creating

When it comes to creating something, does production or vision count more?

If I conceptualize a really great sculpture, and can draw it, but I hire someone else to sculpt it, is that sculpture MY art? Should I share the credit? Or do I put only my name on it?

What if I'm a  successful painter, and I loose the use of my arm and can't paint anymore. I can still be creative though. Can I describe a painting to another person and hire them to paint it? Should that painting bare my name, or the person who painted it? Do we share the credit?

How should that work?

I was wondering about that because of something I read recently, about Dale Chihuly. 

You can see his work, here;

https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=chihuly&chips=q:chihuly,online_chips:chihuly+glass&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjYhe213ILZAhXo5IMKHf5OBAMQ4lYILigG&biw=1138&bih=710&dpr=1.13

He hasn't been able to do any kind of glass work for decades. He has a team of artists do it for him. But it's his name that goes on everything. I'm sure he pays his team well, but still. They aren't really getting any credit for their hard work. That doesn't seem fair to me. 

Random Friday

The Internet says, Skittles don't have a flavor? If you blindfold someone, make them hold their nose, and feed them Skittles, they wouldn't be able to tell you what flavor you gave them...because they are all the same! Only the color and the fragrance makes your brain think otherwise. Crazy. Skittles says that's not true. Try it for yourself and let me know.

I want to win the lottery and buy 500 Funko Pops! I think I could stop at 500. See? I've set a limit!
Mwahahahaha!

These are the winners of the 2017 NatGeo Photographer of the year contest. Pretty cool!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/photos/winners-of-the-2017-national-geographic-nature-photographer-of-the-year-contest/ss-BBGEHNv?li=BBnbcA1

This article is from a couple weeks ago. Granted, I don't watch the news but I don't think this was big news. It's about Walmart raising their minimum wage to $11 an hour. For as much as the media hates Walmart, wouldn't you think they'd make a big deal about this? Oh wait, I guess I just figured it out....

https://www.wthr.com/article/walmart-raises-starting-wages-handing-out-bonuses-0

And this is a really fun article about what fast food looks like around the world. SO fun!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodculture/heres-what-fast-food-looks-like-around-the-world/ss-AAtoTfT?li=BBnb7Kz#image=1

Last, here's a really great example of how the "news" plays with words. This is from a list of the best managed states in the nation. California is ranked the 14th best managed state. That seems like bullshit right off the bat. But the ensuing word game is so well done, I had to share it...

14. California

> 2016 Unemployment: 5.4% (9th highest)
> Pension funded ratio: 74.0% (25th lowest)
> Credit rating and outlook: Aa3/Stable
> Poverty: 14.3% (20th highest)

The most populous state in the country, California might intuitively seem like the most difficult state to manage. Despite its size, California ranks better than most. Like most of the best run states, California has a solid tax base to draw from. The typical household in the state earns $67,739, about $10,000 more than the median income nationwide. Each year, the state brings in about $3,850 per resident in tax revenue, more than all but eight other states and about $1,000 more than is typical nationwide.

California allocates a relatively large share of its budget to helping its neediest residents. Some 40.4% of state spending goes towards public welfare programs, the largest public welfare allocation in any state.

Score!!!!

I love this! I don't win at all of these, but I've got the important ones covered!!


A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

enough money within her control to move out 
and rent a place of  her own,
even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
something perfect to wear if the employer, or date 
of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .....
a set of screwdrivers, a 
cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...

A  WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
a good piece of furniture 
not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, 
and a recipe for a meal,
that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ... 
a feeling of control over her destiny..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job, break up 
with a lover,
and confront a friend without;
ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder... and 
WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, 
or the nature of her parents.. 

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not 
have been perfect..but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to live alone . even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. 
whom she can trust, whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go...
be it to her best friend's kitchen table...
or a charming inn in the woods...
when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she can and can't  accomplish in a day...
a month...and a year...

age, aging, aged, what?

