All I Really Want to Do!!!

I ain't lookin' to compete with you

Beat or cheat or mistreat you

Simplify you, classify you

Deny, defy or crucify you

All I really want to do

Is, baby, be friends with you

No, and I ain't lookin' to fight with you

Frighten you or tighten you

Drag you down or drain you down

Chain you down or bring you down

All I really want to do

Is, baby, be friends with you

I ain't lookin' to block you up

Shock or knock or lock you up

Analyze you, categorize you

Finalize you or advertise you

All I really want to do

Is, baby, be friends with you

I don't want to straight-face you

Race or chase you, track or trace you

Or disgrace you or displace you

Or define you or confine you

All I really want to do

Is, baby, be friends with you

I don't want to meet your kin

Make you spin or do you in

Or select you or dissect you

Or inspect you or reject you

All I really want to do

Is, baby, be friends with you

I don't want to fake you out

Take or shake or forsake you out

I ain't lookin' for you to feel like me

See like me or be like me

All I really want to do

Is, baby, be friends with you

-Bob Dylan 1964

Feeling It

Walking down Broad Street towards South today was a pretty normal day I like it the fact that the woman who sits across at work and talks about her family on and on!!

So it's  really quiet on the most part. The  group was very intense & lasted a half hour longer than normal. Those are the best meetings as far as I am concerned.

Breakfast!

Some of the topics were as follows: finding your own voice, what a bottom is,  and  having someone tell you to stay away from them(Male/Female). One of the most bizarre and sad  was the woman who

Creating New Mural on South Street

shared that she was  at a club of some sort. While she was there having fun, she saw this

Taking a Pit Stop on South Street

dude wearing a T-shirt that referred to RAPE as SURPRISE SEX!!  That is f$#ked up thing to wear. Dude has a problem and it was pretty intense.
Its hot but I got a nice complement on one of my photos and my gratitude is flowing nicely. 2 friends went out to eat at a Middle Eastern place on South and then walked up to about 18th where we parted ways. I came home and installed my window air conditioner and now will shower and go to bed after listening to some Bob Dylan

The Heat is Here!

19th and Market

Hi!!! it is Wednesday, May 29 hump day. I woke up this morning

Wait till she is my age!!

after not getting enough sleep I felt okay. I then went to sunrise which was of course interesting as usual and Theresa was there. I  then went to work and found myself swamped with clients because I was on the board and finally finished at 2:30 I am now right aid getting food and something clinching my thirst my and some soup probably. After work I am going to the post office  to help out Pat.  I did get the package which turned out to be a 25lb acoustic guitar amp. I toted it via the 42 bus and walked it from Spruce ST to Ranstead which is one half

Chillin on 19th near Ranstead

block from Market Street. I was not too hot but I was smelly. While at Pat's, we watched Cheech and Chong's "Up in Smoke". You know, I missed the fact that it was a parody of the punk rock scene as well as a parody of the stoner culture that was going on strong in 1978. I am old enough to remember that stuff.

 I'll got I got to call the Dean's lawyer and

social worker today about when he gets outta jail. As my daily message says, I will create my own luck. First off I will be at sunrise and get my coffee at Saxby's , 

that's right signing off

May 28: A West Philly Kind of Day

It was Tuesday, May 28. it had a slow start. I felt a bit  off & little funky but Sunrise was  good and I got better.. I went to

Chillin at 19th and Ranstead

to work on time My supervisor was absent, then I just was able to get into

52nd Street

Chairs

flow which is really nice. I got a call from a friend of mine who got bitten by a Chihuahua and could not walk her cute little pit-

bull.i took the EL to 52nd Street and Chester. This was simpler than taking the EL to 30th Street and waiting for a 34 or 11 Trolley to show up. The walk was pretty cool. For one, the rain did not come pouring down on my head I went by some memories. I walked by the old Wise Women's Center where yoga used to be. It's  now the the Philadelphia Folklore Project.. I strolled by St Bernard Street where I had several pet sitting customers back a decade agoI After the walk I agreed to meet my friend for coffee this Sunday at the Satelitte. Next went to 

Radio Free West Philly

Gratitude and it was an intense meeting. I had an idea of what I going to say but another person's share was so intuitive  and made so much sense to my reality that I was a bit befuddled and felt emotional. Stuff was flying but not chairs. I then went to Pat's where he was asleep most of the time but made a delicious salad. Man, I needed that for sure. I am off to Sunrise this morning May 29th. LATE AGAIN!! 

View from 44th
& Chestnut 

View from my
Bus stop.

In My Head

Feeling a bit funky. I wrote this in response to a message from a friend:

 Photography is my only outlet for being creative. The smartphone is for the  lazy who don't work for their creative self.

Yes, capturing the moment is what I have.

