Do the folks in Kalamazoo still affectionately refer to their hometown as K-Zoo or Kazoo? I heard those terms many years ago, like the nickname Chi-Town. Does Cheboygan have a like nickname?
Anyhow, brandishing anything these days is likely to attract unneeded attention from authorities. You could roll up a newspaper and if you're walking down the street and wildly flailing it about, well, reasonable people might find it disturbing.
In England there is a thing called ASBO (Anti-Social Behavior Order) which allows the authorities to write up or arrest people who are being asses. I don't know how broadly it is implemented or effective it is as a deterrent , but it's something. They don't have a reputation as a Nanny State for nothing; their permanent records must be vast.
-----
It's funny that Mr. Beagles suggests a possible weapon threat with the PVC pipe. Last summer I needed a lot of it, maybe 150ft, for another project. It's sold in 10ft lengths, and I had to use public transportation (bus) for the trips to Home Depot and the hardware stores. Easy enough when you cut each piece and bundle them all with zip-ties, but it's unusual looking and a bit clumsy to handle. I had to be very careful not to smack someone in the face or break some windows, and my fellow passengers eyed me very warily.
-----
Uncle Ken has helpfully explained why I've been feeling a loss of brain function: "...the more that I think about it the less I know what I am talking about." It must be time to sharpen and hone Occam's Razor.
But he forgets one thing in his "shining new socialist world of public trans." It doesn't work when you have to haul a lot of crap around. It is no joy to be on a bus/train when there are strollers, shopping carts, and big bags all over the place and you have a goofball bundle PVC pipe.
It's different if you throw Uber/Lyft and taxi cabs into the mix of public transportation. Adding some kind of on-demand pickup truck service could solve a lot of problems.
This is primarily a complex urban issue, and not easily solved.
Friday, August 19, 2016
being true to thine own self
Weren't there some armed demonstrators at the Republican convention?
I seem to recall that the police asked them to disarm themselves and
they did, but what if they had refused? What kind of open carry is it
if the police can tell you not to do it?
I wouldn't have thought that brandish had anything to do with menacing, I thought it meant like to display proudly. Strange how we get to know words, it's not like we are formally introduced to them, it's more like they are people in a bar or a school, or some other kind of social institution, you go from a time where you didn't know them to a time when they are your friend but you don't remember ever meeting them.
Ever have one of those new-word-a-day calendars? Me neither, but it would be interesting to see how it would effect your life. You would be striking up all these casual conversations and trying to maneuver the subject around to where you could brandish your new word. People would think you were strange, but maybe some would find you interesting. I wonder if it would help in the picking up of chicks.
I'm not sure what I mean by this whole promoting your art, monetizing your hobby thing. It's just kind of a vague thing, like a beach ball, that I want to toss around for a bit and then leave resting in the sand.
I was thinking of another thing. That Amy Winehouse documentary. What she really wanted to be was like a jazz singer, you know something arty, something that would bring respect among a small but avid group of fans. But then she hit it big, and fell for the big shtick and then she was competing with the likes of Taylor Swift and Beyonce who are really just businesses with a trifling concern with art, and she crashed and burned.
Well maybe she would have crashed and burned anyway, but I think that once you get into that big pop thing, that you have kind of lost your soul.
Whatever the hell that means. Whatever the hell 'better person' means. Am I a better person for spending the morning painting with all my pretensions, or might I just as well be watching tv reruns or smoking crack? As far as the betterment of the human condition and society are concerned it is the same difference.
But why should I care what other people think? Should I not to my own self be true? But aren't the guys watching the reruns and smoking all the crack also being true to themselves? But then it all sort of works out. Obviously I don't think much of the tv watcher or the crack smoker, but why should they care what I think? Aren't they being true to themselves anyway?
It's not money. There is a woman in the building who gives art talks and she talks about this and that artist and how everybody thought he was nuts but then, and here she pauses, his paintings now sell for gazillions of bucks, and the crowd gasps. But so what? What does that have to do with art? What does the price of a Honus Wagner baseball card have to do with baseball?
I'm kind of sorry I brought this whole subject up because the more that I think about it the less I know what I am talking about.
In the shining new socialist world of public trans you wouldn't have those accessibility problems. Since everybody would be taking public trans the trains would be running way more often and they would be running everywhere.
Actually Old Dog you made two brush holders and one I use at home and the other is my travel brush holder. We watercolorists are constantly complaining about our palettes, they don't have enough sections for the paint, or space in the middle for mixing colors, and everyone of us would like a different kind of palette. Oh if only somebody with a 3d printer could make individual palettes.
There would be a monetization of a hobby, but then Old Dog would have to spend a lot of time dealing with fussy and scatterbrained watercolorists so I don't know.
Alright then. Another weekend, another chance for me to locate that box with the report cards and check out what kind of things would earn you a checkmark. And time to look into that thingiverse thing. Well I just did, and I got to the Sears Tower thing, but I am wondering if there is a place to go to see all of Old Dogs contraptions in one place.
I wouldn't have thought that brandish had anything to do with menacing, I thought it meant like to display proudly. Strange how we get to know words, it's not like we are formally introduced to them, it's more like they are people in a bar or a school, or some other kind of social institution, you go from a time where you didn't know them to a time when they are your friend but you don't remember ever meeting them.
Ever have one of those new-word-a-day calendars? Me neither, but it would be interesting to see how it would effect your life. You would be striking up all these casual conversations and trying to maneuver the subject around to where you could brandish your new word. People would think you were strange, but maybe some would find you interesting. I wonder if it would help in the picking up of chicks.
I'm not sure what I mean by this whole promoting your art, monetizing your hobby thing. It's just kind of a vague thing, like a beach ball, that I want to toss around for a bit and then leave resting in the sand.
I was thinking of another thing. That Amy Winehouse documentary. What she really wanted to be was like a jazz singer, you know something arty, something that would bring respect among a small but avid group of fans. But then she hit it big, and fell for the big shtick and then she was competing with the likes of Taylor Swift and Beyonce who are really just businesses with a trifling concern with art, and she crashed and burned.
Well maybe she would have crashed and burned anyway, but I think that once you get into that big pop thing, that you have kind of lost your soul.
Whatever the hell that means. Whatever the hell 'better person' means. Am I a better person for spending the morning painting with all my pretensions, or might I just as well be watching tv reruns or smoking crack? As far as the betterment of the human condition and society are concerned it is the same difference.
But why should I care what other people think? Should I not to my own self be true? But aren't the guys watching the reruns and smoking all the crack also being true to themselves? But then it all sort of works out. Obviously I don't think much of the tv watcher or the crack smoker, but why should they care what I think? Aren't they being true to themselves anyway?
It's not money. There is a woman in the building who gives art talks and she talks about this and that artist and how everybody thought he was nuts but then, and here she pauses, his paintings now sell for gazillions of bucks, and the crowd gasps. But so what? What does that have to do with art? What does the price of a Honus Wagner baseball card have to do with baseball?
I'm kind of sorry I brought this whole subject up because the more that I think about it the less I know what I am talking about.
In the shining new socialist world of public trans you wouldn't have those accessibility problems. Since everybody would be taking public trans the trains would be running way more often and they would be running everywhere.
Actually Old Dog you made two brush holders and one I use at home and the other is my travel brush holder. We watercolorists are constantly complaining about our palettes, they don't have enough sections for the paint, or space in the middle for mixing colors, and everyone of us would like a different kind of palette. Oh if only somebody with a 3d printer could make individual palettes.
There would be a monetization of a hobby, but then Old Dog would have to spend a lot of time dealing with fussy and scatterbrained watercolorists so I don't know.
Alright then. Another weekend, another chance for me to locate that box with the report cards and check out what kind of things would earn you a checkmark. And time to look into that thingiverse thing. Well I just did, and I got to the Sears Tower thing, but I am wondering if there is a place to go to see all of Old Dogs contraptions in one place.
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Brandishing Your Art
That incident in Kalamazoo is a good example of what I was talking about. The guy wasn't breaking any laws, but he was making people nervous, which could be construed as a threat to public safety, so the police had to do something. By confiscating the rifle, they neutralized the situation and, by returning it the next day, nobody's rights were violated. I think that, if somebody tried to openly carry a gun on the Mackinac Bridge Walk, the cops would do something similar. They are allowed to hold you for questioning for 24 hours, and then they have to either charge you with something or release you. I think that's what happens to most of the people who are arrested during a riot or demonstration. The idea is to get them off the street until everybody calms down, and then they let them go. I don't blame the cops, it's their job to maintain law and order, and sometimes they have a fine line to walk.
