If i was to ask you to make a celebrities off the top of your head, it would include actors, musicians and figures of authority. However another breed of celebrity has been formed of late which degrades those of actual talent by branding them all with the same collective name. I no longer class people of talent who have found widespread fame as celebrities. My definition of celebrity is of one who has no overbearing talent and who has found fame to feed their ego and to be known, rather than be celebrated for a genuine ability or possession of anexpertise.

To get famous in this modern age either a porn video, an appearance on an inane ‘reality’ show (it’s an insult to presume these clowns are a reflection on the people of the real world) or even giving a commentary on these pointless, shameless money-grabbers can give anybody ‘fame’.

Now, don’t get me wrong, if the offer of a lot of money for doing something which requires no obvious talent was given to me, I would break the pen by snatching it too hard and eagerly while trying to sign my soul away. More disappointment arises from the fact these celebrities can find fame and a lasting audience to flaunt their worthless charade of existence.

Some of these celeb’s can be respected however, Katie Price is not just a huge pair of tits and an irritating voice. These are only some of her qualities. She has been able to forge a career and make herself a suggested fortune of £8million using only these aspects. She has tapped into the simplicity of the general public and exploited the dumb-witted and easily amused to make them believe she has something worth offering apart from her glorious 32FF twins. Magazines are sold and television programs are watched to see how she lives. Surely something more entertaining can be found? Her relationship with ‘pop star’ Peter Andre was widely publicized, which has now rejuvenated his career and given Price more money from interviews and exclusives. This was obviously a ploy for both to cash in. They met on a reality program designed to boost the fame of D-listers. A week after the break-up, a program called ‘What Katie Did Next’ was shown on ITV8 or some channel. Now, does is take a week to commission and film a series for TV? I think not, unless some pre-planned scheme was hatched to ensure maximum profit from the divorce. Hats off to Katie Price, she appears to be part of the mob she appeals too, but she is actual one of the many puppet masters telling them what to find entertaining week after week in the tabloids, a true master stroke.

Another story I saw made me lose faith in common man. On Tuesday 23rd December 2009, Richard and Mayumi Heene were sentenced to jail terms for creating an elaborate hoax which enticed huge media coverage and wasted police time. I’m sure you have heard about the boy who sailed away in a balloon, but was actually hiding in the attic of his house the whole time. His parents concocted this ridiculous idea to try to raise their profile in the media to boost their TV personality careers with the aim of landing a reality TV show about themselves. These people have realised they have no profitable talents, so they have tried to get mass sympathy and eventually enough attention to stay in the limelight. Their aim was to become a celebrity family, the same as wannabe-WAGs and whores who sell stories to tabloids about ‘famous’ exploits. Well the comfort comes in that they did become famous, but because they were found out. Now everyone has heard of them, but even the mindless, moronic audience they craved are laughing with the rest of us. A cautionary tale for any aspiring superstar.

Now I know it must be hard for me to see this mass, idiotic, celebrity loving public from my very high horse, and my arrogant snobbishness may also be clouding my view. I too am mildly interested in this culture by the sheer exposure I must endure everyday in all forms of media, but i feel my knowledge of my hypocrisy separates me from them.

One battle of the brainwashed public against those who are sick of it was the Rage Against The Machine vs X-Factor christmas number one. People who championed music written by the artist about something that means something and has a message and a meaning triumphed over generic, manufactured rubbish which was originally sung by respected musician Miley Cyrus. It doesn’t matter if they are part of the same record label, or that Simon Cowell may have profited hugely from this campaign. What matters is taste and a sense of cultures rose above mediocrity for the first time in a long time. Hopefully a thing of the future.

Looking down his nose as always,

Winston Gold.

By Eric Blackstock and Alonna Artis
VCU InSight

RICHMOND, Va. — The annual Grand Illumination at Richmond’s James Center celebrated its 25th year on Dec. 4, when holiday lights at multiple downtown locations were lit at the same time.

Following a countdown, a 60-foot tree and 95 reindeer at the James Center, as well as more than 15 buildings in the area, were lit promptly at 6:00 p.m.

Another link in the chain of pavement stencils is up beside the South Beach CAT stop on Marine Terrace. This one is quite old, I’ve just never noticed it before.
I was going to crop out my foot, but my excuse is that it indicates scale and I quite liked my pink thong and green nail varnish combo that day.