Memorial Day 2013

Old City Philadelphia

Monday morning. I woke up in Old City and I  went to

Cleo

sunrise.Afterwards, a few of us went to La Colombe and then to Rittenhouse Square Park. Man it was so nice to be out. I ended up  taking the 42  bus to grab a Danish for myself  and Pat. Man what a beautiful day couldn't be better outside!!'

It's 9:36 AM Monday, May 27 2013 for me. Not sure what I will do today!

Well I chilled with Pat, took a nap and finished my blog about yesterday. I got a call from Drew about a picnic out in the Western

suburbs. I was to meet him at 40th Street on car# 

I got the NEXT train to 69th St. We went to Broomal to a cookout. Drew's friend John was at his parents house.

Alice and Wes in San Dago

We are a lot of food and I got to take a nice after dinner nap in the nice furnished basemen.

Add caption

Dean has been calling he may be moving in June.6 D Day for us World War II buffs.

Makin Pasta

I'm went to pats house and I found him asleep. So I am going to wrap this up. This week is the last week in May. I am glad that I stayed at home and kept it local this entire Memorial Day weekend. It was pretty chill. I hope that this week goes fast. I think it will. The week after a Monday holiday is always busy in the welfare wakka world in which I earn my living.

Barbecue in Broomall

Sunday May 26th: Good Day Sunshine!

Yes good day Sunday to one and all. Its a nice day I got up a bit late

My Window When I Got Up

for the  meeting but got there pretty quickly. I decided to buy T-shirts and  watch Larry's cat. i took photos of Wall Street Journal book reviews. I'm going to get the T-shirts and head back home and maybe see Pat and see if I'm going to Baltimore is on within the realm of reality.Onward my friends!

Pat's Pup

A beautiful Sunday continues to enthrall!  I went to Larry's to eat cereal and to watch Cleo the cat. I am going to get a poster framed on South Street and will stroll after getting off the EL. Rhonda maybe coming down tonight. She will check her scene and I'll wait.

Condo Trash Chute!

I might be visiting a friend downtown depending on how the Rhonda thing shakes out that's it. I took the  21 down downtown and we'll see how it all shakes out. I am wearing one of my route 55 T-shirts and I put it on Facebook I thought it was funny but alas I got NO responses NOT even a "like"

Rhonda was unable to come up and  so I took the art exhibit poster

Time for a V action

to a framed could be framed and came home and mellowed out and visiting a friend in old city and walking up there so I'll get back. I got a good night sleep last night I can really feel itself and I am going to try to get money back that is so I  effectively spent most of my cash till Friday.

Market Street Looking East

I ventured to Chinatown tonite. It was a very comfortable night to stroll and take some groovy photos. As I was walking, I l passed a building that houses the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Guess what is across the street my dear leader??The African American Museum!! Oh the irony??

View from Bar None!

I stayed up  till 1:30. I did not have the  cash for I calculated  how much was on my plate that is offered after 5 Pm. It just takes ONLY a bit off the rice. My attitude was "Oh well."...I am very THANKFUL that I can be sober at  this time of my life. I  am learning to accept "Life on life's terms."

I am gonna sleep at my friend's place. Before I fell asleep at 3 am, I took a cool photo of the window of my buddy's condo. I put it on Facebook and THAT got BOTH likes and comment. I got $45 till Friday. We got a full moon!!

Waiting for the Bus Driver of the Rt 4

Good night.

A Sketch or Two of May.

Friday, May 24 and it started off muggy and the temperature must have dropped 20° outside. Its cool

Just Waiting.

and windy. Work was okay and not as busy as I thought. I did make the meeting on time. I'll have very tired at the end now I'm going to be shoppers meeting and I plan to eat dinner at a pretty goal today and I'm going to stick around this weekend.

A Sketch by Pat

A Daydream.

Its now Saturday and I did keep my promise to stay local and chill. I got up early to go to a meeting then  got caught up in finishing 2 blog entries that I had started. I wanted to make them decent especially the write-up about the opening I attended in New York. I would have an audience that might be in the double-digits and it was

important to ensure that it was done in a manner fitting of what I saw.
Today I did some stuff such as laundry and dry cleaning. I even got rid of all the plastic bags by going to the Fresh Grocer and getting them recycled. I had a ton of them.

Dakota. Pat's Dog.

I am now on Facebook just doodling around and looking for something to inspire me. Well, I am a dreamer.

Dreaming in Pen

A dreamer, you ask?? Yes! Under my sarcasm and media criticism, I want patience while I dream of love and contentment. See, I am a dreamer since am now listening to Crosby Stills, Nash, and Young.

sometimes I do not work for what I want. Other times I am inching closer as in the past 14 months of my life. I listened to this senior year in HS over and Over. Helped me out of a deep depression. I am ok Once they get you, they will mess with you.and I want to walk home and sleep.

