Art comments from a Gen-Xer
Ahhhh... sure.. ok. Art and altruism in the same person but separate endeavors.. Yes.
Cynicism vs. realism...A romantic view of art and art-making produces nice stories to tell yourself in order to justify a self-absorbed practice, however, i prefer to be honest with myself about my reasons. I make art for myself and myself alone. If someone gets something from looking at my work it is not because I have them in mind.
Sure... art serves a purpose But, for most artists this fact merely a provides a way to avoid being labeled "self-absorbed". Which, honestly, we all are. We're not curing cancer or volunteering at homeless shelters, we're hiding in our studios contemplating our navel in order to be recognized as culturally relevant and more specifically important humans. But to believe that art-making is, on any level, an altruistic activity is delusional. If a viewer benefits from an artists work it is despite the artists intention....
The idea of sacrificing one's self for one's art is part of the mythology that the ill-informed tend to latch onto. If someone such as Van Gogh dies "in the line of fire" (while making art)... everyone is quick to say "... he sacrificed himself so that we might behold his legacy." (to be read with a haughty faux brit. accent) But if some poor sap ODs while making trite, hackish, bullshit, art is it still a self-sacrice with all of it's nobility? Self-sacrifice is in the eye of the deluded beholder.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Santa Rita
Regrettably last night was filled with external influences which prohibited me from going at my speed. Nevertheless I found an hour to take a seat, draw a little, enjoy a handful of slices of Boar’s Head salami and mozzarella; which I let sit out for an hour to bring out the true flavors of the meat and cheese, and an exquisite bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Santa Rita to placate the regulators of my time.
Santa Rita 120
Cabernet Sauvignon
2005
$6.99
Santa Rita 120
Cabernet Sauvignon
2005
$6.99
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The return of Rosemount
As alleged in a previous post I have revisited Rosemount 2006 Shiraz, and accordingly I am very happy that I did. It is an excellent Shiraz that complimented the Asian cuisine that was eaten that night. The cuisine consisting of green pan cakes, Chenqdu Zhong’s dumpling, and cumin beef severed in the traditional Szechuan style, a most exceptional meal to say the least.
Also on a side note if you really want traditional Chinese cuisine and happen to be in the area hit me up.
Also-Also, Chinese food is better with a red wine.
Rosemount
Shiraz
2006
$7.99
Also on a side note if you really want traditional Chinese cuisine and happen to be in the area hit me up.
Also-Also, Chinese food is better with a red wine.
Rosemount
Shiraz
2006
$7.99
Monday, January 28, 2008
XS Red, Yellow Tail, Red Bicyclette, and Rosemount
Changing nasty to amazing, Zeus or Steven Hawking? Ok I’ve had XS Red cabernet sauvignon previously and I recall it tasting nasty then, nevertheless, I thought after two glasses of XS Red it would be better, sadly this was not the case. However the next day it was amazing, HOW? AIR is how; yes plain-o-air.
Ok, since December of last year I’ve been noticing that wines I use my vacuum pump (thank you to beautiful young woman who gave me the pump) on, for overnight storage, always taste better the next day, oh let me qualify that with “most of the time”. Basically from what I’ve been reading reds seem to taste better after being aerated. I’ll keep investigating and hey if you know more about what I’m blogging about let me know.
Friday I had this wine with pork-fried-rice, Saturday I had it without food and it was amazing. However I’m going to say that if one buys a wine it should taste good from the start.
XS Red
Cabernet Sauvignon
2005
$5.99
If you haven’t had wine from Yellow Tail stop what you are doing and go buy a bottle now! Yes, wine from this label is that good, and for the price it can’t be outclassed. Oh and if you happen to find a bottle of Yellow Tail Reverse buy them all up, and don’t let the sticker price of $13.99 detour you. Yes, I break my ten dollar rule for the Yellow Tail Reverse.
Ok I am really-really fond of wines, yes wines meaning reds and whites, from Yellow Tail. The whites are great to cook with and reds just make the day shine. I had this wine with a lovely boiled pork sausage and creamy mashed potatoes, a great meal for a great wine.
Yellow Tail
Merlot
2006
$5.49
This is the syrah I’ve been saving for a perfect meal and Sunday that meal materialize. After waking up from a much needed nap I found that I was in need of victuals and so I prepared myself for the trek to the neighborhood Giant, or as we say here “Gee-ant”.
