There are so many signs in this world that tell us what not to do, where not to go, how not to behave, that anything light-hearted, whimsical and fun is always appreciated in these parts. Here we have some pop art and love, two things of which I just can’t get enough. Go look for serious signs elsewhere; you’ll only find bright colors and affection here. Also, remember: art can be found anywhere. Look and you will find it.
Something is in the works.
Something is always in the works.
Seek. Find. Conjure. Create. Fulfill.
The Delusional Grandeur Tour got over the hump with its recent spattering of Tour Book entries, chronicling the Warrior Retribution portion of the proceedings. Non-fans of the darker images can relax and rest easy now – from here on out it’s going to be beauty and fashion and flowers and shit – and something a little bit deeper, but that’s for you to discover on your own.
For this Hump Day, here’s a jockstrap shot that never made the final Tour Book, taken as noted from the Warrior section. {You may revisit that lengthy chapter at these links: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight.}
And if you like jockstraps, you can visit these posts: Jockstrap One, Jockstrap Two, Jockstrap Three, Jockstrap Four, Jockstrap Five, Jockstrap Six, Jockstrap Seven, Jockstrap Eight. What can I say? We like to get linky here.
This is a clean-up post, wherein a random assortment of photos that didn’t quite find their place in previous posts get dumped so I can clear out some flash drives and you can see some almost-rans. It’s a glimpse behind the curtain, and I have no issue stepping aside for yapping dogs. Originally, I was going to go into their respective backgrounds and offer a background for why they didn’t make the cut, but it’s more fun (and way more easy) to let them speak for themselves. Choose your own adventure.
The lovely and lusty month of May is at hand, but before we indulge let’s recap the last week of April, because good stuff happens then too. It began with a collection of keys. Outside, more lessons revealed themselves. Some stories longed to be told, but I wasn’t going to whisper them. There were parties to plan, and friends to gather. In the air, a hawk swooped through the middle of the day.
A lackluster Madonna Timeline proved that I don’t love everything she does.
Waiting for the day’s eye.
The Delusional Grandeur Tour got all bloody.
The ‘Warrior Retribution‘ section began its jock-strap-shrouded descent, before concluding in superhero fashion.
A bevy of beautiful men bellied up to the Hunk bar: Ryan Serhant, Nathan McCallum, Ashley McKenzie, and Guilherme Rufino.
While naming favorites is my least favorite thing to do, May is definitely in my top three of favorite months. It has within it the entire anticipatory thrill of summer, and the very high-point of spring – the best of both worlds at once. That time is again upon us, but before looking forward (and there’s a lot to look forward to) here’s a little look back at last May:
“I CAN’T BE YOUR SUPERHERO RIGHT NOW
EVEN HEARTS MADE OUT OF STEEL CAN BREAK DOWN…” ~ Madonna
“The monster I kill every day is the monster of realism.
The monster who attacks me every day is destruction.
Out of the duel comes the transformation.
I turn destruction into creation over and over again.”
~ Anais Nin
THE DELUSIONAL GRANDEUR TOUR: LAST STAND OF A ROCK STAR
The Delusional Grandeur Tour returns to Boston this weekend, but first a look back at where we’re at, and from where we’ve come:
01) Intro/Curtain – Part One, Part Two, Part Three
02) Sunset Pool – Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five
03) On The Road Hotel – Part One, Part Two, Part Three
04) Rock Star Addict – Part One, Part Two, Part Three
05) Animal Demons – Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five
06) Steam Punk Birdcage – Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four
07) Red Riding Wood – Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five
08) Winter Top Hat – Part One, Part Two
09) Warrior Retribution – Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five…
Tomorrow we continue the Warrior Retribution battle, and as you may have noticed, things are getting bloody good… or good and bloody.
Outside the 10th floor windows of my office, a hawk soars in circles. Carving wide curves in the air, its wings catch the currents and it floats high above downtown Albany. It doesn’t seem to be looking for anything to eat – no scurrying rodent down below, no nest to raid a little higher – it simply glides through the sky.
Without getting too anthropomorphic, it appears to be exulting in the freedom that being a bird entails.
Behind the glass, behind the blinds, I am not the only one who envies that freedom.
That Virginia Woolf moment when all you want to do is throw a party, but your whole inner-world is in turmoil, so you go out and buy flowers because it’s the last thing that might save your sanity – this is not a picture of that. Instead, it’s a portrait of the last big party I had in Boston – for JoAnn’s 40th birthday. This year we’re reconvening on a smaller and more intimate scale, and Kira will once again help out for the festivities. (At least, I hope she will…)
Spring gatherings always remind me of Gatsby, of nights when the perfume of unseen blossoms fills the air, and the world seems filled with the unfurling hope and promise of summer. In the hours before the guests arrive, we pause and take in the moment. All the preparation and cleaning, all the assembly and finishing – it comes together and there is an hour or two of quiet and peace. Sometimes that’s the best part of a party.
