projects/Goals 2008...

1. My list of 40+ paintings (both traditional and digital)...I will not detail them here.
2. A zombie story for OLOGY...if it develops into the awesome I think it can.
3. Collaborate on a digital project with an artist friend. Whenever he gets to me on his long list of projects.
4. As soon as issue 19 of OLOGY is published, start contacting the next set of people on my list to interview.
5. Design for Celebrity Chef event (CAHS)
6. Work on a pretty large commission...a piece of art for someone's living room....we shall see how that goes. So many people proposition me and it never goes anywhere. About 50% of the time they fall through.
7. Get the Esty store set up and running.
8. Create and animation for a VS video. Would be awesome.
9. Invest $1500 or more toward art collection in '08. I have really expanded my collection this year. My latest is a watercolor from a woman in Scotland. A couple of my favs from this year are from Senecal, as well as a limited edition tarot deck from Shelly Corbett. I really need to list all of the items I have collected over the years and make an inventory. I discuss investing in stocks or art with a friend of mine, and I always say I get more satisfaction investing in and collecting art.
10. Manage an abstract club on Deviant...and possibly a Trad. Collage Club.

Absence of Color...

It is not gray, it is an absence of color.

So, happy Thanksgiving. What are you giving thanks for tomorrow...

Hello to Connor!

Thanks Connor...you are a rockin' kid. NOW quit watching Kelly's Youtube videos and do your homework!!! ;)

I wanna borrow that top, betch.

I wanna borrow that top, betch...

Text Message Breakup

OK, now I am obsessed with www.liamshow.com.

Kelly's fuckin' rad. This video has everything...vampires, Margaret Cho, and Star Wars characters....

If I Were...

If I were ....

a month, i would be:
October
a day of the week, i would be:
Saturday
a time of day, i would be:
3 am
a planet, i would be:
Neptune
a moon/satellite:
Jupiter's Europa
a sea animal, i would be:
A giant squid or octopus
a direction, i would be:
East
a piece of furniture, i would be:
An overstuffed chair and a half with a matching ottoman
a sin, i would be:
Lust or Envy
a historical figure, i would be:
An Egyptian queen
a liquid, i would be:
Coffee, tea or mercury
a stone, i would be:
Amazonite
a tree, i would be:
A pear tree...er, i dunno.
a bird, i would be:
Peacock
a tool, i would be:
A paintbrush
a weapon, i would be:
Something sharp
an accessory, i would be:
A long, flowing silk scarf
a flavor, i would be:
Cinnamon
a flower/plant, i would be:
a rare orchid
a kind of weather, i would be:
Breezy and cold, but sunny
a mythical creature, i would be:
A glam vampire
a musical instrument, i would be:
Bongo drums, baby.
an animal, i would be:
A spoiled house cat
a colour, i would be:
Purple or red
a vegetable, i would be:
Red pepper
a sound, i would be:
The distant sound of thunder, or a whistle from a train where no tracks exist.
an element, i would be:
Water
a car, i would be:
A Jag-u-wah
a song, i would be:
Steel Cube Idolatry
a movie, i would be directed by:
David Lynch
a book, i would be written by:
Max Brooks...oh, I kid. Stephen Hawking...not really.
a food, i would be:
food for the soul...
a material, I would be:
Chinese silk
a taste, i would be:
Spicy
a scent, i would be:
Cinnamon
a religion, i would be:
Buddhism...and Baha'i
an object, i would be:
A canvas
body part, i would be:
Eyes
a facial expression, i would be:
A smile
a subject in school, i would be:
Art class
cartoon character, i would be:
I am at a loss here
a shape, i would be:
A sphere
a number, i would be:
8

Incompetent Phlebotomist!!!!

Ever been tortured before??? OMG. I won't even go into the details (and you know I usually never hold back) because they are gross and I may throw up. Thank Jebus she finally just gave up and had the competent phelbotomist take over. It's gona leave a mark! My next water color is sure to be a crying eye and blood squirting everywhere. Actually that happened a few times ago, and not this time. That was when I discovered you could probably kill a person with a tounaquet and a well place pin hole in the skin. What happened today was far worse to me. That fucking bitch!!!

Shoes...

This cracks me the f*ck up. OMG shoes.
Those shoes are mine, betch.



So, I think I need some new shoes now...

Basura Blanco

I'm getting a tattoo.

So, today I was talking to one of my nephews, Chris. Well, he is a nephew-in-law...sort of. Anyway, he was telling me which tattoo artists are the best in town. I think I am going to try Kevin at Stained Skin. Or else some dude named Angelo. I think I have met both of them at one time or another. Anyway, I am going to do this by the time my birthday rolls around. Lower back. My own design.

Sí...basura blanco. Abrazo de mis raíces.

Note: I have to love Alta Vista. "Abrazo de mis raíces" started out as "Get in touch with my roots". The translation back is "Hug my roots". Love it.

PS...not that tattoos are total white trash...it depends on the tattoo. Oh yeah, and who it is on.

