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Thursday, 1 December 2016
Saturday, 5 November 2016
The Other Sketchbook Circle Book
Blogger seems to be playing silly buggers with my posts recently - it's saving my posts as Drafts instead of Posting them. Which is why my previous post has only now appeared.
So this is another quick post to bring the Sketchbook Circle activity up to date. This book is my Partner Becca's and contains quite a few pencil sketches done on holiday in Cuba. I won't post them all, because I didn't feel able to work over them, but these two led me to make pages of my own.
These pages followed and show a few small additions of mine.
And finally, these are my new pages in her book.
So this is another quick post to bring the Sketchbook Circle activity up to date. This book is my Partner Becca's and contains quite a few pencil sketches done on holiday in Cuba. I won't post them all, because I didn't feel able to work over them, but these two led me to make pages of my own.
These pages followed and show a few small additions of mine.
And finally, these are my new pages in her book.
Posted by harry bell at 19:15 No comments:
Labels: Blogger, Sketchbook Circle
Thursday, 27 October 2016
Sketchbook Circle Moves Round Again
The summer has certainly interfered with the movement of sketchbooks round the Sketchbook Circle, but we're back up and running again. I found there was an empty page in my book, so added a print of this fine fellow.
With time at a premium right now, I'm simply going to post a selection of the pages my new Partner Lynne and I have made (some collaborations, some not)
With time at a premium right now, I'm simply going to post a selection of the pages my new Partner Lynne and I have made (some collaborations, some not)
Posted by harry bell at 19:44 No comments:
Labels: Sketchbook Circle
Tuesday, 18 October 2016
Sketch Crawl # 14 - Saltwell Park
The Climbing Tree, Saltwell Park
(0.5 Micron marker across two pages of 21x26 cm sketchbook)
If you have a good memory, or if you're prepared to look back to this entry, you'll know that in July I did some drawing with members of Gateshead Art Society in Saltwell Park, Gateshead.
In the time available, I was able to fill one page of my sketchbook with part of The Climbing Tree but was disappointed not to be able to continue onto the opposite page with more of the Tree. It was a delight, therefore, to return to the Park and to the subject with the North East Sketch Crawlers on Saturday, 16th October.
It took a while to relocate the ends of the branches and recapture a feel for the structure of the Tree, but I'm glad I did. I had planned to fill the background between the branches with a dark green wash, but for now I like it as it is.
After coffee in Bewick's Cafe, we had some time left to get a little more drawing done, so I found this view of the path leading to Pets' Corner with the roof of Saltwell Towers in the distance and drew it quite quickly as kids on bikes and scooters tried to knock me over.
Saltwell Park Path
(2B mechanical pencil in 21x26 cm sketchbook)
Posted by harry bell at 16:26 No comments:
Labels: marker, pencil, Saltwell Park, sketch crawl, tree
Tuesday, 4 October 2016
Sketch Crawl #13 : Durham City
Durham City
(0.8 marker in A4 sketchbook, colour added later)
Sorry for the delay in reporting on the September Sketch Crawl. I've been very busy sorting through my huge book collection and deciding which to move to my new house, then packing them up and actually getting them moved. Now I'm faced with the prospect of getting them all back onto shelves, but in a new configuration of shelving. It's a job that has its pleasures but also many challenges.
So for now, I'll simply post this, the only drawing done on the Durham Sketch Crawl, and add that our next Crawl will be in Saltwell Park, Gateshead (just round the corner from here!) on Saturday 8th October.
Posted by harry bell at 16:43 No comments:
Labels: Durham, sketch crawl, sketchbook
Sunday, 28 August 2016
Deckchair Couple
Deckchair couple (Coloured in Photoshop)
I spent Saturday in Blyth where some of the tall ships have gathered for the Tall Ships Regatta. It was difficult to get anywhere close enough to photograph the ships and would have been even harder to find somewhere to draw, but then, that wasn't why I was there.
Pat was singing with Heaton Voices in the South Shore Bandstand as part of the Regatta celebrations, so while I looked after her bag and listened to the songs, I had a little time to make this drawing of a couple in their deckchairs, enjoying the music.
Deckchair Couple (0.5 marker in A6 sketchbook)
I have to say drawing in an A6 sketchbook is rather fiddly, but now that I've added some colour in Photoshop I'm quite pleased with it.
Posted by harry bell at 14:04 4 comments:
Wednesday, 24 August 2016
Just Thinking Out Loud
Last Saturday's Sketch Crawl drawing pulled into a square, then run through Photoshop's Watercolour Filter to cut down on the linear effect of the coloured pencils.
