I am making more use of links: music and visual. Click on them and then you might have a second link to search. Some locations, such as YouTube generate revenue for your "free" viewing by running ads, so be patient. On occasion there is a "skip ad" button. Sometimes it will load and start when you go there, sometimes you need to click on the white arrow in the red box.
I closed my Instagram page due to the political climate and to protest their political attacks on conservative voices...that’s about all I can do.
An important note: I work on this blog for one person - ME; I love sharing it with about 60 friends, relatives, and acquaintances in the States and in Europe.
With this in mind, I hope you enjoy the updates to my art and life as presented in this blog. IF you don't like the political stuff and don't want to receive future blogs just say so, no hard feelings. So far, only five have taken me up on the offer. With that in mind, remember:
Below the Fold below is where lies controversial stuff, if you don't want to go there, stay above.
And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, I present:
New Art: (reworked)
These are mostly 8 x 10”, all oil, some on canvas board, some on wrapped canvas. I retouched, tweaked, some a tad, some extensively, but all are better than the original. IF you have an interest in any I would sell i/a/o for $89, including postage. Or if you have a question, let me know. Most are plein air, unless noted.
You can enlarge the photos, just tap on it, when that version appears you should be able to pinch it open,
I think in CO, from my photo
Zandaam windmills from my photo
The preserve behind our house SOLD
Caloosahatchee river bank in Edison Ford Estate
Tree in Lakes Park
Mile Marker 360
Pond near our house
Utah, from a photo of mine
Three PotsOther’s Art:
Found this interesting on Instagram...
Florida:
Walking one evening
Outside the libraryEarly morning doctor appointment - I was too early, beat the staff so I shot some pictures from the parking lot.
Dom staked out his place recently on a weekend visit to Bonita Beach.
Travel:
In previous blogs I have mentioned the tours with the Edison Ford Estate. In Feb we boarded a motor coach and went to the Peace River Botanical and Sculpture Garden, dined in Fisherman’s Warf in Punta Gorda, and then took a 3 hour Eco cruise up the Peace River. Great temps, good food, and a new Florida experience...
When you enter you experience a VERY tall sculpture...
The photo on the left shows how thin is the piece, maybe 12” at the most.Then you are greeted by this view
Same artist ...
Palm Trees?
Yellow Andy and friendsWalkin’ around
Now the river partJust Saying:
Interesting to Me:
Another September 30 besides Johnny Mathis and Angie Dickinson...don’t forget 
Listening To:
This is a fun virtual tour of a Paul McCartney song as he describes the recording process in his studio, it is a virtual tour meaning that as you move your device the camera will move as though your eyes were looking around the studio, ceiling, floor, wall to the right, left, etc.
Reading:
Finished: 
Most of my comments are taken from the book and its author Richard Zoglin and his sources. Las Vegas was a sleepy, frontier town until after WWII when the casino business started. In an attempt to lure gamblers, the owners added musical acts. The shows were limited so patrons would not stray from the tables and slot machines. Like most things in life, success bread copy and what started out as one thing grew to be “bigger, better, more outlandish, etc. The Fifties brought the Sinatra’s, Martin, Davis Jr, etc. Liberace earned $50,000 PER WEEK, when most of our fathers were making, maybe $6,000 per year. Judy Garland $55,000. Other acts were tried, most didn’t work. Comedy, under certain models supplemented the music. When Elvis was recruited in the late 50’s there was a lot of resistance to “Rock and Roll”. Then, the acts got stale, talent was not being generated to fill all of the venues. The behavior, drinking, stage language started to take its toll. One story about Sinatra: Frank was upset about something, threatened to kill anyone who got in his way one night, the casino boss, Carl Cohen intervened. Sinatra kept up his verbal abuse including a Jewish slur. Cohan, a 250 pounder, not known for his temper, threw a punch that knocked our Sinatra’s two front teeth. Etc.
His manager, Colonel Parker, steered Elvis into movies for several reasons. He acted in over 30 - I did not know that. Times change, however....big acts were making $100,000 per night. In 1968, For the money and in attempt to see if Elvis could perform live ( it had been almost 10 years) he accepted an opportunity to do a Christmas Special with Frank Sinatra.
