Weekend Open Thread: Ed Royce Woos Women; Mentally Disabled Adults Hold Art Show

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Blacklight painting — much much fun!

First: if you haven’t read this article from Voice of OC’s Amazing Adam, read it.  And if you appreciate professional investigative and civic journalism in Orange County, and you have the means — why not drop our cousin publication in the business a few bucks?

Second: No, Curt Pringle and Harry Sidhu do not really own the Anaheim Ducks.  Henry Samueli does.  That was a joke related to Sidhu’s pretending-not-pretending to have had the position of Mayor.  (It’s easy to get Samueli and Pringle confused, I guess, due to the sweet deal Samueli has to sell the City’s fireworks.)

Third: Do not read anything about Ted Cruz having had extramarital affairs with five adult women.  (I’m guessing that they’re using the word to mean “premarital” rather than cheating on his wife from Goldman Sachs — given the predominance of binge drinking among young women — but in any event I am not visualizing that, no no no.  Trump’s spokeswoman?  No no No no NO no NO NO NO!)

Fourth: Ed Royce is having his 8th Annual “Pretend That I Care About Women’s Issues” Day at Cal State Fullerton — yes, this is the one where they wanted to arrest me for talking to Young Kim three years ago, back in the days when she merely aspired to be the “Bigoted Buttkicker“.  On the agenda:

• “A Celebrity Chef’s Guide to Healthy Cooking”
• “A Woman’s Journey Towards Financial Independence”
• “Creating Women of Influence” (by a woman entrepreneur)
• “Deter, Detect and Defend Against Identity Theft”
• A keynote address from Miss America 2014
• How to eliminate human trafficking while remaining friendly with governments sponsoring human trafficking
• Maintaining basic reproductive rights under a government with unbridled hostility towards them

(I may have transcribed the last one and a half or so incorrectly.)  Anyway, wimmenfolk, say howdy to your Ed Royce approved “women’s issues”!  The event is free, you can register in advance or there on site, but if you don’t click that link you won’t find out what time it starts.  (Unless someone posts that info in comments.  I’m not touching that thing!)  So far, no restraining order for me!  See you there?

Fifth, finally, and most colorfully:

Westview Services had an art show last night featuring works from its mentally disabled clients, who profit directly from 80% of the money paid for their work.  Some nice things sold; lots of nice things didn’t; and whatever didn’t sell will continue to be available from Westview (and possibly at lower prices than were offered yesterday evening.)

I have to declare a conflict here, in that my wife works with mentally disabled adults and like other “job coaches” has set the rough plans/sketches for some of these kinds of artworks and put on some of the “finishing touches” — detail work that make you not only proud to own it but also to display it.  By far most of the painting — and the effort — for these paintings was done by the clients themselves.

And I’ll tell you something: they are quite self-aware, often bristling with creativity and drive and the desire to show their competence, and I’m told that the thrill of getting paid to produce their artwork is almost beyond description.  So, it you see something you like, you may write me at gregdiamond at google dot com and I will get you information on whom to contact.  (I don’t usually check that account, so post here to let me know to check for your message.)

Sorry for the rigmarole:  I wish that we were in a world where we could freely post others contact information without inviting awfulness, but alas we do not.)  This — including the photos of artwork below — is your Weekend Open Thread: talk about any or all of that or anything else you’d like, within reasonable bounds of decency and discretion.

And. with that last one, a good Good Friday to you all, and a Happy Easter weekend!