Posted by harry bell at 18:48 No comments:
Labels: coloured pencil, drawing, filter, sketch crawl, watercolour
Sunday, 21 August 2016
Sketch Crawl # 12 : National Glass Centre, Sunderland
On the Wear (Coloured pencils in A5 sketchbook)
Looking at a Facebook Memory for this day eight years ago, I find I was "feeling ... disconnected." Without drawing any inferences (because there are none), I note that I was feeling something similar yesterday. Maybe it was the weather; after all it's the middle of August in England, so naturally it would turn wet and windy for our latest Sketch Crawl.
On the Metro going to Sunderland, I met up with Richard and we chatted about things while the sun shone on the landscape outside. By the time we got to St Peter's Metro Station, however, it was greying over. Richard was keen to show us some of the techniques he'd learned at the International Sketching Symposium in Manchester recently, so we gathered round a table in the Glass Centre and listened with interest. Then off to try out the techniques.
Or not. I realised very quickly that doing thumbnails in the sketchbook (the suggested technique) is what I do already, but I do it in my head. This is partly why I always take so long to get to started - I'm working out the best composition and deciding what the focus will be.
As a result, in the 45 minutes allocated to the thumbnail exercise, I found that although I'd started a thumbnail in the smaller of my two sketchbooks, it quickly moved into a full pencil drawing. And then it started to rain.
Back in the Glass Centre, we compared notes and thumbnails for a while then set about finding something to draw that didn't involve going out in the rain. I discovered that by creeping along the front of the building I could find an area, complete with pigeons splashing about in a big puddle, where I could at least make out the boat I'd drawn as it slowly raised with the tide further upriver. Digging out my little box of Rowney coloured pencils bought years ago, I made my best effort o colour the drawing. There are areas where I feel it became a bit overworked, but it's acceptable, even if, for some reason, Photoshop refuses to represent the greens accurately.
Unusually, I think I may have drawn something that will eventually become a painting.
[Next Sketch Crawl: Durham Market Place, 10 September, 1pm]
Posted by harry bell at 18:36 2 comments:
Labels: coloured pencil, Glass Centre, pencil, sketch crawl, sketchbook, Sunderland, weather
Tuesday, 2 August 2016
Sketchbook Circle Revival
After the withdrawal of my Partner A from our exchange, I wondered if things would grind to a halt, but no! I have a new Partner Lynne who, for her sins, now has my Sketchbook to add to.
Before it went I thought I might add one more new page to those already shown here, so this is a quick collage made up of brown wrapping paper, a small paper doily, a magazine page showing a tie pattern, one of my "hands" printouts and a piece of a paper bag. All in an A5 sketchbook.
Is it finished? Probably not, but we shall see ...
Posted by harry bell at 13:14 No comments:
Labels: collage, sketchbook, Sketchbook Circle
Saturday, 16 July 2016
St John Lee
St John Lee Churchyard
(0.5 Micron marker in A5 sketchbook)
Occasionally, the North of England Art Club organises a day out for members to do some drawing, painting, whatever. This used to happen a lot a few years ago but the main instigators have fallen by the wayside. Pity, because they used to be good fun. Still, here was one on Monday and off I went in a friend's car.
I've seen the road sign to "St John Lee" hundreds of times: it's on the roundabout on the main road just north of Hexham, but I knew nothing more than that.
It turned out to be a really nice little church tucked away in the depths of the country with a long hut nearby that they hire out for groups such as ours. By the time I got there, Ian was setting up his table outside to begin cooking sausages, so I wandered around the church and graveyard taking a few photographs until the sausage sandwiches were ready.
Two sausage sandwiches later, I was off into the graveyard to draw these headstones. The one in the foreground was an interesting lesson in the general impossibility of immortality. After the quite easily read inscription of ERECTED IN MEMORY OF, the stone had almost completely eroded away and the details of the person were pretty much indecipherable.
Just as I finished the drawing, the call came for cups of tea, lemon drizzle and Victoria sponge cakes. Sometimes food can be a great distraction to the struggling artist, so no more drawing was done.
But here's a photograph of a stone with Neolithic cup and ring marks I found just inside the door of the church.
Posted by harry bell at 19:18 No comments:
Labels: church, cup and ring, marker, North of England Art Club, sketchbook
Friday, 15 July 2016
Sketch Crawl #11 : Ouseburn Farm
"Sea Song Sang",Ouseburn
(0.5 Micron marker in A4 sketchbook)
Ouseburn Farm Giraffes
(0.5 Micron marker and Pentel Brush Pen
in A4 sketchbook)
Last Saturday was my eleventh Sketch Crawl and we'd decided to return to the Ouseburn. Last time we were there it rained constantly and we had to spend most of our time looking round the open studios in 36 Lime Street and my heart sank a little when I checked the weather forecast the night before: more rain.
No need to worry, however; the weather was very kind and only a brief shower interrupted us, so I was able to get done the drawing of the little "Sea Song Sang" boat that sits on the Ouseburn below the windows of the Seven Stories cafe. I'd wanted to draw that last time but without shelter from the rain it was impossible. Good to be able to do it this time then.
After a short regrouping to decide what to do with the rest of the afternoon, we went out to draw again. This time I had a good look round the Ouseburn Farm and found an interesting view of the railway and road arches, together with some plants and two concrete giraffes (sorry to disillusion anyone who thought there might be wild giraffes in Byker).
Two drawings. Definitely my limit it seems. When I was done I headed off to the Biscuit Factory cafe to drink coffee and compare sketchbooks with the others. There was a bit of a holdup at the cafe counter, but this was definitely absolutely nothing to do with Anita and indecisiveness didn't come into it at all.
Posted by harry bell at 18:40 No comments:
Labels: Brush Pen, marker, Ouseburn, sketch crawl, sketchbook, weather
Friday, 8 July 2016
Drawing in Saltwell Park
The Climbing Tree, Saltwell Park
(0.5 Micron marker in 21x26 cm sketchbook)
As a break from the normal session in the workroom of the Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead Art Society decided on an afternoon sketching in Saltwell Park.
Amazingly, after a morning shower, the weather decided to co-operate and half a dozen of us turned up in bright sunshine to make minor masterpieces in our individual ways. For good or ill, I opted for the very complicated "Climbing Tree". It's a very old yew tree whose branches have played host to generations of kids, and I speak from personal experience.
Part way through the drawing I realised the sun had moved round and was now shining directly into my one good eye. I should have brought a hat to shade my eyes, but in the absence of one, I went for a walk to see how others were doing.
Coming back to the tree about ten minutes later, the sun wasn't being any more helpful, so I moved position to work on the right hand side branches, ignoring the small boy now clambering over them. Eventually, however, I realised I'd done enough for the day and coffee called at the cafe in Saltwell Towers.
I walked home via the bird cages and listened for a while to the nice grey parrot in the end cage telling people to "F*ck Off!"
The tree still intrigues me and I plan on going back to work on the drawing some more, taking in the branches that will spread across the left hand page.
Posted by harry bell at 17:32 2 comments:
Labels: Gateshead Art Society, Saltwell Park, Shipley Art Gallery, tree, weather
Thursday, 7 July 2016
Madeira 2016
Car Park Ventilators, Funchal
(0.5 Micron marker and Pentel Brush Pen
over two pages of A5 sketchbook)
Little Lighthouse, Camara de Lobos
(0.5 Micron marker and coloured pencils in A5 sketchbook)
Monte Palace Tropical Garden, Funchal
(0.5 Micron marker, Pentel Brush Pen
and coloured pencils in A5 sketchbook)
In June, Pat and I went to Madeira for a week's holiday. We stayed at the same hotel as last time, Vila Vicencia, because we'd liked it so much and we weren't disappointed this time either. It's a nice little group of buildings clustered round a small pool and far enough out of the centre of Funchal to be quite quiet, but near enough to walk in or take the bus.
I was determined to get more sketching done this time and got off to a good start with the double page spread of the car park ventilators. While I was drawing it, I could hear my Mum in my head saying, "Couldn't you find anything nice to draw?" but I'm resigned to drawing only what interests me and these shapes I found fascinating.
My recent trips out with my Sketch Crawl friends have certainly made me more confident in simply starting a drawing and making it work, but because of this need for "interesting" subject matter, I'm still slow to settle on a subject. Which meant that I only managed to do two more, despite constantly keeping my eyes open for things that would appeal.
There was one new development in this drawing trip: I moved my position several times when making the first two drawings. Not an earth-shattering development, because artists have been doing it for hundreds of years, but new to me. With the ventilators, I moved my position to get the (quite important) palm tree where I wanted it; with the lighthouse drawing, I moved from drawing the rock outcrop to a position where I could take in the cactus and once again so that I could have a better view of the lighthouse.
No such moving when I did the drawing of the folly at Monte Palace Tropical Garden, because I was limited to a park bench on another terrace overlooking the folly. A very complicated subject, I found myself getting very confused and perhaps it shows a little in the drawing; however, I think the coloured pencil additions made back at the hotel help to pull it together. Am I wrong? What do you think?
Posted by harry bell at 17:47 2 comments:
Labels: Brush Pen, Funchal, Madeira, marker, sketch crawl, watercolour pencils
Tuesday, 5 July 2016
Circle Grounded
Meanwhile, I think it's safe to post my own recent pages in my book. Those who were quick enough to see what I posted before being asked to delete them, may remember that much of Partner A's pages consisted of hands. I took that as a lead and made these new pages (one of which is an elaboration of my line-drawn page). This is my idea of a sketchbook conversation and how I see the work of the Circle progressing. The last one above takes the theme of the hand and adds the bowl that I used in the very first page of my book and, of course it also appears in the hand of the woman in the first page shown above.
And just to round things out, here's how I changed one of my pages by adding further imagery and colour.
Posted by harry bell at 19:09 No comments:
Labels: colour, Sketchbook Circle
Saturday, 11 June 2016
Grinding Gears
These are A's April additions to my Sketchbook Circle sketchbook. It's clear that we're operating on different tracks. She's told me that she prefers not to work into my pages, which I'm OK with, and from that I assume she'd prefer me not to work into her pages. I'm afraid that probably means she's not too happy with my work on those pages, but it's too late to do anything about that now.
[I have, however, now removed all but one of those pages from the blog]
A is of the opinion that working into pages would be like "talking over" me, whereas I feel that it becomes more a work of collaboration, an image that couldn't exist without the input of two people.
She goes along with the currently prevailing idea that students should be allowed to develop their own ideas without interference from the tutor. I ran into this concept at university and found it terribly frustrating. There were times when I would have been thrilled to have a tutor suggest a way forward rather than being constantly asked "Well, what do you think?" I always think, but sometimes thinking needs a nudge. I never got one.
The argument behind this hands-off approach by teachers is that they don't want to produce students who are carbon copies of themselves. In the past this rejected method produced two types of student, at least amongst those with real talent: those who took the style of their teacher and went on to develop and reinvigorate it, and those who rejected it and in doing so, went on to produce something fresh and new. Both of these types benefited from being given a working language to start with.
What I find most difficult about A's additions (and here I must emphasise that I don't dislike them) is that if they are the result of a visual conversation between us, what is she saying to me? How do they relate to my pages? Maybe it's a little too cerebral for me. Still, I'll keep on keeping on.
Posted by harry bell at 15:00 1 comment:
Labels: Sketchbook Circle, university
Sunday, 5 June 2016
Sketch Crawl #10 : Customs House, South Shields
The Steamboat, Mill Dam, South Shields
(various markers in A4 sketchbook)
Brick Pillar, Mill Dam, South Shields
(markers in A4 sketchbook)
We'd been putting off our visit to the Customs House in South Shields until we could count on better weather. How much experience of British weather does that display? To be fair, although the day started a bit grey and damp, the sun was starting to break through as we made our separate ways to the banks of the Tyne yesterday. But the wind! Oh the wind! Blasting in from the North Sea and off the river, the wind made finding shelter a real necessity if you didn't want to freeze.
Mike had made a good start when I got there, by drawing a complicated Victorian building that Richard identified as the old River Police Station. It was, as he obviously enjoyed telling us, the place where corpses were once laid out after being fished out of the Tyne. Fascinating though this might be, the building was nevertheless a busy concoction of brick and sandstone Neo-Classicism, so I headed of for something more basic.
My first choice was the brick pillar standing opposite the Customs House. I still can't decide if it was built as a chimney or as a brick tower or pillar, perhaps supporting a navigation light. Built of rendered brick it just stands there, uncelebrated, except by pigeons courting on the top.
In the shelter of a brick wall, I was able to stand in comfort and draw the entrance to The Steamboat, "CAMRA Real Ale Pub of 2015". Interrupted only by a young woman who walked past me up and down the hill four or five times glued to her mobile phone, telling the world and her friend about how awful her boyfriend was and what he'd done on Facebook, I got the drawing done in about an hour. And my only regret is that due to seriously mismanaging the dimensions of the front wall, I had to reduce the number of windows from three to two. But as my Mum would have said, a man on a galloping horse would never notice.
3.30 and coffee in the Customs House cafe called. By the time I got there, some were already sitting and Anita was being indecisive. Cake or scone? Or maybe a panini? Or what was that other thing on the menu?
Eventually we all sat down and after eating and drinking, we passed our work around. As usual it was all fascinating and Kim kindly allowed me to include this photo of everyone holding up sketchbooks. Well, everyone except me, which probably accounts for my glum look. If you look carefully, you can see I'm eyeing up the lonely book at the front of the table (Jenny has mine).
Anita, Mike, Me, Richard, Allan and Jenny,
with Kim behind the camera.
Next Sketch Crawl : 9 July 2016, 1.00pm at the Ouseburn Farm.
Posted by harry bell at 20:11 No comments:
Labels: coffee, pubs, River Tyne, sketch crawl, South Shields
Sunday, 1 May 2016
Sketch Crawl # 9 : Holy Trinity Church, Jesmond, and the Dene
Churchill Gardens, Jesmond
(0.8 marker over two pages of A4 sketchbook)
I had a new pencil case (or at least an old one with some new pencils and markers in it) and the weather forecast was for sun all day, even if cold, so off I went on Saturday to Jesmond to meet up with the Sketch Crawlers at Holy Trinity Church.
Richard had the keys to the church and the interior was nice and warm. Outside as always, Mike was across the road drawing the church and new member Jenny was sitting on the church wall drawing from an unusual angle. Janet arrived as I got there and we had a bit of a shufty round the interior.
A sudden flurry of activity announced the arrival in the church of Mike and Jenny, shaking off some unexpected rain and everyone started to draw bits and pieces: windows, microphones, fonts ... But my eye had been taken with a building opposite the church and from the shelter of the doorway I was able to get this drawing of Churchill Gardens done. Actually, the rain soon passed and Anita, another new member appeared, having taken a peculiarly circuitous route from the Metro station.
By the time I'd finished my drawing of the end of Churchill Gardens, the sun was warm and bright and the others had gone round the corner to Pets Corner in Jesmond Dene. I joined them but found the animals annoyingly mobile. Mike showed how good he was at capturing the likeness of various chickens and ducks, but I couldn't get to grips with all that movement.
Finally, I decided I'd go for the chicken coops and maybe include a hen if it would stay still long enough. As it happened, the hens all buggered off once I'd started and none appeared in the whole time I was drawing. Just as pleased, really.
Chicken Coops, Pets Corner, Jesmond Dene
(0.8 marker and Pentel Brush Pen in A4 sketchbook)
Posted by harry bell at 17:18 No comments:
Labels: animals, Brush Pen, church, Jesmond Dene, marker, pencil case, sketch crawl
Friday, 29 April 2016
Lindisfarne Boatshed
(Oil on board, 8 x 8 in)
Coves Haven, Lindisfarne
(Oil on board, 8 x 8 in)
On Monday I went back to my old studio, unpacked the oil paints and finished off these two paintings over two days. There was always going to be the problem of drying, but a judicious mix of W&N Underpainting White and Liquin helped them dry by Thursday, when I handed them in at the North of England Art Club in Newcastle.
After handing them in, I made a final attempt to find my lost pencil case. The only place I hadn't checked was the Discovery Museum where we held our February Sketch Crawl, so I asked the nice man behind the desk if it had been handed in.
He was very helpful, even reading out some of the items that had been handed in.
"A ham sandwich and a bag of cash?"
"No", I said.
"A wallet with £100 in it?"
"Yes, that's the one!" but he was having none of it, and didn't find any mention of my pencil case either.
Posted by harry bell at 22:00 No comments:
Labels: Liquin, museum, North of England Art Club, oil paintings, pencil case
Monday, 25 April 2016
Sketchbook Circling
While I'm waiting for the two small oils to dry (water-mixable oils don't seem to dry much faster than ordinary oils), I have some time to get on with Becca's sketchbook for the Sketchbook Circle.
As always, I can't reveal what I'm up to until Becca herself gets the book back, so this teaser will have to do for now.
Posted by harry bell at 12:56 No comments:
Labels: sketchbook, Sketchbook Circle, water-mixable oils
Saturday, 23 April 2016
Water and Oil
I recently agreed to take part in an exhibition by the North of England Art Club at the Bondgate Gallery in Alnwick, the theme of which will be the rather vague "Northumbrian Scenes". There are two restrictions: the paintings must all be 20x20 cm and must all have a fixed selling price of £50.
Having agreed to get them ready by 12 May, I was dismayed to find that the date for handing in has changed to 28 April to allow for their framing. So the last few days have seen me hunting for images to fit the brief and suitably sized boards on which to paint them.
The studio still isn't really set up for oil painting, so I'd have preferred to work in acrylics, especially as I've just invested in a new set of Atelier Interactive Acrylics and would like to see how they perform. But the boards I found already have old oil paintings on them and acrylic over oil paint isn't a very good idea.
Another problem: most of my oil paints are still in the studio at my old house, so I found myself painting with a set of 8 Van Gogh water-mixable oils. Inevitably the colours aren't really those I would have chosen but they provided me with enough colour to cover over the old paintings.
This is where I got today with my two images which are, incidentally, scenes from Holy Island.
Having agreed to get them ready by 12 May, I was dismayed to find that the date for handing in has changed to 28 April to allow for their framing. So the last few days have seen me hunting for images to fit the brief and suitably sized boards on which to paint them.
The studio still isn't really set up for oil painting, so I'd have preferred to work in acrylics, especially as I've just invested in a new set of Atelier Interactive Acrylics and would like to see how they perform. But the boards I found already have old oil paintings on them and acrylic over oil paint isn't a very good idea.
Another problem: most of my oil paints are still in the studio at my old house, so I found myself painting with a set of 8 Van Gogh water-mixable oils. Inevitably the colours aren't really those I would have chosen but they provided me with enough colour to cover over the old paintings.
This is where I got today with my two images which are, incidentally, scenes from Holy Island.
Posted by harry bell at 18:53 No comments:
Sunday, 10 April 2016
Sketchbook Circle : My Seconds Out
Time to reveal the additions and responses I made in my sketchbook sent this month to my Sketchbook Circle Partner, A. The first set of three are pages I prepared last time; A chose not to work on these (there are no rules), so I've added something of my own to them.
The next three are pages started by A and added to by me.
[Later: At her request, I've removed them]
This third set shows a response by me (the matchbox) to a page by A (the matches), followed by some additions by me to her pages.
[Later - here I've again deleted all of A's images, with the exception of the spent matches, which I feel are important to my own contribution]
Finally, we have three new pages by me. I don't regard most of these as being complete in any way, so if A does nothing to them (she can, of course, simply respond with images of her own), I'll be working on them again when the book returns at the end of the month.
Technical note: in working on these, I used black and coloured markers, watercolour, gouache, acrylic paint and coloured pencils, as well as collage, of course.
[Later: At her request, I've removed them]
This third set shows a response by me (the matchbox) to a page by A (the matches), followed by some additions by me to her pages.
[Later - here I've again deleted all of A's images, with the exception of the spent matches, which I feel are important to my own contribution]
Posted by harry bell at 18:46 2 comments:
Labels: acrylic, collage, coloured pencil, markers, sketchbook, Sketchbook Circle, watercolour
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Looking for a House in Their Home
November 7, 2012 • 1,608 views
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By Sean Telles
South El Monte, CA –"Heroes in the Shadows" the 2nd Annual San Gabriel Valley Homeless Veterans Stand Down, a veteran event focusing on ending homelessness through comprehensive education and care, began Friday morning with free 24-hour services lasting for the next three days. This included meals, a place to stay, and more importantly wellness resources, such as physical screenings, mental health education, and veteran assistance education.
For one of the main event organizers, Joe Leal, a veteran himself, this is more than a ceremony. It's part of his life's work and a way to honor his fallen comrades. His group, the "Vet Hunters Project: Advocates for Homeless Heroes" is a volunteer organization that believes the words homeless and veteran should never be a part of the same sentence, and has helped over a thousand veterans connect the dots and find resources available to them through conventional and tailored programs.
Leal, like the event itself, is a bridge between community resources and needs. During his welcome speech, he addressed a common misconception that a person needs a lot of money to have a significant impact helping homeless veterans. He shared the story of a homeless veteran who was taken off the streets with a $16 bus ride home. Other times, help comes through partnership and attention. Such was the case with a terminally ill veteran, who the Vet Hunters were able to send home by working with a variety of agencies. The vet was given a plane ticket to his home state and when he arrived, another veterans group took him directly to his family's residence. There the man was able to fulfill his final wish of spending his last days at home after 10 years of homelessness.
Other guests, including event sponsor Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, addressed the need to battle the negative, incorrect stigma surrounding mental health issues. Napolitano encouraged veterans to buck machismo and talk to each other about post traumatic stress disorder. "You aren't crazy. You just need to know how your brain is working."
