Saturday, February 25, 2012

Open Voting


At the end of my book club meeting, as all the women were putting on their coats, voting came up. Tuesday is the Michigan primary. We have open voting here, which means we can go to the polls and vote for either party. This is posing a question for us non Tea Party, non Libertarian, non Conservative voters. Should we skew the vote?


The question floated in the air. A couple of my friends had done early voting. Gingrich: one. Paul: one. What about Santorum? “No way in hell,” was one comment in a rustle of winter coats. Romney: zero. Did I mention that my bookclub consists of all liberal Democrats.

Newscasters are saying that Michigan could make or break Romney. It’s his home state. So what does he like about this state? “The trees are the right height.” He has to talk about the trees, because he doesn’t much like the people. Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake.” Romney says, “Let them go bankrupt.” That comment is probably the least flip-floppy of anything he’s said during the campaign. His business career bankrupting companies made him rich. Bankruptcy’s fun, in a gimme gimme way.

Santorum hates women, hates sex, hates education. Colleges want to turn students away from God. This seems to be a sign of a very fragile belief in God. If knowledge can make you change your religion, something’s wrong with your religion. And birth control? Ladies please squeeze your legs together.

Gingrich’s big plan is to colonize the moon. I imagine that the first folks he’ll send into space will be the Black kids he wants working as janitors in their schools.

And the final choice is Ron Paul. Ron, like his fellow Republicans, he hates government. He hates government so much that he wants to be the government. Does this strike you as a little sado-masochistic? He would eliminate public education, and all the military. You know he’s hoping for a time when we can get back to dirt roads. He would de-regulate everything (also like his cohorts). We should trust businesses not to pollute our water, not to give us poisonous food, not to sell us dangerous products. 

Whew, choices, choices, so many choices. I really feel sad for my Republican friends.

President Obama is also on our ballot.

In case you’re wondering, I’m voting YES for local schools. And I’m voting for the only candidate who wants all of our children to be educated, the one who risked his presidency to take out Bin Laden, the one who wants health care for everyone, and yes, the one who can sing. I’m voting for the Black guy.

Late news: part of this blog post got into the comments section of Charles Blow's Op Ed piece in the today's (Saturday, Feb 25) New York Times. Here's a link:


You'll have to scroll down and click on "Read More Comments" to find it.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Cursive

When I was a little girl, before writing was invented, or at least before anyone taught me handwriting, I’d sit with lined paper making marks, writing secrets that no one could read. I was writing in my own personal cursive. It looked like the writing I saw big people doing; mysterious and exciting.
Last spring I went back into my childhood and did a painting with imaginary script written on a curve with a rubber-tipped tool. I carved imaginary words into the surface of the wet oil paint. That painting and three others were in a group show at Scharolette Chappell’s Gateway Gallery in Oak Park.

"Cursive" 30"x30" oil on canvas

During the show, people asked me if the writing on the painting was Arabic. Since Arabic was one of the earliest alphabets, it tickled me that my pretend cursive, my earliest handwriting, looked Arabic. People asked me what it said. That made my heart go bumpity-bump. When I was a little kid no one ever asked me what my writing said. 

Every year the Scarab Club in Detroit has a special show for women. Marilyn Zimmerman is curating "2012 Women Image Color". Treena Flannery Ericson (Gallery Director of the Scarab Club) came over last night and selected ten paintings (including “Cursive”) that she wants to add to the show. Treena’s a delightful, bubbling, down to earth woman. I think she knows every artist in town - and remembers everyone’s name and their work. Can you imagine how exciting it was to get a call saying she wanted my paintings? Wow. I‘m feeling very humbled and honored.

Here are the participating artists in the exhibit:

Diana Alva
Lynn Arbor
Rhiannon Chester
Jenny Chope
Joan Farago
Anne Fracassa
Linda Mendelson
Gilda Snowden
Lois Teicher
S. Kay Young

Anyway, if you’d like to come see the show, here’s the skinny:

The Scarab Club, 217 Farnsworth St, Detroit, MI 48202
Artist reception: Friday, February 17,  6-9 pm
Crone Celebration (Closing reception): Friday, March 23, 6-9 pm
Linda Mendelson and Lois Teicher will be honorees.

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Update: I’m still pretending to be a writer. The memoir is coming along, growing ... some day, some day, some day, it’ll be a real book. I'm still wishing and Geppetto's still carving. 

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One other thing — everything on this blog is copyrighted. 
Copyright © 2012 Lynn Arbor
So don't be a copycat. Do your own stuff. 
Thank you.