Tag: art

  • Jesus Cuts My Hair: And Other Stories From Jesus’ Barbering Days in Palestine

    Jesus Cuts My Hair: And Other Stories From Jesus’ Barbering Days in Palestine

    Hair Like Jesus was the name of the original barbershop in Nazareth. It took a while for business to pick-up because most people didn’t find hair styling/cutting to be a worthwhile expenditure. Eventually, maybe a decade before Jesus’ untimely death, the Caesar cut began to make waves throughout the Roman Empire. And while Tiberius didn’t wear this hair style, many of his adjutants and numerous Roman celebrities did. This was the period when the first t-shirts were printed with the JSMH & JCMH labels (Jesus Styles My Hair & Jesus Cuts My Hair). There were also hair-cutting disciples who would set-up pop-up barber stations throughout Judea, Samaria, & Galilee; many of them would hang a sign that read “Cutting Hair For Jesus”. This proved to be the zenith for Jesus’ popularity in the Roman Empire.

    Jesus was not the only person to join the new profession. There were a number of high-profile individuals who took up the trade, to include the Holy Spirit. Most of these endeavors were short-(o)lived but there were two who pushed Jesus to constantly up his game. Peter, the disgruntled former trainer and assistant general manager for Pontius Pilate (at Pilate’s Pilates Provisions) cut a mean high and tight and was also very skilled at making curls work with, rather than against, the client’s facial attributes. Whereas the Holy Spirit used techniques that highlighted their spatial-awareness of skulls skill set while creating subtle differences between the stylings and hems of them and Jesus.

    There are hundreds of wonderful parables, fables, and historically semi-accurate/articulate stories that give us a closer look at what the hair cutting industry was like during Jesus 1st run on earth. I’ve compiled a short list of some of my favorites, below. Most of these are available online from www.wwjr.bib; or if traveling, you can find brick & mortar sites of What Would Jesus Read: A Genesis of RevelationZ – Book Store, Snack Bar, & Spirits – in New York City, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Chicago, & Baltimore.
    Aside from the cutting and styling copycats, a number of professions emerged from the hair biz. Landscape design outfits and nail salons would spring forth seemingly overnight in neighborhood strip malls from Byzantium (Istanbul) to Yathrib (Madinah). Other, more esoteric ventures, e.g. exercise emporiums and makeover takeover palaces, had their 15 minutes of fame before fading away – like Tim Scott post inauguration. I’ve included several of these enterprises after the story section. In all, this period of early business history was less important for what it accomplished than for what it revealed; human nature’s desire for a more pleasing aesthetic goes back millennia. Be it a cut & color, a freshly groomed guinea pig or a well manicured fig tree, we prefer that which is easy on the eyes.

    1/2 Truths, Tales, & Unchronicled Notes from the final decade of Christ in Palestine
    ————————————————–
    Hairy Stories from Jesus’ Barbershop:
    The Truth Behind The Long-Haired Hippie Style of Rōmmies & Why Caesars wore the Caesar cut
    The Hair Sweepers of Ancient Samaria
    Hair Stylist School as Post-Water-Gathering option: Aveda before it was Aveda
    That one time Jesus shaved, #2 – 2nd 2 None, into The Holy Spirit’s head
    Jesus’ use of mechanical shears before electricity
    Jesus Dyed my hair, but he didn’t die for my hair
    Jesus cut Delilahs hair before she cut Sampson’s hair
    Jesus fucked up the money changers because they didn’t tip him after getting their hair cut
    Mary & Joseph got free haircuts when Jesus achieved the title of Master Hair Stylist – but they still payed for the color tints
    Thomas doubted Jesus could give him a feathered look – & Jesus wept. But then, Thomas let Jesus cut his hair & he doubted nevermore, or at least until the YOLO controversy 

