Sun Child

This is an early sculpture of mine, named : sun child.


When I was young (50th birthday coming up) I modeled quite a few reliefs in clay and cast them in white cement with blended in stones. Polish and chiseled them after they had hardened.
But remember, you can't make a living as a sculptor (or visual artist) - unless ...

confusing "downloads"

Finally spring has arrived to the island. I am glad. The sun is actually warm. Last bits of snow vanish on Vinalhaven. The complexity of the last "north-eastern" storm was stunning, but now it's all gone, electricity is back, no more work with humming generators.
The present situation describes itself as surreal beautiful and divine.
Who can resist?
But then I drive to work, my radio on. The chief justice of the US stutters while being fried by lawmakers from both sides of the isles in the US senate. That mole has to go and face yet the other side of the wall. He is not an immigrant punk (which would be honorable), he is a looser. Gonzales go home, pick avocados or some kind of cactus plants and distill tequila instead.
That brings me to the issue of walls.
America, the US that is, sports to be a grand wall builder these days, rivaling Israeli stupidity.
In Iraq, precisely Baghdad, neighborhoods are being separated by 12 foot walls. What about that? Why build them? Is this how you introduce Democracy?
And so I stare at my computer while I am downloading free music from the internet and wonder: Where is this all going to lead too!?
The US is nuts, the Arab league is nuts (the Palestinian "speaker" to the government there announced last Friday, that it would be a preference to kill all "Americans" and Jews to the last person and that Allah will be conjunct to this and that this motion will show true faith).
Give me a break.
As much as I despise and condemn the present US enterprise in Iraq, I also speak to condemn the "Muslim World" for hiding behind statues of religious manifests that once belonged to the Middle Ages.
And now I am downloading more songs from the internet, sweet songs, bursting through firewalls.
So what are you doing on this so called "earth day" - fixing up your patio walls perhaps?

Bridges

I don't have the energy
to whisper sweet nothingness
to your ear, or other receptacles.
It has always been a muted song anyway, why change it now.

Bridges were build, but eventually they collapse
Yesterday I crossed a bridge that connects states.
Today I found myself sneaking underneath an other bridge perhaps,
driving home, loose electrical wires abound, weaseling on the ground.
And then there were those kids in the news,
dead they were found
after insanity hits
even the sane
get the blues.

I am not even talking about bridges in Bagdad, though that could be a fair topic as well.
So where is the bridge to your heart, or should I simply assume - that only strings are attached?

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going
to let anybody see
you.

Charles Bukowski

Rachmaninoff - nah, Beethoven

Is it interesting to say that I came across an absolutely gorgeous Steinway? Probably not that interesting. Anyhow, this thing is in some rich persons home, and I have nothing to do with it, unless you call the person who let me in, my friend. As I was touching the keys, I realized how little I remembered, from way back then ... when I had a few lessons.
But the sound was magic, you didn't even had to know how to push the keys. Some instruments just lend themselves to virtuosity without the baggage of proficiency.
I forgot the lines, but then I remembered the tunes.
Life is a bag, then you empty it's contents on the table of "today" before you go further. Vinaigrette or Russian?
I'll take plain vinegar, salt and olive oil at this point.

... interesting how and why this post stirred some compulsive reactions and comments

Easter eggs, The Pope and Snow

So yeah, I haven't communicated for a while. Perhaps I just don't feel like it, or I must be tired working my ass off. Who knows.


Anyhow, the hunt for the easter eggs was doomed, too much snow. A freak storm hit here last Friday and left a blanket of white nuisance.































The Pope? Ah, he has nothing much to say besides that Iraq is a mess. Who wouldn't have known!
Snow? Hmm, that Friday storm was pretty outrageous - so much for global warming.

Eggs?

Do me a favor and hatch your own, I'm tired of inseminating.
Does that make sense? No! It wasn't supposed to either ...
On the political front - ah, should I really go there? There is not much to state. Some blindfolded British sailors make good stories, but truthfully I don't give a flying crap to whom they are selling their story to. It's just an other routine day in the works of the Empire, who cares...
As for me, I am pounding nails into wood, what else is there to do.

Store of Delights

There is no reason to schlep all the goodies of life in your car trunk when you cross by ferry from Rockland to Vinalhaven. Sure, there is not the splendor of variety here on this island compared to the mainland.
But who would expect to find a variety of exquisite cheeses, local and from all over the world, fine olives, fresh backed and tasty bread, Portuguese air dried sausages ... you name it, in a small space of the Tidewater Motel.
Small is an overstatement. The store resembles the acquisition of a converted left over closet space but is bright and tidy. The wine selection is diverse and well thought through. Speciality beers of different microbreweries are also available.
So if you come to visit me, don't worry. There will be some essential delights of life readily available. All I got to do now, is get a small boat afloat, then we are ready. We will sail along the shores and enjoy a fine picnic amongst small islands, seagulls, blue water and blue skies ...
When will you visit?

