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Isn't It Kind of Hilarious When...

January 18, 2008 9:19 PM | filed in: , ,

...someone can be seen publicly being swallowed by a cult, but he has no idea? If you haven't seen the Tom Cruise KSW (Keep Scientology Working) video, you HAVE to go to Gawker.com and check it out. I guess he IS a raving lunatic and is so far gone that he believes he and other Scientologists are the only ones who know the "realities of the world." I'm sure if you sat with him and had a conversation about the criteria that qualify a group as a cult, Tom would reject those criteria because they aren't endorsed by Scientology. "We...

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Identity Theft 101

January 17, 2008 9:13 PM | filed in:

It might not be the greatest idea to use a married white person's credit card to join BlackSingles.com. Twice.Since there were two sign-ups and simultaneous sign-ups to a porn site, I'm guessing this is a scam at the billing level. What a way to spend a Thursday night.Did I mention that I also mysteriously started receiving Ebony magazine? (Really.)

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Yeah, I'm the Crazy One

January 16, 2008 9:11 PM | filed in: , ,

The other night, Dan and I had plans to go down to his gallery for an event after I got off work. The artist who shares his space, Macsorro, asked us to pick him up on our way; he said he'd wait at an intersection near our house. I thought I'd save a few minutes by picking up Macsorro* if he was waiting at the designated spot when I passed it on my way home to get Dan. I had only met him once and couldn't remember what he looked like, but Dan gave me a brief description on the...

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Add This to Your To-Do List...

January 15, 2008 9:09 PM | filed in:

For a nice, quick, and fun getaway:Get a few girlfriends to reserve a couple of suites at the Gaslamp Plaza Suites in San Diego. Pretend you still are in college by filling a tub with ice and bottles of liquor. After a few evening cocktails, head to Mister Tiki for Hawaiian-ish dinner (including super-sweet Mondo Martikis, which are big enough for four people), and follow it up with a few shots and some margaritas at the tequila bar down the block. Later, order a wee-hours pizza (everything in moderation). The next morning, when the roar of football fans at the...

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I Paint Objects as I Think Them

January 12, 2008 9:05 PM | filed in:

"I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them." -Pablo Picasso So says Didi Menendez's art blog. In addition to being a prolific publisher, my friend Didi is a prolific painter who uses an unusual palette and a dash of cocked perspective to create her striking acrylic and oil works. Her current occupation is with poets, and she started a blog to showcase the growing series she began in November 2007. Even though I'm not a real poet, Didi chose to paint me. (Thank you for the compliment!) The small preview of the oil portrait (check out...

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Downtown LA Art Walk

January 11, 2008 8:59 PM | filed in: ,

Each second Thursday of the month, downtown LA crawls with hipsters and collectors looking to get drunk on plastic cups of red wine... and hot new art. The monthly Downtown Art Walk is sponsored by LA, and the City and included galleries make it easy for people easily rattled by the gritty downtown scene: Free shuttle service circles a loop lined with about 30 galleries, and most are open for extended hours for the after-work crowd. The City also provides a map to aid in self-guided tours. On Art Walk nights, I'm usually at The Hive Gallery, where Dan is...

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It Should Be an Interesting Political Year

January 10, 2008 8:56 PM | filed in:

A message from my friend Mather: Confused about the election this year? Who the heck isn't? Here are two interesting links I've collected that help uncover each candidate's stance on major issues... not sure if these are 100% accurate, but they've got to be more accurate than the candidates during a debate. OnTheIssues.org ElectoralCompass.com My results at ElectoralCompass.com were very surprising. Enjoy. (Then vote.)

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My Sexiest Men Alive...

January 9, 2008 8:53 PM | filed in:

I don't read tabloids (beside the occasional vacation-staple Star), but no one really can avoid People's Sexiest Man Alive hullabaloo. There always are clips about it on TV and chatter about it on the radio, so I usually know who's named. This year, it was Matt Damon. Ick. Others in the list included: Patrick Dempsey (Um, swish!) James McAvoy (Genuinely unattractive, he resembles a woman with tuberculosis.) Will Smith (I thought they said "sexiest," not "goofiest.") Javier Bardem (He looks like a prostitute's nightmare.) Ben Affleck (This guy always carries a pained expression... and a cigarette. Who wants to have...

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Some Writing in Some Publication*

January 7, 2008 8:50 PM | filed in: ,

I'm not a poet. But in 2007, I spontaneously wrote a poem in response to a challenge posed by my friend Didi Menendez, publisher of MiPOesias, OCHO, and other poetry-related stuff. Anyway, El Culo de Bettie is published in the January/February 2008 All Things Girl. Themed "Love & Lust," the issue features lovely, lusty cover girl Deborah Harry. *My lame title is more about how this is not me bragging about how great I am than it is an indication of the quality of All Things Girl. The publication features cool writing, art, interviews, and cover stories by females... for...

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Amazon, Why Must You Make Me Question My Love for You?

January 6, 2008 8:48 PM | filed in:

Do you visit Amazon.com? (Who doesn't?) Ever been tempted by their credit card offer? You might want to read about my experience.Amazon.com offers a Visa (backed by Chase Bank), and their general promotion is to give an instant $30 Amazon credit upon approval. This was fine for me... I was looking for a new credit card, and it was nice to have my first couple of Amazon orders be "free." (Thirty bucks isn't a lot, but it was enough to buy a few paperback titles for my book club.)A couple of weeks after applying for the card, I realized I...

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Don't Drive in LA

January 5, 2008 8:46 PM | filed in: ,

While my morning commute is almost always 20-25 minutes, driving home is a crap shoot: Sometimes it's 20 minutes, sometimes it's 90 minutes, and damned if it's ever the same two days in a row.After work a couple of days ago, I got onto the 101 (CA-101/"Hollywood Freeway" for you non-Angelenos) and groaned at the wall of traffic. I groaned again when I read the first traffic-status sign, which read "75 minutes to downtown."Forty-five minutes and a few miles later, the next traffic-status sign laughed in my face: "90 minutes to downtown."

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Don't Take the Bus in LA...

January 4, 2008 8:44 PM | filed in:

The other day, I left work early and got into my neighborhood around 2:00pm. Traffic was great until the last few blocks of my trip, where everything slowed to turtle-in-molasses pace. I took a long way (that became a shortcut time-wise) to avoid the cluster of emergency vehicles at the foot of my hill and finally got home.Several hours later, Dan and I headed out for a late-ish dinner at Casita del Campo--everyone's favorite Mexican restaurant/gay hang-out--and were surprised to find continued activity at the same site. The accident scene explained the extended to-do: A city bus had driven off...

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Where're All the Pictures and Stuff?

January 3, 2008 8:40 PM | filed in: ,

If you've visited my site before, you're probably wondering WTF is going on. Where is the art and other info?I've decided to re-tool the site and haven't yet quite figured out what to do. (I don't have much difficulty when doing creative work for others, but I have a really hard time designing for myself.) Most likely, all design, illustration, and photography portfolio pieces will move to aprilcartergrant.com, and this site will be used for writing and fun stuff.If you have any suggestions for this site or the other, let me know. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy some...

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New Year's Resolutions

January 2, 2008 8:39 PM | filed in: ,

For anyone who cares, here's what I'd like to do this year. (Well, these are the things for public consumption. I'm sure there are a few other things that I don't wish to share here.)Most people I asked said they don't bother with resolutions, but I've always found any kind of change -- moving, starting a new job, getting into or out of a relationship, a new year -- a good opportunity to renew goals.1. Work on more art-art (digital doesn't count).2. Regularly attend Cheri's yoga class for an extended period.3. Pay off the last little nagging bit of my...

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