Who am I to get in the way?

Even though he has thrown his back out, Max was determined to make the cake he had been talking about lately. M&M's are called Smarties overseas. They also come in more color varieties, but they are basically the same. Max had told me about his favorite childhood cake -- the Smartie Cake. It's a marble bundt cake, covered in a chocolate frosting and smarties. The trick is to place the smarties on the cake while the frosting is still hot, so they melt into place.

We were going to go hiking, but that would not have been a good idea with his condition. I was surprised when he gave me an ingredients list today, and told me he was making it. I was thrilled when he appointed me the official smarties-stick-er-on-er.

I never drink milk, and I never eat M&M's, but this will go down well with a cold glass of milk. Yum!

Run for cover

I have no idea what the real reason for this image might have been, but it definitely made me giggle.

If at first you don't succeed

Max had sent me an email a few weeks ago, suggesting I enter the last Phish t-shirt contest. I was motivated enough to win two tickets and hospitality passes to the sold out event. I had visions of being able to join Max there, and dance the night away. And then walk back to the Winnebago I would have rented with all my millions, so that I wouldn't have to sleep or shit on the floor.

This was my entry.



As I mailed it off, I wondered to myself, 'How many color screens would they need to make this design?' Needless to say, I did not win. I didn't even make it to the Runners-Up gallery. But I suppose the most important thing is that I tried. I gave it a shot. And one day, when I have an extra few thousand dollars lying around, I'll make a set of these t-shirts. I'll mail them to all the band members, with a note attached that reads 'Thank you for all the amazing good times I've had listening to your music and attending your shows. You will always have a special place in my heart.'

More art

I have added some recent projects to the website.

Wear a green shirt.
[Submitted for the Murphy/Cadogan Award, which I was awarded.]

Let's Talk.

I have also been working on changes to the website slowly. Different colors, more variety, less uniformity. It is slowly getting there.

Zoo news

I took Max to the zoo as a surprise on Saturday. I found out there are penguin feedings at 3pm, and I knew he would love that. I knew I would love that. Not only did Max shoot some beautiful photos, but he also took some great mini videos with the digital camera. I wanted to put those online, but for some reason it isnt working. If anyone can help make suggestions about compressing video, and uploading formats - that would awesome. Until then, these pictures will have to do.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Today is your birthday Max. It's a real joy celebrating with you. Your excitement and happiness genuinely reminds me of being a child. You accepts gifts graciously, and truly make me feel like I picked the best things ever.

I love our celebration rituals. Starting at midnight with a toast, and continuing the next morning with a gift table. All presents laid out, amongst sprinklings of gold and silver star confetti.

You had to work today, an unusual item on the birthday agenda. I guess you're a real grown up now. But tonight we will celebrate with loved ones. We will eat delicious pizza and drink to your good health.

Last year this time, we were in Greece. We were swimming each day to avoid the heat wave. We had bright red tans and our spirits were high. We were about to embark on our life in San Francisco.

 

This is you with your cat Teddy. It's sad that he is no longer with us. Watching you with Teddy over the years, was an excellent way of learning who you are. You were always cautious and gentle, and sure not to startle him. You gave him unconditional love, snuggles and belly rubs. When he would walk into the room, you'd announce his name, and make him feel like the only cat in the world. You treated him like a star! And always gave him loads of love.

 

Happy Birthday to you Max! Here's to another amazing year. Filled with health, happiness and wealth. You are greatly loved, admired and cherished. Your penguin really loves you.

Funny Money

Ah, the beauty of living in a big city.

Walking to the subway the other day, I passed a man sitting in the window of Burger King, making origami animals out of money. He was quite obliging and understood my mime question: can I take your picture? It seems like he was having a really good time.

Daniel the Maniel

I saw my friend Dan this weekend. We haven't physically seen each other since ~1998. But miraculously he hasn't aged a day, and still looks like a 14 year old boy. It was so awesome to see him, and to laugh that way again. I forgot how funny he was. I am not in contact with very many friends from my days at UMass, but it was so good to be able to reminisce about my time there... He is now at Med School, studying to be a doctor at UMass, in Worcester, where I went to high school. It's such a small world.
 

 

I'm a lucky lady!

This weekend Max made Martha's  mac-n-cheese recipe. Gourmet mac-n-cheese. Delish mac-n-cheese. It was soooo good!

Humanity is the Ultimate Source

Yesterday was one of the most stressful days of my life. I had a lot of technical difficulties printing the labels for all the work in the show, and I would never have finished the body cast piece without the help of Meredith Goldsmith. She helped cut out dozens of painted circles, which I then glued to the cast. What a life saver! 
  
 
 
The reception went off without a hitch, and the turnout was good. I was very excited that Maria and Tim Porges showed up. These siblings are both faculty at my school, and I just love them. I confessed to Tim that I am a Porges groupie. Such cool people.  
 
    
   
The artists



The art

Christina Turner



Eleanor Harwood

         
 
Lori Gordon 
 
   
      

Unfortunately I do not have picture of the real star of the show: my brother. He was certainly the real eye turner of the evening. After entering the gallery, he completely missed the sculpture on the floor, and walked right into it, kicking it. There was an unanimous gasp through the gallery, and I think he wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. I should have yelled 'It's OK. He's my brother!' but I was trying really hard not to shriek with laughter.  
 