My dictionary defines "brandish" as "To shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly." I can see where a lawyer might have fun with that. "Your Honor, my client was not waving his gun menacingly, he was just showing it to his friends, who were standing all around him, and he wanted to make sure that they all got a good look at it." If Uncle Ken was trying to show one of his paintings to his friends at the Ten Cat, he might do the same thing, but nobody would get nervous about that because most people don't consider a painting to be a dangerous weapon. Speaking of dangerous weapons, Old Dog's paint brush holder looks like it could be used to launch tactical rockets or mortar rounds. I wouldn't advise displaying that on Michigan Avenue, it might make people nervous and get you a night in the slammer.
Speaking of Old Dog, he says that "monetizing hobbies" is not the same thing as promoting your art. I don't know much about art, but I think anything that you do for fun that doesn't make you any money can be considered a hobby. Well, you could make some money, but not enough to justify quitting your day job. For 15 years I performed songs and stories at an annual event that was co-sponsored by the Bliss Fest and the Petoskey Public Library. We did it for free for the first few years, and then event's leader persuaded the sponsors to appropriate some money to pay the performers. First it was a hundred dollars, and then it was a hundred and fifty, not bad for 20 minutes work, but I could never figure out how to live on $150 a year.
My dictionary defines "brandish" as "To shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly." I can see where a lawyer might have fun with that. "Your Honor, my client was not waving his gun menacingly, he was just showing it to his friends, who were standing all around him, and he wanted to make sure that they all got a good look at it." If Uncle Ken was trying to show one of his paintings to his friends at the Ten Cat, he might do the same thing, but nobody would get nervous about that because most people don't consider a painting to be a dangerous weapon. Speaking of dangerous weapons, Old Dog's paint brush holder looks like it could be used to launch tactical rockets or mortar rounds. I wouldn't advise displaying that on Michigan Avenue, it might make people nervous and get you a night in the slammer.
Speaking of Old Dog, he says that "monetizing hobbies" is not the same thing as promoting your art. I don't know much about art, but I think anything that you do for fun that doesn't make you any money can be considered a hobby. Well, you could make some money, but not enough to justify quitting your day job. For 15 years I performed songs and stories at an annual event that was co-sponsored by the Bliss Fest and the Petoskey Public Library. We did it for free for the first few years, and then event's leader persuaded the sponsors to appropriate some money to pay the performers. First it was a hundred dollars, and then it was a hundred and fifty, not bad for 20 minutes work, but I could never figure out how to live on $150 a year.
Under the porch
Old Dog has been under the porch, gnawing at the meaty ideas lately posted by Uncle Ken.
"Which is something like are you the better person for just plying your art and following your own course, or should you try to promote because otherwise it will just die with you."
I'm not clear on the question and how it relates to being a "better person." Can we tell if we are better people, or is it up for others to determine it? I don't know how "better" should be defined in this case. Happier? More successful? Healthier? Nebulous speculation, indeed. NebSpec?
When you die, your artwork doesn't disappear; it is simply no longer in production. Maybe it will be discovered as works of genius, and much moolah will be made by it's acquisition. Or maybe it will end up on the scrap heap, never to be seen again. Does it matter to the artist? No, he's dead.
I keep thinking of Van Gogh. Did his work die with him? I like his stuff, but it doesn't seem like he had a whole lot fun in it's creation, and he certainly didn't get rich from his paintings. He painted because he simply could not do otherwise, and there is opinion that he had a few personal issues.
Other artists, like Dali and Picasso, embraced the social aspects of the art world and were relentless in their self-promotion, becoming wealthy and successful in their own lifetimes. Is their stuff really any "better" than Van Gogh's?
Art is a subjective concept and it's definition changes over time. Where do you draw the lines between art, craft, and design? Is it the rarity of the object, and how should value be assigned?
It's a buyer's market. If the right people like your stuff you've got it made. But how do you attract the attention of the right people? I think the best solution, requiring a minimal level of self-promotion, is to get representation from a gallery and let them do handle it. Let them take their cut off the top, and you can get back to your painting. Maybe you'll sell more stuff, maybe not.
Another path is to enter juried exhibitions. They don't accept everything, and if you make the cut you'll get good exposure. Is there an ultimate goal?
In a response, Mr. Beagles wrote "You take something that's fun and make work out of it, and it's not as much fun anymore,"
This is also true, but I think he's talking about monetizing hobbies, which is different kettle of worms. It can be done, but it is not easy and it sucks the pleasure out of amateur endeavors. For some good examples you can research the many failed KickStarter projects.
These are not good answers but they're the only ones I have at this time, and I've given it a lot of thought over the years. More thinking and gnawing is required.
