My thoughts on the Sandy Hook Shooting

I must start by saying that I wish I did not have to write about this horror, but it has only been 2 days since the tragedy and I am already fed up with the platitudes and out pouring of false well wishes and outward miss-direction of causalities. I am not, in any way trying to anger or infuriate, but rather wish well to those affected by this event, and to tell others who would use this as a soap box to shut the hell up !

I am one who spends probably way too much time on Facebook, and I have many friends and followers, as well as follow the online exploits of others. I see so many posts on this and other subjects and I have, until now, held my tongue – but it has gone too far. I saw a post where a person wrote a poem about the children who, through no action of their own or for any reason, died at the hand of a disturbed person, the post went on to say how it was “wonderful that these poor souls were called unto heaven by god, and the lord Jesus would now care for them, and for those who died trying to save them”, this is such a load of bull!

All the miscreants and self-proclaimed voices of the masses on Facebook that would use this to preach of God and of how we should no fear the government would use this to take away our guns, or that it is the fault of the Gays or other “heathens” YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED! This was not some clandestine act of holy authority, it was not “a good thing”, and this is an abomination, a horror of outrageous proportion. The children of Sandy Hook lost their lives, teachers lost their lives, people died long before their time. God did not “Call them home” a highly disturbed individual decided he wanted to do something vile, and to try to say “he was sick”, no sick is having a clod, or having and illness and being under some treatment, this person was deranged, killed their own parent and then killed others who left behind a world that will now never know what great things they would have done and families that will never get past this or ever stop feeling the sorrow of their loss.

Some will now say “oh, now the government will take away our rights” or “the president sheds fake tears” or “if we had so and so in the white house”- get off it! I heard that a group plans to picket the school, a church group will picket the school and hold signs saying “God killed your kids because of the Gays”, how the (explanative) can a church do that? Where is their respect for god? Where their respect for life is that god grants to all.

Writing poems and shedding tears of Facebook love just adds to the lie that is perpetrated, that if we say nice enough things often enough, the pain will go away, tell that to one of the sandy hook parents and you will lose some teeth or using this to further hate or fear will make one no less disturbed than the shooter, and no less vile.

All the news and press are going on and on, forcing everyone involved to relive the day’s events, or “look into the mind of the shooter” or what were his issues or what was done, let’s just accept the fact that there was no good reason and that several children, and those that would protect them died, let us remember them, mourn them and reach out to their loved ones without words of advice, or reason or preaching, let’s just say “ I am so sorry for your loss” or “I wish this never happened to you” or even not say anything, just reach out and hold them close, anything other than try to find something good in all of this, there is no good.

NONE!

Let their healing begin in silence, let them cry or scream or beat their chests. I was born in NY, in my youth I went to funeral with a friend, it was at a synagogue, the family had lost a uncle in an accident, he was a very good man, his father wept so loud and screamed, he ripped open his shirt and fell forward on the casket and begged god to take him instead, all at once I felt like I wanted to scream and weep and cry out, the rage and the feeling of loss was so great that everyone cried for days following.

I can only imagine what the families of Sandy Hook are feeling now, and I wish I could not.

Let the people of Sandy Hook Mourn and heal, let’s leave them alone, let us let them to their time, shut the mouths of the online demagogy and let the dead rest, let us not raise them up only to cast them further down.

Like if you wish, share if you must, scroll past if you need, but let Sandy hook heal, I beg of you, let us end this cycle of pain and remember the children as their families would, forever alive, forever loved and forever un-martyred.

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Blatant Plug for an Art Store

Recently I had the chance to find an Art Supply Store in San Luis Obispo which is more than what it looks like.

San Luis Art Supply is owned and operated by Neal Breton, a great guy and a great artist, working with local artists to promote art shows, displays and events, Neal looks to creating an Artist atmosphere that has not been seen in the area since the 60’s. When I have gone into the store it is always a meeting place for some of the local artisans, both well known and new to the craft, Neal serves the art community not only with affordable wares but a place to meet and exchange ideas, forming an arena of free thought and expression. 

Originally from the East Coast, Neal spent time in Los Angeles and was very connected to the trade and did a lot of work in Hollywood, but moved to the Central Coast to explore new thoughts and provide his vision to our community. San Luis Art Supply has sponsored many community events and looks to do more in the near future.

Visit Neal at

San Luis Art Supply, 1116 Morro St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401- Phone: 805-787-0348 

Neal’s artwork is on display at The Claassen Gallery, 785 Mash Street, San Luis Obispo, California 93401 – 805-541-3932

Peace

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Fueling Bitterness

Regular unleaded gas is 4.90 a gallon, and climbing. the economy is spiraling downward and, even though the government swears otherwise, the unemployment level is climbing. the average American spends most of the day worrying about where the next car payment will come from and if their house will still be theirs in a month.

These are not happy thoughts, and everyone could come up with more things to inflame and enrage themselves. I would like to propose thinking positively about these issues. we have seen in the news how other countries are having protests and revolutions when they are sick and tired of how their perspective governments are ruining their lives with overly strict laws and the lack of respect for basic human rights. I am not advocating protests in the streets or revolution, but referring to the fact that we do have the ability to make change in how our government runs this country and how they need to listen to the people.

I could express on the already well known rules and laws of this country, but that would digress from the point of this commentary, it is through diligence on our part, watching and objecting when needed to make it possible for “we the people” to be happy in our own land. many have worked, struggled, fought and even died for the right to be either happy or unhappy with the way things are in the USA, and we should never forget this, nor should we seek to have any more pain and suffering. it is a confusing issue, do we let the powers that be continue to run things without our watching, or do we bounce the prats from office and hope the next bunch would and could do better.

So, with the hopes of positive change I propose we let the government know that we want change, boycott gas stations that gouge the pumps, vote against politicians who seek to fatten their pockets and leave our tables bare. write and call public officials so much that they either have to listen or change their phone numbers, become a non-violent, law abiding pain in the but, make them aware that you are watching them, they watch us, so why not turn the tables. Use the rights and privileges we know we have to make them change. Call the talk shows and make your point known, don’t just demand change, but demand change with an example of what the change should be, so often we say “ this should be different” but we do not often give a “and this is what should be done”. If you want the right to be married, don’t just complain about it, tell them why. Don’t just complain about environmental issues, do something at the local level and grow to global considerations. I often see people complain about the pollution issues, but still drive SUV’s  just to go to the store 3 blocks away, or buy at large “big box stores” when small markets have better prices, but not the prestigious packaging.

Get on your bike and ride to the local mom/pop market, buy the weeks groceries and make your dollar stretch, have more parties at home and watch less TV, having an active social life in the comfort of your home is much more fun than a night at the bar, and costs much less.

So, Revolt without being revolting and do your part to piss off the government, be part of something grander than grandstanding for something less rewarding. If you do decide to have a party, invite me, I love a good party.

Joseph Timmons

Artist, Author and all around “weird old man”…

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Musings of the New Year

Well my friends, it is upon us, a New Year, another chance to do well and make something of what life throws at us. In the past year we have seen much of the ills of the world come to pass and there have been ups and downs. The government has given us reason to question their abilities and the people have taken chances and voted in new blood in hopes to stop the hemorrhaging of the economic wounds. We have seen great minds of our times and entertainers who have given us moments of happiness pass on to the next world. I would like to think that as a society we have many chances during our lives to create great things and become the special people we could be; we can and with hopes, will, become the vision of ourselves that we look to see in the mirror every morning. I would like to impart to you one thought to keep with you as your year progresses…

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, do as thy will and bring harm to none, starting and ending with thy selves.

So often we do not think that what we do not only affects us, as well as those around us. Whatever religion, race or creed you are we are all the same, inside and out, and with that, we are as strong, and as weak, as the person we stand next to or across from.

Be and do well in the year, may 2011 find you everything you desire, bring you joy and happiness, or at least a good deal of dreams come true. Find time to remember what you have lost, so you may find it again, say a prayer for the ones you’ve lost, give love the ones you’ve found, give something back to your community and be that vision of perfection that still exists in your mother’s eye.

PEACE

Joseph Timmons

Artist, Author, Writer, Journalist and all around strange person that your mother may have warned you about.

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So what do you say when you have nothing to say?

 

It is Sunday night and I am bored beyond belief, I have had a great weekend, had fun with my kids and my wife was wonderful. I have nothing to specifically talk about and I feel I need to say it here. I want to know what is the reason for this, why blog about nothing. Well everyone does it, everyone has something to say and feel that it needs to be shared here, on the blog-o-sphere, where everyone has a voice and scream as loud as they can above everyone else. Rambling seems to be a favorite past-time of all bloggers, so I ask this question, why do you feel that what you have to say in no more or no less important that everyone else, and / or why do you feel what you say has to matter.

I don’t think that what bloggers have to say is “no important” but I have seen that all bloggers (even myself) feel that what they say is enlightening and everyone else is “less that mediocre”.

