M&Ms in Las Vegas

Yes, there really is an M&M World on the strip in Las Vegas. And since it is right next to the MGM Grand where we were staying, several trips were made to capture the panorama and panache that is Las Vegas in chocolate. Again many thanks to Mike for the photography and playful spirit.

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.

The sacred M&M wall, where pilgrims gather to leave messages to their long lost waistlines.

The aroma of cocoa can be overwhelming. They do have emergency supplies of insulin.

I was as diligent as a non-shopper can be in my attempt to fine any item I could tolerate in my apartment. Alas, the $34.95 beach towels drove me screaming from the store.

This is Mike (on the right) our intrepid photographer. The guy in blue with the white glove scares me a bit.

M&M Monday - The End

Today marks the 11th and final installment of M&M Monday. My sugary artistry has run its course and quite frankly I have had enough candy treats to last the year. I have considered the potential for ice cream sculpture but decided instead to turn back to gazing out my window.

I make this decision only after experiencing one rather bizarre delusion the other morning when I sat down to my computer.

You just know that is going to melt in your hand.

I do want to provide you with a factoid of useful information you can take away from my chocolate revelries. How about this: The estimated amount of glucose used by an adult human brain each day, expressed in M&Ms: 250.

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Art is web unsourced material

M&M Monday - Elections

It's one state, two state; red state, blue state for the 2008 Obama-McCain election above.

For any ardent red-staters, this is the 1984 Reagan-Mondale election. Only Minnesota and Washington D.C. marred your boy's sweep.

And for the blue-state crowd, the 1964 Johnson-Goldwater election map. Back in the days when labeling someone an 'extremist' actually was a bad thing. (Apparently they was a problem with Florida voting back then as well.)

And finally, my personal peering into the future to the 2012 confrontation between horses of an only slightly different color.

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M&M Election Graphics by me

M&M Monday - M&M World

There is an M&M World in of all places - Las Vegas. In fact, it's on the strip, right next door to the MGM Grand Casino. The key feature is the chocolate wall.

Yes they have many more colors and even flavors than what you can get in the normal course of human events. M&M World is not a regular stop on my visits to Vegas, not like the MGM lions or one of several poker rooms but I think next time I will make a pilgrimage if only to find new material for my art. 


You do know what is number #2 influence, after children's sweet tooths, that really keeps M&M sales going?

Oh and I guess I should mention - today is Pi Day!

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Art is unsourced from the web

M&M Monday - Skandhas

In Buddhism, the skandhas are any of five types of phenomena that serve as objects of clinging, grasping and craving. These lead to "attachments" which are the root of "suffering" in the buddhist philosophy. The skandhas are often referred to as the "five heaps" or the "five piles".

Depending on which Buddhist tradition one follows the path of enlightenment is either found by releasing all attachments to the skandhas or in the full and complete exploration of the nature of each of the five aggregates.

The five are:

1) form or matter; "rupa" or the external material world and the internal material body and sense organs;

2) sensation or feeling, including the labels pleasant, unpleasant or neutral;

3) perception or cognition; simply whether or not we recognize a sense object;

4) mental formations; thoughts, ideas, opinions that arise from interaction with objects;

5) consciousness; the condition of mind;

I have been scouring buddhist literature but have yet to find any references to devouring the skandhas.

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M&M Buddhist Art by me

M&M Monday - Clothing

You know someone is going to say something about "melts in your mouth not in your hands" . .

. . . but that would clearly be wrong;

because that line obviously goes with this picture.

M&M Monday - Art

No, not mine!

I am surprised how little M&M art there is to be found on the internet. There is one artist who has an affection for the hard shelled medium, that's her work above. Here is a link to her work, she lives in a remote area of Alaska.

also not mine

The lips above are actually a metal sculpture and not the real thing. Is nothing sacred? I mean I remember being opposed to the introduction of the first M&M variation. I guess that makes me a chocolate traditionalist. Though I eventually did embrace the change. You know what the second variety of M&Ms was, right?

peanuts were first, almonds later

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Nuts Art by me

Metal Lips by random unlabeled artist

M&M Monday - Valentine's Day

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Exclusive M&M Art by me

M&M Monday - Blow Out the Candle

Champagne and canapes all around. Talk among yourselves, avoid discussions involving your lastest medical procedure or persistent aches and pains.

Next year, a Beatle's Song.

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Birthday Art by me

M&M Monday - OCD

One of the comment traits of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is the need to have items in straight rows or consistent groupings. I clearly am not OCD because when I offered this picture as a joking example to two of my moderately OCD friends, I received the following responses:

"The yellow are too high and completely out of square, have you considering using a straight edge to get them right?"

"When you enlarge the photo you can clearly see that there has been no effort to align the embossed M's on the individual candies."

Also I can now attest that cats are seldom OCD or at least Midnight is not because just after I took the picture above his paw snaked up from the dining room chair to this result.

"Before there was Prozac, we had purring cats."

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M&M Art by me and Midnight

M&M Monday - BiPolar Disorder

I mentioned that my M&Ms series was prompted by some psychologically based art I saw on the web. I was struck by how some psychology terms could be graphically represented. Today three images of what we might visually imagine as bipolar disorder, which used to be manic-depression and before that schizophrenia.

Sometimes we think of bi-polar disorder as being an A or B state of mind (below); when, in fact, it is very often more like AcdefghizyxwvutsrqwnkthvydhskB multi-stated state of mind (above).

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.

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Art by: me

M&M Monday Vol. 1

Welcome to the first installment of M&M Monday. For awhile I have been feeling like I needed some artistic outlet other than my writing. However, I have discovered over the years that I have very little ability when it comes to singing, dancing, paint, clay, watercolors, musical instruments, sculpture and well the list goes on. Then last week two elements converged.

First were the on again off again Liz Lieu Tuesday offerings on my friend Pauly's blog. We all wish for more of those posts, they tend to be more frequent when Liz goes into the studio for a new photo shoot. But I really like the serial aspect of those posts and I consider Liz one of my best friends from my years around professional poker. She is the very hot lady in those pictures, yet I know her as someone completely different.

Then during a surfin' expedition, on an obscure blog, I ran across a several pieces of psychological art rendered using M&Ms as the medium. I immediately thought of half a dozen melt in your mouth tableaus.

Several days later I had six bowls of M&Ms in as many colors and sizes as I could find strewn across a glass top table and I began to assembly my first portfolio of chocolate infused art. You should not expect anything as brilliant as the piece at the top. Yes that is Eminem in M&Ms. But I think I can manage to be thought provoking at times and perhaps the slightest bit whimsical but always with the hint of a sugar high.

Here is my first piece of M&M art. In the future I promise more creativity but I thought I should begin with the source, the essence, the beginning, the alpha and the omega.

You can click to make it bigger if you have critical interest in the nuances of M&M art. My first rule of inspiration is that deconstruction be followed by consumption.
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Eminem Art not by me