Point Made

  The New Yorker Magazine I'm taking a half hour to sprint through three copies of The New Yorker. I'm doing this because I am frightened that there's another one waiting in my mailbox in the lobby. It's not that there isn't exciting reading in the magazine. My God, it's been a bastion for top writers in America for many years. The reason I have so many unread issues is that it is so easy to set them aside for reading later. Later never comes.  Despite all this angst, I've gotten my money's worth if I peruse the cartoons. A day without Roz Chast is a day not worth the beans enough to make you fart.  Huddled Up And Waiting For The Storm Date 12/22/2022, 10:00 am. I'm angry and frightened about the behavior of those of us living in The Frozen Tundra. A week ago, the metrologists predicted a storm for the ages, leaving many of us buried in snow ventured then to measure 10-20 inches. For some, this means a journey to the garage to start the snow blower t...

 I'm one of those who greet people this time of year with "Happy Holidays." I do that not to disrespect the celebration of the birth of Christ but because I respect those that celebrate this time of year for other reasons, such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.  Least my comments section light up with flames of anger; I will mention National Drunk and Drug Driving Prevention Month. How could you include that in a holiday greeting? However, people do seem easier to insult these days. All of that palaver being uttered, I want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season this year. Entertainment: I keep questioning my subscription to the Apple + streaming app. It made perfect sense when I was giggling the night away watching Ted Lasso . I'm sorry, but after Ted retired until the next season, I found I didn't understand or enjoy Severance and for me, anything with Will Farrel is questionable, even if it co-stars Ryan Reynolds. And then Apple produced Slow Horses,  the best and funn...

 This week black armbands will mourn the loss our Men's National soccer team suffered at the hands...sorry, at the feet of The Netherlands team. It wasn't so much that they lost that I'm sad. They went down  2 - 0 in the first half. Then, at about the 74th minute, our guys scored. They had kept their opponents out of the net until a third goal was inserted late in the game.  What is sad was the USA played well until it came time to score. In the four games they played in the World Cup, they scored only three goals. One in a tie with Wales. The second goal beat Iran. The third goal was in the defeat by The Netherlands. Despite this, we have a young emerging team. There are many positive things to take away from this effort. Their future looks promising. On My Easel I'm experimenting with using Pastels. If you're unfamiliar with the medium, imagine a chalk-like crayon in many colors. We use special paper that is available in many colors. The colors eliminate the need ...

 I'm a creature of habit.  My daily activities are rituals. After waking up, making my bed, brush my teeth, etc. I make a press pot of coffee and turn on my computer while the coffee brews for about four minutes. Then, I read my online news sources. At about 7:00 am, I prepare my breakfast. The sun has yet to rise.  Skipping through my daily activities, I fix my dinner around 5::30 pm. The sun sets at about 4:30pm. So there you have it. I eat most of my meals when natural lighting consists of the moon reflecting off my neighbor's windows. And that is why I gained five pounds. And that is my story, and I'm sticking to it. (This item will be on the test.) I don't know how things are in Lake Wobegon, but it's been a busy week in my world.  I had lunch with a friend, and another friend and I attended a play at Theatre Gigante. This is a manageable schedule, but you must factor in World Cup Soccer.  I reported that none of the platforms I use showed the games. Finall...

The Once Dominate Green Bay Packers  If you haven't thought that Matt LaFleur's house might be for sale soon, you're not reading the sports page. If you don't think it could happen before the end of the season, ask his predecessor,  current Dallas Cowboys coach, Mike McCarthy, how it happened to him. In the sports world, you're good until you're not. I'm almost sure that Lafleur did not decide to let Davante Adams go to the Raiders. and I'm positive he didn't injure Rodger's thumb. But you have to be terrible at the front office stuff before there are cries of firing the General Manager or Club President. And let's face it, if Rodgers wants to play with an injured thumb, the heir apparent will not surface. Those of us who lived through the difficulties of the Packers teams in the 1970s and 1980 know how to handle this situation. However, they no longer let you bring your own liquor into the games. Art I'm Working On Keith Richards 2022 9 ...

 The Good News My friend had her lumpectomy procedure last week. So far, she reports everything is okay. The surgery seems to have left things in good shape. ( Tongue in cheek required) Before we further discuss the subject of male and female breasts, let us look at my latest sketches. Chilling Out Gouache 9 x 12 Sitting On Top of the World Gouache 9 x 12 There is a truth that most of us don't discuss breasts in polite company. I believe that if we look at the lithe figure of a runway model or the earth mother with ten to fifteen extra pounds buttered generously over her body, there is a man lusting after that woman. The diversity of women that creates interest in men is a comprehensive and varied collection of types. One feature that quickens men's attention to women is their breasts. The common impression is that the bigger, the better, but I caution you not to accept that myth. Before we engage in that battle, let's ask the bigger question. Why the fascination exists at ...

 A no-brainer, right? Maybe not, bear with me.  First, let me give credit to Dave Nitz webmaster for the St. Louis Park Class of 1959. If that didn't give you a laugh, it's only because you're holding your breath waiting for election day to pass and the traffic in your email will dwindle to something that's manageable. Here's the other side of the story. Let's agree that a vote for this issue was not fixed, tampered with or stolen. The breed with the most votes brings home the bacon.

 At my age, I can tell all of those old folk's stories, such as a pack of Luckies was 25 cents and gas was 35 cents a gallon. But let's condense the story a little bit. Last week I had a video conversation with my son and another with a friend. My son lives in Barcelona, Spain and my friend, Larry, lives in Lisbon, Portugal. We made contact without using an operator. I can't remember exactly when we had to place a long-distance call with an operator. But I remember in the nineteen sixties placing local calls with an operator.  There are no charges for these international calls, and we could have added a third party if we wished. I vaguely remember when Skype was a big thing, but few of us used it. Now we have several choices. WhatsApp,  Facebook, FaceTime,  Messenger and Zoom all have video call features. And I'm sure there's more. Frankly, technology is getting to be like trying to keep up with the latest music groups. If they win an award or have a hit song, I hav...

One of my latest efforts. Sketch: The Lady Is Blue Gouache 9 X 12 Reporting: I enjoyed a pleasant evening with my friend Michelle Mooney. I took her out for dinner to celebrate her birthday and to thank her for the many first-rate haircuts she's given me. We were surprised at the number of people who dined alfresco in the balmy night air. Whatever we've done to please Mother Nature, she had deemed acceptable by giving us a shot of summer just when late fall weather was wrapping her fingers around our throat. If I have one complaint about the friendly confines of The County Claire, it's the noise level that makes it difficult to converse. The rumble is an acoustical problem with the customers speaking in normal conversational tones. This is without audible TV showing some game or background music selected by a dance DJ.  I know! We should have eaten outside, where the only noise is the occasional 14 bus snorting by.   Maybe It's Me Since my two soccer teams are not doing...

  Still Life, In these flowers. Gouache 9 x 12 Sentinels Gouache 9 x 12 For those of you who may wonder, gouache is a translucent watercolor medium. I became frustrated with watercolor because the process is the reverse of my thinking. Working from light to dark is just hard for me to visualize. I understand I'm not alone. Because of my experience, I have nothing but admiration for people that do it well. I became much more comfortable once I moved to oil painting.  A tried-and-true method of learning to paint is to copy other artists. I became fascinated with the work of Carol Rhode Curly . Now the point of copying other artists is not to reproduce their paintings, but to have their work inspire your version of the subject. Curly is a mixed media artist who incorporated things into her work like found objects and fabric. Essentially, she works with chalk pastels. I was frustrated because of my inability to get the look I wanted to emulate from her work until I tried qouache. ...

There is a difference. I don't know about the rest of you, but for some reason, when I think of a dog, it's male, and if it's a cat, it's female. So maybe that is why this cartoon is not so funny but true. I finished another piece this week. Well, I say finished. I might muck around with it a bit more because I could improve it. Technically, there are some problems with it, but more importantly, the piece is going in the direction I'm trying to get my work to go. The goal is to establish a representative style without trying to reach photorealism. As I've mentioned, as a lifelong photographer, this is a tough standard to re-collaborate. Swinging On A Star Guache 9 x 12 Sadly, I note the passing of a friend. Unfortunately, over the past couple of years, we've parted ways. However, that does not wipe out the more significant number of years Helen Nagler and her husband Len and I were friends.  The group was stitched together. It contained families who had thei...

 Today, I'm having one of those reminders that tell us to enjoy every moment because you never know. When I'm worried about the delivery person from Amazon Fresh dumping my order in the airlock instead of waiting for me to let them in and walking my items up to my apartment, a friend of mine is diagnosed with breast cancer. Yeah, I agree; I don't have a problem. I may have an inconvenience, but my friend has a problem. The doctors found small but not aggressive growth. This means the less invasive lumpectomy is a feasible solution. Further testing will determine the options.  The problem with this kind of thing is waiting. First, there's the discovery of the lump. Then the biopsy is scheduled and completed. A week passes before she gets the diagnosis. Now there is ten-day wait for further testing. In my conversation with her, I sense her genuinely optimistic outlook. I wonder if I could be that brave. It's selfish to profit from other people's suffering, but I c...

This article is a pretty fantastic description of my neighborhood, Yankee Hill. I might have pointed out the Villa Filomena, a former mansion, that is now used for many private activities such as weddings and small musical performances. Across the street from that beautiful piece of architecture is The Lakeside Apartments building. It's home to the writer, photographer, artist, and 2nd chair harmonica player with The Expansion Band, Poppa Jeff. 🙌 https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2022/09/23/milwaukee-walks-yankee-hill-was-height-of-early-milwaukee-society/ Speaking of Art: My most recent effort. A blatant ripoff of a pastel by Carl Rohde Curly. In Motion Oil 9 x 12 Meanwhile, as the official Fall Season is falling on us, and I am referring to the daily temperatures, I attended a parking lot potluck for Common Ground. We got a review of all of our projects that are being worked on. The latest and certainly one of the more non-controversial efforts we've taken is the volunteer tutoring...

 I know. Why does an agnostic invoke God? But then when you think about it, being an agnostic is sitting on the fence. I nonbeliever friend of mine ate only fish on Friday. She claims she did it just in case they were right. Back to the weather. Those of us living on the shores of The Inland Sea are experiencing the extension of a wonderful summer. Now, midway through September, our nighttime temps are in the high fifties, and our daytime temps range from the seventies to the eighties. This is all with low humidity and only seasonal rainfall. I put away my straw hats and Hawaiian shirts only because it's after labor day. There's no doubt, the mere fact that I wrote about this the shorter days and cold north winds will force us to close our windows and begin the traditional hibernation ritual. Sorry! The Punderfull Life Sports The Endless Money Pit. Quite by accident today, I discovered there is an American Football League in Europe. Another article accelerated and enhanced this...

 I thought this until my friend Bill Sell passed away on September 1, 2022. The bad news is that Bill is gone from so many of us that counted on him for periodic grounding in these times of political and social chaos. Yet, his principles and beliefs never overshadowed his empathy and concern for others. His conduct made him the absolute definition of a gentle man. ( Yes, I know the need not be a space between those words, but somehow it means more if there is one.) The good news is his memorial gathering, held in his home in Bayview, brought people from near and far together. It surprised me how many of those people were friends I hadn't seen for long periods. But, COVID notwithstanding, it was almost embarrassing. I only hope the promises of keeping in touch come true. I wrote to his friend Virginia Smalls that his loss made me, an agnostic, think that maybe the concept of heaven, where we all get to be together again, wouldn't be a bad idea. My Latest Painting Afghan Woman Tw...

This is the "Just Happy To Be Here" band. The lead guitar player, Rob Burkham, formed this group after I moved to Milwaukee. These musicians are also members of The Expansion Band. So named, the Expansion Band is an informal gathering of people who love to play music together. They gather one night a week, rotating from one house to another. Sometimes there are only a few. On other nights there can be a dozen or more. There's little doubt that competence is not a consideration for membership, seeing I was accepted with my limited skill with a harmonica. But everyone gets to choose a number they want the group to play.  I am not a huge belonger. I was a member of The Royal Order Of Toads (ROT). But that group was anti-belonging. Rot was a shelter for people who couldn't get membership in any other club or didn't want to belong to a group. The Expansion Band is a fun-loving group of guys who know that music brings people together and allows them to express themselve...

Hang On, Snoopy, Hang On  Staying In touch In a recent phone conversation with my son, he gently, firmly, lovingly, and rightfully admonished me for not keeping in touch with him and his sons. I'm aware of this oversight, and it's not for lack of wanting to keep up with them. On the contrary, I love them and their cousins unconditionally.  Anything I say about my deficiencies will sound like a yes-but-excuse, so I will refrain from trying to justify my shortcomings and just promise all of them to be better. If the phone is ringing or your message alarm is sounding, it's probably me. Watching GOT (The making of Cersei, the biggest bitch of all time.) Honesty, she makes Lisbeth Salander look like a girl scout. Good fortune has forced me to watch the last few episodes of The Game Of Thrones. It is difficult to see the end of the series I truly love.   The series shows Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, This Is Us,  and Younger come to mind.  The reason I'm finishing...