Tonight we ring out the old and ring in the new. And more--much more--can change than simply the dates on the calendar. You can resolve this night to change your entire life...or any aspect of your self and your experience that you choose.
And should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? No. Keep old friends near, and old loves dear. For they will help you make those changes in your life that will produce miracles, if you let them. Happy, happy New Year!
This is Auld Lang Syne as performed by Scottish folk group The Cast. The lyrics to the song are actually a poem written by Robert Burns in the late 1780s, according to Wikipedia, but they (as well as most of the melody) may be more familiar to you as the song people tend to sing just after New Years. This version has no such holiday connotations about it but I think it just sounds nice.
The reason so much of humanity commemorates this day is that so much of humanity seeks to give and receive love.
During this holy time, know that all times are holy, that every religion holds truth, that each tradition is sacred, and that it is in the simple sharing of love that we make our beliefs come alive, and our dreams come true.
OK, so you're happily painting and I am glued to the television on the subject of health care. I admit that a lot of my creative energy is going into this right now. It's sort of like trying to not to see/hear a train wreck if you happen to be standing there.
So herewith, a ten-minute catch-up in case you missed it:
Part 1
Part 2
What is wrong with my fellow Americans? Are we totally brain washed into believing that the Govt's role is not to provide health, education and social security to it's people? Will it always be "every man for himself" against corporate greed run amok? Rich vs Poor?
The Republican Party of "NO" understands that obstructionist tactics work when the voting audience is ignorant, gullible, or otherwise easily misled (which sadly, is a fairly apt definition of the US voting public). They deviate from the core discussion, introducing irrelevant topics (death panels, illegal immigrants, abortion issues), and divert attention from the core of the discussion. It is also FEAR MONGERING.
The following is childish I suppose, but somehow it felt satisfying that any respect for Joe Lieberman went out the same window that he tossed the public option and the Medicare buy-in compromise that was to replace it.
If you're frustrated and want to do something, try this: Tell "Susan G. Komen for the cure" to remove Hadassah Lieberman.
Donations to find a cure for cancer should not be used to pay the salary of Hadassah Lieberman, former employee of the pharmaceutical and insurance lobbying complex and wife of Senator Joe Lieberman, who is pledging to kill health care reform while millions go untreated.
I irks the heck out of me to think that my donations to this charity have paid Hadassah to channel money to Joe....and I thought I was helping to fight breast cancer. Grrrrr.
Want to do something else? Pick up the phone and give these guys a piece of your mind:
House and Senate
(202) 224-3121
The White House
(202) 456-1111
It's not over yet.....I'm convinced that we can still make a difference. If we do lose this battle with the Insurance Companies, all of the Republicans and a couple of Blue Dog Democrats - won't you sleep better at night if you had made that call? We only lose when we stop the fight.
WASHINGTON (The Blue Dog Report) - The United States Senate today unveiled details of its health care plan, tentatively called CompromiseCare:
Under CompromiseCare, people with no coverage will be allowed to keep their current plan.
Medicare will be extended to 55-year-olds as soon as they turn 65.
You will have access to cheap Canadian drugs - if you live in Canada.
States whose names contain vowels will be allowed to opt out of the plan.
You get to choose whichever doctor you cannot afford to see.
You will not have to be pre-certified to qualify for cremation.
A patient will be considered "pre-existing" if he or she currently still exists.
You'll be free to choose between medications and/or heating fuel.
Patients can access quality health care if they can prove their name is "Joe Lieberman," are Republican Congress Persons, or have accepted favors from one or more Insurance Lobbyists.
You will have access to natural remedies - such as death.
I listen to c-span while I'm working in the studio. This is the kind of stuff c-span junkies live for.
I want health care for all and I'm watching this like a hawk. I do not like what is happening in this country right now.
The divide between the rich and poor is growing rapidly. People are sinking into poverty and there is a distinct lack of compassion and civil discourse. Republicans and a handful of "blue dog democrats" are fighting every kind of reform with lies and disinformation. They count on people who don't have the time or inclination to search out the truth - simply ignore it and "hate all politicians."
Wake up guys - if you continue to reelect these lying fools, it's going to get worse for all of us as the "middle class" begins that long slow sad slide into poverty.
Most artists aren't rich. We get along but its getting harder. How many paintings does it take to pay a hospital bill? How many paintings does it take to pay health insurance rates that go up each year as our painting sales decrease. Most people don't have the spare cash to buy art in these troubled times.