Educate Me

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A Day Out, A Day of Joy

 

Saturday, October 2bd, 2010 – we were sitting around the house not doing much of anything at all, so I took the family out to the Santa Maria Grapes and Grains Festival, a yearly event that we have here in Santa Maria. It was a decent day, as far as weather was concerned, when we arrived the parking was terrible, and I immediately thought it was going to a bad idea, but I was pleasantly proved wrong. I took my family to the Santa Maria natural Museum exhibit first, the girls loved the displays and saw some interesting animals, the only bizarre moment was the guide that was doing the tour used the following statement, which made my girls cringe “ Most of these animals were collected from road kill incidents of found already dead, they were once alive, but now they are dead, and stuffed” so matter of fact,  and without any emotion she began to explain what that meant, my girls were a little taken back and started walking around saying “poor birdy” or “poor beaver”, here are some more fun images of that moment.

 

 

     We then went to the Street Painting Event, and there was a petting zoo area, we also ran into Albert, the best friend of my son Michael, Albert works for the Parks and Recreation Department, always a happy guy and never a bad word to say about anything. as you can see from the pictures, there were many activities for kids to do, not just vendors and salesmen. so many times I go to fairs and events and find that they were just excuses to set up shop, or try to get charity donations from people that don’t have anything to give.This was a really great event hosted by the city, which should do more like this.

I found one kid was doing a replica of an Andy Warhol print of Elizabeth Taylor, and it was really cool, because this kid was doing something special, something that they wanted to do, something expressive about who they are and want to be.

The Petting Zoo is not very big, but it had baby animals, now nobody can resist baby animals, can they, my girls just loved it so much they actually wanted to join the local AG group so they could do this everyday, I thought about saying yes, but I looked over at the goats and said to myself “ yeah, and who's going to have to clean it up”, we moved on to the next area.

I was wandering around at saw the Teacher and students from the Alan Hancock College Ceramics Program, which I used to be a part of and got a chance to say hi to my former teacher Bob, and fellow student Sue, who were doing demonstrations of the Wheel Process and I was able to get a short Video, no sound, but you get to see a great Artist doing what he does best.

2010 Grapes and Grains Festival Wheel Ceramics Demonstration

And here are some stills,

 

Bob is a great Teacher and the people really loved watching him do his work, in the time I was standing there watching he made 35 Bowls and Dishes, it took him about 36 min to do this, I remember it took me about 60 min to make 1 item, so he is the master artist and I am still just a hack, at ceramics anyway.

this blog entry was not so much as a tribute or critique of the event, but just a statement, one never knows what fun is out there unless they look, so many of the people I know say this town is lame or boring, and sometimes I do agree, but then I go out with my kids and I am reminded that fun is fun only if you let it be fun, just be happy to be alive and live each new day as if it were a new chance at happiness, and you will be happy, my kids often remind me of how life can be great, which is why I love them more and more each day.

Joseph Timmons, Newly Humbled Father, yet again.

Technorati Tags: ArtBabble,Grapes,Grains,Bob,Kids,Fun,Life,Living,Happy

$1.00 is worth something again

 

OK, now I don’t often plug stores or offer criticism or critiques of retailers, I have done book reviews and food reviews, but to tell people about where to shop, no, hardly ever. I have found a new favorite bookstore, and it is the $1.00 Bookstore in the Santa Maria Town Center Mall. this store is part of a new chain of bookstores offering used books of a wide variety to the consumer. Most bookstores have hundreds of titles, new releases and so on, which is great if you are looking for a new book title, or looking to get the next installment of a new series, I have often praised stores like Boarders and Barnes and Nobel for having a great selection of new books, buy when it comes to finding used books in paperback or hardcover, I have, like most of you, had to check every used bookstore in town, or the thrift stores, which has much to be desired, oh you may find a gem or 2, but they have prices on them, often higher than original price.

The $1.00 Bookstores is very different, they have literally HUNDEREDS, if not THOUSANDS of titles, paperback, Hardcover, recent works, complete collections, the occasional rare / out of print tome that you may have been looking for online for months, and still not find. The staff, is very friendly and if it is not there, they will call to another branch to see if it is there or take your information and call you when it comes in, they have a hold and lay-a-way program, daily deals, like buy 5 and get 1 free, new and used movies, Comic Books and Anime, in the TONS, I mean some are entire collections from issue 1 to 100 and more. what is the best is the concept that no matter what you pick up, just a buck, your buying power really goes far.

The $1.00 Bookstore, here in Santa Maria, is located on the 1st floor of the Santa Maria Town Center Mall, Directly across from the main entrance, their phone is 805-352-0044, hors are standard mall hours 10am to 7pm Mon-Sun, and I think if you go there you will find something special, I never leave it without something. their motto “Making a Difference, One Book at a Time” and they do, I see very happy children, and even happier parents enter and leave the store often.

I would like, if I may, check out the poetry section, wow, lots and lots of great books, selections change literally daily.

Technorati Tags: Books,Bookstore,1 dollar,1.00 books,used books,new and used,great selection

$1.00 Bookstores 805-352-0044

A Memory of a Train, followed by a Party

Recently I have been pondering my life, thinking about all that I have and have not done, seen and not seen. I figure, this is what most men do when they get older, some get the seven year itch, me, I get melancholy and misty about my past. I will impart to you a true story, one that until now I had almost forgotten, I hope you enjoy this memory as much as I do. I have met many famous people in my life, Gram Nash, George Carlin, Joan Jet, Jerry Garcia and members of the band Anthrax and so on, but none as famous, to me as the next one.

It was December 12^th 1984, I remember because it was just before my birthday and I was on break from college. I was invited to a party being hosted by a friend of mine in Manhattan, a literary party, for those who thought themselves quite the intellectual illuminate of NY, so I had to attend. I took the train from Farmingdale to Jamaica station to board the transfer to Pennsylvania Station, we called it the “Penn” for short, don’t know why, just did. I took my seat and withdrew from my shoulder bag a book I had been reading, “Slaughterhouse 5” by Kurt Vonnegut, at the time, my all-time favorite author.

While reading this great book, I slipped into the story, like a warm bath, drifting and being subdued by the gentle sway of the train as it clattered along the tracks, the peaceful drift was interrupted by a soft yet bold voice “ is that a good book”, without looking up I answered” yes, very” to which was responded “ well, I have read his work, don’t care much for it at times, but I guess it does well” , to this I thought to myself “where has this guy been”, I then looked up and saw the face of a gruff looking man, wearing a grey tweed long coat and a shabby driving cap, it took a moment and I realized I was looking directly into the eyes of Mr. Vonnegut himself.

I sat there, motionless and for a first time, in a long time, speechless. Vonnegut asked “you ok?” I responded “well, yes, it’s just not often I am faced with the author of the book I am reading, what are you doing here”, he stared at me, “I live in NY, so being on the train is something I do”, I did not realize the impudence of my statement, how can I ask one of the great literary minds of our time to account to me of his decision to ride the same train and sit across from what was now to be known as the biggest jack-ass of NYC. From that moment and for about 10 min there was a crushing silence, I dared not try to engage him in conversation, I felt a striking class difference, a rift of immense proportions, and I felt I did not even have the right to be in the same state as him, yet the same train. Mr. Vonnegut looked to me and said “where you going”, I quickly responded “to a party, a book party, I mean a writers party” stammering over my words like a child trying not to get caught in a lie “ but I don’t think I am a writer, well not like you, you’re great, I mean wonderful I mean..” to which he interrupted “ So you like what I write I gather” my response “YES”, I realized the word could be heard on the platform we just passed. We came upon Penn and he said “well, this is where I get off, going to a party myself, my well wishes to you”, and we departed the train together.

I watched him disappear into the crowd on the platform, thinking to myself – well, he lives in NY, why is it impossible to have not met him, and off I strode, thinking ill of myself, missing an opportunity to just have a normal conversation and not to “gush” at his every word. I took the subway to my destination and walked 2 blocks west to the apartment building, a very nice and wealthy neighborhood, the nice part of Manhattan, and I felt that I now had a story to tell, but not to too many, I did not want it getting around that I thought to snub Kurt Vonnegut and then try to coax a friendship from it.

It was about 20 minutes into my arrival that the host announced that his special guest was going to be delayed, but will show up, I thought to myself “wouldn’t it be great if it was Vonnegut again” but lightning never strikes the same place twice”. An hour later, or was it 2 long island Iced Teas and a Beer later, Kurt Vonnegut arrived at the door, wearing the same jacket, but a different hat, he was the special guest, I slid out of sight, composed my thoughts, so if he did come near I could appear calm and eloquent. Other people started to show up, people of note, other local writers, newspaper columnists and some of the social commentators who write for the papers, I thought this was just unheard of writers, no, this was the real deal, I stumbled into a nest of angels and vipers, if I made a fool of myself here, no matter how well I wrote, I would never get published.

I sat down on the sofa, feeling a bit woozy, not drunk woozy, that I could handle, fame woozy, that was it, surrounded by all these famous and soon to be famous and those who thought themselves famous, that is breathtaking. There was a “whump” and the couch shifted, sitting next to me was Kurt Vonnegut, he looked at me “oh, hello again, so this is where you wound up” I replied “yes, and I still feel stupid, I am so sorry if I said anything foolish earlier” he smiled and responded with “you would be surprised at what some people say to me”. We sat there and watched the people shuffle past, back and forth, and he commented on who each person was, what they did and what he thought of them. Kurt Vonnegut has had the pleasure of keeping most of his life private and his private life even more so quiet, so when he said that most of the people here have 2 sides, and he wanted to see neither I had to ask why he was here, to which he responded that the host was related to him, and as a special favor he was asked to come, I wanted to know how the famous and infamous knew he would be here, we both paused and said “ well, it is NY, isn’t it”, in NY there are no secrets, everyone finds out sooner or later who is where when and how.

