January 2023: 50 Candles And Counting

Cheers to 2023.

Here's to a colorful new year for all.

Reminder: Seemingly broken things are beautiful too. 

Daily drive... Morning reminder. 

Happy Birthday David Bowie

Matzoh warm outside... Soup time!

The Róisín Machine Tour Book (limited edition of 600 copies, signed by Róisín Murphy herself) just landed on my doorstep. The Sorcha Bridge photos are wonderful and Ms. Murphy’s vibes are immaculate. I can’t wait for the next album and era, Róisín! Thank you for EVERYTHING.

5IFTY and #nofilter

Many thanks to Kelly McD for this beautiful relic.

50th Birthday Recap: Dinner with my parents and my adopted brother Steve who baked the most amazing chocolate cake (from scratch) with homemade icing. Steve’s baking skills and generosity are two of the many reasons why he’s my parents’ favorite child. In fact, they also favor him over my imaginary twin brother Timmy who “got killed by a pizza truck” in 1977. Long story. If you know, you know. (RIP Timmy. Your spirit lives on.) Anyway, my first birthday surprise came earlier in the day at work. A partial and then total power outage caused all instruction to be shut down for the day. Nobody complained. Upon the first flickering of the lights I had an instinctive sense that this was some sort of cosmic alignment rather than a coincidence. Staff and students were dismissed at noon and EVERYONE was convinced that the early dismissal was my birthday gift from The Universe. Repeatedly hearing “Thanks for the blackout!” and “Montone, you manifested this!” and “We got a half day for your birthday!” from colleagues and kids helped make my 50th birthday absolutely unforgettable. Dinner with my parents, a great friend and receiving countless calls, texts and good wishes on every interface from loved ones near and far was priceless. The REAL gift, however, is in the every day. Being alive, continuing to move forward, having the ability to create and evolve and having the good fortune to do all of the above while knowing all of you nice folks is the REAL gift. Thank you all for who you are. The journey continues for us all. Stay illuminated. Love, CDM

Thanks, Michael! Love the Bowie cards!

50th Birthday Weekend: Heaven is a place on Earth but it’s also a record store. I paid a visit to my friend Bobby's fantastic music shop today and, as always, it did not disappoint. Thanks Bobby! Also, many thanks to everyone who sent me birthday greetings over the past couple of days. Cheers to all!

Splatter In The Slammer • Faux Pollock Imprisoned

28 years in art education and somehow I’m performing nail repair for a student on a Thursday afternoon. I’m basically an overpaid nail tech now. Pro Tip: Elmers Glue and a No. 6 watercolor brush work wonders. Follow me for more manicure tips. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

Another Soon To Be Empty Space

In two months Merchants Square Mall will be closing. I’m sad to see it go as I’ve enjoyed shopping here as well as getting to know (and in some cases becoming friends with) vendors whose uniquely appointed shops have been housed here for some time. It’s a shame when the land is more valuable than the building, the revenue, the independently owned businesses and (most of all) the people who populate venues like this. I’ll certainly miss MSM when it closes in late March but I hope to see my friends whose shops inhabited this building thriving in other spaces. Cheers to all of you good folks on a new chapter!

Sleigh All Day!

The Ghost Of A Department Store - Allentown, PA

I hope 2023 has been treating all of you well.

Many good wishes going forward for the new year. 

Love, CDM

The Story Of Mid To Late July

Sidewalk Chalk Abstraction

Summer Shower Encore

Hazy River

Blair Witch Moments

OMG YOU GUYS! I FEEL PERSONALLY ATTACKED!

‘Scuse Me While I Sweep The Sky

Red Moon • Transcontinental Wildfire Smoke

Watching McCartney 321 On Hulu…

This is an intimate series of discussions between Paul McCartney and producer Rick Rubin that any Beatles fan or fan of popular music and its construction (or deconstruction) will enjoy. There are some wonderful pieces of rock ‘n roll history uncovered here in a warm and insightful way. Highly recommended.

Now THAT is a funny ad match up.

How To Retain Or Regain Your Magic:

Think of the things you loved when you were a child. The activities, the sounds, the tastes, the smells, the colors and textures. Place as many of these things into your present day life as possible. Stay connected with the people who knew you before you became “yourself”. They probably understand you better than anyone else and if they’ve traveled with you this far, they’re with you for who you are and not for what you can do for them. Take whatever creative ideas or personal goals you’ve had in mind and do them. Start by considering these things yours and claim these as your sacred spaces to be defined, devised and fulfilled as you wish for them to be. Nobody is going to do any of this for you but as with anything else, if you name it, claim it and carry it out it will always belong to you and cannot be taken away. On that note, be careful with whom you share certain aspects of your growth and personal transformation journey. Keep the quiet counsel of those who respect and value your privacy and personal transitions. When the stages of this growth become evident and you emerge with your magic intact, renewed and more incandescent than ever, people will notice. You’ll carry yourself differently and in turn you will be regarded differently by many. If your new truths or creations garner any negativity, quietly command the respect of those who refuse to recognize your light by holding that divine space unflinchingly and standing within your power. Don’t fight. Just keep moving forward. Those who admire and support you will move along with you as they continue to create themselves in their own ways. When people ask how you did any or all of this, just say “I remembered where the magic was.”

Earlier today my to do list was “interrupted” by the impulse to sit down and write in my journal. I find that when I’m called to do this, it’s usually at times when I’m feeling focused and “in the flow” which makes me more receptive to one of two things. These include either organizing my thoughts into a clear, concise, self-composed diary entry of what I’m doing and thinking or a session of channeling a series of messages from my spirit guides. Today’s session was the latter (with an added surprise). While I haven’t spoken about this publicly, those that know me well have heard me talk about the inspiring, informative and sometimes surprising messages of personal, creative and cosmic guidance that I get through clairaudient automatic writing. I call this type of writing “sacred dictation” as it involves transcribing messages received from some ineffable location, or more accurately perhaps, some area of non-locality. Oftentimes I audibly perceive messages from my guides as a chorus of voices speaking in unison but lately one voice has come forward more boldly than the others. This is an adult female voice who identifies herself as Claudia, having taken that name as a shortened form of the word “clairaudient” or, more specifically “clair audia”. Today’s messages from Claudia spanned four pages (the length of the messages vary) and contained insights about the book I’m working on, character development, visuals and even specific lines of dialogue and narrative. I was also reminded that recent conversations with friends and family that I don’t speak to very often have been a part of the overall package of divinely timed inspiration, validation and momentum that supports all aspects of my creativity. After finishing today’s writing, I casually flipped through the blank pages in the back of the book and was struck by a message written in green ink by a hand that isn’t mine. Thanks to whoever slyly inked this message into the book before I purchased it. Thanks as well to Claudia and my guides. I’m definitely listening.

Blondie • Vivir En La Habana (2021)

Fresh New Blue Vinyl Of Blondie Live In Cuba 2019

Just Arrived At My Door And Landed On My Turntable

A family gathering at my Aunt Susan's:

Many Laughs • Many Smiles • Many Shots

Seth has been my (39 year old) baby cousin Will’s best friend for 35 years (since kindergarten) and I sometimes forget he’s not a blood relative. He’s family regardless.

So great to see my cousins Bernadette & Elizabeth.

Saturday Night Lightning

This Record Has My Name On It

Some 7” Singles Have Been Scored:

Stevie Nicks, Chic, Talk Talk, Whitney Houston

Barbra Streisand / Donna Summer & George Michael

We Met A Mummy At The Flea Market!

Veil Vednesday. It’s A Thing Now.

More Blair Witch Moments

Here’s an update on my new project. Over the last month, I’ve been working steadily on the narrative and sketches for the illustrations of my new book. This process has developed into a project with many moving parts, a variety of environments and many active characters. I’m working out each of the manifold actions, interactions, twists, turns and details to craft the most complete story possible. Though I’m still firmly entrenched in the research and sketch phase, it is here that my vortex of ideas becomes gathered, arranged and refined into a cohesive conceptual circle. Within that circle, the illustrations serve as a series of wedges that fit together to tell a contiguous, streamlined visual story designed to engage and delight readers and viewers of any age. So far, it’s been a joy to develop and render each pencil sketch and I look forward to moving from the all important sketch phase into the final drawings at a later date. That said, at the suggestion of my publisher, I will soon be sharing some of these sketches on social media so that others can take the “behind the scenes” creative journey with me as the project moves along from sketch to finish. More details and images to follow. Wishing all of you well and hoping everyone is enjoying a season of renewal, prosperity and joy. Love, CDM