-----
Like Uncle Ken, I used to be a much bigger fan of cars than I am now. Used to be that you could tell a Ford from a Chevy or Plymouth a block away; not any more. Cars are much more practical today, with some exceptions like the cartoony 700hp Hellcat models from Dodge. Really, 700hp? Seems a bit much to me but apparently there are enough customers with more dollars than sense.
The big problem with public transportation is time; not all jobs are easily accessible. I've known people that had a one-way commute of over an hour via bus, subway, and much walking. It was longer in the wintertime so it can be a tough choice. For many, car ownership is a necessity, especially if a family is involved.
-----
Although some of my interests skew in the tech direction, I don't invent diddly-squat. I've designed some trivial objects and posted the files to Thingiverse, in case anyone else wants to check them out. For an example, Mr. Beagles can go here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:943205
I made Uncle Ken a half-height version for use as a brush holder, which I'll assume he still uses.
"Which is something like are you the better person for just plying your art and following your own course, or should you try to promote because otherwise it will just die with you."
I'm not clear on the question and how it relates to being a "better person." Can we tell if we are better people, or is it up for others to determine it? I don't know how "better" should be defined in this case. Happier? More successful? Healthier? Nebulous speculation, indeed. NebSpec?
When you die, your artwork doesn't disappear; it is simply no longer in production. Maybe it will be discovered as works of genius, and much moolah will be made by it's acquisition. Or maybe it will end up on the scrap heap, never to be seen again. Does it matter to the artist? No, he's dead.
I keep thinking of Van Gogh. Did his work die with him? I like his stuff, but it doesn't seem like he had a whole lot fun in it's creation, and he certainly didn't get rich from his paintings. He painted because he simply could not do otherwise, and there is opinion that he had a few personal issues.
Other artists, like Dali and Picasso, embraced the social aspects of the art world and were relentless in their self-promotion, becoming wealthy and successful in their own lifetimes. Is their stuff really any "better" than Van Gogh's?
Art is a subjective concept and it's definition changes over time. Where do you draw the lines between art, craft, and design? Is it the rarity of the object, and how should value be assigned?
It's a buyer's market. If the right people like your stuff you've got it made. But how do you attract the attention of the right people? I think the best solution, requiring a minimal level of self-promotion, is to get representation from a gallery and let them do handle it. Let them take their cut off the top, and you can get back to your painting. Maybe you'll sell more stuff, maybe not.
Another path is to enter juried exhibitions. They don't accept everything, and if you make the cut you'll get good exposure. Is there an ultimate goal?
In a response, Mr. Beagles wrote "You take something that's fun and make work out of it, and it's not as much fun anymore,"
This is also true, but I think he's talking about monetizing hobbies, which is different kettle of worms. It can be done, but it is not easy and it sucks the pleasure out of amateur endeavors. For some good examples you can research the many failed KickStarter projects.
These are not good answers but they're the only ones I have at this time, and I've given it a lot of thought over the years. More thinking and gnawing is required.
-----
Like Uncle Ken, I used to be a much bigger fan of cars than I am now. Used to be that you could tell a Ford from a Chevy or Plymouth a block away; not any more. Cars are much more practical today, with some exceptions like the cartoony 700hp Hellcat models from Dodge. Really, 700hp? Seems a bit much to me but apparently there are enough customers with more dollars than sense.
The big problem with public transportation is time; not all jobs are easily accessible. I've known people that had a one-way commute of over an hour via bus, subway, and much walking. It was longer in the wintertime so it can be a tough choice. For many, car ownership is a necessity, especially if a family is involved.
-----
Although some of my interests skew in the tech direction, I don't invent diddly-squat. I've designed some trivial objects and posted the files to Thingiverse, in case anyone else wants to check them out. For an example, Mr. Beagles can go here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:943205
I made Uncle Ken a half-height version for use as a brush holder, which I'll assume he still uses.
pleasing the muckety mucks
This whole 'brandishing' thing is new to me. Off to the google
machine. Apparently Michigan had an anti brandishing law on the books
and people wondered if that would negate open carry, but in the end they
decided that open carrying was not the same as brandishing. But then
what is brandishing?
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2014/05/open_carry.html There was some drunk outside a laundromat in Kalamazoo. That's almost a song isn't it
I got drunk with my rifle in Kalamazoo
Thought I'd brandish it a bit and get my duds sudsed too.
Open-carry rights came under the spotlight in Kalamazoo last Sunday, after police got calls about a man carrying a rifle on a city sidewalk outside a Cork Street laundromat.
You know the reason these guys want to pack heat is so that they can protect themselves, and who needs more protection than a drunk? They ought to hand out handguns to everybody leaving the bar at closing time.
You're right Beagles, even though I live in the Hog Butcher of the World, I would not consider butchering a hog as a fun activity.
At one point when I was subbing and collecting social security I was just getting by. Well not actually getting by, I was coming out a little short at the end of every month and I thought gee, if I could just sell like maybe three paintings a month, i would be getting by. But I never did achieve that level of success.
But you get to thinking. Right now I just paint whatever I am in the mood to do, basically whatever is fun. I don't even care that much whether or not it is pretty as long as it is interesting to paint. Well it's not just fun, well it is fun, but it's like serious fun, like i do a lot of thinking about it. I formulate and discard theories, if it devolves that I will have to paint a thousand windows to depict a cityscape, well that is just what I will have to do, tedious as that might sound, though once I get to doing it, it is never all that boring. As much as I detest that flowery talk about art, I am following my path and i am true to it.
But if I had to sell, why things would be different. Nobody wants to buy muffins from a baker who is true to his own path. They want to buy muffins from the guy who tries to bakes them just the way everybody likes them.
I suppose I could try to paint the way I thought everybody wanted, but the high art muckety mucks would look down their noses at me. I would be selling out. They don't want to eat the same muffin every morning, they want something new and different, they want to learn something. You can tell when somebody is just trying to please and when somebody is following their own path, and somebody who is following their own path is always more interesting because you don't know where it is going to go, but somebody who is trying to please everybody, you always know where that guy is going.
And you're right, it is more fun when you are going your own way, and more work when you are just doing it to please somebody. I'm trying to work out an analogy to hog butchering, but I just can't. But anyway if would be a job if I was trying to please everybody.
But maybe I would be into it for the money, so what is wrong with that? But you know if i was really into it for the money, for the big money, which you can only get if you please the muckety mucks, the thing to do would be to paint in such a way that it looked like I was following my own path, but what I would subtly be doing is figuring out what would please the muckety mucks.
And maybe that is what art is all about. Generally you don't see the art of guys who weren't trying to promote themselves in those big fancy books, only the art of those who not only promoted themselves, but did it well.
So maybe that is part of art, not only following your path, but appealing subtly to the muckety mucks as well, maybe that is what it is all about. What do you think Gentlemen. And speaking of gentlemen, where is Old Dog?
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2014/05/open_carry.html There was some drunk outside a laundromat in Kalamazoo. That's almost a song isn't it
I got drunk with my rifle in Kalamazoo
Thought I'd brandish it a bit and get my duds sudsed too.
The
man, who didn't have a sling for the rifle and was shifting it from
shoulder to shoulder, unleashed a string of obscenities toward Kalamazoo
Department of Public Safety officers who responded. Officers ended up seizing the rifle, but returning it the next day and ultimately police decided no laws had been broken.
Assistant Chief Donald Webster said the department decided not to forward the case to the prosecutor for a misdemeanor charge of brandishing a firearm in public because even though the man was said to be “fidgeting” with the rifle, it was not evident that he was "brandishing" it.
So I guess fidgeting is fine, but don't let it cross the line to
brandishing. So those terrorists on the Mackinac Bridge Walk would be
well advised to limit their handling of the semi automatics to
fidgeting.You know the reason these guys want to pack heat is so that they can protect themselves, and who needs more protection than a drunk? They ought to hand out handguns to everybody leaving the bar at closing time.
You're right Beagles, even though I live in the Hog Butcher of the World, I would not consider butchering a hog as a fun activity.
At one point when I was subbing and collecting social security I was just getting by. Well not actually getting by, I was coming out a little short at the end of every month and I thought gee, if I could just sell like maybe three paintings a month, i would be getting by. But I never did achieve that level of success.
But you get to thinking. Right now I just paint whatever I am in the mood to do, basically whatever is fun. I don't even care that much whether or not it is pretty as long as it is interesting to paint. Well it's not just fun, well it is fun, but it's like serious fun, like i do a lot of thinking about it. I formulate and discard theories, if it devolves that I will have to paint a thousand windows to depict a cityscape, well that is just what I will have to do, tedious as that might sound, though once I get to doing it, it is never all that boring. As much as I detest that flowery talk about art, I am following my path and i am true to it.
But if I had to sell, why things would be different. Nobody wants to buy muffins from a baker who is true to his own path. They want to buy muffins from the guy who tries to bakes them just the way everybody likes them.
I suppose I could try to paint the way I thought everybody wanted, but the high art muckety mucks would look down their noses at me. I would be selling out. They don't want to eat the same muffin every morning, they want something new and different, they want to learn something. You can tell when somebody is just trying to please and when somebody is following their own path, and somebody who is following their own path is always more interesting because you don't know where it is going to go, but somebody who is trying to please everybody, you always know where that guy is going.
And you're right, it is more fun when you are going your own way, and more work when you are just doing it to please somebody. I'm trying to work out an analogy to hog butchering, but I just can't. But anyway if would be a job if I was trying to please everybody.
But maybe I would be into it for the money, so what is wrong with that? But you know if i was really into it for the money, for the big money, which you can only get if you please the muckety mucks, the thing to do would be to paint in such a way that it looked like I was following my own path, but what I would subtly be doing is figuring out what would please the muckety mucks.
And maybe that is what art is all about. Generally you don't see the art of guys who weren't trying to promote themselves in those big fancy books, only the art of those who not only promoted themselves, but did it well.
So maybe that is part of art, not only following your path, but appealing subtly to the muckety mucks as well, maybe that is what it is all about. What do you think Gentlemen. And speaking of gentlemen, where is Old Dog?
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
The Perils of Turning Pro
We have talked about this open carry thing before. The law says that you can carry a loaded firearm down Main Street as long as you don't conceal it. Just try it once, though, and see how far you get. Some time ago there were some people who were trying to prove that point, but I haven't heard about them lately, and I don't know if they gained anything for all their efforts. Last I heard, the Michigan legislature was trying to define the word "brandishing" because brandishing a firearm is illegal in this state, but the law did not say exactly what that means. I haven't heard how that one came out, or even if it came out. Maybe they're still working on it.
I didn't know that Michigan was the eighth most populous state in the U.S. but, when I think about it, it makes sense. Some of the states on the East Coast must have more people per square mile, but they have less square miles. California has lots of people and lots of square miles, but the population in most of the large Western states is spread out pretty thin. I seem to remember that Michigan lost some population in the last census, and we now have one less electoral vote than we used to. The southern half of the Lower Peninsula has the densest population in Michigan, the northern half is much less dense, and the U.P. is the least densest of all three.
When the paper mill was closing down, we were all racking our brains trying to figure out how we could turn one of our hobbies into a paying job. Some of them were already doing that, they considered the paper mill to be a second job that they took 20 or 30 years ago to help make ends meet, just till they could get their business up and running. I don't know how it turned out for most of them, but my experience was that you were further ahead to put your money in a mutual fund than to invest it in a small business. I imagine that artistic endeavors are not all that much different. You still have a product that you need to sell and, if your production costs exceed the market price of your product, you will lose money. Most professional musicians travel a lot, and they don't let you ride in railroad freight cars anymore, even if you tell them you are a genuine folk singer who needs the experience so you can write songs about it. I don't think artists need to travel as much, but they still need to market their product. You guys would know more about that than me.
Then you have to calculate what your time is worth. Some say that you can't count your time when you're self employed, but I don't think that's true. If you can make more per hour working at minimum wage, then every hour you spend on your art is a losing proposition. I suppose that's not as important for retired people like us, but you still need to figure what else you could be doing with your time that might be more productive, or at least less costly. For instance, do I mow my own lawn, or do I pay somebody else to do it while I paint? Okay, you city slickers don't have lawns, but you get the idea.
Then there's the fun part. You take something that's fun and make work out of it, and it's not as much fun anymore. I have done a little farm butchering in my day, and it was fun. You guys wouldn't like it, but I'm an earthy kind of guy who enjoys natural stuff like that, so I took a job working in a small slaughter house. Now it seems logical that, if butchering one pig is fun, then butchering 35 pigs would be even more fun, but it's not. After the third or fourth pig, I was getting tired of it and, by the end of the day, I swore that I would never butcher another pig again, and I never have.
I didn't know that Michigan was the eighth most populous state in the U.S. but, when I think about it, it makes sense. Some of the states on the East Coast must have more people per square mile, but they have less square miles. California has lots of people and lots of square miles, but the population in most of the large Western states is spread out pretty thin. I seem to remember that Michigan lost some population in the last census, and we now have one less electoral vote than we used to. The southern half of the Lower Peninsula has the densest population in Michigan, the northern half is much less dense, and the U.P. is the least densest of all three.
