Coming Soon to Upstate Artists Guild

Starting March 7, 2008, at the UAG gallery.

The piece is called, "Urban Gethsemane."

Does Life Begin at 40....or Does It Just Continue?

It's a fair question, considering what I have gone through over the past few years. There is a desire not necessarily to reinvent myself, but to find in myself those aspects of life that I enjoy without throwing away everything.

For the moment, and with the exception of national politics, I have forsaken local politics. I first thought I might want to run for school board and springboard from there to something else, but then I realized...why? I would just be seeking the same type of personal validation that I sought before and that blew back in my face and contributed to an end of my marriage.

I've also temporarily put off writing "the novel," as I need to do more research...or to be more blunt, I need to live some more.

Lastly, I realize that I need to escape from the cubicle hell in which I am ensconced and find work that will put me out there in the the world.
And that is no reflection of the kind folk I work with, just more about my state of mind in the world. What kind of job is it that I was actually enthused that when we moved to our new work space, I got to pick the first cubicle...after a number of them had been pre-designated for bureaucratic purposes? Pathetic. It's a bit bigger than my other cubicle, but a cubicle, in the end, is just a cubicle. So, to find something else to do and make some money at it, that gets me out of the office and onto the street. Or on the road.

Other issues, which I won't get into, also need to be addressed: bad habits, damaged relationships, that sense of loss and abandonment which threatens to pull the rug on any joy I have in the world. No need to air my dirty laundry on a blog.

And of course, love relationships! What do they mean? What do I want now? How do I get what I want and make sure that the other(s) benefit?

Life does begin at 40, but I don't get to start with a blank slate and throw away the past four decades.

More SF Scenes

The Squeezebox Goddess Singing "I Want to Be Sedated"



Jazz and Blues Bar - Grant and Green



Broadway and Columbus



Alcatraz



The Brake System of the Cable Car



With Jack, Celeste and Dad, Saturday at O'Reilly's, Green Street off Columbus.

Flashback to Halloween 2007

I am a sucker for a good joke and when I find someone willing enough to help play it out...Halloween Party, my wing gal and I went as Picasso and His Blue Period. Guess who was Picasso (which is presumptuous enough).

This was about the same time I actually started painting again. The blue streaks on my shirt are real. The product of a day's efforts painting, "The Philogynist."

Recognizing Historic Landmarks, and Happy Birthday, Neal Cassady!

The Condor was the first topless & bottomless strip club in America. It sits on the corner of Columbus and Broadway, across from City Lights Books and near the Beat Museum. It is a strip club again.




Some photos from the "Beat" part of the trip...including scenes at the Beat Museum, City Lights Books, Cafe Vesuvio, and Cafe Greco (both beat hangouts). Neal Cassady had a birthday on Feb. 8...he was the influence for Kerouac's "On the Road."

Scenes from a Day in the City

Obligatory Tourist Shots...Bar Scenes and Beatnik Scenes to Follow