TRANSMITTED

The live (& recorded) performances at Norte Maar 83 Wyckoff Avenue (my apartment building) was a return to the broad scope of performing art and the spoken word. The group that gathered on Sunday night in the Bushwick'hood ranged from the artist to the "I don't give a f***", cell phone talkin, baby draggin art critic (who lives on Suydam and blast music from his car at 3 a.m.). I took my lunch break from work at 6 pm to watch the event. I was able to watch 3/4 of the program and then was able to watch the rest online at BushwickBK and JustinTV on the Norte Maar Transmitted webcast. It was a great night, the weather was gorgeous, cool and overcast, no rain and the perfect lighting to watch from the street. I thank Sven for watching Fern for me and making me laugh. I thank Stephen for picking up great wine for the post party and Mr. BBQ on Wyckoff Avenue for delivering such great food (even though their prices went up by a dollar). Jason put on a great show once again and continues to impress me with his creative attitude and take no prisoners approach to life. - please escape with me this weekend.

Gay Marriage and the Constitution in California

The Supreme Court in California is hearing arguments about Proposition 8 and the power of the people in California to ammend the Constitution. It appears that the judges are leaning toward upholding Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage since domestic partnership already allows the rights of homosexual couples the same as heterosexual couples in the state of California. The more important issue is the Power of the People to change their constitution and the direction of the judges to uphold the Constitution.

The emails are pouring in about protests and rallies to march. I feel these are important steps. Another solution the gay community can take is legal action and place propositions up for voters on other state ballots (like Arizona) to remove the institution of marriage from the Constitution in states that ban gay marriage.

I am not sure how effective it may be but it may give notice to those who say "why is marriage that important?" When they have to answer the question themselves when they step up to the voter box.

Another ridiculous notion is to place the rights of gay people to live in the state of California on the ballot. Let's see how the Mormon Church and Prop 8 supporters would speak in support of/ or against such a measure.

Wood , Violence and Nursing

In experimenting with found wood the initial products focused on color and texture. Now into almost a year of the process my work is losing color and abstraction in shape. I pay attention to the natural colors of the wood and the shapes made by cutting the wood and using sharp angles.

In the time I have spent in Brooklyn, the hardness of the city with the dilapidated structures in Bushwick are influencing the way I view the structure of the scuplture. I was made aware of it by the comments of an art dealer on Sunday, he said my work was violent and made him think of weapons. I had not given it much thought, but the violence of a low-income neighborhood and me entrenched in it as a nurse dealing with the wounded and sick at WHMC.

I am feeling the times of economy. I have stopped blogging on normanjabaut.com since the price tag each month was $12. Blogger is gratuit. I thank Stephen Truax for his guidance to this site. I look forward to using this site to spread the word about the fabulous and fascinating world around me. Thanks for taking the time.

Autoporn

I have a new fascination with the Ebay Motors site. I search for exotic cars and the photos listed from the auction houses are fantastic. I spend hours drooling over M3's and Mercedes SLK. I dream of winning a low mileage track car (Mazda Miata or Audi S4). I am preoccupied at the moment with the Porsche Cayman, more specifically the Ruf. (see photo.) The inspiration for me to save up the money to fill my driveway with automobiles that will enhance my life. But why read automobile journals and magazines and blogs on a daily basis since all I own at the moment is a 2003 Honda Civic with 170.00 miles. The simple answer is one important question "what should I buy?"