Homeland Security

Where is the radar, the scanning devices, airport security? Where do you take your shoes off, where is the nice guy who pats you down? No metal detectors, no explosive sniffing dogs, no bar code pasted on your passport (if you happen to have one) ... and you can bring toothpaste, the family sized version, sneak in a bottle of beer or whiskey, behave like a normal human and chat with the pilot. The thing you have not, is a stewardess running down the isle with peanuts. (Oh shit I forgot, they discontinued that as well on major carriers because all the allergies people have these days).
Anyhow, welcome to the airport of Vinalhaven, where twin prop birds are the max you can fly and land. Usually only a single engine, a Cesna, comes over from the mainland a few times a week delivering mail and transport other stuff. People take the plain once in a while if they have an urgent appointment. But usually they take the ferry. But our airport is a great asset. If you get a severe heart attack or something else is wrong with you, they come over here and fly you to a sophisticated medical center in Portland within the hour. Not that we don't have health care here on the island as well, but it is comforting to know that there is a gateway to high tech care with a low tech flight.
I titled this post "Homeland Security", and already I have lost my train of thought. Darn, I'm getting old and senile. But wait, isn't it usually up to the president, not me, to explain the "state of the union"? Isn't it for that I pay him my meager tax money? Ah well, lost cause ... and a lost war. But in response, the administration is choosing to copy and save every email originating from the US. No, I am not bullshiting you, a Verizon (data and communication) handler presented it on ABC.
I don't believe the terrorists are frightened. In the mean time, the wildest dreams of Ossama have come true: Total oppression of the American (US) people by their own government. Hallelujah!
Oh, I forgot to say - Verizon still lets you make a call to a friend to pick you up after landing (see picture above). A good thing, because wireless networks are useless on this island.

broken dreams

Gogol Bordello - start wearing purple

oh yeah

... not a crime!

Happy 4th anniversary Iraq!

3000 US soldiers - and 60,000 civilians have died, payed by 409 billion Dollars. Those are the facts after four years of engagement. Not a very sexy compilation.
Despite my stubbornness to accept Islam as a valid religion for this day and age, I still feel sorry for the Iraqis. They have no security today, no law, no normal life. Saddam was a saint compared to what the US invasion has brought to them. Bush is not only an amateur, but a "Hitler" without charisma. They should have shot Saddam in the face when he was creeping out that hiding hole. But no, the empire decided to hang him instead. Bad mistake. The crunching sounds of the upper neck barely dissipated while amateurs in the military and the administration clapped and cheered. How stupid can you be.
The hanged an other man today, formerly held in US custody until hours before his death. I am no pussy, but this makes me sick.

I will bore you to death

So yeah, these are pics 30 seconds from where I live at sunset today. You must get sick of these pictures by now - but I can't help it. Yes, soon I will be bitching about our political system again, do not worry. In the mean time get bored to death with images taken today ...

The landing here is called Pierces Point in the Old Harbor. The sloppily covered boat which you saw in the previous post belongs there. It will depend on the energy and persistence of the owner (my friend David who I am housesitting for) to make her happy and afloat again. But I have my doubts. "Don Juan", that is the sailboats name, has been sitting there for the last five years or so...
As a result, I am contemplating to get my own vessel, a smaller day-sailer with an outboard perhaps. What do you think? So yeah, I wouldn't be able to cross the ocean and the seven seas, but I still could cruise down the coastline of the Americas without any problems, explore islands, evade troublesome "mainland-issues".

It is important, that we as humans maintain dreams. Without them we become mere teeth in the mechanism of our greedy society. It doesn't even matter if we are able to manifest and materialize every ounce of our visions. What counts is the intention.

the perfect storm

They didn't know, they never do.The weatherforcast for this weekend earlier on was supposed to be a little bit of this and that. Wouldn't it be nice to have a job as a meteorologist? You can be wrong more than half of the time and still get payed big bucks.
Anyhow, it is close to midnight and the mess only just started - hopefully the last winter storm. After all it is the middle of March. Even in my vicinities the crocuses are supposed to bloom by now, despite of snow ...
And if you ever were curious what I am driving and how old I am, the riddle can be deciphered from the image of this newspaper I found the other day stuck on some old rotten barn boards.











Below same picture as above taken next morning through the storm door. Daylight ... but what a mess!

sunrise at jobsite

Snow is fading these days, the temperature reaching above freezing degrees.
I get up at 5AM and come home at 5PM - quite a change compared to my previous lifestyle. But all is good. Island life in Vinalhaven is significantly different from the "mainland-brew". A bond of shared solitude ...

what's left ...