When the paper mill was closing down, we were all racking our brains trying to figure out how we could turn one of our hobbies into a paying job. Some of them were already doing that, they considered the paper mill to be a second job that they took 20 or 30 years ago to help make ends meet, just till they could get their business up and running. I don't know how it turned out for most of them, but my experience was that you were further ahead to put your money in a mutual fund than to invest it in a small business. I imagine that artistic endeavors are not all that much different. You still have a product that you need to sell and, if your production costs exceed the market price of your product, you will lose money. Most professional musicians travel a lot, and they don't let you ride in railroad freight cars anymore, even if you tell them you are a genuine folk singer who needs the experience so you can write songs about it. I don't think artists need to travel as much, but they still need to market their product. You guys would know more about that than me.
Then you have to calculate what your time is worth. Some say that you can't count your time when you're self employed, but I don't think that's true. If you can make more per hour working at minimum wage, then every hour you spend on your art is a losing proposition. I suppose that's not as important for retired people like us, but you still need to figure what else you could be doing with your time that might be more productive, or at least less costly. For instance, do I mow my own lawn, or do I pay somebody else to do it while I paint? Okay, you city slickers don't have lawns, but you get the idea.
Then there's the fun part. You take something that's fun and make work out of it, and it's not as much fun anymore. I have done a little farm butchering in my day, and it was fun. You guys wouldn't like it, but I'm an earthy kind of guy who enjoys natural stuff like that, so I took a job working in a small slaughter house. Now it seems logical that, if butchering one pig is fun, then butchering 35 pigs would be even more fun, but it's not. After the third or fourth pig, I was getting tired of it and, by the end of the day, I swore that I would never butcher another pig again, and I never have.
tend your garden or shoot for the stars
I know it's not the intent of those Report Suspicious Activity
announcements to make people afraid, but what I was wondering if that
was the effect. We all know Nervous Nellies who get all worked up by, oh Ebola for example, and I wonder if
hearing these announcements all the time increases their nervousness
because frankly I don't see what they are so nervous about. They should
be nervous when driving their cars and smoking their cigarettes rather
than fretting over nutballs.
I see where Michigan has open carry without a license or permit, so I guess it would be no trouble at all for a bunch of terrorist guys and gals to carry semi automatics over their shoulders along the route. Why bother to conceal something on a bus when you can carry your firearm outside your pants for all the honest world to see?
I don't think either of my colleagues flies very often, but the airports ring with messages of warning. Used to be they would warn you to not leave your bags out of your sight, and people with stacks of bags around their seats who had to take a leak would say, yeah right. I think they say something different now, but i am not sure, they are so ubiquitous that I never listen to them anymore.
I have noticed a few Hilary ads, and maybe one Trump one. This would have been on CNN so maybe it was nationwide otherwise why would they broadcast into true blue Illinois. You know Old Dog and I could fuss and fret about our votes and maybe consider Ben and Jerry or Jill The Green, but of course it doesn't matter at all. We could vote our consciences or the lesser of two evils, or toss it away, or bury it deep in the dark garden of Whatshisname the Anti Trump guy, or we could just stay home. Either way Illinois's 20 electoral votes go for the big girl.
Hum, Michigan's too, according to some internet map, where I was surprised to learn that Michigan gets 16 electoral votes which makes it the 8th most populous state in the union. Where do all those people live?
That movie I saw, where I heard the announcement to watch out for folks setting fire to their shoes or underwear was about this improv group, kind of just barely getting by. They all have rich parents or have to work these low level jobs to support themselves while they follow their dreams. For all that they are a jolly group joking with each other, having each others' backs etc. But as the movie opens their theater is being bought on and the new owners are giving them the boot. Then word comes down that there will be a talent scout from a Saturday Night Life show in the audience. The best of the performers hogs the stage and gets the big gig, and the rest of the troupe are bitter, before the sappy Hollywood ending.
So who was right? The big star who essentially sold out or the loyal troupe who, let's face it, is going nowhere? Sometimes my improv group gets the idea of going beyond our quarterly senior citizens show, but then it kind of sputters out on the rocks of Who Is Going To Pay Real Money To See Us? I was sitting at the bar a few weeks ago and one of my fellow exhibitors, who had the current show, had this notebook and was making big plans to promote his art to rich people he knew. Lots of luck, I thought, and ordered another Daisy Cutter.
R Crumb of underground comix fame also plays in kind of a turn of the century band, The Cheap Suit Serenaders. He got to pontificating about it in this really great movie about him, and what he was talking about was that before Edison invented the record player if you wanted to hear music you had to pay a band. Since a lot of people wanted to hear music this meant a lot of work for a lot of bands and music reigned throughout the land.
But then when people could listen to record players they didn't need to pay any bands, and a lot of them had to find day jobs and stop playing. And also, because some bands got recorded and some didn't, some bands were considered great and some not so great, which was probably happening before recording but not so much.
Beagles used to be involved with the Bliss Music Festival, which I gather was kind of a nice little folksy group, but then the guys running it got big ideas to increase the audience and started letting in rock and roll bands which offended Beagles and he no longer is involved in the festival.
Old Dog is one of those tech guys. He has a 3d printer and other devices, invents various things, and posts them on the internet and gets responses, but has as yet, not hit in big in the tech world. Maybe if he got the ear of money guys or something he could hit it big, Maybe not.
I've simplified the roles of Beagles and Old Dog, for the convenience of my argument.
Which is something like are you the better person for just plying your art and following your own course, or should you try to promote because otherwise it will just die with you. Myself I am generally in favor of the latter, but I have my doubts about it.
So I'm looking for your opinions on this nebulous speculation.
I see where Michigan has open carry without a license or permit, so I guess it would be no trouble at all for a bunch of terrorist guys and gals to carry semi automatics over their shoulders along the route. Why bother to conceal something on a bus when you can carry your firearm outside your pants for all the honest world to see?
I don't think either of my colleagues flies very often, but the airports ring with messages of warning. Used to be they would warn you to not leave your bags out of your sight, and people with stacks of bags around their seats who had to take a leak would say, yeah right. I think they say something different now, but i am not sure, they are so ubiquitous that I never listen to them anymore.
I have noticed a few Hilary ads, and maybe one Trump one. This would have been on CNN so maybe it was nationwide otherwise why would they broadcast into true blue Illinois. You know Old Dog and I could fuss and fret about our votes and maybe consider Ben and Jerry or Jill The Green, but of course it doesn't matter at all. We could vote our consciences or the lesser of two evils, or toss it away, or bury it deep in the dark garden of Whatshisname the Anti Trump guy, or we could just stay home. Either way Illinois's 20 electoral votes go for the big girl.
Hum, Michigan's too, according to some internet map, where I was surprised to learn that Michigan gets 16 electoral votes which makes it the 8th most populous state in the union. Where do all those people live?
That movie I saw, where I heard the announcement to watch out for folks setting fire to their shoes or underwear was about this improv group, kind of just barely getting by. They all have rich parents or have to work these low level jobs to support themselves while they follow their dreams. For all that they are a jolly group joking with each other, having each others' backs etc. But as the movie opens their theater is being bought on and the new owners are giving them the boot. Then word comes down that there will be a talent scout from a Saturday Night Life show in the audience. The best of the performers hogs the stage and gets the big gig, and the rest of the troupe are bitter, before the sappy Hollywood ending.
So who was right? The big star who essentially sold out or the loyal troupe who, let's face it, is going nowhere? Sometimes my improv group gets the idea of going beyond our quarterly senior citizens show, but then it kind of sputters out on the rocks of Who Is Going To Pay Real Money To See Us? I was sitting at the bar a few weeks ago and one of my fellow exhibitors, who had the current show, had this notebook and was making big plans to promote his art to rich people he knew. Lots of luck, I thought, and ordered another Daisy Cutter.
R Crumb of underground comix fame also plays in kind of a turn of the century band, The Cheap Suit Serenaders. He got to pontificating about it in this really great movie about him, and what he was talking about was that before Edison invented the record player if you wanted to hear music you had to pay a band. Since a lot of people wanted to hear music this meant a lot of work for a lot of bands and music reigned throughout the land.
But then when people could listen to record players they didn't need to pay any bands, and a lot of them had to find day jobs and stop playing. And also, because some bands got recorded and some didn't, some bands were considered great and some not so great, which was probably happening before recording but not so much.
Beagles used to be involved with the Bliss Music Festival, which I gather was kind of a nice little folksy group, but then the guys running it got big ideas to increase the audience and started letting in rock and roll bands which offended Beagles and he no longer is involved in the festival.
Old Dog is one of those tech guys. He has a 3d printer and other devices, invents various things, and posts them on the internet and gets responses, but has as yet, not hit in big in the tech world. Maybe if he got the ear of money guys or something he could hit it big, Maybe not.
I've simplified the roles of Beagles and Old Dog, for the convenience of my argument.
Which is something like are you the better person for just plying your art and following your own course, or should you try to promote because otherwise it will just die with you. Myself I am generally in favor of the latter, but I have my doubts about it.
So I'm looking for your opinions on this nebulous speculation.
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