LAX Piano at 6 PM February 6 and February 22

I got two piano gigs at the 
LAX Renaissance Hotel:

William Schaeffer Piano

February 6 
February 22 
6 PM - 7:30 PM. 

It is near LAX so the traffic is busy, but the room is big and the food is good. 

Hope you can swing by...

LAX Renaissance Hotel 
9620 Airport Blvd., 
Los Angeles, CA 90045

The Garden of Earthly Delights -- SOLD

The Garden of Earthly Delights
Assembly Art with found objects
10 x 10 framed

The fortune cookie reads:
 "Happiness is enjoying what you got.  Never from what you want."





That is a red bell pepper that I dried for several weeks.  I rotated it every twelve hours for days, until it shrunk into a shriveled little shape that was perfect for the head of an old man. I found the fake leaves on the TV set of "The Middle"


SOLD ** SOLD ** SOLD ** SOLD ** SOLD ** SOLD ** SOLD ** SOLD ** SOLD ** SOLD

copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

The Big Bang Theory

Maybe it was a "Big Flop" or a "Big Splat" or a "Big Drop" or a "Big Bloom" or a "Big Crack" or a "Big Pop" or a "Big Freeze" or a "Big Unfolding" instead?   The mathematics would be the same, but the connotations are totally different. The term "Big Bang" itself exposes the Scientific preoccupation with explosions, missiles, bombs, rockets and especially high paying military contracts.   Most of the University Research money in the USA for the past 70 years has been provided by the USA Military. It is not a surprise that the subconscious mental constructs generated by this relationship influence the interpretation and explanation of the data itself.


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

One of Those Days

"One of Those Days"
Assembly Art on Canvas Board.
8 x 10 framed.

Found objects and foam stickers.  I found the pink heart in the road in front of a Grade School.  I pulled the hairball out of the drain in my shower with a pair of plyers.  It is saturated with Clear Gloss Silicon Spray. 


The canvas board and frame were both damaged sometime before purchase at the Good Will Store on Hollywood Blvd.

copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer

Say Good Night David

"Say Good Night David" Found objects and foam stickers on painted canvas board. 8 x 10 framed. 

The theology and philosophical foundations of popular delusion and the inevitable result of logical deduction with comical assumptions. 



copyright (c)2018
William Schaeffer

Broken Hearted Donut Boy Plots His Revenge

Broken Hearted Donut boy Plots His Revenge
8 x 10 assembly art on painted canvas board. framed.












I found the fruit and the toy bullets on the ground somewhere. I dried the fruit for over a year. That is a real donut I got from craft services and I dried it for over a year. The donut and fruit are sprayed with silicone plastic gloss fixative. The rest of the stuff was purchased at the 99 cents only store. Delightfully philosophical in execution and scandalously stupid in reality.


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Mother Mary, quite Contrary

Mother Mary, quite Contrary
How do the Faithful know?

What is Peace?
And, what is Love?

And, where do the Angels go?


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Fear and Loathing in the Unemployment line

My full time job as a digital paint and rotoscope artist for VFX was effectively outsourced ten years ago. I have only worked sporadically in VFX since the stock market "recession" and it took me YEARS to adjust to the change psychologically and economically. I consider that my life was destroyed. Absolutely destroyed. Most people seem to think I am joking when I refer to the event in that manner.

In the 1960's Detroit was one of the wealthiest cities in the USA. Today 75% of the single family homes are abandoned or destroyed. Nobody abandons a house and a mortgage unless their life is destroyed and they are running away in the middle of the night. Three quarters of the people living in Detroit had their lives absolutely destroyed by General Motors and the other Automobile manufacturers moving to different states.

This is one of the major defects of the current legal structure of the economy in the USA: "There is no real corporate accountability back to the workers." Since "at will hire laws" were passed in 1995, your employer has no legal obligation to you beyond a two week pay period, even though you have dedicated your life and your plans for the future (and most of your waking hours) to the service of that employer.

Prior to "at will hire laws" passed in 1995, you could legally challenge a job termination with the Labor Board. The Labor Board would have a hearing and if they judged in your favor, the employer would HAVE to hire you back again. I know this is true, because (in the early 1990's) I had a hearing about a job (with CST Entertainment) but I dropped the case when my demands were met (I was rehired at my original pay rate).

To give you an idea "WHY" jobs are being outsourced: About five years ago I was notified of a VFX job in Shanghai that I was qualified to do. This was specifically paid in Chinese currency at local wages. The pay rate was $300 a month (after calculating for the exchange rate). $300 a month! -- The Chinese citizen is given an apartment to live in by the government, so they do not have to pay rent like we do in the USA. (There is effectively no homelessness in China). But even with that added benefit, the wages are still considerably lower than in the USA.

Homelessness in China was common in the times leading up to the Communist Revolution. In the early 1900 there were years of drought in China and agriculture suffered. Many small land owners were conned into losing their property because they were starving and "forced" to trade their deed to the land for seed grain. The starving farmers used the seed grain for food and lost their land in the process. The Red Army was made up of many of these homeless peasants who were conned out of their inheritance by their "uncaring" neighbors.

In the 1950's a significant percentage of the entire USA economy was the corporation of General Motors. In a sense you could say that: "General Motors drove the USA economy"

The surprising thing is that the phenomenon of "having your career vanish" after twenty years, is not uncommon. A significant percentage of people over 50 (like me) in the USA, were absolutely unprepared to lose their vocation, and had no other skills to use to earn money except at minimum wage jobs. And many of us had worked 50 - 70 hours a week (every week) for the previous ten years. If you are presently between the ages of 18 and 28, you stand a great probability of experiencing the same "economic shock" at sometime in the next thirty years. All I can say to you is, "GOOD LUCK" and "HANG TOUGH."


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Life and Death at the University of Illinois, 1977

In 1977, it was the winter of my sophomore year in college and I was living on Townsend 3-North, which was the third floor in the Undergraduate dormitory at the University of Illinois.  Across the street were the Graduate student dorms.

One morning we heard the news that a graduate student had killed himself the night before.  He chained himself to his bed, doused himself with a flammable liquid, and lit himself on fire.  What a horrible and agonizing way to die -- alone in your dorm room!  The memory of the event makes me sad to this day more than 40 years later, and I never knew who the student was.

At the time, we were all impressed with how difficult Graduate school must be for anyone to be driven to those extreme and dramatic measures.  Almost half of our own group on floor 3-North would never complete enough college to get an Undergraduate degree from University of Illinois.  They all "failed" and got "flunked out."   Little did anyone of us suspect that fact, even though it was plainly obvious and we were told that would happen by the Engineering School Deans during Freshman orientation class.


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Security Guard Haiku

I guard the doorway
to insure safety and peace.
Paradoxical?

I stand motionless
at my assigned sentry post.
Where is my cell phone?

I watch the people
going about the work day.
What time is lunch?

"Mental Peace and Calm"
I practice at my guard post.
Why am I hungry?

Thoughts of food haunt me.
What shall I have next for lunch?
I just had my break.

I guard the exit.
And, I guard the entry way.
I need some new shoes.

I wear a white shirt
I wear black pants and black shoes.
I don't need more colors.

I know what is Right.
I know "Where the line is drawn."
Can I take a break?

Standing in the Sun.
I feel like I am burning.
How I long for shade.

It is freezing cold.
Wearing thermal underwear,
I still curse my fate.

Sanding for three hours.
I need to use the bathroom.
Where is my Breaker?

This music is LOUD.
I have damaged my hearing.
Lively rhythm though.

My eyes are closing.
I could sleep while standing up.
I am so tired.

While doing bag check,
A woman is smuggling food --
Wine and cheese and fudge.

It's lunchtime again.
I am not hungry at all.
I need to eat food.

It is raining now.
I am cold and I am wet.
I hate everything.

The day is over.
I turn in my uniform.
I want to sit down.



copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Security vs. Acting

In Security work, you are the boss -- but everybody ignores you.

In Acting, you are nobody -- but everybody thinks that you are important.


In Security work, wardrobe is important and the requirements are always the same.

In Acting, wardrobe is important and it is never good enough and there are not enough options.


In Security work, your schedule is set 3 - 5 days in advance (or more),
and you cannot cancel work less than 48 hours before your assignment.

In Acting, the job is not even posted til the day before.


In Security work, you have set hours and you may be dismissed early.

In Acting, you have a start time, and you will stay as long as necessary,
even if it is more than 15 hours.


In Security work, you practice standing silent and motionless, unless interacting with customers.

In Acting, you practice moving with an unaffected grace as if you are naturally motivated.


In Security work, you are given lines to say.

In Acting, you are given lines to say.


In Security work, you deal with the public at large venues.

In Acting, you deal with the public at large venues.


In Security work, you have strange hours.

In Acting, you have strange hours.


In Security work, you play a role.

In Acting, you play a role.


In Security, you are exposed to physical danger.

In Acting, you are exposed to ridicule and abuse.




copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Self driving car?

If a self driving car is responsible for an automobile accident that causes a human death, then who is responsible? The owner of the car who was just riding in the car and making no decisions? The software manufacturer that designed the decision logic? The automobile manufacturer? Who is responsible and who goes to jail?


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

got Faith?

The word "Faith" is deliberately misused by Religious conservatives to obscure the truth and to confuse honest people with integrity.


1. The natural use of the word "Faith" means, "Confidence in your ability. Confident that your assessment of the situation is accurate -- despite temporary delays or setbacks."  The word "Faith" is used to mean, "A sense of intuitive confidence in your personal ability to achieve under difficult circumstances."

This use of the "Faith" word speaks to the highest and most noble motivations of humankind.


2. The word "Faith" has been taken by religious fundamentalists and used to mean "Belief in facts without any collaborating evidence that they are true, or even relevant."  There is no data to support even the most basic assertions of religious fundamentalists.  There is absolutely no direct, scientific, or experimental evidence of Heaven, Hell, Angels, The Soul, God, Gods, Satan, Devils, Evil Spirits or any other details of any other supposed Mystic Universe.  And yet, it is considered a supreme virtue to believe in these concepts as being real.  This is the most insidious and destructive use of the word "Faith."

This use of the word is a corrupt and mind destroying manipulation of truth.  It is used to deceive and confuse the minds of hopeful and gullible people reaching out for guidance and assistance.  Instead of being given any tools that can actually help them achieve independence and personal power, they are coerced into subservient worship of, and control by, people that only want to use them and take their money, and their minds, and their lives.

This use of the word speaks to the lowest and most perverted motivations of humankind.



copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Acting Real

I was a background actor in a boxing movie and enjoyed talking to the trainers and coaches when there was time. The head stunt director said they cannot use "real boxers" because the "real boxers" cannot act. They forget they are supposed to be acting and start boxing for real. They have to use trained stunt men athletes that trained for the role of boxer.

 I was just recently cast as an orchestra member in a film and I had to pretend to play violin. We had a coach train us on the proper way to hold the bow and the violin and the proper posture. Then we "played violin" along with the real musicians that were actually playing the music at the same time. WOW.

 I think it was on The Mentalist that I was cast as an emergency room doctor and they brought in an actual emergency room doctor to train us how to use a stethoscope, how to dress, how to move, and how to touch the patient in a professional manner. A fascinating lesson.

copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Potter Vision

Potter Vision
(from a B + W xerox of a cloud picture)
Oil on Canvas
24 x 36
Wm S 1991





copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Baseball

Baseball
Oil on Canvas
24 x 36
Wm S 2000






copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

One gram of fiber for every one hundred calories

After having a malignant polyp removed from my colon twenty years ago, I change my diet. I quit eating beef and quit drinking beer. I started eating food with "one gram of fiber for every on hundred calories". I lost 50 pounds and my knee problems went away. I am at my ideal weight for fifteen years. I still abide by the same dietary rule "One gram of fiber for every one hundred calories" I am 60 years old and now work as event security guard. I can stand for twelve hours straight without ill effect. I owe it all to a diet high in fiber and bean are part of that formula. But mostly, I eat dried fruit, nuts, and fresh fruit, and bread grains.


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Copy of a Monet

Copy of a Monet
from a B+W xerox
24 x 36 Oil on Canvas
1992 Wm S






copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Copy of a Van Gogh

Copy of a Van Gogh
24 x 36 Oil on Canvas
1992   Wm S







copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

The Earth Shell

1. Think of what is right and true.

2. Practice and cultivate the science.

3. Become acquainted with the arts.

4. Know the principles of the crafts.

5. Understand the harm and benefit in everything.

6. Learn to see everything accurately.

7. Become aware of what is not obvious.

8. Be careful even in small matters.

9. Do not do anything useless.

-from 
     "The Earth Shell" section of
     "The Book of Five Rings"
       by Miyamoto Musashi
       translated by Thomas Cleary
       Barnes and Noble Books, 1993

Dress modestly and behave politely

It is imperative to practice good manners, good hygiene, and dress conservatively and modestly. You will be less annoying and less likely to trigger an overwhelming response to some other innocent and innocuous personality trait that really annoys the living hell out of some socially powerful social control freak. Remember: "Dress modestly and behave politely." - Mr. Atwater

No tattoos
No strange hair color
No hip urban lingo

Dress modestly in clean clothes
Wear socks, shoes and underwear.

Dress appropriately for the occasion.

Say please and thank you
Let the other person go first
Hold the door for women
Send a thank you note

Shake hands or fist bump
Don't tell rude jokes
Inquire of the other person recent events

Bath regularly
brush your teeth
Comb your hair
Don't have an odor



copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Best of all possible worlds

"This is the best of all possible worlds because this is the world that is." - Mr. Atwater



copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

a College Education in Engineering

One of the "problems" with a college education in engineering is that you must let most of the richness of your human experience atrophy, wither and die. You are not trained by engineering to be a complete human being that maximizes your own inner potential and becomes the full expression of the person you were born to be. Engineering school makes you into a reliable part of an economic machine so you will be useful to industry and then retire.

 There is a whole realm of human experience and empathy that most engineering students and computer scientists are absolutely unaware of. Music is a good example. I was astounded to finally realize that almost half of computer graphic artists have absolutely no interest in music at all. Similarly, I was surprised to realize that men and women do not hear, or listen to, music in the same way or for the same reasons. We are used to thinking in a certain way about music and are astounded that what we assumed was basic common understanding is itself non standard and not universally true.

 Do you really want to be a comfortable widget?  How about being a miserable rodent instead?


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

The Presidency of Richard M. Nixon

President Nixon ended the President's Physical fitness program. Too bad for US.

President Nixon took the USA dollar off the gold standard and we still have not seen the full effects of that decision to this day.

The Nixon administration is also responsible for the introduction of: 1. Health Maintenance Organizations, 2. Condominium Home ownership, and 3. Individual Retirement Accounts or IRA's. These are three unique economic vehicles that all share the common virtue of being effectively worthless and a sham.





copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Love is eternal and everlasting

Before the world existed and the stars appeared, there was love.

Love is two things wanting to be in the same space eat the same time and of course they can't.  This attraction is what gave birth to the whole World.  The entire Universe is just a manifestation of love and not of thought, or will, or idea.  Love is what started it and love is what keeps it going.


Love is the only principle that is not created and does not die.  Love gave birth to the Universe.  Even God was born out of love.  And before God existed, there was still love.  It is love that is eternal and nothing else.


Love is eternal and everlasting.

Peace.



copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Elementary Math

1. Oceans Rise

If all the Ice at the South pole melted, the Oceans would rise up to 400 feet. Antarctica exposed land mass has 5% of surface area of the Earth. The ice averages 1 mile thick. The Oceans cover 66% of the Earth. 5280 feet per mile. Therefore : 5280 *0.05 = Y *0.66 Ocean rise Y = 400 feet


2. Suicide

An average of 123 people kill themselves with suicide every single day in the USA.  That equals almost 45,000 deaths a years due to suicide in the USA.  This is almost as many people today as U.S. soldiers that were killed in the entire duration of the Vietnam War.

"123 a day in the U.S.A."


3. Dietary Fiber

"One gram of fiber for every one hundred calories" is a basic rule of health.

If you are supposed to eat 30 grams of fiber every day, and you are supposed to eat 2,500 calories every day, then you will ideally eat 1.2 grams of fiber for every one hundred calories.

If you simplify that to 1.0 grams of fiber for every one hundred calories and ONLY eat food (or drink liquids) that meet that criterion, then you will be close to optimum nutrition.  All the other nutritional factors will "sort themselves out"  Your diet will be predominantly plant food, since animal food products have no fiber.  Plant food has all the other vitamins, minerals and other nutrients (even protein).


4. Carbon Dioxide

Every gallon of gas you burn puts 19.2 pounds of Carbon Dioxide gas into the atmosphere.
Every mile you drive puts one pound of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere.

A gallon of gasoline weight about 6.7 pounds and is almost entirely pure Carbon in liquid form.
The burning process removes twelve pounds of Oxygen from the atmosphere and replaces it with 19.2 pounds of Carbon Dioxide.   I know the numbers don't quite add up, but that is the data.  Go on the internet and check the math yourself.

If the average car gets about nineteen or twenty miles to the gallon, then every mile you drive puts about on pound of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere.  And THAT is a lot of gas.




copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Eight Days a Week?

It is interesting to note that the Sumerians, who were perhaps the oldest civilization, had a five day week.  The Babylonians adopted this plan and gave us astrology.  The Egyptians, who are almost as old, had a six day week. The Hebrews gave us the seven day week when they claimed that God created the world in seven days. The Romans had no concept of a week and only had months with special Holy Days (about 150 a year), so the Romans adopted the Jewish custom of a seven day week. Slowly, over the centuries, the work week has expanded to take more time and the days for rest and relaxation have decreased. In 1964 the Beatles sang "Eight Days a Week" Is this the future?


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Discipline?

“Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.” -Solomon as recorded in ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭13:24‬ ‭ 


In a rigidly Patriarchal, illiterate, slave-owning society, with little social mobility, that might be true. Fortunately, we imagine ourselves to live in a representative democracy where every person has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Whipping children with a belt, or hitting them with a switch, until they scream and cry and beg for mercy, just doesn't seem appropriate to me in the country that we imagine ourselves to be. Were you ever whipped with a belt? Did you scream and cry for mercy?


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Relaxation Music

One of the challenges of playing "relaxation music" is the way that people use the term "relaxation." Frequently, the term is used to mean "reduction of anxiety" instead of "slowing down the body process."

 For example, a cigarette smoker reports that smoking a cigarette causes them to feel relaxed. Medical studies show that the Nicotine is actually a stimulant and increases heart rate, pulse, metabolism, and the speed of most of the body processes. And yet, people report "feeling relaxed." I assume that this is due to the reduction in anxiety that smoking a cigarette causes -- in this case reduction of anxiety about when to receive another "fix" of an addictive drug.

 This phenomenon becomes challenging in music, because the attraction to music, and music listening is still somewhat of a mystery. It serves no practical purpose except as a distraction. In fact, the music is not really even there, being constructed by the mind upon listening. Furthermore, listening to music that is "strange," or "foreign," or "not anticipated," can cause more anxiety and stress instead of relieving it, because "we don't like that music and want it to stop."

 Finally, since music and music listening is inherently cultural, it would be difficult to find a type of music, or sound arrangement that would be Universally perceived by all people, in all cultures, as being "pleasant," "relaxing," or even "enjoyable."

 Nevertheless, "relaxation music" is an interesting problem and a challenging exercise for a performer or composer.



copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

How did THIS Happen?

copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Smile

Smile









copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

San Martin de Caballero

November 11 is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours, known in Latin America as San Martin de Caballero





copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Honor the King and Queen

Honor the King and Queen





copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Unfinished copy of a Cezanne

Unfinished copy of a Cezanne
Oil on Canvas
1992 Wm S







copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Blue Flame

Blue Flame
Oil on Canvas with painted paper
Wm S 2012





copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer

St. Valentine

St. Valentine
Oil on canvas
Wm S 1992




copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Thirty two years later

I arrived in Los Angeles, CA on 1/11/1986 at my friend Mark Stevens (may he R.I.P.) apartment in Long Beach. It was the last day in a five day road trip with my 1972 Volvo Station Wagon. I had to have the U joint replaced in Amarillo Texas and I almost got arrested at a rest stop in New Mexico, because I left my ID in Albuquerque. I drove back to the gas station and it was still there, with the money and credit cards. Later I took a drive through the painted desert. I stayed with Mark for seven months until I got a job at CST Entertainment, colorizing black and white movies. The rest, until now, is just a blur.

 By a strange set of circumstance I was in Long Beach yesterday and had time to kill. Thirty two years later, to the day, I stood in front of the duplex where I lived when I arrived. Not much had changed. A cat in the window kept watching me. Some people drove up and started unloading groceries. They kept looking at me like I was a "strange old man" so I went over, and introduced myself and told them that I lived in that duplex thirty two years ago. We chatted for a while and I left. I never took a picture of the place.

I drove past the restaurants where I played piano and they were no longer there. I could hardly even find the correct buildings. In fact, not much in the rest of Long Beach was very recognizable and it had all changed, or I had just forgot about it. The weather was very pleasant and I found a 99 Cents Only store to buy supplies.

2**5 = 32

I lived at Tenth and temple and at Eleventh and Obispo. Both buildings are still there. I played at "System M" for lunch at 213-A Pine Avenue. I also played at the Uprising Coffeehouse and bookstore. I think it was on 7th, but I cannot remember. I also produced video at Simmons Cable in Long Beach. I liked living in Long Beach, but CST was in Marina Del Rey and the commute was 45 minutes.

Long Beach seems more mellow than Los Angeles, and it might be geography. It is flat and level and surrounded by water. There are many more of the old style single family homes. Hollywood is ringed by mountains and hills and seems more uptight and unsteady and uneven.

I lived in Long Beach before the Blue Line was built. I remember Acres of Books on Long Beach Blvd. was like a mysterious temple of arcane knowledge. I used to love to walk through the rows of books and just look at all the writings on things I knew nothing about. One minor regret about the internet is that it has destroyed the life of most used book stores and almost eliminated the use of printed books to store information.

2 x 5 = 10

After working at CST for almost ten years, my first day of permanent "unemployment" was 1/11/1996 -- exactly ten years later.




copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Star Trek

I saw the first episode of Star Trek as it was broadcast in 1966. I watched every episode the first year of broadcast. The "technology" was mind expanding. Especially the "transporter" and the "communicator". Even the sideways opening - automatically opening doors were new and amazing and did not exist at that time in the world. I never thought that one day I would own a cell phone that would be technologically superior to those star trek communicators. Of course there are no cell phone towers on alien planets and we still can't get "beamed up" out of harms way... But I bet that the Russians have Photon Torpedoes.

The book "The Making of Star Trek" by Gene Roddenberry is a fascinating story of those times.


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Conch Shell

Conch Shell
1995 Wm S



Oil on Canvas



copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Dancing Flower Men

Dancing Flower Men
1994 Wm S

Oil on Canvas


copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Yankee Doodle Dandy
Wm S 1992

Oil on Canvas



copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life
1992 Wm S

Oil on canvas. Painted one Christmas Eve while watching the movie by the same name.



copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Prima Facie

Prima Facie
1992 Wm S

Oil paint on canvas



copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Lemon Heads

Lemon Heads
2012 Wm S

Found object acrylic painting.  Faces added later with permanent magic marker.  Spray gloss finish.




copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

You Have Friends

You Have Friends
2016 Wm S

Found object on canvas board.  I even found the canvas board at Barnsdall Park on the ground.
copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

The Proud Tower

The Proud Tower
2001  Wm S

I found the picture frame laying face down on the sidewalk one block away on Voorhees Blvd.
copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Still Life with Shrunken Head

Still Life with Shrunken Head
2018 Wm S

I bought the unfinished canvas at Goodwill and then finished it with permanent magic marker (only while my friend Emi watched).  I glued wiggly eyes on the lute.  I also added the string of beads and the little fake jewels I found on the ground.

copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Landscape w/ Phone

Landscape w/ Phone
2012 Wm S

I bought this unfinished landscape at Goodwill.  I added the subterranean stairway to a phone booth.  I also added  #payphoneography sticker and light.  I don't really know why.


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Christians burn Witches

One thing I don't quite understand:

If Christians worship the "God of Love," why did they burn Witches alive, at the stake, as a public spectacle, for hundreds of years in the Middle Ages in Europe?   How is burning a helpless old woman alive and watching her scream in agony a manifestation of spiritual love and the grace of God?

A common "defense" of this practice is that the people had imperfect understanding of the truth and if they were really aware of the Love of God, they would never participate in this practice.  My "rebuttal" to this argument is that the burning of Witches was orchestrated by the Priests who are the very people who are most familiar with the teachings of Jesus and are responsible for the transmission of the word of God to the common people.  It is the Priests, who are reputed to know the mind and heart of Jesus the best and have taken a vow of celibacy to confirm this special bond, who organized the burning.  If the very men who are reputed to be responsible for the oral transmission of the truth of Christianity are the ones directly responsible for the burning of witches and this practice continued for hundreds of years, then this fact alone condemns the Christian Church itself as hypocritical, deceitful and dishonest.  May God save us all.


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

At Will Hire in the USA

One on the benefits of "at will hire" laws, passed in most States across the country in 1995, is that -- as a business owner, you do not need to feel any responsibility for your employees health or livelihood and you can just "throw them in the garbage." THEN -- you can hire young healthy talent straight out of college at half the cost. The resulting savings and profitability can be immense. This is the exercise of capitalism at its finest, without a doubt...

Authors Note:
This is actually not a laughing matter - at all. Most people I know who this did not affect are absolutely unaware and consider the unemployed victim the culprit in a scheme that was entirely orchestrated by the business owners instead. There is no LOVE in America and retribution will be severe when it finally arrives.

copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer

Clown Laugh Blue

Q: How many Clowns does it take to play the Blues?

A: None.  Everyone knows that Clowns can't play the Blues.



copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Riddling and Blues

Q: Why do they call it the Blues?

A: Yeah.  Yeah, that's right.



copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Blues Graduate School

More Blues - Graduate School 3
 1. Why I sing the Blues - B. B. King (the maestro speaks)
 32. Seventh Son - Willie Dixon (the invocation)
 33. The thrill is gone - B. B. King (the prayer) 
 33. Woodstock Boogie - Canned Heat (the interlude)
 34. Red House - Jimi Hendrix (the sermon)
 35. All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix (the doxology)
 36. Crossroads - Eric Clapton (Robert Johnson) (the blessing)
 37. Sunshine of your Love - Cream (the choir)

 Extra Credit:
 38. Spoonful - Howlin' Wolf (the way it is)
 39. Boom, Boom - John Lee Hooker (I like it like that)
 40. La Grange - Z Z Top (bring it down home) 
 41. A Change is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke (amen)


 copyright (c) 2018 
William Schaeffer

Playin' the Blues

Blues Songs - Semester One

 1. Stormy Monday (very advanced)
 2. St. Louis Blues (almost the blues)
 3. St. James Infirmary (if you can play THIS, then you can play the blues)
 4. Blue Suede Shoes (boogie woogie, rock n roll, twelve bar)
 5. The Blues Scale ( 1, -3, 3, 4, -5, 5, 6, -7, 8)
 6. The Devil's Blues (thirteen bar blues - repeat the 12th bar)
 7. Anything by guitarist Robert Johnson
 8. Jam on a basic twelve bar blues, over, and over, and over.
 9. Lose something really important because of your own stupidity.

More Blues Songs (extra credit):

 11. All Blues - Miles Davis (challenging in the simplicity)
 12. All Shook Up - Elvis ( boogie woogie rock and roll)
 13. Summertime - Gershwin (not the blues, just feels like it) 
 14. Sorrowful Blues - Bessie Smith (make this sound good)
 15. Kansas City - Stoller and Lieber (rock n roll boogie)
 16 Hound Dog - Elvis Presley (12 bar blues)
 17. Minor Blues Scale (1,2,-3,4,-5,5,-7,8)
 18. God Bless the Child - Billie Holiday
 19. Lover Man - Billie Holiday

Blues Songs - Semester Two:

 21. House of the Rising Sun - Animals (the feeling)
 22. Baby Elephant Walk - Mancini (the corny boogie woogie)
 23. Green Onions - Booker T. (the groove)
 24. Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford (the drive)
 25. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Ewan McColl -- Roberta Flack (slowest tempo)
 26: One Chord Jam ( how creative are you?)
 27: "Quick change," "Turn around," "Bridge," "Solo."
 28: Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
 29: At Last - Etta James





copyright(c) 2018
William Schaeffer
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Hypocrisy of man

A man without a heart who advocates worship of the God of Love -- 
is like a robot without a brain who teaches a course on Philosophy.


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Religious Fundamentalists.

"Faith" is feelings 
and feelings are facts, 
because feelings are real. 

"Faith" is delusional beliefs 
without direct evidence. 

These delusional beliefs trigger
an emotional response, or feelings.

"If the feelings are real, then
the beliefs must be real."

"Faith" is delusional beliefs 
that become indisputable "real facts."


copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer

Broken Neck Blues

When I had a broken neck and no car, I knew I needed to buy a car, but could not even drive with a broken neck brace (A HALO). I waited until I got the neck brace replaced with a removable neck brace and then walked down the street and looked at used cars in the user car lots. I bought almost the first car I saw. There was not one person on EARTH who was willing (or able) to help me buy a car and I had to buy a car when I could not even really test drive a car because I had a removable neck brace. I am lucky I got as good a car as that. I live in an apartment with 80 units and nobody is really anybody's friend. We are all isolated strangers that just let each other suffer alone.

When I had a broken neck, one or two neighbors helped a little, but nobody cared very much. I am just lucky that I recovered well enough to fend for myself in this brutal world of ignorant strangers.

copyright (c) 2018
William Schaeffer