"Mama's Boys" Update:

I may be the only person in America watching this show. Even TelevisionWithoutPity only reviewed the pilot episode. You know a show is bad when even TwoP snubs it!

Anyway, on last night's episode, the firefighter dude kept the silicone-enhanced blonde bimbo on the show despite his mother's strong wishes to give her the boot. It didn't bother him that the blonde bimbo had gone into debt by $162,000 in order to get two boob procedures, botox, lip collagen, hair extensions and trips to Neiman Marcus-- all of which she said were for "maintenance," at age 25. Methinks that the Firefighter Dude is making all his relationship decisions from his lower region and not from his brain. I fully support him!

The bigoted, anti-semitic, racist, insane Mom's son, Jo Jo made a different choice however: he ended up rejecting the girl who had posed for Playboy and wherever else all over the Internets. He wants a wholesome RE:Ality TV girl who is only showing off her boobies on a TV show.

The Jewish Mom's son continues to be chased by the African-American beauties on the show, which I find interesting... but Jewish Mom is trying to push this NICE JEWISH GIRL on him. Unfortunately he doesn't seem interested-- perhaps because NICE JEWISH GIRL doesn't have large silicone-enhanced boobs? Even her skill at making matzoh-ball soup didn't appear to sway him. Go figure!

Oh, and there was a big wooden crate with files in it about all the girls' secrets. Each mom got to look at one girl's file. That's how all the stuff about debt and hair extensions and posing for Playboy came out. Since the casting directors seem to have done a majority of their casting from Playboy, Penthouse and InternetFloozies.com, many of the files were quite thick.

Next week: Mrs. B. goes ballistic when Jo Jo gets jiggy with a black girl in the hot tub... and Miss Penthouse 2008 continues to try and keep her secret from Firefighter Dude's mom...

Nude-ling Around on Another Sick Day...

I read my work schedule wrong today and didn't realize it until too late (as in: I would have been two hours late for my shift if I had shown up!). So I did the easiest thing and called in sick again. Woohoo. I still felt sick anyway after a grueling Post-Xmas Bargain Shoppers and Return-ers Day yesterday. I think I've just been OUT OF IT due to this killer of a cold.

RE: the post title-- I do have clothes on! It refers to the quick study charcoal nudes shown here, from one of my recent painting class sessions. The poses were each maybe 15 seconds long. This particluar model was very bony, kind of muscle-y for a Lady, and some of these remind me of primitive African sculptures, especially the second one that's lower on the page.

I just came back from a beautiful walk around "Serenity Lake," which was my healing gift to myself for calling in sick! :-)

Merry Cough Sniffle Christmas, Happy Hack Hack Hannukah, All Y'all!

After busting my butt to provide Overall Outstanding Customer Service for several weeks at my Retail 'Ho job (not succeeding 100% of the time, I'm afraid to admit) I came down with the Mother of All Colds on my last shift on Monday, and have been inside ever since, missing out on all the Holiday festivities I had planned for my three days off. It's been a bummer. I know that there are many people who aren't able to have the holidays they want. People who are having hard economic times, people in the military, in the hospital, etc. I am still pretty blessed right here in my cozy 'Frisco Bachelor Pad...

I have wonderful family and friends who have missed my presence at Holiday get-togethers as much as I have missed theirs, and we're just having to postpone hanging out together until I feel better. So I can't really complain too much.

In the meantime, I hope all my "bloggy friends" (to use the expression of one of them!) are enjoying their festivities!

Art and RE:Ality (TV and Other Stuff)

Here's my latest masterpiece (sorry no scratch and sniff, Remo!). The instructor had the same model sit with the same pose for four class sessions, which was a great opportunity to do a more finished piece.

This painting was completed in three sessions, so about eight hours total. I prepared a canvas with a pinkish ground, and then painted the figure with whatever colors struck my fancy. Fauvism is the genre that is most like this. I wasn't a slave to correct proportions, although my one self-criticism is that it's not far enough removed, like let's say a Modigliani, yet not completely anatomically correct either. This is partly because I just don't paint from RE:Ality very often these days, and figure painting is one of the hardest technical challenges there is in art.

I really enjoyed painting from the model this semester!

My friends who I've shown my lastest work to are all encouraging me to aim for having a show in 2009. I definitely have enough work, it's just a matter of where and how. I have a lot of trouble with self-promotion in my offline life. BELIEVE IT OR NOT! Fear of rejection. Ugh! But I definitely feel like it's time. Even if it's in a little cafe somewhere.