Time Does Not Need Another Clock

Desires and decisions

Readers of The Four Last Things, the first book in Andrew Taylor’s Roth Trilogy, know how Rosemary Byfield turned out, but to know why, it’s necessary to delve into the prequel, The Judgement of Strangers. The Reverend David Byfield is a bit player in TFLT, but in Strangers, he takes center stage. Byfield is a priest who’s skating on thin ice. He’s been celibate for ten years, since his wife died, but by now he’s almost desperate for sex. His judgement is badly impaired by his desires, and Rosemary, his teenaged daughter, is badly in need of a level of attention and guidance that her father is not prepared to provide. David has retreated to a country parish after committing an undisclosed trangression while teaching in London. Not all of his current parishioners are, shall we say, in their right minds, and matters slowly but surely spin out of control.
Author Taylor is a master at character development, his plots evolving from the strengths and weaknesses of his protagonists. His characters are people we’ve all met before, incorporating facets of our own personalities, making it easy to empathize with their choices and decisions. Readers who enjoy getting lost simple yet enthralling plots are sure to enjoy this trilogy. The books are written as stand alone novels, but I recommend taking them in order, which, in this case, is backwards.

Tom Hall talks to Moya Angela, who plays the character of Effie White in the production of Dreamgirls playing at the Hippodrome in Baltimore through December 27th.

We’ve had community performances featuring local schools all season spreading Holiday Cheer while you shop and dine with us at Reston Town Center! Special performances have included Fox Mill Elementary Chorus, Fairfax Christian School Fife & Drum Corps (in the video above), Lake Anne Elementary Chorus, Westfield High School Carolers, Celtic Rhythm School of Dance, Hoofin’ Ground Tap Dancing just to name a few! View the Reston Town Center calendar of events to view other events and holiday activities at Reston Town Center.

By Eric Blackstock
VCU InSight

RICHMOND, Va. — Despite inclement weather, the 26th annual Ukrops-Supervalu Richmond Christmas Parade went ahead as scheduled Dec. 5.

95 separate units were scheduled to appear, including floats, balloons, bands, and an appearance by the Legendary Santa.

Broad St. was closed for the parade route between the Science Museum of Virginia and Richmond Colisseum as the parade marched through the city, past Virginia Commonwealth Univeristy’s Monroe Park campus.

2009 marked the 26th year of the parade.  It is as of yet unknown if the sale of the Ukrops supermarket chain to Royal Ahold, announced on Dec. 17, will affect future Christmas parades.

Circles Discs & Tapes (Photo: bridgeandtunnelclub.com)

[Source: Tim Vetscher, ABC15 News] – A Valley landmark is going out of business after nearly four decades in downtown Phoenix.  The owners of Circles Discs and Tapes, at the corner of Central Avenue and McKinley, recently announced they’re calling it quits.  “We have people come in all the time and say they’ve been coming here for 30 to 40 years,” said Circles employee Zak Sofaly.  But on Sunday night, less than a week before Christmas, Circles only had one customer from 5 to 6 p.m.  Workers say they’ve had too many nights like that lately.

So after 38 years, the owners have decided to close the doors for good.  “For a lot of people who grew up here, it definitely has a special place in their hearts,” added Sofaly, who is also a drummer in the band, Incite.  “They’re really sad to see it go.”

It seems the popularity of digital downloads proved to be Circles’ downfall. CD sales are a fraction of what they used to be thanks to services like iTunes.  “It’s sad,” said Steve Zimmerman, owner of Revolver Records, just up the street from Circles.  “They were one of the big stores for a long, long time.”

Circles employees say the addition of light rail and an overall down economy was just too much to overcome.  “Being a resident, its really sad,” said Jay Williams.  “The economy has caused a lot of problems.  I thought the light rail would bring people back but I haven’t seen that.”  Circles will remain open until sometime after January 1.  The exact closing date has yet to be determined.  [Note: To read the full article, visit Downtown Phoenix fixture, Circles Discs & Tapes, closing.]

by Raymond A. Foss (2006)

Small voices, raised to the rafters
singing their hearts out in the familiar story
the tale of the babe and his parents
sharing his birth with donkeys and lamb,
with shepherds and wise men from the east
marveling at the wonder of his birth
in that humble place so long ago
hearing the words of the story again
richer perhaps in the telling with little voices
echoing throughout the sanctuary
a bit noisier perhaps; but a wonderful
place to be

Édouard Manet. The Raven. 1875. The Baltimore Museum of Art: The George A. Lucas Collection, purchased with funds from the State of Maryland, Laurence and Stella Bendann Fund, and contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations throughout the Baltimore community, BMA 1996.48.5172

The “Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon” exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art collects work by artists including Gaugin, Manet, and Matisse responding to Poe’s work. The exhibit is grouped in the themes Love & Loss, Fear & Terror, and Madness & Obsession. Tom Hall has a cheery and upbeat discussion about the exhibit with Doreen Bolger, the museum’s director and the curator of this show. The exhibit is up through January 17.

