Friday, July 17, 2009

Sprint vs. ATT: Meditation vs. Hari-Kari


So I tried to switch
from Sprint to ATT, get
an iphone & save mo-
ney. Instead after
much shopping on & of-
f line I'm ready for
many hrs. of medit-
ation 2 morrow or hari-
kari 2 night.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Dentisted


Well, I'm @ the dentist try-
ing to think about thanks
when this evil thought c-
ame to me that I'm than-
kful that it isn't me
that is being dentisted 2day,
but rather my wife. Where
is that generous gallant
self who'd go to the dent-
ist for someone they'd lov-
ed?

Note: So I asked her, when
it was all over, if she would
have let me endure her
pain for her. No, she said,
you are too much of a woose.

Then at dinner (I made her
a nice dinner) I asked if
she would sit in for me next
time I needed to go to be
dentisted for 3 1/2 hours.
She said that was too difficult
to think about...where is some
Advul?...my mouth hurts.

So in 20 days we'll be
married for 40 years...
assuming these conversations
come to an abrupt end.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Suppose we had no words for "thank you"...


Saying is so much e-
asier than doing. S-
uppose we had no
words for "thank you."
What could we do 2
express our appreciat-
ion?

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Lots Better


My mom said to say
"thank you," or maybe she
didn't, but some do. In
any case, words are c-
heap. So how do u really say
it as you mean it?

She said, "lots better"... maybe
some day you'll get it.

Monday, July 13, 2009

More tanks...


So I wondered if
everyone on earth
had reasons to say
thank you, and if
so, does anyone ha-
ve more or less
reasons to feel th-
anks than I do.

U-all tankS

So critic #1 liked
this one...a little.
She said I'd have
to work all week on
this series. We'll
see what today
brings after a
morning at Acme
Dentistry and
Plumbing.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

3's a Charm?


Thank You #3
Thanks for helping us move.
(Note: critic #1 said it's better, meaning "try once more."

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Thank You #2


Everytime he turned aro-
und he thanked the sta-
rs & the air & his fri-
ends & the water for
making this all possible.

Well, critic #1 said this
was nice but had nothing
to do with moving.
So tomorrow I'll try again.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Thank You #1


So a real artist wou-
ld have a hallmark
concept for a thank
you card, but I'm so sp-
eechless because you gav
-e so we could move 2
the heart of Tex. Thanks.
so so much.

So my critic #1 said this
isn't good enough... so
tomorrow...

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Blind as a Bat


He looked both ways, but he couldn't see.

(If he sees himself seeing then he is not looking.
If he is looking then he does not see himself.)

Monday, July 6, 2009

3 Discoveries

Here's what I learned looking through 50 years of my "art."
  1. Everything I've done is not good, or art, or me.
  2. Most of what I did is just practice.
  3. It is a privilege that I can decide what stays and what goes.
  4. (added later) I don't recognize or identify with he who created some of the work.

Big Whopper


Sometimes when we
think we have enou-
gh challenges a new
whopper comes
to dwarf the others.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

24' and Growing


So we returned the
24 foot uhaul only to
discover that it grew
into a 26 footer.
We sure had that baby
packed.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

4th of July Paintings



At the neighborhood fourth of July celebration I hung out at the painting booth. I first painted this concrete stepping stone. The woman running the booth called it the butterfly man.


Then, since my wife was not ready to leave, I was encouraged to try another one... this time on an old piece of wood. A couple of kids came up to me to show me what they had done. They said they had copied my painting, and that they like mine better than theirs. I said I liked what they had done better than mine.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Austin Disaster


Almost an eventless but tiring trip back to Austin until we got out of the truck and I handed my wife a flashlight and let go of two beers that we had brought from StL. Needless to say, they are now drinks for critters.

Thought all day today about the endless list of things that I had, and compared that list with those things I'd like, and realized that attachment to what I have and don't have is going to have to be resolved.

Tulsa


It is 216 am... just arrived in Tulsa. We were supposed to leave at 10 am (best laid plans) and instead left at 6 something. But the remains of the house are in the 24 ft.UHaul...

We are trying to figure out what we should do with it all. I thought we should take it to the dump and then fly to Austin. Linda said that we worked too hard on the packing to do that. So our cluttered life continues for now.

So Bertrand Russell wrote the the future is more important than the present, seemingly opposing Buddhist thought. I suspect that the problem with the future is that we can't and don't know it.

TIme for bed, or else I'll miss the free breakfast.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Why We Accumulate????


So we got a 24' ft
truckl & it is loaded
to the gills. I still
don't understand how ho-
w and why we accu-
mulate.

201 am

It is 201 am and we now need to finish packing my studio. Finally the basement is done...I think the whole house is done.

After spending a year going through my art, I discovered much... mostly that I need to put it all aside (or in the trash) and start anew.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

36x2=72


We have about 36 hours
left, though since there r
2 of us we have 72 ho-
urs, but we might sleep or
eat. Wed. we take off to TX.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Interruptions


Lots of interruptions
today but it was good
to see and say goodbye
to our favorite people.

100° HOT

Friday, June 26, 2009

No Art Today


So my friends said I
shouldn't do art today
because all day long I'-
ve been disposing of
the stuff. But where
would the art go
if I don't let her out?

Thursday, June 25, 2009

More, More


Big day on earth, an
average size planet on
a small star of the
chocolat bar galazy. Mich-
ael died @ 50 & I threw
out more bad art but my
wife is still shaking her
head and saying "more, more"
meaning "less, less."

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

F-- (How Bad I Was.)



How bad I was. So just
yesterday someone ask-
ed what kind of artist
I was and I said "a good
one" and then 2day I look-
ed through drawings fr-
om 1967 and they were
so so very bad.

F--
F--
F--

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

It's a boy!


So we turned the clay
lamb on its back 2
glue its feet back on.
"Oh my god," she exclaimed,
"it's a boy!"

Monday, June 22, 2009

Sticky Summer in St. Louis


The Thai rest-
aurant was
hot and sticky
on the warm
St. Louis day.

No one
seemed
to mi-
nd 'xc
ept me.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Del's Chair


This is my father-in-law's
chair, and him too. I us-
ually don't sit in his
chair, though he would-
n't complain, in fact, he
said he'd be honored.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Bye bye love...


Saying goodbye over & over
again — not only to people
but to things.

Bye
bye
love,
bye
bye
happiness,
hello lonli-
ness. Think
I
am
go
-ing
2 die.

Click here to see the real song.

Reflections on Talks on Buddha's Lists

During a recent Appamada Intensive our students gave talks on Buddha's lists. Here are my reflections on their talks.