Funny movie trailer

Funny job interview commercials

Uncle Sam and the Liliputians; or Guliver attacked by Neocons

Here is my comic for the Charter Oak-Ute NEWSpaper and Schleswig Leader for July 5, 2007

And by the way, here's the sketchbook page that I originally scanned into PhotoShop

Fun song, fun video

Happy Independence Day weekend, week, whatever

Here's a little bit of American History, in honor of the holiday.

Friday afternoon in the country

The two above were shot at the Oldham Recreational Area in between Soldier and Turin.


These are of the Soldier Country Lutheran Church a few miles back into the hills off of Hwy 183 outside of Soldier Iowa.

Call of the wild

These were taken at the Davis Wetlands, a marshy wildlife area just north of Turin, Iowa along the Little Sioux River.

A sad day in our history

Wild Art

Wild Art: "I love my summer job. Besides the Charter Oak Achievement Days and Monona County Fair, I was assigned to take pictures and gather information on parks and recreational areas and attractions for a special Monona County Guide. "

Check out my Art Blog to see pictures I took at Timber Ridge, Grey's Landing, Whiting Woods, and my mother-in-laws garden at my wife's parent's farm (okay, that's actually in Crawford County).

I've been thinking a lot about how I should try to include stuff on this blog other than politics and my column (which is often about politics). But while some may feel that it is a pain in the hind end to go to an art blog, prayer blog, cheer-coaching blog, and yearbook/photo/web-design blog... in some ways it is easier to keep things categorized.

Down by the banks of the Maple River

These were taken at a gorgeous curve in Hwy 175 called "Grey's Landing" along the Maple River. The "One that Got Away" on this hike? Two huge blue herons. Wow. But hey, at least I got these butterflies. The white one is on whats called a "Lead Plant," just one of the many flowers you'll find on the native prairie here. There are lots of wetland plants and animals too, I saw orioles and meadowlarks and ducks (of course, I failed to capture any of them on film either). There were lots of deer tracks in the natural sand beaches (you heard me) along the edge of this loop in the Maple and some kind of fish was jumping at the sandpiper that flew over the pond (yet another bird I couldn't get a picture of).

Alone in the Woods

These three were all taken at a lovely place called Whiting's Woods, West of Mapleton and East of Whiting. As steep as the trail is and as deep and lush as the canopy is, you'd swear you were hiking along the Appalachian Trail instead of just enjoying the beauty of the Loess Hills right here in Western Iowa.

Days of wine and roses

These were taken at the Timber Ridge Vinyards and Winery (and Ranch, Orchards, Lodge, Sawmill, Campgrounds etc.

Nice Fixer-Uper

I love my summer job. Besides the Charter Oak Achievement Days and Monona County Fair, I was assigned to take pictures and gather information on parks and recreational areas and attractions for a special Monona County Guide. On my way from one of those, to another, I ran across this old brick building along Peach Road between 160th Street and Highway 175. Not everything photographers shoot is perfectly "pretty." Before I spotted this, I swear I saw a buzzard perfectly framed in a broke out window of a decrepit old shack. Would've been such a great shot- but of course I was driving along at 55mph and by the time I slowed down and turned around it had flown away. That's just one of my "fishing stories" for today.

Vacations are a lot of work

Charter Oak-Ute NEWSpaper — Schleswig Leader, Thursday, June, 28, 2007 – Page 3

Why is it you can never just get up in the morning and leave on a vacation?

It seems like my wife started packing a week ahead of time for our sojourn down to Phoenix earlier this month. I swear we even started loading the van a day before.

So finally the designated hour of departure had nearly arrived when our two youngest daughters came into the house crying.

"What happened now?" I asked incredulously.

"Annamarie was hanging on the mirror in the van and and (hyperventilating) she broke it and and (sniffle, whine) and it fell down and hit me in the head," reported Ellen, the middle child, "and and it hurts."

Perhaps she was hoping for tender arms and comfort, or perhaps for justice to be dispensed upon her younger tormentor, but instead she faced only the Inquisition-

"What were you doing playing out in the van? (first question) How many times have I told you to stay out of the van? (second question in this particular barrage- but the umpteenth time that day) Can't you just play outside (without getting dirty) or inside- anywhere but in the van? (that's at least 2, but could count as 3 questions) What were you thinking?"

"But, but ANNA wanted to play house in the van," she protested.

"SO? (I'm not sure if that counts as a question or not) You're older, why didn't you stop her? Why didn't you come get me? You know we're trying to get ready for the trip, why can't you listen? Why can't you follow directions? (technically these are the same question so it should only count as one.) Why was it so important to play in there? (obviously this was a rhetorical question thrown in for emphasis, but I think it counts anyway- so what is that now 12?)"

Fortunately she just pouted and muttered sorry instead of breaking down into tears because no longer had I finished the interrogation than I was beating myself up for sounding like such a typical over reactive parent hypertensive about preparation for vacation. Exhale.

So I proceeded to retrieve the two year old from the driver's seat and scolded her (much more briefly) and then retrieved the rear view mirror from the dash and called Jepsen's Repair to ask about gluing it back on so we could still leave that same day.

Eventually, we not only had out 5 million bags, cases, and parcels, toys, pillows, and audio-visual materials, loaded efficiently, but all 5 family members loaded and strapped in as well. Ready to go. "WAIT- everybody take one last potty break before we go." Everyone got out and ran back inside to use the restroom and then got reloaded and re-strapped. Four o'clock in the goll-darned afternoon.

I put the key in the ignition and started her up. Lo and behold, Annamarie had been back in the van since the mirror had been fixed. How do I know? Because the wipers came on, along with the heater on full blast, the turn signal, and the radio on full volume to a station I never listen to.

A helluva way to run an army, but at least we were finally off and running.

Whoops- almost 2 miles outside of town... we had to turn around and go back home because we'd forgotten Annamarie's blankie. Couldn't spend the night in a strange place without the two-year-old's security blanket.

At that point we were resigned that we probably wouldn't make it past Lincoln. We had found a terrific coupon on the Internet for a hotel in Lincoln. Unfortunately, we don't have a computer printer at home. No problem, no problem- we'll just stop quick at my classroom in Dunlap and print it there, back on the road in a jiffy.

Scientifically speaking, a "jiffy" is a unit of time measuring precisely 0.01 of a second. Twenty minutes later, my wife had started a DVD for the girls and was knocking on my classroom window, trying to figure out what was taking me so long. While I write this, I don't recollect it clearly, but I know it was technical- finding the right website, navigating the stupid website to the right state, city, hotel chain and coupon offer- and then getting the dang thing to print.

Pay dirt! Finally, we were on our way. Again. This put us in Omaha at the peak of rush hour. By the time we were just East of Lincoln, the kids were asleep (or at least docile) so we decided to press on. The further we could go that night, the better. So much for all that time and effort to get that coupon.

It's okay, we had another coupon in one of those tourist pamphlets for a hotel in Grand Island. Of course, at this point everyone was awake, hungry, tired, and crabby. And the youngest three were starting to get on each other's nerves- and therefore on their parent's.

We pulled into the hotel and what do ya know? The pamphlet people had made a misprint and the hotel refused to honor the coupon.

Thus we pushed on. I don't remember what little town was next, Hastings? It just seems like we were in the middle of nowhere when we pulled off for the next hotel for which we had a coupon.

As soon as we entered the parking lot, Ellen asked us, "Mom, why is our hotel next to a junkyard?"

It was more of a deteriorating trailer park, but it certainly was unsavory and at that point, in the dwindling light of twilight, that was enough for us to just keep on driving.

Finally we gave up and settled on a motel in Kearney that was much too expensive for the caliber of accommodations, but from the outside it looked safer than the last one.

So with two beds and five family members we had to figure out who was going to have to sleep with who. In a perfect world, the tree children could be together in one bed and the parents in the other. Just in case you were wondering, there is no perfect world.

I thought that since Grace, the oldest is the most patient (let alone sedate) and shares her room at home with Annamarie, they could sleep together and they may as well be with their mom. I figured that I'd be generous to her since Ellen is the worst sleeper of the three and most likely to toss, turn, and flop around.

This had Ellen seeing red.

"I don't want to sleep with Daddy!"

"Why not? What's the big deal?"

"He snores and his breath stinks!"

Maybe for other people, a perfect world would have had me in a separate room. Come to think of it, as long as it took to get the three of them to settle down and go to sleep, that may have been the perfect world for me.

And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

More June garden

June Garden

So I am back at it, on my Quixotic quest to take the perfect Georgia O'Keefe-like photo of flowers with a low-end (as well as old and beat-up) digital camera. I especially like the translucent quality to the petals on the lavender one.

You know you're (sorta) famous, when...

Okay, so the only way I could get on my Farmer-in-law's fridge was to tape it on myself. Probably because nobody around here seems to "get" my sense of humor. Whatchyagonnado?

Billionaire Playing Games

Editorial Cartoon for the June 28, 2007 Charter Oak-Ute NEWSpaper and Schleswig Leader.

No sooner than I posted this, than I seem to want to draw one about how Dick Cheney is his own rogue nation, since he's neither part of the Executive nor the Legislative branched of government! Man, truth is stranger than political cartoons lately!

How long will we put up with it?

How long will we put up with it?
Charter Oak-Ute NEWSpaper — Schleswig Leader, Thursday, June, 21, 2007 – Page 3

After September 11, 2001 it was a frightening time. When we invaded Afghanistan it was with a combination of intense and justified anger, and a touch of anxiety. After all, while nothing was more sure than that we should avenge the terrorist attacks and bring Osama Bin Laden to justice, but at the same time, Afghanistan had been to the Soviet Union in the 1980’s what Vietnam had been to the United States in the 1960’s and 70’s. A terrible quagmire of unconventional warfare where the soldiers of the superpower didn’t know who their enemy was and the insurgents never seemed to give up because more than anything else, they wanted the western invaders out of their country at any cost.

I wondered how long we’d be there. Wondered how many of my students would have to serve there, if eventually there would be a draft. But I never doubted that our cause was just and that we were right to be there.

But then the Bush administration started complaining about Iraq and began trying to sell the American public and the United Nations on military action. I trusted Collin Powell, who wouldn’t? Although I was afraid that this would take the focus off of Afghanistan, off of Bin Ladin, off of Al Queda and the Taliban. I didn’t understand why Bush would risk so much and take away troops and money from the real objective with some much on the line.

Some reporter asked Defence Secretary Rumsfeld about how to handle the aftermath, how to manage Iraq and the region after Saddam Hussein was taken out. Rumsfeld virtually brushed the guy off, telling him that that wasn’t the Defense Department’s problem, that we “weren’t in the business of nation building,” as if to slam the Clinton Administration’s attempt to help NATO stop the genocide in Kosovo back in the 1990’s.

There were even some dyed in the wool Republicans who had their doubts. But then, for almost four years I was told that I was unpatriotic or that I somehow didn’t support the troops if I questioned the war.

Finally, a few weeks ago, I have been hearing hard-core Reaganites questioning the point in prolonging out stay in Iraq. True blue conservatives (true red?) Actually recognizing that not only were mistakes made, but staying only seems to be making things worse.
Maureen Doud had a great bit in har column a couple of weeks ago in the New York Times-
“The president is on a continuous loop of sophistry: We have to push on in Iraq because Al Qaeda is there, even though Al Qaeda is there because we pushed into Iraq. Our troops have to keep dying there because our troops have been dying there. We have to stay so the enemy doesn’t know we’re leaving. Osama hasn’t been found because he’s hiding.
The terrorists moved into George Bush’s Iraq, not Saddam Hussein’s”.

When I was in high school and we were studying about the Vietnam war my best friend at the time (a girl) and I went to see a movie in theatres called “Platoon” starring Charlie Sheen. We were both blown away, we were crying at how horrible and hellish war could be.
We asked each other what we thought we would’ve done if we had been in high school or college during Vietnam. Would we support the Johnson and Nixon administrations, or would we have opposed the war. Would we have protested? What if I had been drafted?

Fortunately it was an abstract, academic exercise, since the most serious military involvement of the Reagan era was the invasion of a teensy, tiny island nation called Grenada. I really didn’t know. I knew I’d be scared both to go and fight the Vietcong and to stay and fight the powers-that-be. I had two uncles who were great friends and could talk food and wine and local, municipal politics- but they never talked about the war. One went and served as a medic, the other went to Canada.

Frankly, I think that a lot of us kids of the eighties had unrealistic stereotypes of war opponents. Pot smoking “Hippies.”

Well, today someone who’s opposed to war, looks like a middle-aged, overweight, middle-class, Midwestern, white, Anglo-Saxon, protestant male. Married, father of three, active in his church. Laundered clothes, not too old or ragged. Showered and shaved, doesn’t use drugs, has never even tried marijuana. It looks like someone who loves Jesus, loves his family, loves his country, appreciates civility and a certain amount of “law and order,” and who does not hate, resent, or blame the troops who are fighting for us.

You can say that I’m lucky or spoiled that I never had to face a draft or that I’m not as much of a real man because I haven’t served in the military voluntarily. And maybe you’re right. Maybe as a Gen-Xer, I have it too easy. Maybe it’s safer to be opposed to this war than it would’ve been to protest that last one.

Frankly, we should all be thanking God that Iraq isn’t tearing our families and society apart the way Vietnam did. We may disagree, even vehemently, but we just change the subject or avoid the subject. This time, no one is screaming in (or spitting) in faces.

I guess that if I knew that the government lied and covered it up, if they were unclear or even obtuse about the causes and reasons for entering and staying in the war. If I heard that they were secretly invading and bombing Cambodia (practicing war games, hoping to provoke Iran)... yeah, I’d have a hard time sitting on the fence, even if it could get me in trouble.

The face of the anti war movement this time had been a divorced, Catholic mom who’s son was killed in Iraq. Cindy Sheehan bought land near the President’s ranch and camped out there, waiting for him to answer a single question for her. “For what noble cause did my son have to die?”

The answer never came. This past Memorial Day, she announced her retirement from protest. She had had enough of smears and personal attacks from both the right and the left.

I have nothing but the greatest respect for those who fought and sacrificed so much in Vietnam. But I wish that Johnson and Nixon had respected them as much as they deserved.

I certainly respect and admire the men and women who are serving in Iraq. God knows, many of them are my former students whom I love and pray for. Frankly, if President Bush had have as much concern for them that I do, they’d all be home already.

One last look out west, at some landscapes

Rafe Terry really reminds me of my coyote from college. Totally Arizona colors, only he kinda has a Art Nouveau thing going with his shapes.

Louisa McElwain uses think impasto- she practically carves a painting with a pallette knife. No computer jpeg could do her justice.

I don't know how Western Mark Could is exactly, I think his works are more evokative of my beloved adopted region, the Midwest- with his barns and farm houses. Beautiful, dramatic/romantic stuff without getting as cheesey as Thomas Kinkade.

Some more flavor of the Southwest

Miguel Martinez is a master from Taos who specializes in these religious-icon type women.

Frank Howell is another fantastic and famous Native American painter

David Devary is a fantastic practitioner of the "new-west" style.

"the Jewel of Nicaragua".

JOYA DE NICARAGUA, "the Jewel of Nicaragua" is one of the oldest and favorite brands of premium cigar smokers all over the world. Cigar experts have catalogued this brand as a CLASSIC within the selected group of premium cigars.

From a review by www.stogieguys.com: Back in 2002, Joya de Nicaragua introduced Antaño 1970, a strong line of rich cigars honoring Joya’s storied history in the U.S. While the brand’s pinnacle was arguably back in the days of bellbottoms and disco balls – when sales exceeded nine million units per year and the American government named Joya the official cigar of the White House! (Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan???)

Antaño 1970 has earthy flavors with heavy floral and leather notes. The most distinct feature of the stogie – other than its big and powerful taste – is that the wrapper leaves a discrete banana peel flavor on the lips.

Despite the cigar’s full-bodied character, I found it to be quite smooth at the beginning of the smoke. Don’t get me wrong: The stogie had a pretty decent kick, but the flavors were blended so well they were more harmonious than invasive. In the second phase, on the other hand, the cigar became very spicy with black licorice notes. This sudden change kept me on my toes until the cigar mellowed out towards the end of the hour-long smoke.

Ted's take: I first tried a Joya back in college. I don't smoke regularly and certainly don't recommend, condone or wish to promote or endorse it. Filthy, unhealthy habit, as is chewing tobacco- they'll kill ya. But I succumb to temptation this week. I was in Omaha's old market checking out a used book store and art gallery, the Antequarium- that's closing (80% sale) and I happened past a cigar store. I caved in and got one.

I didn't get to enjoy a leisurely hour long smoke like the reviewer above because you can't smoke in public buildings anymore and it just wasn't the same as sitting back with the guys. Be that as it may. They do still taste fantastic. I understand that Cigar Aficionado rated Joya de Nicaragua very high and I don't blame them.

Just like the Stogie Guy's reviewer wrote, starts out smooth and a lot like wine, winds up spicy and strong. Back in my college days I liked to have one with a Dos Equis (XX) Lager. For Pete's sake, don't ruin it with something like a Bud Lite, at least have a Sam Adams or a Heineken.

So now I may never have one again, or maybe several years from now, but it was nice to reminisce. Again, I certainly don't recommend smoking to anyone, but if you're gonna- don't be cheap and buy a stupid Swisher Sweet cigar from some gas station, don't be gross and pile a wad of dirt in your cheek, and don't be stupid and addict yourself by sucking on a typical cigarette. Spend the time and the money on the best. It's not just a smoke, it's an experience.

Forgive me, Lord for my sin, but thank you for this rare indulgence. MMMMmm yum.

It finally happened

Meteorological researchers and scientific photographers, along with skeptical myth-busters have managed what was thought to be impossible. Yes, after a millennium of legend, hearsay and debate- they have actually been able to pin point and photograph the elusive "End of the Rainbow." But they didn't find a pot of gold, at least not exactly. They did find a pot, and you could say that some of it's contents are golden colored at first...

Quite Possibly the Stupidest Thing the Bush Administration Has Ever Said

From MotherJones.com

Quite Possibly the Stupidest Thing the Bush Administration Has Ever Said
I know: The bar is set high here. Before writing that headline, I asked myself, "Is this dumb thing so dumb that to call the administration a bunch of crackheads for saying it would be an insult to crackheads everywhere?" And I concluded, yes, it is that dumb.

This weekend, U.S. forces killed 7 children in Afghanistan and 100 died there in clashes between NATO and the resurgent Taliban. A new jihadist group continued fighting the Lebanese military from a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. The more radical faction of the Palestinian government overthrew the more moderate Fatah in a five-day civil war in Gaza. The Iranian government—which by the way, is holding four American citizens with no charges—is engaged in a massive crackdown on civil liberties.

This morning, when asked if he thought the U.S. invasion of Iraq has helped stabilize the Middle East, White House spokesman Tony Snow said, "Hard to say....But it is pretty clear that a lot of people are putting their lives on the line for the cause of democracy in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. And we support them."

Saner heads would have said something like this: "The Middle East is in flames....Everywhere you look, there’s deep trouble — Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinians, the peace process, Iran.…Are they linked? Of course they're linked." Saner heads like Lee Hamilton, who authored the Iraq Study Group report. The report correctly predicted that Bush's surge was a waste of time, money, and lives.

Book Review

Where have all the leaders gone?
By Lee Iacoca

Wow. When I finished my first two summer novels, I wanted something current. I thought about the Asault on Reason by Al Gore, but I was afraid it might be too technical (dry) or too partisan (not that he doesn't deserve to be angry since HE was elected President, not Bush Jr.) Then I spied this one. I was going to give it to my dad for Father's Day. He'd read a couple of other books by or about Iacoca, he's from Michigan, so I figured he liked it. Well two things happened on my drive down to Phoenix to see my folks, I spilled coffe on it in the van (a Dodge Caravan, ironically), and I got HOOKED.

John McCain and Fred Thompson may TALK about "straight talk" but Iococa REALLY gives it to you. From the hip, point blank, no minced words.I anticipated that he's be balanced and objective- he's been close friends with right wingers like Reagan, Bush Sr., and Bob Dole as well as lefties like Tip O'Neil and Bill Clinton. What I didn't expect is how irate he'd be with Bush Jr. and the neocons.From free trade, immigration, health care, our dependency on foreign oil, and the lies about Iraq, this son of an immigrant who created the Ford Mustang, saved Crysler and preserved the Statue of Liberty doesn't hold anything back.

He lays out how unreasonable and short sighted our current paths and policies have been, and goes the extra mile to offer sound alternatives.And lest you think that it's nothing but a Bush bash- this book is actually about leadership. Iococa lays out a number of principles to look for in a leader and why they are important. He even evaluates some of the top candidates from both parties on how well they measure up on each of his principles of leadership. He refused to endorse any because he believes that Americans all need to step up and know who'd make the best leaders and why before we choose our own. (but if I were a betting man, I think he likes New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson)

I can't believe that this easy to read and incredibly engaging book isn't on top of the bestseller lists. I wish Oprah would make it her book club book. I wish all the Liberal radio talk show hosts would give it free advertising because I really believe that every American needs to read this powerful and important book.

I saw this as a sticker, magnet, t-shirt, and poster all over the Southwest on our vacation. It's a reminder on immigration too- did you cross the border or did the border cross you?

Maybe you can't go home again

"Rawhide," Arizona's 1880's Old West Town closed, or got bought-out and moved. And it's expensive enough to discourage any parent from driving an hour across town to visit it in 100 degree heat.

Worse than that, the Miller Beverage Company of Mesa Arizona has gone out of business. Just as well since Rawhide's "Golden Belle Saloon" was just about the only place you could get it.

The CBS station is now FOX, the ABC station is now CW, the independent station is now CBS and the old Fox station is now ABC.

And the Phoenix metropolitan area has grown at least 20% in just the last 6 years! When I was a kid, our house was almost as far North as you could get in the city. The street next to our subdivision was dirt. The city put oil on it to keep the dust down. Neighbors had horses and chickens. Now there are houses and strip malls East- not just up to but surrounding the Indian reservations, West to the Air Force base and Nuclear power plant, North to what used to be distant towns along the Carefree highway, and South almost all the way to Tuscon.

Mind you, I appreciate having a major league baseball team and plenty of Starbuck's coffee shops- but the Phoenix of my youth was much more like Albuquerque or Palm Springs- the Phoenix of today may as well be L.A. A million and a half in Phoenix proper and pushing 13 Mill for the whole "Valley of the Sun."

Don't get me wrong, Phoenix will always be a part of me- but the Phoenix where Clint Eastwood filmed "The Gauntlet" at the brand new civic center and police headquarters, the phoenix where you could see South Mountain from North Mountain- unless there was a dust storm, the phoenix where Wallace and Ladmo gave out bags of treats on Chanel 5 and where streets were named for desert plants instead of land developers.

But whatchya gonna do? Pull up your roots and move to a sleepy little hamlet of 500-600 in the Iowa hinterlands? Wyatt Earp left Iowa for Dodge City, then Tombstone, then L.A. But the new frontier is finding your way back to the open spaces, and back to Jeffersonian agrarian society. Go East, young man. Go East.

Some more Arizona Favorites

Two cartoonists and an indigenous painter...

One of my all time favorite cowboy artists is a guy by the name of Bob Boze Bell. First he drew a cartoon called "Honkey Tonk Sue; Queen of Western Swing." It was for The New Times, an alternative weekly newspaper in Phoenix, full of scathing satire. I guess they were collected into graphic novels, but are very hard to get your hands on. He had an awesome, sleek, sexy, art deco sort of style. He also wrote a humor column. Later he became part of a morning DJ crew on KSLX FM "Radio for Men." All 60's-70's album rock. Today he is the editor/publisher of True West magazine for which he illustrates. He also does fantastic paintings of old gunslingers and such.
Of course, there's everybody's Phoenix hometown favorites, Bill Keane and his son Jeff. Sure, I'm more into Doonesbury myself, but come on- since 1956 Keane has been making it onto people's refrigerator doors and their hearts with his classic family gags.

Finally, my personal all time favorite John Nieto. I don't know if he's Hopi or Navajo and from Arizona or Zuni from New Mexico or Sioux from South Dakota- heck he could be a Kick-a-poo from Kansas for all I care. He's amazing. All I know is that I fell in love with his stuff in Scottsdale and have seen it in Sedona and if I ever get rich enough I want to own one. Being in a room with a Nieto holds the same thrill as Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, or O'Keefe. His colors are SO vibrant and alive and contemporary- yet at the same time so evocative of the actual colors in nature all over the deserts of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico it is absolutely breath taking.

I'm tellin ya, go see if the painting I did of my student Megan wasn't influenced by Nieto; I SWEAR, I didn't even realize it at the time, but now that I've been looking at Nietos I can totally see it.

Arizona Artists

As long as I'm on this Southwestern kick for a while, I'll show you some of my favorite Arizona painters. When I was a kid, I loved to visit the galleries in and around old town Scottsdale. If you ever get the chance, their Thursday night Art Walk makes a great date.
Ette "Ted" DeGrazia was the toast of the territory when I was a young pup. Part Mexican, part Native American, part tourist trap. His little native kids are just "too cute" enough to land him in the kitsch categorie along with Hummel and Precious Moments figurines. But he's pure Sonoran Desert kitsch, so it's okay.

Of course, there's always Bob McCall, NASA's official artist laurette. He also did the matte paintings for Stanley Kubrick's 1969 film of Arthur C. Clarke's "2001; A Space Odessey."

And of course R.C. Gorman is one of the most celebrated Navajo artists of all time. Beautiful, poetic stuff.