While at the neighborhood Gee-ant I found myself powerless to decide on a meal for the evening and thus I wandered the crowed aisles aimlessly. That was until plantains magically appeared in my hand basket and then the meal became clear. A bag of pealed tailless shrimp, package of thinly sliced steaks, fresh tomatoes, and fresh cilantro (sorry McCormick) and I was off.
On a side note I don’t understand why the bagging people will not bag my groceries when bring my reusable bags.
Now most of the time when preparing a meal I have a glass of wine however I forced myself to wait till this meal was ready for consumption and yes it was worth the wait. The meal was flawless and having an open bottle of my favorite syrah at the table made the whole experience momentous in too many ways to count.
If you want big boy wine buy a bottle of Red Bicyclette, nuff-said.
Red Bicyclette
Syrah
2005
$9.99
The bottle of Rosemount was the nightcap for the evening. Hmm, what can I say about this wine, well I identify it as a pretty good wine however I feel I can’t give it a fair appraisal after the said events of the evening so I’ll have to buy another bottle. Sorry Rosemount, please don’t hate me.
Rosemount
Shiraz
2006
$7.99
Ok, since December of last year I’ve been noticing that wines I use my vacuum pump (thank you to beautiful young woman who gave me the pump) on, for overnight storage, always taste better the next day, oh let me qualify that with “most of the time”. Basically from what I’ve been reading reds seem to taste better after being aerated. I’ll keep investigating and hey if you know more about what I’m blogging about let me know.
Friday I had this wine with pork-fried-rice, Saturday I had it without food and it was amazing. However I’m going to say that if one buys a wine it should taste good from the start.
XS Red
Cabernet Sauvignon
2005
$5.99
If you haven’t had wine from Yellow Tail stop what you are doing and go buy a bottle now! Yes, wine from this label is that good, and for the price it can’t be outclassed. Oh and if you happen to find a bottle of Yellow Tail Reverse buy them all up, and don’t let the sticker price of $13.99 detour you. Yes, I break my ten dollar rule for the Yellow Tail Reverse.
Ok I am really-really fond of wines, yes wines meaning reds and whites, from Yellow Tail. The whites are great to cook with and reds just make the day shine. I had this wine with a lovely boiled pork sausage and creamy mashed potatoes, a great meal for a great wine.
Yellow Tail
Merlot
2006
$5.49
This is the syrah I’ve been saving for a perfect meal and Sunday that meal materialize. After waking up from a much needed nap I found that I was in need of victuals and so I prepared myself for the trek to the neighborhood Giant, or as we say here “Gee-ant”.
While at the neighborhood Gee-ant I found myself powerless to decide on a meal for the evening and thus I wandered the crowed aisles aimlessly. That was until plantains magically appeared in my hand basket and then the meal became clear. A bag of pealed tailless shrimp, package of thinly sliced steaks, fresh tomatoes, and fresh cilantro (sorry McCormick) and I was off.
On a side note I don’t understand why the bagging people will not bag my groceries when bring my reusable bags.
Now most of the time when preparing a meal I have a glass of wine however I forced myself to wait till this meal was ready for consumption and yes it was worth the wait. The meal was flawless and having an open bottle of my favorite syrah at the table made the whole experience momentous in too many ways to count.
If you want big boy wine buy a bottle of Red Bicyclette, nuff-said.
Red Bicyclette
Syrah
2005
$9.99
The bottle of Rosemount was the nightcap for the evening. Hmm, what can I say about this wine, well I identify it as a pretty good wine however I feel I can’t give it a fair appraisal after the said events of the evening so I’ll have to buy another bottle. Sorry Rosemount, please don’t hate me.
Rosemount
Shiraz
2006
$7.99
Friday, January 25, 2008
Ready for the Weekend
I'm all ready for the weekend. Thanks World Market for those $3.99 bottles of amazing red wines.
Placido
Drove home in Stangy
Hand washed Captain Crunch cereal bowl
Tidied up bedroom a tad
Shifted some items from one closet to another in the bedroom
Downloaded a few songs to my IPod
Prepared attire for the next day
Powered on other computer and began scanning in works from sketchpad
Ordered a pork-fried-rice from the Chinese takeout place across the street
Began synchronizing laptop and desktop
Crossed the street to pick up said pork-fried-rice
Fired up the IPod Stereo
Opened a bottle of Chianti and poured a solitary glass
Sat next to computers with bowl of pork-fried-rice, glass of Chianti, and began working on some new art
Thank you Placido for making my evening idyllic
Placido
Chianti
2006
$7.99
Hand washed Captain Crunch cereal bowl
Tidied up bedroom a tad
Shifted some items from one closet to another in the bedroom
Downloaded a few songs to my IPod
Prepared attire for the next day
Powered on other computer and began scanning in works from sketchpad
Ordered a pork-fried-rice from the Chinese takeout place across the street
Began synchronizing laptop and desktop
Crossed the street to pick up said pork-fried-rice
Fired up the IPod Stereo
Opened a bottle of Chianti and poured a solitary glass
Sat next to computers with bowl of pork-fried-rice, glass of Chianti, and began working on some new art
Thank you Placido for making my evening idyllic
Placido
Chianti
2006
$7.99
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A Thought On Wine Cost
Here is a raw email I sent to a long time fan.
Thank you Red:) You've made my day.
LOL, dudette I buy cheap wine because for the same price as a super good 50 dollar bottle I can buy 6 bottles of pretty good wine....and lets be real here, come the 3rd glass you are not thinking about the taste of the wine anymore, LOL
More or less, the big boat and the many small boats are all going to same place....dude I should put this way of thinking on my blog!!!
-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 1:12 PM
To:
Subject: ??
I'll visit it more often now that I see you're finally updating it again! Cheap wine, cheap wine, cheap, cheap...
Thank you Red:) You've made my day.
LOL, dudette I buy cheap wine because for the same price as a super good 50 dollar bottle I can buy 6 bottles of pretty good wine....and lets be real here, come the 3rd glass you are not thinking about the taste of the wine anymore, LOL
More or less, the big boat and the many small boats are all going to same place....dude I should put this way of thinking on my blog!!!
-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 1:12 PM
To:
Subject: ??
I'll visit it more often now that I see you're finally updating it again! Cheap wine, cheap wine, cheap, cheap...
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Folonari, Morande, & Red Diamond
Three wines for a three day weekend. Jeepers Mr., I wish we had more three day weekend.
Opening the three day weekend was a Chianti from Folonari, and let’s just say I will be purchasing from them again…really soon! Oh, and to top-it-off it was under ten dollars, which is a good thing. Now I don’t recall what I had with the wine but I do remember it turned my lips a lovely hue of purple, which is an um good thing I guess.
Folonari (Makes Any Day Extraordinary)
Chianti
2004
$7.99
The midpoint wine was a syrah from Morande, or should I say Grand Reserve Morande Vitisterra! Now if you know me you know I am keen on this kind of wine so you know I’m going to say it’s wonderful, enjoyable, and splendid and yes it was. Yet in spite of that I was thinking of another syrah I have in the rack. I don’t know if that’s a bad thing but it must mean something, it simply must mean something. In any case it was wonderful, enjoyable, and a splendid wine with Domino’s pizza, which in my opinion is one of the best ways to enjoy a syrah.
Morande
Syrah
2002
The last day, the last wine. Ok I’ve been noticing Red Diamond wine all over the place and accordingly I bought into the hype and bought a bottle. And just like when Little Feet, and Little Penguin were all the rage in the stores and turned out to be great inexpensive wines, Red Diamond appears to be in that same boat. And now the price game begins, I mean I purchased the wine for under ten dollars, not including tax, but I’m sure it will go lower; yes I’m cheap.
Red Diamond
Cabernet
2004
$9.99
FYI: I was writing a story about the three day weekend but dropped it because it was taking from the wine.
Opening the three day weekend was a Chianti from Folonari, and let’s just say I will be purchasing from them again…really soon! Oh, and to top-it-off it was under ten dollars, which is a good thing. Now I don’t recall what I had with the wine but I do remember it turned my lips a lovely hue of purple, which is an um good thing I guess.
Folonari (Makes Any Day Extraordinary)
Chianti
2004
$7.99
The midpoint wine was a syrah from Morande, or should I say Grand Reserve Morande Vitisterra! Now if you know me you know I am keen on this kind of wine so you know I’m going to say it’s wonderful, enjoyable, and splendid and yes it was. Yet in spite of that I was thinking of another syrah I have in the rack. I don’t know if that’s a bad thing but it must mean something, it simply must mean something. In any case it was wonderful, enjoyable, and a splendid wine with Domino’s pizza, which in my opinion is one of the best ways to enjoy a syrah.
