Speed of Life

Gregg Chadwick A Delphic Dream 36"x18" oil on linen 2009 "As I entered the still bowl, bathed now in marble light, I came to that spot in the dead center where the faintest whisper rises like a glad bird and vanishes over the shoulder of the low hill, as the light of a clear day recedes before the black of night...." - Henry Miller, The Colossus of Marousi "For the initiated, there is unabashed wonder and humbleness before the sacred. It's as if you've surprised the secret lurking at the heart of the world." - Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage

Today in Tibet is the start of the holiday Losar which is the Tibetan New Year. Losar (lo, year , sar, new ) began as a pre-Buddhist observance in which rituals were performed each winter to appease the spirit protectors of the mountains. After Buddhism arrived in Tibet around the 6th century BCE, the holiday merged with Buddhist traditions. Since the 13th century, Losar has traditionally fallen on the first day of the first lunar month. It is usually a time of new beginnings and great celebration. But this year, the burgundy robed Tibetan Buddhist monks have been urged via cell phone text messages to mark the day with silence and prayer rather than celebration. The Globe and Mail reports that "the movement to boycott the New Year's events is a highly organized one, originating from the Dalai Lama's home in exile in Dharamsala, in northern India." "A lot of people were killed on March 14. In our culture, we don't celebrate Losar if someone in your family died...

"When I was 13 years old, my beautiful mother and my father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas to California and I heard the story of Harvey Milk. And it gave me hope. It gave me the hope to live my life, it gave me the hope to one day live my life openly as who I am and that maybe even I could fall in love and one day get married." -- Dustin Lance Black, accepting an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, February 22

Hope that your Valentine's Day was as wonderful as mine. Thought I would give you a few interesting statistics on the day from the History.com site: "According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year , making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)" "Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women ." Wow. Come on guys. "In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia." "Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, kn...

From Americans for the Arts: "Just moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives approved their final version of the Economic Recovery bill by a vote of 246-183. We can now confirm that the package DOES include $50 million in direct support for arts jobs through National Endowment for the Arts grants. We are also happy to report that the exclusionary Coburn Amendment language banning certain arts groups from receiving any other economic recovery funds has also been successfully removed. Tonight the Senate is scheduled to have their final vote, and President Obama plans to sign the bill on Monday - President's Day. "This is an important victory for all of you as arts advocates. More than 85,000 letters were sent to Congress, thousands of calls were made, and hundreds of op-eds, letters to the editor, news stories, and blog entries were generated in print and online media about the role of the arts in the economy. Artists, business leaders, mayors, governors, and a fu...

The Airborne Toxic Event played at the Music Box @ the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood last night. The evening was a homecoming of sorts for The Airborne Toxic Event as members of many of their fellow bands from L.A. were in attendance. The sold out crowd at the concert spanned all ages from kids to grandparents which contributed to the musical reunion vibe. Mikel Jollett, the lead singer and writer, in his drive to connect with the audience, reminded me of a young Bono or Springsteen blended with the bittersweet romantic yearnings of Smiths era Morrissey. Mikkel has a gripping but sweetly humble stage presence that projects power but not swagger. Guitarist Steven Chen lays down a sonic field that gives air and space for Jollett's searching soul to roam. Chen's guitar opens up ambient washes as well as chiming lines that bring to mind the Australian band The Church and the vast spaces found in their song Under the Milky Way . But even with the lyrical guitar and all the st...

Gregg Chadwick 200 (Lincoln) 10"x10" charcoal heightened with white conté on linen 2009

Gregg Chadwick Poem of L.A. 48"x36" oil on linen 2009

Update: My review of the show can be found at L.A. Calling: The Airborne Toxic Event Live in Hollywood on February 12, 2009 My brother, the Seattle (Bainbridge Island for the NW crowd) poet, Kent Chadwick recently sent a belated birthday present my way. In the Chadwick family all holiday presents are belated. So don't worry those gifts will be on their way soon. Inside the package was the amazing debut album by the Silver Lake band (Los Angeles for the NW crowd) The Airborne Toxic Event. The Airborne Toxic Event will be playing in Hollywood on February 12. 2009 at The Henry Fonda Music Box. A few tickets may still be available at: Henry Fonda Music Box Singer and guitarist Mikel Jollett leads the band, which takes its name from the novel White Noise by Don DeLillo. In the novel a chemical spill from a railcar releases a poisonous cloud, dubbed by the military as an “airborne toxic event.” DeLillo is the masterful novelist whose work includes Underworld , Mao II , The Body Artist...

Because The Night - Springsteen and Bono by GMRedskins An early Valentine for my wife ...

Jerry Brown has decided to run for governor of California. Again. And I think California needs him again. Jerry Brown had the vision to select the eminent artist Don Bachardy to paint his official Governor's portrait. I consider it to be the best American political portrait painting of the 20th century. Don Bachardy Portrait of Governor Jerry Brown oil on canvas California State Capitol Museum, Sacramento, California Don Bachardy painting a portrait of his partner, the writer Christopher Isherwood photo by Jack Shear Guido Santi and Tina Mascara's recent film, "Chris & Don: A Love Story", chronicles the relationship between painter Don Bachardy and writer Christopher Isherwood. The film includes a series of interviews with Bachardy (who still lives in the Santa Monica home he shared with Isherwood) as well as images and home movies and fleeting re-enactments of the men in their younger days. More on Jerry Brown from his official bio: The son of former Governor...

American Football is a quintessential athletic pursuit in suburban backyards, city streets, High Schools and universities throughout the United States. The Superbowl, pro football's yearly championship game and advertising spectacle, couples a love of spectator sports with a tongue in cheek embracement of the glitz and promise of America's over the top consumer culture. The advertisements played during the Superbowl telecast can be quite funny and also quite revealing. It is as if the advertisers pull back the curtain, just once a year, to reveal the holy relics of our shared nation. And sometimes, though rarely, the actual game played on the field overshadows the games planned in corporate boardrooms in the months leading up to the event. Yesterday, the game and the halftime show won out. James Harrison intercepts a Kurt Warner pass and returns it 100 yards for a touchdown to end the first half. John Biever/SI Before the game, NBC's Matt Lauer interviewed President Obama: ...