The party came to an end around 3am, some had work the next morning, I suppose, the rest had whatever, Kurt had left around 2am, he said “ I always leave early and unannounced, so nobody can follow me home” he was smiling when he said it, so it had to be true.

April 11, 2007, Kurt Vonnegut passed away, I was at home and heard the news on NPR, even though I don’t even begin to think I knew him, I did “Know “him, he was a New York Native, one of the tribe, one of our great chiefs, one of the gems in liberty’s crown, it has been said “if you ever meet a New Yorker writer once, you have met all of New York”, with Kurt, it was a very true statement.

I am including Kurt’s website, which is being maintained by his family, I suggest you visit it, just to see the smiling writer I had the honor of sharing a coffee with at 1:30 am surrounded by people that wanted to be him.

http://www.vonnegut.com/

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The Great Dumbing Down of America

 

Ok, I know I have said this many times before, and I run the risk of repeating myself again and again, but this needs to be said.

 

The United States leads the world in technological advances, we have created computers that can do everything up to and including the creation of other computers, we have developed A.I. and system functionality that controls our infrastructure and we have a mobile phone system that has been blended with PDA technology so we are constantly connected, tethered to each other through the world wide web.

We as a country have created a system that keeps the wheels of this great nation rolling, however, I feel we have thrown ourselves under the bus we are driving.

I have noticed, as many of you may have, that when I log into the various social networks I am connected to that conversations have dwindled down to random blurbs like “LOL” and OMG”, nobody really tries to have full conversations, or try to communicate in a fashion that does not need a code book.

I read books, I like books, I do think that the E-Book is an interesting development, a great resource for travelers, but I was driving down the street yesterday and I saw a man walking, against the light at the intersection reading one of the e-book devices, unaware of traffic, he was not “mowed down” but there was a near miss, ironically the driver that almost hit him was a young lady who was too busy texting to notice she was about to cream the techno-bot that was in from of her car. I looked at my wife and asked if she saw what almost happened, her reply was “I see that at least once a day”.

What is it that causes what was once a very intelligent person to become a modern Neanderthal, we have in all of our attempts to enrich ourselves, instead to become less intelligent than the chairs we sit on. I would believe that in our desire to be more connected to each other, we have distanced ourselves from our ability to actually think and speak rationally and coherently. We have created tools that have a natural ability to make us impatient, nothing is fast enough, I have stated that in the time it takes to text a person, you could just call them, and the response I get is “well this way I can leave a message”, I thought that was what voicemail is for ? the time it takes to type a message on the touch pad is actually longer than the time to dial a phone, and either talk to the responder or leave a message.

On Facebook, the status update allows up to 435 characters, enough for a short and effective comment, yet most people leave a message like “OMG I cant Blv she did tht”, what?  who did what? or “I luv my bby” what is that ? people sit at a computer or text in with unintelligible statements that make the viewer more confused than informed. I have Facebook and Twitter accounts, and I use them, but I guess I don’t see the need to confuse or stupefy the persons whom take time from their lives to actually read what I have to say. Like this blog entry, some of you will read further, some may stop here or some may have already moved on to the next blog with pictures of kittens and puppies, which my 9 and 7 year old daughters really like, but they are 7 and 9, not C.E.O’s or college professors.

Recently, I went into Starbucks and I met with 2 associates who were siting at the table, laptops out and texting feverishly on their cell phones and making merry digitally, however, after sitting with them and taking a brief look at what was going on, I noticed they are looking at each other’s social sites and texting each other while texting others and their coffees are getting cold because they have been too busy with their daily technological online affirmations of abbreviated subtexts, suddenly one of their phones actually rings and the poor fool cant figure out how to actually answer the phone, which is why to get a cell phone, to get calls. In a fevered pace she sees who is calling, opens the social site for her connection and texts them a message to call again, and sips her coffee, the phone is still ringing. Neither of them were even looking at each other, but would take a moment to look up at me every now and then because I did not have a laptop with me and my phone is so old it does not have internet or text features, I was the odd man out and not the focus of their attention, because I was not connected with their online circle jerk, and I apologize for that moment of profanity, but again, online rather than use proper grammar, I notice that people with interject F-bombs and @!$$%#@*& between the “OMG” and “LOL”, far too much cursing for my desires. After about 30 min I left, I did not have a keypad or 17 wide screen so I was not socially important to them, I instead went to a small coffee house down the block that did not have WI-fi and had a pleasant game of chess with a friend I ran into, who luckily, did not own a cell phone.