In order to have the best of both worlds, this upcoming gathering is designed to be on the cozier side of things. Very rarely do I get to talk to everyone at a party because there is too much going on and too many people involved. I’m looking forward to breaking that spell.
The dull and the mundane are often overlooked, but they have their stories too. Most of the time they never get told – too unexceptional, too uninteresting, too commonplace to be worthy of a tale. I’m not going to say anything on their behalf, however, as it would be conjecture and half-hearted guessing at best. Weave your own back-stories and make up your own fantasies on how these objects came to be discarded. It is a world of the lost.
{Note: The Madonna Timeline is an ongoing feature, where I put the iPod on shuffle, and write a little anecdote on whatever was going on in my life when that Madonna song was released and/or came to prominence in my mind.}
I KNOW YOU’VE BEEN WAITING, YEAH
I’VE BEEN WATCHING YOU, YEAH
I KNOW YOU WANNA GET UP, YEAH
COME ON…
EVERYBODY, COME ON, DANCE AND SING
EVERYBODY, GET UP AND DO YOUR THING
EVERYBODY, COME ON, DANCE AND SING
EVERYBODY, GET UP AND DO YOUR THING
Â
Her first official single, ‘Everybody’ was Madonna’s clarion call to the world to ‘Dance and sing, get up and do your thing.’ Strangely enough, it was never a favorite of mine, and to my recollection she only performed it on two tours (The Virgin Tour and The Girlie Show Tour). It was the latter’s performance, where she intertwined some Sly and the Family Stone, that won me over with its funkiness (and Madonna’s exuberance when performing it for the masses).
LET THE MUSIC TAKE CONTROL
FIND A GROOVE AND LET YOURSELF GO
WHEN THE ROOM BEGINS TO SWAY
YOU KNOW WHAT I’M TRYING TO SAY
COME ON, TAKE A CHANCE
GET UP AND START THE DANCE
EVERYBODY, COME ON, DANCE AND SING
EVERYBODY, GET UP AND DO YOUR THING
EVERYBODY, COME ON, DANCE AND SING
EVERYBODY, GET UP AND DO YOUR THING
Despite its iconic historical status, the song still doesn’t do much for me. And as much as I appreciate the sentiment, and its rallying egalitarian cry for all-inclusive fun, I’m just not especially impressed with it. That’s ok. Even the most die-hard Madonna fans have songs that rank low on their personal lists. Besides, if and when she decides to rework this for a live performance, I’m sure I’ll be the first on board to join in the fun.
LET YOUR BODY TAKE A RIDE
FEEL THE BEAT AND STEP INSIDE
MUSIC MAKES THE WORLD GO ‘ROUND
YOU CAN TURN YOUR TROUBLES UPSIDE DOWN
GONNA HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR MIND
GONNA LEAVE YOUR TROUBLES BEHIND
YOUR BODY GETS THE NOTION WHEN YOUR FEET CAN MAKE THE MOTION
EVERYBODY, COME ON, DANCE AND SING
EVERYBODY, GET UP AND DO YOUR THING
EVERYBODY, COME ON, DANCE AND SING
EVERYBODY, GET UP AND DO YOUR THING
It was the beat-fueled chirp of a raw form that would soon transform into the Madonna that conquered the world, but for that moment, it was just a girl dancing and singing and doing her thing. Celebratory, carefree, and completely unaware of all that her life was about to become. Or maybe she did know, and the rest of us simply had to catch up.
DANCE & SING, GET UP DO YOUR THING.
SONG #125 ~ ‘Everybody’ -1982
I miss ‘Mad Men.’
None of my friends got quite as into it as I did.
Maybe it was the deliberate pace of the show, and the nuanced atmsophere and detail-saturated obsession that its creators managed to create and maintain over its entire run.
There was something Zen-like about the show, in the way that somewhat-violent but fantastical trilogies sometimes are (‘Star Wars’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings‘ for example). ‘Mad Men’ carried its own violence, but it was in the splintering of families, the devastation of divorce, and the disillusionment of a country awakening to its inner-turmoil. Decades away, but it might as well have been yesterday.
Pull me off of my knees! On a Monday morning, my favorite thing to do is lament the passing of another weekend. I think back to those precious moments on Friday, when it all began, when it felt like we had all the time in the world to do all the things we wanted, and the possibility of excitement and merriment and fun was all we needed. I think of a key – the key to a car and the start of an adventure. The key to a hotel room, and the anticipation of seeing what’s on the other side. The key to our Boston condo, and the beginning of a few days away. The key to a heart…
