Art News

Britney Spears
Some artist has sculpted a nude, pregnant Britney Spears. I thought perhaps we'd seen the last of Britney for a while seeing as how she's been out of the limelight of late. But no...she's found yet another way to foist herself upon us. If you want to see the sculpture...Google it. I'm not giving it any air time here.

Thomas Kinkade
Apparently the so-called Christian "painter of light" ain't such a nice person after all. He's involved in several lawsuits claiming he's a ruthless businessman who drives unwitting souls to financial ruin selling his art. He's also accused of sexual harrassment. Supposedly he pawed some women that owns one of his galleries. Here's what he had to say about it.

"You've got to remember, I'm the idol to these women who were there. They sell my work every day, you know. They're enamoredd with any attention I would give them. I don't know what kind of flirting they were trying to do with me. I don't recall what was going on that night."*

Personally, I think his art is so much pablum for those who don't know real art from elbow macaroni. As for the Christian claims...stamp a Christian label on something and stick it in Lifeway or Family Bookstore and it's bound to sell. I'm surprised he didn't market bumper stickers that say, "WWJP." (What Would Jesus Paint) Behave yourself, Thomas, or you'll have to become the "painter of dark."

* From Art News Blog

The Dreamer and Mrs. Jones

Last night, Sarah and I went to see "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Paramount. (Free tickets...of course) This production stars Patrick Cassidy, brother of David and Sean, son of Shirley Jones. Well, guess who was sitting two rows in front of us? None other than Shirley Jones herself. It was all I could do not to run over to her and say, "I love you, Mrs. Partridge!" I didn't think that would go over too well...especially the lauding her for a 70's sitcom and not her stage and film work. (It's cool...I've seen "Oklahoma" and "Elmer Gantry") I guess since the whole family is in the show (Patrick, his wife and 2 sons) Shirley had to come check things out. I honestly don't know where she lives. Maybe she lives here? Oh...Sarah said something funny on the way out. She said that Shirley must be friends of the family since she was on the TV show with David. I then told her that Patrick was her son. It was one of those "light comes on" moments. Hysterical!
So...how was the show? Well, the first act was dull, flat, and boring. They've changed the staging, set design and costumes and, for the most part, the changes aren't for the better. The sound was terrible. (it got better) Amy Adams (of American Idol fame) was supposed to play the Narrator but her understudy filled in. She was bland. Patrick Cassidy's voice is good but something about it just didn't click with me. He has some weird intonations that rubbed me the wrong way.
The second act got better. The Pharoah/Elvis was great! He stole the show and his costume was leagues above the rest. Overall, I'd say the production lacked a certain energy. It just kind of laid there. They told the story but it had no life to it. The production I saw in Ft. Worth over 10 years ago was much better.
But...I saw Shirley Jones...so life is good.

Booklist

Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer - In the year 2009, physicists conducting an experiment accidentally send the conscienceness of everyone in the world forward in time 21 years. Everyone in the world gets to see nearly 2 minutes of their future. The results of this phenomenon are chaotic, disastrous and miraculous. Is the future malleable or is it fixed? What about free will?
This was a re-read for me. I love this book. I must confess that I don't understand the science talk but it has enough going for it that the science doesn't bog things down. It's a very interesting concept that drives this book and some very interesting questions get asked. What is unusual about this book (and some others by Sawyer) is that faith plays a part in the scheme of things. You don't usually find that in sci-fi. Most sci-fi writers have denied God exists. Sawyer, I would guess in some way, is a believer.

Not Much...

...has been happening lately. I haven't had much time to blog or much to blog about. I did recently buy a laptop computer. As soon as we get some sort of internet access at home, I'm sure my blogging will step up a pace. Sarah and I have been so busy lately, we haven't had time for creativity and that is killing us. We used to find time at least once a week to do some sort of creative act...paint, collage, write, etc. But lately, with the wedding, honeymoon, and life in general, it's been difficult to find the time. I am hoping to devote some time to creativity on Monday. I need it badly. It's funny. I just read a book in which the entire world got a glimpse of their future. One guy found out that he never becomes a famous writer and kills himself. What a joke. True artists don't pursue their art for fame and fortune. They do it because they have to. It's like a fire in their bones that has to come out. If they do become famous or pick up some financial gain from it...that's wonderful...but it can't be the reason we do it. It's almost like the famous cliche...when they asked the mountain climber why he climbed the mountain, he responded, "Because it's there." Well, we make art because it's not there...yet.