Sensing that it would work, Elvis and his team started a year-long quest to put together a live act. Bigger, Better than anything to-date in Vegas. Since his live performances were dormant, he had to assemble his stage act, musicians, singers, costumes, lighting, sound, set lists, etc. While he had help, he was guided mostly by his instincts, and more often than not he was 100% right on. His female group, the Sweet Inspirations, the lead was Cissy Houston, Whitney’s mother. For the men, the Imperials
The Colonel decided that he didn’t want Elvis to open, as first act in the new International in case the construction work, sound, lighting, etc., was not ready so they booked Barbara Streisand and sure enough, she had various stage issues. And, her NY club act did not go over well. The hotel and her team coached her up, changed the set list and in the end it worked out, but it took its toll on her.
The group in white were hand picked by Elvis, including the famous James Burton on guitar. The 40-piece orchestra was barely used. He wanted to add new music to his 50’s repertoire. He added the controversial “In The Getto” written by a young Atlanta songwriter: Mac Davis ( I did not know that). Mac had written one of my favorite Elvis songs “A Little Less Conversation”.
Elvis worked out and dropped to 165 pounds - my high school weight. In the comeback show and for about two and a half years, Elvis was at his peak as a stage performer; trim, handsome, his voice richer and more expressive than ever, his onstage charisma undimmed be age and the years of absence, His salary was $125,000 per week before staging expenses, about $20,000. Moreover, he lived in the 5,000 sf penthouse suite.
So, the first show...Elvis was so nervous he said he couldn’t go on, he was already sweating, hands clammy. Had a look of terror. He simply walked out on stage with his acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder. His hand holding the microphone was shaking so much the audience could see it. He paused for a moment
And launched into the familiar lyrics: “Well, it’s one for the money, /Two for the show, /Three to get ready, /Now go, cat, go...” As he began “Blue Suede Shoes”, the crown ERUPTED. Later, when he got to “Hound Dog” ( a song he didn’t like anymore) he prefaced it with a long, tongue-in-cheek buildup, telling the audience he wanted to do a “special song” for the evening, a song that “says something,” a song just right for the “tender, touching moment” - before the sudden explosion: “YOU AIN’T NOTHIN’...”
Everyone knew they had witnessed something special, “musically, a brand new venue, energy level, there was nobody to compare him with.” “There was nothing to match that particular evening and that engagement at the International.” It was (hard to believe to me) the first time Priscilla Presley had ever seen her husband perform live on a concert stage, and she was knocked out: “I got it. He owned the stage.” Mac Davis said “I never saw anything like it in my life.” Musically he was revelation, not least to the musicians onstage. “Elvis surprised us with his range and his stamina,” said Joe Moscheo of the Imperials. “We were blown away by how good he was.”
Every show for the four week weeks was a sellout, drawing an all-time record at that time of 101,500.
August 16, 1977 was rushed to the hospital and at 3 PM central time, was declared dead. The official cause was cardiac arrest, but an autopsy revealed traces of fourteen different drugs in his system. 42 years old. What a journey.
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I found this consoling, edited out paragraphs as I needed...
Psalm 37The lot of the wicked and the good
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).
Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not envy those who do evil:
for they wither quickly like grass
and fade like the green of the fields.
If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s desire.
Commit your life to the Lord,
trust in him and he will act,
so that your justice breaks forth like the light,
your cause like the noon-day sun.
Be still before the Lord and wait in patience;
do not fret at the man who prospers;
a man who makes evil plots
to bring down the needy and the poor.
Calm your anger and forget your rage;
do not fret, it only leads to evil.
For those who do evil shall perish;
the patient shall inherit the land.
A little longer—and the wicked shall have gone.
Look at his place, he is not there.
But the humble shall own the land
and enjoy the fullness of peace.
The wicked man borrows without repaying,
but the just man is generous and gives.
Those blessed by the Lord shall own the land,
but those he has cursed shall be destroyed.
The Lord guides the steps of a man
and makes safe the path of the one he loves.
Though he stumble he shall never fall
for the Lord holds him by the hand.
I was young and now I am old,
but I have never seen the just man forsaken
nor his children begging for bread.
All the day he is generous and lends
and his children become a blessing.
Then turn away from evil and do good
and you shall have a home for ever;
for the Lord loves justice
and will never forsake his friends.
Then wait for the Lord, keep to his way.
