macksom ballistic: 2007

Monday, December 31, 2007

Happy New Year!

I am so glad this year is going to be over, a lot has happened and I'm glad it's going to be over. I have had to let go of a couple friends, I have an Aunt who is not doing well with cancer and yet I am still doing well and I still look forward to the new year. I hope everyone is doing well and I wish everyone a very good New Years!!

Happy New Year!

Packing Up Christmas / New Years Eve at Home

Today Harry and I packed up all our Christmas stuff inside the house. We still have lights on the house. Those will come down next weekend. I like to start off the new year fresh and new. We had gotten so use to all our Christmas decorations since they have been up since Thanksgiving it was strange to see our house without them.

For New Years Eve we tired to get a small group together to hang at our place but that never happened. So Harry and I had a Star Trek Marathon. We watched three episodes of Deep Space Nine and from 11:30pm to 12:30am we watched Star Trek The Next Generation to ring in the new year. We had a great time.

200 posts on Contemporary Art Blog this year!

Wow! Artist Jay Rolfe ends the year with his 200th post of the year since starting his Contemporary Art Blog in February of this year.

Today's photo is of a beautiful and well-known painting by Pierre Auguste Renoir that artist Jay Rolfe saw at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the Renoir Landscapes exhibit and lent to the exhibit by the Art Institute of Chicago. The title is "Luncheon at La Fournaise" and it was painted in 1875. It's a beautiful painting, with many figure painting/portrait elements set in a beautiful landscape. The restaurant is located in Chatou, the subject of many Renoir landscapes as was remarked upon in yesterday's post, a popular location along the Seine River for leisure activities such as boating. The restaurant was also the setting for Renoir's large masterpiece "Luncheon of the Boating Party" owned by the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C.

You can still see the Renoir Landscapes exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through this coming Sunday, January 6, 2008. Artist Jay Rolfe believes it is worth the trip to see the Renoir Landscapes exhibit.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

So much for time off!!!

Today was to be my second day off of my four day weekend. Well I got a call from one of my editors informing me that she couldn't be the media drives to mount. Harry and I were just about to go shopping with our Christmas gift cards so we stopped by to check it out. Well it looked at first that the entire Unity (hard drives) crashed and everything was gone. I started to painc.. that would take us weeks to re-digitize all the media and in the middle of online would be horrible. Luckily I managed to restart the system and everything seemed to be okay.

After my small panic attack we went shopping and I went a litle crazy buying 75% off Christmas stuff. I spent well over my $50 gift certificate, but it was fun.

Renoir's "The Bridge At Chatou"

Pierre Auguste Renoir's "The Bridge At Chatou" from 1875 is artist Jay Rolfe's selection for photo of the day. Artist Jay Rolfe saw this painting at the Renoir Landscapes exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This Renoir painting is on loan from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. This is another beautiful landscape painting by Renoir. Chatou was a frequent subject of Renoir for his landscapes, and I have already posted paintings of the railway bridge and the Seine River at Chatou.

Before seeing this Renoir Landscapes exhibit artist Jay Rolfe hadn't seen enough landscapes by Renoir to appreciate his skill and the beauty of his landscapes that artist Jay Rolfe recognized for Renoir's still life, portrait, and nude paintings.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Four Day Weekend!!!

Today I start my four day weekend. I can't remember when I had four days off in a row.. I guess it was comic con this past July. Today I did nothing all day long and it was great. Watched TV, played on the Computer, talked with friends online, hung out with Harry and Daisy... it was great.

Renoir's "Duck Pond"

Artist Jay Rolfe's photo of the day is Pierre Auguste Renoir's "Duck Pond" painted in 1873 and lent to the Renoir Landscapes exhibit by the Dallas Museum of Art where it is part of the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection. Artist Jay Rolfe admires the way Renoir paints water, sky, and light.

The Renoir Landscapes exhibit which artist Jay Rolfe saw at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, its last stop, is nearing its close. Sunday January 6, 2008 is the last day for the show, and artist Jay Rolfe heartily recommends you attend and see all these beautiful paintings which have been assembled from all over the world for this show.

My New License Plate!!

Christmas present from DH! Can't wait to cruise around! If you see me coming, wave, honk, whatever.

Things that make me go awe

Things that make me go awe:

1. Little old couples holding hands
2. My dog asleep
3. A baby asleep
4. Strangers helping each other

Friday, December 28, 2007

Pat on the Back

I normally don't give myself a pat on the back.. but last night I was at work till 1am working on the unity/avid problems. We have five avids at work (for those who don't know what Avid is, it is the editing system that we use to cut out show and Unity is the hard drive system) anyways we have had issues all season with the avids crashing and scanning drives (which takes up alot of time of the editors) so I spent yesterday trying to work out the bugs and I finally got all the systems up and running with no issues at all....nothing.. zero probelms. I am very proud of myself at getting this done.. this is a huge deal and should make everyones (the editors and mine) life much easier. Just wanted to brag for a moment. :)

Renoir "The Seine At Chatou"

Here's the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Today's photo is another from the Renoir Landscapes exhibit that artist Jay Rolfe saw at the Philadelphia Museum of Art last week. It is Pierre Auguste Renoir's 1881 painting "The Seine At Chatou." It has a delicate beauty to it. As with any painting, it looks much better in full size and in person.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

More Gifts and Future Plans

Today we finally got the Christmas presents from Harry's best friend Sandra. She sent them off over two weeks ago and we were afraid something had happened to them.. but luckily they arrived this morning. Also in the afternoon Harry and I spoke with Harry's sister Gerda and her boyfriend Bernd about there plans to come visit for three week at the end of July, beginning August. They are coming for our commitment ceremony and staying for a vacation. Talking to them today made me realize that our ceremony is not too far off.. eight months will be here in no time.. have to start making plans.

Renoir "Woman With A Parasol And A Small Child On A Sunlit Hillside"

Today's photo from artist Jay Rolfe is of a painting he saw at the Renoir Landscapes exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The exhibit is on display through January 6, 2008. The exhibit was previously at the National Gallery, London (February 21-May 20, 2007) and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (June 8-September 9, 2007). Philadelphia is the last stop for the exhibit, so you have about 10 days to see it in Philadelphia.

Today's photo from artist Jay Rolfe is "Woman With A Parasol And A Small Child On A Sunlit Hillside" from 1874 by Pierre Auguste Renoir. Although there are strong portrait elements, the landscape element is very strong. It's a strikingly beautiful painting, and somewhat similar to a couple by Monet. This painting was lent to the exhibit by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Working Over the Holidays

One bad thing about being a freelance post production supervisor is that I don't get holiday pay. When holidays come up and the offices close you are pretty much out of luck. My current job is down from Dec. 22 to Jan 1st. Though the time off would have been great I really do need to continue to make money so I asked if I could come in during the holidays. Luckily I was able to work four days this (Christmas) week and three days the following (New Years) week. It's not a full five days a week but it's better then nothing.

Renoir "The Grand Canal, Venice"

Artist Jay Rolfe saw the Renoir Landscapes exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art last week. Today's photo is from that exhibit and by Pierre Auguste Renoir from 1881 titled "The Grand Canal, Venice" and is on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It's a beautiful painting, although very unlike the popular Canaletto scenes of the Grand Canal.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas Day

Today Harry and I woke up early so we could open our gifts before we had to get on the road. Harry and I were really good this year so Santa brought us lots of goodies. I know Harry was really excited to get Mac OS X Leopard and iLife. I was excited to get my very hard to find British Harry Potter and Doctor Who action figures. It was a very geeky Christmas at our house.

Around 11:30 we headed to my mom's for lunch and gift exchange. The past few years have been a bit crazy at my Mom's (my grandmother's dog and Daisy don't get along) so I really wasn't in the mood for the craziness this year. Luckily when we got there we found out that my Grandmother's dog Baby was not there so things started off well. Instead of the traditional spaghetti lunch that mom normally makes she decided to go with a breakfast instead (of course no knew this and we all eat breakfast beforehand). Anyways.. Harry and I had some of the breakfast, which was very good then we opened presents. The past few years my mom has been cutting back on what she would get us for Christmas. It use to be ten or so presents each now it's one or two. This year Mom and Chuck gave Harry and I some money to buy us a washer and dryer (which we still haven't found). So we knew we wouldn't have anything under the tree. She did buy us both several shirts just so we could open a gift. All in all a pretty good afternoon at mom's.

Around 4 we headed to Dad for a Turkey dinner and gift exchange with Dad, Mike and sister-in-law Lora. Dinner was fantastic. Everyone was very delicious.. Dad really out did himself this year. After dinner we started to open gifts.. unlike Mom's everyone had about ten to fifteen gifts each. It was a fun time. Got some cool t-shirts, action figures and more geeky stuff.

All in All is was a great Christmas, alot of driving which took it's toll on me but it was a great time had by all... MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Artist Jay Rolfe wishes you a Merry Christmas, or Happy Hanukkah, or Happy whatever you celebrate near the winter solstice. May you and your family have a joyous season and a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year. And may the spirit of love, peace, happiness, hope, and generosity accompany you throughout the rest of your life!

The photo of the day is artist Jay Rolfe wishing you a Merry Christmas!

That's the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's Unique Artistic Idea, his Hyper Representational 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/. Artist Jay Rolfe uses vibrant color, 3-D, recognizable shape, and huge size to reveal beauty, touch emotion in a positive way, and create an Uplifting Conversation Piece.

