2007 is just about to appear and so is the beginning of the 98th Annual American Natural Objects Competion sponsored by the Pacific Trust Collection of Laguna Beach. Applications can be obtained from the Executive Offices of the PTC after January 2, 2007. The applicaion contains an information packet which will detail instructions on how to submit artwork, both flat and three dimensional, for consideration in the competition.
All entry submissions must be postmarked, no email please, by January 31, 2007. Judging will be complete by February 15th and notices of Request to Show will be sent to those, the jurists wish to include in the gallery exhibition.
All competition winners will have their work publicly presented in the CitvView Gallery in Laguna Beach's Capitol Building. A gala, celebrating the show's open and the artists involved, has been set for March 9th. This year's theme is "family life." Let's put on a show!
CityView Gallery
Ninety-Eighth Annual American Natural Objects Competition
Bogus Slogan Poster #61 - Inside View
When there is a lot of physical space between kids, they will congregate to demonstrate their demons. Together, they will jump around loud music. Intoxicating themselves. To jump higher. Is this a pagan ritual. Not really - the young have too much energy.
In Austin, Texas, Kandy's Playhouse was a short lived club/theater whose landlord, in tough times, opened a music venue to keep his lights on. Stripping out all the seats; building a bare bones stage and lighting rig and a second story "box" at the back for the sound and light technicians; he was able to attract Bogus Slogan for a concert in 1988. He also got ZenithPointStudio to create a poster advertising the concert.
The poster backdrop shows Spiderman, who has been slammed into a Daily Bugle billboard, his uniform badly torn, trying to regroup. An unknown villian has the upper hand. Artist Steve McNiven has drawn the Marvel icon - partially revealing his face to show that the fight will continue. He is a super hero.
When Kandy's closed, their was a "Save our Club" campaign, but the youth did not know the city council. No longer tough times, our Landlord made a mint selling to developers. Spiderman? I think he does this stuff for free.
Expressions: Only One Language (2004)
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Children and fishes and moustaches. Dollies and ninja stars. A box of nirvana.
An inward tidal movement, blending separate decisions into a blinding love obscured.
All that, and a decoder ring.
Bogus Slogan Poster #60 - Inside View
Bogus Slogan as a music entitiy has tried to learn to play most of what rock n' roll has to offer. Dreamy stuff, hard edged distortion - maybe something with strings. At most concerts, the band tends to wear the rock clothes.
However, the concert at Crawford University Park Field House in Terre Haute, Indiana proved to be a most unique experiment. Bogus Slogan also appeared as Lucy's Messy Mind and Ideal Haywire. These opening acts were BS alter egos playing Zappaesque mini operas or Devo-like electronica respectively. Different wardrobes, different instruments.
Audience reaction was a little on the cool side. Kind of like the reception awaiting the stranger in the poster's backdrop. Drawn by Darick Robertson for Marvel - A being, born with a tail, is walking into a carnival before the coming rain. Man or demon? Nightcrawler!
When Bogus Slogan was announced, everybody breathed a sigh of relief.
Photos: UP Feather River Canyon (2001)
The number of deaths (per capita) in the first 30 years of commercial railroading in North America, is significantly more than any similar period of American motor vehicle traffic. The immature technology and the hazzards of moving tonnes of weight at high speed made taking a train dangerous.
Coming down from a higher elevation is still a risk. Dynamic braking, air brakes, trackside equipment inspectors and computer track control have brought safety to every day operations, but the underlying peril is always there.
My photo shows a Union Pacific train that looks like it is going up, but actually it's following the canyon path down the Feather River in Northern California. Travelling the 114 miles from Portola to Oroville, this train will average a speed of 25mph if it is not delayed by other traffic. You can travel the same route in under 2 hours, but you have a higher probablility of not arriving unscathed.
Bogus Slogan Poster #59 - Inside View
A beautiful drawing of super hero Iron Man from Marvel Comics done by artist Adi Granov. His armor, now gold and red, reflects a dull sun. An explosion behind the figure and the fight continues. Maybe we are in the way...
Like the Fantastic Four, Marvel has a stable of characters that can withstand being re-invented over and over. Their science fiction story lines must support a violence beyond human tolerance so that there is a need for a super hero or heroine. But good lyrics in music are not always necessary and so to with a good story in comics. The art work can be mesmerizing and can carry the show. With Bogus Slogan poster #59, the penciller (original artist), inker and colorist made a great Iron Man.
Depicted in the poster as a code enforcement officer for Rumour Control: East Coast District. Model B • 01, "Iron Man," has come to Brisbane, Vermont to restore the peace. Bogus Slogan tried to get in the way.
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Washes: Lots of Good Days (2004)
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Creamy goodness inside a childhood universe. Fuzzy stars lost on a patchwork sky. White frosted orbs circling, clustered together in anticipation of morning.
Pull the covers over your head, it's Saturday.
Bogus Slogan Poster #58 - Inside View
The road house of old has been surrounded with bedroom communities, shopping opportunities and the workshops of craftsman. Hopefully, you get quality service.