A Rembrandt painting unseen in public for nearly 40 years sold for a record $33.2 million at auction in London on Tuesday, the highest ever paid at auction for the 17th century artist.
Christie's said that "Portrait of a man, half-length, with his arms akimbo", painted in 1658, fetched the 4th highest-price paid at auction for any old masters painting.
It was bought by an anonymous client bidding via telephone, Christie's said. The top price at auction for any old master picture is $77 million for "The Massacre of the Innocents" by Peter Paul Rubens set at Sotheby's in London in 2002.
"Weltschmerz" is a German word that describes a prevailing mood of melancholy and pessimism associated with the poets of the Romantic Era. It arose from their refusal or inability to adjust to those realities of the world that they saw as destructive.
John Steinbeck wrote about this feeling in "The Winter of Our Discontent."
Well, some of you readers have noticed that I am currently tied up in knots about our current political situation. I trust that this weltschmerz will eventually pass.
Meanwhile I feel the pain as choreographed crazies of the wing-nut media erupt on cue every time a politician opens his mouth to suggest that everyone ought to have access to healthcare.
I think Atlas carrying the weight of the world is a good visual metaphor for "weltschmerz."
The dialogue and delivery is over-wrought and under-thought.
I can hardly believe that so many of my fellow citizens feel that it is more important to spend money we don’t have to keep foreigners dead than to keep Americans alive.
It' feels as if I'm living in the macabre world of Bruegel.
Or worse - the really scary world of Hieronymus Bosch.
This is tough subject matter to paint. How depressed and frightened was this poor artist?
I'm thinking that making "pretty" art is like putting wallpaper on a building as it falls down...if you get my drift.
These are "interesting times" and Weltschmerz describes my current mood.
Give me some time to try to mourn the loss of hope for a better world, use my energies to keep my paintings from being too depressing. And then I'll get back to teaching.
President Obama has made the decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan in order to "go after the guys who attacked us on 9/11."
Go to war for "peace?" I don't think so.
Architect Richard Gage speaks about the truth and lies of 9/11 and the "impossible" freefall speeds at which those towers came down.
"Nothing good is ever created by deception. Not even the smallest untruth, not even the most well-intended "white lie," will produce benefit in the long run. So tell your truth as soon as you know it."
- Quote from Neale Donald Walsch
Professor Niels Harrit of Copenhagen University in Denmark, who is an expert in nano-chemistry, says that they found such large quantities of nano-thermite in the dust from the WTC, that he believes it must have been brought into the WTC site by the tons.
Professor Steven Jones who also played a major role in this ground-breaking research, refers to this startling new evidence as “the loaded gun.”
So how come the "Official 9/11 Commission" did not look into the possible use of explosives?
Because they didn't want us to know about that.
Why?
Maybe it was an inside job?
And how come Bush and Rumsfeld refused to allow our army to capture Osama Bin Laden?
Because OBL didn't do it - despite the "official story" even the FBI says that there is no evidence on this man. And besides they don't make high tech nano-thermite in caves in Afghanistan.
So did jet fuel (which is kerosene) "melt" the steel in those towers?
No. Jet fuel can not melt steel.
Can a hundred story plus building "pancake" in freefall?
No. You don't need more than 9th grade physics to understand this.
If you want a full length DVD on this subject with a whole lot of information (trust me, you've only seen a small piece of it here), contact me via email below and I'll lend you my copies:
BLUEPRINT FOR 9/11 TRUTH: The Architecture of Destruction
and
ZERO: an investigation into 9/11
These films made it impossible for me to accept the "official" version of the "911" tragedy any longer. It organizes the wealth of available material in such a way as leave no room for doubt.
A Workshop in Classical Realism by My Teachers, Numael & Shirley Pulido
MY PHOTOS: The Pulido Studio intensive workshop on Classical Realism
Numael and Shirley Pulido (my teachers) are now offering a workshop. I cannot think of any better opportunity for a student to learn to paint really well & really fast.
CLIP ART SERIES: Photographic Reference for Artists ~ now on iBooks
192 pages - by Karin Wells
CLIP ART SERIES: Photographic Reference for Artists ~ now on iBooks
192 pages by Karin Wells
PHOTOGRAPHIC REFERENCE FOR ARTISTS ~ COPYRIGHT FREE ~ DOWNLOAD ON IBOOKS
Life obliges me to do something, so I paint classical realism ~ and share how it is done. I hope it helps you because the world always has room for more good art....and the artists who know how to produce it.
