Living Freedom Posts
Well, there she is, that black dog I’ve been going on about. Brandy. I’ve wanted to draw or paint a dog resting on colorful cushions. I have photos of Ava and the late, lamented Robbie to work from, but the project always daunted me. Then a friend took me up on a longstanding offer to do a portrait of his dog (in thanks for many favors over the years) and when he sent pix, among all the poses of her standing and sitting and roaming his yard, there was this: Not only complicated cushions, but (ulp!) a black dog. As…
21 CommentsThe black dog I finished the black-dog art yesterday. Well, not finished. I’ll be putzing with it for the next week, darkening this color and refining that line. But I got through it. Now it’s just polishing. It was the hardest piece I’ve ever done. Took about as long to do as the icon from last month’s monastery workshop. But the icon was basically a sophisticated version of paint-by-numbers. The black dog was … whew. Flying by seat of pants. Plus I had to get myself out of a couple of self-caused scrapes. Until the last I was on edge:…
7 CommentsEnjoy the fireworks, to whatever extent your local government allows. Raise a glass to the spirit of freedom, as long as you don’t get on the wrong side of the law for public intoxication. Celebrate the freest country in the world, while being careful not to say anything that might attract the attention of the NSA, FBI, IRS, CIA, or other surveillance agency whose existence is currently being kept secret. Create some joyful booms and bangs of your own, subject of course to those 20,000+ federal, state, and local laws (which surely you’ve memorized), and the completely scrupulously fair and…
19 CommentsI sometimes do nothing useful. I rarely ever goof off. The perils of being self-employed and working at home. With nothing to distinguish on-duty hours from off-duty, work becomes a preoccupation even (and sometimes especially) when I’m not doing it. Thursday I mentioned a project I had been Not Doing but thinking about. A lot. It’s a portrait of a black dog. I don’t know of anything harder to portray than black fur, especially when using an inherently matte and thin medium like colored pencil. Thursday afternoon and Friday, I finally sat down to do it. As so often happens,…
5 CommentsA Friend of the Blog has donated Front Sight training certificates to the cause (the cause being to support Living Freedom and Claire’s Cabal and to keep Ava in kibble). I hadn’t figured on doing a fundraiser this year. I’m definitely holding off on the next bleg-a-thon. But hey, this is a trade, not a bleg. So. Here’s what the generous blogfriend is making publicly available to readers of Living Freedom: 6 4 certificates for Four-Day Defensive Handgun 5 certificates for Two-Day Defensive Handgun 50 certificates for Four-Day Handgun/Rifle/Shotgun 50 certificates for Two-Day Handgun/Rifle/Shotgun $19.95 apiece for the two-day certificates.…
7 CommentsOver in the public part of Claire’s Cabal, I tip my hat to Kit Perez and the younger, more activist set of freedomistas. I hope some of us “elders” can encourage them along their way. If you’re a Cabal member, you can comment over there. If you’re not a Cabal member, you can still read that post and everything else on the “Let’s Talk” board. Most of the rest of the Cabal is private. Although it will remain private, I’m strongly considering eliminating the pay model, which hasn’t worked very well. Or at least changing the way the pay model…
7 CommentsIt was gay pride time last weekend. Lots of parades and marches. It’s great that it’s now okay to be everything under the sun. So why, oh why, oh why is it now NOT okay to be gay and Jewish? Man, some people have sure gotten selective about their “inclusivity.” New York pastor is surprised to discover that a gun-rights activist is human. “School vs the Gateless Gate: Fixing the Damage.” A great reprint from L. Reichard White and The Price of Liberty. Franklin Foer says the Dems need to appeal to white, working-class voters if they want to win…
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