nativity of christ
Tuesday, 25. December 2007, 19:26:45
scott cumming
"There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness." countes blessington
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I_ArtMan
2008-05-10 04:26:29talk to my twin. he tells me everything
angelofree
2008-05-09 12:36:23Hi, thanks for visit my blog ^^
NatureTruthDivinity
2008-04-06 12:14:23whats new?
2008-03-28 05:52:14o.k. happy spring break
lesswoodsend
2008-03-28 05:32:54St. Patricks Day? ooo turn the calendar page... Happy Day in the PRESENT week lol
2008-03-17 06:08:15happy saint patricks day... hoist a mug for me.
Poll
my main homepage hungryeyegraphics:
- frontpage too confusing
(15%) - never click on it (0%)
- loads too slow, i have dial-up (8%)
- seen front page, that's all (8%)
- looked at the artwork (54%)
- read some poetry (31%)
- read personal history (31%)
- who cares? (15%)
- why do you ask? (31%)
- where's the link? (15%)
Total: 13 votes
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my gallery and three sheaves of poetry
- jonathan's work
my oldest son's website
- podloonaroon exodus
a plethora of pictures, artwork and personal history
- online slideshow_I_ArtMan
new slideshow of my work
178 drawings by I_ArtMan
- drawings for sale
bargain original artwork
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By SqueakeyCat, # 25. December 2007, 22:14:28
By FXM256, # 26. December 2007, 03:50:47
hi marcus, thank you for the compliment.
By I_ArtMan, # 26. December 2007, 05:12:39
Like it a lot.
By ricewood, # 26. December 2007, 11:27:23
By angel292005, # 26. December 2007, 11:46:01
By DuckyChickenLady, # 27. December 2007, 14:27:06
well perceived. yes, the world has always been in need of lightening.
glad you liked the naibe effect. yes, intentional.
hi sarah,
i was reasoning that if these three kings and wise men and shepards and entourages were all visiting that they would have brought the christ child outside for all to see.
thanks cheryl,
unfortunatly, the real detail is lost in the jpg version. i spent many hours working on this over a period of a year. i was too busy with building chimneys and raising babies to paint for a few years so this was just a kind of solace for me.
By I_ArtMan, # 27. December 2007, 17:19:39
By noah counte, # 27. December 2007, 19:44:05
By I_ArtMan, # 27. December 2007, 20:00:05
Happy newyear my friend:)
By nopanic, # 28. December 2007, 11:59:30
Brother, that's a mouthful. Easy to say, hard to comprehend in a way that better choices more attractive than those that are not so hot.
By noah counte, # 29. December 2007, 02:10:36
i even coined a sentence about it.
"if you think it's wrong it probably is wrong." or you could say if you have a sensation of struggle going on within, that's the moment to put some effort into waking up and smelling the coffee.
it's not easy. nobody, and no religion of psychiatry has a real handle on self control. it remains the private domain of each individuals journey towards wisdom or away from it.
"you don't coast up."
By I_ArtMan, # 29. December 2007, 03:14:58
The older I get, the easier self control becomes. Not because I'm stronger, but because I am lazier. I simply don't mov as quickly as I used to - towards anything - and that gives me more time to be rational.
I think.
My theory on most of the counseling/psychiatric arts is that people who enter those fields started in college undecided about what to major in, and decided to take a psychology course. Maybe they wanted to figure something out about themselves, or maybe they see themselves reflected in the coursework somewhere. Well, introductory pyscholgy doesn't delve very deeply into anything, so they have to take a higher level course or two. Pretty soon they have so many credits they might as well major in it. And then what are they to do? Get a masters (or MD) and hang a shingle. Of course, they still haven't solved their own problems. All of which means that they are probably fit to help us with our problems, but that they bring some of their own issues to the table, and you have to be on the lookout for them, just in case they are in conflict with your treatment.
Just an opinion, borne of years in the social services.
By noah counte, # 29. December 2007, 04:18:56
sort of the useful priests of our time. i think there are some who even without compassion have accidentally gathered enough understanding to at least alleviate some of the suffering they find their patients to be experiencing. i'm also sure that much of the cases are just a temporaryily suffering from a kind of misunderstanding of what life is. as soon as that is unravelled for them through therapy they are relatively normalized and out of danger.
i think we're all broken 'machines', but self-observation proves that some processes do not even exist in the light and self-knowledge can lead to understanding just which nut to tighten and exactly what needs a little oiling. sometimes the brain, body or feelings are running on the wrong octane fuel.
that is not an original idea of mine. it's a paraphrase of an idea. one of a panoply of ideas making up the 'system' of george ivanovich gurdjieff.
of course modern psychology and religions are useful in keeping the whole populace from flipping their lids.
i do appreciate your comments and admire your ability to keep up our conversation.
isn't that dylan thomas in your profile photo?
By I_ArtMan, # 29. December 2007, 07:24:26
It's not Dylan Thomas in my photo, it's the lead character in David Lynch's Eraserhead.
I don't suggest that the fact that counselors are as fractured (or moreso) than the rest of us is a problem. Indeed, it's probably what makes many of them them good at what they do. And, of course, there are Florence Nightengales. Some people are genuinely gifted. Then too, some are, as you say, lucky.
I'm going to have to look up Gurdjieff - I'm not familiar with the name, let alone the "system." [OK, so I peeked - he seems to be, in some ways, the father of the Mind Body Spirit movement. I like the premise of his Fourth Way, even if I am having trouble getting my head around "waking sleep." More research is definately in order.
Psychology and religion have their place - providing comfort and guidance, among other things - but in a society of addicts, both are prone to abuse. And since there are always those who are willing to profit from the suffering of others, I treat each warily.
By noah counte, # 29. December 2007, 13:49:12
By cakkleberrylane, # 29. December 2007, 15:05:04
i will take that as a compliment.
matthew, read in search of the miraculous for the best picture of g. as he calls him.
it's by peter demianovich ouspensky, an advanced mathematician who wrote tertium organum before he met g. i always say you have to be pretty brave to follow aristotle and francis bacon. brave in case you were wrong.
anyway there's a lot of misinformation about gurdjieff out there. even counterfeit 'schools', who put bookmarks in 'work' books in bookstores to lure the unsuspecting.
also, i recommend...
http://www.gurdjieff.org/
but read wisely, as the sufi saying goes... "if it weren't for the fact that there is real gold, there wouldn't be counterfeit."
gurdjieff's own books are written in three series and three different styles. "all and everything", or, "beelzebub's tales to his grandson" ponderous and verbose, convoluted with truths hidden in blocks of garrulous story-telling. not an easy book to read.
then in a lovely autobiographical light style the second series is called,
"meetings with remarkable men" from which his students made a film by the same name.
and finally, "life is real only then when i am", the third series. in a most intimate voice as if he were talking to you alone.
and don't usually talk about g. with anyone, and this is probably the last i will mention the 'fourth way' out in the open like this.
By I_ArtMan, # 29. December 2007, 19:22:12
By noah counte, # 29. December 2007, 20:31:43
By I_ArtMan, # 29. December 2007, 20:43:28
By noah counte, # 29. December 2007, 20:54:22
By I_ArtMan, # 29. December 2007, 21:38:16
On the subject of reading, I've heard it postulated that people read more now than ever. At the same time, people read fewer books. Thank you, internet. All the more reason to spend time cultivating kids' critical reading skills, as well as their ability to judge source credibility.
By noah counte, # 29. December 2007, 23:23:35
Are you a part Persian? You talk quite a bit of sufis and that painting style, I notice. This is something you really admire and a religion, too, now? I remember you talking about the stories by someone, my memories fail me.
By momable, # 29. December 2007, 23:27:34
i do see your point about reading on the web. i may be reading double what i used to.
yes, mom
i have a strong interest in persia... not just their ancient ideas but their fine miniature paintings really get to me. they had their periods. the sufi stories are just good metaphysical and humanistic kernals of wisdom... i am especially fond of their mulla nasr eddin.
i can tell hundreds of them. the mulla of course is as well known in all muslim countries as santa claus is here. look back and find a few posted on my blog with the illustrations that accompany them.
i'm planning to post the rest of the calendar i made of nasr eddin stories. now and then. i think.
By I_ArtMan, # 30. December 2007, 01:14:52
By momable, # 30. December 2007, 05:27:00
By I_ArtMan, # 30. December 2007, 06:48:03
I probably also read more than I did 15 years ago, but I´m not sure I want to thank the Internet. Seems to me that I read mainly on "the surface" of things when online. And what is worse - that affects my reading habits offline. I find it increasingly difficult to read a full novel. I tend to jump from place to place in the book - forward and backward - as if I was using hyperlinks. Result is, that I often lose track of what´s important and also loses the ability to go in depth with the book.
Well something I´ll have to deal with.
By ricewood, # 30. December 2007, 09:08:41
if this fails to cure the restlessness. re-read crime and punishment.
By I_ArtMan, # 30. December 2007, 10:27:12
By ricewood, # 30. December 2007, 10:32:10
The thing about reading is that any reading is practice, and most reading is vocabulary-building. Both of those are a good thing.
On the other hand, the inability to assimilate information over a long term engagement with material is problematic. War and Peace may be overkil, though...
By noah counte, # 30. December 2007, 14:27:58
sometimes it is practice. but real reading... my kind of reading which goes back to early teens is devouring books and authors and sometimes having stacks of books i'm reading at the same time.
for a book like "war and peace", there must be peace and quiet.
or like "les miserables" or "don quijote" or any rabellais.... i can't be in a battle with life at the same time. but you could read dumas on the bus in an air raid. he he he
when i was thirteen or so i was very lucky. we lived in a big house in easthampton. long island. there were plenty of bedrooms but i chose the attic because it had stairs that dropped down; thenyou could pull them up and i was in my own world with a hot plate and various teas. and my older brother couldn't get to me.
the internet is good for browsing sacred texts that are hard to find at barnes and noble.
we do have a fantastic store here in los angeles called the 'bodhi tree' with new and used books.
By I_ArtMan, # 30. December 2007, 18:37:45
I grew up on used detective fiction: Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Inspector Allyn, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Ellery Queen, among others. Also private eye fiction: Nero Wolfe, Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, Mike Hammer, Lew Archer, etc.
I tore through it, but I didn't pay much attention to nonfiction or classics until I graduated from high school. I still love the classic detective/private eye, but I have a much wider range. I read a lot of biographies and historical treatments.
One of my favorite books, probably because of the sheer weight of information presented in a way that is readable and, in a way that no other book I've ever read does, ties things together as though they were hyperlinked, is Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. Plus, he's got a good sense of humor and a beter sense of the absurd.
By noah counte, # 30. December 2007, 19:01:12
there are so many great books... you could spend a lifetime and barely scratch the surface... stendhal for instance, nobody reads stendhal... "the red and the black"
i wrote a long reading list for a young friend of mine posted it here in opera somewhere.... then i sent it off to my youngest son, ryan.
then i keep remembering i hadn't included people like pearl s. buck and stendhal.
i was lucky. i had a very well read father who kept feeding me books. and on the other hand, a brother a year older. so i just read whatever he had found after him.
By I_ArtMan, # 30. December 2007, 19:12:29
To me, one of the many beauties of books is that two people of disparate political persuasion, different religious belief or ferver, or divergent socio-economic background, can find commonality. Two people who have read the same book have a common bond, regardless of what ever else may separate them. Even if they don't both like the book, they have a place to explore each other based on experience shared at a different time and place.
I'll look Mr. Piercy up. I so envy writers of fiction. I would try to write detective fiction for a living, if I thought I had even one in me. I just can't do it - even when I try to follow the rules.
By noah counte, # 30. December 2007, 19:32:53
here's the link for the resident detective novelist.
http://my.opera.com/edwardpiercy/info/
By I_ArtMan, # 30. December 2007, 20:51:20
By noah counte, # 30. December 2007, 21:05:00
in opera there's more time to consider. and you can always edit. lol
but i am so glad i read a couple of versions of faust when i was a teenager so i had many adventures and travels having been warned that life might just pass me by if i spent all of my time with my nose in books.
By I_ArtMan, # 30. December 2007, 21:17:56
The give and take of face to face interaction is to be cherishd, I think. It's easy to retreat into a world where we lose all the cues of communication that convey so much meaning in person - goodness knows I spend a lot of time here. It's just nice to see the knowing smile, the animated gesticulation, to hear excitement in a voice...
By noah counte, # 30. December 2007, 21:35:06
it's just different. it may be even easier to know someone else's mind in the type-talking sphere. there are so many distractions in person. i find that i need both. both means of human interaction add to my life.
with out the mixture of various radiations or vibrations but more... pheromones etc. and reactions to subtle movements, the meaning of which dissolves immediatly, it's easier to be frank and honest online.
i mean only of course if you intend to be. i find honesty is a cool tool for me. but i do understand that some people like to be someone they are not in cyber... i've heard about it. like my brother when i told him i had about nine cyber girlfriends... he said, "yeah, but how do you know 'she' doesn't have a beard?" well, he's much more paranoid than i am. i tend to take people at face value.
By I_ArtMan, # 30. December 2007, 22:23:24
I also met a lot of wives who were interested in seeing naked pictures of men and thought it was not cheating, but who would have thought their husbands cheats if they were the ones handing out pictures. I came to the conclusion that there are a lot of depressed people online - and they (we) are very good at finding each other.
I think for most people, it's not about lying or truth - it's about creating alternate realities. Just like drugs or alcohol. And just like drugs or alcohol, sooner or later that environment becomes depressing to live in (or maybe the depression precedes it). Which is why I like the communities I am engaged in now - no pretense, no hidden agendas. Just people who enjoy each other's company and don't mind sharing the mundane bits of their days. No expectations of trysts, just people who have come to care for each other.
By noah counte, # 30. December 2007, 23:40:20
but you've expressed it very well. said it all even.
i just find it's a better pastime to talk to and listen people from all over the world than say... do something so passive as couch potatoing.
i do watch television but it's usually to rest, not to escape. i won't allow myself that as an escape anymore. also, of course, i love movies.
By I_ArtMan, # 31. December 2007, 00:13:00
I'm probably being overly harsh. But it is true that your opinion doesn't matter much if you are a good listener. I find that if people who want your opinon are allowed to say what need to say, they usually work things out while they listen to themselves talk.
I received satelite television as a gift, after having no reception at all for ten years. It's made me much less attentive. I used to enjoy watching movies, but I can't sit trhough one now. I watch a DVD, and it takes me four days to get through the whole thing. On the other hand, I get my fill of speed skating and curling.
Once I had zero channels and nothing to watch, and now I have 140 channels with nothing to watch. I don't feel richer.
They have said "it's a small world" for many years, but it becomes truer every day. And the biggest reason that is true in my world is because I can speak to people I've never met in countries I've never visted about things I didn't know anything about yesterday. Nice.
By noah counte, # 31. December 2007, 00:39:40
By I_ArtMan, # 31. December 2007, 00:49:12
By noah counte, # 31. December 2007, 01:09:59
By mihirk, # 20. January 2008, 06:21:28
By I_ArtMan, # 20. January 2008, 07:19:05