El Monte Mayor Pro-Tem "J" Gomez shared his own veteran experience. A Vietnam War vet, he joked his first letter from the Federal Government was a draft notice. He also shared his dedication to veterans through the years and invited the public to a ground-breaking ceremony on Veteran's Day, November 11, for a new veteran housing development in El Monte. Pico Rivera Mayor Bob J. Archuleta, who is also a veteran and the Los Angeles County Commissioner of Military Veteran's Affairs Chairman, enthusiastically praised El Monte's leadership and has begun his own work to bring resources for San Gabriel Valley veterans into local outlets.
Local community groups donated their time and resources in abundance. While too many to name, Rosemead Kiwanis, Wal-Mart, Denny's, Chick Fillet, and others provided food; Hacienda La Puente Adult Education Cosmetology Department provided free hair-cuts and manicures; Healthy Way LA's Community Health Alliance of Pasadena provided free dentistry work; and the Army Reserves donated time and energy to set-up housing tents for the participants – which was a unique aspect to this "Stand Down" in the San Gabriel Valley.
Sections of the event, or camps, were named in honor of two local veterans who recently passed away – more information on them will be featured in the near future. Their families attended the opening events and were honored by official guests and comrades in arms. Their pain is still fresh and hard to approach, but harder to ignore, and should never be forgotten.
George Washington is often quoted as saying "the willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by the nation." And while is event is touching in a number of ways as it brings people together, the fact that it needs to happen at all, that veterans still need help in a number of areas, is enough to give pause to Washington's words.

subset: commoncrawl


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Check in from 11h / Check out prior to 11h
Annabelle's House Bed and Breakfast New Orleans: Find photos, reviews, information, amenities and compare prices for 3 stars hotels in New Orleans, United States.
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Hotel description
All the rooms at the bed & breakfast provide a refrigerator, tea and coffee making facilities and a kitchenette. A hair dryer and a microwave are also provided.
A satisfying breakfast is prepared each morning at Annabelle's House Bed and Breakfast New Orleans, and there are numerous restaurants and eateries nearby. There is also the added advantage of an in-house restaurant.
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is under a 25-minute drive from the bed & breakfast. Central Business District, Canal Street New Orleans and Bourbon Street are an easy car trip away.
Hotel features
Restaurant, Air Conditioned, Refrigerator, Coffee / Tea Maker, Microwave, Hair Dryer
Availability and Prices
Booking Site
Room Type
Per room
Per night
Per night
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The day Osama bin Laden died
Published On: Sep 01 2011 01:23:57 PM CDT Updated On: May 01 2014 06:00:00 AM CDT
Take a look back at the day the mastermind behind 9/11 was killed as it unfolded.
The views expressed are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to our Terms of Use.


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I'm not sure I am going to bother going sunday.
Same here, super weak.
once again, I should have waiting for single day tickets. when will I learn?
hmmm. REALLY like Friday, and Saturday has NIN...might grab a couple single days and make a return to the Park...hopefully.
11/21 - Pearl Jam - Viejas Arena
Hopefully this is one of the last festivals, if not the last, that RHCP headlines at. Should've got QOTSA. Friday and Saturday are killer though. Sunday all I have to look forward to is Kurt Vile, Foals, matt & kim, and kaskade
Well, I have two tickets available for Sunday. Lets call it 160 for the pair. I can either email you them after we get in through the gates Saturday, or meet up Sunday morning in the Russian Hill/Marina area while I'm nursing my hangover.
Fortunately, Sunday is far off. Might as well start somewhat close to the single day tickets. Not sure what they cost after fees, but this would be atleast a 25 dollar discount per ticket.
given you will need the tickets in your hand until saturday your buyer could easily back out or negotiate the price down when they see how cheap tickets go for.
in lighter new - having paul mccartney on friday is nice. friday was the least crowded day last year.
My lineup by day (I mostly pick guitar bands)
Fri: The Men, Daughter, The Heavy/Wavves (not sure yet), Surfer Blood, Band of Horses, The National, Macca
Sat: James McCartney, Soft White Sixties, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down/Growlers (possible conflict), Youth Lagoon, YYY/Jurassic 5/Phoenix (undecided, possible conflicts), NiN
Sun: Little Green Cars, King Tuff/Fishbone, Camper Van Beethoven, Trombone Shorty/Dawes, Matt & Kim/Hall & Oates (possible conflict), Vampire Weekend, RHCP
I like the new Thao & The Get Down Stay Down album quite a bit, probably my favorite lineup find. I have wanted to see The Growlers for a long time now- at FYF 2012 they conflicted with Refused so I had to skip them, if they get put against Thao here that'll be frustrating. I would probably see The Growlers but wouldn't be happy about it.
I'm excited about Camper Van Beethoven. I knew Take the Skinheads Bowling but none of their other stuff. They have some good tunes. See: their cover of "Pictures of Matchstick Men", "Northern California Girls", "Eye of Fatima Pt 1/2".
Last edited by GBVFan; 06-26-2013 at 07:13 AM.
Picked up a Friday ticket
Well looks like I just spent more money on one day than necessary
Yeah, and big surprise, you're a notorious fucking moron.
For those of you that are crapping on Sunday's line-up there are some really good funk bands playing towards the lower part of the line-up such as Dumpstaphunk, Trombone Shorty, and Fishbone. I just saw Dumpstaphunk at Jazz Fest in April and they really brought it. And when is the next chance you are going to have to see Willie Nelson or Hall and Oates?
Also, Rudimental is probably my second most want to see band after Macca. They are a live drum & bass band, and are huge in the UK.
I know those bands don't justify the hefty single day price tag, but they are all worth seeing if you have already bought a weekend pass and might only get $25 or even $50 if you sold them off.
Just my 2cents as a Sunday cheerleader.
Unless if find single day prices for a good price closer to the festival, my OSL will consist of Metro Area and maybe a night show or two, depending on what those are.
They were announced early July last year so hopefully in a couple weeks.
If you only want 1 day now then yeah should have waited :/
If anything just go Sunday for Hall and Oates, I know oatsie isn't rocking the stache anymore but Darryl Hall is one of the most soulful white men who has ever lived, he exudes soul, he will penetrate you with it.
There's enough on Sunday to entertain and roam around enjoying the festival setting and beerlands. I'm still excited for all 3 days.


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We're in one of the most politically charged climates in recent memory, and one of the worst lingering financial crises in years. The leaders of some Ohio-based think tanks hope to bring together people with diverse views to talk about tough issues like taxes, spending and social policy. Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler says the leaders of those groups hope their conference will be marked not by controversy, but by civility.
For more on the conference, watch the rest of this interview on "The State of Ohio" at http://www.statenews.org.
The conference is called "Across the Spectrum: The Future of Ohio and the Path to Prosperity." Among the topics – the national debt, health care reform, government pensions and state and local taxes – not exactly lightweight nor easy to discuss. And Lavea Brachman from Greater Ohio – a group that studies transportation, growth and regional economies – says no one thinks the conference will solve problems that have been festering for years.
"What we want to do is create a space for civil public discourse and hopefully allow people to discuss substantive issues that are nonpolitical but really more about how do we come to solutions in Ohio that can raise the bar for all of us."
Joining Greater Ohio in sponsoring the conference are the conservative leaning Buckeye Institute and the Center for Community Solutions, which has a progressive perspective. Matt Mayer from the Buckeye Institute says the three groups come from different perspectives but agree that reasoned debate is not only possible, but preferred,
"What's far too often happens is, other groups out there, you can't tell the difference between whether they're the Democrat or the Republican talking points or a traditional neutral third party. It just looks like the same thing."
And John Begala with the Center for Community Solutions says every group has data to back up their studies and views, and that's actually part of the problem.
"I think that lots of people pay attention to their own data and are a little bit short in paying attention to what else is out there. Our reality is much more complex than most of us understand. I think we need to face up to that."
And Mayer says the situation is getting critical, because he says the problems that drive voters to create a majority for one party in each big election year aren't getting solved.
"Which majority is that? Was that the 2006 majority, the 2008 majority, or the 2010 majority, or what we don't know is the 2012 majority. It's shifting so much because I think Ohioans and Americans are confused, they're scared, and so they're just trying to cling on to anybody who's promising the next kind of bag of chips. What we've got to get to is the point where we start solving the problems and not just make promises."
Begala says that big election less than a year away has major implications for the nation and for Ohio in particular – and politicians need to realize that.
"What's important is that we get the Statehouse crowd so to speak including a lot of elected officials there having these conversations. Secondly though, and I think this is just as important for this particular conference is the tone. If we can have constructive conversation and people can have the chance to hear each other - that's the sort of environment that we hope to have."
"Across the Spectrum: The Future of Ohio and the Path to Prosperity" is set for December 8 at the Renaissance Hotel in Columbus. Among the scheduled speakers are Arthur Laffer, a member of President Reagan's economic policy advisory board who is often called the father of supply-side economics, and Alice Rivlin, the budget director under President Bill Clinton and an advisor to the congressional "super committee".