    Before the Last Supper, Jesus offered all of his disciples a free haircut; they all took him up on the offer excepting Philip, he had recently gotten his hair styled by Mary Magdalene – she was secretly supporting Philip’s fashion designer dreams in exchange for his company 
    Jesus first job cutting hair was in a salon called Capillus Secare 
    Jesus once gave me a coupon for 10% off my next visit – good for the purchase of product or haircut; I used the coupon for the shearing of my sheep 🙂 Jesus wept.
    Jesus barbershop was the most popular in
    Palestine because it offered complementary wine & unleavened leavened flatbread
    The Holy Spirit, Jesus’ right hand spirit, extended special discounted laundry services if you were getting a cut & color
    God The Spirit is sort of like Vodka – both spiritual, both worshipped/revered, & both enjoyed with orange juice
    on Sunday mornings

    Jesus favorite thing to tell customers was “Healthy Hair is Happy Hair”  
    Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, a.k.a.Caligula/Gaius, often heard this when, as a child, he accompanied his father on hair-cutting errands. As Gaius lost his hair, he came to despise the saying and, by extension, Jesus and all of his long-haired customers/followers. However, after the crucifixion, Caligula had a change of heart. His appreciation for the work done by Jesus and Christ’s love for all people (well, all people who weren’t uber-wealthy assholes) touched Gaius in a way he wasn’t accustomed to. He spent his years as Emperor advocating for a complete expungement of Jesus’ criminal record, while eradicating the MAGAesque Senators who were prone to outlandish conspiracy theories and regularly quoted Diogenes of Sinope. Caligula, like all Caesars, was a complex fellow.

    Things the Bible never told you:
    Jesus uses the iPhone, in his 2nd act, to contact non-believers, it shows up as JSPAM, which many Midwesterners assume is Jalapeno SPAM and so they don’t answer
    Jesus wasn’t a baker by trade, his unleavened flatbreads ended up airy & delightful (leavened with no leavening agent and seasoned perfectly every time), not what local foodies expected nor desired. Local chefs heckled him but Martha & Mary of Bethany would eat 8-10 of these earliest taboon breads each week. And Judas Iscariot set up a stall next to the barbershop & began selling the bread (and giving it away to the poor and oppressed, as instructed by Jesus). The stall never sold out; Jesus used his multiplication of loaves trick to keep bread stocked 24/7.
    Jesus trimmed trees, & hair, & livestock by appointment. He didn’t allow animals larger than a standard ram or ewe in the shop but he had 6 stanchions out back and could accommodate additional animals at his home in Nazareth
    Jesus, Mary, & Joseph Cabinetry & Contracting Services LLC (JMJCCS) was a short lived business venture due to customers’ complaints of Jesus’ constant preaching to them about the importance of not wearing garments that contained both wool and linen
    Luke’s Landscape Designs (L.L.D.) was so successful that it still exists today – you know it better as Lowe’s
    Mathew’s Mani-Pedi Mart (MMPM) doubled as a social club for Mani-Pedi Men (MPM). Mani-Pedi Men were known throughout the Roman Empire for their fabulous shows performing song and dance. Dressed in robes of silk adorned with red diamonds and rubies and and green onyx and emeralds (now you know where the Christmas color palette originated) their shows drew crowds similar to what one saw in the most popular coliseum events
    Mark’s Makeover Palace (MMP) was the first licensed clinic, in the world, to provide gender affirming care. Mark’s oldest sibling, Joanna, was his first client and the reason he decided to open the clinic. In addition to hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers, the clinic offered voice therapy, social service navigation, and mental health professionals available day and night
    John’s House of Jellos, Jaffa Oranges, & Jams (JHJJOJ) turned every meal into a celebration. With the addition of citrus jellies, pâtés, teas, condiments, sauces, relishes and more, the days of bland falafel sandwiches and disappointing dolma were over. John passed away, unexpectedly, eaten by a destruction of caracal. Nevertheless, his ideas for fruit as primary subject, rather than side or accompaniment is carried on at Frog Hollow Farm.
    Saul’s Balls: Party Planning Services for Galas, Soirées, Receptions, Reunions, Balls, and social gatherings of all types went the way of the Dodo long before the Dodo was killed off. Saul was caught hand-laundering money and was convicted for financially supporting the up and coming Zhou Dynasty (China) in exchange for the secret Zhou method of making 27 layer jello
    King David’s Royal Dry-Sand-Cleaning, Sword Sharpening, Robe Repair, & Artisanal Hummus Bowls shops were the primary economic driver of Judah’s amazing quarter century of 7%+ annual growth rate. After King David’s death, King Solomon attempted to stay the course, economically, but due to the grass pollens and ragweed allergen plagues, Judah’s growth rate never topped 4.3%.
    Sampson & Delilah’s Salon & Extreme Xercise Emporium (S&D’sSEXE) almost made it to America. They had a SEXE Club in London, when the Puritans made their first trip to the “new world”. The Puritans needed more money to secure a 2nd boat and S&D had the funds. They agreed to chip-in for the boat in exchange for a ride for the 3 owners, 5 employees and 14 pieces of club equipment. Less than 50 miles out of London, the S&D folk were thrown overboard. The equipment was spared and was stored in a pole shed just north of Salem. 100 years later a proper building was constructed and the club was once again active with a few minor changes – including the name – most call it The Y.
    Archangel Allen’s Art Supplies & Aphrodisiacs
    was very popular with the Groths, a group of younger people who wore earth tones, primarily brown and green. Unfortunately, Allen succumbed to the allure of great riches and repute. The last time anyone saw him he was riding away on a pale green horse.

