Bradley Is The New Kinkade

Here is an example of Northern Irish art; I hope this is the exception rather than the rule. To quote Jett Loe from Letter to America, "He makes Thomas Kinkade look like Vincent Van Gogh." You should all listen to Letter to America: Chapter 39--all about a Belfast art gallery scandal and resulting protest along with some very funny stuff about Val Kilmer as De Kooning in Pollock. I wonder who will play Kinkade in his biopic?

The Big Tour of Death and Art

As predicted, much of our trip to Vermont was dedicated to cemeteries and artists' facilities. On Saturday, we drove to Barre, VT, home of the Rock of Ages quarry (they have enough granite to quarry for another 4,500 years!). Because of all that granite, many Italian and Scottish stone carvers emigrated to Barre in the 19th century to practice their artistry on grave markers. It has become a tradition in Barre for stone carvers to make their own grave markers, resulting in some pretty funky stones. You can check out the ones I didn't photograph because I was smoking at Kelly's friend Joe's Flickr page. Don't miss the pix of Kelly and Joe bowling on the outdoor granite bowling alley at Rock of Ages. There is also a pretty spectacular photo of the quarry itself. Every time I think, hear, say or write quarry, I think of Fred Flintstone.

The second day, we drove to Salem, NY (near Bennington, VT) to visit BI'75's friend Anthony Cafritz's new venture, Salem Art Works. Located on a 174-acre (former) dairy farm, Salem Art Works is "an independent artists' community where experienced artists and newcomers alike can work, exhibit, nurture new ideas, and learn from each other." We went off-roading to the top of this hill, and, later, Anthony said "BI'75, grab your beer. I'm going to teach you to drive stick," and BI'75 drove his manual Chevy pickup. It was all very exciting.

The food we ate is another entry. Mmmmm...organic Vermont.

Journey to the Great White North

Tomorrow afternoon, Born in 1975 and I head up the Eastern Seaboard (and a little inland) to Burlington, VT. The temperatures will be frigid, which is especially of concern to me as I don't seem to own any socks. I've been instructed to bring a fleece with me; I believe that this garment is the traditional native costume of Vermont. Our itinerary includes, but is not limited to:

• Five Spice Cafe
• Vermont State House
• Rock of Ages
• Hope Cemetery
• Side trip to Bennington, VT to see Anthony Cafritz
• Salem Art Works
• Blue Benn
• The Trolley Car

Jeezum Crow! This trip appears to be heavy on quaint cafes, dead people and art and light on drinking beer. We'll just have to see what we can do about that.

Pilfering Peppers

I’ve been hearing Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Dani California” on the radio lately and have found it very confusing because I could have sworn it was a really old song, but everyone is talking about their new album. Well, it all became clear today when I heard a news bit about Tom Petty considering taking legal action against RHCP for ripping off “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.” Apparently, RHCP has gotten tired of just being derivative; they have gone the full monty and actually stolen a song. When will they get it through their heads that they were meant to be a one-hit wonder? Check out the comparison of the two songs here.

Rethinking Canadians

Most people who know me even in passing know this: I have an inexplicable hatred of Canadians based on little else than seeing Strange Brew once when I was nine. I find their well-scrubbed faces suspicious, their non-accents grating and their willingness to live in below-freezing temperatures baffling. Hmm...maybe it is explicable. But these two young men are making me take a long hard look at my prejudice against our neighbors to the North and my prejudices in general (except against tall people—they are freaks and I don’t like them).

One Red Paper Clip
The Last Angry Young Man (be sure to check out his Monkey Chow Diaries)

And Another Thing!

Why does Blogger's spell check always pick up the word "blog" and offer the following replacements?

bloc
Bloch
blows
bloke

Huh. That would make a great headline about an Eastern European politician getting caught in a gay-prostitution sex scandal.