Amber's Birthday

Amber's new ring,
originally uploaded by skippytpe.

Amber and I had fun playing around Memphis today. We're saddened to learn that Mary didn't get to rescue the wonder cat today, but rumor has it that by later in the week Kittah will be safely in her posession.

You always find out the greatest things at parties (part I)

Elizabeth sings for us,
originally uploaded by skippytpe.

Amber's 30th birthday party was Wednesday (though her birthday isn't actually until the 19th, so there's still time). There were presents, cake, pictionary (at which the guys totally rocked the girls), and Elizabeth's lovely singing voice (see picture). Best I can tell a good time was had by all; I know Amber and I certainly had fun. You can see pictures here and here.

In case you're wondering why Part I in this series came after part II, it's because I had to figure out how to work Flickr. That's right, I have now mastered the internets; Ph34r my L33t Sk1Llz.

Ren and Stimpy go legit

William Wray, creator of Ren and Stimpy, has apparently started concentrating on painting in oil (particularly Urban Lanscapes).

"Every time you find an old factory, a rundown dock or an old shack, a developer is sure to be there trying to convince the city it’s time to renovate. Good for the economy, they say, but bad for the painter looking for interesting subjects to paint."

(via BoingBoing)

You always find out the greatest things at parties (part II)

So Amber, Mary, and I were at this groovy little party on S. Main tonight when we made a very important discovery. You see, some people have shoulder angels and shoulder devils, but apparently several restrooms around Memphis have their own pint sized advisor from the beyond: the Toilet Hoffa. Mary, it seems, encountered a Toilet Hoffa this evening but we can only speculate as to what wisdom it imparted upon her.

Me, I say it was about gum ball machines. Gum ball machines in restrooms... a million dollar idea if ever there was one.

Turning my ears on

I've been having fun exploring "mash-ups" recently. Its not exactly a new idea, but post DJ Dangermouse there seems to be a whole new generation of remixers turning out some really interesting music. If you have a little bandwidth to spare, you might want to check out Q-unit or Dean Gray (though it's getting harder to find).

Apology for a List

In conversation with my wife, I was asked to create a list of "the ten most influential artists." I won't recount the details of the conversation here, but my list was as follows:

Michelangelo, DaVinci, Vermeer, Picasso, Duchamp, Manet, Cassatt, Brancusi, Dali, and Albers.

In further conversations via Amber's blog, I've been asked to defend my choices. I offer that defense here.

re:Chandler's comment.

I chose Manet for his treatment of the figure (see the resurgence of same in the early 80's) and Cassatt for her proto-feminist influence. The latter may be an appropriation by the likes of Lucy Lippard and Miriam Schapiro, but the influence is still relevant whether or not it was an intention of Cassatt herself. As art objects, I’m not particularly fond of the images produced by either. I have a particular distaste for Manet; that doesn’t influence, however, my estimation of the importance of the art or the artist.

As for the lack of non-europeans, Yoko Ono (meaning her work with Fluxus), Zhang Huan, and Do-Ho Su were on various versions of my list. I’m not sure that time has passed enough yet to know what their ultimate influence will be. Diego Rivera was also on the list at one point, but I took him off in favor of Cassatt. Probably unfair to have two Impressionists on the list, but I have already explained my reasons.

I suppose in retrospect, the inclusion of Katsushika Hokusai in place of Michelangelo might have been appropriate, but the conversation to that point had been confined to creators of art objects in the western European tradition (hence my list also did not include the likes of Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, or Saussure, each of whom is easily as important to the current state of Art as anyone on my list).