Merry Christmas!!

I hope everyone has a great Holiday! Thanks for reading my silly random thoughts, my attempts at trying to sound like I know what I'm talking about! I could care less about all that, I hope who ever reads this...just has a great Holiday!! ;-) peace

Merry Christmas!!

Monday, December 24, 2007

Christmas Eve at Renee's

Today Harry, Dad and I went over to my cousin's Renee's house. We have spent Christmas Eve with them the past few years. It's always good to see my Dad's side of the family. We try and see at much of them as possible since I found them only a few years ago.

We got there a little early to we could help in making Christmas cookies. When the got there the kids were well into it so we tried to help out were we could. It was alot of fun making cookies with the kids.

After cookies I helped with Dinner, which turned out to be fantastic. After dinner we opened presents and everyone had a great time.

Around 7:30pm Harry, Dad and I left the festivities because we still had to drive Dad home. Harry and I finally got home around 11 and we were exhausted and went right to bed.

You better watch out...

Happy Holidays on Christmas Eve!

Today's photo is of artist Jay Rolfe using his playful imagination with lights on one of his paintings ("Girls Just Want To Have Fun") and a child's reindeer hobby-horse. Happy Holidays!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Picking up Dad

Today Harry and I drove out to Corona to visit my Dad. Also I found out that he would be coming back home with us so we could take him to our family Christmas Eve party. This was the original plan but then I had heard it had changed and that my brother was going to take him to our Uncle Wally's house who would then bring him to the party. Well I guess plans change again and when I called my Dad right before we were to visit he, he informed me of the changes... it wasn't a big deal Harry and I planned to do "our" Christmas present opening on Christmas Eve morning but with Dad there plans had to change.

Renoir "The Railway Bridge At Chatou"

Today's photo from artist Jay Rolfe is another from the Renoir Landscapes exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It's titled "The Railway Bridge At Chatou" from 1881 by Pierre Auguste Renoir, and also on loan from Musee d'Orsay. The railway bridge is largely obscured from view by the flowering trees in the landscape, but it is very pretty.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Birthdays

Today is two of my friends Birthdays. First Michael and I have known each other for many many years. We met online in a Star Trek chat room and became fast friends. He is in the military and moved to Socal so we actually got to meet up and hang out. We don't see each other as often as we would like but we talk online every few weeks. He is about to be sent to Iraq.. we wish him the best of luck and Happy Birthday Michael

My other friend Shaun is a great guy. We meet through a Star Trek group. Shaun and I are so much alike in the TV/Movies viewing. We are both uber geeks and love it. Again like Michael we don't get to see each other as much as we would like but we enjoy the time we do hang out together. Happy Birthday Shaun.

Renoir "Arab Festival"

Renoir's "Arab Festival" is another painting artist Jay Rolfe saw at the Renoir Landscapes exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art this week. It was painted in 1881 in Algiers on a trip Pierre Auguste Renoir took to Algeria. The painting is on loan from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. "Arab Festival" is the photo of the day.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Renoir "Field of Banana Trees Near Algiers"

One of the striking landscapes artist Jay Rolfe saw in the Renoir Landscapes exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art was Pierre Auguste Renoir's "Field of Banana Trees Near Algiers" painted in 1881 on a trip to Algeria. It's quite dramatic and colorful and shows Algiers and the Mediterranean in the background. It was lent to the exhibit by the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and is presented here as the photo of the day.

Artist Jay Rolfe learned that the Renoir Landscapes exhibit was organized jointly by The National Gallery London, The National Gallery of Canada, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

TV Night / Snowmen

Tonight was our last TV night of 2007. We of course watch the Christmas movie Elf. It was alot of fun. Richie, Gary, Bruce and Angie showed up. As everyone was watching the movie I had to make about 15 snowmen for Christmas presents for my co-workers.. of course I wait till the last minute and what is normally a week process I did in a matter of three hours.

Battle at Kruger

End of year is upon us so now it's time for all the best and worrst of this and that for the year 2007. Well this video was on a "most popular" list, I have never seen it, but it's actually quite amazing!! Enjoy!

Battle at Kruger

Rasika

Do you love Indian food? Are you hungry right now? Stop reading, go to Chinatown, eat at Rasika, and then come back and read the rest of my nonsense later.

...

Welcome back! Isn't it gorgeous inside? At our recent trip to this modern twist on the never-boring (to me) Indian restaurant, J and I started with the Asparagus Uttapam. Uttapam has a pancake shape and texture, and usually the ingredients (like asparagus) are cooked right into the batter. It was fun to try, but next time I'd probably get something different with more flavor. Next was the Palak Chaat. Don't worry if you forget to write it down, I think the servers are trained to recommend it. It's basically flash fried spinach mixed with tamarind, sweet date chutney, and yogurt. It tastes similar to but better than french fries, and spinach definitely counts more as a "vegetable" than potatoes.

