“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation.  He hardly knows which is which.  He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing.  To himself, he always appears to be doing both.”   Francoise Rene Auguste Chateaubriand

How do we begin to digest the above statement with our current political situation that is on the early news, the midday news, news breaks and nightly news. 

Hillary Clinton & Barack Obama’s mud slinging, name calling and debating have surrounded us in the media for several months, is this work or play? Politicians must have a passion for this, but do they find pleasure in it? Running at such speeds and wheels constantly turning, where is it that they find peace?

I have laid in bed awake with the wheels spinning, either with work or with play and find it hard to fall asleep. Hoping to master the marriage of work and play is not an easy task.  Do current day politicans have this mastered or are they just playing the game?  You tell me,,,,

Definition of Group…any number of entities (members) considered a unit
Definition of Grope…(slang) Grab or squeeze

Entering this thing called the blogosphere has been very interesting for this nature loving, rock and roll soul, hanging at the creek during lunch hours gal. It was Pink Floyd’s - Another Brick in the Wall that got me through high school, chasing my brother-in-law’s brother (thank god I didn’t catch him).

There are to many famous groups that come to mind, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Grand Funk, Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie, Emerson Lake & Palmer, The Beatles and even The Highway Men who have shaped what we know as famous groups.

What made these groups? Their loyalty and their dedication to one another and their passions.

As a beginning Blogger and Internet Marketer, there are several people who have assisted me in driving my passion for blogging and posting.

This is my group grope to them…..

Rob over at The Bloggeries Forum, my first experience with bloggers, and quite a wealth of information to be had.

Frank over at Technology Blog & More, took his time, his knowledge to teach me and help me out of a terrible header and blog layout.

Stan at Razzball, who no matter what he posts on the forums makes me laugh and I find a tip or two from.

Acadia over at Superficial Gallery and the Bat Cave Forum where humor takes a twisted turn.

Small Business Brief Forum, where I met several nice people and gained some great contacts.

Entrecard - gave me a jump start with my new blog and quite a great resource to find fellow bloggers and gain some loyal readers.

Becky who was my mentor and taught me what a keyword was… she is supposed to be working on Reality TV Burnout but has been slacking big time!

SueZ a real Mark Farner Fan who sent my site onto Mark Bowsher and gave me some really great kudo’s

Mark Bowsher over at Mark Farner’s Website, who posted one of my sketches and gave me quite a bit of exposure, thank you.

Brian who runs Blogengage, what a great venue for us to post our blogs and our interests. This site has really done well, and is a great resource for anything blogs.

Sam and his Controversial Marketing Blog for giving me an honest critique that made me seek out Frank for a much needed makeover.

Danny over at Guitar Players Center for being a fan, being loyal and being honest, and from what I hear a kick ass guitarist!

Tony over at Hawkhost, who no matter what stupid question I instant message him with, he is kind, supportive and quick to respond.

I group grope all of you! Sending you some link love! Go grope some others, it may be fun.

To all those who have commented, there are to many to list, thanks !

“No Doubt” Delve into your desires and your dreams, and come out holding your destiny. sdk1988

Written By:

Buck Kleiner

“I am being asked to write a “blog” post.. what the….. ^$%#@ is that?”….about my favorite band, Grand Funk Railroad, the band that wrote songs that struck a common chord in the hearts of the common man. (Move over Aaron Copland).

The band that scared the shit out of Led Zeppelin and had fun doing it. (Boy’s… kiss and make up) America is “in need”.

(This is my first band, and us attempting Zeppelin)

To further complicate my life, my “Blog” wife has asked me to remember the years 1971 and 1972, and what I was doing when the band released “Closer to Home.” I am lucky that I can remember yesterday, let along ‘71 and ‘72. Well, I shall give it a try.. I need to get my “big gulp full of rum”

I had just graduated from High School, had a girlfriend that could suck a golf ball thru 50 feet of garden hose..or so it seemed. I worked at a local car wash, 10 miles from ground zero (home)… (Blog wife says..yeah..and you walked bare foot, in the snow.. ) and I wore out 2 copies of the “Closer to Home” album.. ahhh vinyl!

I stood in my room at night, wondering and fantasizing about being able to play like Mark and the Boys, those headphone nights, with the lights out, and Grand Funk blasting through my head. ” I was on top of the world”

Sorry Eric, Grand Funk was My Guitar Band, I know at the time “Clapton was God” but not in my eyes. The first 3 albums were my sonic relief, after a hard day in my teenage world, Mark, Mel & Don made it all right.

I am still looking for Mark to pick up that Messenger again..

This is a question that I have pondered through out my life.  I am not talking the obvious reasons people change:

Marriage
Having Kids
Medical Issues
Different Job

I am wondering what makes those around us, that we thought we knew, throw us a curve ball?

I was watching Moonlight last night, and the reasons Mick St. John changes are far out of his control. Those reasons I can comprehend, but yet, he stands true to one of his friends, no matter the cost to him.   What happened to good old fashioned friendship?

I don’t have an answer for this question, I can only wonder, if we all communicated what we thought, wouldn’t it be easier to accept a curve ball? What happened to honesty and integrity when it comes to friendships?  Just because we don’t like something one of our friends does, does it mean that we still can’t love the person?

Why are people falling short in the loyalty department? Why does there have to be so much drama around friendships?  When did “high maintenance” become part of the friendship DNA? What happened to just helping a brother out?

Does this boil down to the me generation? See, the questions continue to roll right out.  I am curious on how people just walk out of other people’s lives without ever turning back?

I am turning this post over to the floor for debate?

From my point of view there is nothing better than a peaceful day at the beach, unfortunately living in the Chicago suburbs those are few and far between.   I always told my mom, that something is amiss, I was truly to be born in a warm climate, and it wouldn’t have hurt if I was born into a very wealthy family so I could have just been a beach bum and sat on the shores and painted. 

Well, that’s not the case, so with my painting, I bring those beaches to the midwest. 

This is a window mural that I painted for my god daughter Nicole, who over this weekend, will be celebrating her 28th Birthday!

Happy Birthday Nicole!

Currently Nicole is heading up the Dance Team for the Peoria Pirates! With a passion for dance, never giving up on her dreams.  Moving to Peoria and giving up her dancing with the Chicago Luvabulls was a tough move on her.  It’s awesome to see that she has delved into her desires and dreams and found a destiny.  (sdk-2008)

I especially like this set of paintings because of the greens and the blues that were used to create the waters of the Caribbean.  Delta Ceramcoat Acrylic - Tropic Bay Blue and Caribbean Blue, blending them together to form the crystal waters of the Caribbean.  The canvas of these paintings is actually cardboard, using the cardboard as a painting surface can be tricky, if you over saturate it, you can see the ridges.  These windows came out of an old school house off Lake Cook Road in Barrington, Illinois. 

These are part of my recycled collection, a little less rubbish in the landfill.