Vanishing Point - Bonsajo

My creativity is hibernating so I'm sharing the art and music of others.

A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light. — Leonardo da Vinci

The Universe

There are these adorable little organisms—did I say little? I'm sorry, minuscule creatures—who've survived for less than an infinitesimal tic of time (bless their hearts) on a almost invisible mote of gravity revolving around a mediocre speck of light.  Here's the giggle:  they imagine all of everything was created for them by a magic being who looks like they do.  I know!...Right?

Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes! — Leonardo da Vinci

Kill twitter, kill it dead & happy Lunar New Year

I received a comment worth commenting on today:  nice post. I would love to follow you on twitter.  The appreciative glint brought on by her first sentence was arrow-pierced and sword-beheaded by her last...creating in me a supernova-dwarfing impulse to verbally pummel a portion of Donnie Darko dinnertime conversation into the anonymous ingénue.

Maybe her comment was an attempt at irony (the 140 character-thing).  Although I'm proud of the chapter upon which I received this comment-l'exaspérant, it's not short (coming within hand-grenade range of 1,200 words).  It could also be that this néophyte had yet to read my previously written thoughts on the ridiculous fad.

This bit of artistic expression should clarify my position on the twitter matter.

(I realize my anonymous twitter-friendly commenter may be male, because some gay men do tweet—but, if that's the case, he'd be ok with my feminine pronoun usage.)

Thirst will parch your tongue and your body will waste through lack of sleep ere you can describe in words that which painting instantly sets before the eye.  —  Leonardo da Vinci

Pogo - Alice

The color of the object illuminated partakes of the color of that which illuminates it. — Leonardo da Vinci

'Til ya drop from muscle fatigue

I got my exercise today by pushing 250 pounds (114kg) of groceries around Costco for over an hour.  For those unfamiliar with this wholesale retailer, it's a quantity-not-quality store (think IKEA for food and sundries).  Need a gallon of Mayonnaise or a 50 pound (23Kg) bag of rice?  Costco is the place to go.

I pushed the cart at Costco today, because my paramour cringes when she looks at the receipt after I shop.  If I buy groceries, (and I never go to Costco) I select items based on:  my personal tastes and item-quality (which I admit, I can't always clearly explain).

For example, I buy only organic milk even though it costs almost double.  Why? She asks.  Because I refuse to drink milk from a container bearing the disclaimer: The FDA has determined there is no significant difference between milk derived from hormone-treated and non-hormone-treated cows.  If they need a disclaimer, I don't want to consume it on a daily basis.

I prefer brown free-range eggs.  Yes, they taste exactly the same as the white ones that drop through the bars of a cage; but my brain says they look and sound better no matter what my stomach says.

European butter, imported from Ireland or some-such far-away land, is the only butter I'll buy.  My tongue can definitely tell the difference (and don't even consider trying to get me to use a tub of whipped oil, because I can definitely believe it's not butter!).

Don't get me wrong.  I appreciate some of the bulk items available at Costco.  My cats never complain about the cheap clay they cover their shit with.  A gross of Toilet paper rolls or a double-peck of bread (which can be frozen for a few months) makes financial sense.  Whatever Ok, I get it.

But something I realized about Costco—which occurred to me today—was if you are low on money, on a fixed income, or unemployed:  definitely become a Costco member.  Go daily for lunch or dinner.  Take your entire family.  Put an item or two in your cart (there's bound to be something you need).  Stop at each of the different "tasting booths" scattered throughout the store and eat what they offer.  (The primary function of a "Tasting booth" is generating a continuous effluence of "pleasant cooking odors."   The type of odors which make you hungry.  Hungry people buy more groceries.  So, don't think you are taking advantage—even if you fill your gut at the "tasting booths" every day for months and years—because they are trying to take advantage of you!)  Wanna try a small slice of pizza?... eat some roasted almonds?... taste a four-cheese ravioli?... sample some spicy sausage?  Before you know it, you and yours will be too full from eating the residue from the pleasant cooking odor stations to want the foot-long/drink combo (available for a dollar-fifty at the food concession on your way out).

The truth of things is the chief nutriment of superior intellects. — Leonardo da Vinci

787 clip arts - Oliver Laric

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. — Leonardo da Vinci

unfurled hypnagogic logic

Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen. — Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519)

Animator vs Animation

Many thanks to my wonderful paramour—Pamela—for bringing this three-minute animated film to my attention.

The man who takes the liberty to live is superior to all the laws, by virtue of his relation to the lawmaker. "That is active duty," says the Vishnu Purana, "which is not for our bondage; that is knowledge which is for our liberation: all other duty is good only unto weariness; all other knowledge is only the cleverness of an artist." — Henry David Thoreau (Walking, 1861)

National List Day

In recognition of Jay Ferris's National List Day:

Things that shouldn't bother me as much as they do:

• Expecting me to decipher and answer the question you asked while you were yawning.
• Starting your karaoke song with: I've never sung this before, so I apologize ahead of time.
• Hearing the words 'Truth' and 'Glen Beck' used together in a sentence. 
• Standing behind you in line while you fill out a check, after the clerk finishes scanning your groceries.
• Built-in bra tank-tops.
  

Things on TV agreed upon by everyone, but rarely mentioned:

• Cleveland needs to move back into his house across the street from the Griffins.  He 'moved on up' to suckville.
  
• Castle's daughter is—in every way—too amazingly perfect.
• The only things better in the old days were the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons; half-hour news; and Johnny Carson.
• Allison DuBois's middle daughter needs to be killed off, Becky Conner-ized, or forced to attend acting class.
• The best "talent shows" feature talentless-but-clueless idiots with massive egos.

 Things I hope are available or invented before I die (even though they are frivolous):

• An all-in-one Squire-connectible Phone, Mp3, voice-activated hands-free GPS, Compass, Altimeter, Barometer, Sirius/XM Satellite radio, Camera with flash, Wallet, Flashlight, multi-tool with keyless-door unlock system (and yes, it must be no larger than my wallet and come in orange).  The idea is to consolidate everything in my pockets.
  
• Inexpensive, healthy, shorthair miniature "toy" cats (fully grown, less than 1.5 kg).
  
• Exceptionally good pornographic films, with A-list actors, directors, and scripts.
• Trans-American bullet trains.
• Lunar tourist resorts.
  

Things that should bother me more, but which—for some reason or another—don't:

• Natural disasters that kill fuckloads of people.
• The foolishness, failures, and greed of governments, corporations, and people in general.
• Rude drivers in a hurry behind me.
• Drunk, elderly, or otherwise slow drivers ahead of me.
• Anonymous comments or criticism.

Things I'm inordinately pleased are currently available:

• Color catcher for my laundry.
• Dog ball throwers (even though I don't have a dog).
  
• High-protein / no-grain "holistic" dry pet food.
• Netflix streaming to my PS3.
• Candied Ginger, Absinthe, and Miracle Fruit.
  

When a dog runs at you, whistle for him. — Henry David Thoreau

Magnetosphere, flight404 (Trentemøller, Miss You)

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.  — Henry David Thoreau