Onto RE:Ality TV: "Momma's Boys," NBC, Monday night. Be there! It's sick and awesome. I'm not sure if it's politically correct to stick a racist, bigoted, anti-semetic, ignorant, hypocritcal Momma into a house with a bunch of demographically diverse and randomly silicone-enhanced bachelorettes, but it definitely makes for great TV.

RE:Ality and Non-RE:Ality TV: Jumping the Shark and Jumping the Grande Jeté

It's that depressing time of year when several Re:Ality TV shows wrap up their seasons and RE:Ality TV Addicts have to wait until early January for new seasons to begin. (Bachelor and American Idol, f'rnstance!)

I have been a rabid fan of Survivor since Day One, but I have to say, I was pretty disgusted with this Gabon season. So many unlikeable contestants, headed up by the Horrid and desparately in need of Long-Term Therapy Corinne and the Alcoholic Curmudgeon and Dog-Fancier Randy. I had trouble deciding who to root for. The H.S. Teacher dude who won deserved it, but he was a bit crusty for my tastes. "Sugar" was cute, but that's about it. I liked the Video Gamer... what was his name again? I guess the fact that I can't remember sums up everything about the season for me. Ken. Just looked it up on TelevisionWithoutPity.

Corrine reminded me of myself a few years back, when I thought that being sarcastic and mean was "interesting" and that nice people were boring. Hopefully she'll grow up one day and realize how ugly her attitudes are and how much they hurt others and herself.

Moving on to Stylista, my other guilty pleasure these past few months... Johannna won. She seems like the editorial type. I spent a few days freelancing at magazines back in the day in NY and those offices are full of gals like that. I think that DeShaun's downfall was that he couldn't spell or copy-edit for shit, and that is an important job-skill at the entry level. This show may be a one-season wonder, I'm not sure, but I enjoyed it. I so want to be "ON TREND" these days myself! The bitchery on this show was hard to take at times too, but at least it was comical, and everyone in the Fashion Biz is kind of like that anyway.

Last but not least, I wonder if any of my loyal blog-readers caught the PBS Dance In America Broadcast last night of my beloved San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker? It was exciting to see so many of my fave dancers on TV, and I thought it was very well-filmed. I see The Nutcracker just about every year. What I enjoy the most, aside from the gorgeous music and dancing, is seeing the all little girls in the audience in their velvet frocks, white saggy tights and black patent leather maryjanes.... the dressed-up mommies and daddies are fun too.

Happy Holidays all y'all! Only four more days of Retail Hell for me until my break next week, wooohoo!

Propaganda Art

I made this painting at the beginning of the semester that I'm just finishing up. I don't think it's really that successful, but it was a nice try. I did it in response to the "No on 8" campaign here in California which failed not long thereafter, thanks to our friends the Mormons and Catholics, not to mention those wacky Fundamentalist Christians.

At the time, I thought maybe I could do some art about gay marriage, and about the type of religious fanatic yahoo that comes out and protests all the happy gay and lesbian couples getting married (represented by the sign-holding ogre on the hill).

I do like the way I represented the male (clown) couple. That's how I envision my Future Hubby and Myself. :-)

I don't envison bickering over housekeeping and who cleans the litterbox.

Insanity vs. Serenity

Yesterday I started work at 7:30 am and today at 6:30 am. No one was shopping at 7 am when the store opened! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I know that many people in the rest of the world have to go to work early, but I am not the rest of the world! I need my beauty sleep!

I've been spending extra time in Golden Gate Park or out at Ocean Beach during my time off lately. Being in nature replenishes my spirit, which I really need right now. I am so lucky to live in a city that has so much natural beauty in it! This photo was taken at a lake in the park that's about a 10-minute walk from my place. I call it Serenity Lake. It's a great spot for bird-watching, and the ducks and squirrels that aound live there are quite well-fed and happy too.

Ride 'Em Cowboy

I bought this PoloRL belt the other day-- I had a coupon for an extra 20% off for having survived a year at my job and wanted to buy something completely frivolous with it. Never in a million years would I have thought I'd own a belt like this, but I find it funny. When you're around this merch all day long, you can't help but start growing attached to it.

I immediately thought to mix the belt up with my beloved tie-dye: an Artsy/ Gay/ Hippie/ Cowboy/ Bear look I'm creating for myself.

My footsies are a wreck from being on them all day long, but I sure do want a pair of cowboy boots next...

The Calm Before The Storm

This was taken of MOI on Thanksgiving Day, I can't believe I was looking that happy! I like how I look in this photo; I feel like in person I look old & tired lately but maybe it's not accurate...?

Note Polo Ralph Lauren tie, purchased way on sale.