OMG! I'm only one year away from SIXTY! Only, I don't really feel like, OMG! Hmmm. I wonder why? Maybe it's denial. It could be that I don't care. I don't know. When I think about it, I guess it doesn't seem real, that I could be 60 in a year. Something funny did happen this year though. I felt nostalgic for my misspent youth! No, I don't want to relive it but it sure has been making me smile, all those escapades! The 70's were a lot of fun. A LOT of fun! I guess that's pretty common, thinking about your childhood and youth as you get OLD? I wonder if men do that? I'll have to ask mine :-)  Also, I don't really miss anything about being young. Well, not a lot of things. I miss having more hair than I do now and I miss my warp speed metabolism! And, I don't like my fingernails OR my toenails! Ohhhhh, look at that...I guess I do care about aging! Humph. 

Hooray for us!

Today, Amazon announced it's "short list" of the 20 cities it's considering, to build it's 2nd headquarters. Indianapolis is included in that list. I feel so proud of our city! Here is the complete list;

* Atlanta
* Austin
* Boston
* Chicago
* Columbus, OH
* Dallas
* Denver
* Indianapolis
* Los Angeles
* Miami
* Montgomery County, MD
* Nashville
* Newark
* New York City
* Northern Virginia
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* Raleigh, NC
* Toronto
* Washington DC

I bet they pick Toronto, just a hunch. Anyway, every city has to submit their proposals by October and they will make their choice, next year. I think Dallas and Nashville have a shot. Florida's economy is sucky but I think they could pull it off. I just don't think NYC, Boston, Chicago or LA can make themselves look good enough. Yep, they're all the biggest cities, but I don't think that counts for a project this big. I don't know if Indy is prepared for that kind of building boom, but it still says a lot for our city, that we made the list :-) 

more and more laws

Last week, the new Legislative session started.

Yesterday, I was looking at the list of bills drafted for this year's session. There will be more, but so far there are 645 of them. They work 4 days a week, until the end of March. You know what that says? A lot of these bills are just junk. Because a Senator or Representative can draft a bill to appease a constituent and say, I did my best...blah blah blah. So ridiculous.
The biggest bill on the docket this year is selling alcohol on Sundays. We're the ONLY state in the nation that does not sell liquor on Sunday - excluding restaurants. It's so archaic. Come on! Oh, and car dealers are all closed on Sundays. Does that even make any sense?

Anyway, some of the new bills, waiting to be heard this session, include;
- School cannot start before the last Monday in August.
- Changing voluntary manslaughter from a class 2 felony to a class 1 felony
                   isn't voluntary manslaughter, murder? hmmm
- allowing students to possess and use sunscreen. 
                   seriously? we need a law for that??
- allowing a person with an addiction related conviction to have their record expunged. 
                   so, if you're a drug addict and rob someone but go through a treatment program later, you                     can have your criminal record erased.
- being in jail will no longer be considered voluntary unemployment, in regard to not being able to pay child support.
                   Because if you're in jail, it's not your fault?? I don't get it.
- removes the requirement to be fingerprinted to apply for a firearm license.
                  Umm, yeah. This one is not even going to get past a first reading!! Please.

There are few good ones in there, but mostly they're all bullshit, time wasting, crap. No wonder people don't like politicians.

Well, there you go

Another year has gone by. I feel pretty comfortable with January. I was wondering why the other day and then I realized it's because it feels like it just WAS January. sigh.

So, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Make it a good one people. Make it count. Remember these two things; Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you should, and Kindness Matters.

Now, on to other random things! 

Remember when I told you about those little Funko Pop things? Well, I'm teetering on the edge of the collector cliff. I hate that! You know what stops me? My age. See?! Experience does count!! They sure are cute. They sure make me smile! I got these two for Christmas;


Pretty funny, huh? Everyday they make me smile. Oh, and this one!

They're hard to resist. There's even one for Bob Ross. And Jimi Hendrix! Who knew!? Maybe that's how celebrities gauge their success now. You know you've made it when you become a Funko Pop!

https://funko.com/products/all/brands/pop-vinyl

If you're a chocolate lover, this is going to be quite upsetting to you...it's estimated that chocolate will disappear by 2050 - due to climate change. Don't panic though. Even though that's the new headline, They didn't really mean it. They just wanted you to read the article and see all the ads. Sneaky bastards. There are a lot upsetting headlines in the news. Most of them aren't worth the click. 

I spend most of my 'clicks' on animal videos. Those are the best! I liked the one last week of the dolphins watching the squirrels! I also like the ones of animals helping other animals. Animals are SO much smarter than we can even guess! I love that. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4939512/Sweet-moment-dolphins-mesmerized-two-squirrels.html

And babies laughing. I like those videos too :-) Less news people. It's all temporary anyway!

Cheers!

Cults

Last year, my man and I started watching the Leah Remini series about Scientology. Since then, we've had several conversations about religion and cults. Mostly, they've been along the lines of - what the hell is wrong with you!?!?!?!? I don't get it. AT ALL. I'm not saying I'm a particularly strong person. As a matter of fact, sometimes I'm kind of gullible. Maybe I have a small authority issue. Or, maybe I just grew up in an era where it was trendy to question everything, so I do. I don't know. Regardless, I would question the teachings of a cult. I questioned the teachings of my church! Oh yeah...anyway...we watched the series. It was really fascinating. L. Ron Hubbard was a NUT!!! I can't even believe anyone would fall for that shit. Ewww. 

Last week, as I passed a coworker in the hall, she said, OH!, Cynthia, come see my tree! So I did :-) In her work space she has a 3 foot flocked tree adorned with peacocks. It's so pretty. I like those colors together. So I said that I didn't know she was peacock fan. She looked at me and with a straight face said, I'm not. But peacocks have about as much to do with the birth of Christ as a fat little man in a red suit so I figured what the hell! I laughed right out loud! That was pretty funny. So we started talking about religion, in general. She happens to be a very spiritual woman, I knew that. But then she told me something that completely floored me! At one time in her life, she was a member of the People's Temple...you know, Jim Jones and Guyana and drinking the kool aide!?!?!?!?!? She got out a couple years before they went to Guyana though. Whoa! She was pretty straight forward about it so I said, why?! Because I was really interested. Her answer made some sense to me. She said that she was a freshman in college and felt like her life was in kind of a disarray and they sort of said, we can full-fill you and all you have to do is follow the rules. So she thought, hey, I can do that. And everything will be better and my life will be easier and all I have to do is follow the rules. Yep, that sounds good to me! Wow. She barely lasted a year as a cult member and then she went, huh? And snuck out in the middle of the night and went home. Dang. Good for her but again, wow! 

BOOM!

This story is interesting to me for so many reasons;

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/this-angry-inventor-has-a-special-gift-for-package-thieves-revenge/ar-BBH1b5n?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=ientp

It's about a guy who is sick and tired of his packages being stolen off of his porch. You'll have to watch the video. Anyway, first, the whole notion of "porch pirates" is just wrong. What the hell people. Geez! Next, his invention is a little extreme but it is kind of funny. Last, in this article he says that he's caught 20 would be thieves, with his invention! Ummmm, TWENTY? I want to know what the hell he does that he's getting so many packages AND why the hell has he clearly been targeted by porch pirates?? I mean really, why does everyone want to steal his packages?! Something seems a little sketchy to me!

Skip presents?!

69 percent of Americans wish they could skip holiday gift giving

Nearly 7 in 10 Americans say they would skip exchanging gifts this holiday season if friends and family agreed to it.

That's according to a new online survey conducted by Harris Poll.
Forty-three percent said they feel pressured to spend more than they can afford. If they didn't have to buy or make gifts, 25 percent said they'd use the money on activities with friends and family, 37 percent would pay down debt, 47 percent would save or invest, and 60 percent said they would spend more time with friends and family.

Isn't that interesting? I think that the 37% that said they would pay down debt, aren't telling the truth. They just don't want to seem like grinches so they chose that answer vs. the I don't want to give a gift answer. That seems true to me though, that most people would rather DO things with their money. Especially as you get older...when you don't have kids at home, etc. That would be a nice shift if people did that. Memories of good times are always better than things :-)

Pretty, pretty, pretty!