However on some roads, every one has agreed, that the real estate is of lesser value. Maybe there is only a small patch that can be developed - Some times it is too far from some place popular.
Markam, New Jersey and Chester's Roadhouse are the physical equivalents of the above: outside nowhere. When "local" groups Mimmers, The Policy Charmers and Squishy Fishy finished playing, Bogus Slogan walked on stage expecting a crowd of three drunk punks, a couple in love slow dancing and maybe 2 couples who should start over with someone new.
Well, inside a a concrete building, with accoustic floating walls, that could hold 450, was 700 kids. Silent as a tomb. The band had been forced to stay away from the stage, rehearsing in a second concrete building. Same wall system. Made the room really sing. No distortion. Anyway...
Recent digital music files have been extracted that play back the beginning of the show. After the band had been announced and had finished adjusting their instruments, some one from the audience politely ask, "Will you play something for us?"
Lead guitarist Peir "Extra Finger" Hansen, tightened his volume knob, stutter picked the chord opening to "Not Now, Later..." Bogus Slogan gave an extra two encores a couple of hours later. At the very, very end,.. again no applause, no sound as the building emptied. Yet all the merch had sold. That's a good sign.
LinearStyle
Music You Might Have Missed™
In a never ending quest to find 'the' song, to find that perfect mix, to give unto the public about 30 minutes of entertainment for their iPods to distract them from what ever they are doing, comes Linear Style.
Music you might have missed™ is not just a catch phrase. It is a positive statement. Just browse the iTunes store. Even now you are missing stuff, so head on over to Linear Style and catch up.
Click on the poster image to bring forth the magic. Click on the compilation name to get it.
SysOps Notice 2006.12.01
entitlement issues the size of an Olympic swimming pool.
I have not celebrated a birthday in many, many years. How could I, after getting "Whaley" (a 4 foot stuffed whale) for my fifth birthday or maybe my ninth Christmas, maybe I was only four...anyway he was the best gift ever. And no one was ever gonna top this present. Not even I could. Right time, right place.
But, I did receive a "Whaley" like present this year from a comic genius, an original radio voice and a photographer of fine art quality nudes, Mr. Art Fraud....(ahhh what...ummmMrr. Ronn Spencer?). Mr. Ronn Spencer.
His radio program, The Cool & The Crazy aired on public radio KCRW, Santa Monica, CA. For about 4 years, a weekly show, with comedy skits and ads; & with music selections that celebrated the cool & the crazy. The show slowed very litle when co-host/creator Gene Sculatti, Vic Tripp of Vic Tripp's Phony Laugh fame, moved on to other opportunities, including Cryo.The amazing part is how long Art Fraud carried the show. I would calculate 6 months, but the supporting cast was so good, that it may have been longer.The C & C fit my passion for radio entertainment. I missed the 1930's golden age of radio but I also missed the American Depression and World War II. Seeing I may not have survive 2 out those 3, I won't complain. I was able to find, for a while, programs that played "old time radio" - like KNX's Drama Hour. All of theses sources have moved to the Internet and radio is now rarely a creative medium.
Many of these skits, ads and music were dubbed into the PopWorks and Commericalization collages that I am publishing on the Abstract Fidelity blog. Creating these collages helped keep my hand in audio production. I was inbetween Analog and Digital and was wasting money buying "the" current technology. Making these sound portraits of Americana from west coast popular radio probably saved me a lot of money.
On my birthdate, Ronn, who had found my Abstract Fidelity blog & the C & C references, emailed an introduction. It turns out that almost all audio source materials for the radio program has been lost or is no longer available. Over 200 shows. It is a strange tale with lots of drama. Other collectors have sent copies of their recordings. Hopefully, what I have will fill in some gaps.
PopWorks & Commercialization 9
Bogus Slogan Poster #57 - Inside View
The Fantastic Four are probably the original prototype for a team of superheroes. Stan Lee, surely borrowing from his childhood discoveries, maybe something like Doc Savage or The Little Rascals, gave the comic world four archetypes that continue to be 're-created.'
A big strong guy who can't sweat the details. A leader who can do things that usually saves the team. The hot head, with a disruption weapon like a laser or a fireball. A mentalist who struggles to kill because of ethics. Add in a lead singer with a 2 1/2 octave range and you got a Bogus Slogan.
BS poster #57 shows the FF4 suffering the effects of Dr. Doom's V.O.R.T.E.X.I.B.L.E. A weapon so terrible...well, you gotta get the comic. Can't find that issue? Well, hanging out at a Bogus Slogan concert can make up for it. The fans at the Aces High Saloon in Biloxi, Mississippi were asked to dress up as their favorite super hero, but please, no Star Wars Stormtroopers - they're the bad guys.
Pacific Trust Collection of Laguna Beach
Meeting of Directors
The Pacific Trust Collection of Laguna Beach's Board of Directors meeting was held in the Capitol Building's Earnesto Patevia conference room last Thursday. Karin Greene proudly announced her re-election to both the board and the organization's presidency. This will be her eleventh year guiding the company's employees and implementing the board's business mission statement.