The delicious spread... 

 
 
Crowd Shots    

  
       

Sneak peek

Just a quick peek at one piece installed for the show. It was a very long day, and unfortunately I changed my mind about how I want the body cast shown. So I will be back in the studio VERY early tomorrow to do that. But for now, I am at least pleased with this work, which as of yet is still untitled.

Getting plastered

Over the weekend I cast Max's body in plaster. Only my dear beloved would be as patient and considerate as he was - lying there, still as can be, for hours. Poor guy. He was initially covered in saran wrap, and then the plaster. It was hot in the studio, and I was amazed by how calm and relaxed he remained. I truly believe he had some zen, centered experience that I will never know. I was so freaked out when casting his face, leaving only his nostrils uncovered by plaster bandages. I would NOT have been able to do that. He had to lie there and remain calm while the plaster dried. It reminded me of The Matrix when Neo loses his mouth in the interrogation room. But I asked Max if he was alright, and I received a very quiet "Um Hm". He's a saint, really he is!



I was so worried about Max being uncomfortable, that in the end I pulled the cast off a little too soon, and then spent a good deal of time sulking on the couch about my impatience. Max took pics, to show me what my grumpy face looks like.



In the end, it worked out beautifully, and dried rather well. Tomorrow I install it in the gallery.

Mira and Ruscha

Yudi sent me the latest installment of the ladies at the beach. If I had been there, they would have experienced a lot of tushy pinching and cheek eating. Too cute!

Round 1 - complete

Tonight was the first of five new shows at the PlaySpace Gallery. The work was solid, and lots of people came out! I was amazed by this, because it's the summer, and I feel like everyone had disappeared. But I was wrong, so wrong... I even saw the President (Michael Roth) of the school there. The food spread was also amazing. There were cupcakes, made by Miette Bakery. My favorite were the organic gingerbread cupcakes with cheesecake frosting. Delish.

So, next week is the show I'm curating. I am still making work, and the bar was set pretty high tonight, so I'll certainly be working through the weekend. The card sent out to people looks like this:



Humanity is the Ultimate Source
July 15- 21, 2004
Opening Reception: July 15, 6-9pm
PlaySpace Gallery
San Francisco, California
With Eleanor Harwood and Christina Turner.

For those of you in the area, I hope you can make it. And for those who can't, you know there will be enough images afterwards to compensate for that.

Total Waste Celebrities

The following celebrities are in my opinion, either a waste, or have become a waste. If they were talented at one time, thay have since displayed that they do not contribute anything worthwhile to society, possess any original talent, or just plain bug me - because I have to see their face on tv ALL THE TIME.

20. Avril Lavigne
19. Ja Rule
18. Peter Jackson
17. Tobey McGuire
16. Brittany Murphy
15. Kim Basinger
14. Colin Farrell
13. Alicia Keys
12. Ralph Fiennes
11. Ashlee Simpson
10. John Mayer
9. Kathy Griffin
8. Orlando Bloom
7. Kevin Costner
6. Heather Graham
5. Renée Zellweger
4. Nicole Kidman
3. Hillary Duff
2. Frankie, Real World San Diego. (afraid of boats)
1. Paris Hilton

I can't believe it's July

Highlights of this weekend:
*Indian dinner at Chutney with Max, my brother Shaun and our friend Lorien
*Watching Bad Santa
*Clearing out a lot of junk from storage and throwing things away (!)
*Discovering the delicious stores in the Ferry Building
*Incredible dinner made by Max, using eggplant from the organic market
*Farewell Sunday brunch at Meredith's place
*Playing Settlers of Catan, and actually understanding the game this time
*Walking up a very steep hill to watch the fireworks with Max and Shaun
*After realizing we are in a spot that blocks all the fireworks, running back down that hill to catch the last 10 minutes on TV

Don't eat, and bring some tissues

Max and I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 last night in Berkeley. There was a mile long line to get in, and the crowd started clapping when the movie started. Certainly we watched the film surrounded by like minded people, but I wondered whether this film is just preaching to the choir. Max mentioned an article Krugman wrote which states that both the Left and the Right are seeing this film. This is quite amazing. Perhaps Bush really wont get elected for a second term.

What I liked about this film was that Moore took a back seat. You didn't see him in every clip. It wasn't the Mike show. It was just a story about his ideas on Bush and his connection to the Saudis. I also like that Moore used a medium that reaches the masses. No one reads books, and no one reads the newspaper, but everybody goes to the movies. It's brilliant.

The film had some very sad moments, and I wished I had brought some tissues. If you didn't despise Bush and his dad before, you certainly will after this film. If you weren't in disagreement of the war before, you will be after seeing this film. There was a lot of VERY gruesome footage of American and Iraqi war victims, so be sure you don't eat a hearty meal if you have a weak stomach, before going into the theatre.

I suppose what all the information left me with was a sense of hope, that people will actually go out and vote this year. If you're reading this, please be sure to vote this Fall, and tell everyone you know to do the same.