Then I want to awake to a sunny day to head down to the Bar None.

May 18th 2013:Center City to New York City!!

Thursday morning. Yup, it is cloudy a bit humid looks like it might rain. I went to meeting and miss the cavalcade of fun w a "dynamic

30th Street

duo!  Well it all ended up okay and folks moved on. I'm ready to go to work and drop off my frozen samosas and then fiddle around and maybe clean my area. I had a mouse running around my desk several days ago.    I told my boss I  wasn't coming in just to give me the option of coming in and maybe cleaning up my space I didn't schedule anybody and I'm not on the board and it's a free day.

Well I finished cleaning to the paper from my work area. I got little bit of work done and I left work at

W. 26th Street 

1:30 and caught the 1:55 pm Amtrak train from  30th St. Station  to New York's Penn Station to see an opening. The rain was holding off it's really cool because I was going to walk to to the Clair Oliver Gallery on W. 26th Street near 10th.

Hello I arrived in Manhattan around 3 o'clock and rain just poured till about 4pm. and I walked from Madison Square Garden to W. 26th St. and walked towards 10th Ave. and the gallery was there between 10th and 11th avenues This area has a lot of galleries there.  Claire Oliver Gallery is her home gallery and a lot of people showed up was very nice right now. I am going to write a separate entry about Judith's opening. Some research I did over the past several hours convinced me make it so!!

I'm really tired my foot hurts so that the heel issue I have and that's it this at

Playground at Dusk.

this time.

on the way back to Trenton, I slept and on the last stop I couldn't get off the train. I ended up at the NJ transit train    yard Now I have to take the   train going back towards New York.  Next I can catch the 12:15 AM septa train from Trenton. looks like I will not be until my bed till two I'm very tired.


Yes I was very tired and this is why this and 2 other blog entries are taking so long. I do need to nap now and download a video but its almost 10 now.

"The Battle of Carnival and Lent." A New Exhibit by Judith Schaechter

Close up. Note the Detail!

On Thursday May 23rd 2013,  "The Battle of Carnival and Lent",  the new Schaechter had its opening reception at  the Claire Oliver Gallery in New York City. This gallery is located in the Chelsea area of Midtown Manhattan and is the home of many small galleries. I was invited via Facebook and jumped at the chance to see her work in person (yes it's sad but true.). I have never been to an opening in New York before and I was thrilled to show up and bask in the radiance of fine art as craftsmanship.

exhibition by Judith
Before I continue with this write-up, I wish to make it clear that I am not an art critic but merely a social/media/critic/social worker. I have exposed myself....to art and folks who know or live as creative minds and souls. I like to write, observe and most of all take photos at impulse.
OK, lets go to the main event the opening reception of Judith Schaechter's exhibit The Battle of Carnival and Lent. The exhibit features 17 panels that were part of her

Note the Detail

exhibit at the Eastern State Penitentiary. I regretfully missed that show and I am sure it does not matter to you my dear reader. Here is Judith at Eastern State Penitentiary sharing her thoughts about her art and the space.
The Clare Oliver Gallery is a good venue for Judith's work. The set up makes the pieces the main focus of the studio. A person can not help be be drawn to the works. The largest of the works is a large window which is the title piece of the show. ":The Battle of Carnival and Lent." features the combatants" of this battle between human desires and want and the higher thoughts and aspirations that make us human in the first place. We all as fallible  confront this duality on a daily basis (OK, some of us!) The colors are striking of course coming from is to be appreciated.

this talented artisan of glass art. The thing that really took me away was the DETAIL in this piece. I personally adored the little snail in the middle of the piece. I felt a kind of kinship with the lost creature who is "alone in a crowd." I was emotionally affected by it. I am not educated in art but my firm belief  is that art that moves and provokes. How to describe her work? Lets leave that to her to profile from The University of the Arts.

Her stained glass narratives are a paradoxical assemblage of medieval depictions, mediated by contemporary tales of human failings. Hers is a demented carnival world, made claustrophobic by dizzying arrays of texture, obsessive detail and intense color.

The opening was well-attended, I met several of Judith's friends and very much enjoyed my visit. Judith was gracious and was truly appreciated that I came to visit. When I go to New York, I will make a point of bringing anyone I go with to see this work. Its in easy walking distance from Penn Station. It was a real pleasure to see work up close from an important and accomplished glass artist. She has taken stain

Ther is no need to add caption

glass to the modern era and we are fortunate to be alive to see this work as it continues to evolve.
For those not familiar with her work I would go to the Claire Oliver Website There is more details about Judith and her work. My favorite ;part was the "Press" section of the Claire Oliver Gallery. This has articles interviews and reviews dating back to.
This is a show to see and easy to like as far as I am concerned.