15 Aug 2009
by JustMeMikein Art
Everywhere you look you are likely to see faces. And those faces will be seeing your face as well. If you’re not seeing faces, then maybe you are a prisoner and you’re in solitary confinement. Or maybe you’re in one those isolated spots on the face of the planet without people, electricity or, heaven forbid, a connection to the Internet.
Well since you are reading this column, then we know you have electricity, or at least a battery-powered mobile internet connection, and more than likely you’re not incarcerated. Ergo, you are a person in the world and you see faces all the time.
So to continue our discussion, let’s start with these two images of one man’s face. Can you identify him? Probably he looks kind of familiar to you but you can’t quite dredge up his name. I could tell you his name More
07 Jun 2009
by JustMeMikein Art, Movies
The neighbors are on the warpath. What’s a homesteader to do?
You carve out and clear a swath of land from the forest – back breaking work to say the least – then you struggle to put up a house, capture and save water, and grow a few meager crops. It’s an ongoing battle to keep out rodents, stay warm in the winter, and if you need to go shopping for supplies, it’s next to impossible, as there’s no nearby shops. Besides that, as I said, you’ve got to worry about those troublesome neighbors on the warpath.
Such is life in upstate New York. In 1757. More
10 Apr 2009
by JustMeMikein Art, Movies
It is early 1969. The colorful word counter-culture had begun to creep into your consciousness. Your name is Dennis Hopper. You are 33 years old and have a growing acting career. But you haven’t gotten ‘there‘ yet. Stardom is still around a few more corners. Somehow you, fellow actor Peter Fonda, along with writer Terry Southern write a screenplay for a movie about hippies, bikers, pot, and the freedom of the open road. You’ve hounded enough suits or backers to raise about $400,000. A paltry sum by Hollywood standards even then, in 1969, but enough to enable the production to begin with you as the film’s director. The movie is entitled Easy Rider; and becomes a runaway success, both artistically as well as at the box office. It would become the definitive counter-culture road movie.
Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Lookin’ for adventure
And whatever comes our way
40 years later, Steppenwolf’s classic Born to Be Wild, still comes to mind as the anthem of Easy Rider. Powerful music and a powerful film, thank you Mr. Hopper. So Dennis Hopper went from being a rather unconventional actor to being a sought-after, fair-haired, wunderkind. Ka-ching! But success is quite hard to sustain, and Hopper went from being an A-List actor/director to someone whose work and personal life headed downhill. He became someone who might be found at a rehab center during the aftermath following Easy Rider’s release and rise.
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14 Jan 2009
by JustMeMikein Art, Discussion, Movies
Since water constitutes about 71 percent of the Earth’s surface and is essential to all known forms of life, it is a safe bet to assume that if you are reading this you have access to water on a daily basis and you likely live near a body of water. Given that many of you live near a coast, it is no surprise for me to tell you that man has had and likely will always have a fascination about what lies on the opposite shore.
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18 Dec 2008
by JustMeMikein Art, Discussion, Movies
As you know, noted actor Paul Newman passed away recently. Newman had been married to actress Joanne Woodward from January 1958 until he died.
They weren’t your standard version of a Hollywood couple. In fact, at the time of his death, they had lived in Connecticut for many years.
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04 Dec 2008
by JustMeMikein Art
First, let me wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Even if where you live, Thanksgiving as a holiday isn’t celebrated, it is always correct to offer thanks for all the good things we have. A lot of turkeys help us celebrate today, and for all of them, it was the last thing they did in their short lives. I guess we could lay the blame for turkey on our Pilgrim forefathers and their friends and families of long ago.
Bitin’ Up
Chuck Wagon
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