Happy Birthday Uncle Bill - 2/5/15 - Image-a-day

Today would have been William Burroughs' one hundredth and first birthday if he was still with us. In honor of that I share with you a close-up image of a bas-relief sculpture I did of that cranky, old beatnik queen called "El Hombre Invisible" I crafted nearly twenty years ago (when Burroughs was still alive) in October of 1995, so this post can also function as a "throwback-Thursday" for those that are into that kind of thing. Of the beat writers, Burroughs was always my least favorite, I was always more of a Kerouac man, but I tried to love Uncle Bill. Read "Naked Lunch" straight through and it did bend my mind, but not in a way that I liked. Now that I'm getting older and have an experience or two, I need to give him another read as I think I can receive his signal better now. This week the NPR radio show "This American Life" featured a BBC audio documentary narrated by Iggy Pop no less, about Burroughs and it is necessary listening for anyone into the beats, Burroughs or the idly curious. Those hippos are still boiling in their tanks Bill. Thanks' for all the laughs...

OK HW

Happy 75th Birthday George Romero - 2/4/15 - Image-a-day

Seventy-five years ago today, George A. Romero, father of modern zombie culture, was born in New York City according to IMDB. I love his first three zombie movies, "Night of the Living Dead", "Dawn of the Dead' and "Day of the Dead" and the crazy, post-apocalyptic world he created. It's been strange to witness how his gruesome tales have gone from an underground, fringe genre to a mainstream phenomena, with shows like "The Walking Dead" serving up much more ultra-violent splatter on television no less. I have often leaned on being a zombie for Halloween. Here is my wife and myself from a few years ago as some tourist zombies. It's an easy costume to assemble, some old clothes and a bit of greenish gray make-up and some dried blood and you're off to the mall. I'll always be a "slow-zombie" fan.

Happy Birthday George!

OK HW

Trash Truck Time Machine - 2/3/15 - Image-a-day

On the drive into work this morning, I past this graffiti-covered trash truck and was instantly back in the 1980s. Trash Truck Time Machine baby!

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Raiders of the Lost Burrito - 2/2/15 - Image-a-day

Did I visit a museum today? No, I went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant that was recently renovated and tricked out with an extra helping of Mayan and Aztec inspired art. The scenic design was so elaborate that it was like walking onto the set of a Indiana Jones knock-off. "Indy, the monkey died, don't eat that burrito!" Someone put a lot of effort into all the wonderfully detailed sculptures and wall paintings. I hope they had as much fun making it as I did looking at it.

OK HW

Don't Fear the Reaper - 2/1/15 - Image-a-day

Today's image came from yesterday's long hike. It's an outdoor sculpture of a skeleton in the yard of a house along the Cape Henry Path in Virginia Beach. It's a larger-than-life metal rendering and I always see it as a Grim Reaper. A reminder of how brief and fragile this sweet life is. Hiking is a sensual act for me, something that connects me to the world and makes me feel alive. The samurai had a bushido saying, "That it is good to fresh one's mind every morning with death". That sounds morbid, but what it means is to not take life for granted. Today was a good day. I walked on the beach with my wife, worked on some art and ate a fine meal. I hope your day was lived as well.

OK HW

Nature's Catherdal - 1/31/2015 - Image-a-day

I've been behind in my hiking/walking/running miles this month. My goal this year is eight hundred miles, so I need to average about sixty-seven miles a month. Today I got out for a big hike, thirteen miles, which brought my total for the month to fifty-seven miles, so ten miles behind.

It was a cold, crisp day, perfect for a long hike, so I started from my house in Chick's Beach and headed to the Virginia Beach oceanfront via First Landing State Park. I took the "Long Creek Trail" which runs the length of the park, much of it along the water. One of my favorite sections wanders through a stand of Spanish Moss covered trees. There is a scared atmosphere to this area. The grey, shroud-like moss gently moving with the breeze suggests a living cathedral. I wonder if the native American Indians who lived here before the Europeans came, considered it holy ground?

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Bulls' Eye - 1/30/15 - Image-a-day

I was very happy to find real, steel-tip dart boards in Pleasure House Brewing tonight. Too bad I didn't have my darts with me, but next I will. The electronic boards have become the standard these days I think mostly because they require quarters to use, but the steel-tip boards are the one and only true dart game in my book.

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Farewell Mike Larsen - 1/29/15 - Image-a-day

This is a wood sculpture by Michael Larsen. Mike was a friend and brother-artist and he died this week at the much too young age of forty-four. I knew Mike from working with him at Virginia Scenic where we both carved theatrical set pieces. We always had a friendly competition and would trash talk each other's work, but when the rubber-met-the-road, Mike always was generous of spirit and a supportive colleague.

I don't know why he left us too soon, but the world is a better place for the lovely art he created while he was with us.

Rest in peace my friend.

OK HW

Shadows on the Wall - 1/28/15 - Image-a-day

Never doubt that you are always surrounded by art. You just need the right eyes to see it.

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First Snow - 1/27/2015 - Image-a-day

Woke-up this morning to find our area was brushed by the big winter storm. I love snow, so was happy to see the white stuff, but I know for many folks in the Northeast, it's a different story. There were dire predictions that New York City would get two to three feet and the Governor of Connecticut shut the whole state down last night around nine. I was hoping for a full on snow day, but alas, all we got was a two hour delay.

OK HW

Jeff Maisey - 1-26-15 - Image-a-day

I hung out with a very old friend tonight and it was good. We reminisced about some old adventures and mused about all the possibilities for journeys to come. A true friend is a rare thing in this life. Jeff and I have had some ups and downs, but we're still amigos and I am glad for that.

Zahdah,

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What Attracts Me - 1-25-15 - Image-a-day

The sun was out today, though winter's chill is still in the air. I got a seven-mile hike in today, starting on the beach with my wife along for the first mile or so. She turned back down the beach and I continued on for the longer route, cutting back into a neighborhood heading south. On one of the side streets, I passed a tree with peeling bark and had to stop and get a photo. I love textures like that, peeling paint on an old building, weathered stone on some ancient ruin, anything that catches the light and weaves a pattern that shows the hand of life and time passing.

OK HW