1. 18. 08

Earlier this year I went to see Transformers and was completely weirded out by one of the movie trailers. Time is a tickin' and I cannot wait to see what is making that horrible noise!

Check out the Cloverfield wikipedia.

1 in 700 Remain Awake

The last time I was under a general anesthetic I woke up during the surgery. But I wasn't really awake. I was in my body, but not like I am normally...I was completely aware of my surroundings. My soul was floating somewhere around my middle in darkness. I felt exactly what they were doing to me. I felt the motion of the scalpel as it scraped. I heard the doctors discuss their vacations with complete comprehension. I could not move. I could not speak. I did not feel any pain...only pressure. I fought my way out of it and woke up completely in the operating room with the hose still down my throat. They thought I had just woke up. I didn't say anything. I told my doctor what happened at the follow-up appointment. I showed her how she did the surgery and recited the conversation she had with the anesthesiologist. She felt bad about it, but honestly, I did not care. It was just a weird experience.

I am a little worried about my next surgery. They will slice my neck open (from the side) and take out part of my spine...vertebrae 5 and 6. They will replace it with some fabricated material, or cadaver bones. I would hate to wake up during this and have that amount of awareness of the process. Especially when they remove the bones around my spine. I do not want to hear bone saws and nurses laughing.

LOVE

Hello, Fergus...



....the reason I LOVE bulldogs....who wouldn't love a mug like that???

Creating My Artist Statement

Okay, I decided to work through developing my artist statement in a quasi-public forum. I will be filling this in later tonight.

I am using materials from this site.

STEP ONE: Assemble the Ingredients.
1. Take five minutes and think about why you do what you do. Jot down short phrases that capture your thoughts. Don't worry about making sense or connections. The more you stir up at this point, the richer the stew.

How did you get into this work?
How do you feel when work is going well?
What are your favorite things about your work?

2. Make a list of words and phrases that communicate your feelings about your work and your values. Include words you like, words that make you feel good, words that communicate your values or fascinations. Be loose. Be happy. Be real. Think of these as potential seasonings for your stew. You don't have to choose which ones to use just yet, so get them all out of the cupboard.

3. Answer these questions as simply as you can. Your answers are the meat and potatoes of your stew. Let them be raw and uncut for now.

What is your favorite tool? Why?
What is your favorite material? Why?
What do you like best about what you do?
What do you mean when you say that a piece has turned out really well?
What patterns emerge in your work? Is there a pattern in the way you select materials? In the way you use color, texture or light?
What do you do differently from the way you were taught? Why?
What is your favorite color? List three qualities of the color. Consider that these qualities apply to your work.

4. Look at your word list. Add new words suggested by your answers to the questions above.

5. Choose two key words from your word list. They can be related or entirely different. Look them up in a dictionary. Read all the definitions listed for your words. Copy the definitions, thinking about what notions they have in common. Look your words up in a Thesaurus. Read the entries related to your words. Are there any new words that should be added to your word list?

6. Write five sentences that tell the truth about your connection to your work. If you are stuck, start by filling in the blanks below.

When I work with__________ I am reminded that___________.

I begin a piece by______________.

I know a piece is done when__________________.

When my work is going well, I am filled with a sense of _____________.

When people see my work, I'd like them to ________________.

Things to Live By

I have a headache...too much shit in my head maybe... I discovered this one this morning: Never ever ever fall asleep while an infommercial is running about weight loss. All I did was transfer the sounds to some weird, distorted infommercial dream that filled me with weight-loss anxiety. I mean, I have lost almost 50 pounds...what do I want from me????

Seriously though, the most effective self help book I have ever read (aside from OSHO) has been The Four Agreements. The four agreements is not a secret. They are on the internet (I have listed them below) and they are in the cover of the book.

The Four Agreements
"Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives and our work into a new experience of effectiveness, balance and self supporting behavior.

Everything we do is based on agreements we have made. In these agreements we tell ourselves who we are, what everyone else is, how to act, what is possible and what is impossible. What we have agreed to believe creates what we experience. When these agreements come from fear obstacles develop keeping us from realizing our greatest potential."

BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD
"Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love."

DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY
"Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering."

DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS
"Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life."

ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST
"Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse, and regret."

Information listed on this blog came from here.
You can find the book here.

Cold November Rain

So, in the months leading up to Halloween I had built up in my mind that it was going to be a such a fun experience. And when it actually happened it was blah. It's November now. So, last night I did a Halloween tarot reading on a friend. I recorded it in the blog, then it seemed to take these unexpected and revealing turns and seemed to make to many odd speculations about him, so I did not published it.

I expect that this will be a very busy month. Next week the Bob Ross Tribute contest wraps up. That was fun. I need to think of a clever thing to do next...a contest on DA. Wad thinking of a CSS contest, but I can do that myself anyway. I have quite a few paintings planned for the rest of the year. Getting ready to enter a small work into the December show, OAL Thumb Box. Possibly The Devil's Breath:


The Devil's Breath by =peggymintun on deviantART

OH yeah. And in just a couple of weeks I am going to see the Cult. That will be cool. My friend Karan is going, too. More to follow...

