I mean Rielly

These are two works by Welsh artist James Rielly, of whom you can read about more here. To me he's a very fascinating, even inspiring artist. Part of that is that his favorite subjects seem to be childhood, night, disguise, as well as disease and difference. These are all deeply interesting themes. But it's also his treatment. Whatever he illuminates in paint, he also leaves a bit mysterious.

Finishing the day with the Friday Random Ten

It's just nice, that's all. Sleep tonight, no pressure to be up early tomorrow. But I can honestly say that I don't dread going into work. The end of the weekend is a challenge, but not a nightmare.

1. Ben Folds Five--Steven's Last Night in Town
2. The Beatles--Yer Blues
3. The Clash--London Calling
4. Blossom Dearie--Put on a Happy Face
5. Ladytron--CMYK
6. Harry Nilsson--As I Wander Lonely
7. Kendra Shank--A Lover's Lie
8. Taj Mahal--Chevrolet
9. The Fiery Furnaces--Cut the Cake
10. Patsy Cline--Always

You may never look at _____ the same way again (many ways to fill in the blank)

Damn.

Whom can Nancy Drew trust? Who can trust Nancy Drew? It is a quandary.

Brought to you by Kate Beaton, a Canadian artist and writer who does the webcomic Hark! A Vagrant!. There's some educational stuff there as well as funny stuff. Of course the front page currently has some Batman material that might be NSFW. I say that because if your coworkers saw it, you might be sent for a psych eval.

Putting DC in the closet

It's no surprise that those such as Jim Jordan are jumping at the chance to deny civil rights for LBGT Americans, no doubt in the hopes of ending those scary and confusing dreams about black penises. It's depressing, but it's one of those things you come to expect.

But it's a jarring reminder that in the 21st century, the District of Columbia doesn't even have home rule. If you can get both houses of Congress to agree, you can inflict any draconian and/or moroynic law on the residents of the nation's capital. It's hard to imagine DC being used as a legal playground for culture warriors if it were richer and whiter.

"Hard"? That's unfortunate wording. Try "impossible."

Whited-out Friday Random Ten

More snow came early this morning. It probably came to half a foot, maybe eight inches, and the plows got to it in due time. It was weird during morning commute. And Thayer St was largely without electricity. Meaning that a bunch of stores and coffee places couldn't open and the traffic lights were out. That was kind of anxious.

1. Don Byron--The Penguin
2. The Fiery Furnaces--Ray Bouvier
3. Kendra Shank--Wish
4. Brian Eno & David Byrne--The River
5. Esquivel--Good Morning Heartache
6. The XX--Night Time
7. Soul Coughing--Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago
8. The Beatles--Mother Nature's Son
9. They Might Be Giants--Women and Men
10. Talking Heads--Who Is It?

Late Broadcast

Gonna go waaay out on a limb and guess that the director of this video likes Andy Warhol.

I was a little shocked when I learned that Trish Keenan, the singer from Broadcast, had died. Of pneumonia no less, and I wouldn't figure you'd die of that in a country (the UK in this case) with universal medical coverage. It's sad, in any case, that she slipped away so young.

A great day to be Jacques Cousteau

Wow. Snow is nice. Ice on the streets and sidewalk? Not as nice. And when you have a lot of snow and ice on the ground and it rains heavily all day, that's pretty much the worst thing ever. On nights like this you want to avoid ice patches, stay out of deep puddles, not step in deep snowbanks, and stay out of the way of cars. Sometimes not all goals can be accomplished.

In a fit of seeming masochism, I went to the laundry tonight. Better than putting it off, but man did I feel beat-up when I was through.