Introducing....LOLA!!

Well!

Its been quite a while, but we're finally back with a vengeance!...and with a new addition to my family!
Recently my apartment has gained a new tenant full of love and fur and endless wiggles! Meet Lola!
My new husky companion!

http://www.buddysbubbles.com/blog/doggyviews/doggyview-lola



She's 2/12 months old, cute as a button--whatever that means--yet to see a button cuter than her thats for sure!! She sleeps most of the day, is incredibly laid back and is just so damn loveable that its stupid.
Cant wait to get home and see her.

Everyday looks to be a new adventure and full of wonder. She's pretty big now already, but will get a lot bigger in no time :)

Stay tuned for more photos and updates. Check out the link for more info on her traits and how she likes to hide food in my Adidas'.

Stella im Hultberg: going rouge

Stella im Hultberg: going rogue.

Coming from an industrial design background one might think this shy South Korean artist would have be working FOR the machine but instead she is working for her own damn self these days, all the while searching for her next meal and favorite ice cream spot. Born in Seoul, she has slowly made her way to NYC via Hong Kong, Taiwan, and California. She was previously in the toy manufacturing business designing things that share similar qualities to her current work. Stella im Hultberg’s paintings are conceived in varying combinations of ink, watercolor, and oils on paper, wood and canvas. Her portraits of women are rendered in easy, flowing lines with soft hues that transcend the typical critiques of feminine beauty, inherent in today’s self conscious society. Hultberg originally studied Industrial Design at CSU, which naturally segued into work as a toy designer early on in her career. Working in the design industry serendipitously led to her building upon her own natural talents as an artist then a toy designer and then a self-taught painter. Having grown up in Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, she has a diverse blend of cultural influences to pull from. Hultberg has shown her work with such prestigious galleries at Lineage Gallery (now Joshua Liner Gallery), Roq La Rue, Gallery 1988, Limited Addiction, and Corey Helford. With solo shows ahead at Copro Gallery and Josh Liner Gallery in the coming year, things will only continue to bloom for this young artist.
Now residing in Brooklyn, she explores the female form even more. Pushing its meaning and redefining every part of it in a fantastic fashion.

  

Never odd or even. 9'' x 12''. Oil & Ink on tea-stained paper. 2006.

beautiful and enchanting. captures a warming side of youth.

Ache. 12'' x 24'', Oil on Canvas, 2007.
gettin' more surreal with a hint of underwater dream scape.

Waiting in Dreams. 20'' x 24''. Oil on Canvas. 2008

passionate, lovely. seemingly devoid of emotions while simultaneously possessing every one.

Whisper. 4'' x 4''. Mixed Media on wood. 2009.

this year she meant minimalist and then did a 360 once again to way heavy expressionism. The faces tell some stories.

Like A Sad Song. 3'' x 2.5''. Acrylic, Wood, Clay. 2010.

Stella now brings us some wonderfully crafted wooden pieces.

Check out all of her stuff at her site Painting.Drawings.Sculptures. (yea..that's right; she sculpts too.)

you can also purchase her prints and original artwork as well at her shop. For first dibs, make sure you check out when she's rolling into a town near you.

How To Embarrass Yourself Thoroughly: Dating Blues

Gregory J. Shaw
Male.
NYC.
24.
Afro-Caucasian.
Jewish.


How To Embarrass Yourself Thoroughly: Dating Blues


I remember having a 'birds & bees' conversation with my father when I was growing up, but never was there a 'what to do on a first date' precursor.


By the end of High School I had already had sex but oddly enough--I had never been a a date. I wonder why. I had never felt awkward or uncomfortable around women. In fact, my best friends were all girls and in many ways they showed me the ropes when it came to communicating and such. What I didn't learn from them unfortunately was how my ability to talk to women would affect my love life when it came to dating.

There was one girl in particular I knew at the beginning of my college experience that I would absolutely kill to be with. Her name was Hannah. She was smart, sexy and out of my league (in that order). And with a lot of personality, it made her the envy of many women--and men. I had to talk to her. And so over the next few weeks I began to warm up to her and eventually asked if she wanted to get coffee sometime. With just a hope and a prayer she said yes.