I know this is just me ranting, and it serves no purpose other than giving me a venue to vent, but I would propose that if you have spent hundreds of dollars on a device, use it the way it is supposed to be used, then stop, actually read a book, or the paper, even if it is online, take that e-book and sit-down to read it, absorb and lock in the information, have actual conversations with people, talk in full sentences and don't actually say “LOL” when you are facing a person, leave the “LOL” for AOL, and use the brain you are given. If more people actually knew about what they were talking about, they would make sense, and put the phone down before your coffee gets too cold to enjoy.

Just Another Day in Paradise

Technorati Tags: Dumb,Rant,Cyber Space,America,Technology,simpleton

Thoughts of a Displaced New Yorker

Sunday, March 14, 2010: First Entry

I would start by asking, “What makes a New Yorker?”, is it just the simple act of living in the big apple, scratching and surviving in the midst of down town Manhattan, or living the supple suburban life of Long Island? Well, I would think that it is much more than that, as Billy Joel said, “New York is a State of Mind”

I moved to California in 1990 for what was supposed to be a short period to care for my mother who was ill, she moved to California just 4 years prior, once out here I found myself feeling lost and without my tether to reality, the pace of living is slow and without depth, the people, albeit nice, were without solid measure, in New York, you could tell what a person was thinking, the tone and inflection of voice and body language spoke volumes and there was a sense of familiarity, you knew your neighbors, often by name, and you knew who you could trust. I would like to think that I am not just being melancholy but realistic in my memories.

To me, being a New Yorker means being a part of something bigger than yourself, a community of souls that move in and around each other in a surreal and flawless dance of expressionism. New Yorkers have that special something that makes them unique and tangible, I am going to, over a period of time try to decipher what it is that makes us what we are. I am not one to think that I am all knowing or extensively witty in my writing style, if that is what a style is these days, but I am a writer, of sorts and I will write to you this text based imagery of my life as a misplaced / displaced New Yorker, I am going to write this serial of opinion pieces, submitting them to you, via the internet for your reading and vexing.

I encourage those of you who read these entries to leave comment on my blogs http://josephtimmons.blogspot.com and http://www.rantbabble.wordpress.com after each entry, and please don’t just leave comments like “I love your work” or “Puppies and Kittens are cute” , I want real discussion and notes of what you think, and if you, like me are a displaced New Yorker, please leave a comment about your experiences.

My entries will be dated and at least one complete thought, once you see what I write about and how I write, you will see what I mean, I think you will enjoy being part of my experiment in Ranting. I am also in the process of taking these entries and responses to create articles to submit to “The New Yorker” and “The New York Times”, if I include your responses, you will be credited, however I offer no compensation, you are part of an experiment in self exposure and communications across the rift of time and space.

I will be putting together Video pieces on my YouTube site http://www.youtube.com/user/CCVisualArt , these video parts will be verbal blog entries and response to comments, I may also ask other writers to add to the mix, these writers will be displaced new Yorkers and resident new Yorkers who may give some additional insight to the idea of “ you can take the New Yorker out of New York, but you cannot take the New York out of the New Yorker” but no matter which, you can make them drink.

Until the next entry, stay east coast real.

Joseph Timmons

Artist, Writer and New Yorker.

What’s Been Going On,….

 

Well, here is my update, as you may have noticed I have not been posting recently, I have not been on my Facebook or Social Pages and I have been a bit reclusive, you see my life has fallen apart and I am trying to get the pieces back together and I am quickly running out of super-glue. So I will fill you in and hopefully you will not desire to jump off the roof in sympathetic depression.

P.S.. Yes i am Still Not taking meds for my depression, I am holding firm to my belief that I can survive without them.

 

 

On December 4th I flew out to NY for the funeral of my nephew who passed from cancer, The next day, on the 5th, while I was in NY, my son Alexander, 13 yrs old, whom has been suffering form ADHD and some Mental Health Issues had a psychotic break and attacked my wife, his stepmother, with a knife, slashing at her and disfiguring her hands, she was able to fend him off and snap him out of it just before the police arrived and he does not remember any of the event, he is in Juvenal hall, where he as been now since December 5th and has still to be placed in a mental health facility, he turned 14 in Juvenal hall and it is breaking my heart.

My 3 sisters blame my wife, as if she asked to be attacked and we are not on speaking terms, we have had to move, the landlord of the hose we were in did not appreciate or situation and asked us to move.

My wife and I are trying to get things back on track, we are all taking this time to try to heal, and yes, therapists are involved, for what is is worth, not that they are giving us any definitive advice, just allot of “how does that make you feel”, we have learned whom are true friends are, those of our friends whom have been there for us and have supported us, thanks, and for those whom have not been, I hope you fare well, for this is farewell and do not call me again.

Many of my friends from High School and College, some whom are following my exploits on Facebook have helped financially, when I was run off the road on Highway 154 in San Yenez and my car was damaged, costing 5,400.00 to fix, many of them helped and sent money to help, which was greatly apreciated.

Recently went to the Museum of Art in Santa Barbara, was very impressed with the resident art exhibits as well as some of the special displays.

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I enjoy finding new art exhibits and visiting museums, I am still planning to re-do and upgrade my website http://www.ccvisiualart.com, but it is getting hard for me to find the time to do so, but I think I will fid some time this summer and by September my new site version will be up and running.

 

My wife is healing and is getting back the use of her hands and will be working on her cross-stitch work and may either go back to school or work, but we are still working on it. My wife is working on a new project “Celtic Lady- Summer”

I think it is coming along very nicely :)

Her Blog http://www.astitchingtime.blogspot.com, it has some of her recent postings as well as pictures of her recent work and a link to her Etsy Shop.

 

Recently, the local Cafe Monet was sold to new owners and is now called Cafe’ Noir, and I have secured gallery space and will have my paintings on exhibit for the next several months,Cafe Noir is located at 1555 South Broadway in Santa Maria, California, if you want to check them out it is a nice cafe and the new owners are very interested in community functions and serving the public, they roast their own coffee beans and baked goods.

I am a little distracted right now, if you know the Actor Corey Haim died recently at 38, I am 44, only 6 years older, I remember him from many movies I liked when I was younger and I have sort of been following what has been going on with him and Corey Feldman, Corey’s blog has a post about Corey Haim ( http://coreyfeldman.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/r-i-p-corey-ian-haim-1971-2009/ ) and he, from my point of view is really holding back emotion, so if you get a chance, let him know he is supported, we have all lost a loved one from time to time and it never gets easier, Cory Feldman has had it hard and has had troubles that we would never want to ever have, Hollywood has not been kind to him, nor kind to Corey Haim, so give them a hand, if you could.

Work is going well and I am secure in the knowledge that as long as I do my job well, I get to keep it, so I make sure that I follow all the rules and do as expected, I like working for Microsoft and I want to keep working for them. I am going to be in Orlando Florida in April, so I will blog an entry from there.

I am going to be mirroring this post on all of my blogs, I am now using Live writer to put together my Blog Posts and it sends the exact same thing to all my Blogs and twitter posts, so I'm liking that, makes it easy to post. Well I must go now, will be back soon to annoy you again… Late !

Joseph Timmons

Artist and Author, all around stranger in general

Well, I made it into History

well, in Santa Maria at least….

I donated a Painting of mine to the city of Santa Maria, and the Mayor personally thanked me and said he would be extremely happy to display it in the newly designed and built public library that opened last year. My wife and I are thrilled at this and are looking forward to taking the kids to the Library and seeing my painting on the wall. I am posting pictures of it here. The Title is “Reflection of Soul”

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I would like to thank all of my friends and Family for your love and support and I dedicate this first great public display to My family and all of you. My painting is now part of the permanent collection of art in Santa Maria California and the State of California in General.

Artist: Karl Briullov - Wikipedia

My wife Katya had replied to one of my earlier questions of the week in regards to "who inspired you", however the post did not seem to go through, but I feel that this artist's work should be examined.

 

I particularly enjoyed looking at the realism of the work, the colors just jumped off the screen and it was very strong in its dimension and how you could see that the artist desired to show the subject in it's truest form. I am going to post this entry to my other 2 blogs on art as to the fact that this artist is one to investigate further.

The above picture is

The Last Day of Pompeii, 1830-33
Oil on Canvas, 456.5 x 651 cm
The State Russian Museum

St. Petersburg, Russia

You can view more of his works at http://www.russianartgallery.org/famous/brullov.htm

 

Karl Briullov - Self-Portrait, 1848
Oil on Canvas, 64.1 x 54 cm
The State Tretyakov Gallery

Moscow, Russia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Karl Briullov - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Technorati Tags: Russian,Itallian,Artist,Oil,Paint,Painter,Legendary

Blogging: A medium for expression or a medium for therapy?

I have been working on my blog, this blog, for several days, and in this time I have taken liberty to divulge to you thoughts that I have had regarding love and personal expression, as well as key you, the reader, into what I feel is important. I have been looking at my writing, as well as the writing of others and I have come up with some new thoughts regarding the art of the blog.

As a writer, I take time to note my thoughts on many subjects, mostly it is poetic or short stories, but writers use the written word to permanently imprint their views and opinions on the world, in books their words are held and then shared with those who seek out their opinion or "wisdom", but on the Internet, a medium that can stream information into the homes of millions all at once, the writer becomes a voice of thought that can impact many lives at once, as well as educate or infuriate. the writer can become more than just a person who writes, but almost an archetype of lost voices of all those he connects with and comes into contact with.

I would also state that now, with this medium, anyone can be a writer, to write and be published, to be used as a opinion or to be the subject of research, to be thought of as an expert or quoted, what does this do to the medium? I feel that this gives rise to the ability of any and all persons to be heard, and whether it is just a person sharing an aspect of their life, or a professor annotating their life's work, all this holds merit. Writing has long been an accepted practice in therapy, one can write down their most inner thoughts, of sorrow or joy, chaste thoughts or perverse fantasy, and get feedback or just to vent, the blog can give us all a way to work through our individual issues and find solace in the minds of those who read this work. to be able to connect with like minds and feel" I am not the only one" there as those like me out there that have similar feelings, and we could reach out to each other, and either be our own salvation, or be together in damnation, either way we would not have to ever feel alone. The blog may be a personal journal, but remember that anyone, anyone can happen across your work and then check back and see everything, when you "Blog" do you realize that you are potentially opening your heart and souls out to millions of people?

I go to my library and I find what I am looking for and sometimes I do not, having to check back to see if it has been returned, but on the Internet, I can go to Google and look up an author, or go to the Google Book Search and find the actual book, scanned and loaded to be retrieved and read, or I could go online to Libraries around the world and find the book in digital form, instant data location, and instant gratification, the blog is the same, you can search, locate and collect any thought anytime and anywhere, this could be good, or it could be yet another way the spoken and written word can be lessened into just another blurb in a data vault, but I hope that this medium can be used for its altruistic and Nobel advantages.

The search for knowledge, to know all things is part of the human condition, the art of faith and belief that we, as living, breathing and sentient beings can archive greatness though the power of our minds is that which can be great and lead to greatness, or take greatness and level it to mediocrity. Lets consider education, one can register online at a college, take classes and graduate, never entering a classroom, some facilities, or companies offer educational classes for free, the opportunity to expand ones mind, in just a few short years has multiplied ten fold, yet it is still not taken full advantage of. I am personally trying to learn Russian, so I can share in my beloved wife's culture, and I find so many opportunities that I am stunned and do not know where to start, but I feel that is a good thing, because I can be stunned, I have not yet become prey to my indulgences and I have not yet become complacent to the "instant gratification" of the Internet.

I plan to work on a Knol, which is considered a unit of knowledge, or so it is said as to be by Google. My Knol is called "The History of Art, and it's effect on Modern Art", now I am an "Artist" but I do not consider myself an expert, but I will write as if I were, this is to serve 2 purposes,

1: to see if I can write a piece that effectively illustrates how Art from the past affect Art of today

2: to see if I am taken as an expert, without proof of accreditation.

I want someone to either tell me I am a genius or call me a quack.I want to see how much my thoughts matter. I would like to see if I can inspire a rational and logical appreciation for my contribution to the collective consciousness and knowledge of the vast universe within my omnipresent, omnipotent and all knowing computer.

"And what of Perversity" I state this because we all have our kinks, we all have something about us, that deep dark secret about ourselves that we don't want anyone else to know, whether it is the fact that we want to be "handled" a certain way by our lover or we have a desire that society deems unacceptable, we can find it on the Internet, blogging is also an opportunity to find this. I have found blogs on almost every subject dealing with sex and sexuality, either exemplifying it, admonishing it or rationalizing it, but in every case, the writer has no doubts about his or her opinion, nor do they ask for any leniency, we can find everything and anything in which to satisfy even the most base and carnal desire, professional or amateur, on YouTube or any of the other myriad of video sites, you can find it all. I do not say that this is a bad thing, if anything at all it is probably one of the best solutions to wipe away the taboo, the "dirtiness" of the individuals desire to obtain their personal pleasure or darkest gratification.

I may have strayed from my original concept, but that's exactly why I am following this derailed train of thought, the art of the "Blog" allows us, as a people to openly exchange all thoughts, good, bad or indifferent. I plan on making many entries, and many thoughts I have open to you, my reader, I claim you and take possession of you, you are mine to entertain and be praised or hated by, I want you to read my work, view my words and my art and let me know what you think, because I feel that you can think and can feel and that it is by inciting thought in you that I am doing what I am supposed to and need to be doing, making you think about life, in any way possible. I hope that you can enjoy my words, and take them to heart, and I hope you will comment and let me know what you need to know next.

I await your reply, my friends.

Technorati Tags: Blog,Blogging,Intelligence,matter,thought