March 7th, 2022
“How sad in our blinkered arrogance that we go across the globe to the tribal Third World to teach the impoverished a supposedly preferable culture and politics, while at home we are doing our best to become a Third-World country of incompetency, constitutional erosion, a fractious and politicized military elite, and racially and ethnically obsessed warring tribes.”
– Victor David Hanson
The last thing I would think is that Ukraine or any other part of the world does not have the rightful destiny of self-determination. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a self-evident truth. But that’s a far cry from jumping into immature, self-righteous posturing or following the drumbeats that would move us toward another proxy war. I happen to be keen on the benefits of Western Civilization, and I won’t apologize for it, nor deny that its finest fruit is American Exceptionalism. But that’s also a far cry from endorsing the ulterior motives of the ruling elites, and how they use secrecy, lies, and propaganda to perpetuate their relentless exploitation and lust for control.
Today’s sight bite— A full conference table of plein air artists, —c-l-i-c-k— the overwhelming majority of whom decided not to wear a face mask.
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March 6th, 2022
“Thank God there’s no justice in this world.”
— Tim Considine, on the undeserved richness of his career
Nearly anything that promises forward progress requires a period of rest, and this is clearly a recovery day. Got a few things done outside before the rain blew in. Chipping away at a new miniature keeps an element of intuition in play, but no major advancements have taken place in the studio so far this month. Dana and I cleaned the living space and the corresponding boost in “vibration” is always a welcome result. A wave of well-being marks another Sunday here at the Town House, and I’m feeling especially thankful.
Today’s sight bite— Bricks and broken rubble strewn along a flat ditch, —c-l-i-c-k— as my project to extend a paved walkway out to the birdbath resumes for 2022.
Posted in Art, Death, Gratitude, Home, Personalities | No Comments »
March 5th, 2022
“Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty.”
– Henry David Thoreau
Feeling a little sluggish this morning, having Ex(ceeded) my portion of coffee during our trip to Lexington yesterday. Then I drank from the can of KNOWLEDGE when we got home, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but, in retrospect, was clearly an unnecessary Ex(ception) to the Ex(clusion). Back to square one on day five. Today we’ll travel to the farm for Hall painting, garden planting, cemetery pruning, water hauling, and Marty “hangin.”
Today’s sight bite— The Blue Bank Hall, partially clad in its new metal protection, —c-l-i-c-k— as it prepares to make a “newenday” statement to reinforce our evolving farm identity.
Posted in Family, Gardening, Marty, Nature | No Comments »
March 4th, 2022
“Many called former U.S. president Barack Obama the ‘greatest gun salesman in America’ due to his support of strict gun control measures. Similarly, I believe Justin Trudeau will be remembered as the greatest Bitcoin salesman in Canadian history.”
– Frank Holmes
I don’t know what I’d be thinking today, with the dismantling of my CHANGE OF SEEN exhibition, if much of the artwork was not on its way to a new venue, thanks to Kate S of Arts Connect. My first all-collage landscape show is over, and I have much more for which to be grateful than any justification for critique. Beyond multiple deficiencies in the venue, I am enormously thankful to have been offered entrée to the Lexington art scene. Meanwhile, the war against Ukraine continues, with no ceasefire on the horizon. Yes, he is “Vladimir the Terrible,” but that is no reason to escalate a conflict that could bring catastrophic harm to the American people, far out of proportion to our interests in Eurasia. Too many are needlessly playing with a fire that could burn millions. Shouldn’t our leaders be brokering a peace, instead of throwing around gasoline?
Today’s sight bite— Driving along Clays Mill to check out my favorite chinkapin oak, —c-l-i-c-k— as grand a spectacle in the nude as he is with a full set of leafy clothes.
Posted in Angst, Art, Current Events, Firearms, Friends, Gratitude, Nature, Personalities, Political Affairs, Presidency | No Comments »
March 3rd, 2022
“A man is never such an egoist as at moments of spiritual exaltation, when it seems to him that there is nothing in the world more splendid and fascinating than himself.”
– Leo Tolstoy, The Cossacks
Last night’s documentary provides a burst of self assurance for today’s outlook. I decided to create a miniature for the local Tiny Art fundraiser — a “prime-the-pumper” that fits my current momentum in the studio, with no lasting significance intended. On the other hand, after having seen my show in Lexington, Danny handed a copy of The Cloud of Unknowing to me, out the window of his truck. “This is going to sound over the top, but it’s just the way it is,” he said, a whiff of diesel exhaust hanging in the unseasonably warm air. “I’m loaning this book to you for ten years.” Something suggests that it may be one of the most important things to happen during this interval of my life.