  • Boxed Sand Bento –

    Boxed Sand Bento –

    For the Class of ’22 especially and all of the students, staff, teachers, parents, & caregivers who endured, adapted, and overcame during the Covid 19 pandemic

    Earth tones, smart phones, summer memoirs in stones cast

    Stereo hums – beat of drums – life’s rhythm’s moving…  fast

    The hours we take, we make, we lose then find

    Relations forged in craggy gorge, not thru space nor thyme

    Waves flip & curl – masts unfurl – deep inside our mind

    seeking serenity, stoic genetically, ripping out the vine 

    Snarled bowed bent broken, yank the insides out – 

    Coursing through sinewed feels – No longer devout 

    Gaze upon your crushed & splintered – analyzing self

    Commence with sifting vital bits, stow on starboard shelf

    UnTangle unMangle winnow further still

    Don’t Stress —- be preoccupied — \/ — practice procrastination… 

    Flip it trip it grind gears, mill

    Efforts anchor medley of melancholic aspiration

    525 thousand ain’t enough to do the work

    Spit and polish not yet glitter, toiling in the murk

    Visions emerge whence lights converge, let the flickers grow

    What’s this you see? Basswood buds! peaking through the snow

    Amalgamate & Consecrate The Essence of the Now

    Circulate then annotate, life lived upon boats’ bow

    Misting skies breathe life to living

    Bespoke beSpeckled be kind be giving

    Toning bonds 

    Glints flight from ponds 

    This; This IS the thing, the essence of all that Is – here & not here & there & theirs

    With Hues of grey in tangled fray, where do souls grow?

    Kept from view, mixing roux, days of boxed sand bento 

    Images imagining immaculate impurities soothing & softening dreamscaped sky

    Fluttering flittering flogging floughetry – 

    Motion of the wrangled fly

    Just because it’s syncopated don’t mean it’s oh so complicated – 

    no need to get all aggravated, slow. your. roll.

    Keep the Keeper – shine the light – Ramble On in2 the night

    Regard the rails – raise your sails

    GO – & wander, Tones On Tails

    Black & Gold & Cree & Crow

    Passing on the telling

    River rise, knot the ties, mushroom-ton-a-Welling

    It’s great, We’re Great! … No – really- seriously, we are… aren’t we?

    But no one… is – mmm, — how u say? 