It turns out I wasn't man enough to take the spice on the Chicken Green Masala--without the heat it would have had a real cool, fresh taste from the mint that I would have enjoyed. That doesn't usually happen, but neither does the next part. My FAVORITE entree was the Lamb Dhansak, made with Dhansak masala, pumpkin, dill, and lentils. Dhansak masala is made with every spice and herb under the sun, along with ginger, garlic, and lentils--it just tasted like super good sauce, to me. The dishes were complemented by a white rice and long grain brown rice, respectively.

There were so many delicious-sounding (and looking) sides to choose from, but we went with the Palak Aloo Kofta (spinach, potato, fenugreek, and cumin). We were both pretty psyched that the potato mixture was sort of in a low mound hiding in the spinach, as opposed to being dispersed throughout the bowl. It was very flavorful, but next time I'd like to try something more daring--overall the vegetables are pretty tame, though. Maybe something with coconut next time. I love anything with eggplant (look for a "baigan" dish) but I had eaten too much of it during the week--effectively eggtplant-ed out.

Next time I may request that our naan come out with our main dishes--we ate it all with our appetizers and didn't have any left to soak up the delicious sauce from the lamb. We could have gotten more, I know, but how much naan must we eat?

Get dessert. If I hadn't stuffed myself at dinner I would have chosen the date and toffee pudding. I love dates. Still, I don't regret sharing the Chocolate Samosa, which was like a flaky pastry version of the savory favorite, filled with warm thick chocolate (sweet, not bitter at all). A little tricky to eat with a fork, but otherwise fantastic.

Dinner at Rasika lasted just over 2 hours for us speed-eaters, and was a perfect prelude to our movie at E Street Cinemas.

Rasika
633 D Street NW
Metro: Red, Green, or Yellow line to Gallery Place/Chinatown

Nah-nah-nee-boo-boo

So I let Guapo (my gorgeous pooch) out, and he takes off running. I’m like, @#$%^&*!

And so I take off after him and find him under a picnic bench in a stand off with a black cat. They’re both on all fours with their backs arched, growling and hissing. I know it’s the cat’s fault. She provoked him. My doggie’s too good to have wandered off on his own.

Anyhoo, so I bravely step forward. “Now kids, you know to play nice.” They both look at me. And I sort of take a second to evaluate if they really ARE looking at me, as if they understand me.

So anyway, while Guapo is a bit taken off guard by mommy’s arrival, I reach down and pick him up. Because I know me telling him to “come” isn’t going to work. Not when he’s in an old western stand off with a mean black cat.

We hike it back to the RV, me carrying him. And I hook him up to his leash and attach it to the RV’s awning, figuring I’ll give him a little “outside” time to cool off from his vicious cat encounter.

A few minutes later I hear growling and peek out the window. Guapo is stretched to the end of his leash, and the black cat is mere inches away, rolling around, taunting him “Nah-nah-nee-boo-boo, you’re on a leash.”

So I did what any good mommy would do. I walk out the door, grab the broom, and give her one swift (not so gentle) sweep off my property. And then I turn to Guapo, exchange a high five (actually, I just pet his head while he wagged his tail), and we go about our business.

"The Seine At Champrosay" by Renoir

Artist Jay Rolfe attended the exhibit of Renoir Landscapes at the Philadelphia Museum of Art recently. One of the featured paintings, on loan from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, was Renoir's "The Seine At Champrosay." Jay Rolfe preferred the colors and composition of this painting, "The Seine At Champrosay," to the one he posted yesterday, "The Seine At Argenteuil." This photo comes from the website of the Musee d'Orsay.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Renoir "The Seine At Argenteuil"

"The Seine At Argenteuil" from 1873 is one of the Pierre Auguste Renoir paintings artist Jay Rolfe saw in the Renoir Landscapes exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art this week. The painting is on loan from Musee d'Orsay in Paris France. So today's photo, "The Seine At Argenteuil," comes from the Musee d'Orsay.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Writers Strike

It's funny how many times I get asked if the writers strike effects me. So I figured I would blog about it so everyone will know how it effects me. The writers strike doesn't effect me at all. I have my job till April and since it is a reality/docu drama there are no writers and are show is moving along full steam. So thanks for all your concern but I am currently in a good place with my job.

Renoir Landscapes at Philadelphia Museum of Art

Artist Jay Rolfe really enjoyed the "Renoir Landscapes" exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. There were many beautiful and famous Renoir paintings on display, including today's photo titled "Portrait of Alfred Berard With His Dog" painted in 1881. Yes, it does look like a portrait and is called "Portrait of ...", but it was included because it has a strong landscape element, arguably more than a mere background. In any event, it is a beautiful painting and is in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art where artist Jay Rolfe has seen it frequently.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Christmas Cookies

Harry got a late start of making Chirstmas cookies, but today he made a few batches so when I got home from work I of course had to taste test them.. next thing I knew I had eaten about ten of them and couldn't stop. His cookies are not super sweet which is great because you can eat quite a few and not feel sick. I eat so many that he had to make another batch so we could give them out for the holidays.

Renoir "Portrait of Mademoiselle Legrand"

Artist Jay Rolfe will be visiting the exhibit of Renoir Landscapes at the Philadelphia Museum of Art later today. He's looking forward with great anticipation. Artist Jay Rolfe already purchased and reviewed the exhibition catalog, "Renoir Landscapes," so he has good reason to be excited about viewing the exhibit.

Today's photo from artist Jay Rolfe is another Renoir painting at the Philadelphia Museum, a portrait titled "Portrait of Mademoiselle Legrand." It's a beautifully done portrait of a young girl that surely captures her personality. Here's a link to the Museum's web page. http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/82727.html

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Chuck's Birthday

Today is my "Step Father" Chuck's birthday. It's been a tough year for him and Harry and I want to wish my a very Happy Birthday... we love you.

Renoir's Landscape "Les Grands Boulevards"

On Monday, artist Jay Rolfe will be viewing the special exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Renoir Landscapes. The Philadelphia Museum has many Renoir portraits, nudes, and even still life paintings. Artist Jay Rolfe is only familiar with one landscape in the permanent collection. And here it is, "Les Grands Boulvards," painted in 1875. Like Monet, Renoir did an occasional Paris boulevard scene, although their friend Camille Pisarro did lots of them and did them well. Here's the link to the Museum's web page. http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/82739.html

Thank you for indulging me while I get in the mood for the Renoir Landscapes exhibit. As an aside, even the Barnes Foundation, with its more than 180 Renoirs, has very few landscapes. It seems that it was early in his career when Renoir painted most of his landscape paintings. Albert Barnes collected later in Renoir's career. Of course, Renoir is most known for his portraits and nudes, especially his bathers. I have been struck by how beautiful some of his still life paintings are.

Duchamp "Nude Descending A Staircase (No. 2)"

Artist Jay Rolfe was in a discussion Saturday about Marcel Duchamp's famous painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, "Nude Descending A Staircase (No. 2)" from 1912. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has perhaps the best collection of Duchamp works in the world, and it includes 3 versions of this painting, No. 1 from 1911 painted on cardboard rather than canvas as was No. 2 the next year. No. 3, from 1916, graphite, pen and ink, pastel, crayon, watercolor on a silver gelatin photograph. No. 2 is my favorite, and is a famous example of Cubist technique from perhaps the third most famous Cubist, behind Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. "Nude Descending A Staircase (No. 2)" is not only Cubist but shows movement, sort of like a multiple exposure photograph taken in quick succession.

Artist Jay Rolfe enjoys spending time in the Duchamp gallery at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and really looking at the paintings and sculptures. You can search artist Jay Rolfe's blog for references and photos of Duchamp's "Bicycle Wheel" and "Fountain."

Today's photo from artist Jay Rolfe is Marcel Duchamp's "Nude Descending A Staircase (No. 2)." Here's also a link to the Museum's website for more information. http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/51449.html

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Another Christmas Party

Today Harry and I went to our friends Chris and Marks house in Pasadena for a Christmas/Game night. It was a lot of fun. We haven't been to a game night in quite a while so it was good to see some familiar faces and play some games.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Happy Friday~!

Ok, I apologize, it has been awhile since I have blogged or at least blogged anything personal, so let me do that now. As I think I mentioned in an earlier blog that I have an auntie who has cancer and it's spread to her brain, it's terminal and we are talking months. So I have been helping out taking her to her radiation appointments and then staying with her until someone from the family comes home so she isn't alone. I will be moving in with her and my cousin end of this month. The job has picked up and I've been so busy with work, I don't fight it anymore like I used to. I used to wonder why the hell am I at Intel when I would rather do something else? I know now..because of the availability to work remotely, to work my from Aunts house when she is sleeping and I can log on and do what I need to do. My whole job is in my Intel laptop, so when it was down on Friday and Monday of this past week, it really sucked because I was lost and I couldn't work. I went into the office...but still...couldn't do anything. So I guess that is my reason for being there, because it works for what is going on in my life. I'm cool with that. Oh, you may have read awhile ago that my best friend has cancer, um turns out..he didn't you can read more here, yeah it sucks but I'm not concentrating on that now. I have to focus on other things at the moment. Other than that, I'm good... anxiety is down, no panic attacks, no anxiety attacks but still have the bad heartburn. I will try to keep up and I hope you all are well. More soon! ;-) peace

Happy Friday~!

First Show Is In The Can

Today I was in Online all day with the first episode of the second season of the show that I'm working on. It was a long rode but we finished it with very little problems. Now we move onto the second episode.

Ferraris Completed!

Yesterday artist Jay Rolfe completed final assembly of his Ferrari car 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings. We need an available wall for a good photo, so it will have to wait a few days for a photo to be posted.

Today's photo of the day from artist Jay Rolfe is 2 paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder from the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena CA, Adam and Eve. Apparently Cranach found these to be popular, and did about 30 similar paintings. I have seen others at other museums. Do you see the resemblance in my Adam And Eve paintings? Or at least the inspiration?

My dog's fart

Oh my goodness, the funniest thing happened yesterday.

Okay, you all know I live in a RV. I’ve got this gas detector mounted near my front door. It’s supposed to go off when it detects leaking propane. But sometimes it goes off when I’m cleaning because of the fumes. And as you can imagine, it’s not exactly the most pleasant of sounds. It’s one of those sirens that wakes up the whole campground. (I’m exaggerating, but you get the drift)

So here’s my story. It’s early morning and I’m making my first cup of coffee of the day. I’m sleepy/groggy/really just wanting to crawl back into the bed. My dog, Guapo, is a little more hyper than I really want, and I’m wishing he’d take a chill pill and go back to bed until mommy wakes up.

So Guapo is at the door, wagging his tail, and I know he needs to go out. But again, I’m groggy and not really ready to take him out. Plus, he can hold his pee. He’s got a power bladder.

Well, he farts, and we all know dog farts are not exactly the loveliest of smells. Rot is really the only way to describe it. Mere seconds after he passes gas, my detector goes off. I fa-reak, because I’m not cleaning, so that means it obviously has to be a real propane leak. I’m running around checking everything, trying to figure out if my RV is about to explode.

...and then Guapo farts again, and the detector screams, and I realize it’s him that’s setting it off. Ha! Too funny! My dog’s fart sets off gas detectors!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Joined the PGA (Producers Guild of America)

Today while at lunch with my friend/Co-worker she mentioned the PGA and said I should join. I didn't realize as a Post Production Supervisor I could join the Producer's Guild. So when I got back to work I checked it out and sure enough I could join. The PGA is not a union like WGA or SAG but you get some very cool benefits like free movie screenings, and during the award season you get DVD screeners and are able to go to the nominated movies for free. The fees aren't that bad. It's $350 for the initiation fees and $150 a year. I sent in my application and now I just have to wait and see if I’m approved.

LACMA and 2 versions of Brancusi "Bird In Space" Sculpture

Artist Jay Rolfe reports the news from LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) that it is receiving a major donation of modern art, a partial and promised gift of 120 works from the collection of Janice and Henri Lazarof. Included are 20 works by Picasso, 3 Cubist paintings by Georges Braque, a number of works by Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, and sculptures by Henry Moore, Alberto Giacometti, Jean Arp, and Louise Nevelson. Also included are 2 versions of the sculpture"Bird In Space" by Constantin Brancusi. You may recall artist Jay Rolfe's posts on "Bird In Space" by Brancusi on December 2, 3, and 4, 2007. Those posts include a number of photos of the sculptures, so feel free to go to those posts and see them.

Yesterday artist Jay Rolfe finished painting his Ferrari 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas Paintings. Today artist Jay Rolfe is installing the windshields, the last assembly, on those 3DSSC paintings. Today's photo is from yesterday showing artist Jay Rolfe putting the gloss coat on the painting to make the metal areas look polished.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Pushing Daisies

Today they aired the final episode of season one of Pushing Daisies... they got nine episode complete before the writers strike but wow what a great nine episodes. This is by far my favorite new series this season. I'm bummed that it's over till next year. But luckily it did well in the ratings and the two main actors were nominated for Golden Globes and the show was also up for best series. If you haven't seen this series you really missed out. Check out the repeats.

His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman

I went to see the movie The Golden Compass over the weekend. Before I went, I didn't know it was based on a series of books...and I also didn't know about the controversy surrounding them. A friend of mine gave me all three volumes as an early Christmas gift, and I just finished reading them today.
These three books, especially the last one, The Amber Spyglass, are without a doubt the most disturbing books I've ever read. Perhaps it's his treatment of his characters, twelve-year-old children, forced again and again to face cruel horrors beyond anyone's imaginings but Pullman's.
I'm torn, because the writing was fantastic, the characters rich and real, the story riveting, and yet, rather than the post-great-book afterglow I usually experience, I felt nauseous, like I'd been forcibly strapped into a bus climbing the road to Machu Picchu. Yeah, the view was great, but...
If anyone else has read them too, I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts. And if you haven't, they're selling a nice big fat compilation at Walmart under the title, "His Dark Materials" for a decent price.
Oh, and p.s.; if you have a child, DON'T take them to see the movie unless they're thirteen or older. Trust me.