Today’s sight bite— Luminous, high-altitude popcorn clouds sailing above vessels of deep purple-gray, —c-l-i-c-k— as Apollo’s blazing chariot plunges beyond the edge of the world.
Posted in Friends, Gratitude, Nature, Nonfiction, Saints, Time | No Comments »
March 3rd, 2022
“After witnessing the extreme bias of mainstream media in covering the Canadian convoy over the past month, Children’s Health Defense decided to step in to offer people a truthful accounting of the progress of The People’s Convoy here in the United States.”
– Mary Holland
This entire annual winter project started as a time-oriented experiment, and I mustn’t forget that, nor the importance of the clock in boosting diligence. Circumstances cannot be the only driver. I made more progress on the backyard path. Not sure why that effort has taken an early front seat, but the mild weather is an undeniable catalyst. It’s good to have a daily reminder of concrete accomplishment, like last year’s miniature-each-day ritual. The evening closed with the Wayne White profile, Beauty is Embarrassing. His story makes me feel a bit lazy and unimaginative. Just the prompt I need to pick up the pace tomorrow!
Today’s sight bite— An obstreperous crow on the library window ledge, —c-l-i-c-k— validating or rebuking my belief in the augury of birds.
Posted in Art, Creativity, Movies, Nature, Personalities, Political Affairs, Priorities, Time | No Comments »
March 1st, 2022
“Socrates rejected expediency, and the necessity for manipulation that accompanied it. He chose instead, under the direst of conditions, to maintain his pursuit of the meaningful and the true. Twenty-five hundred years later, we remember his decision and take comfort from it.”
– Jordan B Peterson
On the eve of another 31-day ritual that I’ve come to anticipate as the month of March, I had one of my deep conversations with Danny that ranged from Socrates to creativity to monasticism to Ukraine. With this go round, I look to exclude as well as include, day by day, and to allow for a dynamic metamorphosis of its own making. I want my process to evolve organically this time in contrast to a more deliberate agenda. The first thing to exclude is inactivity. To organize, dig, and walk. I cannot define what this regimen is meant to become until it unfolds. And so, it has begun. Let it take shape!
Today’s sight bite— Two doves on a power line, —c-l-i-c-k— golden-pink breasts glowing with the final light of a sun no longer visible to others below their urban tightrope.
Posted in Creativity, Exercise, Friends, Nature, Psychology | No Comments »
February 3rd, 2022
Immense thanks to Brett Henson, John Hockensmith, and Kate Savage for bringing this video to fruition! For anyone who wants to discover a bit more about my plein-air approach to making collage landscapes.
Posted in Art | No Comments »
January 31st, 2022
“The term ‘disinformation’ is reserved for those who question liberal pieties, not for those devoted to affirming them. That is the real functional definition of “disinformation” and of its little cousin, ‘misinformation.’ It is not possible to disagree with liberals or see the world differently than they see it. The only two choices are unthinking submission to their dogma or acting as an agent of “disinformation.’ Dissent does not exist to them; any deviation from their worldview is inherently dangerous — to the point that it cannot be heard… Leading Democratic Party politicians have repeatedly subpoenaed social media executives and explicitly threatened them with legal and regulatory reprisals if they do not censor more aggressively — a likely violation of the First Amendment given decades of case law ruling that state officials are barred from coercing private actors to censor for them, in ways the Constitution prohibits them from doing directly.”
— Glenn Greenwald, 1/29/22
Posted in Current Events, Words | No Comments »
December 11th, 2021
“What I foresee going forward is a government clinging white knuckled to a crisis response when regular people would far prefer to simply stay home for a few days if they’re sick and get on with their lives if they’re not. Instead of safety maximalism, they would prefer to balance risks and rewards in a world where other priorities such as business, school, and a full reopening for people without comorbidities (who have never been at much risk and have been in even less risk after vaccines) or others that simply want to make their own health decisions.”
— Chris DeMuth, Jr., 12/11/21
Posted in Angst, Community, Crashology, Political Affairs | No Comments »
November 30th, 2021
Thanks for your interest in my collage landscapes. Click on each thumbnail to view a larger image. Link here to scroll the original blog posts atThe Collage Miniaturist.
Posted in Art | No Comments »
November 22nd, 2021
“Every institution that was once trustworthy has been debauched to maximize private gain: higher education, science, medicine, national defense — the list includes virtually every sector and industry in America. Nothing can be trusted because somebody behind the scenes is spinning the story and data to mask their self-interest, their immense gains, and the carefully contrived structure of diverting investigation and eliminating transparency, competition, and accountability.