It is he who will free you from the wicked,
raise you up to possess the land
and see the wicked destroyed.
I have seen the wicked triumphant,
towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
I passed by again; he was gone.
I searched; he was nowhere to be found.
See the just man, mark the upright,
for the peaceful man a future lies in store,
but sinners shall all be destroyed.
No future lies in store for the wicked.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,
their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them
and saves them: for their refuge is in him.
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Being “woke”is very important in order to show the world you're a good person, and also to avoid having your entire life wrecked by a Twitter mob!
In order to achieve success and respect from all the good woke people -- which is the most important thing you can achieve in life -- you need to learn how to be properly woke! Here is our definitive guide:
Carefully choose your pronouns and then scream them at everyone you meet: Whenever you go to Costco, loudly scream your pronouns in shoppers' faces. If anyone refuses to celebrate your pronouns, smash a giant box of pretzels over their head and call the manager.
Select the most oppressed identity possible: Test people's loyalty to the cause by identifying as a walrus and cancel anyone who doesn't make walrus noises every time they see you.
Compare everything to Nazis: Compare everything to Nazis (as long as you're a Democrat. If you're a Republican this might get you fired).
Learn to hate the right people: Hate is good when directed at the correct targets. All you have to do is follow the guidelines of a mentally ill Twitter mob who will help steer your hate in the right direction!
Pre-order David Hogg's Good Pillow: You want to sleep at night, don't you??
Classify everyone according to their race and not as an individual: Always loudly acknowledge the skin color of every person you talk to and make it the main subject of the conversation.
If you are white, do not have any black friends: This may trick you into thinking you aren't racist.
To help atone for our racist past, try some casual segregation: Create safe spaces where everyone is segregated by race, gender, and gender identity. It's the only way to achieve unity. Anyone who objects to this is racist.
Vote for policies that sound virtuous, no matter how much they actually harm people of color: Always vote for policies with virtuous-sounding names, even if they destroy black and brown communities. Appearance is everything!
Always have extremely low expectations of minorities: Be sure to constantly remind them they can never overcome their circumstances without your help.
Abandon religion, and instead accept everything the woke crowd believes without question: Your religious beliefs are at odds with others. You should fix that and accept Wokism. Repeat after us: WOKISM IS NOT A CULT. WOKISM IS NOT A CULT. WOKISM IS NOT A CULT. WOKISM IS NOT A CULT. WOKISM IS NOT A CULT.
Achieve inner peace by constantly beating yourself up for not doing better: Place a hard yoke and a heavy lifelong burden upon yourself that will never be satisfied and that will never offer grace, forgiveness, or rest.
That's pretty much it! Get back to us when you have achieved all these. We'll probably have a new list for ya!
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Below The Fold-------------------------------------Or, as I have learned from your input, Preaching To The Choir vs Unbelievers Enter at your own risk:
Babylon Bee Op-Ed: This Adorable Picture Of Biden Picking Up His Dog's Poop Is Exactly What America Needs Right Now
This morning as I stood on the White House lawn, it all finally started to sink in.
He's gone, I thought.
He's really gone...
The long nightmare is over. Democracy is back.
February 16th, 2021
This morning as I stood on the White House lawn, it all finally started to sink in.
He's gone, I thought.
He's really gone...
The long nightmare is over. Democracy is back.
I had my press pass back, too. Back in March of 2020, Donald Trump ripped my press pass away from me, struggled to rip it in half, (he failed miserably,) and then tossed it to a staffer who never gave it back to me. All I had done was ask him a simple question about why he wanted transgender people to die.
But those painful memories are past-- washed away in the flood of grace and goodness that is the Biden Administration.
After arriving at the White House, I took a seat in one of the cute little folding chairs that had been set up by our president’s caring staff. I noticed after a moment that President Joe Biden (oh my goodness, doesn't it just feel SO GOOD to say that?!) PRESIDENT BIDEN had his German Shepherds Champ and Major out for a little stroll. This in itself was adorable already!
Here we have a president who cares so much about animals that he is willing to take a break from all the chaos of being president just to take his dogs on a walk. Heartwarming! If only we had seen glimpses of this kind of behavior over the past four years. But those days are over now, aren't they?!?! [chuckle]
I was briefly distracted—I think possibly Jen Psaki’s super cute outfit had caught my attention—but when I looked back I noticed Biden’s dog Champ as he took a real good sniff of the earth. I saw him turn around a few times before catching another whiff of grass.