    Clean the filter, wipe the lens

    Demain- entre nous- flambeaux flambè

    Listen to Saturn the Oceans & Seas

    Talk to the Suns & the Moons 

    Fire-Water-Do Not Burn

    Breathe the ash of ruins

    Mineral min(e)d _ for simple time — passing by the bly

    Walk me out to find the fount & quaff elixir’s rye

    Tend the earth & plant new seed,

    Looking back – ere you lead

    Passions inspire mind’s collective quest

    Find your peoples, build your nest

    In parting prose we knot loose bows, none left in the lurch

    Strike the match & fan the flames with oil from life’s Birch

    Salted steeled integrity be present in thy breast

    Sing & whistle, Lavender Thistle, sop up all the zest  

  • How to Paint

    How to Paint

    From Merriam-Webster:

    appropriate 2 of 2

    verb

    ap·​pro·​pri·​ate ə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt 

    appropriated; appropriating

    transitive verb

    1

    to take exclusive possession of annex

    No one should appropriate a common benefit.

    2

    to set apart for or assign to a particular purpose or use

    appropriate money for a research program

    3

    to take or make use of without authority or right

    natural habitats that have been appropriated for human use

    AS OPPOSED TO:

    appropriate

    1 of 2

    adjective

    ap·​pro·​pri·​ate ə-ˈprō-prē-ət 

    Synonyms of appropriate

    especially suitable or compatible fitting

  • Cat Life

    Cat Life

    (Grace) I’m hungry

    (Sebastián) Me to

    (G) Should we make something? 

    (S) No, we shouldn’t make something – you should make something

    (G) Because you can’t even boil water without burning your eyebrows?

    (S) No, because I have to feed my cat before he freaks out

    (G) How long does that take?

    (S) Like 30 minutes?

    (G) What? Why?

    (S) I have to sing Our House but the Sheena Easton version, so using my falsetto, while preparing his meal; and then I have to sit with him while he eats, humming Avett Brothers & Tina Turner songs otherwise he won’t eat anything and then I have to give him ear massages after he’s done eating and sing Tiny Dancer repeatedly until he falls asleep, usually takes about 30 minutes

    (G) Ok No, no, no, no, no, no… NO! Not ok, Sebastián, you cannot be that obsequious – especially with your cat.

    (S) Why?

    (G) Sebastián! He’s a cat – a very handsome, adorable, winsome, spoiled furry little ball of mischief, which is why you are compelled to kowtow to every whim, but no, that’s too much. He can eat without your singing, he just prefers you give him your undivided attention, kind of like me 🙂

    (S) What if he doesn’t eat?

    (G) Do you really think he’ll just go on a hunger strike until you cave?

    (S) Maybe, I mean, I’ve never thought about it

    (G) How old was he when you adopted him?

    (S) three

    (G) Three, and he was alive?

    (S) What? Yeah, he was alive

    (G) So he must of been eating prior to your kitty boudoir sessions, right?

    (S) OK, Grace, it’s not a kitty boudoir and yes, he was eating, but he was on the streets, surviving, there was no one to give him the attention he needed, I could tell he was a sensitive soul when I met him in the park

    (G) I’m sure you could, but trust me, he’ll eat whether or not he’s getting the royal treatment

    (S) You may be right, but we won’t know today, I’m going to feed him, do you wanna start prepping some veggies for a stir fry? Or just open some wine and wait til I’m done?

    (G) I’ll open wine, red or white?

    (S) Either’s fine

    (G) Have you ever asked Romeo about his life on the streets?

    (S)- — —— ummmm, yeaaaaahhhh…

    (G) And…

    (S) And it was rough, but also exciting

    (G) What did he tell you was exciting

    (S) He used to go dumpster diving behind a pizza joint and him and his brothers would have to fight off rats the size of chihuahuas to get the best scraps – he doesn’t really look like a bad-ass but he’s got that feral brutality that’s innate in most alley cats

    (G) Your grasp of cat has gotten really good, how’s his English coming along?

    (S) Really well, he’s a fast learner – last week I was watching a cooking show with a Canadian sushi chef making sushi and ramen and Romeo went right up to the screen and tried to paw the tuna off the table but ignored the salmon.

    (G) What does that have to do with his English skills

    (S) He was reading the subtitles to figure out which was tuna and which was salmon, that’s how he knew

    (G) He was reading subtitles… ummm, ok, 1st, why did you have subtitles on for a cooking show on the Food Network? 2nd, what makes you believe he prefers tuna to salmon? and 3rd, When do you see your therapist next?

    (S) I always have subtitles on, it helps me with my Spanish and Romeo is fluent in Spanish; and he likes tuna better, whenever I bring home sushi he’ll eat the tuna but not the salmon – though he does eat the cream cheese from around the salmon on the Philadelphia rolls; and I’m seeing Sean on Thursday, why?

    (G) Spanish? You speak Spanish? Since when?

    (S) Well, no, I don’t, aside from muchas gracias and por favor, but I’m learning using the subtitles. Like cerveza is beer and tequila is tequila and azul is blue and amarillo is yellow

    (G) Wow, I had no idea, that’s pretty incredible, I’ll bet by next year you’ll know more colors and how to say rum, vodka, & whiskey

    (S) Yeah, and I’ll learn how to ask questions like How are you, kitty?

    (G) Como Estas, gatito?

    (S) what?

    (G) Como Estas? it means How are you; and gatito is kitty, gato is cat

    (S) How do you know that?

    (G) I took Spanish all through high school and for three years in college and I worked in a restaurant and 2 of the cooks were from Guatemala, I talked with them a lot when we were slow.

    (S) So you’ve been speaking Spanish for like 10 years and you never told me?

    (G) You never asked

    (S) Have you not noticed my attempts to properly enunciate Spanish words when we’re ordering at Valentina’s Cocina?

    (G) Yes, & I’ve never laughed at you, not out loud anyway

    (S) never laughed at me? what do you mean? is it that bad?

    (G) It’s not good

    (S) Fine, I’ll switch to French subtitles, I already know how to count to 10 in French

    (G) That probably makes more sense as we may be spending more time in Canada in the coming years

    (S) What? Why? Don’t tell me – you’ve been playing hockey since you were 5 and you were on the Juniors National Team for a few years

    (G) I started when I was 4, not 5, and was on the Junior Olympics team once – but that’s not why we’d spend time in Canada, though that’s definitely a bonus

    (S) So you speak Spanish fluently, you’re like a semi-professional hockey player, and you have perfect teeth – why are you in Wayzata?

    (G) I don’t know, I guess I like being close to you

    (S) What? Really? Shut-up!

    (G) I’m serious, you’re like, my best friend and that’s more important than being somewhere cooler without you

    (S) O.M.G. – Grace, like, I know that we’re best friends and that we love each other immensely, & that life is way better when you’re here and not somewhere else but I guess I didn’t think about it like this. I love you for that, for thinking about it in that way, like kind of serious but not all sappy and dumb but like real… and I love you for being you, and I’m going to get a job and move out of my parent’s lake-house and we’re gonna go live somewhere with more whales and dolphins and shaved ice and warm weather

    (G) Whoa, slow down, Turbo, I’m all in on the shaved ice and warm weather, and I love whales and dolphins, and you, but you said “more whales and dolphins…”

    (S) Well, we don’t have any of those in Lake Minnetonka, at least not that I know of

    (G) Yeah no, we definitely don’t have any ocean creatures in the lake. So when do we leave?

    (S) I have to sweep out the garage and put some dishes in the dishwasher but then I’ll be ready

    (G) So like an hour?

    (S)No, probably about 6-8 hours?

    (G) What? Why?

