birdhouse

f--- ABC.

sad news. Pushing Daisies has been cancelled due to an all-time viewer low last night of 4.86 million.
i like my shows with a bit of intelligence, witty dialogue, and unique storylines, but people aren't terribly shocked, saying no one was watching the show-- which as a side note, is just baffling to me. how are over 4 million people "no one"?!
i feel that it wasn't given a fair chance. they move shows around to different dates and times, or not run a show for two weeks and expect viewers to be able to follow the network's madness? where do you expect viewership to be if you don't run pushing daisies for weeks and suddenly show episodes again?
doesn't make sense to me. it'll just be added to my list of tv network shaftings alongside "my so-called life."

seriously.

read this article about each the CEO's of, as we've tagged it now, The Big Three flying to D.C. to beg for bailout money in.. drumroll.. their private jets!
i don't want to give any money to these asshats who promise to streamline their companies and cut-back jobs of hardworking individuals while these nerds waste money on travel that could have been done a hell of a lot cheaper. the "20,000" it costs to fly a jet to washington and back could be someone's salary for a year.
what's even more insulting is their diversion tactics in claiming taking those jets was a matter of "safety."
the article states, "Like many other major corporations, all three have policies requiring their CEOs to travel in private jets for safety reasons."
(i'm picturing the CEO of ford riding economy on a commercial flight here, casual conversation with other passengers turning to occupation.
"you work for who? you're who?? i work for mitsubishi, bitch and i'm gonna shank your ass!"
can the level of danger really be that high?)
here's an idea. instead of streamlining the company and cutting the jobs of the workers, streamline those wasteful company policies and you just saved three people's jobs for a year.

dichotomy.

i haven't spoken much about my feelings toward election night. the joy and hope i felt that my vote went for a man who actually won this time! the hope i felt for this country during his speech. the hope that the election of the first black president stood for a grand advancement in history... only to have that hope shattered with the disappointing results of individual state's ballot measures to ban gay marriage and adoption like prop 8 (prop hate, anyone?). never before has there been a voting on taking away rights from loyal citizens of the united states when they were previously granted them. and really, how ludicrous.. when i think back on the presidential election, it is hard for me to grasp back the hope i felt that night when it seems so overshadowed by the disappointment i feel in light of those results.
talk show host keith olbermann explains this waay better than i can. see this clip here.

deestrackshun.

(the halloween project for my birthday guests this year, as seen above, was a collection of severed toes complete with toe tags. each guest was asked to pick out a toe, which then matched to a bag of "personal effects" of the deceased (really just a bag of goodies). i recommend attempting this project for anyone wanting to plan something cool for a halloween-themed party. you can find standard toetag templates online, but if you have Photoshop, watercolors, pens and ink, you can make each toe tag look very authentic and unique. the toes are a bit trickier, though, and require more skill. i made two casts of my toe with sculpey firm, then modeled each toe with either sculpey or sculpey firm, baked them, and painted them with acrylics. they turned out looking very realistic, almost to a disturbing point, but were met with disgusted delight. thanks to shavawn for the crime scene photography.)

in other news, it's been months since i returned from the desert and yet i feel part of me was left out there(so much for Leave No Trace)-- the part that was able to concentrate and work on, basically, everything.
the pile grows of things i need to finish up and i can't manage to find the time to work on them. the websites need updated, there's a gigantic italian mirror i've been restoring for work (a project that has taken months), friends to phone, emails and letters to write, art to make.. when you compile a list of to-do's that only seems to be growing, it can be hard to get inspired to even attempt tackling one. today is my first day off, it feels, in a while so i'm going to try to accomplish some of those goals today.
wish me luck.
also, look for an upcoming group show i'll be participating in at the basement gallery opening in january, along with local favorite bill carman, erin cunningham, and ben wilson- i believe. should be promising. i will try to post sneak peek photos of my art for the show as it progresses.