Oh yeah, by the way, it is sunny outside.

Me...a Zombie...Sweeeet.

If you thought that was entertaining, then check this out. I may be an extra in a B movie...as a zombie. That is sooooo awesome. One of my life goals realized. Well, maybe not a life goal, but kewl none the less. The movie is called Book of the Dead.

The New Venetian Snares Release...

...is pretty awesome. I have not heard one so far that is inspiring me to make an animation, but I am sure one will come across. Not that I ever get around to such things. There is not enough time.

My list of projects keeps on growing. Right now I am working on a digital one called The Vanity of the Moon. More necrotizing flesh, but in the reflected light of the moon on the model's face. My reference is wearing these awesome leather gloves and pink iridescent stripper boots. I will probably paint on some clothes (right now she is wearing a hot pink bra and black panties). Something simple and timeless. Vanity is timeless. And not hot pink. Yeah, the boots must go. The gloves will stay. The piece is about the illusion of beauty and deception. I can see where the heavy black leather butcher gloves work within the meaning. As if she needs to be protected from touching the mirror. Anyway...yawn.

Random Weekendnesses

Yesterday I finally caught up with the family and went to see my mom's new condo. It is on the small side, but will be easier for her to manage. She is beginning to look more and more like Molly, her mom. It was especially great to see Mackenzie and Gavin. They are so absolutely adorable. He will be a year old soon, and Mackenzie is three. I played chase around the condo with Mac. She is sooooo awesome and fun.

The days have been gorgeous this weekend. I went out for a little while to enjoy it. I think i missed the insect displays at the Inniswood park. Grrrr. I really wanted to get some photography in. Perhaps I will wait a week or two and go take some fall pics. I would love to take a weekend and go hiking at Old Man's Cave, too.

I did three paintings this week, but still have a couple things I want to do if possible. I feel like I need to get organized more than anything.

VS Mutant C*nt Sniffer Video

Posted here because Senecal thinks I am sending him a video of John Tesh. And I am not.

Elegant Gore

I think I am going to write a wikipedia entry on elegant gore. A DA friend thought the phrase deserves a meme. I do as well. So, I am on to my second wikipedia contribution.

Nick!

I love Nick. He is one of my dearest friends. I just don't see enough of him, actually. I need to call him.

My favorite conversation with Nick:
Nick: [Actually, I don't remember what Nick said to threaten me, but it was funny. It was either about some erotic poem I had written and he found on the net or about seeing someone who happen to look like me on a corner looking like a whore...in thigh-high black patent-leather stilettos...Jesus that is gross.]
Me: Are you blackmailing me??
Nick: Maybe....
Me: Kick ass!!!! (In my best Cartman voice)

Nick and I use to have this thing we called Creative Club where we would meet up around town and try to be creative. It would consist of 10 minutes of ideas and then slowly dissolve into a gossip session about everyone we knew. We would invite people to come join us, but then completely forget to tell them where and when we were meeting. Then we would ask them where in the hell they were at the next day and that they were sorely missed. This was not intentional, or to be mean…we were just very unorganized and last minute.

To be in the "club" one had to add a stanza onto a poem Nick wrote back in high school. When he was asked to write and present this poem in class he was in a particularly foul mood, so it ended up like this...

Birdie, birdie in the snow,
Had a broken wing you know.
Lured him in with bits of bread,
Then I smashed his pretty head.

Gruesome, huh? Well, Nick did not go unpunished. He was immediately sent to counseling to uncover what angst caused him to write such a horrible poem (besides just being a smart-ass kid who did not feel like writing one).

I since have forgotten my stanza...I bet its on one of my work computers from sometime in the past. Some IT guy may have found it...I sure hope so.

Feel free to add a stanza. It is rather dark, so keep it dark.

The Freeway is NOT a Fucking Racetrack

The freeway is NOT a fucking racetrack...there I said it again. Joe just called me upset because he saw a car speeding down 71S in the slow lane and then cutting over across the freeway to pass everyone. The guy clipped someone trying to change lanes at a normal speed because they did not see his deft maneuvering. Then the guy spun out of control and hit the center wall...in front of Joe. He banked (thankfully) and then spun into the front of a semi, which clipped him or her. Uhhhh, yeah.

Venetian Snares

Success. I got the questions back from Aaron Funk (aka Venetian Snares), so I that will be published in Issue 20 of OLOGY magazine. Funk is really funny and clever. Thank god the guys at OLOGY aren't an uptight bunch...
Next up...well, it is not my practice to tell, but I have a couple cool musical artists in mind.

So, I'm glad I got that one in right before Mercury goes into retrograde. That always makes for a lot of technical/communication snafus. I will probably wait about a month to begin contacting the next set. Plus I will probably research and write questions in advance in case they note me back immediately, which seems to happen when they are interested.