And apparently, President Biden had noticed too—you know, because he’s a kindhearted person and all, unlike our previous president! So I looked at President Biden and, I kid
you not, I read his beautiful lips and he said “Hey Champ, you gotta go, boy? Go ahead. Go wherever you'd like."
OMG! ADORABLE!
And he did it. Champ dropped literally the most perfect dog turd I have ever seen—and I’ve seen a lot of dog poop in my lifetime, let me tell you.
After Champ finished up, President Joe Biden did something only heroes do: he reached into his pocket, pulled out a plastic baggie, flipped it inside out with expert precision, and without missing a beat he reached down and picked up the poop. Quickly, the president tied up the baggie and tossed it into a nearby trash can, stopping on the way to pet each of his perfectly handsome dogs. This was easily the most adorable moment in presidential history!
I snapped a picture -- a picture of the leader of the free world stooping down to pick up after his dog. He's relatable. Compassionate. Unifying. Human. If this picture doesn't bring America together, I don't know what will.
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More from Babylon Bee: Uh-Oh: This Man Thought He'd Be On The Right Side Of History, But Apparently People In The Future Think Sucking Babies' Brains Out Is Bad
February 16th, 2021
PORTLAND, OR—Jacob Schneider was a devoted progressive activist, fighting for all the marginalized groups he thought were worth fighting for. He was certain he was on the “right side of history” — up until he accidentally fell into a lake during a climate change protest and was frozen solid. When he was thawed out and revived hundreds of years later, he was horrified to find out that in the future they think sucking the brains out of a child is a bad thing.
“It really was surprising to think they’d fixate on such a thing,” said Schneider to a journo-bot. “I mean, in my time, all the right-thinking people never worried about sucking the brains out of a child at all.”
It was a bit of a culture shock for Schneider for not being thought of as enlightened but instead as primitive and barbaric, as he further explained. “People of the future kept
saying to me, ‘You really didn’t find anything wrong about taking a child out of a woman and sucking the child’s brains out?’ And then I’d try to correct them to say, ‘womb-owner’ and to not assume only women get pregnant, and they’d look at me like I was some bizarre monster.”
Schneider purchased a history book and found people like himself smack dab in the “Wrong Side of History” section next to slave owners and Nazis. “That seems a little extreme,” Schneider commented. “I mean, I guess a few hundred years separated, I can see how maybe sucking the brains out of children is a little bit wrong. But that’s not like slavery. That’s not like being a Nazi. I’m not for gassing people. I’m just for taking small children and sucking their brains out.” He thought about it some more. “Yeah, I guess that does sound... But it was okay because no one cared about them so we didn’t need to treat them as fellow humans!” He again thought about what he'd just said. “Okay, maybe I’m seeing it a little bit.”
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17 — ASH WEDNESDAY |
| BIDEN VIRUS CLAIM President Biden told a CNN town hall audience: “It’s one thing to have the vaccine, which we didn’t have when we came into office, but a vaccinator, how do you get the vaccine into someone’s arm?” The first dose of the Pfizer vaccine was given on Dec. 14. In fact, Biden himself got the second dose of the vaccine on Jan. 11, nine days before he was sworn in as president. READ |
Non of the fake news picked up on this one
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One journalist’s list of Biden Blunders...
1.Overturned Trump immigration policies that stemmed the flow of caravans from Central America flooding our southern border. Biden is set to welcome 25,000 asylum-seekers, who had been in Mexico, into our nation. Soon we will witness chaos at the border, as we did under President Obama. Americans agree that our border must be secure; this will hurt Biden, just as it hurt Obama.
2.Canceled the Keystone Pipeline, nixing thousands of high-paying union jobs, even though the pipeline was shown by the Obama administration to have minimal environmental impact. Plus, Biden has "paused" new drilling leases on federal lands, which will especially kill revenues for New Mexico, which voted for Biden in November. Biden’s attack on energy will eventually cause oil output to drop and gasoline prices to rise at the pump, hurting low-income Americans.