That Friday she and I went out for dinner. I had hoped she hadn't eaten yet because in case it had gotten awkward, dinner is easier to deal with then coffee because half the time your mouth is full of food. But to my surprise the dinner could not have gone better. We laughed, flirted and even cozied-up on a park bench. Things were looking good. As the night progressed our conversations got deeper and when I walked her home we even held hands. After a semi-romantic walk home I was sure I would land a second date. After we exchanged the ceremonial 'goodnights,' I went in for the kiss without thought.

"Um..What are you doing?!" she exclaimed. What had I done? The night was going so well!

"What's wrong? I thought that we were vibing!"
I was ever so confused. Maybe she doesn't kiss on first dates?


"I thought we were too, but why would you kiss me? I thought you were gay!"
Wow.

Hannah had said it with such certainty that I was truly surprised. My ability to relate to women had manifested in such a way that now women thought I was one!

"I only did those things with you tonight because I thought you were NOT into me!"
Apparently I had broken the trust in the now defunct relationship I had with her. And before I knew it I was on my way home trying to figure out to what extent, if any, I was actually gay in the eyes of women. I was pretty sure up until that point that I was indeed a straight man. I had some serious thinking to do.

Girl Talk.

It's Been A While.

I sit and I stare, watching my strange little world go passing me by.


Realizing that one must do, quite the opposite of what one wants to do is like discovering fire.
Dangerous, confusing, and all consuming.
And this discovery is unburdened by personal desires.
A wiser man than I once said, that to be yourself in a world that tries night and day to make you like everyone else is the greatest fight there is to fight.
I agree.

It's been a while since I've felt like myself.
Constantly struggling to manuever through a world that tries not just to conform, but consolidate.
The water is rising. The gap is widening.
Will I float? Or will I sink to the depths of nothingness?
I need to find my way.
For my own sake.

As I stare out into the vast, seemingly endless urban jungle, I'm reminded that there are a million people.
Doing a million things.
For a million reasons.
What's mine?
What's my purpose?





I suppose time will tell.

Get Un-Fat.

An ad I did for Tri-County Medical Center. They exist. But this ad doesn't. Enjoy.

Buy A Dell. Marilyn Says So.

Totally selling my soul to the ad world, but it sure is fun.

Buy The Ticket. Take The Ride.

Seeing the reality of yourself in the harsh light of day can be a bothersome thing.
To gain perspective on what your life is really about, and what you've come to be is never an easy thing.
What have you done? Where are you going?
This crazy world has no answers. Just questions. Long, open-ended rhetorical questions.
There is no right nor wrong.
Good nor bad.
There are those who live. And there are those who live.
And living is something we do to give ourselves order in an otherwise chaotic universe.
I think we're all trying to figure out where we're going. And how long the ride lasts.
For some, the ride will last forever. Long after they're gone.
For many, the ride lasts but an instant. A fleeting glimpse into the sea of infinite but inaccessible glory.
Still for others, the ride is something they dare not get on.
It is a scary and unsettling spectacle. Full of wonder, love, mistakes and disappointment.
Buy the ticket. Take the ride.
Discover yourself awake and waiting on the otherside of a winding adventure.
But be not afraid. The scorching flames and white-water squalls are merely a test.
You will arrive dry and unscathed. The real test is you.
Will you rise to the challenge? Or shall you hide in the lonely chasm of your own despair?
The ride is not for the faint of heart.
There are untold perils. Revelations that may result in the upheavel of your very existence.
But for the brave and the willing, the ride is a magical journey.
One that is an affirmation of everything worth living for.
One that is not worth living without.
So I say to you my friends,


But the ticket. Take the ride.
It keeps getting better.

The Guitar.

"He's not coming back," she said.

"He was serious? I’m a little bamboozled by all of this. I didn't think he would take it that hard." I was confused and caught off guard. This news would surely have repercussions on my friendship with Erin, and the one with Andrew was already strained.
"I don’t know. He wouldn't really say...It's just...I guess, he's going through some stuff right now. He just couldn't handle it anymore."
"Can't help but feel I played a hand in this mess. I figured he would have had a few words with us at least before departing."
"I know...”

