March 3, 2021

A break for the Group from true art, just for a (smile?)

February 26, 2021

You've heard of "Shrub" and "Goodhair" (thx Molly IVINS). Now meet "Drug Store Cowboy"

“ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Texas_gubernatorial_election 1994 Texas gubernatorial election - …. Before the election, Richards had a high approval rating due to the strength of the state economy. However, Bush's campaigning on cultural and religious issues resonated with many Texan voters, and the race was considered a tossup on election day.”

And then, as The University of YouTube might call it, came the Bronze Age Collapse for the decades of Democratic rule in Texas. This collapse happened from a combination of things – the “Weak Governor” system, wherein the Governorship is a figurehead with the Lieutenant Governor being dominant in running the Legislature and being the attack dog; the collapse and defection to the Fatcats of the last young generation of Democratic leaders (think, Ben BARNES) ; the soft underbelly of Hispanic non-voters or voters-against-their-own-interests; the active but can’t-do-it-by-themselves Black voters; the myth of Tough Talk Texas “rugged individualism” and the Easy Pickings of Repukes who discovered The Secret to power in Texas; and an ever smaller but engrained apartheid ruling structure. In Texas even a civic minded project like anti-littering is masked threateningly as “Don’t mess with Texas.”

The secret for Repukes in Texas started with Poppy BUSH, the managerial secret of keeping a low profile (see, “Dark Legacy I & II” ), claiming to stay out of the loop, and creating an image of being inoffensive and replacing outer substance with smiling – lots of smiling. Why would the heir of Eastern Power set up in backward Texas?! Poppy of the hidden hand discovered the easy pickings that is Texas, the hot knife in butter.

But Poppy used the Texas low profile as a cover. George W. used the low profile as a claim to higher power and set the template for Repuke governors in Texas – big talk, “tough” talk, suck off of the Fatcats and screw the most vulnerable – swagger but with a cute, fratboy air of playfulness and humility and above all SMILE. Photo ops with mariachis after refusing Medicaid dollars.

So there were Shub (George W., thanks to Molly IVINS) and Goodhair (Rick PERRY) – two of the luckiest little a-holes ever. And now one Greg ABBOTT, who has been difficult to nickname. Until now. How do you make fun of somebody in a wheelchair with a half-Hispanic wife – a Gold Card of insulation, firewall.

Well, Repukes are always hoping for a Great White Hope, and currently in Texas in the aftermath of a humongous disaster, they think they found the Hope in ABBOTT, who is at the epicenter of all the characteristics – tough talk against the electric grid villains but who will not endanger the inherent structure of the Texas-only grid. Yes, after his first five years of weak governorship – nondescript, no distinguishing characteristics, tough talk but smilingly inoffensive on the outside – he “addressed the people of the State” firing up his wingnuts with brimstone on the grid villains – “ https://www.kxxv.com/hometown/texas/many-of-you-are-angry-im-angry-too-abbott-addresses-power-outages-states-winter-storm-response 'Many of you are angry... I'm angry too': Abbott addresses power outages, state's winter storm response”.

So there you have him, “tough” but safely so on a safe issue, and promising Judgment Day but not in a meaningful way (e.g., ditching the lone Texas grid).

So what do you call Greg ABBOTT – that mixture of bluster and namby-pambyism? I humbly offer:

February 9, 2021

Don Quixote was not meant to dress sensibly. Before and After.

O.K., this is the last of my craft therapy. Previously were the Roman "bocca", seahorses, soccer Cup. These little paint jobs were for a change in the near year of quarantine, when cooking was probably the first choice as an escape and now past its appeal. So this craft thing has reached its two weeks' shelf life, and the objects can go back to gathering dust and spider webs.

I had painted these things some 20 years back upon acquisition, and the taste was different at that stage of my life, more "tasteful" instead of garish. So Mr Quixote was done up in baby blue pantaloons to complement the gray armor. Now, the paint technology is metallic and glitter and black light, and it occurred to me that his very essence is batshit cray-cray, so now he is in RED metallic. Red and yellow are (now, not in the 16th Century?) the colors of Spain (are you listening, Hilaria BALDWIN?), so there's this little double meaning.

February 3, 2021

Not art, barely craft. Before and After.

Our friends, the Artists in their group, are amazingly gifted and accomplished. This ain't it. The seahorses in particular were a bummer just to stay inside the lines. These items have been around here for 15-20 years, faded, dusty, spider webby. Cooking by quarantine is getting old. Was just looking for some mind numbing activity to freshen up things. The Bocca della Verita original in Rome is thought to have been a sewer cover, is gigantic like 5? ft in diameter? And is plain off white marble. With its legend that anybody who puts the hand in the mouth and tells a lie will have it chomped off, as in the Audrey HEPBURN/Gregory PECK Rome movie. As for the Cup, yeah the original real green looks better, but I wanted Metallic paint and the avocado was what had it. As for the seahorse garish colors - the yellow/red/green are Vietnam, and seahorse might suggest Navy (when I say so). ON EDIT, P.S. The Before seahorses were also my paint job, bland colors to be "tasteful" in years past, now I'm old so torpedoes be garishly danged!1 ************ON 2ND EDIT: Corrected the "Cary GRANT" to great Democratic luminary "Gregory PECK" of "Roman Holiday" - surprised that a Lounge movie buff who might have strayed here didn't catch me out.