3.Sided with teachers unions over the needs of families, and especially women, trying to earn a living. Biden’s refusal to order teachers back on the job and indifference to the "science" saying that schools can open safely is payback for union support, but a slap at unemployed workers forced to stay home and care for their kids.
4.Begun to actively undermine the Trump administration’s extraordinary progress in the Middle East. Unimaginably, Biden has already jeopardized the Abraham Accords by temporarily freezing arms sales to the UAE which were included in that deal. Also, Biden has yet to speak with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, pathetically returning to Obama’s failed policies in the region. Even Biden-sycophant CNN is questioning the delay.
5.Encouraged Democrats to jam through an absurd $1.9 trillion aid package with no GOP votes, destroying his campaign promise to work across the aisle. He is pushing the budget-buster deal even though there remains one TRILLION dollars unspent from prior packages and our economy is rebounding. Buying votes and bailing out blue states with $350 billion of taxpayer funds will not play well in purple states like Georgia, and could prove dangerous to the economy.
Don’t think this is a blunder?
Now you will know why Republicans are blocking this 2.2 trillion-dollar congressional bill! Hard to believe but look it up on the Congressional website for HR 748 from 116th Congress. Here’s the direct link: H.R.748 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): CARES Act
American population: 330,483,530
Stimulus bill: $2,000,000,000,000 ($2 Trillion)
Dividing the cost by every American is $6,051.74 The government could have given every person over $6,000, but instead will give $1,200 to each adult under a certain income. Want to know where the missing 96% of your tax dollars went? Here you go .... (see if you can find even one that has anything to do with the virus).....
1. $300,000,000 for Migrant and Refugee Assistance pg.. 147
2. $10,000 per person for student loan bailout
3. $100,000,000 to NASA, because, who knows why.
4. $20,000,000,000 to the USPS, because why the hell not
5. $300,000,000 to the Endowment for the Arts - because of it
6. $300,000,000 for the Endowment for the Humanities/ because no one even knew that was a thing
7. $15,000,000 for Veterans Employment Training / for when the GI Bill isn't enough.
8. $435,000,000 for mental health support
9. $30,000,000,000 for the Department of Education stabilization fund/ because that will keep people employed (all those zeros can be confusing, that’s $30 BILLION)
10. $200,000,000 to Safe Schools Emergency Response to Violence Program
11. $300,000,000 to Public Broadcasting / NPR has to be bought by the Democrats.
12. $500,000,000 to Museums and Libraries / Who the hell knows how we are going to use it.
13. $720,000,000 to Social Security Admin / but get this only 200,000,000 is to help people. The rest is for admin costs.
14. $25,000,000 for Cleaning supplies for the Capitol Building / I kid you not it's on page 136.
15. $7,500,000 to the Smithsonian for additional salaries
16. $35,000,000 to the JFK Center for Performing Arts
17. $25,000,000 for additional salary for House of Representatives
18. $3,000,000,000 upgrade to the IT department at the VA
19. $315,000,000 for State Department Diplomatic Programs
20. $95,000,000 for the Agency of International Development
21. $300,000,000 for International Disaster Assistance
22. $90,000,000 for the Peace Corp pg. 148
23. $13,000,000 to Howard University pg. 121
24. $9,000,000 Misc. Senate Expenses pg. 134
25. $100,000,000 to Essential Air carriers pg. 162. This of note because the Airlines are going to need billions in loans to keep them afloat ($100,000,000 is chump change.)
26. $40,000,000,000 goes to the Take Responsibility to Workers and Families Act This sounds like it's direct payments for workers pg. 164.
27. $1,000,000,000 Airlines Recycle and Save Program pg. 163
28. $25,000,000 to the FAA for administrative costs pg. 165
29. $492,000,000 to National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) pg. 167
30. $526,000,000 Grants to Amtrak to remain available if needed through 2021 pg. 168 (what are the odds that doesn't go unused) Hidden on page 174 the Secretary has 7 days to allocate the funds & notify Congress.
31. $25,000,000,000 for Transit Infrastructure pg. 169
32. $3,000,000 Maritime Administration pg. 172
33. $5,000,000 Salaries and Expensive Office of the Inspector General pg. 172
34. $2,500,000 Public and Indian Housing pg. 175
35. $5,000,000 Community Planning and Development pg. 175
36. $2,500,000 Office of Housing
What DOES all of this have to do with the Virus????
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