Her first order of business was the public press release of the Pacific Trust Collection's ambitious expansion project for the executive offices located in Laguna Beach, California. After careful negotiations with agents for local property owners, the Pacific Trust Collection of Laguna Beach purchased lots adjoining the existing PTC executive offices and with the issuance of permits have begun a significant buidling program to increase the archive's storage space.
Normal office operations will be unaffected by construction and everyone is looking forward to the first day of occupancy wherein the over crowding caused by the Pacific Trust Collection's successful acquisition program will be a concern of the past.President Greene also announced the forthcoming Ninety-Eighth American Natural Objects Competition theme. The showcase will return to the CityView Gallery in Laguna Beach on March 11, 2007 and continue through November 3, 2007. Next year's theme will be "Family Life." Applications for Artists who want to submit their artwork will be available on January 2, 2007. ZenithPointStudio has again been asked to design and create the Pacific Trust Collection's promotional poster.
Bogus Slogan Fan Appreciation Concert
Ok. So you like Bogus Slogan. Hey, a lot of people do. They have a fan club. So join it. Now. Then you can try to get the band to play their fan appreciation concert in your home town. It takes a lot of votes. So get some friends to help. Maybe talk to that Mayor guy. See if he has got some juice.
Vote Early • Vote Often. Our special software will screen out duplicate ballots, but give it a try.
If you win, the hugs & kisses are optional. (BS prefers Courvoisier).
Bogus Slogan Poster #56 - Inside View
When Bogus Slogan plays it's home town of Los Angeles, the rush for tickets is always strong. Always stronger, is the rush for VIP passes. Take a look over at James Cagney. He is not happy. He probably missed getting on the BS guest list. I don't think he is going to let this slight go. I'm gonna make a call.
The Rose Bing Rotunda is a small theatre near the downtown grouping of skyscrapers. Seating about 1,000 people, BS management figures that only 350 tickets ever went on sale. For the estimated 650 VIPs, a nearby department store's parking lot was rented, where a circus tent was raised to cover the pre-concert and post-concert parties. Since Bogus Slogan had effectively crippled the store's daily business operations, the company's employees were invited to join the merrymaking.
Upon adding up all the costs, the red figure below the bottom line truly dismayed staff accountant Evan "Deep Pockets" Grubman. Meetings were held, conclusions forced, and a new policy was established. Afterwards, when Bogus Slogan plays the smaller venues, no one gets in for free. No one. Take a look over at James Cagney.
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Bogus Slogan Poster #55 - Inside View
Let's talk about girls, women, ladies, dames, broads... those big eyes, those... since the members of Bogus Slogan have all become married... and have children... tales from the life of rock stars will have to wait until their posthumously published memoirs.
But there was this time... at the Lake Arrowhead South Sea Lodge... with The Screamliners and Moon Frost...
Maybe everyone there took inspiration from the ZenithPointStudio concert poster that showed the Powerpuff Girls marveling at minatures of themselves zooming all over the place. The bright cartoon colors dazzling and possibly affecting the composure of those attending the concert. Maybe the uncontainable joy of being in the high mountain air on a warm May night. Whatever...
Local authorities had to call for back up from as far away as Realito, but it was too late to stop the naketivity. Dozens of patrol cars rolled up on a scene that could only be described as 'quivering." Bogus Slogan was booked for pandering, but the arrest was meant merely to get the band to stop playing.
Washes: Offseason Tourist (2005)
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Horizontal "fights" with vertical. Paints seems to dissolve as the brush strokes the canvas. A deep dark background blurs the viewer's attempt to define a form. Multi colored "fog" creeps in on little cat's feet.
Out of place and out of time...
Bogus Slogan Poster #54 - Inside View
Bogus Slogan Poster #54 is for a concert in Columbia Falls, Ohio which BS drummer Benjamin Owens barely remembers. Benni, befriended by a Wakaton Hills Native American, had travelled in the off week prior to the show, to the village of Toma somewhere near the border of Nebraska and Iowa. His friend wanted Benni to particiapte in the Wakaton Hills Festival of Ancestors which began with 3 days of drumming and chanting.
After the era of the 3 martini lunch but before the bowls of 70's cocaine, there was a decade which sought to free the mind. Unlike today's vast choice of drugs that permit self destruction; then, grass, LSD and peyote were the hallucinative choices of a generation that knew the NOW should be a different now. Of course living an intoxicated life means that reality continues unsupervised.
Tribal elders felt that Benni, now renamed, Talks While Walking, was such a good influence that they invited him into their sweat lodge. After ingestation, Benni/Talks ascended into a comatose like state. (Benni recalls visiting another world where he was offered to leave his brain, but he couldn't work the metal can's foot petal).
A few days later, it was time to leave. Benni was still flat on the lodge floor. A sign saying 'time to go to Chicago' was held above his face. His eyes opened...read the message...got up and kissed the tribe's spirit leader...hugged each tribal elder...shook his friend's hand...resumed his position on the floor.
Benni arrived at the band's hotel with four notes pinned to his shirt. 1. Bus to Chicago and transfer to 2. Bus to Columbia Falls and transfer to 3. Taxi to hotel and 4. Check in, no baggage.