Go Figure

Go figure. I sold a box of
books for $19 to the 1/2
price bookstore. So I took
a second box of better
books (I was hooked) and
only got $4!!!

Books

Buddhism and Intimacy

You can't
be far
away

&
still have
intimacy.

Before a Buddhist talk this am we were asked to move closer to the front of the room. Then the priest said that intimacy is important to Buddhism. Here's an excellent article "The Intimacy of Engaging with Suffering" by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel (http://tinyurl.com/98f6xq) which explains the importance of intimacy.

Batteries aren't Forever

Some toys use batt-
eries. They run out of
steam
too.

Coffee Now!

Some toys drink coff-
ee. My daughter said the
words shouldn't tell e-
verything so you'll need 2
look @ the picture.

Give
me my
coffee now!

Wired

Totally Lost

Some haven't found their
keyhole. They have lots
to learn.

Clueless in Texas. The sun
(sic) as a
spiderweb.

Unfortunately, for these
folks, school may not
be the right answer.

Stretch

Wrong Key

Sometimes we use some-
one else's key because
we can't find our own. It
doesn't fit right & som-
etimes gets stuck.

Lost Key

Some toys would be
ok except they have
lost their keys. So
they just stand there
praying that someone
or something will turn
them on.

Thumb
Twiddling

Give me key

keyhole

Nada

How do you draw nothing?
I'm thinking of a toy that
doesn't exist because the
factory closed BECAUSE of
the dismal economy.

“Nada” and the Nature of the Universe

For Hemingway, man is born into a completely naturalistic and totally indifferent universe: a universe without supernatural sanction, and thus without purpose, order, meaning, or value. The “nada” (or “nothing”) then focuses on man’s confrontation with the absence of God, the indifference and seeming hostility of the universe, and thus with the absence of purpose, order, meaning, and value in the universe and in human life. (From Mel Miles: http://www.elcamino.edu/Faculty/sdonnell/hemingway.htm)

Nada certainly could make one throw up one's hands. It's fighting against an unbeatable foe. Hard to get in the ring when you know you're foredefeated. However, it's not what Nada is or what it can do to us that is important; rather, it is how we react to it that makes the difference. We cannot control the vagaries of chance and accident in a world full of nothing, but we can control how we react to it. Hemingway's Code is, simply put, an attempt to redefine how we handle unwinnable situations against unbeatable foes, in this case, Nada. Throwing up one's hands is defeatist. Standing up with dignity and saying I can, even when one can't, that's the Code! Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea said it best: "A man can be utterly destroyed, but not defeated." By man, I'm sure he meant one who follows the Code. Of course, Hemingway did blow his head off. . . . (Sean M. Donnell)

Perhaps I should.

Some toys never make it
out of the factory. They
are not up to snuff. I
do not grieve for these
lost souls. Perhaps I should.

Misfit Bad

Sedentary Lifestyle

Sometimes the toy will
be broken or even the key
is lost. You can either see
this as death or as just a
more sedentary lifestyle.

Not a Metaphor?

I realized today that
there are many other
states for a wind up
toy besides wound & un-
wound. One such state
is "over wound" where the
spring is uselessly too
tight. It will go nowhere
and it is not a metaphor
or is it?

Weatherman

The weather always ch-
anges, from hot to cold, from
wet to dry, from gentle to
monstrous. Sometimes we
act surprised when she br-
eaks a record. Sometimes
we blame god, sometimes hu-
mans& sometimes we just
throw up our hands &
take what is given to us.

Life

I realized that I"m a
windup toy. Everyday I wind-
up, but I don't go as far
as the day before. When I
was born I had the maj-
or windup, giving me so
many breathes until I ex-
pire. Each breath is unique
& leaves as easily as it
comes.

To Hell in a Handbasket

When I asked my wife
for 1/2 of her cappuc-
ino, she said, "your
mom was right—you R
going to Hell in a ha-
nd basket.

Kim 2 He-
ll

Uninspired

He could not find any
inspiration in the greatest
ever Oklahoma sunset, w/
lavish abundant textures
and spectrum expanding
colors from
the heavens.

Dead Flies and Dust Bunnies

I swept up 35 dead fli-
es & as many dust bun-
nies hoping someone
would notice the clean-
liness of our abode.

Float

Andy Warhol stopped
walking and used a
wheelchair. After many
days up & down stairs
I'm going to do some-
thing extreme like just
float yogi-style. Start-
ing tomorrow -- maybe.

Float away

No more stair-
s!!!

Elixir Returns

My wife said that sometimes I
do studid things -- like buying eli-
xir. I found out my insurance
will get me the real McCoy so
I returned it & got all my
money back & fodder 4 2
drawings.

Walmar

Elixir
Returns
Here

$ $ $

Elixar

I got taken by the smooth
talking man selling an elixir
for aches & pains. We'll see
what damages it does. He
said a CEO for Walmart who
has his own jet swears by it.

Fruitcake

Every night she ate her
fruitcake and I salivated. I
paid over & over again for
the fruitcake I stole from a
roommate in college — one thin
slice every day.

An Animated Comment

Jeff Ashbaugh

More Open Book

Digging deeper he found
his open book was
written in ob-
scure code.

They said they could read
him like an open book.

No More Words

My
pic-
tures
have 2
many wo-
rds, mak-
ing my
life an

op-
en
bo-
ok.

NO
MO-RE
WORDS.

Kim & Teacher

Tonight I went to my tea-
cher's 80th bday party. It was
[a] great celebration of a won-
derful life. I've had a #
of spectacular teachers. But
I discovered something tonight.
I was responsible for fin-
ding and connecting with these
teachers.

Some teachers appear
bigger than
life. They are
&
they
aren't.

1928*
Mickey Mouse's bday

Kim & Teacher

Paths

I sorted thru almost 50
yrs of art, see ing paths that
went no where & paths that
were "right." If only
I knew then what I hope
I know now!

Holier than Thou

I ate a piece of Tom tonight. I
didn't want to be holier than thou.

Tom

Kim eats Tom

India's 911

"War on Terrorism is an
oxymoran"(CNN) "Make love
not war" (60s) India's 911

Peace Now

Peace Pipe
30% of cancer deaths from smoking (Surgeon General)

Ear Shatterin' Noise

He told me more than 40
years ago that I shou-
ld get the words out
of my art. I think it was
good advice, for without
his pleas 4 silence there
would have been ear
shatterin' noise.

Neon Tube

Ben asked if anyone would
like to make a twisted neon
tube so I volunteered. He
showed me how to keep the
glass moving & told me to
do it in a zen way. I asked
him what that meant & he
said "be aware."

See Ben's work: http://www.beneon.com/
See Ben's blog: http://spirithousesafari.blogspot.com/

I'm Rite

I asked my son a question
if I was right or if the guy
I argued with was right.

Viewer Art Artist

Does the
viewer talk to the art or the artist?

He said it just
depends on the art, the ar-
test, and the viewer. My next
son will say I'm rite.