300th Post

I know, I can’t believe it either.  I’ve cranked out 300 posts since starting this Blog in November 2010.  How the time flies.  Seems like it was just two hundred ninety nine posts ago that I slapped my first drawing on the Internet, and wrote a bunch of rambling nonsense with no socially redeeming value whatsoever.  There’s nothing better than a little short term memory loss to keep things fresh and ever new (and improving).

Some may be asking, “Wow Hansi, how’d ya do it?”  Well, there’s nothing like obsessive/compulsive behavior, to make one stick with something that is well past it’s prime, and has more than run it’s course.  And…you can’t forget the importance of being properly medicated!  Like I told my bi-polar (manic-depressive) clients when I had a “mental health” caseload in Probation-land, “You’re only as good as your medication.”  So, when they thought everything was just fine (due to being properly medicated) and concluded, “I don’t need my meds no more”, and concurrently decided, “Hey, I’m gonna have a snort of methamphetamine again, but just this once.”  Is it any wonder that everything henceforth went right down the tubes and turned to shit?  It was then, that I told them (while being handcuffed), “You’re using the wrong medication!”

Well that was a long time ago, when I was a warrior on the front-lines of the War on Drugs.  I wonder when that war will end?  I surrendered a long time ago.  Looks like drugs are winning hands down.

I sure hope you’re enjoying blogging as much as I am.  For me, it’s the perfect vehicle for some obsessive/compulsive behavior.  Thanks for stopping by for a hallucination.  I’ve got to go now,  get properly medicated and get to work on my 301st post.

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LOVE

I don’t know why I’m writing about Love.  Perhaps it’s because I’m listening  to Love: a 60’s psychedelic folk-rock band from L A.  I don’t wanna write anything real sappy about “Love”, nor get real nostalgic for a 60’s trip.  Although, come to think of it,  this planet would be a  lot better place to live on if there was a ‘whole lotta love’ going on.  A little more outward concern for the well-being of others, a spirit of giving instead of getting.  Jesus, that would sure be a change from what’s going on today.

There’s sure a lot of angry people in the world. From burning down Embassy’s, to folks hanging (lynching) empty chairs in their front yards, seems like people are just pissed off.  [I didn’t get the empty chair thing, cause I didn’t watch the Republican National Convention or see Clint Eastwood rant against an empty chair.  But I understand, The Wife curses at me  when I leave the toilet seat up.]  Guess there’s a lot of dumb fuckers out there too.

I’m not a big Christian (but once was), but if people were to  try and follow some of the simple precepts of Jesus and the Buddha, damn, life would be a lot more pleasant.  I’m finding that if I practice a little more compassion and tolerance (the Buddha), and a whole lot more love (Jesus and Led Zeppelin), life goes oh so much more smoothly for me.

This whole upcoming presidential election is making me sick.  Everyone wants it their way, and their way only, and to hell with the other guy.  The negative ad slime-fest has yet to begin in earnest.  But it’s coming, along with a big dose of paranoia and fear tactics.  Guess you can tell that I lean more to the Communist Pinko Socialist Bleeding Heart Liberal side of the equation than to anything on the Right.  Funny thing is: while I’m  fairly liberal socially (legalize everything), financially, I’m very conservative (money don’t grow on trees).

Pretty trippy, don’t cha think?.  Maybe a little more balance in the world would work wonders?

Dancing With The Stars

Oh boy!   My favorite TV show has just started it’s new season:  Dancing With The Stars.  A real thriller for those of us in the Social Security scene.  And this season, it’s an “All-Star” cast of Stars (no comets or meteors).  Bristol Palin is back, (hey what else can she do?), along with Kristie Alley in her new fine body (unless she’s gotten fat again).   Don’t get much better than that.

Rant:  There’s so many goddamned reality competition shows on TV, these days, that it seems like all we do all day is lay around and watch people compete against each other in cooking, dancing, singing, fashion designing and everything else.  And they’re all based upon the same premise!  One winner and a handful of losers competing for the big prize; just like in real life.  Sad.

But somehow Dancing With The Stars is a little different.  Sure there’s gonna be winners and losers, but all the “Stars”, most of whom I’ve either never heard of, or are totally washed-up has-bins, do improve, and somehow have to overcome personal handicaps.  Two left feet being the most common ailment.

Any-who, I just can’t wait till everybody starts Jitterbugging and doing that dirty Paso Doble.  I’ve included some of the dance steps I’m looking forward to seeing this season.