    (G) Before I sweep out the garage I have to pick up all of the loose hay and bundle it back into a bail so the birds won’t fly off with it and then I have to hand-wash the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher because if you don’t hand-wash them first you’ll probably find bits of food stuck to forks and plates and pickle jars and tuna tins – which need to be soaked in hot water with Dawn dish soap, the tuna tins that is, so the oil dissipates before putting the liquid down the drain and putting the tin in the dishwasher, and then I have to wait for the dishwasher to run through a cycle and shut off so there’s no risk of an electrical fire

    (G) OK, I’ll be drinking wine and watching karaoke videos, let me know when you’re ready

  • Welcome to Diamond lake

    Welcome to Diamond lake

    Let me tell you somethin’ about this joint – it ain’t a tent revival for the wretched of the earth, we don’t need no tent for our revivals; it ain’t a place to wrestle with your investment portfolio and plans for a lovely low-fucking-key retirement in Fiji; an’ it ain’t a dad-gum fire-station turned nightclub with too many speakers and too few barkeeps. We don’t sell crepes and we don’t allow the smoking of electronic shit – if you wanna smoke, get a lighter and a pack of Marlboro’s or P-funks or Newports or Virginia Slims if you’re of a certain age . We’ve got: flowers by the bushel – fresh cut, dried, potted, & planted; popcorn and peanuts in paper bags; salamander saliva comin’ out our ears; and we play a mean game of Sheepshead. Our squirrels dance the two-step and our dogs bark on 2 & 4. We’ve no way of knowing how long we’ve been here and we don’t really know that our existence herein wasn’t always so. We’ll paint your toenails with a Sharpie and your knee-pits with vinegar and oil. The last person who tried to keep us from singing our songs ended up in tar pit, on Mercury. If you got a story to tell, we’re all ears. Ya got somethin’ to sell, not here (un’ ess you’ve got some peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies). The bar in Diamond Lake Bistro opens at 06:00 E.S.T. and closes at 05:00 C. S. T. The bistro’s kitchen is open 24/7 but ticket times run long between 17:30 – 22:00 and again between 02:00 – 07:00. If you need a bath, we got a pool in Diamond Lake Gardens, out back. If you need a therapist, we’ve got 3 honest-to-god bartenders and a bar-back who doubles as the bouncer. If you need someone to hit you upside the head with a cast iron pan, Tommie ‘ll come out the kitchen and see you. She don’t cook steaks past rare and she don’t put up with no shit from the clientele; and if you look her way with the slightest “you don’t scare me” attitude, you damn sure won’t be the first s.o.b. to find your nose closer to your ear than it was before you met Tommie. At Diamond Lake Creative, we make art, lots of art, all different kinds in all different fashions and we don’t give a shit whether you like it or eat it or talk about it like it’s a god-damn masterpiece gone awry and could easily be mistaken for a bag of flaming hammered-dog-shit on Mitch McConnell’s front porch. We make art for people who live life without pretensions and who don’t have overt ostentatious oligarchic tendencies. We make art for the people who Rock It, every fucking day, in pajamas on their couch or in the corporate office surrounded by a culture of stupidity that’s overshadowed by a mission to maximize wealth accumulation and grovel to shareholder concerns. We make art for those who don’t have art made for them – the beat-down who get up every single time they’re knocked to the ground, the quiet souls who rage against the garrulous assholes who are completely unintelligible but still find their way up the ladder of dumbfuckery. We make art for us, the one’s who know when we’re being sold a bill of goods and raise our middle fingers to salute the ass-a-nati from whom we buy our days old bread. Do take some time to peruse our site and see if anything tickles your fancy, or maybe irritates it. And if you have any questions, concerns, complaints, observations, or recommendations, you’ll find contact information on the page that has contact information. Thanks for stoppin’ by, watch your head, the doorways were installed in the 1850s.

    crushed empty pack of Newport cigarettes
    Reflection of sailboats - docked in Sister Bay, Door County, Wisconsin
    oil paint flower, quick sketch