Merrill Markoe's Blog, page 20

Well, the nephew just left.

I have two nephews. They used to visit in tandem, every summer, along with my brother (who is their father.) When this all started they were four and six. Now the youngest one is seventeen. I think this has something to do with an odd phenomenon this branch of my family suffers from, known as 'the aging process' . Luckily it is something to which I am totally immune. Anyway, this was the first year that all the visits are separate. When it used to be all three of them at once,  before they arriv

How to have SUMMER FUN!

1. When something interests or amuses you, make sure that not only do you know where it is but that others can find it too.!

2. Wear something colorful.

3. And don't forget to  bring a  bag.

The Gucci Recession

First an embarrassing confession: I still subscribe to the NY Times. In print. Even though we can all get it for free on line. I am afraid if I  kill my subscription I will be the final blow that will send the paper in to Chapter 11 and I don't need the guilt. The other reason is that I really like to read it in bed and tear stuff out of it. It remains a guilty pleasure.  As such it offers  certain daily rituals . For instance, when I turn from the front page to the second page, I immediately lo

An art movement worse than Late Twentieth Century Costplussian.

I went to art school. Well, actually I went to UC Berkeley where I was an art major all the way through to a Masters degree. Because in the words of the great Joe Strummer, "There's only one answer to what you're going to do after school and that is art school: the last resort of malingerers and people who don't want to work."  I admit that  I may have screwed around an awful lot in the name of academia. But  I also learned a few things. And I was thinking of those few things today when I was wa

New schools of artistic thought

I went to art school. Well, actually I went to UC Berkeley. But I was an art major all the way through to a Masters degree. As anyone who has undergone a formal art education will tell you, everything about it is a conundrum. But although I may have screwed around an awful lot in the name of academia, hopefully I also learned a few things. And I was thinking of those few things today when I was waiting in line for the cash register at Bed, Bath and Beyond, where I was exploring the Beyond part w

I.P.O.: Puppyboy2.0

I have begun the difficult but necessary task of making a corporate montage for my dog. This  early draft only scratches the surface of what the corporation can provide for investors. In the future we are expecting a lot more "media integration" Like they had for Michael Jackson.

Below is the IPO I made a few weeks ago for my corporate brand. Elsewhere on this blog is Merrill 2.0, a different version. But I am  thinking it is Puppyboy that is going to get the better rating from  Standard and Poor

I.P.O.: Puppyboy

I have begun the arduous but necessary task of making my dog a corporate montage. This is a very early draft. It only scratches the surface of what this corporation can really provide for its investors.

A plate full of despair

Last night I cooked some stuff in the oven. This morning, I discovered this lighter than air blob of stuff in a pan  on one of the lower racks; a porous charcoal cloud that I bet doesn't weigh a whole ounce. It looks like whatever you  shed when your depression has lifted. Or the thing you got rid of when you finally stopped worrying. Or maybe its that thing that  dissolved when you woke up from a nightmare. I really don't need to be saving yet one more stupid thing. So I took this picture.

At long last: Rambutan

Its the eve of the fourth of July weekend. What that used to mean to me, when I was single, was the beginning of the downhill slide to Christmas. Because July seemed to go by in such a rapid flash that the next thing I knew, it was the part of August where the fences for the Halloween pumpkin lots started going up.  Well, come on. They have to start in August because it takes at least 60 days to get ready for Halloween. Of course, once its Halloween, then its also basically the first day of the

Version 3: My corporate montage

A week or so ago I posted an idea I had of making myself a corporate montage. At that point I was still thinking of trying to compete with GE or AT&T or Standard Oil, image-wise. But now I have  decided to try out a more honest version. Quite frankly, I think I may be breaking new ground as I doubt Exxon or Merrill Lynch have even considered going in this direction. Here is what my corporate montage really should be.

Below is the original post:

I have been thinking a lot about the omnipresent idea