Daily Affirmation March 17, 2014

I have a lot to look forward to. I just got a few records in the mail of a record cover I designed for a band called High Anxiety and that is a real cool thing to be proud of (and I am). I have the Code Blue book I did with Jack Grisham which is going to have a cool release party (it will be a fun night) I just sent the (code blue book) poster over to Steve at the San Pedro Art Assoc. to have it framed up right so I can have it for my display at Aicher's Pop Kustom Shoppe when the books get in. I did some online shopping so I will be looking on the porch for some new music and toys soon. The Prometheus soundtrack should be fun to paint with. Also got some CCR, New Eels and new Beck to get my groove on, but I am really stoked to be getting this figure I call "Batwest" a new Huge Adam West Batman figure (or call it a doll if you want... it is pretty big) I think it will give me some mojo juice. The real thing I am all giddy about is the upcoming Batman 66 TV series dvd box set which is due out sometime this year. The first memory (earliest) I can recall is when my family lived in an apartment complex in Hawthorne, CA my grandma owned. I was about 1 or 2 years old (1969? ...maybe 68) It was Halloween and 2 kids came to the door dressed in store bought Batman and Robin costumes. (My mom claims that it was my 2 uncles who lived next door) I have never forgot the colors on the show. I remember Batman, then the Monkees, then Brady Bunch before dinner on TV. All those colors! I still have lots of painting to do but for now I need to play some red ball toss with Chet and look at the plants in the backyard.

My Great Aunt, Doris Nelson

I have been helping my family looking after my aunt Doris Nelson this week. She is almost ready to make her leap to the next level. She was an English Professor at Long Beach State for many years. She has always helped others her whole life and fought for human rights. I am humbled by the life lessons I have learned this last week. She was always very outspoken and wrote political poetry (which she often recited at family gatherings) often they had a humor to them and always from a democrats point of view. She told me this week her hero was Nelson Mandela. She said he was the most important man alive right now. (We had to keep his passing a secret for awhile) She wanted to watch the movie (after she learned he had passed), but I did not have a way for her to see it so I painted her a painting of him with the word "Nelson" above him (They shared that name she said) She was so happy at the time she kissed it and she lit up like a school girl in that moment. She is slowing down more each day now. It is hard for me some days to know how to let go of things beyond my control. I have learned that this type of lesson in front of me is that you find the strength to handle the situation when you are in the moment. I have found some kind of calm while those around are too stressed to manage the present care she needs. She has taken a few falls while my family members have been watching her. They have been feeling so much self guilt for the situation and to them I say like a wise man once told me "don't sweat the small stuff" the serenity prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.

Forgive yourself and do the best you can is all we can do. Just when I think it's all about my family I get the news that Ron Asheton (a rock and roll hero of mine) has passed and we had an earthquake. Powerful forces much greater than me are speaking and I am doing my best to understand the lesson. One thing is certain... I am not alone in this universe. I knew this week was going to get rough so a few weeks back I went toy shopping, but I left behind a big Adam West Batman figure I wanted because I knew it was not time for me yet. This week I ordered it because I am going to need some kind of "Me" thing to keep me mentally on the ground. (I had to make it some kind of non-food related reward to keep on track with my new healthier path... only I can fix the fitness of my body.) I am trying to be strong, but some times you just get weak and when that time comes I will find a quite place to let the rain fall. Maybe Batman will help me then too. Hold and hug those you love. The love you take is equal to the love you make....

Imagination is more important than knowledge...

....a wise man once said, and I try to stay inspired to feed my imagination and in doing so I expand and grow. I collect things to keep me stoked on life. Some times I get a bit obsessed. I often buy back toys that I had years ago, but this time I was digging thru my old things and found a survivor for my youth. My old Major Matt Mason. He is pretty beat up. Wires poke out of his rubber legs. I peeled off some of his uniform paint when I was young. My mom bought him at a yard sale for me along with his space crawler, jet pack, a bunch of other MMM accessories, and my fave part, his white space helmet with transparent yellow visor! This toy was from the 60's and it was the early seventies by then. My mom would give me toys now and then that I assume were passed down from my uncles now and then. I had "The King Ding" which was a robot from a line of robots called "the Ding-a-lings" (I researched it) and a Marx wind up "Mr. Machine" Robot... one day they were gone, just like my Matt Mason collection, sold I assume at a yard sale my mom had (we had sold our house and were moving that week) and off to see new frontiers, but somehow Matt himself made it out alive, and there he was on my self and very dusty. I had some funds from a job left over so I went to the interweb for some fun. I located an old crawler that had battle damage from space missions and presumably the motor no longer worked, but the price was nice, and who knows....this may have been my old actual old crawler. I had been bidding for a long time on these, but this time the planets lined up and I won it. It was such a deal that I had a bit left over and decided to try for a helmet too. It took about 2 more months to find a complete helmet (it was a bit scratched, but that was what I wanted "period correct!") and last week it came in the mail. Sometimes getting back these toys are too pricey and really, I don't want to clutter my studio all up, and I was trying (awhile ago, when I had a better income) to buy back the toys of my youth.... well you can't always go home as they say, and back then I was trying to fill and endless hole with things I thought I had to have back. A friend had said to me then, "someday it will be you alone in a room full of toys..." now I can say "not bloody likely" to that, but some days being a consumer is o.k. This time I don't look back, but celebrate my recent return to form and continued successful path. For a bit I thought about restoring Matt's paint and fixing him up but I settled on leaving him with his patina. Not many remember this short lived toy because he was part of the space race and they wanted him to have a "clean" space feeling, and when they introduced "enemy space monsters" to the toy line people freaked out and they stopped production. Tom Hanks is said to be making a movie now and "The Outer Space Men" toy line (the bad guys) has been re lived with pricey new re issue toys. Will Matt make it back to Earth? I am glad my Matt stayed in my orbit. Now I just need some computer chips for my Steve Austin's bionic arms (we can rebuild him... we have the technology). If my mom had not cleaned out my room I would not have had this much fun (so Mom... thanks for making my youth fun! You are out of this world and really far out!) Life's a Gas! Keep your head in the clouds and keep reaching for the stars!

Amazing Long Beach Inspiration Feild Trip 2

 Stuck between the trucks on the 710 freeway...

 Stuck in traffic during rush hour 710 merge

 710 to 405 merge view

 Made it there!

 Yee-uchk! what happened to my rock band?

 Wanted this Batwest real bad, but he was 99 bucks and I could not do it (yet, but I will soon).

Bought a Hamburglar Doll (must be a re-issue of some kind, creepy, and I dig it.) Bought a Jack Kirby Big Barda New God woman figure I have wanted for some time now. Bought some new buttons and Green Lantern power rings to add to my growing collection.... on the way out I picked up an oc weekly with my old rock band turned football team on the cover... next time I will get that Batwest! Read some bad reviews about this place where one guy was moanig about the font size on the ad signs.... I hope they stay around, I have been going here over 20 years now and always have fun when I go. Never get hassled by the folks who work there and they always help when I have questions on what I am getting. (I guess some obsessed comic guys expect them to know about everything they have in the shop. I got great service here.) I had fun. I love this shop!