John Santos goes UnCommon

Yes, it’s true.  Jose John Santos III takes a leap, makes a volte-face, and gets rough.  In this show, we’re in for a surprise.

Jose John Santos III, "Inside Out"

With his small, spare frame and self-effacing manner, you at first don’t notice the intensity in John’s eyes.  But get him started on his art, on this new direction he has shifted it to, and it’s his eyes that engage you, even without him directly looking at you.  They turn incandescent brown as he speaks about his plans.  His measured words wrap you up in discussion. You forget that somewhere in this metropolis, a political wedding dominates the airwaves, along with the threat of another typhoon barreling towards Manila.

Jose John Santos III, "Relief"

That he can hold audiences in thrall counts as a given to the hundred art freaks, give or take a few, in the waiting list for his paintings.  We all know that perfectly finished, hyperrealistic, painstakingly detailed figures spring from his canvases. The pull of his pieces comes from the unexpectedness—even absurdity—of his images. John’s genius lies in his ability to inject the off tangent into what first appears to be innocuous tableaux.  Even he has admitted the comparison to Rene Magritte.  But then that simplifies his art too much.

In the magnificent piece, Behind The Scenes, from the collection of art aficionado Paulino Que, he turns an airport waiting area into a lounge populated by such disparate characters as a sheep atop a high chair, a man with a head of a horse, another with a box as its head. As Riel Hilario, former curator of Boston Gallery puts it, ”… what [has been] fascinating about John’s work throughout these years is its sheer inscrutability, owing surely to a calculated effort to throw viewers off, even as the works are handsomely crafted — which pulls viewer’s attention back to the work again and again resulting in a tug-of-war between our aesthetic judgment and reason.”  We have always delighted in unraveling John’s codes, in finding the meaning in the alternate reality of his narratives.

John, however, chooses to keep us off-balanced and intrigued.  For (Un)Common, his current show at Art Informal, he abandons what has been tantamount to a signature style and goes back to an earlier sensibility.

John installed an assemblage of objects used as subjects for his paintings at the gallery's entrance wall

Jose John Santos III, "Weather Vane"

“I guess I had always tried to make paint become what it isn’t, to not retain any of the paint’s qualities.  In this show, I wanted to feel the tangibility of paint, its sensuality, to leave traces of paint’s magic”, John explains.

He rediscovers his fascination for still lifes and mixed media assemblages. Each of his nine canvases depicts banal objects—trucks, paintbrushes, plastic bags, masking tape— integrated with actual objects.   No human figures, no narratives, no symbolisms, no double entendres.  He alters even his brush strokes, eschewing the fine finish for the coarse and abrupt.   What stays consistent is his deliberate, academic, even scientific, approach to constructing his pieces.  You can bet that John leaves nothing to chance in his craftsmanship, ensuring his works will stand the test of time.

(Un)Common plays on his immortalization of the common, everyday scraps that he chooses as the subjects of this show’s paintings. He experiments even with the sizes of his canvases:  five of them stand at six feet by nine inches, like long rifle boxes crammed full of an artist’s knick knacks. (Un)Common also refers to this move of confidence he makes as an artist, his veer towards his untested ground, his challenge to his creativity.

Jose John Santos III, "Clamped" and "Rolled Up"

How will his collectors react to this latest development in the art of John Santos?  Perhaps that’s the only part of this process that stays predictable.  They will love it.

{Un}Common runs from 19 December 2009 to 9 January 2010. at Art Informal, 277 Connecticut St., Greenhills East, Mandaluyong City. Phone:  63(2) 725 8518 or visit  http://www.artinformal.com

Exhibit installation view

Note:  I reworked this post from an article that appears in the December 2009 issue of Rogue Magazine and the December 18, 2009 issue of Business Mirror

Tina Fernandez and Nathan Atienza

I really don’t understand why people like pirates. 
I don’t like the way they dress: they make unforgivable fashion choices. They look like they need a good hose-down and delousing. They call women wenches, men don’t get off easily either they’re called matey. They like to butcher both people and the English language ARRR. They also seem a bit stupid… they bury their treasure in awkward to find often cursed places. I know this acts as a deterrent to those who wish to steal it but they always make very explicit maps which inevitably fall into the wrong hands.

Reasons Not to Like Pirates

However… I do like this pirate inspired graffito in the alleyway off Cantonment Street.

Reason to Like Pirates No. 1

Reason to Like Pirates No. 2

Reason to Like Pirates No. 3

Reason to Like Pirates No. 4

I think the blue-haired one looks more like a Viking but I suppose they had a few pirate-like traits.

Vivian Schiller speaking at the News Vision conference.

Helicon performs tomorrow at Goucher College’s Kraushaar Auditorium in Towson. There will be two performances: 3:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Death, judgement, heaven, and hell

“Contemporary crime fiction is rather like Africa in the last century – a dark continent, full of unexplored mysteries. ” This quote, by the author himself, encapsulates the essence of his own writing. Over the past year, Andrew Taylor has become a favorite author of mine, for the tautness of his plots, the pithy nature of his prose, and most importantly, for his ability to first develop his central characters and then to commingle their fates. To accomplish this in one novel is remarkable. To do so in a series such as the Roth Trilogy is exceptional, and it is not hyperbole to say that his novels transcend genre.  Taylor has mastered the art of building atmosphere and tension, revealing bits and secrets of each character’s personality chapter by chapter. Some elicit empathy from the reader, and others, revulsion. But none are perfect, and it is in the way that their choices impact one another that their mutual though unconscious complicity results in the crime.  The Four Last Things exemplifies this power. Somber, deeply disturbing, but ultimately satisfying. And the biggest shock is the final line of the final chapter.

First rate, intelligent fiction, highly recommended.

the central courtyard

Just when I was thinking that a museum about the middle Ages was really missing in London, the V&A announced the opening of its new Medieval and Renaissance Galleries. These brand new galleries opened on the 2^nd of December – but I already wonder how the Victoria and Albert could pretend to be a comprehensive design museum without them.

Casket representing the assassination of Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170

To me, they totally fit in the V&A, and are like the rest of the museum: a motley collection of more or less fascinating and/ or beautiful objects. The new galleries feature artefacts representing the art and culture of Europe from the end of the Roman Empire to the modern times. They include statues, tapestries, altarpieces, ceramics, fountains, bits of church furniture, books…

Stained glass representing the temptation of the Christ by Satan

All these luxury objects – most of them are in enamel or gilded silver, while the tapestries and ceramics display rich colours – convey a feeling of wealth and sophistication, far from the general impression that medieval ages were a time of darkness. Although the overall is unequal and not always very didactic, there’s really something for everyone.

A notebook belonging to Da Vinci. The curators will turn the pages from time to time, to avoid deterioration

Nearest tube: South Kensington

Recks tells us the newest episode of Dr Henry is ready. Episode 10. It’s a real killer.

For more you can visit:
myspace.com/drewskimo Click on episode 10.

The audio play Dr. Henry is really funny and sometime includes Worcester celebs as part of it’s character roster. Everything is original including the musical interludes and mock ads.

"Ay Apo! May BambooKam Indigenous Film Crew!" Installation by Kidlat Tahimik

I could not believe that in the most unexpected place at the heart of Makati I would stumble onto a really beguiling show.  A friend

Installation detail, BambooKam bulol

told me that Ricco Renzo Gallery at the LRI Plaza in Reposo St. had small pieces that I may find interesting.  Without expecting much, and seeing that I had actually completed the Christmas shopping, I decided to drop by on my way home.  Nestled above the cafe on the ground floor, and squeezed in beside a private meeting room and a display case for Hunter Douglas window blinds, you find K+kkk+K=K ayos, a show featuring the talented De Guia family.

Installation detail with life-size rattan figures by Rogelio Giraroy, a blind Ifugao sculptor

Is there anyone in this clan who did not inherit a creative gene?  The show is anchored on a wonderful installation by Kidlat Tahimik called Ay Apo! may BambooKam Indigenous Film Crew! Ever the indie

Installation detail, bahag by Rommel Pidazo from recycled objects

filmmaker, he makes a stand against  formulaic Hollywood blockbusters.  The kind produced using cameras that get smaller and smaller as techonology advances.  He offers  the bamboo camera as an award for film makers that share his spirit.  This piece simulates the set of a Kidlat Tahimik production. He creates this installation working with indigenous artists from the Cordilleras:  Rogelio Giraroy, Rommel Pidazo, Tim-manem, Donata Himiwat,  Jason Domling, and Kabunyan de Guia.

Kabunyan’s digital prints on mosaic hang on the walls.  He does them in organic shapes, like the broken bits we see displayed in antiquity museums.  The colors and patterns of the mosaic tiles take off and continue from the colors and content of his prints. Try and spot the orange serpent in his piece Nang dumaan ang orenj na ahas.

I love Tim-manem’s woodcarvings!  I especially adore his Tikbalang-like creature that seems about to scold his companions.  This stands as part of a trio, a small coven positioned around a crystal ball at the installation’s edge.

Digital print on mosaic by Kabunyan de Guia, "Mga Taga Bantay ng Mahiwagang Letra B"

Alongside Kidlat Tahimik’s piece, on two of the other walls, Kawayan de Guia shows small-scale mixed media collages. For this show, he brings out pieces made from his student days.  How interesting that even then, he already showed an affinity for collages put together with that ethnic kitschy look that we have come to associate with his art.  As always, Kawayan’s frames complete his work. He touched on the family’s history for these. He uses wooden frames shaped like houses to remember their home in Baguio that burned down five years ago.  On each roof, a glass-covered receptacle holds ashes gathered after the fire. Each piece, therefore, transforms into a dwelling of his personal memorabilia.

Installation detail

Katrin de Guia, mother of the brood, assembles the most charming sculpture from found objects.  Her exhibit notes describe her pieces as put together from remnants of their house that burned down and bric-a-brac washed into the shore. She has an eyeglass fairy, a sea king and queen, a spirit boat made from driftwood and old spoons, and other delightful knick knacks.

Installation detail

Kawayan de Guia, "Cum + Leave"

Kawayan de Guia, "LSD"

Kidlat de Guia exhibits his black and white travel photographs printed on handmade paper, purposely torn and put together like a jigsaw.  This Kidlat was one of the artists short-listed earlier this year for the Ateneo Art Awards.

Kawayan de Guia, "Why The Temple Had to Shutter"

The show still has a month left before completing its run, so go go go!  What a pity to miss this one!

K+kkk+K=K ayos runs until January 15, 2010 at the Ricco Renzo Gallery, GF LRI Design Plaza, 210 Nicanor Garcia (Reposo) St., Bel Air II, Makati.  Phone (632)898-2543 or visit http://www.riccorenzo.com

By Katrin de Guia

Kawayan de Guia, "Recollections"

Kidlat de Guia, "Hong Kong"

More of Kabunyan De Guia's digital prints on mosaics

Kawayan de Guia, "Martyr-doom"

Kabunyan De Guia, "Nang Dumaan Ang Orenj Na Ahas"

Katrin De Guia, "Spirit Boat 1"

Kidlat Tahimik installation detail with a tikbalang-like creature at the center

The good news is they’re not as poor as I thought they would be. Yay….

On average, B.C. working artists earned $21,069 in 2006, which was significantly lower than the average income of $36,000 for the entire labour force.

Ted Venetoulis–businessman, political commentator, former county executive of Baltimore County–is now a novelist. He’s just published Hail to the Cheat, with a cover that’s a blurry photo of the Oval Office dotted with lipstick imprints of open-mouth kisses . Ted Venetoulis joins Sheilah to talk about the novel, about cynicism in politics, and about his still-alive plans to buy The Baltimore Sun.

Corridor Q&A with Venetoulis

Today
Carroll Mansion Tour
Baltimore
call Baltimore Heritage for more information 410.332.9992

Jazz holiday music with Rob Levit, Ann Schmitt, and Sara Jones
Maryland Hall, Annapolis

Friday
Ann Turpin conducts the Chester River Chorale in the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah
Prince Theatre, Chestertown

Sing-along Messiah with Baltimore Choral Arts Society
Goucher College, Towson

Friday through Sunday
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
Weinberg Center for the Arts, Frederick

Saturday
Annapolis Chorale and Chamber Orchestra perform Handel’s Messiah
[They perform Part I of Messiah, plus some carols, on Friday and Sunday]
St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Annapolis

Golden Radio Buffs perform It’s a Wonderful Life
Baltimore Museum of Industry

Sunday
Open Mic
Minas Gallery, Hampden

Ian Nagoski collects 78 RPM records and resurrects the music — and stories — of subcultures from all over the world. Earlier this year he started a music label called Canary Records to share these early 20th century recordings with a wider audience. Today, he introduces us to the world of Greek hash den music.

Ian last visited WYPR in June, when he played a few favorites from other parts of the world, including a song by two Indian women that he swears are sisters, and a South African hit that was covered by Louis Armstrong, Bill Haley and the Comets, and Lawrence Welk. Take a listen:

Renee Fleming will perform a recital Thursday evening at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore.