Board Games over the Christmas Holdiay.

The Schwartz family has a beautiful farmhouse and land in Maquoketa, Iowa. Overnight, the entire landscape was dusted with an inch or so of snow.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all delicious home cooked meals.  The temperatures outside dropped to negative nine degrees by the end of the week.  With temperatures so low, we all stayed in all day either relaxing under a quilt on the couch or playing games on the dining room table.  Board and card games were played as the little ones ran around playing their own imaginary games.  The youngest had gotten an electronic ice cream cart that had a recorded track that taught numbers by requesting certain numbers of scoops and syrups.  The little sisters fought over that cart relentlessly until they discovered that the large cardboard box that the present came in was a much more interesting toy to crawl in and out of.  It could be a car, tunnel or time machine, the possibilities were endless.

By the end of the day, I had my fill of board games, and I settled in on the living room couch to sketch the Schwartz family playing a game called “Watch Ya Mouth” which was hilarious to watch. The game involves putting a plastic guard in your moth which spreads your lips wide making it impossible to pronounce Ps, Bs, and Ms.  The goal is for one player to say a phrase on a card and for their teammate to guess what is being said.  If you have a small mouth you are at a disadvantage.  Pam and I had played before and we were pretty good at understanding each other.  What happens for most players is that they laugh so much that they never even get the phrase out.

Another board game that we played was “Quelf.”  It involved answering hilarious trivia, performing ridiculous stunts, or obeying silly rules. Players had to use creativity, wit, and sense of humor to progress around the board. One stunt I had to perform involved recreating as many yoga poses as I could in 30 seconds.  Since I had done yoga in the past, I had an advantage.  Another stunt involved me becoming a boomerang and saying, “wha, wha” as I walked around the home and back to the board.  Players could request that I perform the stunt again, and wouldn’t you know, every player insisted I perform that stunt again and again.  I was exhausted from laughing so had.  I should have taken the penalty points.  The most popular game was a card game called “Euchre.” It uses a regular deck of playing cards with only the cards from nine and up used.  Jacks are the most powerful cards and could change suite.  The rules are pretty complex, but I started to catch on over the course of the holiday.   Games began shortly after breakfast and went on all day, sometimes until 3 AM.  Needless to say, Christmas at the Schwartz homestead is an adventure. 

One Voice Orlando: A Year in Reflection.

This concert was postponed because of Hurricane Irma.  It was rescheduled for November 4th at 6 pm at the Timucua White House (2000 South Summerlin, Orlando, FL 32806.)   All proceeds benefited Proyecto Somos Orlando (the funds will benefit Pulse survivors and and also Puerto Rico relief efforts). My short film, “Finger on the Pulse,” was also screened.



Leonard Bernstein said, “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, and more devoted than ever before.” This evening was a celebration of Orlando’s community and healing and was hosted by Luis Martinez.

Proyecto Somos Orlando is a one-stop shop wraparound service program created in the aftermath of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy to provide critical support to the LGBTQ+ and Latinx community regarding issues of mental health and education.

The program featured 10 performances of songs from operas and Broadway shows.  My sketch featured soprano Arleen RamirezJessica Devaney showed a short film called “Love the Sinner.” The filmmaker grew up in a church with strict moral codes.  Later in life she fell in love with another woman and her place in the church was no longer secure.  The church considered her life style a sin.  In an incredible interview with a pastor, she explained to him that she could go to church alone but her partner would feel unwelcome.  He began to question his own moral code.

The final performance of the evening, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel left the tone of hope for the future.  Being a privileged white heterosexual male citizen, I have never had to face bigotry and hatred in person.  Since Pulse, I have heard so many stories of the bigotry that still remains today and is even encouraged by the President.  We have a long road ahead of us.  Every day seems to bring a new storm.  Something somewhere has to give. 

Weekend Top 6 Picks for December 30th and 31.

Saturday December 30, 2017

7 AM to 3 PM – Free. Citrus Bowl Parade. Staging area is on Orange Avenue  North of Robinson Street. The Florida Citrus Parade has grown to become one of the
largest sports affiliated parades in the nation, an annual tradition
that occurs each year between the Camping World Bowl and the Citrus Bowl
games. In addition to its signature floats made of citrus fruit, the parade
features spirited high school marching bands from throughout the nation,
participating bowl game college marching bands, specialty units and
other exciting performances. Upwards of 3,000 participants take part in
this spectacular event.

The parade begins on Orange Avenue and Robinson Street and continues
south on Orange Avenue, east on Anderson Street, then north on Rosalind
Avenue. The parade concludes at Rosalind Avenue and Robinson Street. The
route is 1.4 miles in length and takes 90-120 minutes to complete.

7 PM to 9 PM – Free. Ybor City Art Walk. 7th Ave Ybor Tampa, Florida 33605. Featuring a number of arts
organizations and artsy businesses, be sure to R.S.V.P. here to get the
official map for the walk!

This event will begin at 7 pm and end at 11 pm (or maybe there will be an
after party!)

Here are the participating locations:

The Bricks of Ybor,
Bloodline Tattoo,
Ybor Arts Colony,
Hot Wax,
Wandering Eye Art Gallery,
Dysfunctional Grace,
Moon Over Havana Arts Gallery,
Live Arts Labs.

There will be other businesses joining the lineup so stay tuned!

10:30 PM to 12:30AM – Free but get a drink or bite. Son Flamenco. (Ceviche Tapas, 125 W Church St, Orlando.) Hot-blooded Flamenco dancing to acoustic guitar.

Sunday December 31, 2017

10 AM to Noon – Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. (University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando.) The Method of Heartfulness, a simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources. http://heartfulness.org 

Noon to 1 PM – Free. Yoga. Lake Eola Park near the red gazebo.

Noon to 3 PM – Free. Music at the Casa. (Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum, 656 N Park Ave, Winter Park.) Members of the public are invited to visit our historic home museum on a Sunday afternoon from 12 to 3 pm, listen to live music and take a tour of our historic home museum and the James Gamble Rogers II Studio by trained docents.

Civil War Monument, the Capitol Mall Washington DC.

It is one of the most magnificent memorials in Washington
D.C.
It is a monument to Grant and all the soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
The section I decided to sketch features soldiers moving a cannon into
position.

This monument was first proposed by the Society of the Army
of Tennessee
who wanted to honor the general who led the Union Army to victory.
It was created by sculptor Henry Mervin Shardy who spent 20 years of his life
working on it. When
Shardy and architect Edward Pearce Casey won the commission to design the memorial
in 1902, they had no idea the scope of what they were getting involved in. The
budget for the memorial was $250,000.

The artist researched the project with ambition. He joined
the National Guard and spent four years learning military practice. He found
and researched Union equipment and gear and he read countless books and  studied paintings
about the Civil War to familiarize himself with Grant and his military tactics.
He was criticized several times for the slow pace of his work. The amazing
amount of detail however proves that it was time well spent. He used his own
likeness in one of the soldiers in the charge, forever memorializing his own
likeness.

He worked at a frantic pace at the end of the project
suffering through many sleepless nights, and illness. Sadly, the artist died
two weeks before the sculpture was publicly unveiled on April 27, 1922 one
hundred years after Grant’s birth.

It was freezing cold the day I did this sketch and I ended
up sitting in a puddle of ice cold water on the granite bench I sat on, literally freezing my butt. It was a minor inconvenience
compared to Shardy’s long suffering commitment to this work of art.

Trenton New Jersey Capitol.

I spent a day in Trenton, New Jersey exploring with my digital sketchbook. The capitol building is undergoing extensive renovations so that many of the windows are covered with plywood panels. It makes it look like the building is recovering from a natural disaster. For the first time I decided to treat a digital sketch the same way I would treat a watercolor sketch. I left the lightest areas pure white as if I were leaving the white of the paper to shine through. Working this way is much faster but the result seems more poster like and a bit cartoonish. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I just need to keep experimenting.

After the sketch was done, I went to the New Jersey State Library (185 W State St, Trenton, NJ 08608) next door to find a bathroom and write an article. In the afternoon, I explored the New Jersey State Museum (205 W State St, Trenton, NJ 08608) which has a decent collection of modern art. Some of the painters are from New Jersey, but many were international. The museum also had a collection of mammal skeletons and some New Jersey historical collections like some Civil War era battle flags. My favorite exhibit was a series of WWII war posters which were created to raise funds for the war.

Alexander Hall in Princeton New Jersey

I spent a day exploringPrinceton
University
. I settled on sketching
Alexander Hall which is a 900 seat assembly hall. It is home to the Princeton University Orchestra and the Princeton Symphony
Orchestra. The building was completed in 1894.  The name honors the Alexander family who were trustees
and donated money for the building’s construction. The architect William Appleton
Pother landed his first commission on the campus as a teenager. At the time, most architects
learned their trade as apprentices, but Potter learned his trade in college.

The entire campus is gorgeous.
I was schooled on the gritty streets of New
York City
. Seeing such a beautiful campus made me
wish I had experiences such a privileged form of education. Most students who walked
through this public square had wet hair. They had just risen, had a shower, and
were now strolling off to class.

White Christmas.

Pam Schwartz and I are in Iowa for Christmas. On Christmas Eve
it started to snow and it snowed all day long. I set some time aside to paint
the view out of some bay windows that overlooked the property. The house is on
top of a hill that overlooks all the land around it. There is a pond down at
the bottom of the ravine in the direction that I was painting. There was a fine
dusting of snow all day. I was pleased to find out that there was a brush on
the tablet that easily paints snow. 

The Christmas tree had been set up with care and the next morning
the presents under and next to the tree would be unwrapped. All the open fields
became white encrusted in the snow as we rode to grocery stores for holiday
supplies. On Christmas Eve evening we had a 15 pound NY strip loin roast that was amazingly
tender along with cheesy potatoes and green beans with bacon. I gave Pam’s brother
credit for a pan full of roasted water chestnuts wrapped in bacon that were delicious, that had really been made by Pam. 

Relatives come and go in waves and the family chats in the
living room, warm from the snow outside. We often gather at the table to play
board games. The sun has just set and online sites track Santa’s progress
around the world. His sleigh seems to always be in flight. He never seems to
and drop off presents. There is only an electric fireplace here in Maquoketa, so he must
have to be good at breaking into homes to drop off his presents.

The Grandma Party Bazzar at Stardust Video and Coffee.

The 15th annual Grandma Party Bazaar is an Orlando holiday tradition held at Stardust Video and Coffee

(1842 E. Winter Park Road, Orlando, FL.) There you could find handmade gifts, food, raffles, live music and more.  It is a great opportunity to grab something
unique for that hard to buy for person on your holiday gift list.

Music on the main stage included DJ Nigel, DJ Oled, Dad, Von Nacht, Tiger Fawn, TV Dinner and more.  I spotted Tiger Fawn with her Vulcan ears among the booths but I didn’t see her perform.  Pam and I brought Sprout to the event and there were plenty of butts to be sniffed.

Tents were crowed into the Stardust Video and Coffee parking lot.  Across the street more tents were set up outside Park Avenue CDs and Redlight Redlight.  One vendor had vintage board games but they were priced at $40 and $50 a pop.  It was a gorgeous sunny day and several friends stopped to say hello. Perhaps someday I should rent a space and offer quirky crafts at affordable prices.  Market value art would not sell.  Of course, I shouldn’t be selling any art right now since it is considered a joint asset.  My art is only half mine, it would seem. 

Christmas Light Display.

I pass this place just about every day on my drive downtown. Every time I go by it seems like there is something new in the yard.  The house is located on Peel Street, just north of East Michigan Street.  I started this sketch before the sun set, and then started painting when the home owner drove into the driveway and turned on the lights.  She wandered the yard setting things up that had fallen over during the day.  A snowman’s head was put back on his shoulders and a small Christmas tree was righted.

A gentleman on a bike asked about the sketch and explained that he was an artist himself.  He said that the home had recently been featured on TV News as one of Orlando’s best Christmas light displays.  This neighborhood is ripe with outlandish Christmas displays.  With the advent of inflatables, many lawns are covered with giant Santas and snowmen. This lawn had an inflatable Yoda and Santa.  The igloo was made of sheer fabric stretched over a dome-shaped frame.  There were other items just out of frame like a fireplace with stockings hung with care.

After the sun set, the temperature dropped and I painted faster so I could drive home for some warmth.  A hot cocoa and soup thawed me out. The next night I drove by, the lighting display was off, the yard dark.  Perhaps they saw the power bill and decided to ration the Christmas joy. 

Weekend Top 6 Picks for December 23rd and 24th.

Saturday December 23, 2017

7:30 AM to 8:30 AM – $32 to run. Run Run Santa One-Mile

Calvary Chapel Viera
(map)

(2852 Fellowship Place, Orlando, Fl.) A fast, festive one-mile course that’s perfect for everyone from elite
runners to families looking to celebrate the holidays together. All
participants receive a full Santa Claus suit to wear during the race
with registration. http://runrunsanta.com

2PM and 7:30 PM – $18-$22. Phantasmagoria’s A Christmas Carol. Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center (201 S. Magnolia Ave., Sanford, Fl.) This critically acclaimed Victorian Performance Troupe weaves movement,
dance, puppetry, projections, music and storytelling in this classic
ghost tale. 


8 PM to Midnight – Free.
A Wasteland Christmas Party. Gods and Monsters
(5421 International Drive, Orlando, FL.) Christmas party with classic Christmas movies playing on the big
screens, cosplay mutant cage dancers, and special holiday drinks and
treats for everyone.

Sunday December 24, 2017.

4 PM to 10 PM – Free. Pagan Pajama Party. VAULT 5421 (5421 International Dr, Orlando, Florida 32819.) Show up in your pajamas, and get 20% off
your bar tab and purchases in the store! Enjoy Holiday drinks and
cookies with the Krampus! We’ll be playing Krampus movies on the big
screens and have a naughty elf dancing in the cage too!
We realize that most Pagans’ idea of pajamas is going skyclad, but
please do wear SOME sort of legal apparel to this party.

 6 PM to 8 PM – $7. Bad Santa and His Ten Pints of Truth (Eugene Snowden). Will’s Pub (1042 N. Mills Ave., Orlando, FL.) Christmas Eve show with free gumbo.

5 PM –  Free. Blues Jam hosted by Doc Williamson

The Alley (114 S. Park Ave., Winter Park, FL.) Bring an instrument and join in the fun.