Ferrari Gets Glossy

Artist Jay Rolfe painted the chrome bits on his Ferrari 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings yesterday. Today he worked on making the body shiny, like a highly polished classic car. Today's video is of artist Jay Rolfe applying the gloss coat to his 3DSSC painting.

Dino

Dino of Cleveland Park is described by its owners as "rustic" and "traditional with a twist." Whatever you call it, I like it.

For wine aficionados, unfortunately, Dino does not have a wine list. They have a wine BOOK! At least that's what they call it--it looked to me like an overstuffed clipboard. I mean that in a good way, because obviously they are keeping it fresh and always changing, adding, depending on what's hott and what's now. I like it.

From the moment we arrived I felt like Dino and I were meant to be--we arrived at 7 on a Saturday night with no reservation and were seated right away after we found a parking spot 15 feet from the door. It was in the stars, I tell you! We sat at one of those tall tables, which I find very comfortable, and were against a wall (nice and anchored).

It being Chanukah and all, J and I noshed on the croquette di patate, perfect little cylindrical logs of golden brown fried happiness with piping-hot moist potato within.

J's buffalo steak took us back to the good old days in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where some kind of wild game was our dinner every night (elk medallions, anyone?). Cooked to a perfect medium rare, the steak was juicy and tender and all the things it's supposed to be. After I finished my own food, it was only natural that I sample his purple potato and fontina gratin--it looked like a bruise, but tasted much better.

The halibut was perfect, and I ate every bit of my roasted eggplant risotto. While I enjoyed my meal very much, looking back at the stated ingredients, I can't say I really *felt* them all. That's not necessarily a bad thing, maybe they just worked and danced together unobtrusively...or maybe it lacked some zazz.

We didn't have dessert, but we did drink a bottle of wine. The list is accommodating to all wallets--the bottle we shared was only $21.

Dino
3435 Connecticut Ave NW
Metro: Cleveland Park

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Harry Potter 5 on DVD

Today Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out on DVD. I was very excited to get this. As many of you know I’m a HUGE Harry Potter fan so I went out on my lunch to Target and picked up the special two-disc edition. Target had a special 3D cover (which is not pictured), free digital download and extra dvd with a BTS clip. This is one of the best Harry Potter movies... I say that with every new movie that comes out... I love them all. This one has one of the best battle scenes at the end between Voldermort and Dumbledore.

Painting Red Ferrari 3DSSC Painting

Yesterday and today artist Jay Rolfe has been painting the chrome bits on his red Ferrari 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings. This is the time-consuming detail painting. Today's photo is of artist Jay Rolfe at work painting these chrome bits on his 3DSSC paintings of red Ferraris.

You may be interested to see artist Jay Rolfe's first video on YouTube. Just search "Jay Rolfe" and a video of artist Jay Rolfe painting his 3DSSC Ferrari painting red will come up. Or, click this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvOtBjc5om8 Okay, it's not a slick video, but it's the first and a start.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Secret Santa

Today I got in my mail my surprise from my Secret Santa. I belong to a really cool sci fi and fantasy forum called Treks in Sci Fi. I'm actually a moderator and spend hours and hours on there. Well we are such a tight group of people that we decided to do a Secret Santa and today I got my gift. It was from my friend Duffster and he got me the Harry Potter Scene It game 2nd edition and a Star Trek calendar. I have always wanted the HP Scene It game but never got around to buying it.. this version includes up to movie five which is AWESOME. And of course anything Star Trek is great... Thanks Duffster!!!!!

More Van Gogh at Norton Simon Museum

Artist Jay Rolfe really enjoyed his visit to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena CA. Another Vincent Van Gogh painting, this one from 1889, that Jay Rolfe liked is "The Mulberry Tree." The color and vitality were especially impressive. Today's photo is "The Mulberry Tree" by Van Gogh. Here's the link to the museum's web page for this painting. http://www.nortonsimon.org/collections/browse_title.asp?id=M.1976.09.P

Sunday, December 9, 2007

X-Mas Shopping

Today Harry and I had to go Christmas shopping. We still hadn't purchase stuff for his family that we have to mail out this week so it gets there before the 25th (for those who don't know Harry's family is in Austria). So we headed out and fought the traffic and crowds and went to several places looking for what we needed. Finally six hours later we were done. We had planned to go to the movies but both of us were very exhausted and drained so we hung out at home and watched TV. Well Harry worked on his "Home Video" for his family.. but I relaxed on the couch and watched TV.

