School's out

1. Art:  This coming school year will be my 15th year of teaching art.  I haven't made any new art in years, besides some examples of lessons for school. Currently there're 2 ideas for my next project: one is an assemblage, found-object, abstract sculpture inspired by Prince, tentatively entitled "Purple Rain, Rurple Pain."  Another is a large (4'x6') black & white charcoal pastel drawing of our 5 cats (Kathy the Krazy Kat Lady Hashtag CatLivesMatter.)  I don't usually work this big, so this will be a stretch and a good challenge.  Time to reinvent myself. 
2. Music: My idea of a supergroup/ fantasy band would comprise of Beck, Nina Simone, Beastie Boys, Pylon and New Order.  I'm also thinking of making a semi-giant percussive instrument a-la Klimchak-style gamelan ensemble of pots and pans & everything including the kitchen sink. Why not?  
3. Blogging: Can you believe that I've been doing this blog thing here since 2002?  That's 14 fricking years and counting.  Some days are more enjoyable and inspiring than others but the point is I keep on keepin' on. I don't really care if anyone is reading it or not. I do it for me, like the great Heisenberg once said.
4. People:  I've been reminiscing about these famous people/ celebrities that I personally encountered over the years, either by accident or while I was on the job.  We were literally  face-to-face, a few feet away from each other.  Just off the top of my head, here's a short list: Carl Lewis, Houston, Texas 1986.  Cyndi Lauper, Portland, Maine, 1991.  Cheri Jones, Baltimore, Maryland, 1993.  Michael Moore, Marietta, Georgia, 1999.  Elton John, Atlanta, 1998.  Heather Headley, ATL, who played Aida at the Alliance Theatre where I was a sound tech. Evander Holyfield, 2012, at the airport waiting for our shuttle bus. And of course there are various Broadway Tony award-winning regional theater designers like Natasha Katz, her husband Dan Moses Schrieir, Don Holder and others. I've actually had conversations with these folks. Recently, we ran into Clark Howard at a coffee shop and I've passed NFL Hall of Famer and Dancing With The Stars champion Hines Ward and his wife a couple of times while running on the Silver Comet Trail right here in Smyrna. The last time the summer of 2015 as he was training for his first triathlon in Hawaii I believe. 
5. Humor: We all need a little humor in our life. As I get older I find that I appreciate all kinds of comedy including the lowbrow juvenile sophomoric moronic types. Life's too damn short, man.
   
6. Sports: The running streak is still going. I'm on Day 923 of running a minimum of a mile a day.  I keep track of it on dailymile.com.  I try to run at least 3 miles or a 5K, like I did today. The sweet spot is around 4 miles or 40 minutes. No half-marathon or marathon silliness for this boy. I run for the joy of being alive and being able to move from one location to the next. I run for fitness. I run just to keep myself from being stagnant. I do my best thinking while running. The streak is a way of keeping myself motivated.