Teach a Man to Fish...

Antjuan's Baby Girl

My buddy Antjuan's got a new baby girl! Welcome to the world, Daniela!

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Today is my wife's 36th birthday. The day hasn't started all that great for her. The show they are trying to get up (The Voice of the Prairie) has it's first dress rehearsal today and one of the dresses isn't up to par. She had to get up early to work on it. Hopefully, things will get better. Tonight, her hubby (me) will take her out for a nice dinner (P. F. Chang's...our favorite) and a movie (she wants to see "V for Vendetta"). This is the first year we've been able to be together for her birthday. So, Happy Birthday Baby! I hope it's a great year for you.

Flash -- Ah Ah!

Dinner with David

My friend David Newton (from Pensacola and seminary days) is in town with his mom Ellen so we spent Monday night with them. First was dinner at "The Pink Door" which is down in Post Alley. Well, the company was grand but dinner was overpriced and only okay. David brought us a wedding gift of a very unique chip and dip set.
After dinner, we walked over to The Cheesecake Factory and had dessert. Wow! I had the Lemon Raspberry Creme Cheesecake...superb! Since it was Ellen's birthday, we got treated to the employees singing badly. Sarah's birthday is Friday and we were thinking of going to The Cheesecake Factory but since we've been we might just hit P. F. Chang's. (one of our favorite spots)
So, a great night of food and conversation with an old friend. It doesn't get any better.

Argosy Cruise

Sunday, Sarah and I decided to get a year pass for the Argosy Cruises here in town. They were quite reasonable in price and once the weather gets better for good, we can go anytime we like. On Sunday, we decided on the Locks Cruise which takes you from the Seattle Waterfront to Lake Union. After a quick lunch of fish and chips (and feeding the seagulls) we headed to the boat. It was a beautiful day and quite an enjoyable cruise. We saw a neighborhood destroyed by landslide, a couple of sea lions, the locks, a few parks we knew nothing about (that we intend to visit later), and the floating house from "Sleepless in Seattle."
After the cruise, we walked around a bit and then joined the Chase family for dinner at Outback. Chrissy was in rare form, singing "Christmastime is Here" in a gravelly baritone. Apparently on the way to Seattle (they live on Whidbey Island) Chrissy yelled out, "Frogs, frogs, frogs," but Chuck thought she yelled out the "F" word. We also found out that Chuck's change-of-command went well (we were invited but couldn't go due to work) but that the training jet crash we had heard about happened during the ceremony. It caused a bit of a stir but all turned out well since all survived the crash.
After dinner, Sarah and I went home and crashed on the couch. It's been very busy of late. I think this weekend's plans are to stay put and veg. Sounds good to me.

The Honeymoon

Well...as promised, here is the story of our honeymoon adventure. It's been hard to find time to blog and I have so much I need to catch up on...so here goes!
After a day of doing laundry and packing, Marie picked us up to take us to the airport. Our flight left for Orlando at 11:23 pm. (yep...the redeye) We tried to sleep on the plane but there was an unhappy baby behind us who screamed bloody murder nearly the whole way. We arrived, bleary eyed, in Orlando around 7ish the next morning. With the no sleep and the time change, we were whipped. Our check-in time was not until 4:00 pm that afternoon but I was hoping that some kind hotel employee would take pity on us. That didn't happen. They had nothing. So, with the promise that they would call us as soon as something did open up, Sarah and I walked down the street for some breakfast. After that, we rode the trolley up and down International Drive just to see what there was to see. Sarah fell asleep on my shoulder on the trolley a couple of times. After much wandering, we finally stumbled back to the hotel at 3:30 pm. (they never called us) We were put in a room but it was entirely inadequate. None of the stuff that they boasted on the internet was true...no fridge...no microwave...no whirlpool tub...no nothing! And we were in a handicap room to boot! After taking a shower in ankle deep water, I had had enough. I went downstairs, pleaded my case and got us upgraded to a mini-suite. (and a free breakfast since they didn't have continental) Once the room situation was sorted, we settled in for a great time. Here are the highlights.

- Monday night dinner at Don Pablo's. We miss it so much.

- 3 days at Universal Studios. We had a great time riding all the rides and seeing all the shows. We especially loved "The Mummy" and "Spiderman" rides. The "Hulk" coaster was extreme as was the "Twin Dragons" which made me a little queasy on Friday. (I think it was more about the Cinnabon breakfast than the roller coaster because after that even the kiddie ride "Cat in the Hat" made me sick.) Sarah got soaked on "Jurassic Park" and we loved getting our pics made with our favorite characters. We tried to eat at Margaritaville one night but the wait was an hour and a half so we got margaritas to go and went back to the hotel for room service. In 3 days we did all we wanted to do and some things twice. Lines weren't bad at all and we had a super time!

- Thursday night we went to Medievil Times. What a trip that was. Very cheesy but fun. We all had to wear these paper crowns and cheer for our knight. (Ours was the Green Knight...a mercenary rogue of ill repute) It was a fun show.

- Friday night, after a quick dinner at Bennigan's, we went to bed as early as possible because our flight left at 6am on Saturday.

So, a good time was had by all. We just wish we could have stayed another couple of days. But we live in Seattle and there's plenty to do here so we're just going to extend the honeymoon spirit out as long as we can. We've had some great times since getting back and I'll write about those soon.

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was the second anniversary of mine and Sarah's first contact. She says she knew I was the one from that moment. I, however, was cautious and took things one step at a time. Well, what do you know...here we are married! What a wild, rollercoaster of a ride it has been. From the stifling heat of Columbia, NC to the moderate temps of the Pacific NW, Sarah and I have weathered all types of situations and we've done pretty well so far. We've had good times and bad times. We've laughed and we've cried. We've endured everything from lost jobs to trying to learn how to sleep in the same bed. All in all, it's been an adventure and a fun one at that. Here's to many more years together taking advantage of each moment and attempting to live life to the fullest...together.

Spooky

Have you ever thought you heard voices while vacuuming, taking a shower or some other "white noise" event? Have you ever seen something in your peripheral vision but when you turned to look at it head on, it wasn't there?

Wedding Pics

Make The Next Thing

Sarah and I meet (when we can) with a group of artists at a church here in Seattle. We missed the last meeting due to being on our honeymoon. (I know...what losers we are) The moderator posted this on his blog and it makes me wish I had been there.

"We then talked about what success would look like in this ministry over the next few years, and the question that popped into my mind was this: "As artists, what might be the most clear and direct way to express our trust in God?"
Answer? Make the next thing. Write the next word. Get the paints out one more time. Wrestle with the plot point one more day. Practice one more hour. In the end, that's the role of the artist, the first move, the first responsibility, without which nothing else can happen. I thought about the body of life work the dozen or so young artists sitting around the table represented, and thought about the loss if these people somehow bought into the discouragement I could see in some of their eyes.
There are many cultural battles to be fought, I suppose, but if we can't pick up our pens and simply write a word, believing that somehow we are not adequate to face the task, then we've lost already. And so has some part of the Kingdom.
...as a declaration of trust...write another word..."

The Wedding

Ah, where to begin. Wednesday and Thursday before the wedding saw various and sundry friends and relatives arrive in Seattle. Sarah's parents arrived in the morning and mine in the afternoon along with my sister Cindy, Uncle Jerry, Aunt Emily, Cousin Bill and his wife Joanne. Things started pretty normally by trying to decide somewhere to eat. Of course, no one agreed so we were off and running. After a quick bite at Arby's, we all adjourned for a night of rest agreeing to join up for fun and sightseeing the next day.
On Friday, Deanna (maid of honor), Sarah and I met everyone (including my good friend Todd) at the Space Needle. That was fun. It was a beautiful day and everyone enjoyed the views. After that, it was time to eat so everyone agreed to go to the Pike St. Market. Once there, no one could agree on one place to eat so we split up and agreed on a meet time. I split off with my family for a wonderful sit down lunch at P. F. Chang's.
After lunch, we met the group for the next leg. Some were tired and wanted to grab the next shuttle back to the hotel. Some wanted to do the ferry. Some wanted to shop. Shopping won out but drama ensued again when the shuttle wouldn't arrive to pick folks up for 2 hours. Todd, being the straightforward guy that he is, found a bus for them to take back to the hotel and we put them on it. After that, Todd, Deanna, Sarah, and myself parked our weary behinds at a Starbucks for a bit of conversation. Sarah's long-time friend Stephanie arrived in town and joined us there. We had a great time! Deanna told us all about the Eharmony guy she was going to meet in town and Todd had a fit. He told her there were some issues in her own life she had to get straightened out and we all laughed hysterically.
After Starbucks, we walked around downtown for a bit. Todd and I had a great conversation sitting on the leather couch at Restoration Hardware. We all met back up and grabbed a cab back to the Needle. We parted ways until Saturday.
On Saturday, Sarah had to run errands so she took the jeep. My parents picked me up at the apartment and we went thrift store shopping. Rehearsal was at 11am so we hustled over there for that. All went well so we adjourned to Romio's for our Pre-Wedding Celebration. Everyone loved the pizza and had a good time. While there, Sarah's friends Rick and Jen and my friend Butch arrived. After the pizza, we treated everyone to a viewing of An Inspector Calls (the show running at Taproot). After the show, the parents and such went their merry way and the youngsters prepared for a night of fellowship at Adam and Heather's home in Beacon Hill.
Once at Adam and Heather's, both sides of friends blended beautifully. Poor Deanna had to entertain her Eharmony date and missed out on most of the fun. Todd was a big hit. At one point, Sarah's friend Jen said to him, "I wish I had known you forever." It was a fun night. We stayed up way too late but we laughed a whole lot. I dropped Sarah and Deanna at the hotel and went back to the apartment for a good nights sleep.
The next morning, awoke and spent some quiet time at home. Sarah didn't want me to see her before the wedding so I was alone...doing a few chores and getting ready. Todd called and asked if he could take me to breakfast. I said yes because I was getting antsy. He picked me up and we went to the Library Cafe. We had another wonderful talk but before long we had to get to the church for the wedding. (Oh yeah...that!)
Things went rather smoothly and I began to get antsy. I was never nervous, just ready to get the show on the road. Just before the ceremony, Todd and I were in the dressing room and he called Karen (a good friend who couldn't come) and we talked a bit. At one point, we lost the signal. She called back and asked Todd if I had fainted. Apparently the last thing I said to her was, "Gosh, it's 5 minutes 'til the wedding," and then nothing.
Finally the time came and I marched my little butt up to the platform with Randy (our pastor), my dad (best man) and Deanna. The music started and out came Sarah. Boom! From that moment, I had to fight back the tears. She was beautiful! She walked down with her parents and the ceremony began. After her parents gave her away, Randy almost drew blood trying to push me forward to escort Sarah to the platform. My brain had checked out.
I don't remember in what order anything happened after that. Charity sang beautifully. Stephanie did a reading that was powerful and meaningful. Sarah wouldn't look at me and I knew why. She was fighting back tears as well. When the time came for the vows, I lost it. I barely made it through. I sounded like a blubbering idiot. Then it was Sarah's turn. I knew she'd cry too. I knew she's sound like an idiot too. I was wrong. She sailed through it like a pro. Oh, the shame. The big teddy bear broke down.
The ceremony was fun and I was so glad. We made cracks. Randy made cracks. He called a "time-out" when both Sarah and I were crying and Mark had to come to the platform with tissues. My dad pretended to lose the ring. It was corny but alot of fun. The perfect wedding for Sarah and I.
Once we were pronounced man and wife, it's a blur. There were pictures, a reception, leaving to through a cloud of bubbles...but I barely remember any of it. It was a wonderful day. We said our goodbyes and headed to the Silver Cloud Inn for the night. Once there, we were so exhausted. We ate our carryout plates from the reception and then I went out and got us dessert. We crawled into bed, watched the last part of "Silence of the Lambs" (how dreadfully romantic) and then watched "Austin Powers." (even more romantic) Finally the lights went out and we tried to sleep. The next day was a busy one. We had to prepare for our honeymoon trip to Orlando. But that's a story for another entry.

The Bud Has Been Nipped!

I just heard that Don Knotts passed away while I was on my honeymoon. (I was busy...what can I say) The Andy Griffith Show is one of my all time favorite shows. You just can't beat it for crazy characters, hilarious plots and some good old, down home morals to boot.
Don Knotts was a funny guy. I loved him as Barney Fife but I've seen some of his other work too. Some of my favorite movies from childhood are The Incredible Mr. Limpet and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. There was no one like Don. It was painful to watch him get typecast in the role of the cocky coward but no one did it better.
I think I'll go find me some episodes of Andy Griffith to watch.

Mr. and Mrs. Gordon

The wedding was awesome! What a great day! We are back from our honeymoon and trying to get used to real life as husband and wife. I think we're in denial of that because the days of the wedding and honeymoon were so cool! We're trying to keep a continuation of the honeymoon spirit alive as we both go back to work and such. We're also trying to rest up. It's very tiring getting hitched.
I will have much more to write about the big events as I have time. In the meantime, enjoy this stunning shot of man and wife by our friend Patrick. I will be posting more pics very soon as well.