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Apology for yesterday’s Record Searchlight expose’

Sorry readers. Turns out my “discovery” yesterday that RS has been running and re-running the comic strip of the long dead Charles Schulz for years was not any kind of scoop at all. Several of you informed me that it was a well known fact, and is done intentionally. Of course, that’s even sadder. Like the movie Groundhog Day, except it’s neither funny nor poignant. Maybe surrealist. Anyway the good news is that while researching the post, I discovered a couple of interesting comics by actual living artists. One actually plays on the comic in question:
WeaponBrown
Done more in the style of the underground comix I remember from my misspent youth, they imagine a post apocalypse Chuck Brown, exploring the classic male adolescent themes of revenge and heavy weaponry.
WeaponBrownandSnoopy
Folks, you can’t make this stuff up.

I also discovered Garfield minus Garfield:
Garfield minus Garfield
Finally, a reason to read Garfield. And a new way to see the strip as an art project. Brilliant really. Click on either image to go the the artist website. Warning, you will never view a Garfield strip the same again. OK, maybe that’s a good thing.

Five years in the future, will we see the RS still running dead artist work, over and over, caught in a deathspiral timewarp? Look how easy it is to find better material. Meanwhile, vibrant living art and culture move on, sadly leaving the RS behind….

(Edit) Well I guess we know the answer to that question. 5 years and beyond…

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Record Searchlight apparent victims of elaborate hoax

RSSchultz
Check it out! I’m not making this up. I was lining my birdcage when I noticed this on the top of the March 1 2009 RS Comics section. It triggered a faint memory from 9 years ago, that this comic artist had died! Seriously, he’s deader than the Rocky Mountain News. I confirmed it here in Wikipedia. I wonder who they’ve been paying for these recycled strips, and how much? Somebody should tell them. If only they could stand actually reading the strip, those intrepid news-hounds would have surely been tipped off. Look, those kids are watching television instead of surfing the web, and when the little girl wants to adjust the picture on the old tube TV, she gets up and does it at the front panel. Who does that? You’d think a newspaper would have heard that he was dead. Wow, they’re being totally scammed.

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Variety City offers alternative shopping and fun

VarietyCity
The appropriately named Variety City at 1281 Lake Boulevard carries grocery items that may have been slightly damaged, or are blemished in some way. Dented cans are a good example. They also have regular grocery items along with various and sundry hardware and gift items. The store has been owned and operated by Joyce and Gene for 9 years, in a property that had started out as a hardware/lumber yard. Over the years, I’ve always enjoyed shopping there for the interesting and unusual food items you can randomly find. There’s always something to be found you might never buy at a big box store, like some odd soup or sauce, but which you can find here priced attractively enough that you end up taking it home. You can find brand names you won’t see in the chain stores around here. Joyce works to keep the atmosphere really friendly and fun. I still remember the first time I walked in there 9 years ago, and Joyce saw me walking around looking at items, and said with her big smile, “Hey you, get a cart. You’re going to need it.” I did, She was right.

Of course, in these economic times, access to these bargains is more than just a a luxury indulgence. Highly recommended.

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Harleys in the Mall

This weekend the HOG (Harley Owners Group) folks had their get together in the Mall.
HArleys
This one is an Indian Headress. The Harleys are all works of kinetic art. You could shoot all day…
HArleys
They have a fashion show in the center court which is pretty bizzare. Not intentionally.
HArleys
It’s a Redding thing…
HArleys

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A Black Swan event in Anderson

Gaia hotel
Thursday’s Chamber of Commerce Greeters was held at the beautiful Gaia Hotel. It’s a lovely property, built with the deliberate use of environmentally conscious materials.
Greeters at Gaia hotel
Great turnout, and the food was terrific. The staff was first rate. These movers and shakers of the local business community remain upbeat in the face of the economic downturn. It seemed to me that there was more of an air of grim determination than I had noticed before.
Swans at Gaia hotel
These are 2 of the hotel’s 4 swans. A Black Swan is a metaphor for something that seemingly cannot exist, and then suddenly, it does.

1. Event has appeared by complete surprise.

2. Event has a major impact.

3. Event, after it has appeared, is ‘explained’ by human hindsight.

“The problem Taleb identified with banks and trading firms was that they were very vulnerable to Black Swans and were exposed to huge losses beyond what their defective models projected.”

Greetings from a world where Black Swans do exist.

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The Statue of Income Tax

Inflatable Liberty
It’s a sign of the times. In our town, waving a sign isn’t just a job, it’s a career. Here we see Lady Liberty and her employees, on Lake Boulevard.
Sign guy
There is dignity in all labor, but you’d be hard pressed to identify that quality here; dressed up as a mock Statue of Liberty, hawking income tax services to passers by. I am in the car reflected in the window.

I was reminded only a little of the real statue. The original statue is a powerful monument, along with nearby Ellis Island, gateway to waves of hopeful immigrants. Below, we see one of my favorite family photos, from one of our trips to New York. It was taken by a passerby, who got on the ground with my camera to fit us in the frame with the non-inflatable version of Lady Liberty. It was a nice moment.

Family in New York

Our icons are disposable, apparently useful to the extent to which we can commercialize them. I just hope I don’t ever have to wave signs to eat.

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Amphibian affection

Frog
One of the big (secret)bonuses of being a real estate agent is going into so many houses, and seeing how people really live. I’ve seen some unusual pets, but I hadn’t seen a frog in somebody’s livingroom before. She said it was two years old, and had arrived as a tadpole you could see right through.

I moved up close for a better look.

“Kiss me” it said, “I am a frog prince.”

“Uh, sorry,” I whispered. “Not today.” A talking frog.

“Lick me then.” the frog continued, “I send colors you can hear, and sounds you can see.”

“Hmmmm,” with wrinkled brow as I looked it in the eye, “Gonna have to pass on that. Hey, isn’t that whole licking thing about toads, not frogs?”

The frog spoke no further.