“The consequences of the drip-drip-drip of moral decay is difficult to discern in day-to-day life. It’s easy to dismiss the ubiquity of artifice, PR, spin, corruption, racketeering, fraud, collusion, and narrative manipulation (a.k.a. propaganda) as nothing more than human nature, but this dismissal of moral decay is nothing more than rationalizing the rot to protect insiders from the sobering reality that the entire system is unraveling and heading for its final reckoning: collapse.”
— Charles Hugh Smith, 11/21/21
Posted in Angst, Business, Crashology | No Comments »
August 9th, 2021
“When something is important enough to you, you do it. So obviously if I haven’t done it, it’s because maybe it wasn’t all that important to me. The secret to happiness, of course, is not getting what you want; it’s wanting what you get.”
— Alex Trebek, via Rabbi Hyman Schachtel
Posted in Personalities, Psychology | No Comments »
August 1st, 2021
“Americanism — the ism — with the universal thought that is expressed and manifested in the brotherhood of man into group thought, as expressed by the Masonic Order, will be the eventual rule in the settlement of affairs in the world. Not that the world is to become a Masonic order, but the principles that are embraced in same will be the basis upon which the new order of peace is to be established… When these things are considered, then it is self-evident that individuals should be up and doing.”
— Edgar Cayce, Reading 1152-11
Posted in Crashology | No Comments »
July 26th, 2021
“Regarding the challenge of transformation, I think it is important to acknowledge that in order to grow, there is pain and suffering. The hardest moments in my life have ultimately been what pushed me to strive to be and do better. I cannot think of any example in history where someone achieved greatness without pain and suffering, and at some level, I think we need this suffering to ennoble us. All this is to say that I think the person you will become through this process will be stronger, clearer, and more beautiful.”
— June Kellum, Dear June
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July 16th, 2021
Gwen Heffner
1 9 5 2 – 2 0 2 1
⚘
master artisan of pottery
major force in the Kentucky arts
my pal from our first encounter
R
I
P
Posted in Art, Death, Friends | No Comments »
June 8th, 2021
“Science enhances the moral value of life, because it furthers a love of truth and reverence — love of truth displaying itself in the constant endeavor to arrive at a more exact knowledge of the world of mind and matter around us, and reverence, because every advance in knowledge brings us face to face with the mystery of our own being.”
— Max Planck
Posted in Awe, Personalities | No Comments »
May 26th, 2021
“Americans should increasingly question the role of the Federal Reserve and its impact on society. It’s not normal, nor should it be, that the economy keeps running from bust to bust to bust and requires ever more debt and intervention to ‘save it’ from the fall out of the asset bubbles the Fed has propagated time and time again. ”
— Sven Henrich, NorthmanTrader.com
Posted in Crashology, Personalities | No Comments »
May 14th, 2021
“I think the next stage in the market psychology is when people figure out there is no adult supervision left in these markets… Daddy is not going to come home and fix this. We are at the point where there are no solutions, and that’s when things spin out of control…”
— John Rubino, DollarCollapse.com
Posted in Angst, Crashology | No Comments »
April 16th, 2021
4/13/21 — “Nothing matters inside of a bubble until it does. The phrase new paradigm is becoming ever more prevalent to justify prices and the tape. Truth be told, there is no new paradigm except this one: More artificial liquidity than ever and more debt spending than ever and as a result people chasing stocks into higher valuations than ever. That’s it. There is no mystery.”
4/15/21 — “People are engaging in investing behavior that would be severely punished in any other time in history, but, because they aren’t, the belief becomes self fulfilling. This is the environment the Fed has unleashed with its reckless insistence to keep printing. What crisis? We are looking at big recovery growth everywhere. Stimulus is flooding through the system. The virus is getting under control with vaccines that are rolled out aggressively. Consumers are flush with cash and ready to spend.”
— Sven Henrich, NorthmanTrader.com
Posted in Crashology, Personalities, Psychology | No Comments »
April 14th, 2021
“Just as it is laughable that the CIA and GCHQ care about social justice, feminism, and racial diversity as they bomb and subvert the rest of the world in ways that contradict all of those professed values, the idea that corporate giants who use sweatshops, slave labor, mass layoffs and abuse of their workforce care about any of these causes would make any rational person suffocate on the stench of their insincerity.”
— Glenn Greenwald, 4/13/21
Posted in Current Events, Political Affairs | No Comments »
April 2nd, 2021
My respect for Kelly’s journalism is growing week by week. My respect for Peterson is already at the maximum setting. Therefore: with today’s disrupted media, this conversation, in my estimation, is about as good as an interview gets these days. — Get the podcast. —
Posted in Personalities, Priorities, Psychology, Social Science | No Comments »
