First Rain

We had our first bit of rain this evening, which means the rainy season has arrived. Not that it won't be hot as hell for the next several months, but the arrival of moisture seems to provide immediate relief from the tension we've all been feeling. In many ways we think of this as the beginning of our Tucson year. It is a time of renewal, not only for the desert, but for the souls of those who live here.

The PRE-MONSOONAL

Yes folks, it's that time of year again. For all of you without the common sense to be somewhere else on June 21st, let me extend a warm invitation to our third annual PRE-MONSOONAL party. Those of you who are reading this blog have already been invited and are probably sick of hearing about it, but let me assure you that this year's event will be worth all the fuss. Last head count was somewhere around 100, which means things will be hopping, with plenty of people you already know and many more for the discovering. This party started as a reaction to getting fired from a certain job, on our wedding anniversary just three weeks before the birth of our second child. It is a celebration of life without limitations. What better way to justify a big back yard than to throw the biggest damn summer party you'll ever attend? And it will just get bigger with each passing year.

Can't wait to see you here!

Five Years Ago

Five years ago I was lying in a double bed with Kariman while she labored in the Hollywood Birth Center, trying to birth our first son, Aiden. Thanks to modern technology and the fierce efforts of our midwives, Aiden finally made it into the world early in the morning on June 5th, 2003.

We're lucky to be alive. We're lucky to have each other.

Z-tabs and Immortality

I’m sitting here, stuck at home, recovering from (a) some kind of sinus infection and (b) the antibiotic used to get rid of it. A word about azithromycin: it works great on the bad guys and then it goes after you! Ringing in the ears! Nausea! Diarrhea! Like being on pot brownies, but without the fun! So I’m home. I can’t work today because I’m too spaced out from the zythromax that I popped this morning, but at least my throat doesn’t hurt! I’m not taking any more. No more Z-tabs for me.

When this kind of thing happens, I’m reminded that human beings are both very strong and very fragile, that we can survive amazing difficulties but die suddenly and without warning. I know people who have lived through cancer. I also know people who have died young and suddenly. I guess we all have our weak point. Finding out what it is, without losing it all, is a tricky proposition.

Turn Me Red 2005

This wine smells exactly like the sweaty undies of a cocktail waitress wearing too much strawberry perfume—not exactly off putting, and maybe a little exciting if your mind is in the right place. In the mouth the wine is nicely balanced with excellent acidity-to-fruit. Flavors are almost classic Pinot Noir with something *else* providing a racey undertow. This wine is made from Zweigelt, an Austrian hybrid of Pinot Noir and Gamay. Really good, and a great value at $15.

My score: 88 points

My Brother-in-Law

It would take me many pages of rambling to describe Jon Zenz, his place in my life, and the important lessons I've learned from him. I guess it all comes down to courage. Jon is one of those guys on the cutting edge of life. He's out there, somewhere, keeping God guessing, which is all anyone can hope for.

Middle Forty Tall Wheat

This is one of the new acrylic paintings.

Chris Ortiz

These paintings were produced by Chris Ortiz, one of my people at ArtWorks. The brushwork and marks are all his, with very little intervention. I chose the colors and developed all the procedures that allow these images to come to life.

The Big Switcharoo

For the last several years I've been producing oil paintings on gallery-wrapped canvas. While lovely most of the time, this combination resulted in far too many quality control issues. As of a few days a ago, I've switched to mixed media (acrylic, watercolor and water-soluble crayon) on home-made panels in an effort to increase overall quality and provide myself with a larger number of creative options. Only time will tell if this was a smart decision. The resulting paintings should be quite different and hopefully better than anything I've done in the past. I'll post some images the moment they become available.

FUBAR in Prescott (again)

I sometimes remind myself that I am only average at ruining my life and the lives of those I love. My failures and missteps are at best ordinary and not worth mentioning. My brother N, on the other hand, is in the middle of another one of his addiction cycles and if things go badly the best he can hope for is a prison sentence. I don't want to talk about worst case scenarios, but anything is possible in the world of alocoholism, automobiles, firearms and knives. Things have gotten dark, very dark, in Prescott. A phone call could come at any moment, a call that could change everything. We sit here in Tucson, not knowing, not able to do anything. That's the way it is. It makes me want to reflect on my own life and the choices I've made. I am thankful that I can drink a glass of wine and go to work in the morning. My brother cannot. He must choose between sobriety or death and I'm not sure he even has a choice.

Gallery Openings, Art Sales and Other Silliness

I've been an artist for a long time and have been selling my work for several years. I have no idea why people buy art, or why they buy my art. Tonight I went to a gallery opening for Bill Dubin, a watercolorist and new addition to the Mo's Gallery art scene. We hit it off immediately (a fellow insane person, willing to paint using the world's least forgiving medium, watercolor). The show was great and very cohesive. Lots of lively pictures of trolleys, including the ones down on 4th Avenue here in Tucson. Most of the people who showed up were friends of Nathan (the manager) or other Mo's people and their affiliates. Reminds me of the show I had at Alliance Bank, where everyone who showed up was a friend or an acquaintance. Unless you're way up there in the art scene, it's hard to attract the kind of unknown buyers who will purchase a painting opening night. Paintings usually sell prior to the opening or afterward with the possible exception of a very strong piece where the buyer doesn't want to lose the piece to someone else. To make a long story short, Bill didn't sell anything. I hope he will, but the art market has been very flat lately (along with just about every sector in George Bush's economy). I haven't sold anything in quite a while.

Until tonight. That's right, I sold a little oil painting at Bill Dubin's show. Ridiculous. Absurd. Painfully unpredictable.

But that's how it goes in this business. You just never know.

2nd Street Tree House

This is one of the paintings I sold at the 2nd Street School auction. I made the school over $800! Cool.

Fajitas

My Neighbor, the Hedonist

Tom, my next door neighbor, has given up totally on physical health and prefers instead to bask in the glow of cigar smoke and very, very good wine. He has three bottles of Velvet Glove in his fridge and I am determined to share one with him, perhaps over the best f*cking ribeyes you’ve ever had. Tom is the operations manager for El Charro. He works six days a week, doesn’t keep up with his landscaping, and travels to California to taste wine with the likes of Doug Shafer who Tom says used to live in Tucson and who seems to know Tom and vice versa, allowing Tom to visit one of the finest wineries in Napa and try out past vintages of Hillside Select Cabernet. Needless to say, I’m very happy to know Tom, if only tangentially, over the cinder block wall of our shared back yards. I recently had the opportunity to trade him a bottle of Boarding Pass for a bottle of Molly Dooker, again through the chink in our shared wall, while sipping some Blue Moon Zinfandel from one of Tom’s Riedel glasses that he purchased at cost (the wine and the glass). He told me to set the glass on the wall when I was finished. That’s just the kind of guy Tom is: generous, and fatalistic. I love him. We have nothing in common but a shared interest in really awesome red wine, which apparently is more than enough.

I love my neighborhood.

Two More

Boarding Pass Shiraz 2005

I don't want to share this one with you, because I want all of this wine for myself. Here it is, people, the absolute best deal on Shiraz you will ever, ever, ever find. This one even beats Marquis Phillips, and that's saying something.

Wonderful dark, rich extraction with a nose of black fruit and smoky, toasty oak. In the mouth the wine is super smooth with profound mouthfeel. Powerful, balanced flavors of blueberry, cassis, smoke, pepper, you name it. Exactly like Mollydooker, but half the price. The best red wine deal on the planet. Seriously. Find it now.

My score: a solid 92 points.

The fact that you can get this for $15 is insane. It's worth $40 and would beat many $50 wines in a blind tasting.

The Paradox of Relationship

Amazing that we choose to be with people who cannot fulfill our most basic emotional needs, then wait around for them to change. An insane paradox, yet one which appears to be universal. Those who remain in relationship must overcome this paradox. They must realize that their partner cannot become the parent who failed them, and that no one else can, either. There is no relief to be found, here or elsewhere. With acceptance comes freedom, and the ability to grieve the losses of childhood.

Canelo Reverie

Three Saints Syrah 2005

Three Saints is my new favorite winery. Their Cabernet Sauvignon is to die for, so I decided to try their Syrah.

In the glass the wine is viscous and nearly opaque dark purple. The nose is explosive with black fruit, cherry jam and chocolate/espresso. Swirling the wine in the glass produces sluggish pools of extracted, resinous glycerin that slide slowly downward, hinting at the mouthfeel to follow. In the mouth the wine has the consistency of half and half, with smooth, integrated tannins that completely coat the palette. Flavors of blackberry jam and milk chocolate explode and then smolder for a very long time. Acids and sugars are in profound balance and the high alcohol content (15.1%) is thoroughly hidden beneath massively extracted fruit. This wine is very hedonistic and worth every penny. An amazingly rich wine and a perfect example of new world, fruit-bomb Syrah. I can't believe how decadent this wine is. Not for red wine newbies. A serious f*cking Syrah from Santa Ynez, made by seriously talented people.

My score: 91

Where I'm Coming From