There was a long silence that followed. The kind that gives you enough time to feel guilty. At the same time Erin and I were apprehensive to point fingers at each other. It was an unfortunate situation but Andrew and Erin were doomed from the start. They didn't work. The fact was, she liked me. She always did. But we didn't work either.

"So I guess you'll have to find a new roommate now. Or become that crazy cat lady. Then I'll have a reason to finally stage an intervention." She laughed. Just the right amount. I knew we were going to be okay. In some crazy rom-com this might be the moment where we try again and get it right. We would live happily ever after and the inevitable fade to black would follow. But this wasn't a fairy tale and although my life might look good up on the silver screen with an all-star ensemble, shit hardly ever works out. We both new given another chance it wouldn't work any better the second time around.

"I already feel like a crazy person. I still have all of his shit here and I don't have any room for my own. He left in such a hurry and from what I can tell I doubt he's coming back to get any of it."
"Well as long his he didn't he leave a meth lab behind I’m sure you could get rid of it on EBay or donate his digs to Good Will."
"Yeah I guess...I'll probably keep his bike though. I don't really want the guitar though. Every time I look at it I'm reminded of him. At any moment I keep expecting to hear him playing it from the other room. It’s crazy I know..." she nervously laughed. I could hear her trying to feel something.
"Well, I've always wanted to be the next Jagger. Maybe I could take it off your hands for a while."
"Really? Yeah...Yeah, that'd be great, actually...thank you so much."
"Actually many thanks to you, I'll come by sometime tomorrow and grab it. And we should talk. This whole thing isn't easy to wrap my head around, and I'd hate to feel like our friendship status was going to be changed to 'it’s complicated.' So maybe some coffee? Chat it out?"
"That sounds really great...I look forward to it." I could hear her smile.

And there it was. Hope. Sometimes losing a friend brings others closer together.

Old Flame.

Fear & Lothing In The Media.

In these trying times, most people derive their daily news intake from blog sites claiming to be news outlets or the latest and greatest and most up-to-date-est. There is a danger in this progression.

Sadly, there remains a sub-culture within the literary world that does not try to be news. We would much rather waste some of your time with interesting stories or perspectives on the world, not revelations from some high schoolers of college freshmen with a complete lack of credible sources. As people, not just writers, we have to stop taking everything so seriously. The news won’t get better. It won’t be different. Everybody has an angle and no bias goes unnoticed.

And yet there is a rise in the number of blogs. A large part of that has to do with the desire of many to connect with others but also to reach a wider audience. Something that is necessary in an ever increasing, infinite internet--something that these days are among the only things that keeps us connected. Without this tool, we'd be alone. Completely lost in the ether.

But there are still those who write just for the sake of writing. Keeping an ongoing journal of events. Transcribed and channeled digitally. What began as a new medium for easier and quicker sharing of thoughts and ideas is no longer just a form of personal expression, but fastly becoming a way to be discovered and for people to gain recognition on topics they don’t understand, and to be the first on the scene, in a place they have never been...I would rather wait three days for a new story then read or watch the first, most incorrect and insincere versions of the truth blasted across my retinas and numbing my mind with horrible and poorly executed insights.

I don’t blame the people who want attention and crave admiration. It’s part of the human condition. And perhaps for a lucky few, it can be a road to riches. But to call it news or to compare it as such is pure hypocrisy.

News, real news is being phased out by a new, wittier generation of writers claiming to have the breaking story and all the facts. When in reality, this reality does not exist. What is considered news is now all biased information angled and aimed at entertaining a stupefied public into submission with stories colored with humor and live audiences. I have not watched the news and been enlightened or surprised by the antics displayed by my trusted news anchors, or the sheep-like callers who initiate landslides and avalanches of moronic discussion.

And yet, the irony continues. As the world becomes more advanced, it becomes less informed, by the less qualified. Take it for what is. If you get sucked into the chasm of false information, then you may never again find your way out.

My Brain Tattoo.

I found this picture and it pretty much sums it all up for me...