Do you like warm white or cool white? I like them both but I guess I prefer warm white. It's just, I don't know, warmer :-) Did you even know that there's a difference? In case you didn't, I'll show you;

This is cool white

 This is warm white 

I love Christmas lights. I wish we could leave them up all year. Really, how can you not love all this bright, cheerfulness!?!?!

harassment et al part 2

I know what sexual abuse is. Don't you?
I know what they're saying when someone says they've been sexually molested. I bet you do, too. I know what attack means. I know what rape is. Do you?
So, I don't want to talk about those things. Those acts are real. Physical. Tragic.

I want to talk about, allegations. Harassment. Sexual harassment. Misconduct.

Allegations. What happened to, until proven guilty? Yikes. People are being fired left and right because someone said somebody did something. Sure, sometimes that's an appropriate response, but not every time!

Harassment. I've been harassed. I've been sexually harassed. I bet you would be hard pressed to find a woman anywhere in this country, by today's standards, that has not been harassed, ever. In general or sexually. Harassment seems to be so vague to people. If I'm offended because the guy in the cube next to me is telling dirty jokes to his buddy on the phone - is that sexual harassment? Or is it misconduct? It's not directed at ME. If it were me, I would just go over and say, dude, I don't want to listen to your dirty jokes, keep it down. Now, if he gave me a bunch of shit, that's harassment and I would have to tattle on him for being a jerk. But, if my male boss says, I'm gonna give this job to John, unless you fill in the blank.
That's totally about power and control and he's BIG jerk and that's sexual harassment.

Misconduct. Oy. Now the line is becoming real blurry. (For now, I mean verbal misconduct.) Mario Batali, the big chef, has stepped down because of allegations of sexual misconduct. He's 57. Not that that matters, but it kind of does. It speaks to the mindset of a culture. Poor Mario grew up in a culture where it was ok to make sexist remarks and be rude. Until now, maybe no one told him, that's not cool, knock it off. I grew up in the 70's. There was a whole lot of sexual misconduct going on!!!! Everywhere! Whoa. And what about the 60's? Sex, drugs and rock and roll?!?!?!? Sometimes it was a wold whistle or snarky comment. Sometimes it was just that creep that pinched your butt. And that goes for her pinching his butt too! Yeah. I did that in the 70's. I'm guilty of sexual misconduct. Boy am I!
I'm having trouble with whatever sexual misconduct is. 

I was just thinking the other day, there are a lot of unacceptable behaviors today, that were perfectly fine 20 years ago. People learned, grew, and moved on. Like; teachers spanking kids in school. That used to be ok. Now it's not. Our opinions and ideas changed and it became a bad thing - we demanded an end to that behavior and moved on. How about the mom that pulled up to the grocery store and told her kids she'd be right back, wait in the car! She could go to jail for that now. But should I press charges against my mom for doing that to me, 20 years ago? 

Change is good. I would just hate to see us go so overboard that we won't be taken seriously. 

Every revolution has growing pains I guess.

Harassment et al

I feel so many different ways about all these allegations.