Native Tongue

I'm super excited to announce that the cool people over at Penguin Putnam, my publisher, have come up with a title for my July 08 release. It'll be book #4 in my spy series and its called The Specialists: Native Tongue. Cool, huh! Here's a blurb:

A South American Indian girl has mysteriously emerged from the jungle carrying a centuries-old vase. Legend has it that this vase was important to the culture and heritage of at least fifteen different North and South American Indian tribes. And now that it has been discovered, all fifteen nations want it back. The tribes will be meeting in Rutina, South America, to “decide” who gets the vase.

Enter the Specialists. Parrot—with his amazing linguistics skills—will serve as an official translator. Meanwhile, GiGi will be heading to a cave with ancient hieroglyphics that purportedly reveal the rightful owners of the vase. No one has ever been able to decode these writings—not even the elders of each nation. It’s up to GiGi and her coding expertise to try to decipher them.

Of course there’s a hitch. One of the tribal chiefs is connected to Parrot’s past—in a bad way. Will Parrot be able to face his past and complete the mission, or will the vase fall into the wrong hands?

Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts

The second event attended by artist Jay Rolfe and his wife on Friday night was the Member's Party and open studios at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (DCCA). The event was well attended, with lots of food and drink. Many artists had open studios, and the variety of styles was very interesting. One artist painted primarily nudes and had a couple dozen empty champagne bottles in his studio. I joked with him about it, calling him Mr. Champagne. He replied, "How do you think I get the models to pose nude?" His girlfriend, who wasn't the model in most of the paintings, feigned getting mad and punched him (playfully). I guess you had to be there, but it was funny.

The DCCA is a relatively new non-collection museum in the revitalizing Wilmington DE waterfront area. It has several large, high ceiling contemporary spaces for exhibitions and all the accessory things like an auditorium for presentations, an internet cafe, and a gift shop.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

The First of Many X-mas Parties

Today was our friends Gary and Steve's Christmas/Holiday Party. They live in the Hollywood Hills, so we decided to carpool with our friends Richard and Gary. It was a packed house and that's saying alot as they have a pretty big house. There were a ton of folks that we didn't know but there were some we did so we pretty much hung out with them all night. We did play some fun games. One was the Candy Kane Twist. You had to line up and one person started the music and while the music was going you had to hold onto a large candy cane, turn in a circle then pass the cane to the next person who did the same. This went on until the music stopped and the person holding the cane when the music stopped was out. Unfortunately Harry was the first victim and was out first. I did pretty good and made it to the final four but got stuck holding it and was out. Our friend Tom won that game. The next game was a numbers game where the person would call out a number and everyone would have to link together to make that number. So there are eleven people playing and the person says five. Everyone had to make groups of five and the person not part of the group was out. Harry didn't play this one and I was out after the second number. Our friend Bruce co-won this. All in all it was a fun night had by all.

Shooting Star

Tonight while driving to a Christmas Party I saw a falling star. I have seen them in the past here and there but normally it's out of the corner of my eye but this one fell directly in front of me as I was driving and lasted for a few seconds.. it's was pretty cool.. of course I made my wish.. well see if it comes true :)

Surprise you have to Work

Today I woke up at 10am and suddenly realized I didn't ask my night AE to upload the final LOCKED cut to the network so they could see it. This had to be done so I had to go in and do it myself. I spent about six hour doing this. Not what I planned for my Saturday but being boss sometimes you have do what isn't planed.

"Atmosphere" Richard Chalfant

Artist Jay Rolfe went to two events yesterday. The first event enjoyed by artist Jay Rolfe and his wife was an opening reception for local artist Richard Chalfant. Rich paints primarily Chester County landscapes, and he really captures the feeling and beauty of this area's rolling hills, streams, and sky. The title of his show is Atmosphere, and today's photo is of artist Richard Chalfant's 2007 painting "Atmosphere" of the night sky and the still quaint Marshalton Inn. As an aside, the old wood paneled bar at the Marshalton Inn is utterly charming and is artist Jay Rolfe's favorite watering hole.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Reba Mcentire

So it's Friday and it was a rough week, so I'm just flipping thru channels and I see CMT has this Giants special and it's Reba...ok this special aired months ago but as usual, I'm behind. So I love me some Reba, I like her music and I like her TV show...so I watch it and can I say Kelly Clarkson sang her ass off!! damn. So I hear all these songs that Reba sang being sung by others and it's all good, but something is missing. I don't know what it is...but then the end of the show arrives....and this was it. Who can't relate to Fancy? Who?! We all can at some point...well some of us....for those of us from the wrong side of the tracks. Hmmm..maybe even those of us more privileged, in any case, enjoy this live performance from Reba singing Fancy! ;-) peace