November Sun Emerging

Orion in December

In North American Landscapes – Depicting the North American Landscape through Art

Day in Midwinter

All great contemporary artists, schooled or not, are essentially self-taught and are de-skilling like crazy. I don’t look for skill in art; I look for originality, surprise, obsession, energy, experimentation, something visionary, and a willingness to embarrass oneself in public. Skill has nothing to do with technical proficiency; it has to do with being flexible and creative. I’m interested in people who rethink skill, who redefine or reimagine it: an engineer, say, who builds rockets from rocks.

Seeing Out Loud, by Jerry Saltz

Welcome to Lizard Motel, Children, Stories, and the Mystery of Making Things Up
by Barbara Feinberg

On Becoming an Artist, Reinventing Yourself Through Mindful Creativity
by Ellen J. Langer

Sweeping Beauty, Contemporary Women Poets Do Housework
edited by Pamela Gemin

100 Essential Modern Poems, The greatest poems written in English over the past century, memorable masterpieces to read, reread, and enjoy
edited by Joseph Parisi

Best New American Voices 2006, Fresh Fiction from the Top Writing Programs
edited by Jane Smiley

Exteriors (Journal du dehors)
by Annie Ernaux

December confessions

Too many blogs wallow in in the pigsty of personhood.

…the 20-30 page journal article, or chapter length paper, is a better tool of discovery than using the short blasts of blog discharge.

…poetry as it’s practiced now feels in many ways hollow.

ds recommen ds:
Blogs Rue Hazard, Wood’s Lot, Texfiles, Orpheus in Boxers, Equanimity, Third Factory
Mags The Poker, Damn The Caesars, Effing, Hot Whisky and Noi

asobi – “the behavior of a decadent wastrel”

asobi seksu An indie rock band from New York.
asobi A Slovenian design firm. Their Isle Lounge is a pretty cool piece of furniture.
asobi-e “play picture”

Under the label of “play picture”, all sorts of sub-genres have been gathered, including

• Moji-e (Letter Pictures),
• Yose-e (Assemblage Pictures),
• Kage-e (Shadow Pictures),
• Joge-e (Two Way Pictures),
• Nazo-e (Riddle Pictures)
• and the large, related genre of Giga (Comic Prints of any sort).

15027 ID-INDONESIA 96
15028 IE-IRELAND 97
15029 IL-ISRAEL 98
15170 IM-ISLE OF MAN 99
15030 IN-INDIA 100
15031 IO-BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY 101
15032 IQ-IRAQ 102
15033 IR-IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF 103
15034 IS-ICELAND 104
15035 IT-ITALY 105

herbed-lemon risotto with leeks and portobello mushrooms
green salad
hot apple cider
persimmon whip (persimmons, lemon juice, dates, almonds whipped in food processor)