A Shoe in the Face...

Isn't it great!

Trying to finish up some things here in Alfred before I take a break and visit parts greater than this here small one. Here are a few recent photos to tide the masses over:

For Eva

Bacon in the Fridge

Bunny in the Bucket

Snow in the Town

Snow here, snow there, snow is now everywhere!

Cool Installation and Some Art of Mine.

Here's my dad and J-Boy, his first and only son, how obedient!

They are standing in front of gallery 221 and my dad's installation.
If you're in NYC, I suggest you check it out @ 221 East 88th Street.

Now, as for me, below are some of my recent works-in-progress.

The guy below is actually done and titled "The Rat in the Wood"

Will Wonders Never Cease???

My studio mate and her wild antics...
the one I warned you about in the beginning of my blog!

PS: I don' t know why it uploaded sideways, nor can I figure out how to correct that.

Tip of the day: Turn your computer 90 degrees to view video in proper alignment.

Who knows this word?

FLOCCINAUCINIHILIPILIFICATION

From Wikipedia: is the act of describing something as worthless, or making something to be worthless by deprecation.

With 29 letters and 12 syllables, it is the longest non-technical word in the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which presents it as "enumerated in a well-known rule from the Eton Latin Grammar." The OED dates its first use in literature at 1741 in William Shenstone's Works in Prose and Verse: "I loved him for nothing so much as his flocci-nauci-nihili-pili-fication of money." In recent years, the word has been used in many scholarly articles in philosophy.

Though the OED gives no specifics on its derivation, the word is said to have been invented as an erudite joke by a student of Eton College, who, upon consulting a Latin textbook, found four ways of saying "don't care" and combined them:

• flocci facere (from floccus, -i a wisp or piece of wool)
• nauci facere (from naucum, -i a trifle)
• nihili facere (from nihil, -i nothing; something valueless (lit. "not even a thread" from ni+hilum)) Example being: "nihilism"
• pili facere (from pilus, -i a hair; a bit or a whit; something small and insignificant)

Try using it in Scrabble!

Check this out...cut and paste and you're golden...

Barak and Basketball
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Lqm5emQl4
First USofA Prez to be a b-ball player. Go Obama!

Funny stuff out here in the middle of nowhere...

I found this in the 50% off bin at the local Dollar General:

I can't really beat five and a HALF rolls for .50 cents. Can you?

And do you think the folks at this dead end really need notice?

Yeah so...well, ummmm...

We've got snow! What? Yeah, no way! Yes way.

Hello, it's October 21st, what the....

I'm in the Middle of Nowhere! OR: Is it just a Warped Dimension?

News bulletin as reported in the school's daily email, "Alfred Today":

Hunting Season is Upon Us - Use Caution

Hunting season is now upon us in Western New York. The first season begins Saturday, Oct. 18 this year (sunrise to sunset), and the final season is over on Dec. 16.

Please be very careful if you decide to walk in any wooded area during this time. If you do, wear blaze orange or some other very bright color. If you see a POSTED sign, get the landowner's permission to enter or you could be fined for trespassing.

Hunting is not allowed on Alfred University property which includes the woods behind the campus and around Foster Lake.

(This is so foreign to me. Why is hunting considered by some to be a good sport? Why do so many VPs and VP candidates go hunting? What would happen if Cheney and Palin met in the woods? If you want to see one possible out come look up: Vice President Aaron Burr.)

Adventures Just Outside of Alfred

So, I and two friends went to this place called Pollywogg Holler. If you got rid of all the sleezy drunk slime men and the few drunk trashy women the place has a lot of potential. But, whoa the amount of too-old-to-be-getting-that-drunk folks that were there yesterday really put a damper on all the potential this place has. Maybe it was just that particular night that attracted the riff-raff. Still worth a visit though, and the pizza wasn't half bad. I'll keep my eye on it and hope to go back when a different crowd might abound.

This beauty was alongside the main trail.

It was in what seemed to be a sculpture graveyard.

One of the rooms for rent.

More pretty forest.

Overall, it's a strange and interesting place (sans the drunkards),
with tasty sweet berry wines, and a friendly young cow to boot!

(More pictures will soon be on my Facebook profile soon.)

I was thinking...

if I perfect my wink, could I run for VP too?

Alfred Is Making Me Crazy...

But maybe it's a good thing. You decide....

Studio "shots" from, Saturday, October 11th, 2008.

Part of what I sent my family...

and probably also pertinent to other folks I know, therefore this posting here. Unfortunately, it probably is a useful & necessary "house cleaning" to do at least once per year....

Just maybe, perhaps...maybe...uh, next year will be different, but since I'm human (at least I'm still under this impression) it probably won't be the case. So without further adieu (both literally and figuratively):

I want to truly and sincerely ask all of you for your forgiveness for any transgressions, conscious or otherwise, that I may have crossed you with during this last year. It is never my ultimate attempt to anger and/or hurt you, although I know at times I may have said or done things that did/do hurt and/or anger you, please forgive me for any and all ways I have erred this past year (and truly for all the years before this one) that directly and/or indirectly effected you. May I have learned and continue to learn from my mistakes this past year and improve upon my interpersonal relationships in the coming one. People and my relationships with them are very important to me and I hope to leave this world with a clean street so to speak. It is my hope that I never hurt anyone to begin with and certainly never beyond repair. Please forgive me for any and all indiscretions on my part.

May we all be transcribed in the "good book", whatever that may be...and yes, I'll ask for repentance next year about using the computer on this day.

Sheesh, am I hungry.

Special Student Thoughts:

So being back in school is a combination of: creating, doubting, creating, getting stuck, rethinking it all (and life), making more work anyway, questioning, distracting oneself with self-guided tours (snooping) in the studio, hitting up the thrift stores, acquiring unnecessary crap at rummage sales, making more work, more self-doubt, excitement, developing ideas, creativity, watching cool people create cool things, observing amazing firings, making new friends, watching a bit too much of television, watching a bit too little of the leaves changing, getting to the studio, getting stumped at the studio, creating, getting dirty, making order, making decisions, worrying about the next round of school, making contacts, learning, growing, changing, and creating all the while trying to maintain my identity and develop it further towards the person I want to be.

Here's my first finished piece at Alfred:

The piece is yet to be titled, the background square is 12" x 12", and the materials are clay and electrical tape. Nu?

She's the best the 'pubes could do?!?

ROLL CALL

Anyone reading this?

More on My New 'Hood

With beautiful trees...that seem to be on fireall a blaze in full glory

And free range chickens too.

Somewhere in my "neighborhood"
(aka further on up Route 244)
chickens and turkeys roam free.
I have yet to figure out where
exactly they live because
I've seen them out and
about around several
different homes.
(Turkeys not pictured.)
The road to my apartment
that is flecked with gold:

Visitors welcome!

Two Reasons Why I Thought It Would Feel Good To Be Far From New York City:

1. No roaches

2. No ghettos


I guess it was wishful thinking on my part, because look what is only a few steps from my studio space, just over two yellow lines: