anniewildbear.com

Now I’m on a roll with this. I wanted to see if youtube had any actual videos with Shel himself and there were plenty. I was thinking, it would be so great if there was an animated cartoon of “The Giving Tree”. …guess I got my wish:

This was the inspiration for this song according to the website songfacts.com:

Shel Silverstein wrote this as a parody of teen-heartbreak songs. It was delivered with very dramatic emotion.

This flopped when it was first released, but when the record company started promoting it, it took off and became a hit.

In 1972, Silverstein told Rolling Stone magazine that there was a real Sylvia: “I just changed the last name, not to protect the innocent, but because it didn’t fit. It happened about eight years ago and was pretty much the way it was in the song. I called Sylvia and her mother said, ‘She can’t talk to you.’ I said, ‘Why not?’ Her mother said she was packing and she was leaving to get married, which was a big surprise to me. The guy was in Mexico and he was a bullfighter and a painter. At the time I thought that was like being a combination brain surgeon and encyclopedia salesman. Her mother finally let me talk to her, but her last words were, ‘Shel, don’t spoil it.’ For about ten seconds I had this ego charge, as if I could have spoiled it. I couldn’t have spoiled it with a sledge hammer.”

Silverstein was a popular author and songwriter, who wrote for both children and adults. He was a writer and cartoonist for Playboy magazine, and a best-selling author of children’s poems. He wrote “A Boy Named Sue” for Johnny Cash and another hit song for Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: “Cover Of The Rolling Stone.” He died of a heart attack in 1999 at age 68. Learn more about Shel Silverstein in our interview with Mitch Myers.

Shel Silverstein  was brilliant. He was a talented artist, writer, composer and poet. Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show made it a hit song. What an amazing sense of humor Shel Silverstein had. His ability to find humor even in tragedy is a rare an admirable trait. I love this song and the story above just enhances it’s greatness. In my own small way, I want to enhance it further with a tribute in the form of a painted work. So far, I have created a character study in the form of this sketch. I still have some work to do to put together the finished composition for the mural sized painting. It will be the next in the vintage crate label series and will encorporate a lot of the same pop aesthetic, combining the crate label art, meets rock poster, meets…whatever. I learn more about perfecting the finished product with each one that I create:

I have personally decided not to be involved with the project. As I have previously stated, I was not happy with the direction things were taking. As I have observed from this article, I am not inclined to change my position on that. That doesn’t mean I am not curious to follow the latest developments.

Here is the recent article from “In Business Las Vegas” dated Nov. 7-13 in it’s entirety:

The eclectic mix of new businesses at Neonopolis runs the gamut from the historic to the futuristic.

A diverse collection of restaurants, an upscale nightclub and the Spanish-language television station Telemundo are part of the venue that features a fine art museum, an arts center and soon plans to add the Star Trek Experience.

The Southern Nevada Fine Arts Museum, which opened at Neonopolis last month, includes a wide selection of art from the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as contemporary, regional and local art.

The museum’s Barbizon School exhibit features a private collection by the school of painters named for Barbizon, France. The painters, such as Theodore Rousseau and Jean Francois Millet, were part of a movement toward realism in art in the 19th century and flourished from 1830 to 1870.

Downtown art: Joseph Palermo, director of Southern Nevada Fine Arts Museum, stands in front of an exhibit of Barbizon School paintings at Neonopolis Oct. 17. SAM MORRIS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The museum, which is privately funded, is envisioned as a place where residents and tourists can experience art for a small fee.

Admission is $3 a visit or $20 for a one-year charter membership with unlimited visits.

“The admission cost is really nominal,” said Joe Palermo, the museum’s executive director. “This was really done with the community in mind.”

Palermo has been in Las Vegas since 1963 and says there has always been plenty of entertainment in the city, but culture has been lacking. After more than four decades as an artist in town, Palermo was determined to contribute more than just his creations to the Las Vegas art scene.

“When you reach a certain level in life, and you are involved in the arts, you reach a point where you want to give back,” Palermo said. “Las Vegas is a great city, and we want to make sure it has all of the things that other great cities have.”

The Southern Nevada Fine Art Museum is new to Neonopolis, but not to the valley. It opened in 2003 and most recently was in Henderson. Palermo thinks it has found a permanent home.

“This is a great place for a museum,” Palermo said. “We have solid support from the community as well as from the folks at Neonopolis.”

The museum plans to house about four exhibits a year. The inaugural exhibition includes 20th century modern masters; works on paper from 1920 to 1945, Neo Action Abstraction with works from 2000 to the present and work by Andrzej Gieraga, a Polish artist, described as a light dramatist in geometric forms.

The Southern Nevada Center for the Arts is a working artists’ showcase. Located in the old food court, the center will be open to the public. Several spaces will have windows facing the courtyard. Visitors will be able to not only view the works of the artists, but also view the artists at work. Each of the 30 spaces, which have all been leased, will be an art studio. The 44 artists - some share a space - are a mix of local, national and international artists working in variety of media.

Carl Corcoran, the center’s director, said the idea is based on the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Arlington, Va. That facility, which was a torpedo factory, has 500,000 visitors each year.

Corcoran is a working local artist and has leased a space at the center.

Corcoran plans to reach out to the Clark County School District to arrange field trips for students to both facilities. The hope is that exposure to the arts will generate interest that will ultimately help the local arts community flourish.

Exposure to the arts: Carl Corcoran, director of the Southern Nevada Center for the Arts, in front of what will be his studio in Neonopolis. SAM MORRIS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

“We are planning an extensive community-outreach program,” Corcoran said.

Rohit Joshi, the owner’s representative at Neonopolis, said the art facilities will draw traffic to Neonopolis and to businesses in downtown Las Vegas as well. For sometime Joshi has trumpeted the idea that Neonopolis stood a better chance of success if its merchants generated, rather than relied on, foot traffic.

“Businesses that depend on the traffic that is here now would probably always have a hard time,” he said.

Now that the focus will shift to attractions as primary tenants with restaurants and retailers as recipients of that draw, the outlook for Neonopolis should greatly improve.

The biggest draw could be the Star Trek Experience, which recently completed a decadelong run at the Las Vegas Hilton.

“The museum and the arts center will represent the past and the present and the Star Trek Experience will represent the future,” Joshi said.

The Star Trek Experience will have five components and most elements could be completed next year, when a new Star Trek movie is scheduled for release. Just as the new movie will have some familiar characters in some unfamiliar roles, the Star Trek Experience will be similar but different from its predecessor and includes significant upgrades.

There will be a food and beverage component, which will include a restaurant and lounge and a retail area with merchandise from all incarnations of the Star Trek concept. Star Trek fans are incredibly loyal and if the latest movie sparks yet another generation of supporters, the retail element could be very successful.

A museum that explores the entire history of Star Trek is also planned.

There will also be a 4-D movie theater designed to be an interactive experience with high-tech seats that will stimulate the senses.

“They will recreate sights, sounds and smells and take your body traveling through space,” Joshi said.

The final element will be simulators - rides that are two levels high in Neonopolis’ center court.

Although the project seems ambitious, especially in a down economy, Joshi says he has the backers to pay for the project and also the go-ahead from CBS Pictures, which owns the licensing rights to Star Trek.

There is an ironic twist to the turnaround at Neonopolis.

In April 2007, Las Vegas officials, dissatisfied with the progress at Neonopolis, secretly met with representatives of General Growth Properties about the possibility the Chicago-based real estate investment trust might purchase the structure.

Joshi was completely blindsided by the negotiations and expressed frustration the city would engage in the backroom discussions.

General Growth ultimately decided not to pursue the purchase, and Joshi continued his efforts to fill the structure.

Now, as Neonopolis appears poised for success, General Growth is in dire financial straits and has announced plans to sell its three Strip properties: the Fashion Show mall, the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian and the Shoppes at the Palazzo. The company has postponed plans to become the retail partner at Echelon Place and has delayed the opening of a project in Summerlin.

If the city had been successful in its General Growth negotiations and Joshi had been forced out, Neonopolis might be looking for new owners and still seeking tenants, instead of seeking new life (and new civilizations).

Mark Hansel covers retail and real estate for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at 259-4069 or at hansel@lasvegassun.com.

Sometimes they come so easy. Sometimes my head is so full of them that I feel like I might just burst a blood vessel or something. I completed a couple of things recently. I had a real feeling of accomplishment. Things were really starting to happen. It’s almost like after I do some major work it takes me a while to get up and going again. Then I feel like I’m spinning my wheels and wasting a lot of time doing nothing, nothing productive anyway. I can still look at what I’ve been up to lately and see that I’ve really gotten some things accomplished, but now what? Then I start to loose focus. I have some things I’m working on, but nothing that really sucks me in. I mean, I’m used to getting all consumed and shit. I’m just not feelin’ it right now. I tell myself that there’s nothing wrong with that, it happens. I can’t help it, it still bugs me though. Even figuring out what to write here was a chore. I know, it happens. I’m working on the strip, “Life on Planet Stupid” and on the latest in the crate label series. Both of these mostly involve tons of computer time. It’s like almost everything else I do. Too much computer makes me lose it. I find myself here, on the computer more often than not. What can I say? It’s what I do! UGG… Here’s some stuff I’ve done lately. Computer vs. non-computer:

Check out our new Blog/Comic. It’s all about the experience of everyday life and beyond. So far we have the first three posts. It will be a continuing story that will follow through life’s common, uncommon and at times EXTRAORDINARY happenings. Make sure let us know you stopped by. Leave a comment, come say HI!:

LIVING ON PLANET STUPID

We decided last Wednesday that we will not be opening our studio at Neonopolis.

I’ve been talking to Carl Corcoran since May. Carl has been overseeing this project. Forgive me for not knowing his official title, but I guess he felt that we were not important enough to declare any of these specifics to. All I know is that he is the only person to deal with. Here’s an email I wrote to him:

Hi Carl,

Annie & Roger

Well, that was the email I was originally going to send. Then I realized, based on past history that the guy would never actually read all that. I figured I better just cut to the chase. This is the email I actaully sent:

Carl,

Roger and Ann Wilbur

This is Monday, the day he said we would be able to start moving in and I still haven’t heard from him. Not surprisingly, no voice mail, no email.

Also…

We were told when we signed the lease on Sept. 5th that within the next 10 days we would be able to move in, giving us about two weeks to get moved in before it would be open to the public.  As usual, we were never contacted. We did go over there a couple of times during the month only to find that the place was still under construction, a shambles, not ready for us or anyone else to move in. It was on the last trip that I discovered that Carl rented that space. So, I called to find out what was up. That was the last straw. In addition to what I found out, as stated in the above email, he also said that the studios would be open to the public starting Monday AND that was when we could start moving in. When I told Roger what he said, Roger said enough Bull Shit from this guy and stopped payment on the check.

…ENOUGH SAID

I’m hard at work makinflies.jpg for my latest creation.

Here’s one of the other things that has been keeping me busy lately. I have been working on some designs for a new t-shirt line. They will be available for purchase in time for Christmas:

As stated before, I like to avail myself of any and all news on the subject since we now have a stake (however small in the grand scheme of things) in this venue. Here is the latest from The Las Vegas Review Journal dated Sept. 15th ‘08 :

1.) Construction proceeds on the Southern Nevada Center for the Arts on Thursday at Neonopolis. The downtown mall is trying to revive Itself with some new tenants. One effort is converting an old food court into a studio for artists.
Photo by John Gurzinski.

2.) Progress is made Thursday on a space for artists at Neonopolis.
Photo by Jessica Ebelhar/Review-Journal 

3.) Joseph Palermo stands Thursday in the space where an art gallery will be in Neonopolis.
Photo by Jessica Ebelhar/Review-Journal 

CULTURAL FINE TUNING

Tenants’ spaces come together at Neonopolis

“Joseph Palermo, director of the Southern Nevada Museum of Fine Arts, was skeptical when the suggestion to relocate the museum to downtown’s Neonopolis first surfaced.

“I thought to myself, ‘This is a commercial building, and I’m not so sure that an arts center is going to work here,’” he said.

But after visiting the space a few times, he changed his mind.

“You know what? This is just the cutting-edge thing that might work,” Palermo said. “And this is Las Vegas; just about anything you want to try, you can do it.”

So they’re doing it. And believe it or not, they’re not the only ones taking over vacant space in the long-troubled mall at the base of the Fremont Street Experience.

The museum expects to open by the end of the month on the second floor. Next door will be an arts center with working artists’ studios in what used to be the mall’s food court.

Telemundo Las Vegas Inc. is moving into 17,500 square feet on the third floor. An upscale nightclub, Wet Ultra Lounge and Bar, expects to open on the first floor in time for New Year’s Eve.

Sushi Hama and Taste of California restaurants opened this summer, and two more, La Luna Italian Restaurant and El Nopal, plan to open soon.

If it comes together, it would mark quite a turnaround for the mall, which until recently was occupied only by a Galaxy movie theater, Del Prado Jewelers and Jillian’s, a sports bar/amusement center.

“We are pretty much 75 to 80 percent leased,” said Rohit Joshi, who represents the property for the owners, Wirrulla LLC. “I think we have just landed. Finally.”

It’s taken more than two years to learn what works, Joshi said. That includes learning what doesn’t go together, such as trying to build a downtown attraction around offerings already available elsewhere in the valley, such as movie theaters and retail stores.

“Why would someone from the suburbs come downtown to see a movie? They don’t,” Joshi said. “At the end of the day, people don’t come downtown to buy this stuff.”

What they’re hoping people will come downtown for is art, cultural events and nightlife.

Carl Corcoran, who’s overseeing the working artist studios in Neonopolis, said the idea is modeled on the Torpedo Factory Arts Center in Arlington, Va., which has 500,000 visitors a year.

To boost interest, Joshi said he is charging just 85 cents per square foot in rent for the art space, plus a percentage of sales. He says the amount represents what it takes for the shopping center to break even on the cost of maintenance, insurance and taxes.

All told, Joshi said it costs about $3 million annually to keep Neonopolis afloat, money that’s now coming from a reserve fund the owners created when they bought the property.

“It is a difficult time, it is a difficult area,” Joshi said. “We are trying every trick in the book.”

Michael Kammerling, senior vice president for retail at Grubb & Ellis, said low rates appear to be a strategy to generate foot traffic in a mall that’s been largely forgotten by customers, despite its prominent location.

“Right now, the whole economy is going through a challenging time,” said Kammerling, who isn’t involved with Neonopolis. “People aren’t spending the money they have been spending in recent years”

Matt Meagher is hoping to draw locals and tourists to his 12,000-square-foot Wet Ultra Lounge, which will be similar to a club he and his wife operate in El Paso, Texas.

He said the club will follow the lead of high-end nightclubs at resorts on the Strip, complete with celebrity guest hosts.

“It’s the same kind of model,” he said, but “being downtown, it’s just a little bit different. It’s different marketing. It’s different clientele.”

“There’s a whole lot of revitalization going on downtown. You’re talking about five major businesses opening up between now and the end of the year.”

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said, “I’m rooting for them,” and was cautiously optimistic that Neonopolis could finally turn a corner.

The city has a stake in the mall. It owns the parking lot underneath the building and lets Wirrulla use it at a subsidized rate. The city may dedicate some of those parking spaces as employee parking for Telemundo.

“That’s certainly a good trade for the city,” Goodman said. “It’s incidental, as far as the income the city would get.”

City leaders have expressed frustration with Neonopolis’ glacial development, especially given its prime location at the corner of Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard and the fact that other downtown developments are progressing.

Goodman has often referred to the building as an “albatross around my neck.”

“It’s been a disaster, as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “But I think he’s putting the pieces in place now.

“I certainly hope that it comes to fruition.”

Review-Journal writer Benjamin Spillman contributed to this report.”

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The next time you see this it will be transformed: