Durango

Double-el has an eye for the surreal.


She got the chance to focus it at an extraordinary thrift store in the corner of the little shopping center north of the Budget Inn.

With Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Costello.

Her fascination with the culture's ability to convince women they need to look a certain way prompted us, decades ago, to do a show (at my gallery) called Poodlemania. Poodles, womens' canine equivalent, require coiffuring. And pussy, or even better, pussyass, really needs sparkling-blue eyes. All this from the masters-of-pedophilia; with downcast eyes she's ever-ready to do his bidding.

Then there was this Radiant Cat.

Bought & Paid for by the Durango Herald.

You're ready for ennything iffn you gots yer meat an' yer paintbrush.

A cute video for you gun enthusiasts...(WARNING - Writer & Director is a Double-el)

https://youtu.be/4T41M7cCqsU










Acerbic kulchur-critic. Have you ever SEEn anyone so smug?!!!

At Jean Pierre's (Double-el)

And after months of hunting, I found my five-dollar hat at the Humane Society Thrift across from Walmart. (Note gusseted pantleg.)

Photographer Jake Quinones is a contributing editor to Overland Journal. He took the photo below on Sept 15, 2014. I was camped on the Taos Steppe when Jake came by scouting destinations for his tour company, New Mexico Backroads.  Although barely 9:00 in the morning, when Jake proffered a Santa Fe Brewery stout, I set my spliffoes (the poochy part from whence cats' whiskers protrude) and proceeded. It served as the blog banner for several years. (Mentioned by Mark Johnson in Comments.)

I still had Eggbert, my 1999 Chevy (Suzuki) Metro hatchback.

Pinnacles National Park, Matisse-Diebenkorn & Mark Johnson

Parks, In My Esteemed Opinion (IMEO), are in close competition with rest areas. The problem is there's not a rest area on highway 25 between Coalinga and Anthony Chabot Regional Park.

I spent the first night, about 20 miles north of Coalinga, California on a turnout on Coalinga Road. It was late afternoon when I'd finally gotten out of town and just couldn't do the remaining twelve miles to the park.

In the morning I was greeted (in an aggressive tone) by Mike Baumgardner with "What're you doing?!"  I rejoined with "Who wants to know?" a bit louder which got him tuh thinkin' 'bout his options. He claimed I was on HIS LAND!!!..."The easement is 30 feet from the centerline." I looked and thought he maybe had me by three feet. Always the gentleman, I gave him his choice of weapons, but once he learned I was enroute to the Matisse-Diebenkorn exhibit at SFMOMA he was all smiles and ready to talk art, cats and what to wear.

Pinnacles wasn't much better. Buggy, screaming children, hollering youths. It finally got quiet around midnight. Only $11.50 with the discount. No hot water at the sinks and those push-on faucets that automatically turn off after ten seconds.

It's all Mark Johnson's fault. If he'd just posted some of his paintings I could have gotten my art fix and avoided all this.