THE ACCUSED
John Lasseter - head of Pixar? As far as I can tell, he made some sexists comments
Hamilton Fish - Time magazine
John Conyers - House Judiciary Committee and longest-serving member in the House
Kevin Spacey - actor
Charlie Rose - TV host
Andy Dick - wants to be funny, but now he's not
Glenn Thrush - NYT correspondent
Brett Ratner - producer
Ron Jeremy - porn star. OK, so this one might not count?
Dan Schoen  - MN state senator
Al Franken - US Senator. I don't like him but this story doesn't carry a lot weight with me
Andre' Balazs - hotelier
Mark Schwahn - TV show creator
Ray Moore - Senate candidate. A perv in the 80's
Eddie Berganza - TV show creator
Gary Goddard - producer/director
Louis C.K. - comedian.
Matt Lauer - today...and yesterday!
Stephen Collins - actor, pedophile
Mark Halperin - director of ABC news
Knight Landesman - publisher
Leon Wieseltier - editor
Terry Richardson - photographer
James Toback - director/writer
John Besh - restaurantuer
Chris Savino - TV creator
Mario Batali - chef, sexual misconduct
Harvey Weinstein - producer
Bill Cosby - TV's dad, drugged and raped women
Oliver Stone - grabbed someone's breast, 2 decades ago
President George HW Bush - ummm...hmmm
Steven Seagal - I'm so not surprised by this, but again, 20+ years ago?
Matthew Weiner - a writer says Matthew said something inappropriate to her
Sepp Blatter - Fifa president. Hope Solo says he grabbed her butt at an awards banquet
Richard Dreyfuss - a writer says Richard exposed himself to her in the 80's. You mean, 30+ years ago?
Ryan Seacrest - former wardrobe stylist accused him of misconduct. 
Russell Simmons - for something that may or may not have happened 3 decades ago
Sylvester Stalone - sometime in the 80's a then 16 yr old alleged he assaulted her in some way
George Takei - some guy says he groped him while he was passed out, 40 years ago
Dustin Hoffman - made inappropriate comments
R.Kelly - he and his girl friend had a shitty, dysfunctional relationship...

Let those sink in...I'll be back tomorrow.

gone things

Burger Chef. Technically I guess, they became Hardee's/Carl's Jr. But Chef Jeff is still gone.
Bob's Big Boy. I read there are still about 100 of them. I loved the big boy!
Ponderosa Steak House. Were they kinda like Sizzler? I don't think I liked them.
Sizzler! I worked there, all through high-school. I have fond memories of them.
Naugles. That was a mexican fast food place in California. Do you remember them?
Sambo's. I remember them, with the tiger and the little kid.
Chi-Chi's. I liked them. I still buy their salsa :-)
Steak and Ale. I don't think I ever ate there.
Laughner's Cafeteria. My first job was busing tables there!
Victoria Station. I loved them...and eating in railroad cars. It was cool!


America West.                                                   US Air
ATA                                                                    TWA
Braniff                                                                PanAm
Continental                                                        Northwest
DHL                                                                   Eastern Airlines

Gander Mountain                                               Miller's Outpost
GemCo                                                               Service Merchandise
Best Products                                                     Casual Corner

Chess King/Merry Go Round                             Florsheim Shoes

Kinney Shoes                                                     Price Club

Mervyn's                                                             FAO Shwarz

Thom McAn shoes                                             Tower Records

Hook's, Osco, Sav-On drug stores                     Planet Music

Rexall                                                                 Hollywood Video

Circuit City                                                          Camelot Music

Radio Shack                                                       Blockbuster

Wooworth                                                           Borders

Levitz Furniture                                                  B.Dalton Books

Hancock Fabrics                                                Builders Square

wan't that fun?!

the first ammendment

Let's look at it again;

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

I'm certain that the Bill of Rights wasn't written to be "interpreted" to mean whatever suits you. Nowhere in there does it say you have the right to express yourself artistically. Does it? I guess you could argue that your expression of speech IS art. I get that. But there are still limits and boundaries provided by other laws. Also, it doesn't say that your freedom of religion includes discrimination.

I just bring this up, again, because the Colorado baker's case is in the Supreme Court this morning. You remember this one, right? The baker says it's against his religious beliefs to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple. 

Yes, I believe the baker has a right to his own religious beliefs, in his own personal life. But he owns a business. A business that's open to the public, to serve the public. I believe he is discriminating against the gay couple, by refusing to bake a cake for them, period. I bet there were several different ways he could've gotten around that, if he chose to. Also, because I have an issue with organized religion and hypocrisy, I feel like the baker is using his religion to be a jerk. I don't like that. Pretty sure God would forgive you for baking a cake for a gay couple. That's his thing, right? Forgiveness?!!  

I'm really surprised this has gone all the way to the Supreme Court.