It’s Starting

Yep…The kitchen remodel is under full swing.  What was once our kitchen, is but a shell of it’s former self.  Construction started the 17th. What a total blow mind.  This is what our 1955 galley kitchen looked like.  Metal cabinets, red Formica counter-tops and all:

Now this is what it looked like after the first day of “demo”.  I think they ‘demoed’  it pretty good.

You might be thinkin’: “Hey, I thought this was already done with all the talkin’ about it you’ve been doing.  Well, yes.  But Hell No.  That was all the preparation, the deciding, the choosing, the making of plans…the paying of money part.  That was just the start.  Now we’re getting down to business; some serious business.

Lot of stress with a major construction project happening, right in your own house.  At one point, I thought  instead of ending up with a new kitchen, The Wife and I’d end up in Divorce Court.  But not so.  Actually it’s been a real growth experience, and we’ve actually grown closer, with all the mutual decisions we’ve made and un-made.  Kinda like our decision to start a family, except the only prep-work there, was getting naked.  Of course, The Wife has final say .  Wouldn’t want it any other way.  I don’t wanna spend my golden years being the cheap A-hole who didn’t wanna pop an extra $100 to a heating vent moved over a foot so it would look nicer.  No Sir, I’ve been on the ‘Shit List’ too many times to make that mistake again.

We’ve endured the fist week, and survived.  Maybe even thrived (surviving thrice?).  But I’ll tell ya, there’s nothing better than mellowing-out in the garden with a nice glass of wine when the day is over.

Driving Under The Influence

Well I’ll be dipped in shit.  There are certain themes that run through my drawings.  I wonder if working part-time in Probation-land on a drunk driving caseload is having any impact on me.  Probably not.  Cause the folks driving in these drawings, while they may be under the influence of something, sure as hell ain’t drunk.

These guys look more like they are having a visionary experience with a Super Hero.  And are probably under the influence of  Truth, Justice, and the American way.  Thing is ( and this is the retired probation officer in me comin’ out), T J & A is a pretty potent drug these days, and ya gotta be real careful how ya use it.  Some folks get a bad batch (probably mixed up in some trailer-park bathtub) and they go nuts and only watch Fox News.  They think the bunk T J & A they’re imbibing is the real deal, instead of some bogus shit that just bums ya out.

Oh well, we’ll find out which batch the public likes come November.  I personally like the home grown stuff, more than what Corporate America is trying to sell me.

Sitting at Desks

Going through my Archives looking for random drawings to post, I came across these gems, and started thinking, “You know, certain themes seem to run through my work.”   And one of those less obvious themes is sitting at desks.  Maybe cause that’s what I do a lot of the time.

When I blog, I sit at a desk. When I go to the House of Pain, where I work part-time; I sit at a desk.  So on a day when I both blog, and go to work for four grueling hours, I’m sitting at a desk for up to six hours in a single day.  That’s almost as much time as I spend sleeping (not counting naps).

The problem with sitting at desks, is that usually, nothing of any importance or substance gets accomplished.  Everybody knows blogging is a total waste of time, and when I work at the House of Pain, I’m not really accomplishing anything, just pushing papers from one place to another, in an endless flow that never stops.  Good thing work is rather a mindless endeavor that requires little emotional involvement on my part.  Frees me up for blogging.

Eygptians

Okay…here’s some more carefully selected random drawings from my Archives.  A little over two years ago, I was trying to improve my drawing skills by copying photos taken from the Cairo Museum.  The cool thing about drawing from photos is: they don’t move.  And when those photos are of statues, well, it don’t get much better that that.

I started thinking though; boy, were those Egyptians fairly progressive in their views.  Not only did they enjoy wearing funny hats, but the guy in my drawing sure didn’t mind his wife posing topless for their portrait (even though he didn’t want her nipples to show).  And when ya consider that they had no I-Phones in them days, posing took a long time, especially if you was gonna be carved in stone.  Either that, or it’s really hot in Egypt and ya don’t wanna be wearing a lot of clothes, let alone braziers brassieres, when it’s over 1oo degrees. in the shade.

Stranger yet, they really loved their pets; and not only were they mummified, but also sculpted onto their portraits.  Sometimes they even wore big bird masks over their heads.  This guy Chephren (kinda sounds like something you’d take for a cold) had his favorite bird Horus (a male bird) pictured with him.  Probably had a lot of bird poop running down his back.  Birds are really foul animals.  All they do is eat and shit all over the place.  But maybe Egyptian birds were trained not to  poop on their masters backs.

All I know is I’m sure glad I’m a drawer, and not a sculptor in Ancient Egypt.  If I  were to ask ol’ Cephren how much of him he wanted to be portrayed.  And he replied, “Just my upper body, but don’t leave out my cock.”  His statue sure would a looked a lot different.