Morande
Syrah
2002
The last day, the last wine. Ok I’ve been noticing Red Diamond wine all over the place and accordingly I bought into the hype and bought a bottle. And just like when Little Feet, and Little Penguin were all the rage in the stores and turned out to be great inexpensive wines, Red Diamond appears to be in that same boat. And now the price game begins, I mean I purchased the wine for under ten dollars, not including tax, but I’m sure it will go lower; yes I’m cheap.
Red Diamond
Cabernet
2004
$9.99
FYI: I was writing a story about the three day weekend but dropped it because it was taking from the wine.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Gallo Family and artwork gossip
Last night I had a pleasant merlot that suited the takeout prime rib, mashed potatoes, and roasted artichokes perfectly, and who do I have to show gratitude for this pleasing merlot, why a state of Virginia CVS of course. Yes, you can buy wine and beer almost anywhere in Virginia, not saying it’s a wicked thing, but where I live now you have to go to sanctioned merchant, and forget about getting any wine after 10pm (aka 22 hundred hours) or on a Sunday (aka Sunday). So I guess it’s a different thing. At any rate for the few times I have to come to the Commonwealth of Virginia it was convenient to not have to search for a wine depository and batteries, yes I also purchased batteries. I only wanted one but you can’t just buy one battery.
On a side note, my test art piece did very well so now I can move to stage two, which I’ll post when complete. Oh for the people that wanted the test work I’m sorry, I need the work so I can make a bigger and better work.
Gallo Family
Merlot
2004
$6.99
On a side note, my test art piece did very well so now I can move to stage two, which I’ll post when complete. Oh for the people that wanted the test work I’m sorry, I need the work so I can make a bigger and better work.
Gallo Family
Merlot
2004
$6.99
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Woodbridge
Gift wine is the best wine. Sure the new study in the news declares that more you believe the wine cost the better the wine will taste, but that mindset is just too apathetic for my posh taste, LOL, indeed-inconsistency-inside (3 “in’s” in a row, I get a gold star).
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080115/od_nm/pleasure_dc;_ylt=Ajm7q5wK0fAUL65MJPkN8z4SH9EA
So does the price equal happiness in the world of wine, will a 20 dollar bottle of merlot beat a 7 dollar bottle of merlot more often than not, what if the wine is on sell and you didn’t know the original price, what if this, what if that, what if cats could drive? I have questions about this new study but this post is about gift wine.
The said wine was a gift from an old comrade in arms (he-he-he), who wanted my 30th years on this planet to be special, and knowing I adore the robust taste of Shirazes got me, yep you guessed it, a Shiraz! Furthermore, it was superb with the ideal planned meal I had with it. And as I hand washed the dishes from that meal I kept sipping on my glass of wine which made the drudgery of washing dishes pass by without the vexing of this required task. Moreover I thought to myself doing dishes with a nice glass of gift wine makes this the best part of my day.
Woodbridge
Shiraz
2005
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080115/od_nm/pleasure_dc;_ylt=Ajm7q5wK0fAUL65MJPkN8z4SH9EA
So does the price equal happiness in the world of wine, will a 20 dollar bottle of merlot beat a 7 dollar bottle of merlot more often than not, what if the wine is on sell and you didn’t know the original price, what if this, what if that, what if cats could drive? I have questions about this new study but this post is about gift wine.
The said wine was a gift from an old comrade in arms (he-he-he), who wanted my 30th years on this planet to be special, and knowing I adore the robust taste of Shirazes got me, yep you guessed it, a Shiraz! Furthermore, it was superb with the ideal planned meal I had with it. And as I hand washed the dishes from that meal I kept sipping on my glass of wine which made the drudgery of washing dishes pass by without the vexing of this required task. Moreover I thought to myself doing dishes with a nice glass of gift wine makes this the best part of my day.
Woodbridge
Shiraz
2005
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Steele
A miraculous syrah brings life to a life draining day. Before I start I just want you all to know that I sought to post about this miracle elixir yesterday however the powers that be, Ra, Zeus, Marduk, made that action an impossibly. However today is a new day and the said predestine action can transpire.
To understand why this red wine made my day we must first travel back in time to the time of dinosaurs and powdered wigs, otherwise known as Monday. It started like any other Monday, snooze button, snooze button, snooze button, lunch (which was Chipotle), transactions among colleagues, mental calisthenics with the opposite sex, and the always present work bearing down on your hero. A typical, not to be confused with atypical, Monday indeed. And after parking my baby in my rented parking space and starting the walk home the annoying hunger in my stomach trigger me to change my direction to the 7-11 in hopes of a quick snack, XXX vitamin water and a Slim Jim. As I crossed the street to the 7-11 a sweet voice told me to walk two more building over and just like Howard Carter I found the Discovery Channel of a lifetime. A quaint place that serves mind-blowing tacos and the miraculous syrah, a great combo by the way.
In any case the tacos and syrah re-energized my core and inspired me to work on some artwork which I just got back from the printer.
Steele
Syrah
2001
$26.00
To understand why this red wine made my day we must first travel back in time to the time of dinosaurs and powdered wigs, otherwise known as Monday. It started like any other Monday, snooze button, snooze button, snooze button, lunch (which was Chipotle), transactions among colleagues, mental calisthenics with the opposite sex, and the always present work bearing down on your hero. A typical, not to be confused with atypical, Monday indeed. And after parking my baby in my rented parking space and starting the walk home the annoying hunger in my stomach trigger me to change my direction to the 7-11 in hopes of a quick snack, XXX vitamin water and a Slim Jim. As I crossed the street to the 7-11 a sweet voice told me to walk two more building over and just like Howard Carter I found the Discovery Channel of a lifetime. A quaint place that serves mind-blowing tacos and the miraculous syrah, a great combo by the way.
In any case the tacos and syrah re-energized my core and inspired me to work on some artwork which I just got back from the printer.
Steele
Syrah
2001
$26.00
Monday, January 14, 2008
Jacob’s Creek & Lakewood Vineyards
Yesterday I opened two bottles of wine, one being a conventional label, Jacob’s Creak, and the other being an unconventional label, Lakewood.
Jacob’s Creek was decent for the price, $7.99, and it went down quite smooth. I bought it at this little corner liquor store next to my place, and I’m sensing the man that works there is starting to recognize my face and my pen spinning skills. Yes I spin the pen after I sign my receipt, nothing fancy but it seems to impress. In any case I was only going to pick up a bottle or two for the weekend when the man behind register told me if I buy three the forth bottle is half price so I was like hell yeah so I found two more bottles of interest and I was on my way.
On a side note I did need to restock my wine reserves since they have become fairly low.
Jacob’s Creek
Cabernet-Merlot
2004
$7.99
Lakewood was a gift from a New York Congressman that I had been saving for something special and last night was something special. What could be so special that I would open a ten year old bottle of wine, why the painting was complete, finally.
At first the wine was a little shocking but I believe this is due to my love for reds and this being a white was something my mouth wasn’t ready for. However after a couple of sips it was AMAZING. So amazing in fact that it was used in the chicken I had last night. Yes a little wine, sliced carrots, fresh mushrooms, and lite sautéing yummy-yummy.
Lakewood Vineyards
Chardonnay
1998
Jacob’s Creek was decent for the price, $7.99, and it went down quite smooth. I bought it at this little corner liquor store next to my place, and I’m sensing the man that works there is starting to recognize my face and my pen spinning skills. Yes I spin the pen after I sign my receipt, nothing fancy but it seems to impress. In any case I was only going to pick up a bottle or two for the weekend when the man behind register told me if I buy three the forth bottle is half price so I was like hell yeah so I found two more bottles of interest and I was on my way.
On a side note I did need to restock my wine reserves since they have become fairly low.
Jacob’s Creek
Cabernet-Merlot
2004
$7.99
Lakewood was a gift from a New York Congressman that I had been saving for something special and last night was something special. What could be so special that I would open a ten year old bottle of wine, why the painting was complete, finally.
At first the wine was a little shocking but I believe this is due to my love for reds and this being a white was something my mouth wasn’t ready for. However after a couple of sips it was AMAZING. So amazing in fact that it was used in the chicken I had last night. Yes a little wine, sliced carrots, fresh mushrooms, and lite sautéing yummy-yummy.
Lakewood Vineyards
Chardonnay
1998
Wine Post
Yes, I know it to be rare that I actually blog on my blog nevertheless I going to try posting about one of my other much loved passions, wine, in particular red wines.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Monday, January 07, 2008
Sunday, January 06, 2008
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