Faith, hope and love are three of the foundations, fundamentals and essentials of my existence. They are the basis of continued happiness, purpose and even survival in a world that can be both wonderful, continually amazing and at times; well… difficult.  Above is a painting I did not long ago that represents another essential element of my life. The painting being the fruit of my labor. The act of painting is actually something  all together different and is consider by Buddhist to be one of the highest forms  of spiritual expression. Painting and creativity are fueled by passion and need which are also basics of the human fiber. Painting is an act and result of faith. 

Faith simplified is the belief and trust of the unseen but not the unknown. We can know God and have continued faith because of countless manifestations of his existence. Prosperity, the dawn of a new day, the birth of a new child are all gifts from God. What is greater than a new life entering the world and literally changing the world’s dynamics merely by being born? Birth is simple (at least from the male perspective) repeated continually while ever profound.  Faith in God and faith in one’s own self are a powerful combination. Add to the mix faith in others that are close to us and the formula is unbeatable.  

Hope is brought into life along with a birth. With that a new purpose and a deeper commitment to life itself. Hope is simply another word for optimism. Without it the world would disappear from existence. It is that critical. Talk to someone that has lost it. To not have hope would be the separation from God and everything that makes us try it one more time. Whatever that it is. Hope is the longing and the expectation of something better. To want and desire with all our hearts is to hope. Combine it with faith and again there is great power. Having hope is to always have promise. The promise of the good and true wealth that life brings. If you are excited  about the wonder and greatness each day can bring than you have hope.

Love…There is no need to tell you the things it can do. You have found it, lost it, shown it and known it  Given it, received it, jaded and made it. I’m certain you’ve cried, laughed and denied love. You’ve spoken of and tried; used it to guide. It can abide and lovers have died for it. Some even hide as many have lied for love. Because of it we forgive and who wants to live without love.



The Tea Party

A picture is worth a thousand words. Add a word balloon or caption and the picture becomes a cartoon. A   thousand plus whatever the number of words used in a given cartoon. In this case say one thousand seven.

The comparison of the “curiouser and curiouser “movement known as the Tea Party to the tea party in Alice in Wonderland  is irresistible. They couldn’t have picked a more apt name. I know they are referencing   a different tea party but that’s also a different cartoon. We’ll look at that one in a future blog.

I not quite sure what the Tea Party is but it’s beginning to resemble a very bad “B” movie.  Sarah Palin the unauthorized but symbolic leader is the Doctor Frankenstein in this misadventure. She‘s busy cloning herself to a frightening level of accuracy.

Maybe Palin’s come up with a machine like the one used to create the Bizarro Superman in the comics.  The Bizarro Superman was a distorted reverse version of Superman. This creature was the opposite of Superman. Where Superman is handsome;  Bizarro Superman is ugly . Superman, intelligent;  Bizarro Superman, unintelligent. Sorry… with that scenario the Bizarro Palin would have to be near genius. Not a good comparison.

They’re also  coming  up with candidates that have a  “Son of Sam” like strangeness who want to give their dogs appointments if elected to office. I don’t understand.

I do believe the Tea Party’s agenda is simple: If Obama is for it than the Tea Party is against it. Obama says  yes; the Tea Party says no.  Hey…They are the Bizarro Obama.

A good slogan for the Tea Party would be “We’re not Obama “

"The American" George Clooney

George Clooney’s latest film” The American” opened a few weeks ago to the number one box office slot. The reviews were mixed and among those that saw it there was a lot of disappointment. I personally enjoyed the film and I’ve heard that some showings ended in applause. It has since steadily dropped in number.

After reading comments to a Yahoo news article and seeing so many negative comments I decided to post my thoughts. I was able to get a good number of comments posted about my own comments. This was pretty amazing for me. I actually ended up with many people voting thumbs up or down on my comments and I was glad that I ended up 50/50. This put me; at the end of a very unscientific poll at dead center. I like to see myself as a moderate who can swing from extreme left to extreme right on given issues. I was pleased.

By this time you have seen “The American” or perhaps written it off. Maybe you plan to see it on DVD. I recommend you do.

I’ve attached my Yahoo comments to this blog along with some of the replies. I hope you enjoy reading my Yahoo comments as well as the replies I received.

My Yahoo comments:

The American was a brilliant piece of film. Clooney's effort to expand American Film through the use of understatement and minimalism has worked to near perfection. The camera work unfolds in ever changing, interesting compositions that use every inch of the screen as a gigantic canvas. Many scenes unfold with little or no dialogue. This is pure film that is in itself a tribute to the mastery of Hitchcock. There are many nods to Hitchcock beyond the pacing and tone including a subtle version of his famous line drawing self portrait.
Clooney's character Jack is not so much a hit man as a craftsman. He constructs and customizes weapons and even repairs vehicles while exploring the essence of  life; man's spirituality, sexuality and his own ultimate emptiness.
A brave movie that goes against today’s low expectations for film. Well acted, directed and photographed with a limited but powerful dialogue that is actually enunciated when needed.
Thank you George...where are we going next?

Replies to my comments:

Nicole

I have NOT seen the movie, but reading James Review I see such a disconnect between the want to be entertained American public and wonderful film making as a craft as seen thru the eyes of a student of art, not a filmgoer..........Very Interesting Conversation between the two camps,,,,,,,,,,

Neil

This was NO Hitchcock it was boring the action scenes where boring. The beautiful country side and Clooney emoting was really tiresome after the 1st hour. The pay off was who cares. The "I am going to hell" lines in Machete.
In short it is an art film. Of interest to art students and those wanting to Clooney with no shirt.
It should have been advertised that way it is not a spy thriller, An assassin thriller, or James Bond like.
It is what is is. The masses will be bored. The "effort to expand American Film through the use of understatement and minimalism" Fails if the story is weak contrived. the Biggest drama was will he shoot is girl friend.
The dialog minimal yes powerful no.
The American: " God has no interest in me" mumbled.
Machete "Were are my with and daughter" " with God" "Then I will not see them" while dying. Shoot'em up movies should not have better lines then "art"

TryagainOK

Seriously? Go back to art school you douche. Nobody wants films like this except film study rejects with too much family money and no common sense.

Christopher

understatement and minimalism = paint drying