execute the clowns

This is what I would spend my money on. It was love at first sight. Three different paintings by Mike Cockrill. I wish I was the one to brain storm this theme, and to have the ability to paint (I have a sad disability).

The paintings were the first items in the busy room to catch my eye. Now this means quite a lot. The paintings caught my eye before the band made up of all star musicians (David Bowies' saxophonist) and the constant drip of icy sugar into absinthe.

Paintings portraying sweet, anime school girls executing clowns has won my heart and mind. Perhaps these paintings spoke to me because of my dislike towards clowns. And to see innocent-looking children murdering disgusting clowns filled my heart with joy and elation.

Pictured is "Decapitated Clown" by Mike Cockrill (2004). The art work was displayed at the venue Collective Hardware where the opening night of Tools for Thought: Rebuild Haiti was held.

Another painting (which I seriously would have bought on the spot if I was not skint) caught my attention because of the small details that made the painting fantastic. The canvas was mainly filled with a young boys face, his eyes covered by mirrored aviator sunglasses. In the reflection of the glasses are two bodies- one belonging to a small girl and the other belonging to a clown being lynched by the girl. In the far distance behind the young boy is a shadowy figure digging a grave for the freshly hung clown. Sensational.

*Originally written and published by With Flaws Zine

the ultimate chick flick scene

I always thought a film festival would open with an ultimate art house film with exquisite cinematography, impressive dialogue and actors that can act.
Well, that was not the case for the opening night of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival at the Arlington Theatre, featuring the film: Flying Lessons. Directed by Gideon Raff, the film is about a girl named Sophie (played by Kate Mara) who escaped to Los Angeles from her high schools years in Santa Ynez. She runs out of money and decides to go back home to obtain more money from her superficial mother. Turns out the mother has no money after her husband (Sophie's dad) commits suicide. Sophie reconnects with her high school sweetheart and her best friend, she also decides to take on a job to earn some money. The job is babysitting an older man who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer disease.

Sounds super depressing doesn't it? The problem is, the script was awful, so awful the sad story was quite funny and cheesy. The actors were alright, they could act, but nothing special. Perhaps I should blame the script for the decent acting. The only wonderful aspect of this film was the cinematography. The way the film captured the marvelous landscape of Santa Ynez wine country reminded me landscape paintings. The opening of the film was filmed in an interesting, but good way. Sophie is dancing in club at 6 am, but only single body parts are filmed at a time. The camera filming her ear, then arm, moving to the calf, then her neck, then to her hand, and on to her foot. I also like that scene because although Sophie was dancing, it was not filmed in a provocative, slutty manner.

But seriously, this film was so awfully sad, it was a joke. Here is the icing on the cake. It lays with the ending scene. Sophie has decided it is time to escape home once more, but try New York this time. The camera is on her face as she lights up a cigarette at the Greyhound Bus Station. The camera then pans upward to a birds eye view and then behind her- exhibiting her back and a bus she is watching. The bus is letting passengers off, the camera then zooms into the logo on the bus. Then the engine begins to rev and the bus begins to pull away. Lo and behold, Sophies' high school fucking sweetheart is standing behind the stupid bus. End of movie. What a joke! The ultimate chick flick scene, and it was soooo obvious that the scene was going to end with the revealing of the sweetheart. That kind of shit pisses me off.

I was quite surprised the Santa Barbara International Film Festival opened the 11 day event with Flying Lessons. The film can be summed up by a quote from a lovely man who was entering the Gala following the film: "I feel sad because it was such a bad film".

the smell of grapes

I headed for Santa Barbara for wine, film and reconnecting.

Wine tasting was incredible. Three different wineries included fantastic wines (oh Pinot Noir and Cabs) and beautiful food. Gainey Vineyard was the first on the list. (http://www.gaineyvineyard.com/) It is located (along with the other two wineries) in Santa Ynez and the grounds were beautiful. The tasting bar was made of dark woods and chandeliers made of iron and candles. Although the winery was beautiful the tasting bar was not my favourite experience. The wine server was dressed like a slob...not to mention he wore a backwards baseball cap. The music playing at the tasting bar quickly got on my nerves. Who wants to listen to cheesy pop songs while tasting wine?
Roblar Winery was next. (http://www.roblarwinery.com/) I decided not to wine taste, but to enjoy food. Roblar is not only know for their wine, but for their food. There is a large herb garden right outside of the kitchen and there are cooking classes available for purchase. I decided to try a panini. But this was not any panini. The bread was ciabatta, inside was layered with fresh basil leaves, prosciutto, asiago cheese, sprouts and truffle oil. It was one the most beautiful sandwiches I have ever had. It was salty, but earthy with a hint of bitter/spice. I do love incredible food. Not to mention the service was relaxed, helpful and professional. The music playing through the high ceilings and the wide circular bar of the tasting room was relaxing. The tasting room was beautifully decorated with simplicity and understatements which accentuated the elegance of the large windows and the immense fireplace.
The last winery on the list was Bridlewood. (http://www.bridlewoodwinery.com/) I found this tasting room to be just as beautiful as Gainey and Roblar, but with a professional, but very friendly server. I enjoyed the service of Bridlewood the most because of the professional but knowledgeable and sociable server. The driveway up to the tasting room was lined with trees that had shed their leaves for the winter. It was a bautiful and calm experience.

I am not a professional wine taster, but I very much enjoyed all of the wine I tasted (probably because it was not 2 Buck Chuck!) I wish I had more money to spend on wine and food pairing, but that will have to wait for another wine country visit.

Wine tasting was the perfect way to relax my mind and get back to the basics of what I enjoy in life