I was going to tell you about my landlord who got into a fist fight with a tenant and smashed his eye so it turned black, blue and red. But that is old news so I will not linger on that.
Life on the island is just different from what we are used to on the mainland.






There is this boat "What's left"- it is dedicated to an ex wife who robbed almost all there is to get from an ex-husband. People are sue-happy here, it seems do be their pastime.
On an other note, I played some music last weekend - no, not on the island - and it turned out to be a glamourous kick, it was fun. We called ourselves the "Green Zippers" - god only knows how we came up with that name ...
Last picture is "my office" here on the island, cluttered with instruments and recording devices, a virtual and also real sound studio.

I wish I had something intelligent to say about Bush's 28% approval rating, about former Cheney's right hand Libby - or rant about Iran, suck in and spew out again the news about global warming, test my European friends about their stiff righteousness ... and so on. But allas, I just don't feel like it! Haven't I complained enough anyway - many a times before? Did it do any difference? Did it enlighten some uncertain lost soul?
Nah - it's all bullshit. The empire has to bleed to death before anything else can be resurrected. All talk before that is pretty much idle and leads to nowhere (unless you count mental masturbation that "somewhere").
So what's left?
The cliche would dictate: Sex, drugs and Rock'n Roll. Well, most of us succumb to that recipe. I still refuse. That avenue has outlived itself and leads to nowhere. Don't get me wrong. There is nothing bad about good sex, rock and expresso in the morning - but that is not the vision humanity will find salvation in; indeed it is not very creative at all.
Perhaps the arts, and not the sciences in their present materialistic incarnation, are the only statement that separates humans from animals.

I am actually human - you see. It takes a bit to be so ... as you well know. The "Gabe" person described things adequately, though his opinions are tarnished with constant mischief - at least so it seems.
Besides construction we also do deconstruction on this little island. I will tell you more about that one tomorrow.

Rodrigo y Gabriela at Letterman

So yes, Ingrid stuffed my nose into the lap of this fabulous duo ... Thank you Ingrid - and enjoy!

idle times for some ...

how to make a 40 something woman happy :)

"Before I wither like a dried out cactus plant, I would like you to take some pictures of me", she said. So I did.
Here are a few samples that don't give too much away and you'll still get the mood of this photo session without showing the more explicit shots. It is actually quite a task to enhance and bring out a persons beauty while at the same time trying to diminish "the flaws". For me that process is quite real, and it happens split seconds before I touch the shutter. When the picture is taken, I instantly know if it is going to be a reject, or on the other hand turn out acceptable.
Some people are just plain photogenic, whereas in "real life" they might appear bland. Others look stunningly beautiful in day light, and when you take pictures, that beauty fades away.
With this particular session it was neither here nor there...
Most nude pictures I took in the past were taken from much younger people. Youth has it's advantages you know! So this set belongs to a new category to me, a field I have not walked before ...

news from Vinalhaven, the "metropolis" of lobster fishing

Lobster-season is done and over with. Fisherman only trap them now for local supply. But shrimp has swarmed in. You buy them still kicking - and away the go, into a pot of boiling water. Yummy, that's what they call sea-veggies here!
____________________________________________________________________________________


The ferry to my granite island, a peace of shit vessel build in the 50's, but still functioning -sort of...


I am presently working as a common carpenter with a comparative low wage at a 4 million dollar building site. They own 200 acres of this island. The owner, a "she", is 36 and made her fortunes on the stock marked while not making the same mistakes as Martha Steward.
Anyway, I am content where I am and what I do right now. The ocean is my friend, the island my companion.
Island life is different from what happens on the mainland. Time runs at a slower pace here. It makes you realize that "time" is not a quantitative issue.

...to be continued

and the last picture of this series, is especially posted for oaschangel gabe ... click on it and you'll see it grow, even without the help of Viagra.

leb - Leb - Lebanon and the angel Gabriel

... torn between construction, reconstruction and destruction. Sometimes I wonder why my most favorite Mid Eastern country has to suffer complete chaos. Is it because the red cabriolet and the hot chicks? I doubt it. But this picture does tell a story.
It is all Gabriel's fought. First he or she kicked out Adam and Eve out of Paradise with that "flaming sword" (OK, it was on Gods request, but nevertheless...) - then Gabriel took a lily in her hand, presented the flower to Maria while making her pregnant with a Jesus child. Five-hundred years or so later, Gabriel was on a mission again and supposedly inspired Mohammed to start his crusades. Well, this is the super-short version of what has happened in the last X years if you study any religion. And now the Jews hang onto their old, the Christians have lost their faith, and the Muslims of today reflect the belief of the crooked sword.
The sickle of the moon rules this world today, thanks to Gabriel - that arch-angel who only took orders and never comprehended consequences, because angels do not comprehend - that is a human activity!
So here we are, Lebanese girls driving through rubble, young men chatting on the cell phone in the background. But who do we blame? The Jews, the Arabs, the US, religion?
Take a deep breath... and take a break, then tell me what ails you the most about this image.

not only Jesus walked on water

Yesterday I spotted a neat activity here on the island: Ice-sailing! So when the lobster harvest is over, fisherman tend to hibernate, or in this case, float along the ice.
There is beauty in gliding, as long as you don't slide into a rock, or a rock and a hard place.

thinking about Atlantis

I am brooding about "global warming" and the consequences. Truthfully, because the so called Gulf Stream in the Atlantic has more and more interruptions, you could call them "black-outs" or stagnation's, the "warming" will actually conclude in a new Ice Age. Humans will have to cope somehow with what they have disturbed, the "life-body" of the earth. The atmosphere is screwed up, so are the oceans (70% of the earth's surface).
Anyhow, I'm thinking of Atlantis and it's magic. A very dear Eskimo friend of mine put it this way:

(the photo is a peace of stained glass at my window, back from the days when I did stain glass)

MAGIC WORDS
In the very earliest time,
when both people and animals lived on the earth,
a person could become an animal if he wanted to
and an animal could become a human being.
Sometimes they were people
and sometimes animals
and there was no difference.
All spoke the same language.
That was the time when words were like magic.
The human mind had mysterious powers.
A word spoken by chance
might have strange consequences.
It would suddenly come alive
and what people wanted to happen, could happen -
all you had to do was to say it.
Nobody can explain this:
But that's the way it was!

I LIVE MY LIFE

I live my life in growing orbits,
which move out over the things of the world.
Perhaps I can never achieve the last,
but that will be my attempt.

I am circling around God, around the ancient tower,
and I have been circling for thousand years,
and still I don't know if I am a falcon, or a storm,
or a great song.

Rainer Maria Rilke

So it is final now. I will live my life for the next weeks or months on a granite island, surrounded by the Atlantic ocean. Maybe I can start my "growing orbits" from there. Solitude, as a beginning point, has its merits.

(photo: student work)

on the other hand

I am not a math whizz, but I understand that much:
If all the tax-money sucked up from every person for that war in Iraq would be distributed equally to every citizen in the United States, we all would be millionaires - hmmm, not quite but close: $,960,000 per person (that includes Puerto Rico and Hawaii - the present official colonies).
What a life that would be!
On the same token, 61,000 civilians would have still been alive without having this adventure , 2,000 US soldiers still alive - and counting.
Iraq and Afghanistan will go down in history as the biggest nightmare the US has ever encountered. Vietnam will be a charade compared to the Saddam time, the poor devil, compared to the atrocities of what is now happening and still has to come.
Have a great afternoon yah all, sip your tea and relax.

travelling light, is the only way to fly

Brought my son to JFK airport in NYC (John F. Kennedy). He is leaving for a two month trip to Europe, exploring places and also schools for Bio-Dynamic farming. A last cigarette outside the terminal ...
You see, banning cigarettes in all public places will save the world, prevent wars and stop global warming.
It will also cure obesity (the main cause of heart attacks and deaths in the US), cancer, pollution, terrorism, greed and the diminishing rain forests - it will even save the polar bears ... so they say.

Politicians are so vain. They concentrate on legislation they can easily push through to show success, while the rest of the more important issues go to hell.
It is really time to "think locally and fuck globally" as Gogol Bordello in their simple minded way put it. What that means is to start concentric, from a focal point within, and only then expand to larger circles.
Globalization is a good thing, as long as it does not come down by decree from "above", or from the greed of cooperations.
The ban on smoking (now also in France) is a good visual example how the system should NOT work.
Priorities are wrong.
While we (in the US) save a few dollars in health care ( which is the worst off country in the industrialized world regarding benefits per capita) by banning ciggs, we spend billions of dollars killing and get killed, spewing out trillions worth of ciggs due to SUV's, triple that by not modernizing our coal burning power plants ... and so on. Something is wrong with that picture. Something is wrong with that picture, because the "little man" always looses while the cooperations win - continuously and constantly.
Besides, the so called "night shades", the plants like tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco are of purely American heritage and didn't exist in the rest of the world before the "liberation" of that continent. All of them promote cancer - think of it that way.
But that's not the point. The point is that "the little guy" always has to suffer, while the "big guy" rakes in his profits.
That is what I would call obese.